Anyone following this litany of musings will be aware of my recent re submergence into the realm of Magic, the Gathering (http://wizardsofthecoast/magic.com/) with full Geek vigor! After amassing a large stockpile of cards, via E-Bay, I proceeded to school Elijah, Logan and then Owen on how to play. Logan, being the one son with full Fanboy potential embraced the game with gusto! Quickly he has surpassed my knowledge and with great fortitude, taken the time to research not only the game play but card information and deck design, complete with tips on combination spells and such.
OK, so at this point your eyes are rolling back in your head and you're saying "What the HELL does this have to do with bikes!" Well...nothing actually, but then my life is not consumed with bicycles. They are merely one passion intertwined with many others. So to the uninitiated, Magic is a card game, not unlike Dungeons and Dragons, but played with a deck of "collectible" playing cards. Kind of like playing with Baseball cards. You buy them as preformed decks, or booster packs, again like a package of baseball cards. To give you an idea of the magnitude of cards you have to choose from, since it's conception Magic has introduced 83 different sets of playing cards. OK, lets make this easy to visualize. I took the time to print out a list of ALL the sets and ALL the cards they have produced, here's a picture of the size of that Tome. Yes, I did burn through a full ream of printer paper...
All sets can be intermingled and work together. Hence the combination play. So with that many cards there are a LOT of combinations to consider. Certain cards have certain abilities or characteristics that when combined with others, produce different outcomes or magnitude. Deck building is both an art and a science, and takes strategy and planning (not to mention luck that they come into your hand when you want them to!). After playing for only a couple weeks, Logan asked if he could go through the "extras" and build his own deck. I said sure and he, with great flourish and excitement, dug into the boxes! That alone was worth the effort. His level of enthusiasm and shear Geek flare is contagious. Every day with him and Magic is like when I went to my first Comic Book Convention in Boston, Mass! After a few days he had put together three decks, and was eager to test play them. Thinking myself the Superior, I chuckled with a certain air of condescension and broke out a simple Angel Deck and mopped the floor with him. Then we switched, he played a fledgling Zombie deck and I went with a blue/red spell deck and drove him crazy a he couldn't get one creature out on the battlefield. Slightly aggravated but not deterred he went "back to formula" and last night, after some gentle pleading and prodding to Mama, she granted us the time to play a few games.
And he SLAUGHTERED me! Well, he had a little help. We played the first two rounds with Owen working a blue deck and they double teamed me, ruthlessly (hey at least they were working together and not arguing!) They made mincemeat of my Rat deck, trounced my Rainbow deck, both times I didn't knock him down one life point! Now, fearing my status being diminished I pulled out the Wolf deck, because things were serious! First round I got him, but only by two points. Second time I tried the Rainbow deck again, and this time it fell together right and I was able to get him, but again only by three points. The kid's smart, I give him that, and if I am not careful I will be seeking his wizardly patronage in the future!
ANYWAY!
All right, to those of you who persevered and actually read all that, now on to work!
Yesterday was another Whiz Bang! Thanks to ALL the folks coming down and putting their trust in us to fix up their rides, and yes, as always we do SO appreciate that they were referred to us by so many other folks. Especially the gent who needed some basic TLC for his "Well Loved" Free Spirit. He had visited one of those "other" bike shops in town, and sadly came away from the experience feeling dejected, insulted and demeaned because he dare bring such a bicycle into their bike shop! However, one employee possessed some decency recognizing his deflated countenance and gave an excuse to follow him out into the parking lot where she told him about us. Turns out, only cost him twelve dollars and fifteen minuets to get him rolling with gusto! Now THAT'S the kind of thing that makes me smile! No newbies going home to new families yesterday, but we did manage to finish up two more! In the interest of providing what some folks have been asking for, put out another "Daily Banger Special!" This one a mere fifty for an 18 speed ladies MTB. BUT for those looking for a little more flash, got a GORGEOUS Raleigh Ladies 21 speed MTB! This one looks NEW!!
On the buying front, picked up several parts bikes (already stripped and out of the way) and one REAL humdinger of a scrap truck find! someone actually through away a vintage ALL CHROME Spaceliner cruiser! This one is SPECTACULAR! Oh, sure, got a lot of rustication to do, but once finished she is going to SHINE! Already got a new set of rubber for her!
Also have that Trek 4300, with new bottom bracket in hand which will be finished up, post haste!
So with that, I will bid you a fond farewell, and see you soon!
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| "LIKE NEW" LADIES RALEIGH MTB ONLY $165.00!! |
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18 SPEED "DAILY BANGER SPECIAL!" ONLY $50.00!!! |
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