The View From Here

I love a good board game.  I guess it is because of all of the interaction you get to have with the people with which you play.  I particularly like a good strategy game.  I found a game a while back called Settlers of Catan and it became an immediate favorite for me, my wife and many of our friends.  Catan Histories is a very fresh take on the Catan-style games.  Add in a bit of history and you’ve got me hooked.

In this game you play as barbarian tribes invading the collapsing Roman Empire.  You go through two stages in the game: first plundering, then conquering.  Many of the mechanics still exist from Settlers that make it recognizable but there are many new additions as well making it a great new experience with a mix of elements you are familiar with.  We finished our first game of Catan Histories last night with some friends.  This first full play through took quite a bit of time as we were still ironing out the rules as we went but Settlers was the same way.  I expect that the more we play it the shorter the games will get.

If you enjoyed Settlers of Catan you just like a good strategy game you should try this one out.  If you are looking for a good place to purchase board games that you might not find in a local retail store, you should try out Fun Again Games.  They have the largest selection I have found.  Amazon.com would be another spot to check. Occasionally they have better prices than FunAgain.  Happy gaming!

Brian

photo credit: valvados

Ideas are the key to blogging.  Without ideas there are no posts and there is no blog.  So in order to have a successful blog you must come up with many ideas to write about.  Each blogger must decide what a successful blog means to them.  Success might be a achieving a personal goal, having fun, or creating a blog that many people read.  No matter what success looks like to you, you must have ideas to make it happen.

I am by no means an expert on this subject and I am learning more every day but I thought I would share with the few of you who are bloggers where I get my ideas from to write about.  Maybe some of these can help you achieve whatever goal you have for your blog.  Here they are in no particular order.

1.  iGoogle

If you don’t have an iGoogle account you should probably get one.  You can add all kinds of features to it that might inspire you all in one place.  I have mine set up to give me quotes of the day, words of the day, a bible verse of the day, and information from all manner of news websites.  I also set up a page devoted to searching the web.  I can search the dictionary, encyclopedia, maps, amazon, and YouTube.com all from the same page.  So with a visit to my iGoogle page I have a great possibility of being inspired by something I see there.  There are an infinate number of ways to the page up to your style.

2.  Other Blogs

This has been a big one for me recently.  I look for blogs out there that talk about what I am interested in and read them.  Search the web for you different interests and you will eventually come up with something.  Usually I will find one blog that is useful to me and then it will have links to several others that I might find useful or inspiring.  There will come a time when you have too many to be going to all kinds of different websites to check them.  That is when a Feed Reader like Bloglines or FeedJournal comes in handy.  These tools allow you to read all of the blogs you read from one place.  I am always finding great ideas from other people’s heads.

3.  The Bible

This is an invaluable resource for those of us who are following Christ.  God uses His Word to guide us and teach us and putting what He is showing us out on our blogs is a great way to encourage other believers.  It is also a way to reach numerous people that you wouldn’t normally be able to reach.

4.  Reading Books

I love to read all kinds of books.  I really enjoy a good story, biography, or a bit of history I can glean from a book.  All of these things are great inspirations to me when it comes to writing posts for my blog.  It might be an element of a story that gets the creative juices flowing or I it could be that I just want to share a book I found with the people who read what I write.  Either way, books are a great source of insipration.

5.  Movies

Movies are very similar to books but they can be, obviously, much more visually inspiring.  Usually a movie doesn’t make it to the big screen without lots of thought going into it.  There are exceptions, but as a general rule there is some compelling idea that drives the movie.  Even if the ideas aren’t great the imagery can be very inspiring.

6.  Life Situations

I like to think about things a lot, maybe too much sometimes.  I analyze the occurances in my life and others lives trying to discern why they happen.  What motivates actions, thoughts, and words.  Many times I come back laughing.  Finding the humor in life is greatly inspiring to me.  As much as I enjoy critically questioning everyday occurances, sometimes it is best to sit back and enjoy what life brings.  This can be a great source of ideas (especially funny ones) for your blog. 

If you will notice all of the above things have a common thread running through them: I enjoy them.  Maybe some of the above will help you find more inspiration for your blog posts but, if not, look to the things in life that you enjoy the most.  I am sure you will find many things that will inspire you.

Brian

I have been using a feed reader called Bloglines for a while now.  For those of you out there who don’t know what a feed reader is, let me explain.  I have quite a few different websites I like to keep up with.  Some of them are advice blogs, some are news sites, and some are just sites that give fun information.  A feed reader allows you to consolidate your reading down to one website.  It picks up the “feed” from the site that you like to read and allows you to read it from the reader.  So if you are like me and your website reading continues to grow this is a great solution.  It keeps me from having to go to all the different websites I read, instead bringing them all to one place.  Very handy. Oh, and if you want to go on to the site anyway all you have to do is click the link provided by the reader.

For example, you can put my blog into Bloglines reader so that you don’t have to come to my site all the time to see if something new and exciting has been posted along with the local weather and news sites you normally check.  Bingo!  You can now read them all from a single source.

As the title suggests, I have found a new and interesting reader called Feed Journal.  This reader will take all of your feeds and put them into a newspaper format.  You can print it out and read it like it is your own personalized newspaper with all your favorite items.  I don’t see myself stopping the use of Bloglines but I can definitely see the potential in Feed Journal.  I haven’t tried this feature out yet but it will allow you to publish your own content in a similar format to send to your readers.  Pretty neat.

I highly recommend getting some sort of feed reader.  There is so much information out there that is good.  The modern television and print media filter the information that you get either out of agenda or time constraint.  There are many stories out there that you will never find out about from these sources.  Granted, you must find news and information outlets on the internet that are reliable.  I am sure there is much out there that isn’t so just be discerning. 

One more thing.  I really appreciate all of you that think enough of me to read my thoughts.  As much as I write this thing as an outlet for me I really enjoy being able to share with you.  Thanks for reading.

Brian

P.S.  If you don’t use a feed reader and would still like to be updated on when I post something new sign up here or type in your email address in the box at the top right of the page.