Heck, we had already spent two hours in our vehicle driving to Dundee. Mrs ERJ said she would relish the opportunity to stretch her legs.
So we set about exploring downtown Dundee.
We didn't get far.
There is a "game" store in Dundee that is called The Accelerated Dragon. Pushing the door open revealed a large, brightly lit, open room populated by uncluttered tables. The first table had several chess games on it.
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| Matthew |
The gentleman was sitting toward the back of the room welcomed us as entered. Matthew is the owner of The Accelerated Dragon.
He is also an unabashed science junkie.
He sees the role of The Accelerated Dragon as being similar to the coffee houses of the 17th and 18th centuries. That is, to provide a venue where people can find other, like-minded folks and establish a sense of community in a face-to-face environment.
Mrs ERJ asked him "What kinds of games do you have?"
Matthew replied "I have a little bit of everything...everything but Magic games."
Mrs ERJ asked, "Why no Magic games?"
Matthew said "Because the 'battles' become an arms-race and they escalate to where it is not skill-based. Folks become obsessed and can buy 'heroes' so the winner is not the most skilled but the one with the deepest pockets."
"That is not what I want this space to be about" he concluded.
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| The weekly schedule. The photo is tilted because of the glare from the natural lighting. |
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| Winners from the previous week's tournaments are recognized. Matthew cautioned me to never bet money against Istanbul in Scrabble. |
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| Obligatory pictures of some of the games on his shelves. |
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| A high-end chess set |
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| Matthew was genuinely saddened that I am not a "game" guy. He said I simply had not run across the right game. I felt for him. I bought a set of gaming dice. Every stats weenie ought to have sets of dies. |
I have never been able to get into that games either. As I get older, I lost the little interest I had in card games and board games when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you didn't have dice already...
I have six-sided dice but the gamers use all kinds. I got a set similar to this one https://www.dicegamedepot.com/opaque-polyhedral-dice-set-white/
DeleteHad a similar store in Hartland, but they also carried the Magic stuff. They did not make it.
ReplyDeleteThen there was a Crepes and Games in Howell. Also closed.
Viability exists only with food/drink/equipment sales (although equipment sale could hurt business), pay in advance leagues, structured lessons (group and individual) and entry fee/money tournaments.
People already multi-task in restaurants and bars on their phones. The trick is to get them to set them down and actually interact with other people.
And with the harmonious, loving and respectful climate in the country right now, this is exactly what you want to d...….Nevermind.
Yes but about the truck....?
ReplyDeleteThe electrical glitch involved the brake lights. It was not the switch on the pedal. That leaves the Hazard light module.
DeleteThey R&Red a couple parts to no avail. We test drove it with the glitch.
Also had engine check light (probably O2 sensor or gas cap), air bag lights and ABS/Traction control error messages on the DIC.
We made a bid.
They, supposedly, were taking the truck into the dealership when they could not fix it. Truck to be sold as-is but brake lights are a safety issue.
Our bid has not been accepted or rejected. I suspect he is treading water until hit with the repair bill. After all, he has a certain profit margin in mind even though that opaque to us. If he needs more than what we offered, he can keep the truck until somebody shows up who will offer him his price.
The truck is higher in the air than my old '98. Did the springs sag THAT much? Ride was harsh. Tires good. HVAC robust.