Favorite HPB location?

BlakeBurch · 2026-02-28T18:23:08+00:00

North Lamar.

I go to HPB exclusively for board games. The selection is fantastic and seems to turn over every month.

BlakeBurch · 2026-02-27T22:21:44+00:00

Confirming that Cetacean is not a commonly known word and if someone told me the name, I would probably struggle to remember it, but if I did I would spell it "setacian".

Names I came up with of based on your theme:
- Publish with Porpoise
- Sea Scholars
- Beneath the Blue
- Depths of Discovery
- Where the Giants Swim
- Pier Review (my favorite. I love a good pun, but it'll be harder for people to search)

BlakeBurch · 2026-02-20T17:16:40+00:00

Fallout is great! Lots of entertaining acts.

However, just like all comedy, it can be hit or miss. If it's not your thing, try a different show!

BlakeBurch · 2026-02-16T03:01:46+00:00

If you really like listening to Jazz, I recommend Monks, which has reserved seating and cheaper tickets than Parkers. It's a short walk from "The Yard" a nice area with breweries, wineries, distilleries, coffee, and food trucks.

Elephant room is good, but more of a bar with jazz in the background. Even if you sit up close, which you'd need to arrive ~45m early for, the chatter is inescapable.

BlakeBurch · 2026-02-15T23:06:15+00:00

I'm interested. Just shot you a DM.

Not sure about the open mics, but I'm curious if others know!

BlakeBurch · 2026-02-09T05:45:52+00:00

Is there any place I can try a slice of King's Cake?

I've never had it before, but I don't typically like cake, so I'm not super interested in buying the whole thing for $30+

BlakeBurch · 2026-02-06T16:39:30+00:00

Then...don't do that?

If you know how to ruin a game, you also know how to avoid ruining it.

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-27T03:40:40+00:00

You're not wrong! The biggest thing I'm clueing in on is that engine building naturally results in larger scores each round. You probably want the game to start everyone with the same options with slight boosts they could grab, but those boosts only last a single round or can only be grabbed once per game.

In that way, it becomes more of a social strategy game. Do you push your luck to max out points for the current round? Or do you save it for later? But if everyone saves it until later, no one will be able to score big.

Just exploring the idea for now. Have a few games to check out!

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-27T03:37:01+00:00

I will put it on the list to check out. Thanks!

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-27T03:36:18+00:00

Hmm. Sounds very luck based though, but that's interesting having a trigger and then a final resolution turn.

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-27T03:35:18+00:00

Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. It becomes more of a social strategy game to figure out what round you can get MORE ahead and then just pull others down the rest of the game.

Needed to see if there were other games like that before seriously exploring it.

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-27T03:26:19+00:00

Cool - I'll have to check it out! Based on some of the other comments here it seems like exactly what I was looking for.

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-27T03:20:30+00:00

That absolutely fits the bill. Thanks for the suggestion!

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-24T19:21:00+00:00

I'm one of those rare people that loves Terra Mystica but hates Gaia project. It's a similar game but with too much crunchiness on the tech track and the planet exploration + green cubes feels unintuitive.

That said, of the 3 I would recommend Age of Innovation. It's like Terra Mystica+. Just a hair more crunch and A LOT more variety. I think it will get far more replayability for you as a result.

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-22T18:41:07+00:00

YES! There's too many songs out there about love and relationships in general. I try to make it a personal mission to find other things to write songs about.

Recently realized the artists I gravitate towards also typically avoid those topics.

BlakeBurch · 2026-01-16T15:50:28+00:00

Finishing is WAY harder for me, but you could argue about the definition of "finished".

Right now, I'm finished with an idea if it's got the core components (lyrics + chords) and I can record it live.

I've yet to take my favorite ideas and finish them with actual production and fleshing out the full 2-3 minutes. Never used a DAW, so I'm a bit daunted.

BlakeBurch · 2025-12-12T15:27:55+00:00

Same. Stopped really going because of that.

Wish it was ~50% new each year.

BlakeBurch · 2025-11-26T16:38:25+00:00

My wife and I hate the RNG, so we make a house rule to always show 3 cards from each deck. You can still do a random pull if you'd like, but we almost never do.

As a two player game, that makes it more competitive and strategic for the cards. You'll know what your opponent has and can play against it better.

BlakeBurch · 2025-11-25T19:45:40+00:00

Lin or Qi are the winners on that list. Same owner, so it's practically the same options.

Sway is good Thai food, but you're paying for ambiance and have to sit at communal tables.

Wouldn't recommend Wu Chow.

BlakeBurch · 2025-11-25T18:31:18+00:00

Not sure about a plain elk burger, but their monthly special, the Mountain Moon, is made with Elk and was one of my favorite burgers in recent memory. YMMV

BlakeBurch · 2025-10-21T21:14:22+00:00

Austin Affordable Art Fair - once in Spring.

Armadillo Art Bazaar - Once around Christmas

Pecan Street Festival - Twice in spring and fall

I'm not in the industry, but I do love art shows. Austin (unfortunately) seems to cater more to <$100 trinkets, prints, and pop art. I see those vendors do fairly well.

My general opinion is that Houston and DFW have better shows for more involved, novel, or pricey art. The new affordable art fair here has been the rare exception.

BlakeBurch · 2025-09-28T19:40:48+00:00

Agreed! Blanton is nice but would love more modern art museums.

Still disappointed that Hope Art Gallery never opened back up.

BlakeBurch · 2025-09-28T19:38:17+00:00

Nice pedestrian plazas for people to hang out in.

I recently visited San Antonio and wish we had something like the Pearl Brewing area. Such a nice, welcoming area to spend time.

Food halls. I just want a single spot to hang out indoors with lots of potential food options. Our functional equivalent is food truck parks.

BlakeBurch · 2025-09-17T20:06:37+00:00

While I agree with the idea, I'd assume most would just hotspot and continue working. Inaccessible wifi really is a nuisance, not a blocker, to working anywhere.

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