Finally, I’m back on FICS, so there’s actually a chance you’ll see me around (handle LiquidEggProduct). So far, 9-7, with a 1697 prov rating. I think I’ve played maybe 2 good games; the rest being awful performances, or the opponent was too weak to give a decent fight.
OK, so I will talk about Bobby Fischer.
Edwin Meyer had an eerily timed post, talking about his renewed interest in Bobby Fischer just before he died. (I mean, before Fischer died; Edwin’s still alive.) One of the things he mentioned is Fischer’s personal trainer claimed the chess champion had read 100,000 books. This reminded me instantly of Wilt Chamberlain’s claim that he’s slept with 20,000 women. Which alleged milestone do you think was more likely to have actually occurred?
Reading Mark Weeks’ summary of the Spassky-Fischer championship, I felt a little bad about what Spassky had to go through, although he seemed to be a good sport about it all. All the maneuvering and politics of 1972 made Toiletgate look like a drop in the bucket.
One thing that I never realized about Bobby is how strong he was in relation to his competition–there’s no doubt that he had the skill to successfully defend the championship multiple times. I wonder if some of the same elements of his brain that made him so strongly wired for chess skill were the same thing that caused him to be nuts? (Blunderprone suggested Fischer may have had Asperger’s Syndrome.)
Later in life, Fischer became well-known for his eccentricity, anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism, as well as praising the Sept. 11 attacks. You can read his post Sept 11 radio interview here. The audio’s here. You should hear what he sounded like; it’s very interesting.
Some Fischer quotes:
“Even as a boy I never had the slightest interest in American history. Never! You know? I knew something was rotten in Denmark, you know?”
“I think the Jews want to drive the elephants to extinction, because the trunk of the elephant reminds them of an uncircumcised penis.”
“I don’t want [Spassky] in my cell. I want a chick. How about that Russian chick, what’s her name, Kosteniuk? This Spassky, he is a very good ‘frenemy’ of mine – a friend and enemy.”
“Bush–he’s told what to say by Cheney, and his father, and the Jews, of course.”
Right now, I’m sitting in Houston airport waiting for the next plane to Fort Lauderdale. For the next month or so, I’ll be there, helping to training the next generation of our department. I was supposed to fly in last night, but due to rotten traffic, got to the airport too late (actually, if I didn’t have to check in baggage it would have been no probalo.)
Maybe I’ll get lucky like a few months ago: get to sit next to a cute girl, trade phone numbers, and nothing happens after that.
Bobby Fischer died yesterday. He was a great chess player–the greatest American player ever for sure–and sorta nutty. A lot of the other chess bloggers I’m sure are talking about it, so I won’t dwell much longer on it. So that’s that.
Too lazy to do the table. Sorry.
Green Bay (-7) vs New York
Donnie GB
Mascot GB
NE (-14) vs San Diego
Donnie NE
Mascot San Diego
See, this is why some people think the ACLU is kinda nuts. They went and filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing on behalf of our friend Senator Larry Craig, 2007 Liquid Egg Product on the Face Award runner-up, claiming his arrest was unconstitutional. The argument is that soliciting sex in a public restroom is protected 1st amendment speech. Even if they are technically right, it isn’t doing wonders for their image.
“[If the police really wanted to stop people from having sex in public bathrooms], they should put up a sign banning sex in the restroom and send in a uniformed officer to patrol periodically.” — ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero
This is absolutely going in the quotes database.
Who the deuce is Brad Renfro? He was found dead this morning and this is the most popular story on CNN.com this morning. [EDIT: He's some actor.]
Some convenience store robber shot himself in the nuts in the midst of a heist. What is up with these copy-cat criminals, trying to one-up the guy who stabbed himself in the stomach?
So we’re couple weeks into the new year. Does 2008 really feel any different from 2007?
Someone suggested I re-enact great moments in history…so on some Mondays I’ll present a Great Moment in History.
Julius Caesar got assassinated for something or the other. And Caesar probably didn’t really say “Et tu, Brute?”; that was some drama Shakespeare added. But still, it gets the point across. Julius didn’t die of pneumonia, or slipping on some ice (that was Dr. Atkins).
If there’s one lesson you can take from this is don’t try to become the emperor of Rome.
 Donnie |
 The Mascot |
Wahrheit | |
| Seattle (+8) vs Green Bay |
Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay |
| Jacksonville (+11.5) vs New England |
Jacksonville | New England | New England |
| San Diego (+9) vs Indianapolis |
San Diego | Indianapolis | Indianapolis |
| New York (+7.5) vs Dallas |
New York | Dallas | New York |
| Record so far | 6-2 | 2-6 | 6-2 |
I think that we can ascertain that humans are better at picking games than eggs at this point.
BBC: Bush urges Israeli occupation end
Al-Jazeera: Gaffe overshadows Bush visit
The BBC didn’t mention Bush’s checkpoint joke, while Al-Jazeera barely touched on Bush’s advocating a Palestinian state.
BBC: Mentions Iran’s video response to the Strait of Hormuz incident, and indicates the four-minute video doesn’t appear to cover the whole incident.
Al-Jazeera: States the video’s 5:20 long, and mentions the Pentagon claims it doesn’t show the whole thing. (And we know how much they trust the Pentagon.)
Meet Ashley Qualls. Three years ago, at 14 years old, she started a website (with $8 borrowed from her mother) that posted downloadable MySpace themes for free. Now? The site grosses $1 million/year, and which allowed her to do stuff like buying a house for her family. (Full story here.)
Inspiring: Wow, I could do that, too! I just need to borrow $8 from my mom.
Depressing: You know she got lucky. There are very good reasons why this happens so rarely. There are people who are better than her at what she does, but without the same success.
