wafblog v3.0

I recently acquired a copy of the game “Chessmaster 10th Edition”, which I’ve installed on my computer and have given a test run. It seems like a decent enough game, and I’m hoping it will improve my chess skills. I learnt how to play chess in Year 6, and played on a semi-regular basis for that year. Since then, I’ve only played occasional friendly matches, usually online. I’ve found that I’m not particularly good at chess. This is probably due to my sole tactic of “eat as many pieces as you can before yours all die”. It’s not really a tactic so much as poor playing technique. That thing the experts always talk about where you have to envision the game several steps ahead - I can’t do that. I don’t know why. I can see where the threats to my pieces are, and sometimes I can see what the best move for the opponent will be, but I’m not one to actually be able to see a strategy and go for it (or block it, if it’s my opponent’s). Suffice to say, Mike kicked my arse when we played on Saturday. This was ok, because Manda and Travis came over soon after and Travis kicked my arse playing Mario Kart on the Cube. Maybe I should stick to single-player games on my PSP.

I’ve been using an electric toothbrush at night for the past week or so, on advice from my dentist. It’s been a bit of an adjustment. It sure does clean your teeth better than a regular toothbrush, but the whole “makes your head slightly dizzy from the buzzing” and now the “my tongue feels funny” is a bit off-putting. Plus, there’s no actual brushing involved now. You switch it on, you put it on your tooth/gum and you hold it -_- then you move on to the next tooth. I’ll probably keep using it as my dentist has sufficiently scared me into believing that I must look after my gums or all my teeth will fall out in the next 30 years. Joy.

Manda got this 2 for 1 deal for tickets to see a “Russian Fire and Fury” concert at the Sydney Opera House on Thursday night. Unfortunately she can’t go so I’m dragging Mike along (His comment was “It won’t be like Macbeth, right?” LOL). I’m really looking forward to it, as the opening piece is “Night on Bald Mountain” by Mussorgsky (sp?). Not sure which version they will play, as there’s quite a few in existence - but it probably won’t be the one made famous in Disney’s Fantasia. However, I think the ticket price alone is worth seeing this piece played in real life. The other pieces include two by Shostakovich and one by Rimsky-Korsakov. I remember playing a piece by Rimsky-Korsakov once, it was extremely hard. Too many double-stops and lots of string crossing, but so distinctly Russian. All in all, I’m quite excited about it, as I haven’t been to the Opera House for a few years now.