Once again, I celebrate my favorite major holiday today.

Today [Friday, November 23] is/was Curmudgeon Day, which is traditionally celebrated by remaining at home and doing whatever one wants. The fact that Thanksgiving provided both the first significant snowfall of the season and an abundance of leftovers, the observance was fairly convenient for us this year.

To read more about this holiday that has been celebrated for decades, here are my previous posts on the topic:

Curmudgeon Day 2004
Curmudgeon Day 2005
Curmudgeon Day 2006

Please do not confuse Curmudgeon Day with the pretender, “Black Friday”, which has been debunked by Snopes, the premier urban legends site. Although my blog only extends back a few years, I proclaim that Curmudgeon Day predates all other claims on this day.

I will note that this particular date is significant as the birthday of Spanish King Alfonso X [1221-1284], who wrote (or perhaps commissioned) Libro de los juegos (English: “Book of the games”), which is one of the earliest and most important books containing game rules. This book, finished 724 years ago, forms part of the foundation of our industry.