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January 13th, 2009
10:11 pm - Difficult endgame positon -- Q sticking Q
From move 19, Q had just bingo - bango - bongoed me and I ended up losing by 10.
Then I replayed the endgame from this position several times, and could only close the gap to 4.
http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=2886#19
It is quite a sequence that the championship player utilitzed to eke out the win..
Try playing along with Q anyway to figure it each move in advance as it
gives you the best sequence of moves.
PJ
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December 18th, 2008
12:43 am - Taking Poetic License with The Mamas and The Papas
I finally get to unwind to the final episode of Californination, Season 2 on the DVR. Great show -- first I thought it was cool as a guy's version of Sex and the City, but the writers and actors have more than proven they're better than that and deserving of every award that
comes their way. If only network TV had more (any?) shows this unique and funny.
Inevitably it gets to the end of the poignant episode where (spoiler -- don't read if you haven't seen) Duchovny's character decides to stay in LA with his daughter while his ex takes a lofty New York job. The new age/hippie baby birthing scene in the tub of water just before the end is by far the funniest moment I've ever seen in TV history -- couldn't help but rewind and play 3-4 times after I got up off the ground (and when I fell on the floor ..I drank more).
So they fade out with California Dreamin' classic while father and daughter (offspring as he drily calls her) walking in Venice after watching the mother's plane take off to NY. Great song we've all heard, so I started singing it after the episode. Little did I know
I wouldn't get far with the lyrics before being hammered by my four year old, Roman..
The exchange went like this about my second time through:
Me (doing both the Papas and Mamas part) : " All the leaves are brown... all..the leaves are brown---"
Roman( indignantly): "No! No! The leaves are different colors!"
Me: "And the sky is grey ... and the sky is grey"
Roman: " No way! The sky is blue.. The sky is blue..look at it!"
Me: "I've been for a walk....I've been for walk... On a winter' s day"
Roman: "Daddy, don't sing dat song anymore! "
Can I petition the Wilson Phillips chick to get her parents to change the tune? Maybe
then it won't create such a ruckus when we're singing from an East Coast perspective....
Jamb
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August 22nd, 2008
04:54 pm - learning curve
After hitting that nice nine earlier this month, wouldn't ya know it,
I have another that played at the same club. This time, I just didn't know the word....
http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=1955
Slowly but surely, I am getting very familiar with the high prob
nines, and will be able to see plays like this. In playing games
with Trey a few years back, his advice was not to learn them too
quickly as they "rarely" come up. However, my experience has
been that playable 9's are coming up more frequently. Maybe not
one in 100 games, but counting blanks, about one in twenty tow twenty five.
I think to some extent they are more valuable that low prob 8's...
There are more of them with the updated dictionary, and a lot of the
opportunities come up in the first 1/3 of the game, where there
are overlapping plays creating many two letter words. So given
familiarity with the word, I should be able to find it -- not like it's
disjointed letters like Edley's trailside -- which has played for
me since I had seen it...
On this game, I played PRAT and eventually got down back
to back ANISOLE and HOMAGER to build a lead and win about 80.
This is the type of play that separates an elite player from an average one...
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August 8th, 2008
12:27 am - Position From Orange County Club Last Night
This position came up early in game 2 with the director Gary Moss.
Relieved I didn't give up easily....
What's your turn 2 play ?
Don't give it away if you find it :)
http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=1833#0
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July 23rd, 2007
04:02 pm - British Open thoughts
This had to be be the most casual, yet funniest commentary I've ever watched in a golf tournament.
Starting with this year's Master's, my favorite tournament, I now DVR the entire 5 or 6 hours Saturday and Sunday,
go into a sports/news blackout for the day, and watch the tape at night in 3 hours, going through all the
commercials and side shows.
But some of this riff raff was classic. Faldo, not one of my favorite golfers when playing, has got the gift for TV.
When he bemoaned ABC omitting the clip of his beautiful 3 iron to inches of the cup, while showing the
tap in putt to win the Claret Jug, it was genuinely funny and prideful (Aw, my 3 iron? Where IS it?). Funny how he was such a technician on the golf course, but lets it rip like John Daly
in the booth. While Sergio waited agonizingly (which golfer hasn't done this, but not with everything on the line)
for the 2nd to last group to clear 18th green, and the grounds crew man was raking the bunkers at a snail's pace,
Faldo blurted with impatience "You're not doing the marble of the Sistine Chapel, mate!" Classic! Of course,
Sergio hit his approach into the bunker on the other side, so it goes. When Sergio started his bogey
run and the leaderboard tightened from a runaway into a 3-4 man race, Faldo quickly conveyed the awkward tension as "This is like the first time on a camping trip with your girlfriend — the excitement is intense." Wow -- when is the last time you heard that color commentary with golf? Umm, never?
Lot of casual banter and joking in the booth between Tirico, Faldo, and Azinger. Zinger was solid too. But securing the all
time height of golf commentary, a sport that thrives on the reverence and debonair tones: Some idiot had just
yelled the original "GET IN THE HOLE" at one point, and Peter Aliss from the BBC said what we all *wanted* to say
back ..."Aw, shut UP!"
Happy for Harington, guy won with class. Hard for me to root for Sergio. He comes off as a brat every time he gets
close and loses. I know he's an emotional guy, but his post round interview hardly complimented Harington's 67, and
just focused on all the bad breaks he thinks he got. Like missing the putt at 18, or the hole in one on 16 in the playoff.
Hey Sergio, who said golf was fair? No one is gonna HAND you a major, you have to go out and earn it. Last I checked,
having Tiger by and large OUT of contention, and the two guys in front of you (Romero and Harington) pulling a near
Van de Ville meltdown on 17 and 18 is a huge break in YOUR favor.
Carnoustie is almost as nasty without being all tricked up. Only reason why so many golfers went low is lack of
wind. The place is such Machiavellian theatre, they should have the British Open there every 5 years and not
wait so long next time. What a bizarre sequence of events. Who could script this any better? Vive Car-Nasty !
Current Location: work
Current Mood: entertained
Current Music: none
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July 20th, 2007
06:37 pm - The Bedtime Routine
Most kids past babyhood need that routine before bed.
For us, it's changing into PJ's, brushing Roman's teeth,
saying good night to most of the stuffed animals lining his
room, and reading one or two kids books.
He seems to like the same books over and over, so when
Diana or I try to skip pages to get it over faster, he catches
us now ...."Dad - deee, you skipped a page!" Acck, clever boy!
( OK, it's bedtime )
Current Location: home
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) relaxed
Current Music: modest mouse
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July 11th, 2007
July 10th, 2007
02:24 am - Jamb's Best & Worst Concerts Attended (part 2)
No Best list is entirely complete without having the other side
of the coin as a measuring stick, not to mention the many mired
in mediocrity. So before going ahead to the Top 5, here's the worst.
Current Location: home
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/thinking.gif) nostalgic
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July 9th, 2007
11:35 pm - Jamb's Best & Worst Concerts Attended
Listening to the alt rock TV station triggered a lot of great
concert memories. In the spirit of walterzuey's top concerts commentary, here are my top concerts going from memory (I don't have a Millcake like
documentation of them). Though many of the groups
merited multiple visits, I am listing only their top concert in the bunch.
Current Location: home
Current Mood: nostalgic
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June 16th, 2007
12:10 am - The Raccoon Situation (long, PART ONE)
My goodness, where to begin with this bizarre saga?
We've been under seige by raccoons off and on the last two weeks.
I think I'll start from before the invasion with Hector's visit in
February, and go through this human animal battle royale for turf in
chronological order. Let me state right now I am NOT embellishing the
facts of this at all, or taking dramatic license for the sake of
writing a story. But I feel I must document this thing.
Feb 2007:
Just before Hector's visit, we noticed a musty odor coming
from the hall closet. We had just moved into our new place in August,
and done some backyard drainage repairs.
This odor was like nothing I'd ever smelt before, and it
was getting stronger by the day. I was certain it was a moisture problem,
leading to mold, from the little rain we had. Only thing was, it was
the coldest, dryest winter in 50-60 years in So Cal.
So I had my home inspector come out for a courtesy visit, and he quickly
associated the odor with a dead animal carcass, likely under the home. We
hire an animal removal company (there are a few, for a hefty fee), and the
man gets under the house in the crawl space, and locates the source of the
odor. A massive 20-25 lb. dead possum, easily the size of 1.5 house cats. Who knows how long it had been down there with the rare freeze we
had in January, but I'm guessing the cold gave it frostbite and eventually
killed it. The animal man found the point of entry under the deck as
18 by 24 inches, and told us they do not do work to seal it -- only
handymen.
Moving ahead through the spring, we tried several times with handymen
who did not do "under the house" work, or were too busy. Yeah, not
a high priority item. You're in a vulnerable position down there on
your stomach in the dark with only a flashlight. So we put it off...
And that's where the saga unfolds.
Friday, June 1st (two weeks ago):
We had just finalized the last major project in the backyard. We resodded 2/3 of the grass, rebuilt the sprinkler system, added a stylish
border, and installed a new computerized sprinkler timer. I taped off
entry into the backyard with tape so the nanny and kids would not go out
there for a few weeks while the new grass could grow and its roots could
take hold.
So imagine my shock when I wake up Sat morning to see piece after piece of
new lawn pulled back like a Pringles can opened. Who could have done this? Why? Diana and I guessed either a dog got in, or Roman did it. No cat could be strong enuf to pull up heavy, wed sod. So I carefully replaced all of them, and voila, it kept happening. The mystery was upon us.
Sun morning, June 3rd:
I hear a strange sound below the entry way of the house. It's almost like
birds, but not as high pitched. Sounds like baby somethings nursings with their mother. Now we know. We've got serious problems. A mother animal
has set up her den and brought her babies.
Sun night, June 3rd:
I keep watch every 10 minutes on the patio lit backyard while in the computer room. I find the culprit. It's no possum. I can't believe what I'm seeing. Even in the low light, I can see the striped tail, and the
black eye patch of an animal that appears to be a cross between a large
fox and a skunk. Back to the computer to reference: Uh, oh. It's
the worst possible critter: A raccoon. I estimate it to be 25 lbs. After watching his M.O. of pulling up grass and chomping on grubs and worms for 5 min, I go out and shoo him off over the fence. No remedy,
coz the next morning the yard is torn up again. I know I'm up against
a wily creature, and it's time for research and professional help.
Mon morning, June 4th:
Make several calls to animal trappings. Apparently, this is "high season"
and most are booked for 3-4 days. A couple can make it out next day,
but they're $ 100 over the avg. price of $ 250. Damn, what a racket!
Wed, June 6th:
I am concerned. We are hearing unnerving loud noises coming from under
the house. From the internet research, we learn the raccoon is a very
destructive animal to walls, pipes, insulation, and they try to get into
homes. Pound for pound, they are the strongest mammals in the world. They are directly related not to the rodent family, but to the bear
family. They are known to carry rabies, parasites, and all other sorts
of diseases that can get into homes. With the baby and Roman, we're
very concerned parents. A mother raccoon setting up shop is the worst possible thing I could imagine. The lawn is torn up every night. Two nights beforethe trapper arrives, I buy my own cage from Ace Hardware fors $ 55, a great deal.
After a quick seach on food, we put in some carne asada scraps off the
BBQ that night. And not 90 minutes after sunset, we have caught our first
raccoon!! It's a baby, about 8 inches long and around 6or 7 lbs. I try
to approach the cage, and catch the mother raccoon out of the corner of my eye! The mother and baby are squealing at each other, with the mother
standing her ground, determined NOT to let me anywhere near the cage. The mother is afraid and angry. I do not know what to do -- I had assumed
we would catch the mother first. I get a broom for defense and shine the flashlight on the cage and the mother, getting two sets of eerie red diablo eyes staring right back at me. The mother decides she can't wait
any longer. She starts DRAGGING the cage from the fence across the lawn. I can't believe the strength. Lots of squealing from the baby.
I feel helpless as animal control will not come out unless we have an injured animal. They open the NEXT DAY at 10 AM. What are all my property taxes supposed to be going for? Christ!! The mother then jumps
atop the 6 foot wall, and body slams herself back onto the cage like a pro
wrestling move from 6 ft in the air. Nothing happens, but the sheer determination and willpower is astounding. Eventually, after 20 minutes,
the large mother racoon now starts upending and flipping the cage end
over end like it's a beach ball. I'm kicking myself now for not securing
or fastening the cage. A mistake I will not repeat. We watch in amazement from the deck while this goes on, wondering where the cage will end up by mornng. We go back inside, and settle in for what could be a long, noisy night.
To be continued....
Current Location: home
Current Mood: ecstatic
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April 22nd, 2007
09:26 pm - V Tech Tragedy
Copy of my post to Cesar expressing my thoughts about guns' role:
It was a horrific tragedy that we are still finding out information about.
However, the question should not be why guns aren't banned, but why it was so easy for this psychopath to get his hands on one. It took him less f**King timeto get one than it takes me to get my Starbucks latte!!
It's preposterous to "ban" the guns, thus guaranteeing only the bad
guys will obtain them on the black market. There should be a middle ground
of banning assault weapons, and making it very difficult to obtain them: full
background checks, both criminal and psychological.
In the future, what would be safer would be to let the professors be armed, plus the military or ROTC students that have passed a psych and background check. Think about it: If just a couple of those professors and students had guns, it would have been a totally different outcome -- much less victims. The deterrent value alone is huge. The cowards that do this must have DOUBT in their mind that instead of walking in and fantasizing about target practice with their twisted sick minds, they will likely be staring at the barrel of a gun or two or three themselves. That DOUBT, coupled with the sane, good people having guns, will ultimately save lives. Otherwise, we will be handcuffed while we watch this happen every few years and have to ante up 32 innocent kids every time.
as a footnote, the tapes that Cho made were so evil and scary, I think NBC
made an error airing them. The "right to know" did not outweight the copycat threat.
Hey, just wait 10 years and then put them out. Or release only to law enforcement. They added almost zero value to the investigation. They did success in giving millions
nightmares, especially those with kids like me.
PJ
Current Mood: reflective/somber
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March 8th, 2007
01:20 am - Jamb On Board
Ok, Santero is now the last Rhomboid left to join.
PJ
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March 7th, 2007
05:23 pm - Jamb on Board
OK, Jamb is in. Just leaving Santero to join LJ.
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