j'adoube = the raptor?

so j'adoube has been out of sight for almost two years now.

then i see this headline today:

so i took a look at The Raptor's blog (link here).

the first thing i noticed was the 3 = E format in the url - j'adoube's url is the same.

then i started reading some of his posts - the tone is very similar to j'adoube's.

then i remembered j'adoube is a programmer.

i think i also heard that j'adoube is older ... like in his 50s or 60s

so all these added up leads me to believe raptor = j'adoube.

if that is truly the case, then i can see why he's not blogging so much anymore on j'adoube.

OpEd: Mr. Obama - play some chess!

"Dear Mr. Obama: Center yourself" is an OpEd letter to Obama to play some chess (and to learn from it) while he is vacationing at Martha's Vineyard.  The author quotes Benjamin Franklin, "The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. ... We learn by Chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favorable chance, and that of persevering ..."

source: capecodeonline.com
image source: The Daily Telegraph

Rush Limbaugh & Chess

This ought to be interesting.

Here is the source:
www.bookwormroom.com/2010/04/20/ordinary-people-view-rush-as-a-dangerous-svengali/comment-page-1/

Here is the quote:

It’s also very frustrating to me because, in a funny way, I agree with my liberal friends that Rush can rejigger their world view very quickly. The only thing is that I don’t believe Rush works his magic through hypnotism and trickery. Instead, I think Rush’s real magic lies in his ability to view the political world as a vast chess board, one on which he can see multiple future moves; his prodigious memory; his well-informed mind; his logical analyses; and his funny persona. He convinces by appealing to our rational mind, our sense of humor, and our knowledge of the world as it is, and not as some Ivory Tower liberal tells us it should be.

Chess Around the Net

Iran vs. United States

When it comes to dealing with Iran, the country's parliamentary speaker said the United States would be better served taking up chess than continuing to box, the country's official news agency reported Saturday.

"The United States needs to play on a chess set (with Iran) instead of playing in a boxing ring," IRNA quoted Ali Larijani as telling a group of visiting reporters in Tehran Saturday.

Why not do both ... literally.

source: Yahoo! News

Deadly Chess Game

Two friends drinking. They play some chess. An argument erupts. One of them pulls out his sword! The other one dies.

This story sounds vaguely familiar.

source: The Mercury News

Phantom Chess

A lot of "computerized" chess sets seem gimicky, but this one actually seems pretty cool. The pieces move by themselves. I guess you "enter" your move and the electro-magnetic piece moves.

Excalibur Chess makes this set.

It sells for about $100 at Amazon.

Source: Proidee

Chess Picture of the Week

Chess-Master: A two-year-old in serious thought.

Chess Around the Net

"Deep" Kasparov runs on 23 watts,

Q: Let me try to ask the question differently, then. If our brains are
computers, how are they different from the computer that's sitting on my desk?
A: Ahh, that's a great question. So, how does my brain, as adapted
biological computer, differ from the thing that sits beside my desk? Let's think about the time Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion, played the chess-playing machine called Deep Blue. In 1996, Kasparov beat Deep Blue quite soundly, but in 1997 Deep Blue eked out a victory, 3.5 to 2.5 in a match. One big difference between Kasparov and the computer is that he remained warm to the touch. This is a guy who can play chess better than anyone, and he can also read books, write poetry and have political opinions. Deep Blue, on the other hand, was a one-ton device with an enormous amount of air conditioning blowing on it, and 256 specialized chess-playing computer chips. If you turned off the air conditioning to Deep Blue it would burst into flames. To my mind, the most amazing thing is that Kasparov could even play that computer. What it means is that Garry Kasparov's brain is freakishly efficient, it's running on about 23 watts while Deep Blue doesn't know how to use energy that efficiently. So, one of the problems that biological computers have solved is how to take in energy and turn it almost into, magically, freakishly efficient computation.

I'm still trying to find a picture of the chess piece.

George Condo has painted the monarch in nine surreal images, including one with carrots sticking out of her ears and another where she's shaped like a chess piece.

Mmm, Pumpkin Chess Bars

A homeless man who used to play chess (Randy Dolinger - 1971) is running for a spot on the city council in Ashland, Oregon.

And while I compare him to his homeless peers, I should add that Randy's
intellect is on a par with many college graduates I have known as well. It
surprised me to find out he was a child prodigy. His favorite focus was chess. It was a game he would master on a par with the great Bobby Fisher. I found his name on a list of champions in North Carolina. In 1971, Randy was great.

Chess Around the Net

The Politics of Chess is an article that offers similarities between real life and life on the 64. For obvious reasons, I was curious about what the author would say about rooks. He says,

"Ahhh… the safety and security of bricks and mortar are the lesson to be learned here. How solid and dependable are the rooks? They occupy and guard the outer edges of the world, keeping the other players safe from invading paws of curious kittens and insurgencies of spilt beverages. But how high is the price of such security? I’ll tell you – it’s a terrible toll. Severely restricted movement, and a mindset programmed to think in unbending lines. Compare this to the United States, where the price of freedom is restrictions beyond their wildest nightmares – a government hellbent on tying down its own people to protect them from themselves, and others.Thus, the Rooks are the US Government of the chess world. Bulky, cumbersome and programmed to defend and destroy, or die trying.

Go take a read ... you'll be amused.

Aladdin (as in the Disney character) now teaches chess. I guess since he's off the streets now, he has lots of time on his hands. It looks like this software is geared towards teaching children chess.

Interesting blog (and wiki).

A sketch of a couple playing chess.

Does anyone use bit torrents? I'll have to read up on this. If you use them, here is an interesting link. It looks like they have something to do with file sharing.