Greg In The Desert

I’ve always enjoyed playing Monopoly but it’s not fun playing the board game by myself. Since the iPhone version came out, I have been playing against the AI quite a bit.

Even at the hardest levels I figured out what the AI’s strategy is but I keep playing. Technically the game plays as expected but graphically it could use some improvements. There should be the ability to turn of some of the cut scene details such as having to watch the dice or players move. It could improve battery life and get the game moving a little faster. Some of the detail could use some polish.

MONOPOLY is available at the iTunes app store fore $4.99.

PLAY THE ORIGINAL BOARD GAME
WHERE YOU CAN OWN IT ALL!
Take a ride on the Reading Railroad! Buy Boardwalk! Go directly to jail! Enjoy classic MONOPOLY play in the tradition of the beloved, best-selling board game. It’s “GO” time on your iPhone® or iPod touch®!
_______________________________________

BUY, SELL & TRADE FAMOUS PROPERTIES
From Marvin Gardens and Water Works to Park Place, own and manage the famous holdings of the MONOPOLY board, which comes to life with animated tokens and interactive features.

EMPLOY HANDS ON MANAGEMENT
Shake your device to “roll” the 3D dice. Tap the screen to manage your properties. Building a house on Baltic Avenue, taking a “Chance,” or opening the “Community Chest” are easy with intelligent design and intuitive controls.

CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL AND LOOK
Play through 3 levels of difficulty and save games in progress. Also customize the number of players, the “house rules,” and even the game environment.

FEELING MORE COMPETITIVE?
Challenge up to 3 friends on the same network with WiFi and Pass ‘n Play Multiplayer, and up to 2 friends with Bluetooth Multiplayer.

LISTEN TO YOUR TUNES WHILE YOU PLAY
Listen to and control music from your iTunes® library without interrupting your game.
_______________________________________
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER EXCITING GAMES:
TETRIS®, ROCK BAND, SCRABBLE, BOGGLE, The Sims™ 3 & MADDEN NFL 10 by EA Sports™

COMING SOON: BATTLESHIP

VISIT US: eamobile.com
FOLLOW US: twitter.com/eamobile
FIND US: facebook.com/eamobile

Another milestone is complete in the ongoing (3.5 year) master bathroom project as the self-leveling concrete was installed on top of the radiant floor heating. The process wasn’t exactly what I expected and the results weren’t perfect but the floor did come out level.

The manufacturer of the concrete product recommends not to install it when the heater is running and when the humidity is low otherwise cracking could occur. That meant I needed to wait until summer when the heater didn’t need to run and the evaporative cooler could be running. I didn’t need the cooler, it was installed on one of the rainiest days of May and the humidity in the house was over 75%.

Prior to pouring the concrete I made a riser out of aluminum flashing to extend the height of the air duct in the bathroom. I held the riser in with some cardboard and sealed it to the old duct with some concrete sealant. I did the same for the area around the toilet.

The entire house has an expansion joint around the perimeter and one wall of the bathroom has part of this expansion joint. The self-leveling concrete cannot go into the expansion joint or bridge it or it will crack. I sealed the joint with concrete caulking and put foam under the drywall so it sticks out over the joint.

I had scheduled 3 friends to come over to help (although only two showed up), one who had worked with self-leveling concrete before. It takes at least three people: 1 to mike the concrete with the drill, 1 to pour water and concrete into the 5 gallon bucket and 1 to pour the floor. My $88 corded Dewalt drill had a tough time with the concrete mixture. Luckily I had an old heavy duty single speed craftsmen drill that tore through the concrete without a single complaint.

The only problem we found during the pourig of the floor is there wasn’t enough water in the concrete and it wasn’t quite liquid enough. This made some rough spots where the different pours came together. it work in our advantage since one area where I had sealed the expansion joint gave in and started filling with self-leveling concrete and I completely missed a small crack in the concrete slab near another wall. The self-leveling concrete set too quickly for this to impact the level of the floor. Had it been more liquid the entire floor could have drained down these cracks.

It took four bags of self-leveling concrete and I ended up with a 3/4 inch floor, I will have to recheck my calculations as I expected a 1/2 floor. It cost about $50 in supplies and a few beers.

I was a bit hesitant about doing this pour myself and considered hiring someone. I’m glad I did this small area first and I’m confident I can do the master bathroom with enough people. I may have to have a pour-party and get about 10 people together to have a constant flow of self-leveling concrete then bar-b-que when we’re done. I had meant to take more pictures but I was too busy working on the project, the pictures I did take can be viewed on flickr.

The next step is to install the Schulter Kerdi waterproofing material and to finish up the shower stall before laying tile. This will be a non traditional installation of a shower floor. I’m not sure if I will start this during the summer as I plan to spend my time working on outdoor projects as much as I can.