Author: James Amos

  • Shoveling Through Retirement Thoughts

    Shoveling Through Retirement Thoughts

    I was just musing on Philip Rivers. You know about him. I blogged recently about his coming out of retirement to play quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. I guess you already know this, but he retired again. Unlike Philip Rivers, I’ve not even considered coming out of retirement since I left my position at The…

  • 13 Card Cribbage to Ring in the New Year 2026!

    13 Card Cribbage to Ring in the New Year 2026!

    Well, we played the 13-card cribbage game today and we survived it! I got to tell you; I don’t know how anyone would invent such a hairy cribbage variant. I got so mixed-up Sena had to bail me out on counting a complicated run. We did use a special cribbage scorer that I picked up…

  • Happy New Year 2026!

    Happy New Year 2026!

    Get your new calendars out!

  • 11 Card Cribbage Now!

    11 Card Cribbage Now!

    Hey, it’s New Year’s Eve and it’s time for 11-card cribbage! Recall, the American Cribbage Congress (ACC) website has a cribbage variations page in which the unknown author reports there being many cribbage variants, including 11 and 13 card cribbage. So, yesterday we played 12-card cribbage and we decided to address the 11-card variant today.…

  • Twelve Card Cribbage on the Tournament Board!

    Twelve Card Cribbage on the Tournament Board!

    As promised, we played a game of 12-card cribbage on the tournament board today. What an adventure! We both missed pairs in counting high scores on one round (that we noticed after viewing the video)—but we got through it. I don’t know of anyone else who’s made a video of this wacky variant, but let…

  • Sunrise A Little Before 2026

    Sunrise A Little Before 2026

    We saw a really pretty sunrise this morning. Sunrises always make feel expectant, hopeful, and a little excited. It reminded me of that show “Sunrise Earth,” anyone remember those? They didn’t even have music, just the sounds of nature and the scene of dawn slowly giving its own introduction.

  • Anyone for 12-Card Cribbage?

    Anyone for 12-Card Cribbage?

    You know the winter is getting long when Sena and I talk about trying to play 12-card cribbage. We’ve come up with a way to manage the deal and the crib and we’ll try to play it tomorrow. Sena’s been bugging me for a while now to try playing both 11-card and 12-card cribbage—despite the…

  • December Rain

    December Rain

    Today is a rainy day in December around Eastern Iowa. We’re justing hanging out waiting for Spring.

  • Svengoolie Movie: “The Creation of the Humanoids”

    Svengoolie Movie: “The Creation of the Humanoids”

    Svengoolie Intro: “Calling all stations! Clear the air lanes! Clear all air lanes for the big broadcast!” Last night, I watched the Svengoolie movie, “The Creation of the Humanoids,” and I don’t mind telling you, I was reminded of Isaac Asimov’s book, “I, Robot.” Believe it or not, I purposedly avoided reading any other reviews…

  • Mindfulness in 10 Card Cribbage? Yes and No!

    Mindfulness in 10 Card Cribbage? Yes and No!

    So, as long as we had the cribbage tournament board out, we decided to play 10 card cribbage yesterday. This is not a game for mindfulness, at least for me. Each player gets 10 cards. You have to sort them into two 4 card hands and the dealer gets the usual 4 card crib. That’s…