I am going to take a small departure from your regularly scheduled program to discuss a hobby that has kept my attention for a number of years. The hobby is treasure hunting and I was introduced to it by watching an episode of Expedition Unknown where I learned that there was possibly a treasure buried in my hometown of Houston in 1981.
The aforementioned treasure hunt was from a book called The Secret by Byron Preiss in which he hid 12 casques across North America and wrote a book that contained 12 verses and 12 images. The goal was to pair an image with a verse, decipher the clues hidden in both, and it would lead you to where one of the casques is buried. Fast forward 40 years and only three have been found and an avid group of searchers have continued to find where the others are buried, albeit unsuccessfully.
This opened the door to other treasure hunts that I have enjoyed working on, despite not having discovered a treasure yet. I am currently working on The Incredible Hunt, which features six treasures worth $10,000 each, The Hope Chest that features a $50,000 prize and involved finding tags in multiple states, and The Golden Apple: 40th Anniversary Tribute hunt that pays tribute to another treasure hunt from the early 80's that remains unsolved. Your prize for the apple hunts is a golden and jewel encrusted apple.
These hunts have introduced me to a number of online communities, have allowed me to flex my problem solving skills, and given me an incredible hobby to share with my son. We have, with permission, used probed a spot in Houston that we thought held promise and ventured to Louisville to explore a park in the quest of another treasure. I don't hold out hope that I will find one, but it has been a fun journey and I don't see myself losing interest in this hobby any time soon.
In a brief New Years Resolution update, I finally got Wingspan to the table and can confirm it is worth the hype and also pulled off a nice win in the World Series of Spades.
POSTED BY MIKE N. aka Victor Domashev -- comic guy, proudly raising nerdy kids, and Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2012.