On Hot Weather and the Effects on Motivation

It has been hot down here lately.

When I first came to Australia at the tail end of the last summer, I was optimistic to what the following two years was going to bring with regards to weather.  I should have known better.

Back in February, everyone I talked to was complaining about the unseasonably cold summer.  For Aussies, this meant high temps in the low 80's F.  The paramedics were all bored at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament, as they did not have any heat stroke victims to treat.

This year has already been noticeably different.  This October was the hottest start to a summer season on record.  There have been multiple days north of 40C (~105F). The apartment we are living in has no air conditioning.  Twenty years ago, I might have been able to survive without under these conditions.  Twenty years ago I was hardened by Iowa summer conditions, where a week of 95F with 85% humidity was not uncommon.  I grew up under these conditions with no air conditioning.  In addition, the conditions here are better in that there is less humidity (generally) and the apartment is exposed to no afternoon sun.  Unfortunately, I have been partially spoiled by the temperate nature of the Pacific Northwest.  A couple mild summer years has removed all tolerance for heat sans air conditioning.  As such, the portable air conditioner has been ordered and should be delivered in a few days.  As I said, I should have known better and done this weeks ago.

Fortunately, it is not so hot that it removes the motivation for gaming.  We had a very nice session with the boys today.

First game- Exploding Kittens

This has become one of my eldest son's most requested games.  It is a simple enough game, and he does actually get most of the strategy.  What he does not get is most of Matt Inman's jokes.  That is fine for now.  His favorite part of the game is the Nope cards.  These are essentially interrupt cards that allow you to cancel another player's action.  In particular he gets a kick out of the concept that you can Nope another player's Nope, or even Nope that Nope.  Anything that produces 7 year old giggles like that is ok in my book.

Second Game- Lift Off: Get Me Off This Planet!

This is a semi-cooperative game by Eduardo Baraf that I Kickstarted some time ago.  I was actually on the verge of passing this one by, but my wife intervened saying that it looked cute.  After a number of plays, it is actually quite a lot of fun.  The game is rated for 2-5 players, but I would say that 3-4 is the sweet spot.  As a two player game it is rather boring, but perks up a lot when adding the third player.  My only other irritation with the game is that there can be something of a runaway factor.  Once one person gets ahead, it can be nearly impossible to get caught up, much less win.

Third Game- The Dinosaur Game

This is a roll and move game designed to teach some pretty basic concepts of dinosaur adaptability and survival.  The names and traits that are assigned to the dinosaurs are accurate (near as I can tell), an there is not so much science that it overwhelms the rest of the game.  For my eldest son, nothing in the game is new information simply because he has the entire series run of Dinosaur Train memorized.

What the hot weather does affect significantly is the motivation to cook dinner.  Compounding that was the fact that we also are in dire need of a grocery run.  As such, we decided to go out to eat.  Most of the time this means fast food.  For whatever reason (or simply for that reason) fast food did no sound good.  So we hop a tram (I love Melbourne transit!) and head in the direction of St. Kilda Beach.  Normally this would have been a relaxing endeavor, even with three kids in tow.  Unfortunately, it was raining.  That also meant that all of the relatively convenient outdoor seating was out of commission.  

We eventually duck into a cafe and site down to dinner.    Al told, it was not too bad.

Drinks - decent.  My wife's wine was quite good.  My gin martini was pretty good, albeit not nearly as dry as I had ordered.

Kid's Meals - decent. Sausage with fries and baked beans or steamed vegetables.  What was likely turkey sausage was ok.  Fries were quite good.  Baked beans tasted canned.  Steamed vegetables were excellently prepared, but there was enough cauliflower on the plate to kill an army.

Wife's meal - very good.  She got the Cannelloni.  Tasted very good, but there was no meat in it.  That almost always takes dishes down a notch for me.

My meal - ok.  I got the Duck and Chorizo on tomato Risotto. Duck was dry (an impressive feat in my experience), and the risotto was undercooked.  Other than that the taste was really pretty good.

We got Garlic bread too,  but that was late in coming and was nothing impressive.

All told, I almost wish we had stayed home and had leftover curry.  But that would have meant that I would have had no caffeine in the morning and that is just unacceptable, even if I don't have to go to work.