So I'm talking to a nice sounding lady at Google Pay Help.  I tell her my story.  She puts me on hold for about three minutes.   She comes back on the line, thanks me for my patience and puts me on hold again.  Four or more times of this and she announces that SINCE MY BANK IS LOCATED IN CANADA GOOGLE PAY CANNOT DEPOSIT INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT.

So the friggin' Google has this thing where in order to get onto Google Play you a)Need an incorporated company and b)Need a verified bank account associated with that company.  Of course.  This makes perfect sense.  So of course we jump through the hoops.  The next step is for Google to make a tiny deposit into that bank account (like, less than a dollar).  Then you tell Google how much that deposit was, so that they can verify that it's really you.  Makes sense (get it -- 'cents'?).

On June 17 they made their deposit.  On June 17 I typed the amount into the required field.  On June 17 I was told that the amount I had entered was not correct and that I had two more attempts remaining.

What would you do?  Well, I panicked of course.  After a great deal of floundering around the Google Pay Help site, what with 'Did you find this article helpful' and 'Please describe your problem' predigested nonhuman and decidedly nonhelpful help site navigation I finally found a call helpline actual phone number.  I actually spoke to a human about my little concern, who told me that I had to wait two to five business days before entering that deposit amount.  Damn.

So I waited.  And I succeeded.  Finally the required field entry took, and I was in.  Finally, the millions in entirely optional in game ad revenue could come pouring in.

So yesterday (was it yesterday? The dates float by these days) Google sent me an email - 'Reminder to verify your bank account'.  I'm sorry what?  I'm pretty sure I've already done that.  I'm pretty sure I've already jumped through the hoops, eagerly chased my owner around the triangle shaped block and leaped over the hurdles to win Best in Show.   Proceed to the Google Pay site that has me verify my bank account.  Click 'Verify'.  Reenter the amount of tiny deposit from June 17.  Have Google claim that the amount doesn't match and that I must contact Google Pay Help.

After a great deal of floundering around the Google Pay Help site, what with 'Did you find this article helpful' and 'Please describe your problem' predigested nonhuman and decidedly nonhelpful help site navigation I finally found a call helpline actual phone number (if that sounds familiar it is because I went through the same interweb runaround I did last time - I really must favourite the actual phone helpline site.  Going to bed now, more tomorrow.

​From Wikipedia:

In Zen, ensō (円相 , "circle") is a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create.

The ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and mu (the void). It is characterised by a minimalism born of Japanese aesthetics.
Drawing ensō is a disciplined-creative practice of Japanese ink painting--sumi-e (墨絵 "ink painting"). The tools and mechanics of drawing the ensō are the same as those used in traditional Japanese calligraphy: One uses a brush (筆 fude) to apply ink to washi (a thin Japanese paper).
The circle may be open or closed. In the former case, the circle is incomplete, allowing for movement and development as well as the perfection of all things. Zen practitioners relate the idea to wabi-sabi, the beauty of imperfection. When the circle is closed, it represents perfection, akin to Plato's perfect form (Plato), the reason why the circle was used for centuries in the construction of cosmological models, see Ptolemy.
Usually, a person draws the ensō in one fluid, expressive stroke. When drawn according to the sōsho (草書) style of Japanese calligraphy, the brushstroke is especially swift. Once the ensō is drawn, one does not change it. It evidences the character of its creator and the context of its creation in a brief, continuous period of time. Drawing ensō is a spiritual practice that one might perform as often as once per day.[1]
This spiritual practice of drawing ensō or writing Japanese calligraphy for self-realization is called hitsuzendō (筆禅道 "way of the brush"). Ensō exemplifies the various dimensions of the Japanese wabi-sabi perspective and aesthetic: Fukinsei (asymmetry, irregularity), kanso (simplicity), koko (basic; weathered), shizen (without pretense; natural), yugen (subtly profound grace), datsuzoku (freedom), and seijaku (tranquility).

I love this kind of crap.  Have loved it since I was a kid.  Am completely untrained in it.  Anyhoo, I thought that an ensō painted in blood would make a cool logo.  There.

OK, it LOOKS like we can finally say the game is ready for download! Time for the marketing blitz

There's a bug.   Get 'em!

​So the ad bug is still alive in the iOS version of KEN.  A Google Play update cures it on Android.  Hoopla.

KEN is now available on The App Store and on Google Play as planned. IT’S FREE TO PLAY BY ALL MEANS DOWNLOAD IT HAVE AT IT! My next bug on the list is the fact that ads are not playing when they should. (Please remember that all ads are purely optional)

So I'm using this space today to let interested people know when KEN will be launched - in case you came here because of a Facebook or Twitter post or some such.  The last of the bugs (we hope) is about to be killed and it looks for all the world like KEN will launch on or around Thursday, June 13.

It will be available on Google Play and in the iPhone App Store.  It's free to play.  Right now there are extremely unobtrusive, completely optional ads (if you watch an ad your rank increases more than if you don't watch it).  I have no idea whether this model is sustainable, must wait and see, and rely on feedback from the folks out there.  Stay tuned for updates.  And thanks.