The Rabid Quill

I won’t lie: I love playing competitive games across the Internet. Usually that takes the form of a PC or console shooter, maybe an RTS, but more than a few times I like taking a break from “hardcore” gaming and settle down to the likes of an online board game. In this case I played some Backgammon. I came across the slick BGroom software, an online backgammon client, which allows you to play with others, for free or with actual money, across the Internet. It’s available at a few different websites all operated it seems by the same group, but all three are similarly useful. They will be linked in the rest of this article, and provide information on the game, its rules, etiquette, strategies, tournaments and a pile of other irresistible knowledge for the backgammon junkie.

For example, do you know what a Raccoon is, and why it follows a beaver? Check out this terminology page. This game is so much more nuanced than I thought.

Now, I’m not a gamblin’ man so I didn’t risk any of my own money in the process, but I did want to provide a look at the software they provided.

The download was quick and the installation takes care of itself. I’m usually wary of downloading gaming software — you run a high risk sometimes of catching some adware and spyware in the process. Not so with BGroom so far. The application’s installation was clean and quick, didn’t ask for any personal details, and fired right up. The interface is snappy, intuitive, and easy on the eyes.

The main screen for their program, once you’ve installed it and created an account, looks like the image above. There are several rooms for different skill levels, each filled with games in progress as well as open games available to join. You can even create your own.

Before you and your opponent even begin, a screen allows you to negotiate the terms of your game, the stakes, which optional rules you’ll use and what the pace of the game’s timer will be like. It’s all very flexible and quick. You’ll be playing in no time.

Even those who have never played backgammon online (or even the traditional dead-tree variety) will find this online game relatively easy to pick up. Only the actions the game’s rules permit you to take are highlighted on the board when you roll the dice at the beginning of your turn. If you don’t know how to play, it can just about teach you. You can probably tell from the screen on the right that I still need some more teaching.

Even if the game itself is insufficient to teach you, they provide a pretty good introduction to the rules and strategies of the game at this website.

My experience with the software overall was very pleasant. I don’t know how long the practice points will last you if you have a habit of losing, but this is a version of backgammon I could easily choose over its flash-based rivals elsewhere on the Web.

Pages to check out:

• BGPrime (online backgammon) - Information on game etiquette,
• BGRoom (backgammon online)- Download one of the most successful backgammon web apps around
• 1on1Backgammon - Beginner’s tips, strategies and tutorials

I think the McCain campaign is staffed by comedians. Granted, they’ve done a better job than the bumbling parasites running my favorite Congressman’s campaign, but sometimes these guys make strange requests. Since McCain became the presumptive nominee, I’ve gotten regular solicitations from the Republican Party’s newsletter to donate to his campaign. Below is the text of their most recent mailing.

Dear Supporter,

As we head into the graduation and summer holiday season, we have an exciting offer for all John McCain supporters. The John McCain 2008 campaign is offering you a special opportunity to receive an autographed copy of Faith of My Fathers, the national bestselling story of John McCain and his family.

In Faith of My Fathers, John McCain tells his amazing story of courage and leadership during his more than five years as a POW in North Vietnam. The examples and lessons taught by his father and grandfather enabled him to survive imprisonment and emerge as a true American hero. This book demonstrates that the McCain family has long believed that the highest honor one can gain is through service to our country. John McCain has served our country for decades, and we want him to continue serving as our next President of the United States.

Today, with your contribution of $150 or more, you will receive a signed, hardcover copy of the inspiring Faith of My Fathers. This book can be shared with your family and friends to help them understand, in John McCain’s own words, the service he and his family have had the honor of providing to our country. There is no doubt that this book will reinforce what you, his strongest supporters, already know; he is the right man at the right time to lead our country. Please follow this link to reserve your copy today.

Now, first of all, John McCain’s autograph just isn’t worth $150 to me. I used to like him, years ago. He was less supportive of the war than his Republican peers, and was apparently willing to stick to principle rather than party. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. He’s like so many other Republicans I’ve met, who may have once believed in the philosophy of freedom, but have since sold out or made compromises out of fear, or have caught the imperialist brain rot. They’re nice guys, but someone has flipped a few switches in their heads that make their actions wildly inconsistent with their beliefs. I think John McCain is one of those Republicans. Not sexy for a true believer in small, restrained government.

Second, this book was published in 1999. I don’t recall a whole lot about that election season’s primary race, but maybe this book was a good advertising mechanism back then. Back then, John McCain would have been a wee lad barely into his sixties. But he’s running for president again, and has he published anything else? Anything elaborating on what he really believes, and what he wants to do about it? Ron Paul has a book that was officially released two days ago, and from the very first page it shows sharp wit, the product of a vigorous mind. Johnny, you’re slipping. I guess you’re just not the young, energetic dynamo you were at 62. Like the candidate, this book is old and unoriginal. It’s a family memoir. I haven’t read it, but I doubt such a work contains a whole lot in the way of policy beliefs. If anything it’s a work of fan service for all those who feel a romantic nostalgia for the Fifties. I guess that’s appropriate. That demographic is the biggest group to remain loyal to the Republican Party over the last 8 years.

And finally, he didn’t even write this by himself. It was co-authored by Mark Salter. That’s not really a fault, but if you were to judge the remaining two Republican presidential candidates based on their book-related activities, John McCain is lagging way behind. He’s recycling a 9-year-old book about his family that he had help writing, while his competitor has just published an incisive manifesto, an exclamation point at the end of a candidacy which has already sparked a velvet revolution within the Republican Party, and American politics.

So John McCain is selling a flourish of his pen for $150. My guess is that his 71-year-old cancer-survivor hand can only handle about 50 such scribbles. Maybe 80 if he switches hands. Any takers?

Last night I finished reading Ron Paul’s The Revolution: A Manifesto. I’ll admit right up front my heavy bias in favor of Ron Paul, but I wouldn’t recommend a book to you unless it was an exceptional and riveting read. This book forces its reader to make a choice: to accept the Constitutional, American form of government or reject it. That philosophy is here in this book, in its entirety, concisely worded, and with clear examples.

At the very first page, Dr. Paul destroys the traditional paradigm. If you don’t know why some say there’s no difference anymore between the Democrats and Republicans, you will find out in the first chapter. From there, he builds. Through a series of examples out of history and contemporary times, he outlines a political philosophy, rooted firmly in objective reality, that has been sadly absent from the public discourse for many decades. For many, the ideas in this book will seem new, but they are only the conclusions arrived at by the venerated men who wrote the Constitution 230 years ago. Like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room, this book will reveal that war is not necessary for your safety, income taxation is not necessary for the government to function, that the country can be saved and returned to a state of peace, prosperity, and high standing in the world. The path is not easy; it’s not even likely, but it’s possible, and the plan is simple.

Whether or not you agree with Ron Paul, the precision and clarity of this book will make it impossible to misunderstand any longer just what he and his supporters stand for and why. It is a foundation, a launching point, a reference point for the popular constitutionalist revolution his candidacy has sparked, and that is why that revolution is now unstoppable.

The book is a succinct articulation of liberty, real liberty, along with its hows and whys. Anyone with a middle school education should be able to read and comprehend this book. Freedom is not complicated. Thus, the book is highly accessible, and very convincing. If Ron Paul’s campaign platform made easy converts (and it did), so will this book, and they’re mass-producing it. Now the Ron Paul supporters have a tool with which to easily and quickly spread the freedom message, in a comprehensible way. Freedom is an invigorating concept. This is why his supporters made such an impact in such a short time. To many, the message of this book will be as precious, as refreshing, as energizing as the first sweet gulp of water to someone lost in a desert. After the first few drops that this book provides, you may find yourself in search of more. Recovering from the political dehydration that most people in this country have suffered will take more than just a few drops. Fortunately, Dr. Paul included a reading list in the back of the book. The Revolution: A Manifesto is not just a manifesto, it is a beacon. The first puddle that leads to an oasis. It’s not a mirage. You can be free.

Read this book and begin to find out how.