Go is fun!

Go is actually fun. I love playing go. For those of you not in the know, go (a.k.a. baduk a.k.a. weiqi) is an ancient board game that's been played for over 10000000 years. If you look on the right, you'll actually see a link to KGS, which is a server you can play go on.

Anyway, it's arguably the best board game ever (besides guess who? which is the god of boardgames) and it's a lot of fun. If you haven't played it before, go on KGS and start playing! There are a lot of friendly people who enjoy helping people get into the game.

Go used to be pretty unpopular with the ladies, but lately it's been picking up. Nowadays, if you play go, you'll automatically gain 3 stones in attracting ladies (that's arguably 45 points for those keeping count). The reason? Hikaru no Go. Girls just love silly looking anime, and when the show became a hit in Japan (and various parts of the rest of the world) the popularity of go soared.

If you go on KGS, roughly half the people will be girls or guys pretending to be girls with pictures of girls. It's estimated that roughly 10% of all KGS players are female, but that's just a random statistic made up on the spot. However, I'm 100% confident that the percentage of females on KGS is between 0% and 99.999%. I do believe this is the first time that STAT231 has been applied in the real world.

Some people say that go is military experience. Okay okay, I say that. It might be true though. If anyone asks if I have any military experience, I'd proudly proclaim that I have 18 months! ... followed by a rawr! and a swift kick to the stomach for asking such a dumb question. As if a dinosaur endorses violence.

Anyway, I've been playing on KGS a lot lately. Don't know why, but the game seems far more enjoyable than it was a few months ago. I'll also be going to the UW Go Club meeting tonight, hopefully it'll be a better experience than my last visit.

Class is fun!

Well, not really. I've just recently started going back to class, not missing even one (except for the one I missed last Friday). Rather than sitting at home or sleeping in, I find that actually getting up early (around 8ish) and getting out really is a good way to start your day. Also, since I'm pretty good at absorbing material, I don't have to study much for exams if I actually go to class. I used to be one of those guys who preached, "rawr! stay at home kids. class is a waste of time! cram last minute and get as good a mark as you would anyway without wasting your gaming time."

Some of that I still agree with. Some classes are a waste of time. There are horrible profs who drone on and on about nothing that's on the exam. These I suggest you skip. I've made a promise to go to every single class, and I'm not going to go back on that yet (besides last Friday), but I would skip a couple classes for sure if they weren't in the middle of my schedule. Anyway, the keyword in that sentence a while back is "some." There are some great classes that you shouldn't miss, because the prof actually teaches you the material quicker than you can learn by yourself. If you're scheduled to attend these rare classes, don't miss them if you can.

Of course, the real challenge for most of you, I'm sure, would be "how in the world am I supposed to get up that early?!" Well, the solution is get a good alarm clock. "... but reptar, my alarm clock doesn't wake me up!" Obviously you don't want to get up. If you're motivated enough, you'll sleep early enough and wake up earlier than the time on the alarm clock. The alarm clock is a backup in case you underestimated the amount of sleep you need. If you're motivated enough, you'll get up. You know how sometimes, there's some event like band practice [or insert some other enjoyable activity] that's early in the morning or far away and you feel it's not worth getting up to go to it or it's not worth the travelling time... but once you get there and you're banging on the drums [or whatever] it feels really great? Think about that moment. Once you get there, you'll forget about what a hassle it was because you'll be having a great time. That's motivation. The secret to success. I suggest you get a good book on motivation if you believe that you're lacking it.

Going to class is a good thing. Yes, there are some classes that you should not go to, and I suggest you don't go to them. You might think it's a hassle to wake up early to go to one or two valuable classes. I'm telling you that it's worth it. All you need is motivation.

This post sounded like some sort of motivational speech, but you know, there are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's mastercard.

Let's start it off with a rawr

rawr is not the same as roar. It just isn't. Say it out loud if you must and you will notice that while rawr gives the impression of "I'm gonna get you sucka!" roar sounds more like "go away, I'm lazy."

"roar" is extensively used to fill in the audio for intimidating beasts. It is wrongly used. I cannot emphasize this point enough. After a couple years of research, I've discovered that dinosaurs in the past said "rawr!"; not "roar," which is a common misconception. I've recently extended this research to other wild beasts and I conclude that for the most part, they say "rawr." I say for the most part because they do occasionally say "roar," but it's only when they've just eaten a large meal or when they're talking to their rebellious son. "roar" is not a threat.

Unless you like saying things for no reason, instead of "roar," say "rawr!"