A thought came to me today... Google is so pervasive in our internet life, I am sure most of you agree. On a whim, I googled .... me. (by the way, yes, google has become a verb, but not accepted in TWL/OSW or SOWPODS, haha!)
Wow, there are many pages with my name on it! But not all is me. My name is not as unique as I once thought. I knew my name is unisex, but mostly used by girls. Ok ok, it IS UNISEX coz I am using it!
Back to the subject.... I googled my full name, and guess what? The most hits on google relates to a really scary, scary movie 'The Eye'. The name is used by the lead character, acted by our very own famous Malaysian-born actress, Angelica Lee Sin-Je, who plays the blind girl who got someone else's donated corneas. I highly recommend this for scary-movie-buffs. This movie is a multi-country production, by Hongkong/Thailand/Singapore/Malaysia actors/actresses.
Anyway, I tried just googling my first name, and found some webpages actually relates to me!
As of today, I got this websites from Google:
1. Page 2: I appeared on jadeite's blog, about our conversation in Bangkok King's Cup 2005. Pink!?!
2. Page 3: I appeared on the now-defunct website of the Malaysian Scrabble Association, which is a dead-link anyway(504 Timeout, whatever that means). Basically, Scrabble results.
3. Page 9: I am still on meetup.com! I used to be the organiser for the Singapore Scrabble meetup, but resigned when they wanted to charge fees for using it. But I am still linked to their Scrabble sites.
4. Page 10: Got 2 hits here, from the US National Scrabble Association website. Another Scrabble result.
Ok, no more pages....mostly 'The Eye' anyway. I am just a Scrabble statistic in the online world... except for jadeite's blog, where I actually exist as a person in an interaction. When I used my online name, I actually get my website on #1!!! Ding ding ding!!!
What about you?
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
My Scrabble stats!!
Wah.... I got my US Scrabble stats online... so paiseh, my ratings dropping like a heavy stone in water... didn't even knew this site existed... my meanderings through blogs lead me to it.
I was kinda reading through some blogs... went to Scratchpad, written by Ricki. He is one friendly Singapore Grandmaster, who was most encouraging when I started my competitive Scrabble life again, 5 years back. He almost seems normal by Scrabble standards, notwithstanding his word power.
Then found out about Scrabblestats, written by Hubert. Hubert is one Scrabble-savant. He kinda started off Scrabble about when I started playing. Both of us were written up in the Singapore SA News as upcoming players, but he way surpassed me already. I had challenges communicating with him, as he had with most others. But he certainly made strides in mixing with the Scrabble community, and brought out the best in his talents in Scrabble. So surprised that he even blogs. And he had a link to Cross-tables, the US ratings site. So, I went to look for my stats, and there I was. So paiseh.... my records really is sucky. As of today, I have a peak rank of 2070th in the US! I guess that's alright, considering US has such a big pool of players. As of today, in Singapore, I am 30th of 81 members and in Malaysia, 84th out of 290 players, so it is humbling to be in the US rankings...
One tournament coming up this weekend. Hope I do better this time!! I only wish for balanced racks. Time to kick ass!
I was kinda reading through some blogs... went to Scratchpad, written by Ricki. He is one friendly Singapore Grandmaster, who was most encouraging when I started my competitive Scrabble life again, 5 years back. He almost seems normal by Scrabble standards, notwithstanding his word power.
Then found out about Scrabblestats, written by Hubert. Hubert is one Scrabble-savant. He kinda started off Scrabble about when I started playing. Both of us were written up in the Singapore SA News as upcoming players, but he way surpassed me already. I had challenges communicating with him, as he had with most others. But he certainly made strides in mixing with the Scrabble community, and brought out the best in his talents in Scrabble. So surprised that he even blogs. And he had a link to Cross-tables, the US ratings site. So, I went to look for my stats, and there I was. So paiseh.... my records really is sucky. As of today, I have a peak rank of 2070th in the US! I guess that's alright, considering US has such a big pool of players. As of today, in Singapore, I am 30th of 81 members and in Malaysia, 84th out of 290 players, so it is humbling to be in the US rankings...
One tournament coming up this weekend. Hope I do better this time!! I only wish for balanced racks. Time to kick ass!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Scrabble in the USA: PEE or POO?
Being in the USA now, I feel the difference and the pain in adjusting to a TWL (Tournament Word List) environment. Coming from a SOWPODS background, where I have been playing regularly for about 5 years, the change in dictionary really affected my game. I have been down-rated from 922 to 900 to 859 over 3 tournaments!
In case you are wondering (like I did) why TWL instead of OSPD that makes up the SOWPODS anagram with OSW, TWL includes words that are deemed ‘offensive’ to the family playing environment but allowed in tournament play.
The Scrabble scene is pretty dynamic in the USA, as there are many more clubs and tournaments available almost every week. Near my home in the city of San Jose, the 2 closest tournament venues are in Los Gatos (15 minutes away) and Hayward (45 minutes away). There are also regular Scrabble playing sessions scheduled in Los Gatos, San Jose and Palo Alto, normally in a restaurant or a bookstore.
I have never considered myself as a super-expert-master-Jedi Scrabble player, merely an advanced intermediate so-so type, who occasionally win better players due to mere luck. My aim in each tournament has always been:
1. Don’t be last
2. Win half my games
3. Be top half
The clubs near my place organize tournaments monthly, and are usually short 6-games tournament. I just participated in one yesterday, on Dec 17, in Los Gatos. Below is an excerpt on my play (terribly, of course). And I show how it might have been better if it was SOWPODS was used instead.
Game 1:
Opponent: Ms. Grace Hersh, rated 846.
The curse of the vowels is on me, with having tiles in my rack such as AEEIILP, EEEEIIL & IIIJRTU. Of course, I had to make it worse by challenging PEE, and lost my turn, because I confused it with POO#, Yes, I know it is stupid to confuse urine with faeces. POO# is currently OSW only, but good in OSPD-2005 and perhaps will be adopted into TWL-2006. Plus, my opponent had the 2 blanks and 3 of the ‘S’, with a bingo of RIGGeRS along the way. Lost badly, 253-399. I hate getting sub-300 point games.
Game 2:
Opponent: JC Green, rated 834.
Mr. JC Green is a regular fixture in the tournaments, being a director of the Los Gatos club. He is a stickler for the Scrabble rules, which usually draw smiles from other regular players whenever he brusquely ask people to keep the noise down, opponents to stop fiddling with tiles on his turn, and when playing with me, to stop announcing my total after my score for my turn. He said it was not legal for me to speak after announcing my score and pressing the clock, as it is his turn and his time and I should not disturb him. We have matched twice, with a 1-1 record.
I started first, with FROTHY (I love it when I get to play coffee-related words, especially having bingoed CAFFEINE once before) for 38 as my opening move, and AgONIES following that, building up a strong lead. I had a 97 point lead by the 4th move, but it all went downhill from there on.
Later in the game, he challenged off my BRINY due to a DI# hook, which I had stupidly forgotten. If I cannot even get my 2-letters right, how am I going to get the 3 or more letters right? I played DA# later as a hook too, but he missed that one. I had simple bingos like PAINTeR and ORATiNG and PaINTER in 3 different racks, but they cannot go down due to a rapidly closed board. Lost this game 294-301, a mere 7 points!! If I only I get my 2-letters right…
Game 3:
Opponent: Martin Mondragon, rated 1034.
This guy is pretty good, and lucky too. He got bingos such as LEANInG and SpANNED (both the blanks!) and played well. I, on the other hand, loved me. ‘I’, as in the letter ‘I’. I had racks like EEIIRTY, AEIIIFR, IIIIRED. Had BEASTIE, but hesitated to play it. Lost 289-419. Martin won this division today with a 5 wins.
Game 4:
Opponent: Ms. Trix Kout, rated 837
Ah, the vowels love me still, with racks like AAAEMUU, AIINOOY, AEIIOUR (where EUOI# would be so, so, so useful). But I got lucky with RETAINS on my 3rd rack, and faked a HaRRIET* (non-word) late in the game, which was not challenged. But got RIVO# challenged off. Luckily, this time, it did not dent my lead, and I won 449-305.
Game 5:
Opponent: Barry Leung, rated 819
Now, this is one game where SOWPODS is a double-edged sword. Barry is a newcomer to the Scrabble scene, but I believe he will continue to climb the ratings pretty quickly. I bingoed with ALeVINS and INSANER, and he SALUTED. But I lost 2 turns in a row to him, for playing OXER#/WEX# (X hook on WE, with R on the triple-word) for a 55 pointer, and HOX#/AX for a 51 pointer. He promptly blocked those spots with relatively low-pointers. Sigh…. anyhow, I won the game by catching him with the Q, E and N with all the ‘U’s already played and inaccessible. There were plenty of exposed ‘I’s, where QI# would have gone in a SOWPODS world, but I won this game 418-408 after adding 24 points from his rack. Will not be so lucky when QI gets official in March 2006, I think.
Game 6:
Opponent: Gloriosa Agdeppa, rated 918
This was a relatively close fought game. I had played Gloriosa before, which I had lost due to playing EE#. This time, the vowels returned, with racks like AEEDUUW and AEEEUUO. Towards the end, she pulled away with a closed board while I had orphaned bingos such as ASHAmED, nAIADES (no, ARAISED# will not work…) and ABUSIvE. Lost 317-345.
Results: 2 wins, 4 losses. Rated 4th in the group of 8 in the lowest division, and ended up 6th, so drop in ratings again! 859 to 836. Oh well. I met 1 out of 3 of my targets, not being last.
Full results available at: http://www.yak.net/kablooey/scrabble/LosGatosDec05results.html
Next challenge! I will be taking part in a 2-day tournament on January 1-2, 2006 in Los Gatos, where I bravely decided to up myself to play in Division 1 (for players with ratings > 1,600 and people who wants to play up). Crazy, I know, but what the heck! I just want to know what level those guys are playing at. With opponents with double my ratings, I am up for a uphill battle!
I guess I really need to sit down and study my word lists. I am playing at less than 100% because I have been second-guessing myself during play, on words I know to be good but perhaps is OSW-only words. PEE or POO!!
In case you are wondering (like I did) why TWL instead of OSPD that makes up the SOWPODS anagram with OSW, TWL includes words that are deemed ‘offensive’ to the family playing environment but allowed in tournament play.
The Scrabble scene is pretty dynamic in the USA, as there are many more clubs and tournaments available almost every week. Near my home in the city of San Jose, the 2 closest tournament venues are in Los Gatos (15 minutes away) and Hayward (45 minutes away). There are also regular Scrabble playing sessions scheduled in Los Gatos, San Jose and Palo Alto, normally in a restaurant or a bookstore.
I have never considered myself as a super-expert-master-Jedi Scrabble player, merely an advanced intermediate so-so type, who occasionally win better players due to mere luck. My aim in each tournament has always been:
1. Don’t be last
2. Win half my games
3. Be top half
The clubs near my place organize tournaments monthly, and are usually short 6-games tournament. I just participated in one yesterday, on Dec 17, in Los Gatos. Below is an excerpt on my play (terribly, of course). And I show how it might have been better if it was SOWPODS was used instead.
Game 1:
Opponent: Ms. Grace Hersh, rated 846.
The curse of the vowels is on me, with having tiles in my rack such as AEEIILP, EEEEIIL & IIIJRTU. Of course, I had to make it worse by challenging PEE, and lost my turn, because I confused it with POO#, Yes, I know it is stupid to confuse urine with faeces. POO# is currently OSW only, but good in OSPD-2005 and perhaps will be adopted into TWL-2006. Plus, my opponent had the 2 blanks and 3 of the ‘S’, with a bingo of RIGGeRS along the way. Lost badly, 253-399. I hate getting sub-300 point games.
Game 2:
Opponent: JC Green, rated 834.
Mr. JC Green is a regular fixture in the tournaments, being a director of the Los Gatos club. He is a stickler for the Scrabble rules, which usually draw smiles from other regular players whenever he brusquely ask people to keep the noise down, opponents to stop fiddling with tiles on his turn, and when playing with me, to stop announcing my total after my score for my turn. He said it was not legal for me to speak after announcing my score and pressing the clock, as it is his turn and his time and I should not disturb him. We have matched twice, with a 1-1 record.
I started first, with FROTHY (I love it when I get to play coffee-related words, especially having bingoed CAFFEINE once before) for 38 as my opening move, and AgONIES following that, building up a strong lead. I had a 97 point lead by the 4th move, but it all went downhill from there on.
Later in the game, he challenged off my BRINY due to a DI# hook, which I had stupidly forgotten. If I cannot even get my 2-letters right, how am I going to get the 3 or more letters right? I played DA# later as a hook too, but he missed that one. I had simple bingos like PAINTeR and ORATiNG and PaINTER in 3 different racks, but they cannot go down due to a rapidly closed board. Lost this game 294-301, a mere 7 points!! If I only I get my 2-letters right…
Game 3:
Opponent: Martin Mondragon, rated 1034.
This guy is pretty good, and lucky too. He got bingos such as LEANInG and SpANNED (both the blanks!) and played well. I, on the other hand, loved me. ‘I’, as in the letter ‘I’. I had racks like EEIIRTY, AEIIIFR, IIIIRED. Had BEASTIE, but hesitated to play it. Lost 289-419. Martin won this division today with a 5 wins.
Game 4:
Opponent: Ms. Trix Kout, rated 837
Ah, the vowels love me still, with racks like AAAEMUU, AIINOOY, AEIIOUR (where EUOI# would be so, so, so useful). But I got lucky with RETAINS on my 3rd rack, and faked a HaRRIET* (non-word) late in the game, which was not challenged. But got RIVO# challenged off. Luckily, this time, it did not dent my lead, and I won 449-305.
Game 5:
Opponent: Barry Leung, rated 819
Now, this is one game where SOWPODS is a double-edged sword. Barry is a newcomer to the Scrabble scene, but I believe he will continue to climb the ratings pretty quickly. I bingoed with ALeVINS and INSANER, and he SALUTED. But I lost 2 turns in a row to him, for playing OXER#/WEX# (X hook on WE, with R on the triple-word) for a 55 pointer, and HOX#/AX for a 51 pointer. He promptly blocked those spots with relatively low-pointers. Sigh…. anyhow, I won the game by catching him with the Q, E and N with all the ‘U’s already played and inaccessible. There were plenty of exposed ‘I’s, where QI# would have gone in a SOWPODS world, but I won this game 418-408 after adding 24 points from his rack. Will not be so lucky when QI gets official in March 2006, I think.
Game 6:
Opponent: Gloriosa Agdeppa, rated 918
This was a relatively close fought game. I had played Gloriosa before, which I had lost due to playing EE#. This time, the vowels returned, with racks like AEEDUUW and AEEEUUO. Towards the end, she pulled away with a closed board while I had orphaned bingos such as ASHAmED, nAIADES (no, ARAISED# will not work…) and ABUSIvE. Lost 317-345.
Results: 2 wins, 4 losses. Rated 4th in the group of 8 in the lowest division, and ended up 6th, so drop in ratings again! 859 to 836. Oh well. I met 1 out of 3 of my targets, not being last.
Full results available at: http://www.yak.net/kablooey/scrabble/LosGatosDec05results.html
Next challenge! I will be taking part in a 2-day tournament on January 1-2, 2006 in Los Gatos, where I bravely decided to up myself to play in Division 1 (for players with ratings > 1,600 and people who wants to play up). Crazy, I know, but what the heck! I just want to know what level those guys are playing at. With opponents with double my ratings, I am up for a uphill battle!
I guess I really need to sit down and study my word lists. I am playing at less than 100% because I have been second-guessing myself during play, on words I know to be good but perhaps is OSW-only words. PEE or POO!!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Ice-skating & inline-blading: Not the same!!
Wan & I went ice-skating on Saturday. San Jose Town Centre sets up an outdoor ice-skating rink in the town centre during the winter season every year. This year, for the first time, our firm booked the rink for a private party, entrance fees & skate rentals, snacks and hot drinks, all included. Nice, isn't it? You'd never find your firm doing such things in Singapore nor Malaysia.
It's been a long, long time since I last ice-skated. Probably remember that converted cinema (forgot the name) in Singapore, and Jurong Point. In KL, probably a couple of times at the Pyramids Shopping Centre. Even inline-skating, which I did enjoy for a time, was a memory.
But surprisingly, I adapted to the ice pretty quickly. Wan started tentatively, but by the end of the session, she can skate pretty easily. Stopping, that is another matter! Fun, fun, fun! With pastries for breakfast, coffee, hot chocolate & hot cider available... nice!!
One thing though, I cannot skate backwards... I used to be able to inline-skate backwards pretty easily, but on ice, it's quite different. Once I do a turn, I stop. Lose the momentum almost immediately. Oh well, it's been a long time. Perhaps I'll get it with more practice. But have to pay next time!
It's been a long, long time since I last ice-skated. Probably remember that converted cinema (forgot the name) in Singapore, and Jurong Point. In KL, probably a couple of times at the Pyramids Shopping Centre. Even inline-skating, which I did enjoy for a time, was a memory.
But surprisingly, I adapted to the ice pretty quickly. Wan started tentatively, but by the end of the session, she can skate pretty easily. Stopping, that is another matter! Fun, fun, fun! With pastries for breakfast, coffee, hot chocolate & hot cider available... nice!!
One thing though, I cannot skate backwards... I used to be able to inline-skate backwards pretty easily, but on ice, it's quite different. Once I do a turn, I stop. Lose the momentum almost immediately. Oh well, it's been a long time. Perhaps I'll get it with more practice. But have to pay next time!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Cabling nightmare
This is how I feel today.... tired, but have to work...
Been tinkering with my home theatre set-up the past few nights. I am not an audiophile in anyway, but would just like to have some A/V stuff to complement my movie watching and enjoy music in general. And D-I-Y is NOT my forte...
Got the Accoutimass Bose 6 Series III speakers (coz I am in a pretty small apartment), and later found out online that most audiophiles bash Bose products... hooked it up to a Sony A/V receiver, a pretty basic model, STR-DE598. Got a pretty good deal on a Sony Grand Wega 42" LCD projector TV earlier, and a simple Samsung DVD/VCR combo.
The nightmare begins... first, cabling. Have anyone tried figuring out which cable goes where? Or even what cable to get, to begin with? First, I found out that audio cables and video cables are separate ones (after the first night). And they come in different standards. Audio has 'RCA', 'coaxial' and 'digital' (in increasing order of quality), and video has 'composite video', 'S-video' and 'component video'. Then, I found out that the manuals were so misleading, the diagrams indicating that I needed 'cable A' AND 'cable B', when it is 'A' OR 'B', so I got extra cables I don't need (after the 2nd night). So, I had to return some extra video cables to the shop, and exchange for some audio ones. And the fella in the shops were no help too... they don't know what they are talking about....
Finally, hooked it all up last night (3rd night) .... and the sound is disappointing.... sounds like (*pun intended*) the Bose-bashing audiophiles online were right....
(their chant is: 'no high, no low, must be Bose' or that
BOSE stands for '
Buy
Other
Sound
Equipment')
Now, I am considering to return the Bose speakers and get the recommended Polk RM6800 speaker set for newbies. Or maybe I just hook them up wrong... getting help is expensive, about $200 just to set up. Feel like screaming.....
So, that's my face up there last night... not really lah! I took this shot in San Diego, in the facade of a beautiful building complex, part of the historical California Tower, now used as the Musuem of Man. There is a saint stepping on his head in the facade, so I am guessing his headache is probably worse than mine. So, I am not that bad off...
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Caffeine dreams
Got my espresso machine set up last weekend, but had little time to test it. Too much to do, things to settle....
But this Saturday is a relaxing one. And gave me time to work on my barista skills. Ok, the description below is for people with barista experience...
The Gaggia Classic is a beautiful little machine. Made in Italy, the machine is one of the best reviewed on www.wholelattelove.com, the website I bought it from. It is a one-group high pressure espresso machine, not those cheapo steam ones.
Accompanying the Gaggia, I got a Solis Maestro Plus burr grinder, for a consistent espresso grind. Along with it, got the shot glasses, tamper, milk frothing jug, milk thermometer.... the works!!
Turn out pretty well! Made a good latte for myself, and a mocha for Wan.
Ingredients:
- Peets Espresso Forte blend (Peets has one of the best beans in US, almost comparable to San Francisco Coffee , ahem...)
- Silk organic soy milk, instead of cow milk (trying to avoid dairy products). Made a pretty good latte!!
The espresso shot was sweet, with good crema during a 25-second shot. The Silk soy milk was sweeten, so the latte tasted somewhat like a vanilla latte. Must try unsweeten soy milk next time.
Made a mocha for Wan too, with additional ingredient:
- organic Abuela hot chocolate powder from Chuao Chocolatier (yummy, yummy) . She liked it!
More to experiment later.... now I can have all the coffee I want!! Caffeine overload!
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