Kristi's Pregnant!

For those of you who don't already know.

Her second appointment was last Wednesday and we were able to hear the baby's heart beat! Her due date is April 29th and I'm busy planning the baby's room and other household projects to complete before he or she arrives.

Not surprisingly, the room will have a Scrabble sub-theme.

Reading Away

One of my resolutions was to read 24 books in 2005. I’m behind, but I still think I can do it.

Here’s what I’ve read so far:

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime by Mark Hadden
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
The Deadwood Beetle by Mylene Dressler
Three Nights In August by Buzz Bissinger
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
Cold Comfort by Barton Sutter
Life Of Pi by Yann Martel
Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

If you’re looking for recommendations then I’d say Life Of Pi is at the top of my list. There were one or two spots that were a little slow, but the story is great and the ending is a thought-provoker. “I have a story that will make you believe in God” is the set-up line from the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book (don’t skip this part!).

I’m nearly done with Peace Like A River and it’s a close second. It’s hard to put the book down because the story is so well-told and the plot moves right along. Enger is a Minnesotan, so you know he can write; the story is set in Minnesota, so you know it’s good. It’s Enger’s first novel and I always enjoy reading first novels (Pi was Martel’s second).

Cold Comfort is a collection of essays by a Duluth resident. Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a good grammar book. Three Nights is a baseball book about Tony LaRussa and the Cardinals. On The Road is On The Road, one of those books people expect you to have read. Oh, The Curious Incident is a worthy investment. The Deadwood Beetle is forgettable.

So, eight books in seven months. I’m six books behind with five months to go. Fourtunately, I think I can read three books a month to make my resolution. Wait, that's not enough, so I'll have to read an extra one in December.

Although I have a stack of books I want to read this year (Fight In The Fields, The Kite Runner, The Brothers Karamazov, Islands In The Stream, House Of Sand And Fog, Lolita, A Year In Provence), I will always take recommendations. So, recommend!

Lake Superior

Some Lake Superior Facts:

LENGTH: 350 miles / 563 km.
BREADTH: 160 miles / 257 km.
AVERAGE DEPTH: 483 ft. / 147 m.
MAXIMUM DEPTH: 1,332 ft. / 406 m.
VOLUME: 2,900 cubic miles / 12,100 cubic km. (It could contain all of the Great Lakes, plus 3 additional lakes the size of Lake Eerie)
WATER SURFACE AREA: 31,700 sq. miles / 82,100 sq. km.
SHORELINE LENGTH (including islands): 2,726 miles / 4,385 km.
ELEVATION: 600 ft. / 183 m.
Detention Rate: 191 years for a drop of water to remain in the lake
Average Water Temperature: 40 degrees Fahrenheit
Maximum Wave Height Recorded: 31 feet
Could cover all of North America in water three feet deep.
Lake Superior rarely freezes over fully, and when it does, it usually doesn't last longer than a few hours or perhaps a day. It's estimated that Lake Superior froze nearly 100 percent in1996, about 96 percent in 1994, and about 95 percent in 1972. The last records of complete ice coverage date to the winters of 1979 and 1962. Very cold, calm weather is necessary for the complete freezing of Lake Superior.

My favorite fact about Lake Superior:

With the entire surface frozen, there would be enough room for every person on earth to spread out a 12' by 12' picnic blanket.

Just Rambling

In Pilgrim At Tinker Creek Annie Dillard writes:

Self-consciousness is the curse of the city and all that sophistication implies. It is the glimpse of oneself in a storefront window, the unbidden awareness of reactions on the faces of other people -- the novelist's world, not the poet's. I've lived there. I remember what the city has to offer: human companionship, major-league baseball, and a clatter of quickening stimulus like a rush from strong drugs that leaves you drained. I remember how you bide your time in the city, and think, if you stop to think, "next year . . . I'll start living; next year . . . I'll start my life." Innocence is a better world.

Innocence sees that this is it, and finds it world enough, and time.

* * * *

I was fortunate enough to have someone recommend Pilgrim to me and now I recommend it to others. The quote above is from the chapter "The Present," which is about experiencing the present purely.

I've read Ayn Rand and enjoyed her novels. But, when someone gets all excited about Rand's philosophy, I tell them I prefer Dillard's.

Ethel Sherard Tourney Report

Ethel Sherard Celebrity Scrabble Tournament
Fountain Valley, California
January 30, 2005
7 Games

I won the bottom division of this tournament last year. I was rated 1064 going into the tournament; every player I faced had a lower rating and I won all 7 of my games.

Nevertheless, this year I was glad to be playing in the intermediate division (Division 3 of 4). I was rated 1105 going into the tournament and hadn’t studied as much in January as I had planned to. I was in the bottom third of my division.

Game 1 vs. Barbara Ring: AGAINSt was my only Bingo. She played NOONERS and EmOTING, but screwed-up the end game by playing the phony LEIN*, losing her turn, and allowing me to play out. By my analysis, the game would have been tied if she didn’t play the phony, but since I didn’t record racks I really don’t know. My best play was CAMPY for 53 from her C to the TWS. I saw, but wasn’t brave enough to play UNTUnES (ENSTUU?). 370-355, 1-0.

Game 2 vs. Bruce Gram: a natural DINEROS to start. I would like to sim this on Maven to find out what it recommends as the best word and placement. The way I did it left an E and an O next to DLSes, but I didn’t want to examine my options too closely because I wanted to save time for the endgame. SQUEAL for 48 from the S to the TWS was a good play, but I’m ashamed of the phony LOOGIE that I got away with. 407-339, 2-0.

Game 3 vs. Susie Page: just a blah game for me. I knew DELANERS* to an S was probably not good when I played it and she challenged it off the board. Even though LEARNED wouldn’t have played anywhere, I’m still upset I didn’t see it. 296-480, 2-1.

Game 4 vs. Jay Hillis: poor plays in the pre-endgame by me. Didn’t see the 2 Bingos in ACEIRRT, but they wouldn’t have played anyway. 315-367, 2-2.

Game 5 vs. Renee Kahn: finally was able to play ENATION, a high-probability Bingo I’ve studied. I got away with DENTILe* when I should have remembered DENTILs which is SILENT + D. 404-345, 3-2.

Game 6 vs. Gwen Bishop: couldn’t put anything together. I was playing small words and not drawing enough. I got away with the phony STENTER*, which I was 100% sure was bad. I saw NETTERS and TENTERS, but they didn’t fit anywhere. 390-312, 3-3.

Game 7 v. Renee Kahn: I was looking forward to this re-match because Renee was the highest-rated player I played all day and I had enjoyed the competition in Game 5. I was so happy I saw QUiNCES because it’s a word I haven’t studied for a while and have never played before. I saw CiNQUES, but wasn’t sure of it, so played QUiNCES for 110. I thought I had the game wrapped-up and then I failed to block a Bingo lane and Renee Bingoed out with DOUbLING and took 28 points off my rack. I was tracking, but didn’t know her exact rack because I emptied the bag, not her. I’ve heard the experts say that it is generally a mistake to empty the bag and now I agree. The problem is, if I would have thought about my play, I would have blocked the other 2 Bingo lanes (a T and an E) and still lost! But, I did consider playing DITZ and taking the D lane out, but opted for the 36 pts. of IZAR instead. A huge mistake. 366-339, 3-4.

Lessons:

Record racks
Consolidate leads by closing the board
Be happy with good achievements even if in losing endeavors
As a general rule, do not empty the bag first
I need to learn some 8s

My Bingos:

AGAINSt
DINEROS
LINTERS
ENATION
DENTILE*
STENTER*
QUiNCES

Opp. Bingos:

NOONERS*
EmOTING
AGENCIES
ENABLERS
OUTdOOR
STApLES
IMPEDERS
MISTIEST
DOUbLING

Back To Scrabble

As I said, the Nationals are in August in Reno. The Reno Tournament mentioned in an earlier post was not a Nationals. I've only played in one Nationals -- 2002 in San Diego. Here's a picture of me and mom at the 2002 NSC:



I played in Division 5 and mom played in Division 6. It was my third Scrabble tournament and I went 11-20 and finished 106 of 110 in my division. The NSC was only 7 months after the Reno tourney where I went 3-16, so it was a rough beginning for me.

Used Books

I've been reading Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse since February. I like the book, but it's slow going because her sentences are sooooo long. It takes all my concentration.

I bought the book at a used book store several years ago. It belonged to E. Curry. I'm a fan of used books and pass-along books, but E. Curry has a bizarre underlining/highlighting (pink) habit that is sometimes distracting and usually mysterious. I just can't figure out 75% of his/her highlighting.

For example, I can understand underlining, if you're an underliner: "her own daughter must be happier than other people's daughters."

But, "This was said loudly in a pause" and "Minta Doyle and Paul Rayley had not come back then"?

When I'm reading a used book, I always wonder about the people who have read it before me. Did E. Curry finish To The Lighthouse? It seems so because there is underlining on the last page (I peeked). Was it read for school? Probably, I mean, who reads Virginia Woolf? Where was he/she when he/she read it? What did E. Curry think of the book?

I remember a guy who was in my first-year section at law school. He had his Property book open during class and he had highlighted EVERYTHING on the two pages that were open in front of him, EXCEPT ONE SENTENCE. That is the type of person you meet in law school.

Anna Nalick

I'm listening to Anna Nalick's single Breathe (2AM) on my iPod and I gotta say I like this song.

I first heard it last December outside of Flagstaff while driving to Albequerque. A rare two-day solo roadtrip for me. When I got back to Cali, I downloaded the single from iTunes and I've been waiting for her CD to be released. Looks like it's coming out next Tuesday. You can get a listen at http://www.annanalick.com/.

I like:

There's a light at each end of this tunnel you shout
cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
and these mistakes you've made
you'll just make them again if you only try turnin' around

128 Days To Nationals

The National Scrabble Championship is in Reno August 19 - 24. I have my flight reserved, my hotel reserved, and I've paid my entry fee. Now, I just have to develop a study plan and study. I will try to play in two local tournaments before August as well as play against a few local tournament players.

I want to play in a higher division. To do so, I have to raise my rating about 150 points between now and July 1st. I'm not sure that's possible given my ratings history and I know I would have to play in more than two tournaments to do so.

LA Marathon XX

Kristi and I did it. We ran the first 15 miles together and then I told her to go on without me. She was running faster and I was dealing with a little thing called THE WALL. I hit THE WALL and ended up having to push it all the way to the finish line instead of getting over it.

Okay, Let's Back-Up

I play competitive Scrabble. Not very well, but I play. Like many people, I played growing up, but I really started playing in January 2002, when I went to a tournament in Reno and got my ass handed to me. I had even studied some word lists and had played in a few clubs before that first tourney, but I still went 3-16 in Reno.

Tournament Scrabble is just like the Scrabble you played growing up but with better words, better strategy, better opponents, a clock (my aunt Marcia played so slow), and, ideally, no chit-chat (see Etiquette post). You have 25-minutes to play your part of the game and you can use any word you know, even if you don't know its definition. See, IT'S A WORD GAME, NOT A DEFINITION GAME. Most people start playing Tournament Scrabble when everyone in their immediate family will no longer play "living-room" Scrabble with them.

Etiquette

Okay, some basic Scrabble Tournament etiquette:

1. Cell Phones: unless you are an on-call doctor, your wife's due date is nigh, or there are medical issues in you immediate family, you do not need to have your cell phone on during a tournament, not even on vibrate. Face it, YOU ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT. The world continues to spin even if you can't be reached for a couple of hours.

2. Beverages/Food: You do not need a 44oz Big Gulp or egg rolls from Jack-In-The-Box on the table during a tournament. No matter how many times I've heard a Director say "No open containers on the tables" my first-round opponent has an open container on the table. ENOUGH ALREADY. If you need a beverage, a water bottle with a cap should be placed on the floor in your general area. PEOPLE, THIS IS SIMPLE STUFF.

3. The phrase "You got all the good tiles" is NOT game commentary. It adds nothing to the analysis of a game. If you win, you have the OPTION of saying "Well, I got the good stuff" as a consoling phrase to your opponent. If you lose, take your knocks and keep your mouth shut regarding your perception of who got the good tiles.

4. Coffeehousing. Totally unnecessary.

5. Shake your opponent's hand before your game. It's good sportsmanship. You don't have to say "Good Luck" because you probably don't mean it, but you can say something like "Let's have a good game."

6. The sinks in the bathrooms work -- USE THEM.