The Weather Today

   For those wondering what the Valley weather is like:

Post Game Recap

        I was going to write something after the Giants game, but they went into extra innings and lost. Really don’t feel like writing anything, except to reiterate how much I am NOT impressed with Brandon Belt. Yeah, I know he has power and can go on an extra base hitting streak, but he also can have a multi-K day just as easily. And those streaks really kill you.

        I know, I couldn’t do anything close to what he does; I don’t think I could stand in the batter’s box as a 90 mile an hour fastball shoots past me, let alone make contact. Professional athletes are on a whole different level (I’ll save the golf debate for later). But I think it is fair to offer my criticism as a fan, for after all, the product is for us. If we aren’t happy about a particular player or team, that is part of the fun of following sports, to bitch when things or players tick us off.

        Disappointment is a major component of the sports fan experience. After all, there is only one overall winner of each league. Everyone else, and their fans, are ultimately losers. And the thrill of being THE champion only lasts until the next season, and with ESPN covering pre-season training camps, drafts days, and general managers’ bowel movements, seems to start earlier and earlier each year.

        The internet has certainly intensified this effect in fans. Now every bar discussion about season stats, lifetime starts, and historical records can immediately have supporting evidence presented through the smart phone. The time of winning a bar bet on obscure trivia has gone out with the pay phone and collecting numbers on bev napkins.

        It also has taken the vitriol to a wider and more public audience than ever before. The anonymity offered by the internet has made the discourse more vicious and personal than before. If you are going to say Brady is a smug, punk ass, cheating prick, shouldn’t your name be attached to it? (My name is at the bottom, and if you’re reading this Tom, man has your life taken a dive.)

        I think it’s OK to ride the pros a little. Their compensation is certainly worth enough to cover a few comments by working stiffs that their swing has a hole that a watermelon would get through. Right, Brandon?

Chess

        I’ve started to play chess again. It had been years since I last played any serious games and I’m making an effort to get back into playing form. I one point in time, I was an active member in the US Chess Federation and actually attended several tournaments. Though, those 12 year olds can be tough.

        I am making stupid, stupid mistakes. I’m playing mostly blitz chess to feed the habit, which really doesn’t lend itself to proper study or practice. But I have noticed some changes in my play.

        Just as I’ve lost a step or two to age, the same on the chessboard. I’ve lost several won positions on time, just because I wasn’t processing the info as quick. And in these quick games, the clock is part of the strategy. It can be used as a weapon as much as a knight or a rook.

        In other games, luck can be a major or minor factor. From dice games that are almost all luck to board games that encourage strategy, but still have a random element such as drawing cards, most have a beginner’s luck factor in which even a novice player can get lucky and beat an experienced player. Not so in chess.

        When you lose in chess, YOU lose in chess. Not the roll of the dice, not drawing bad cards, and not some random factor that didn’t go your way. In chess, YOU make the decisions and YOU move the pieces. When you get beat, the other player was simply better than you. Period.

        There are different ways to lose, too. I mentioned losing on time. Sometimes it feels like a cheap way to lose, “man, I HAD him, I just needed more time.” Well sport, that IS the part of the game and you just got outplayed.

        There are silly, stupid beginner traps that can catch you. Most experienced players know the opening ones by heart and do not fall for them. I’ve forgotten several and I am now taking a refresher course at the expense of my ego. As you play more, you recognize them being set-up and learn how to counteract them and put yourself in a better position. When an opponent catches me with one, I feel like I just took a hot sheet pan out of the oven with an oven mitt, took the mitt off, and then touched the tray. IDIOT!

        In the endgame, when there are only kings, pawns, and a minor piece or two left on the board, the player with a better grasp of endgame theory can often beat the opponent with a material advantage but lessor endgame skill. That hurts too. You look at the board and wonder how the fuck you lost. It’s like losing a close scoring game, I’d rather get blown out than know one slightly better move on my part and I could have won it.

        But when you win… What a great feeling. You BEAT him. Especially when they are higher ranked than yourself. There is no bad bounce, no favorable call by the referee, just out and out better playing on your part and you took them downtown! Maybe they made a mistake or you made a brilliant sacrifice, in either case, for a moment you were in one on one combat and came out on top. For a moment, you are top dog. Then the next game comes and you lose your rook to a bishop pin you forgot about and you’re right back to thinking a chimpanzee could beat you.

        I’m off to seek that euphoria of victory. I hope the chimps are asleep. 

Last Minute Homework

        Unfortunately, this entry will be little more than a stream of conscience piece of shit. It is late and I don’t feel like writing anything, let alone a coherent essay. But I am committed to keeping the everyday factor and there is no reason to throw in the towel with 50 minutes left.

        Why didn’t I use some of my time more productively and write something worth reading earlier in the day? Great question. A personal disclosure is that I have a slight problem with procrastination. And I was playing Sid Meier’s Civilization V for far too long.

        I did make time to spend most of the day with two friends. One, I’ve known for 30 years and the other almost just as long. One is doing quite well and the other is at the other end of the spectrum.  It was important to see both and I hope I enriched both of their days.

        Chocolate chip cookies might be one of the best treats ever created. And the ones we had were not even scratch baked, but pre-made dough. At least we get credit for baking them. I like them slightly underdone, so they are even chewier; warm, right off the cooling tray is definitely how the devil bribes some for their souls. (Those how like really dry and crisp chocolate chip cookies, well, you’re communists.)

I thought I had enough words, but I then realized that I was just typing after a previous draft and the word count was actually a combination of the two. Not that quantity should matter over quality, but since you’re not getting the latter, I was hoping to provide the former. I looks like a daily double of losing. I’m off to play Civ V.