Today's quotes are dedicated to NathanW

How it all began:

Shenron [1d]: yeah, he is around 1-2d
NathanW [-]: Who is 1 or 2 d?
Shenron [1d]: violence
NathanW [-]: O the guy with the big mouth
NathanW [-]: You will always have guys like that on kgs that think they are everything

Who's the big mouth?:

Move 122
svgo [4k]: alive
Move 123 (B plays K4)
Move 125
NathanW [-]: You wish

svgo [4k]: he could have been
Cogitatio [7k]: b h9 was live
svgo [4k]: but he played k4
NathanW [-]: So now black had to make a n impossible kill

Finale!:

Muttley [2k]: well, that keshed some ahi
NathanW [-]: you mean that costed some aji?
Prologue [-]: destroyed some aji that could have been used later.
NathanW [-]: See that makes more sense
Violence [?]: keshi is what he meant
Violence [?]: means erase in Japanese.
NathanW [-]: Ahh mister big talk is here. Yes I know what it means Violence
NathanW [-]: I studied japans for 3 years. So it would be bad if I did not know. but muttley just wrote it down wrong
Violence [?]: Haha, naraba ore no se da ne, Nathan. Tsugi ni ore ga damaru.
NathanW [-]: Violence I would reply to that. But its 3 am so I was called by my wife to go to bed.
Cormano: heh
Violence [?]: Haha
Cormano: nathan dont know japanese
Violence [?]: And all I said was "Then it's my fault. Next time, I'll shut up."

ping pong rawr

I've been playing ping pong daily for a few weeks now. It's fun and if you've never played, I suggest you go out and get a ping pong table along with all the necessary accessories. It's nearly as addictive as go.

New Hardware

I got a Nintendo Wii in May; an iPod nano a couple weeks ago; and a new MacBook Pro last week.

A year or two ago I think I wrote that I hated Apple. Ever since I learned of Boot Camp and seeing my coworkers use it, I started liking the idea of owning one myself. When I heard of the iPhone, I was immediately sold. I really like the idea of the iPhone. It's shifting the focus to software. If you're a programmer, you no longer have to worry about whether the phone has such and such buttons at such and such locations; you can just create buttons... Or at least that's the direction I imagine the iPhone will take: tremendous flexibility. I could be wrong though; you might never be able to do more with it than what Apple allows (I think at the moment that is creating apps for safari).

So I've been interested in investing in a Mac, but never had the opportunity or the need to get a new computer. With the back-to-school special (free iPod nano 4gb) and the release of the new Santa Rosa chipset, along with the school discount ($200) I only get before I graduate in August, I decided it was as good a time as any to get one. I'll just pay for Leopard when it comes out (with the savings I've mentioned).

I even got a new multifunctional printer to boot. A nice office-quality Canon PIXMA MP600. I really like it so far. Currently $100 off when buying with a Mac.

So I've spent a good bit of the weekend getting used to Mac OS X. Read about 500 tips from macosxhints.com. I think I've finally got most of what I need on here. I'm still learning all the shortcut keys and such. I really like the OS. Far more than Windows.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I also got high-speed internet in May. I'm living in cottage country now and high-speed hasn't been available here when I first came here a few years back. Now that I'm living here full-time, Rogers decides to offer an Outdoor Modem (which is like satellite but receiving the signal from a tower). What perfect timing. It's as fast as cable most times, but with severe weather, it degrades to dial-up speeds and sometimes loss of connectivity. Oh well, I'll settle with getting a ping of 60 in Team Fortress Classic most of the time.

Haven't played go in forever, so I guess I better make up for lost time.

KGS admins do a great job

I was watching a game between a couple 6 dans when a [6d?] started making stupid comments. Checked his profile and saw he had played just one game against a fellow German client user who was [1k]. Checked out the game and it's fishy. I instantly figured rank booster...

Anyway, I log in again a few hours later and check the status... This time he has won a ranked game against another fellow German client user [2d?] and is now [9d?]. Wouldn't ya know it, the [2d?] guy hasn't played a rank game since he played one against the aforementioned [1k] a month ago.

In fact, when I was checking out his account, he was rank boosting another account up to [9d?]. I hate rank boosters with a passion. They're worse than sandbaggers and even escapers. Sandbaggers at least is giving free lessons to weaker players. When someone escapes, you know you've won. Way better than those who keep playing on either trying to win by time or your lack of concentration (of course some escapers do this first). Plus, escapers eventually escape one too many and you get the win anyway. Rank boosters on the other hand are worthless to everyone. They're basically trying to get a free lesson from higher ranks (if they have the courage to play any) or they're messing around on kibitz misleading weaker players.

I go to tell a Super Admin about it, opening up a private chat tab, but glue's already looking at the [1k] vs [6d?] game! A few minutes later, all 4 accounts are either [?] or [-]. Great to see an admin doing a fine job on KGS.

Leafs miss playoffs again

They've been out of playoff contention since Sunday, so why am I posting about it now? I dunno, just frustrated I guess. They're now out for the second season in a row, I've only got Ferguson to blame. We should get Colangelo from the Raptors, I bet he'd do a better job.

Right now, the Leafs' game plan seems to be shoot the puck, get lucky and get the puck back, shoot again. Unless it's a clear break-away you won't see a Leaf make a pretty move splitting defensemen to put the puck in the net or on another stick that can.

This is because the Leafs have no good stick handlers with explosive speed. Someone who can take the puck through a crowd and set up some good plays. Wellwood can stick handle and he's smart, but he doesn't seem to have that speed, and he's also got his faults which I'll get to later. Sundin can hold the puck, but it seems he can only do it from behind the net (more due to the defense he has to go against).

The lack of stick handlers causes the game to be boring; it's the same every time. All their power plays look the same, their umbrella formation set up exactly the same way every single time. Get the puck to Kaberle, pass it between defenders and shoot every once in a while. If the opposing team learns how to break up the formation, then that's it! It's over. 0 for whatever on their power play. Even if they do score, it's because of poor defense or because of lucky bounces like they admit at the end of the game.

Look at Pittsburgh. They've got play-makers like Crosby who can drive through the defense with no set destination. Very exciting power plays. They command the power play. Luck plays a factor, but they command it.

For this, Maurice should be blamed. He can't let his players go wild like it seems every other team seems to do, but even so, he should try and draw up some more plays, even if they're all set in stone. Just make sure to think up transitions between them. Don't rely on lucky bounces to win hockey games.

McCabe is the most overrated player in the NHL. He should have been let go in the off-season. Even last year, his defense was noted as not stellar. Why sign a defenseman for his offense? The Leafs defense was what was lacking in the previous season, not a lack of offense. Why sign a defenseman for $29mil for 5 years for just his offense? Now that the season is over I can ask, why sign anyone for $29mil for 5 years for NOTHING? Hell, I've seen him turn over more pucks, take more dumb penalties, not hold the blue line more times than see him make any good defensive play or make any good offensive play. I feel bad for Kaberle, the all-star who signed a contract for less in the same off-season as McCabe.

You might think Raycroft's to blame for the high goals against. He's not as stellar as he should have been, but he's not all to blame. He did let in a lot of softies against Montreal on Saturday, and he does that more often than he should. However, he cannot be blamed for the majority of goals against him. I agree with what Don Cherry has said in the past. Raycroft will be the guy who takes the Leafs to the playoffs, if they get there at all.

Wellwood is a witty player with "magic" hands. But this guy does not know how to play in his own end. Maurice should only play him when the puck's at least in the neutral zone. Watching him defend is painful.

Sundin had 20 points in the last 20 games (compare that to 21 points by Crosby in the same period), so even if he only had 1 goal in those 20 games, I think he's played a captain's role. It would be absurd to think of trading someone like him who has said he'd like to end his career as a Leaf. Sundin deserves to be the captain here. However, I think he should be paired with people who are not just Sundin-wannabes, which is just what Ponikarovsky and Antropov seem to be. Yes, he will always be against their top checkers, but he can handle himself without two towers beside him. No one matches Sundin's persistence behind the net in the NHL and there's no one he can't handle. He can afford to have someone like Pohl or Battaglia who can weave through as his winger. This should give Sundin more room to score his goals.

I would really like to see some better matched lines next season, and I hope the Leafs will be gifted with more stick-handlers to make this happen.

beck on much

First it was Kelly Osbourne going to Japan, now it's Mongolian chop squad on muchmusic (a Canadian music channel).

A real classy move by much. The anime was a success in Japan. I'm not too sure how it will be received by Canadians. The plot takes a while to get going and there are many awkward pauses so it might be a real turn off for people who're used to watching music videos.

The dubbing is pretty good, they've even redone the songs with proper English. As with all dubs, there are problems though. The extras, as usual, are terribly not believable.

Chiba's voice is a little too low in my opinion and it doesn't flow as well in some of his songs.

Koyuki's main song in the anime, Face, sounds terrible. It won't fit in with the story. His vocals are supposed to be so great that when a famous band hears this song, they select him to rock with them. His vocals are rather scratchy like a kid at his age with no vocal training.

Hopefully Canadians will stick with it, because it's a great story.

louis ck is funny

What would you do with $85 billion? I bet you won't think of anything better than this guy.

I also recommend you watch his HBO special.

Oh yeah, virgin ears should steer clear.