tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191497202011-11-28T08:54:38.438+08:00HOWBEIT is the longest word that you can form with my name.nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.comBlogger3451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-21296630444293359522010-06-21T22:22:00.000+08:002010-06-21T22:22:06.738+08:00

Alright, I have finally made the choice - I'm moving to Wordpress. I won't close this site as of yet, but I'll try to do all my postings there from now on. Visit my new site here.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-71204932390723417222010-06-21T01:10:00.001+08:002010-06-21T01:14:04.754+08:00

If one takes a glance at international tourney results around the world, especially in the past year, it's not difficult to notice that only a handful of people perform very consistently at the top (and by top I mean top 3). I'm sure some of my readers would be pretty decent players themselves, so it's not uncommon to think "Gee, I'm not that bad, why's it that I'm not doing as well as they do?

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-43589504912889293812010-06-13T00:08:00.002+08:002010-06-13T00:08:51.259+08:00

Fake Science, The Periodic Table

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-30692360782006729172010-06-12T15:57:00.000+08:002010-06-12T15:57:55.258+08:00

Between players who have played within the last 1 year... 1 GM Wee Ming Hui, Hubert 764 2013 16 May 2010   (Life) 2 GM Purnomo, Ricky 994 1973 7 Mar 2010   Dec 2010 =12 GM Goh Jiang Pern 805 1841 24 Jan 2010   Dec 2010 =12 NM Chua Kim Loong, Victor 658 1841 30 May 2010 -3 Dec 2010 14 NM Shim Yen Nee 978 1789 30 May 2010 -27 (Life) 23 **M Gwee, Victor 246 1718 30 May 2010 +

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-58431190066857885582010-06-12T15:19:00.001+08:002010-06-12T15:19:46.846+08:00

I just changed my blog template with Blogger's new Template Designer which offers more sophisticated (while still very readable) changes to the design. Some features that I'd like to see included are text alignment options (I had to do a CSS edit to justify my text, and I don't really know how to do this for the profile), linkage to external backgrounds and the ability to stretch backgrounds.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-8478233160785321442010-06-09T00:52:00.001+08:002010-06-09T00:54:36.669+08:00

I was able to play a few games on Quackle and managed to reach 600 twice, largely products of luck instead of skill (I made some big mistakes in one of em) - here are the games, with brief comments (since I gotta sleep)! Play the games here and here! Feel free to examine and criticise!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-71461902228271830922010-06-05T20:31:00.000+08:002010-06-05T20:31:35.503+08:00

I was scrambling to pick up a book from the shelves in the living room last night, as I needed something to read (or rather fall back on, as an alternative to the Internet) during my Saturday in camp. Rather unfortunately for me, a large proportion of the books in the living room were textbooks or music scores; failing which, they would be non-fictional volumes, either about geopolitics,

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-79212893075987538972010-05-29T00:01:00.000+08:002010-05-29T00:01:25.475+08:00

Here's another one against Quackle. This one is rather thought-provoking strategically, I must say, and it is rather possible to disagree with Quackle's simulations on some moves. Play the game here! Feel free to examine and criticise!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-12938716273669933212010-05-23T20:06:00.000+08:002010-05-23T20:06:08.152+08:00

Let's face it - I pretend to be somewhat decent at Scrabble. I am happy when I win, because I tend to think that if I don't play well, I don't win (and hence I start to think I'm playing well since I won). However, there are times where this illusion is completely obliterated by none other than Quackle, this demeaning (and can I say overfed) duck which tramples upon all of my ego. And after all

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-41745621995881734672010-05-18T23:40:00.003+08:002010-05-18T23:42:46.477+08:00

Here's an excellent game I just played against Quackle with a huge total score (probably my highest ever, 1111) and no nine-timers! Play the game here! Feel free to examine and criticise! Been shuttling between locations recently, this is quite tiring - may not have the energy to write much here over the next few months, maybe.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-46973954215215353802010-05-17T10:35:00.001+08:002010-05-17T10:44:08.726+08:00

Bah - missing too many bingos, almost all of which could have been found perhaps with half a minute more on the rack. Might have been a sleep deficit, but it was just more like a "hey, I don't think there's a bingo here, let's forget it" mentality. Think I just wasn't looking hard enough... Perhaps more when I get the time.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-39561607460279531532010-05-09T18:58:00.003+08:002010-05-09T20:37:21.640+08:00

Here's a game I played pretty badly, imo. You should be finding better moves than I did. Play the game here! Feel free to examine and criticise! Anyway, on the topic of change, a number of us have been discussing possible editions to future SA News editorials. Some of the ideas which are starting to bear fruit are those of column writers and creative tournament reporting (in the form of Tweets

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-55615326924889456652010-05-03T02:20:00.000+08:002010-05-03T02:20:06.733+08:00

Well, I wanted to type it in the comments section, but the response proved too wordy... The reason why I hinted that the prize system for the PRR was not fair was because of some reasons perhaps not explained fully enough. Here are my reasons for saying so: 1. When prizes are given based on the final grouping, it's like giving prizes based on the last 3 rounds. If this was a longer tourney, the

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-89277179198115082952010-05-01T13:12:00.001+08:002010-05-01T13:12:41.802+08:00

Okay, I have to say that the prize allocation wasn't that fair, but well this tournament was a decent first experiment for the association. Perhaps the length of the competition can be increased and the prize distribution can be altered to reflect individuals' performances over all rounds. It's pretty uncommon for a 7th place finisher to get the 2nd biggest prize! (though looking at the standings

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-83967832061540031652010-04-23T19:31:00.000+08:002010-04-23T19:31:09.379+08:00

This one was played today against Big Brother Q. Play the game here! Feel free to examine and criticise!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-49906277424911421932010-04-18T09:21:00.002+08:002010-04-25T13:27:55.834+08:00

The quiz is here, and the results of the Quackle simulation I did are on the right. At first, it seems like playing ENJ(O)Y 15H for 57 points keeping DIW is quite a good choice, as it provides good score and leave. However, I feel that while the rack is decent, the W does not fit well on this board. It is unlikely to yield a high score around A8 or from N2 down to the E. There is a fair chance

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-49548000066800891302010-04-10T22:19:00.000+08:002010-04-10T22:19:36.711+08:00

1. This is a rather interesting study done up by Jesse Matthews, an Canadian Scrabble player about, as the title says, ACEIIRTTVY in ABBCELRS. This is something that really explains what is at work in a intermediate-expert Scrabble player's game (not everything, but it goes far enough). Of course, it appears to be a project in its infancy, so I really hope something big or important comes out of

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-79786342646342021542010-04-04T09:48:00.002+08:002010-04-10T21:46:10.355+08:00

The 2010 Australian Championships are going on right now in Adelaide, Australia, and rather unfortunately, the field doesn't look as strong as it did in previous years, with some notable exceptions. Nevertheless, there are still a number of good players to look out for, and the current leader, Alastair Richards, is going on a pretty impressive streak... (as usual, the lack of annotation is

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-77689905506285289542010-04-02T08:53:00.001+08:002010-04-02T08:53:41.878+08:00

(click to enlarge picture) What's your move on this one? I'm sure most players would be spoilt for choice here...

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-83974965508181052882010-03-28T21:50:00.000+08:002010-05-03T02:27:11.394+08:00

A quick one, before I go back into camp... Play the game here! This one is a practice game against Hubert in February. Feel free to examine and criticise!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-64263038350225317842010-03-27T22:38:00.001+08:002010-04-10T22:19:48.349+08:00

Why's there OVERMULTIPLY and OVERPLUS but not OVERMINUS* or OVERDIVIDE*? Granted, OVERPLUS is not a verb, unlike OVERMULTIPLY. (OVERMINUS* does have a valid anagram, though)

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-87795922347931901682010-03-21T20:18:00.001+08:002010-03-21T20:18:55.775+08:00

This game is my last game against Ramaraj from NST-ASCI 2010 - I needed to lose by a large margin to possibly lose this tourney. Play the game here! Feel free to examine and criticise!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-66837784053001877182010-03-17T21:31:00.002+08:002010-03-17T21:31:49.054+08:00

Of the week. This is online vs ISC handle akpintus. Look at his plays all you want, but I won't make any comments about them (I wouldn't know them in a real life game anyway). Play the game here! Feel free to examine and criticise!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-40224040366046992892010-03-15T20:44:00.002+08:002010-03-15T20:52:18.755+08:00

I noticed that my content about Scrabble has been dwindling recently, and that I'm not really posting many puzzles nowadays. (partially because I haven't seen a really interesting position as of yet, and also because I don't get many responses...) Some of the Scrabble blogs by American players post up full games - I've decided to join the group, so here's my first game, taken from (as you might

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-23531269361442196202010-03-13T12:39:00.002+08:002010-03-15T20:51:16.696+08:00

Well I wouldn't really say my luck was terrible (besides an abysmal blank count for the first day), but at least my tourney result wasn't that spectacular. (I'm surprised I even managed to average 2 bingos a game!) My games (in my opinion) were more or less dull/ uninspiring, perhaps with the exception of my win against Nigel :). Meanwhile, a collage of things-of-note that I've read over the

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-77479847242797241712010-03-06T22:57:00.002+08:002010-05-03T02:27:23.582+08:00

Have changed the comment system from embedded to pop-up - should work better for some users now. Tomorrow will be an interesting (and hopefully good) day!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-26662051509403974422010-02-22T21:03:00.002+08:002010-03-15T20:45:21.352+08:00

1. Steep learning curve This is not nearly the most important reason, because many games and sports also are not easy to learn (in order to compete). Many games are easy to play on an amateur level - but comparatively, Scrabble, for a board game, is probably not as enjoyable at an amateur level, because there wouldn't be much strategy involved (people can spend minutes discussing amateur chess

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-42031188048382309332010-02-16T21:37:00.003+08:002010-03-15T20:45:33.070+08:00

Lunar New Year celebrations may lead to health problems

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-28581209592655240912010-02-11T21:47:00.001+08:002010-02-11T21:48:27.103+08:00

I did recently draw some of the best tiles ever in my playing career (and subsequently won a tournament - BTW the part about adequate sleep is mostly dishonest), but other than that, life's been relatively routine - trying to catch enough sleep everyday (I mostly succeed in camp), going about camp running errands, going for trainings on alternate days, dodging arrows; but this is something I

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-53108559962978887702010-01-25T09:57:00.001+08:002010-01-25T20:08:38.650+08:00

Don't have my scoresheets with me now, but here's a brief recount of what happened. I think this was the toughest field I've ever faced locally (and internationally, but let's see)- one of the G8s was pretty similar (except they all probably improved from that time). I managed to clock one of my highest tournament averages ever (the highest average being here, in an 8 game tourney), with the

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-92030419411016571542010-01-24T20:32:00.001+08:002010-01-24T20:32:47.039+08:00

Did not finish last, and managed (+E = AMENAGED! Got that on the board vs Cheah) to get the book that I wanted (thanks Ricky, for letting me take it). Now all my efforts turn to the weekend tournament next week in KL... think it will be decent fun :). More to follow.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-35546775668406445372010-01-17T09:06:00.003+08:002010-01-18T10:22:25.319+08:00

Been a long while since I've been seeded so low, but this is after all good news. Would be OK if I don't win - just something around the top 3-4 would be decent stuff for my rating. Also - Akur is playing! EDIT: Last seed now! Time not to finish last!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-23617621411830494582010-01-15T09:51:00.000+08:002010-01-15T09:51:18.512+08:00

Google and China: Flowers for a funeral

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-53749664295868304982010-01-07T19:26:00.001+08:002010-01-07T19:27:50.772+08:00

Official Advisor: Malaysian Scrabble Association Main Sponsor: New Straits Times *Malaysian Scrabble Association* Date : 30-31 January 2010 Venue : Dewan Tunku Chancellor, University of Malaya Categories : a) Inter-Varsity b) Inter-School ( under 18 years old ) -Rated Number of games : 12 games (8 games on the first day, 4 games on second day)

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-35362103609386756832009-12-29T21:58:00.002+08:002009-12-31T00:46:39.350+08:00

This yearend doesn't seem anything like the years before; while the last few days of the year are (for me) usually times for sobriety and reflection, I don't really feel like there is much reflection to do this year. I guess there are some reasons for this - there isn't too much to look forward to next year, and beyond next year, there is just too much to think about. I don't know where to place

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-48295349808378404232009-12-18T03:27:00.005+08:002009-12-18T12:49:36.568+08:00

Note that these lists are compiled with the exclusion of non-SA members. Top rating gainers (Initial 1600 and above) 1. Ricky Purnomo Start of year: 1751 End of year: 1980 (+229) 2. Michael Tang Start of year: 1763 End of year: 1896 (+133) 3. Liew Kian Boon Start of year: 1861 End of year: 1943 (+82) 4. Shim Yen Nee Start of year: 1778 End of year: 1843 (+65) 5. Quek Sim Ho Start of year: 1672

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-26283370470390656312009-12-13T20:41:00.003+08:002009-12-31T19:03:28.019+08:00

Game statistics Bingos played: 16 (2 a game, decentish, couldn't be much better) Bingos missed: 2 (1 of which I would be sure of, the other word which I did not know was worse than the move I made anyway) Phonies for: 2 (both unchallenged) Phonies against: 1 (unchallenged) Bad challenges (for): 3 Bad challenges (against): 9 Average equity loss for first 4 games: 10-40 Average equity loss for

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-88629921001307675272009-12-12T00:07:00.009+08:002009-12-12T07:16:24.343+08:00

(click to enlarge picture) This is one of my endgames against Victor Chua on ISC. Can you find a win? (BTW: I'm using the new Blogger Post Editor which allows this text-beside-picture thing. Pretty neat, I must say.)

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-16129454900983115832009-12-06T22:02:00.003+08:002009-12-29T21:51:07.876+08:00

All in no order of importance. Gameplay-wise: 1. Avoid phonying - don't try things for the sake of "making the best move" - you could do that in practices but not tourneys. Make sure that before you choose a word to play, you've at least heard of the word, and made sure you haven't confused it with anything similar. 2. You know how much you've studied. If you come across a rack which has a bingo

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-56429105091537804742009-12-06T00:05:00.004+08:002009-12-06T01:32:39.181+08:00

Here's a position I got from today while playing the kids:(click to enlarge)Any decent player would be able to see 14B RUMBLE (28) or 5K BREN (32), but each of these would open up triple word scores that might allow counter-scoring. There is one move, however, that avoids all these careless openings, and simulates one of the best in Quackle (may not be the best though - I still think RUMBLE is

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-24198895219715783732009-11-30T00:39:00.002+08:002009-12-05T01:03:48.451+08:00

Why?

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-22262972458088102192009-11-29T20:24:00.002+08:002009-11-29T20:34:14.195+08:00

I found monitoring the WSC rather tiresome and so I decided to do some simple codes (well, some not so simple, but I learn from Google searches) to make things easier for myself, and here's what I came up with (the things to run are WSC Monitor.htm and WSC Monitor.exe). What it did for me (though I did it a little too late):- Combined the Games page and Standings page into one page that

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-83715973366263097952009-11-29T13:05:00.000+08:002009-12-05T23:57:00.550+08:00

Here's the simulation result for this quiz:(click to enlarge)MIB simulates the best, but why? Let's see...1) COIF does not tell us much about Tony's rack except that he kept decent tiles. So maybe we can expect a bingo.2) Any bingo to the F (FREMITus, FoRETIMe, FoRMIaTE, FEMITeRs) would lose to FRENZIED, CONFEREE or DEFROZEN. If Tony plays CONFIDER we have a draw. That's 4 racks - DEEFINR,

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-15818626262948996482009-11-28T22:02:00.007+08:002009-11-29T18:28:09.549+08:00

Might post more as time goes on!- 3 Thais in the top 10. Extremely strong performance from the Thai team. (expected Pakorn to be in the top 5, he's been working hard) Hmm.. with the inclusion of Charnrit and the exclusion of Pichai from the team though.. their team performance pales in comparison to Nigeria and England.- In the top 10, number 4, 8, 9 and 10 all escaped annotation!- Besides the (

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-33240333066989139532009-11-26T21:25:00.006+08:002009-11-27T13:06:12.162+08:00

Quite a bad tourney overall but I don't think I lost due to bad strategical play (except for one of the games) - it was more of not knowing some important words that affected the outcome of the game (important words meaning my 4s and 7s which I've never properly studied, mainly). Obviously I was rather disappointed that I wasn't sure of those words but I guess it just reflects a lack of properly

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-14196243566631347202009-11-21T20:49:00.002+08:002009-11-27T13:06:12.162+08:00

Did not play too badly - a bit better than normal though I did miss a few bingos which points towards my lack of word study. Good thing is that I'm playing (in some games) relatively quickly, and also fairly accurately. I've got 5 wins out of 8, with probably one or two more winnable ones (which I lost due to bad mistakes early or mid-game - e.g. missing the E front hook of vICTORS). I got my run

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-57500390893847875982009-11-15T11:33:00.001+08:002009-11-15T11:41:04.080+08:00

Taking over the internets

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-18435318168769592362009-11-07T18:27:00.006+08:002009-12-05T23:57:00.550+08:00

Shown here is quite an eventful game, though there aren't (from my perspective) many strategically significant moves, except for this move.(click to enlarge)Task is as usual - find the winning-est move. I'll talk more about this game in a later post, but this position is more interesting and deserves prior attention.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-887417068205173122009-10-17T12:38:00.000+08:002009-10-17T12:38:29.990+08:00

Click to enlarge all of them!DAY 1The Cup! Strangely enough, it was used for the school's tourney (for the team champion), not the "main" tourney.These were the ones that the winners got on the first day. Smallish in comparison but probably more effort required to get them!Now this is the real deal... Freshly engraved with Michael Tang's name (winner of 2009 Nationals)The tourney setupThe usual

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-44093362169133288632009-10-02T23:13:00.002+08:002009-10-02T23:16:46.605+08:00

So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?(I got 16/20, which is alright for someone who doesn't know much about fonts)Hat tip: Download Squad

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-14372891719515610472009-09-27T15:21:00.001+08:002009-09-27T17:57:49.943+08:00

This was an unpublished draft from somewhere around June this year. I gave it a second look and decided it's publish-worthy...Among other artists, he specifically condemns Wagner and Beethoven as examples of overly cerebral artists, who lack real emotion. Furthermore, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 cannot claim to be able to "infect" their audience, as it pretends, with the feeling of unity and

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-54859469298628641712009-09-27T00:23:00.004+08:002009-09-27T01:24:45.703+08:00

I suppose we're allowed to use our own scoresheets during the WSC (Mattel can't be that intrusive) so I'm in the midst of designing my own scoresheet. These are some features I think are ideal in a scoresheet:- A way to check that you've tracked - I hate retracking because it wastes time that could be used to perfect/ improve an endgame.- A nice way for you to record your racks: I currently use a

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-87316808888557130142009-09-20T18:38:00.004+08:002009-09-26T00:15:13.261+08:00

because I'm stuck on another computer (the one I usually use won't start). Youtube's probably the best thing to do here :).Any book recommendations? I have some liberty in camp to read for now...

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-345113199969499892009-09-13T14:09:00.005+08:002009-12-07T01:09:31.688+08:00

(click to enlarge)Don't have time for a proper post, will probably do one next week!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-15649106175442405662009-08-28T19:47:00.001+08:002009-09-04T23:57:45.550+08:00

Here's the position again:(click to enlarge)Get familiar with the position if you're going to read through the whole thing here, you'll probably need to refer to it quite a few times.Some things to note:1. Tony has just bingoed, so it's impossible to tell what he drew from the bag.2. There are at least 6 viable bingo spots, and it's impossible to block all with 1 move here.So what's the

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-86291109663259787882009-08-20T12:51:00.010+08:002009-08-23T14:12:42.976+08:00

Is anyone selling the old SamTiles/ International Protiles/ Whatever you might call them - the old style black on white or white on black ones? I'm interested in getting a set for myself.Short tourney report:I was glad to see so many players join the tournament, though I did hope more WYSC participants were present for practice. (At least I got most of them to come on Thursday)It was a rather

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-71286297548296983342009-08-19T23:42:00.007+08:002009-08-21T22:15:17.498+08:00

Reproduced with Tony's permission.(click to enlarge)Above is a screenshot of the position, which happened at Hubert's place (the board is shown, albeit upside down, in one of the pictures):I'm in the midst of typing a rather lengthy "analysis" of this position but I'd like to solicit ideas and opinions on this - what's the best (i.e. winning-est) move for Ricky?Will post up about this and the

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-88401345073000404492009-08-11T01:10:00.010+08:002009-08-11T18:36:42.373+08:00

Arrived at 3 to find 6 others in the venue - Jessie, Ms. Ong, Tony, Ricky, Marlon and of course the host Hubert himself; all playing each other. The practice field was for once very strong, with 5 GMs around, and some uncommonly seen at practice!I started playing after a while (when their games ended), and played 6 games in total, the 5th being against Hubert juggling two boards (against Tony and

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-5738701111513954292009-08-02T08:13:00.005+08:002009-08-08T18:17:03.622+08:00

I'm still not sure if I'll be allowed to go for the WSC, but anyway this is the (playing) schedule that I have set up for myself irregardless of whether I qualify:- Practice at JGCC/ TPY (TPY unlikely) whenever free (min 4 games), perhaps with 1 week break every 3 weeks- Practice at any other Scrabble gathering (depends on the occasion and how long it stretches, but hopefully 1 game every 1.5

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-29684429068416070992009-07-26T13:17:00.004+08:002009-07-26T14:20:12.870+08:00

8/16 wins, not many blanks, not as many bingos as I hoped for (but not that bad anyway), losing almost every game where I started second and winning almost every game where I started first - I played the worst I ever did in the past 2 years, missing more bingos on Day 2 than usual, and fumbling one or two moves most games in a WYSC-winning manner. Maybe I'll talk about the games when the bingo

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-42609659609685731922009-06-22T00:32:00.003+08:002009-06-22T00:45:34.582+08:00

For those who did well at Penang, congratulations!And good luck to everyone playing at King's Cup!And good luck to everyone going back into the army! (including myself)

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-31616308066475102962009-06-21T13:11:00.000+08:002009-06-21T13:44:07.598+08:00

In North Korea, culture, including music, is controlled by a government which encourages light, state-sponsored music, or music with patriotic worker-driven themes (praising leader Kim Jong Il, his late father Kim Il-Sung and their communist policies) played on radios, the Pyongyang Metro speaker system or in public by large worker's orchestras. Listening to South Korean music or playing Rock and

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-32054170607413980992009-06-16T11:27:00.007+08:002009-08-20T12:49:37.332+08:00

Yes, it's been a while since I posted anything concrete about Scrabble (as I am a hisself tabards who wants to ensconce flemish in the 1900s) but here's some recent positions (perhaps) of interest. Names blurred out so no one enters the hall of shame (except me).Position #1This position comes from a real-life game:(click to enlarge)Obviously, the best thing to do for a vowel heavy rack like this

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-76023981903218310872009-06-11T23:15:00.003+08:002009-06-11T23:40:56.397+08:00

1. Nigel is the expected (before the tourney) and unexpected (after 12 games) winner! OK maybe the second part was a little exaggerated - but I doubt anyone at that point would have expected him to pull ahead 2 games clear of the field.2. I was talking to Henry on day 2 about doing a Guo Cong. Looks like I shouldn't talk to anyone midway through the tourney next time. (or maybe my presence gives

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-21788081892098156852009-05-17T07:41:00.004+08:002009-05-29T10:11:55.302+08:00

Haven't really had time to write anything on Scrabble because of my recent enlistment into the army. I've just got through some of the key events of my basic training and I hope that means more time will be freed up for other pursuits. This means, however, that I won't be posting much about Scrabble here until I get to play in a tourney. Unfortunately, that may not come till the end of the month

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-36916680993161031542009-03-31T17:55:00.006+08:002009-03-31T19:11:07.207+08:00

Five simple benchmarks for the up and coming local youths ("you are not even"s):1. You are not even decent at strategy unless you can observe any 1750-1900+ player in a Division A tourney and spot a strategical mistake (not a missed word that the player didn't know) the player has made.2. You are not even decent at bingos unless you:a) can spot 5 or more bingo misses in a local major (Division A)

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-74755675236162055602009-03-27T21:06:00.002+08:002009-03-27T21:07:17.863+08:00

"And actually, it was kind of presumptuous to name the band that, because we weren't that good musicians, we were . . . But by bar-band standards in the area, we were light-years ahead of our competition, but in terms of real musicianship, I just suppose we were right down there in the swamp."- Frank Zappa, 1993

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-6984779545222615262009-03-18T20:57:00.004+08:002009-03-18T21:23:34.820+08:00

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, stating that "despite the extravagant drama and some demonstrations of the savagery meted out to India's street children, this is a cheerfully undemanding and unreflective film with a vision of India that, if not touristy exactly, is certainly an outsider's view; it depends for its full enjoyment on not being taken too

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-12645732611732106012009-03-01T22:50:00.004+08:002009-03-27T20:35:12.858+08:00

Will save on the game reports because I was unfocused on the first day (i.e. any game report that did any justice to my gameplay would put me to shame). I might, however, consider doing this for SA News, but only if I have the time (to make myself seem like a better player than I really am). I'll try to do some tile statistics though when I feel less shattered - I played the tourney after a short

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-81875157839634857992009-02-24T00:14:00.002+08:002009-02-24T00:25:13.012+08:00

Team allocation seems OK, not the fairest definitely, but hard to complain considering the complications over the past 2 years. It seems like the tournament is still at its infancy as Michael has arranged some interesting changes, including the usage of Causeway-customised boards and annotation for all games. Wonder how that will turn out.(I guess I will not qualify on international ratings for

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-48495417539983842362009-02-19T23:09:00.000+08:002009-02-19T23:10:25.079+08:00

only in it for the money?

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-32603379663904555802009-02-10T11:58:00.009+08:002009-02-10T14:37:36.416+08:00

I haven't been able to win many games on ISC lately - but strangely enough, I seem to be winning most of my games in real life. I seem to be losing these games because I make one or two major errors each game. Perhaps my losses on ISC foreshadow a poor performance at Millennium Cup, which I will not have much time to prepare for anyway. I'd obviously like to think of it another way, of course,

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-20610774480573255202009-02-03T15:12:00.007+08:002009-02-03T17:32:45.683+08:00

Tourney (Day 2)I did not manage to sleep well that night - waking up at 5 am and being unable to sleep after that. I decided to take a shower at 7+ am and Ian was awake/ half-awake by the time I came back. Breakfast would be served at 8 am and we'd have to check out of the hostel at around 9:30 - which gave us a lot of spare time to laze around. We eventually went down around 8 and had Mee Siam

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-29600704962006488672009-02-02T01:48:00.011+08:002009-02-03T15:13:27.976+08:00

Pre-tourneyThe arrangement to KL was a little unsettling for me because it entailed waking up early (which I hadn't done in ages) and catching the first bus to the checkpoint, and then meeting Ian at the newly built CIQ (which Ian's dad wasn't familiar with!). Thankfully all went well as I arrived in JB a little earlier than expected because there was no traffic jam during the early hours. The JB

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-2865832030201490402009-01-31T11:45:00.005+08:002009-02-01T00:30:06.423+08:00

Just returned from Malaysia (specifically the University of Malaya) where I had a decent time with the tiles and the game - met many of the kids from WYSC 07 and made a few friends here and there. I won't describe my games (trade secret, don't even think I want to write an article for SA News about it) but let's just say I played quite decently save the last game - but I "played badly" in that

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-70820582248873648982009-01-16T16:27:00.003+08:002009-01-21T15:57:33.658+08:00

I am very interested to see what impact the introduction of CSW has on gameplay, so I did a little statistical study a few days ago - posting the results today.I did the study on 15 local players who play rather regularly here - and I excluded all non-members (because it is not easy to access their averages and tourney records - Sorry Ben and Tony), and the results can be found here.This is how I

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-22339308199813585962009-01-03T17:56:00.004+08:002009-01-21T15:57:45.667+08:00

I was recently browsing through the Australian Scrabble website when some differences (between the Australian association and our own) caught my attention - and are probably worth a mention. Note that I might have made a few factual errors here so please feel free to point them out.Looking back at the 2008 Australian Nationals (which Naween won), the 24 played rounds (I'm assuming in 3 days)

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-27325637703394054002008-12-29T23:25:00.004+08:002008-12-30T14:19:06.331+08:00

I was recently reminded that I haven't posted in many days (I think I was misinformed on the exact number). Unfortunately there hasn't been much going on that is post-worthy as I prefer posting about geek-worthy stuff rather than personal stuff. Here's something of some interest though.Following Singapore's (disappointing?) performance at the Causeway tournament, Michael has decreed that

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-13181494777404414372008-12-16T01:46:00.003+08:002009-02-01T14:30:14.574+08:00

Interesting that my blog still gets a few hits per day despite the lack of updates. I am trying to post something useful/ meaningful but there hasn't been much content.Here's a short recap of my games at the JG Mini last weekend.Pre-tourneyI arrived at the venue with Cheah/ Victor, and learnt along the way that there would be a group of Australians playing with us this tournament. I was quite

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-960213989474611842008-12-07T01:16:00.001+08:002008-12-16T03:27:01.102+08:00

Open Division updates, again for those who cannot view it on the webpage.Round 27 Placings round 27 Just played in round 27Next opponent 1Ricky Purnomo 20+946 was pipped byOlobatoke Aka433:436 Andy Kurnia 2Andy Kurnia 18+1171 lost toHelen Maurus446:463 Ricky Purnomo 3Pat John 18+697 pippedEdie Mueller470:462 Helen Maurus 4Helen Maurus 17.5+1111 beatAndy

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-46247002682969361102008-12-06T23:57:00.000+08:002008-12-16T03:27:01.102+08:00

Lose the ROTO, or get kicked out? Hmm.... I'd rather the first.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-5248135042087161092008-12-06T13:58:00.001+08:002008-12-16T03:27:01.103+08:00

For those who can't see the results on the page.Round 21 Placings round 21 Just played in round 21Next opponent 1Andy Kurnia 15.5+1087 pulverisedJagan Narayanan580:307 Martus Theodoro Jr 2Alastair Richards 15+1291 pulverisedRicky Purnomo495:245 Chia Guo Cong 3Ricky Purnomo 15+602 was pulverised byAlastair Richards245:495 Jagan Narayanan 4Martus Theodoro Jr 14+1444

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-61437547688628559002008-11-18T01:51:00.002+08:002008-11-19T13:32:42.636+08:00

The bingo lists for G82008 and JGCCOCT08 have been uploaded (I got them after some pestering). The G8 one is on MediaFire because Google Docs screws the document's format somehow.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-73784171177564932342008-11-17T00:52:00.003+08:002008-11-18T02:31:24.560+08:00

1. Under this circumstance, which 2 squares would you open?Getting the answer requires you to "simulate" the mines: i.e. predict all the possible locations of the mines. Let's do this pictorially, where black spots represent possible mine locations and black lines mean that a single mine can be in any of those squares.This is the first possibility. Let's call it A1.(click to enlarge each picture)

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-22862855710787849502008-11-13T01:53:00.003+08:002008-11-18T02:32:30.295+08:00

Bah, just realised my first minesweeper puzzle was a little screwed up again! It's being edited and, by the time anyone reads this post, it should be edited completely so that there are meaningful answers to each question. I'm sorry - I'm still not completely experienced with this stuff at the moment, but I'm trying :).Here's the solution for quiz 2. The colours of the squares represent the

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-23361714147688868192008-11-04T10:03:00.003+08:002008-11-18T02:32:45.066+08:00

(click to enlarge)This is probably easier to do than the previous one. It's a good intro to those who are new to Minesweeper - the number on the left (3) shows how many mines there are left. The empty pop-out squares are the ones that haven't been done.For this one, just post the solutions for the undone rectangle and the undone square separately. With an M denoting mine, like this (this is an

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-68568852515917467212008-11-03T15:43:00.009+08:002008-11-13T02:06:52.040+08:00

(click to enlarge)I'm afraid I wasn't able to recreate the pop-out effect for the unfilled squares, but the area to be solved is the top left corner. There are 6 mines left.(for those who read the blog before the edit, sorry - the puzzle isn't solvable without prior information, so there are other questions given here)Puzzle questions are (EDIT 2):1. Under this circumstance, which 2 squares would

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-5958595593381883502008-11-02T16:20:00.000+08:002008-11-02T16:26:31.277+08:00

"For example, I clearly remember a taxi driver in Miami explaining to me years ago that the housing bubble there was getting crazy. With all the construction under way, which he pointed out as we drove along, he said that there would surely be a glut in the market and, eventually, a disaster."- Robert J. Shiller, on the New York Times

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-85860521011705428732008-10-29T02:14:00.002+08:002008-10-29T15:50:27.586+08:00

I've blogged earlier on about Scrabble with 8 tiles, but I've just got another wacky new idea. What if everyone had a chance to change their tiles (under normal changing rules) before every single move - but would then suffer the penalty of 5 points lost for every tile changed? This wouldn't affect normal changing, which would still take up the turn at no penalty to score. It's still quite a big

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-7689739594393854732008-10-27T23:54:00.000+08:002008-10-29T15:51:33.914+08:00

Switched the comment style from popup to embedded - now you won't be able to see the comments in a popup/ new window (unless you use middle click or some other method), but at least you can see the post content in the same window/ tab. Comment if you want me to switch it back.

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-21124609930741580802008-10-26T17:14:00.002+08:002008-10-29T15:51:23.867+08:00

"This final was played to free challenge, and there were a predictably large number of challenges in every game. We both agreed that it was logical and correct to challenge every word where even a scintilla of doubt existed, and as such Free Challenge was detrimental to the game."- Harshan, L.Didn't happen at WYSC, as far as I know :).EDIT: OK just realised Yew Tee was a major... that means its

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-67158367422866343872008-10-24T01:29:00.004+08:002008-10-24T02:56:36.680+08:00

Philosophy, et cetera: Bipartisanship and In-BetweenismThis is probably not a new opinion, but it's something I completely agree with. It's also a good answer to my previous post about the election. I'd say it's basic principle is that one shouldn't do something for the sake of doing it, especially if it causes them to forsake reason in the process. Of course, reason isn't everything, but I think

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-69175735991742798422008-10-21T17:49:00.003+08:002008-10-21T18:30:22.505+08:00

In addition to the two new GMs this year, how about 5-6 more before the year ends?(Ben Chow, somewhere on 1880+)4 NM Chua Kim Loong, Victor 462 1890 19 Oct 2008 +24 Dec 2008 =5 *NM Lim Li Wei 323 1884 28 Sep 2008 Jul 2009 =5 **NM Prudencio, Marlon 258 1884 19 Oct 2008 +5 Oct 2009 =9 **NM Liew Kian Boon 288 1861 28 Sep 2008 (Life) (Maybe Henry?)(Quoted selectively from Toucanet)3 more

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-8740614736061741382008-10-18T23:03:00.001+08:002008-10-19T00:06:15.140+08:00

Venue: Signature Park Condominium Function Room (Club House, Level 2)Buses to Jalan Jurong Kechil: 61, 66, 157, 174, 970, 985Buses to Toh Tuck Road: 77, 173 (you have to walk farther if you take 173)By MRT: Bukit Batok, then take 61 from interchangeDay/Date: Sunday, 30th November 2008Entry fee: $15 SGD including lunchFormat: likely to be 8 games, Round Robin followed by KOTHTournament Rules:

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-33784213161269392682008-10-17T00:19:00.000+08:002008-10-18T23:04:04.410+08:00

"I consider blogging to be a very informal type of publishing - like putting up thoughts on your door, with a note asking for comments, or like brainstorming sessions. Nothing in this weblog is done rigorously: it's a place for jottings and first impressions. Because I consider posts here to be 'literary seedings' rather than finished products, nothing here should be taken as if it were anything

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-53453869418399701702008-10-15T12:35:00.002+08:002008-10-15T21:05:53.804+08:00

Commentary: Obama and Bush are not so far apart - CNN.comFrom CNN.com (Source: Brad DeLong)The title itself gives it away!

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-67466812970731586692008-10-08T13:49:00.002+08:002008-11-03T15:55:40.460+08:00

SP Mini Full DetailsThis was supposed to be posted as an idea only, pending a survey on interest levels, but it seems to have been somewhat concretised by the SA email. Anyway, the tentative details follow:Venue: Signature Park Condominium Function RoomBuses: 61, 66, 157, 174, 970, 985Day/Date: Sunday, 30th November 2008Entry fee: $15 including lunch (lunch venue is a bus stop away)Format: likely

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-35957517762466567402008-10-08T11:35:00.004+08:002008-10-08T13:57:42.730+08:00

Some questions I'd like to ask anyone who's interested about or learning about the Presidential Race.1. Which candidate do you think would offer the best solution to the country's economic woes? How would that happen, and why would that happen if the candidate was elected into the White House?2. Does America's debt signify an underlying problem with the American way of life or the American style

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-50903166944483458672008-09-29T17:48:00.001+08:002008-10-08T11:34:52.570+08:00

Turns out I didn't do as badly as I thought, but did as badly as I thought at the same time. For almost all of the games (save one or two which comprised almost entirely bad play) I started off with bad racks, eventually turning them into consecutive good racks (and therefore consistent high scores). If we look at perfection I think I lost between 50 to 100 equity on most games. I'm not sure on

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19149720.post-35964834341766061922008-09-17T23:38:00.005+08:002009-02-10T13:29:14.211+08:00

Right, I've been experimenting a lot with software here and there on my Windows XP system over the past week or so and I've discovered some extremely useful software for the tech savvy. Many kudos to Lifehacker and gHacks, but yeah, I had to sift through many programs to see what exactly I wanted myself. I've sorted this post into must-haves, should-haves and uhh-maybes, though I use all of these

nibiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10680528389756744397noreply@blogger.com3