odiousgambit's Blog

I guess for the most part I've bought into the idea that it's just as well to start a thread as to make a blog post, which might get ignored. On the other hand, if you want to be able to find something again easily, blog posts work well. 


And this one I want to be able to reference again as it took me a while to hunt this down. Terms of Venery, it's called. 


You see, I finally have had it with being told that the 'proper' term is a "murder of crows, a convocation of eagles, an exaltation of larks, a cast of falcons, a gaggle of geese, a parliament of owls" or [I could go on] ... this has struck me as fanciful BS. It isn't just birds, but the ones that bother me the most are, as you can see. "A pride of lions" is an example of a fanciful term like that getting so ingrained into the language that I have to throw in the towel and would use it myself. It's likely to have come from this woman Berners as well. 


I have been wondering for a long time where this baloney got started. I've finally tracked it down to one Miss Juliana Berners, a 14th century woman privileged enough to be allowed to write and be published at a time when books were rare enough to be influential for long periods of time. Possibly others came up with some of this but it's easy to believe that since this person is known, that she came up with the bulk of it. That the silly stuff didn't get guffawed out of existence instantly is unbelievable and surely a testament to the power of books back in the day. 


If I can remember this name I'm going to instantly tell the next person who hits me with any of this nonsense that they are accepting that some 14th century nobody can make language rules on a whim and we are all supposed to follow like sheep*.

*she probably came up with a 'hurtle of sheep' which thankfully doesn't seem to have caught on. Indeed bird flocks seem to be where she did the most damage

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Actually this is where we left it, with "day of the week" added to solve, which I assume will not change. Miplet's custom weapons/suspects/rooms distributor will be key, I assume he'll start each game still .


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the modifications:

*the boardgame rules are the 2002 rules as there is a pdf file for them, see below. We have used these rules except as noted below.

*In a new variant, players solve suspect, weapon, room, and day of the week.

*Additionally, there are more secret passages. Such a passage exists now in our variant between rooms opposite each other, with a passage between Dining Room and Library but none connected to Billiard Room. Also, there are no passages between adjacent rooms etc.

*no dice, instead players move from one spot to another by declaring their move. A forum thread will be used for play and comments.

*We do not bid for which character we will play, this is chosen in a random process.

*The order of turns goes clockwise along the official board starting with Miss Scarlet as per the board game rules.

*In order that each person gets the full compliment of cards, none getting extra cards, dummy players will be used as needed. These will only say if they can or cannot disprove a statement. They don’t move or make suggestions. Thus there will always be 6 players, including these dummies. This all possible thanks to Miplet.

*When someone makes a suggestion, Miplet's software is used and it nicely handles the disproving [or the confirmation] - this is done automatically but follows official rules.

*Play will stop when a person who is not present is supposed to take his turn... "what to do" in the event of someone failing to continue play? ... any 'official' way was dropped and there was never a case of intolerable suspension once we had Miplet's software, but it seems now by vote we can change the player to a 'dummy' if necessary.

*Once a player takes his turn , the results are to be posted in the thread.

*We don't use dice to move. To start the game a player begins in the corridor directly across from where situated on the perimeter. Miplet brilliantly realized this is all easier to understand if the corridor is placed outside as a circle around the rooms. A move of a piece down the corridor to get to rooms goes clockwise or counterclockwise, the only shortcuts being the secret passages. Otherwise a player moves from one "step" [in lieu of a better word] to the next adjacent step in corridor moves and can move 2 steps. Alternatively, a player could move one step and into a room if starting the move in the corridor or from the initial game-start position. Moving out of a room means moving out one step and then one more step can be achieved, but not a room since two steps in the corridor are thus taken. A player can just take one step if desired, but cannot step back into a room just vacated. Once in the room a suggestion and accusation can be made all as one turn.

*in the boardgame it makes no sense to move down the corridor if an accusation was intended, however using the Miplet app a player has to move before he can accuse. Note that sometimes a player's only move is "out of the room" so note this need to move in the corridor at times, even on a move where the player really only wants to make an accusation .

* a move into a room always ends the player's turn, after any suggestion. An accusation ends the player's participation, becoming winner or loser [the Miplet app takes over for answering suggestions]

*There is only one door to each room in this version.

*The doors cannot be blocked.

*For an accusation, as opposed to a suggestion, the player need not be in the room, or any room. It only needs to be the player's turn. I mention this as I have seen this misunderstood.

Link below is a pdf file for the boardgame rules [as a reference] as of 2002 below. Of course we will play with the above necessary modifications [or whatever is agreed on].

http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Clue_%282002%29.pdf
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BBB's printable detective notepads: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1CcsLnUGEQpQ1BVdUhiX1FOVDg/view?usp=sharing
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starting positions

*The plantain herb, known as the white man's footprint to those aggrieved by invasive species, or the driveway weed to yard poisoners, and on which I had promised an update, works great in canned mixed greens at least. I was a little doubtful since when it is raw it is a bit fibrous if older, and I didn't eat much that way. The canning process really takes care of that it seems. 


*I've really come to appreciate foraging videos on you-tube. Previously I've only used books and field guides, and although the images in the newer such have gotten very good, videos using the modern very good camcorders that seem to be out there all over the place are really hard to beat. The better videos just keep showing the subject from different distances and angles, over and over again. I've decided this activates the same part of the brain that recognizes faces. Other images don't really do this, and after all sometimes in the old guides all they show is a drawing. 


*In case I haven't said this before, in the case of the Hen of the Woods, anybody who spends time in the forest in the Fall and who wasn't looking for them has been missing the boat. They are absolutely delicious and must be the easiest of all mushrooms to identify nearly risk free - it is just so unique. I keep saying that if you pick something toxic thinking you had Hen of the Woods, you just aren't really trying. 


*I was surprised to see what was in the grocery store the other day, bunches of dandelion greens on sale. Really? And something new to me, celery root. I didn't buy the latter, wanting to see how it is used first. Turns out it can be cooked or eaten raw. I'll report on that after trying it.

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you may need to read the starting thread https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/tables/37935-quit-counting-outs-uth/

Although the charts are pretty much in final form, some edits for clarity continue.

In the below, the charts are for the 1x decision point when all the player has is a kicker. It's important to follow the Wizard/Grosjean advice to fold in the face of, on the board, 4 to flush and 4 to open ended straight. It's a simple strategy that has exceptions. The charts are very wordy in order to provide clarity. You can familiarize yourself with them and then you can make strategy cards to take to the table. What would work for me as small strategy cards are the two charts at the bottom.

In the case of the second chart, exceptions are more rare and I am trying to identify them.

Player Kicker in Play	Permissible Missing Cards Outranking Kicker
Unpaired Board	One Card Can Be Missing, Bet 1x
Board has One Pair	2 Cards Can Be Missing, ditto
Board has Trips	3 Cards Can Be Missing, ditto
Board = Two Pair, Fifth Card Makes Dealer Outs	3 Cards Can Be Missing, ditto
Board has Two Pair, Fifth Card Lower in Rank	4 Cards Can Be Missing, ditto
Board has 4 OAK	play 7-card or better player kicker, ditto

Player Kicker Can’t Win	Action Indicated
The board doesn't have a pair or better	No Pair means No Play, instant fold
Board Has One Pair	A 9-card or lower in the other 3 cards = instant fold then a 10-card in the three folds UNLESS ALL other 4 cards higher then a qualified 10, or Jack* or higher in the three, plays *known exceptions 9,9,10,A,J + 9,9,10,K,J
Board has 2 pair with the Fifth card making dealer outs.	A 10-card or lower as the fifth card means instant fold. Play a Jack if Middle Value Play All Higher Others
Board has two pair, AND fifth board card lowest in rank	An 8-card or lower anywhere on the board is an instant fold. Play all that have higher fifth cards
Board has Trips	A 9-card or lower in the other 2 cards is an instant fold Then 10-card there is a fold unless ALL other 4 cards are higher then a qualified 10, or Jack* or higher in the two, plays
Board has 4 OAK	An 8-card or lower as the 5th card is an instant fold A 9-card as the fifth card is a fold UNLESS the 4 board cards are higher Play All Others

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My choice for a strategy card with abbreviations and memorized parts omitted

Kicker in Play	# Cards
Bd Trips/2 pair 7-O	3 Cards
Bd 2 Pair 4-O	4-O=4 cards
Bd 4 OAK	play 7-card+

in the above, don't need to know what I'm looking for or what to do. 7-0 or 4-O indicates the type of 2 pair board by initial outs. 4-O=4 cards is a mnemonic

Kicker Gaffed	FOLD
Bd = One Pair	Pert 9-card 10-card unless all higher
Bd 2 pair 7-O	Pert 10-card Play Pert Jack if Middle Val Play all Pert Queen+
Bd 2 pair 4-O	8-card anywhere Play all higher Perts
Board = Trips	9-card 10-card unless ALL higher
Bd = 4 OAK	Pert 8-card 9-card UNLESS all 4 higher

although in some ways easier table, I don't have it memorized as well. Leaving what to do in there for now. I know what 4 I'm talking about in the 4-OAK section. Pert means Pertinent

This time of year I get some motivation from foraging to get out there and stomp around, that's new - used to be only if I wanted to go small game hunting [larger game being out of season in Sept here]


I collected these mushrooms just to identify them, they all have gills which is still a bugaboo for me. According to guide book we have left to right Wooly Chroogomphus*, an Anamita of some kind, Oyster Mushroom, a Milky of some kind ... my confidence being 70%, 10%,  85%, 50%, resp., although the second and the last as you can see I don't try to get pegged down all the way as to species. The ones down to species are edible if I got them right. Not eating them though.


Also found more chick o. w. which I seeded about on other stumps and logs. It appears this will become an "all you can eat" thing if the seeding works, or even if it doesn't. I'm just finding it regularly. Some books discourage eating too many mushrooms at one sitting. They all build their cell walls out of the same indigestible stuff that constitute our fingernails, so if you don't cook them to break that up you get no nutrition. And in any case you are eating something that is to some degree going to pass through you unchanged. You don't want to stuff yourself with that i guess is what they are saying. So this is the kind of thing I am learning now. 


oh, two old bottles there found in the woods too. I clean them up and use them for homebrew, I have about a case of them now I use. They usually are less than 12 ounces, and I like to make a batch that has various sizes for various servings ... sometimes 8 ounces or so is what I want!







* I would say somebody needs his butt kicked for coming up with that name, except that on the other hand it is fun to say it. The genus name is derived from the Greek χρω- chroo-, meaning 'skin' or 'colour', and 'γομφος' gomphos meaning 'plug' or 'large wedge-shaped nail' per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroogomphus

Just identified that I have wood sorrel growing in my unpoisoned yard. I thought it was a type of clover, but it has yellow flowers. Ran across two different ways to look at this:

"Woodsorrel can easily take over a lawn and it's important you remove it before it sets seed. Try to remove it in winter, when it's dormant. Mowing is ineffective because the plant can still grow and set seeds because it's low-growing. Pull dormant plants out of the ground and then dig or till the area to break up the roots. Repeat this whenever you see new seedlings. You will have to patch the lawn after you've removed the woodsorrel. If you mow a lawn with seeds from this plant, rinse your mower before using it on another piece of lawn that does not have the weed.

Chemical Remedies

If you decide to use a chemical, [blah blah blah]"

from https://www.hunker.com/12490705/lawn-weed-with-a-clover-leaf-small-yellow-flower

View #2

"Wood sorrel is an incredible thirst quencher and is refreshing to eat. The leaves, flowers, and immature green seed pods are all edible having a mild sour flavour that some say resemble lemons. Wood sorrel can be added to salads, used in soups, sauces and it can also be used as a seasoning. Wood sorrel tea when cooled can make a refreshing beverage especially when sweetened with honey. In moderate dosages, wood sorrel is cooling (refrigerant, febrifuge), diuretic, stomachic (soothing to the stomach, relieves indigestion), astringent, and catalytic."

from https://www.ediblewildfood.com/wood-sorrel.aspx

From my own perspective, I'd love for this plant to [nearly] take over my yard. For the height it currently is, I see no need to mow it. I usually don't mow clover patches, but they need to dominate so they aren't half filled with grass. This one really fits the bill for that. And guess what? I'm going with the ediblewildfood.com folks and their view of things.

first image from second link above
next image a picture I took with the cell phone