Category Archives: Hobby

PokerBingo.. Pingo!

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Almost twenty years ago, I shared the game rules for a Spanish parlor game on my blog: Pokino. A few years later, however, I received a response from someone claiming to be the trademark owner. Although the game rules themselves are centuries old and belong to the public domain, I decided to play it safe back then and took the post offline.

But great fun never gets old. Because we still play it regularly at home and our prints were overdue for replacement, I sat down at the drawing board myself. The result: a modern, fresh edition featuring completely newly designed cards, clear game sheets, and crystal-clear instructions, entirely free of trademark conflicts and ready to print yourself. I even spend some time to make a version using a normal/international carddeck.

The new name is simply PokerBingo. That way, it’s immediately clear what the game is, a mix with a little bit of poker and a lot of bingo. The word to shout when you win is simply: ‘Pingo!’.

Curious about the new version? Check out and download the printable sheets for PokerBingo here. Now playable with Spanish or international cards.

Imael Angel – Bad times

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Sometimes a song sounds fantastic, but the lyrics are impossible to decipher. That is certainly the case with this popular track by Imael. I sometimes look up the lyrics online so I can recognize what’s being sung the next time I hear it. This time, though, the official lyrics bore absolutely no resemblance to what I was hearing, so I took it upon myself to create my own transcription. Hopefully it will be useful if you ever decide to sing along.

Oeeeee…
hummmhmmmmmm haheheheee…

hmmmm nanananananananana na na nana nanaaaaa dadadadadadada
hmm dadada

hmmm dada dedededededede
dada dada dada dede dede dadada

he sja worc en a coss
he sja worc en a coss, hahahahaha
en he sja worc en a coss, hu
sja na dida dida dida de de de

sjo mate mate tetetetetetetete da
sjo mata mata tetetetetetetete da

neeeeheh, jaqueda quede quede dada hehehehehehe
jehhh, sjaquse manamba, tansjacome sjueneses
tell myself namenema, thesone mensega, got eny pleasa

a me nona mebesens
hah, gotta see embibesos
hah, no quiseque canon me besjes
enme whatoma toma toma dedede

whadoma dededede
dededededede dee

wa do ma
a no ne toque ne bounce de bouncen de bouncen de bouncen de bouncen, heeheehhehhehhe
tetetetetetetete da
tetetetetetetete da

sjeeee, i gotta sea meself, heh
i gotte livve miself, heh
i mo loveh miself i loveh miself
loveh miself agah

he sja worc en a coss
he sja worc en a coss, hahahaha
he sja worc en a coss
he sja worc en a coss, dadadadadadada

Ice experiment

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I had to stop by IKEA anyway, so I took a few minutes to browse around and look at some products. One thing that caught my eye was a set of popsicle molds. We used to have these when I was a kid, and I thought it would be fun to experiment with a few homemade flavors again.

Idea: Everyone gets to taste each flavor and rank them from best to worst.

The flavors:

  • Orange juice
  • Apple Purée with a hint of Lemon
  • Kiwi
  • Cola
  • Aquarius
  • 0.0% Beer

The results:

Ranking Alan Alex Adrie
1 – Gold! Aquarius Aquarius Orange
2 – Silver Orange Orange Aquarius
3 – Bronze Apple Cola Cola
4 Cola Apple Apple
5 Kiwi Kiwi Beer
6 – Last Beer Beer Kiwi

Alan and Alex came up with some great ideas: a coffee popsicle for me, a vanilla yogurt popsicle, a stracciatella-flavored yogurt popsicle, and a chocolate milk popsicle. That will be our next experiment.

0.0 Results

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I’ve started having a cup of coffee a day again. Instead of four or five, I now limit myself to just one. After my 0.0 month, the effect of a single cup of coffee is now very noticeable. After just a few minutes it kicks in: my senses become a bit sharper. I see better, I hear better, my thoughts are clearer. It lasts for a couple of hours, during which I slowly return to normal again. This will probably only last a few days, and then I’ll be used to the caffeine boost again. Still, I’m going to try to stick to one cup a day.

The other part of my 0.0 adventure was alcohol, and I actually didn’t notice anything there. Since I don’t drink during the week anyway, and only have drinks on weekends when we’re with friends, I’m going back to my habits before I started the test. A few beers on the weekend, and that’s it.

Conclusion: The only clearly noticeable thing was reducing my coffee intake. The adjustment regarding alcohol was quite easy. I did enjoy the experiment, so I might do another April 0.0 next year.

Coco orchid v2

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Coco orchid trio!I am getting better and better at creating beautiful coconuts with orchids.

First step, prepare the coconut: Saw off the top, sand the edges, and lightly sand the whole shell. At the end, I rub a bit of oil onto the outside of the nut to give it a slightly darker, shiny finish.

Then I make the base. I cut a piece from a plastic bottle and wrap it with brown wool until the plastic is no longer visible.

Next step, look for a good piece of tree bark. Usually I simply visit a forest with a few trees that have thick, cork-like bark and collected a few pieces that are usually scattered around on the ground. At home, I brake the bark into small pieces with pliers.

Finally the orchid. A local shop was selling cheap mini orchids for Mother’s Day. They were a bit smaller than the normal small orchids, but I suspected they would look really good in a coconut, so I bought three for only 8 euros each. I took the plant out of the pot and gently loosened the roots. They were usually pressed into a pot shaped coconut fibre mass; I loosened this a bit so the roots could grow more freely. I also removed the sticks that kept the flower upright.

Coco orchid!Now assemble everything. First place some bark in the coconut, then place the orchid inside, and fill the sides with pieces of bark so the plant stand firmly. Then place the coconut on the base and turn it so the flower stand nicely upright.

I added a little moisture, and found a spot with plenty of light but no direct sunlight. That was it, quite a bit of work but totally worth it because I get a great feeling of contentment, and a job well done, whenever I see the orchid.

April 0.0

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A month without alcohol, which in my case only means no wine and no beer because I don’t drink spirits anyway. Normally I only have a few beers during the weekend, so I don’t expect this dry month to be very difficult. I just wanted to try it and see if I notice anything.

To make it more likely that I notice something, I’m adding an extra challenge to this experiment: no coffee. On weekdays I usually drink about four cups a day, so together with the no-alcohol rule this will make for a bit more challenging month. I’m curious to see what the effect will be, and if I even notice anything.

The experiment still seems fairly simple, even with the no-coffee rule, so I’m adding one more twist. I’m going to do it secretly. Not in the sense of hiding anything, but simply by not announcing that I’m spending a month without alcohol and coffee. I’m curious to see if anyone in my family notices.

Airtags v2

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Airtags!After my recent technology upgrade, I started getting more and more interested in the Apple ecosystem. I looked into their Airtags, but there were rumors about a new version coming up, so I patiently waited. They are here now and I think it was a smart move to wait for the new version. Better battery, better precision, better sound to help find it. All that for the same price.

I was never really interested in getting an Airtag because I just did not see the use for them, but now that they have supposedly improved accuracy it did get my attention. I sometimes play escape-room like games with my family. Solve riddles, search for things, break locks, hidden messages, etc. Adding an airtag looks like a very fun addition.

I will give it a try, and afterwards I can always use the Airtag to track my luggage for when I travel, or maybe track my backpack, or my car. I’ll see that usage is worth it for me.

MagSafe

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I was a bit underwhelmed when I first started experimenting with my new iPhone 17. Coming from an old SE, I had expected the jump to the 17 to be a major change for the better. What I noticed instead were lots of relatively small improvements and a few big ones. Everything worked just a little bit better, a little smoother, and it made me realise my old phone wasn’t even that old. A noticeable upgrade was the larger, better screen, and the biggest change was the battery. I can now use my phone all day without worries.

There was one more big improvement that I didn’t notice at first: MagSafe. After getting a MagSafe charger for my nightstand, it didn’t take long to adjust to the new level of comfort it offered. There was a small issue with the bright LED built into the charger, but a small sticker quickly solved that. Step two was a MagSafe charger for my car, and that was all I needed to stop using cables altogether. It’s a very satisfying reality where I simply drop my phone onto the magnet or pull it off again. Sure, it might take a bit longer to charge, but since my phone is now my alarm/clock and it charges while I sleep, I don’t care.

My old phone used to turn itself off at least a couple of times a year from overheating. That’s what you get for living on a tropical island, I guess. The new phone has a cool feature to avoid overheating: a vapor chamber that should distribute heat more evenly so the phone can cool down faster. The really warm and sunny days are still a few months away, so this feature is something I’ll put to the test in the future.

For now, my conclusion is simple. My new phone wasn’t the jump into the future that I expected, but it has enough improvements to make me happy. The new magsafe (new for me, it been available for a few years already) did make me experience a jump into the future, and makes me happy.

Indie developer

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Indie developer!Ofcourse I have heard about ‘indie developers’. I like these kinds of games a lot, but suddenly I realised something…

No publisher, no external boss, no committee telling me what the game should look like. I decide the mechanics, the art style, the branding, the emotional tone and that creative autonomy is the core of being indie. My projects come from nostalgia, curiosity, and joy, not market pressure. That’s classic indie energy: making something because it matters.

Well, that also applies to mushroom mayhem… it just hit me: I am an indie game developer. Good times!

Lego botanicals

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I regularly stop by the toy store. You never know when you’ll need a little gift. A tooth might suddenly fall out of someone’s mouth, and then you have to be prepared for the tooth fairy or, here in Spain, Raton Pérez.

A while ago, I suddenly saw a nice Lego set during my walk through the store. I don’t really play with Lego anymore, but this was a set of small plants (succulents), and I liked it so much that I took it home right away. I enjoyed building it, and it turned out there were more botanical sets. First I bought the orchid, then every potted plant I came across. A fun, renewed hobby.