Guitar Goddess .... In pain

Oh dear .... I've hurt myself playing Guitar Hero 2.

Every typed letter on the keyboard hurts! I've got GH2 syndrome. A friend told me that some pitcher - I forget who or what team - almost missed out on the World Series because he played so much GH2.

This is serious, people. If I play more than a couple of songs my hands start to hurt. It seriously impinges my ability to get 5 star ratings on "Surrender" and "Message in a Bottle."

I did, however, get 5 stars on "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" by legendary Spinal Tap.

But ...

Ow!

What I Learned from Rack-o

Does anyone remember Racko? A Parker Brothers/Hasbro game, Racko involves a plastic rack with ten slots for cards. The object of the game is to get cards in order from lowest to highest (you really want to know how to play - see the website).

The new version of Racko my parents purchased (we lost our old version in the Great Game Redistribution instated by my mom. As an elementary teacher in a public school, Mom augmented her supplies by taking away her children's toys.) each card has a piece of trivia that corresponds to the number on the card (cards go from 1 to 60).

Card #9: Germany is bordered by nine countries.

Here's the challenge I set for you, dear reader. Can you name those nine countries and draw them on a map - without cheating?! (ie. using the Internet, atlas, or encyclopedia)

My parents and I named 8 of the 9 and drew the map correctly (well, except for that one country ... but I was close, damn it).

In a round about way, I also learned from Wikipedia (it all ties together in the end) that Liechtenstein is a really pretty principality.