Regularly Scheduled Maintenance

Around my house we are big fans of summer and all that goes with it - baseball, softball, swimming, evenings outside and plenty of warm weather!  Of course, it's also that time of year when you break out the mower and weed eater and do your part to keep the town looking nice.

This year I was more than a little annoyed to find out my weed eater was not ready to immediately jump into action.  Instead I had to go into troubleshooting mode and figure out why it kept dying on me.  Why can't things just work like they're supposed to?

Well, they generally do - provided that you keep them in proper working order.  And that's the part that gets tricky.  Regular maintenance is something that is extremely important but not at all urgent.  At least not until it's too late and requires a major fix.

Life is a lot like that, too.  Take your relationships for example.  I think most people would agree that it's important to spend quality time with your spouse, children, other family and friends.  But all the hectic busyness of life - rushing from ball games to school plays to emergency trips to Wal-Mart - wears us out and puts that quality time on the back burner.

How about your personal health?  We've all heard the experts tell us how important daily exercise is - even just 20 minutes a day.  But who's got the time for that?  And then there's healthy eating!  Of course it's better to cook your own food, but that takes more time as well.  And that seems to be the one thing that's in shortest supply.

While these things may seem ideal but impossible, the question we should be asking ourselves is, "Do we have time NOT to do them?"  They're easy to bypass in the moment, but over time the results are a lot worse than neglecting to take care of your weed eater.  Nobody wants to wake up one day to find a mess of broken relationships or bad health.

I admit it's been more difficult than it should, but I'm trying to take my own advice.  First off is getting back in shape.  That 45 minute workout of general cardio and running is rarely something I look forward to, but I know it's better than a bad back or being unable to play sports with my kids.

Speaking of the kids, quality time with them is getting harder and harder to find as well.  As they get older, their schedules are becoming busier than mine!  So a few years ago I took a suggestion from my older brother and began taking a different one of my three kids to Sonic each Friday after school.  We get ice cream and talk about what's going on in their world.  (In the process I've tried nearly all of Sonic's new shakes, even the peanut butter and bacon!)

Spiritually I know I have a tendency to drift if I'm left all alone.  That's why I cherish my church and BSU fellowship.  They keep me grounded in the God's Word and encourage me when I need it.  I definitely don't want to see my life when that is neglected!

Whatever you consider to be those important things in your life, I encourage you to make time for them.  I know how easy they are to skip over when more urgent things come along.  And I guarantee you that those urgent things are going to come!  So make the decision now that these things are even more urgent.  Get them on your calendar.  Get rid of some of those time wasters in your life.  Tell someone else who can help keep you accountable.  Do whatever it takes!

Life requires regularly scheduled maintenance.  Sometimes it's difficult and inconvenient, but it's worth it.  You don't want to discover the consequences when it's neglected.

For Beginners: How Hero Academy is Like Racquetball

One of the sports I enjoy playing is racquetball.  While there are some die hard players here on campus, I'd really like to play with my friends.  The dilemma that presents is that most of my friends have never played much - or ever!  And who can blame them?  Few kids grew up with a racquetball court in the driveway!

I didn't start playing until I got to college, and I've played off and on for the past 15+ years.*  The result is that I'm not necessarily an incredible player, but I am better than any of my beginner friends.  And I've discovered that if I go all out when I play them, they're probably never coming back.  So instead I make sure only to use easy serves or avoid going for kill shots.

* I decided to put a plus there because there's a great temptation to feel old when I think about how long ago college was.  Luckily working with college students helps keep me young!

The same principle applies to Hero Academy.  I've been playing this game for several months and would love for some of my friends to pick it up.  One of those friends that has started playing is my wife.  She doesn't want me to stomp her every game (pun intended) but she also doesn't want me to take it too easy on her.

It's important that I still play the game semi-seriously or she won't learn some of the more strategic nuances of the game.  And let's face it - the only way you really learn how to play is by playing.  Sure, I can try and explain every little detail I can think of, but we run into two problems there.  First off, I will inevitably forget something.  (And I mean forget, not "forget.")  Second, she's probably not going to remember all the information I blitzed her with anyway.  So instead, she can watch me spawn a Wraith on her freshly defeated character and ask me, "How did you do that?!"*

* One time I defeated a friend's unit with my Shoalin poisoner and then stomped the corpse with bamboo.  I'll never forget his incredulously response: "She can turn people into bamboo?!"

So, the question becomes how do you want to handicap yourself?  Personally, I've taken to only using sword upgrades on my healers.  That allows me to still demonstrate one of the best uses of a fireball (stomping units)* while still having to work hard to deal major damage.  This type of limitation definitely makes it harder to win with the Dark Elves!  I've even learned some new tactics in the process.

One of these priestesses has staff envy.  Her sword upgrade is on the way!

Don't let the pretty blonde hair fool you - this cleric means business!

The ways you could choose to limit yourself are practically endless.  Perhaps you only get to use 4 AP instead of 5.  Maybe you can stomp no more than one enemy unit per turn.  I'd love to hear some other ideas - especially if you've given them a try yourself!  Hero Academy is a great game and more people ought to be playing it.  With the right use of personal handicaps, I think you would be able to get some new friends hooked on this great strategic game!

Maximizing the Ninja Ambulance

My goal is to write some quick tips that might help new players out with the game Hero Academy. I'd also like to help some of my friends improve at the game, so I'm including this for them.

One little nuance I've noticed is the use of the Ninja Ambulance. New players may not realize that, along with being a sneak attacker, the Ninja can also be used to teleport teammates to safety and get them some medical assistance if needed.

In these two screen captures, there is one small setup difference that can really help out your team. Positioning the Ninja within healing range of a Cleric is always a good idea.  The Ninja can use the first action point (AP) to swap places with an injured teammate and use a later AP to return them back to their original position.  That leaves up to three AP for healing that damaged unit. However, if the Cleric is on your sword square, the healing will be more powerful and can be accomplished in fewer AP.

The Ninja on the sword square isn't doing me much good here.

With the Cleric on the sword square, everyone benefits!

The reason this works is because every faction's healer derives their healing ability from their attack power and standing on a sword square increases attack power.  Any healer on a sword tile will dish out more medicine, but this is particularly useful with the Cleric because of the Council's team bonus - Strong Alchemy.  This means she gets to heal her teammates for 300% of her attack rather than the usual 200% that every other faction gets.

A standard Cleric with no upgrades has 200 attack power and therefore can normally heal a teammate 600 health per shot.  Standing on the sword square boosts that up to a whopping 900 health!  Other than your Knight, that's a guaranteed full heal for your team members.  And chances are one shot of 900 health will be enough to get your Knight full -- or very close to it -- leaving him ready to swap spots with the Ninja again and take more of a beating.

All of this means that with just a little planning ahead, your Ninja Ambulance can be more effective, leaving you more AP to attack, fortify or reposition your troops.  And hopefully win the game!