GreenZAP - Send No Money

No posts for a month - wow. Now that Greenzap is open, I would recommend that you not go giving them any money (even if you have rewards coming to you) - Take a listen to this radio interview. It's GREAT - they've waylayed these guys, and asked them direct questions, to which there seem to be no good answers. Listen yourself before sending money to GreenZAP or filling out any Bank information on their website.

Posted New Game Analyses

I've posted new games I've played. I pulled the PGNs from GameKnot (UPDATE: STAY THE HELL AWAY - THESE PEOPLE ARE UNPROFESSIONAL AND DISCOURTEOUS) and fed them to Crafty 19.17 for 10 seconds a move. I only analyzed my own moves for mistakes. If you're interested in my weaknesses in play, it might help you. Just pull up my chess games page and walk through the commentary. No human comments in there yet.

Lost My Chess Tournament

I played in (and lost both games at) my first chess tourney today. The pressure was unbelievable, even when I was winning (during the second game). The 'never sure' about your moves is amplified by the addition of a clock and time and performance pressure. I need to learn to listen to the little voice in my head a bit more. Both times that I made the fatal error, I had thought about the thing that got me in trouble. In one, I had even written down a potentially saving move as an option on my scorecard. I know that I poo-pooed one potentially game turning move without adequate analysis (time pressure, or just tired after an hour of play?)...
If I want to win at tournaments, I'm going to have to work on my stamina, and also work on my own ego/assurance levels so that I don't question my self so much in the opening moves, allowing myself more time toward the endgame.
Well, I'll try not to be TOOO hard on myself, even though my first opponent was 11 years old, and he beat me....sigh. Of course, I beat myself. After giving up a pawn, I viewed my game as hopeless, and didn't try as hard as I should have. Had I hung in there, I may have been able to recover the game...but the psychology of losing that pawn to a stupid tactic (discovered attack/zugzwang combo) that I had already THOUGHT to myself that I should have moved out of before-hand, was too much for me.

I hate Chess

I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing. I hate Chess - I hate losing Chess. I suck at chess - I'm sick of losing.
There - got that out of my system.....

Take Control of Your Life

Following in the footsteps of a fellow blogger, I have cancelled my Everquest accounts, both of them. I haven't played in many months, and still have half a year left on one subscription, but I've turned off the billing for both of them. Damn it, getting your out of control expenses in line is one of the first steps to financial maturity, and it's about time after 38 years that I take some steps. I also moved some debt from 11% to a 0% for a year credit card. I am TAKING control. Next step is to get rid of my Blockbuster-by-mail subscription. Netflix did it so much better, anyway, but I don't really need to watch so much TV.
It's spring - time for some spring cleaning don't you think? Sony has had me on their Everquest-drip for too long, if you ask me. It's worse than crack, because they keep improving it to make it better for those who stay on it the longest. The nail in the coffin? Veteran Rewards which give increasing skills to people like me who've been around 6 or 7 years. That's right - I started in 1999! Ugh - no more. I need to concentrate more on fewer things.

My Baby's Back!

My Canon Rebel came back from the factory. She's had the main PCBoard Assembly replaced in the unit. The camera is working now, although one of my lenses pooped out (the Quantary 28-80mm lens). It's got a 5-year warranty, and I still have the receipt and warranty info for it, so I'll be sending it in for repair (the zoom ring doesn't work - it's stuck at 28mm).
Here is a tulip from my front yard taken with that very lens. This is about the last picture the lens took before she died on me. I can't imagine WHY it's doing this to me....sigh.

Ho Hum

Spring is here - and it's beautiful outside. I can't wait to get my camera back from Canon's service center....soon, soon... When I do, I'm going to take out a rider on my homeowner's policy on it. Looks like it's about $14 a year to protect a $900 investment against loss and theft. Considering how much I use my camera and how much I miss having it, that might be some cheap insurance.....
Well, not much else is going on - I've been playing plenty of chess in my spare time - trying to deepen my book knowledge, and get over some of my weaknesses as a player. Not very exciting for the reader, to be sure. Soon I'll have to hang up the chess pieces at least temporarily in favor of my golf clubs. Now, I'm no golfer, to be sure (I'd be lucky to actually shoot a hole in under 10, even a par 3), but I like to go out anyway and enjoy the day.

Interesting Chess Site and Greenzap

First things first - the GreenZap site is live again - preregister now and get $25 when they open this summer. They don't ask for any private info yet, so no harm pre-registering - you can decide later if there's any sign of them being a scam. The promo code is 'randomblings' - Get your free money now.
Now that you're independently wealthy....take some time out for Chess. Come play me a game at http://www.gameknot.com (UPDATE: STAY AWAY FROM GAMEKNOT aka CHESSCOLONY - THEY'RE A BUNCH OF UNPROFESSIONAL DOODY-HEADS!!!)- you can play multiple games at once, and there's a nify IE plugin to tell you when it's your turn. You play at play-by-email speeds (3 days in most cases alloted per move), so you can give games your full attention and make those brilliant moves.

SurfJunky Update III - Eternal Optimist

Color me an eternal optimist. I have left Surf Junky running for pretty much all the time. According to the website, my account has amassed earnings of $282.19. Today is April 15th, their own promised pay-by date via Paypal. Do I plan on getting paid? not really. Deep down I understand that the economic reality of the site is that it can't be true. Personal EarningsActivity
Points: 318
Payment rate: $0.6 per hour
Hours spent surfing: 557.60
Your earnings: $282.19 On the other hand, I've not suffered any loss by using the site, and the miniscule chance that they may actually pay out this month (their second month in full operation) is such that the eternal hopeful in me keeps checking my Paypal account. I figure I'll give up on checking for any money in a few days. Until then, paint me with that 'sucker' brush you've got in your hand. So many people on the Internet have said this is a scam that I don't understand why the site is still there. With this kind of money owed me, I can imagine someone with nothing better to do bringing it to small claims court for judgement against the site owner. From what I understand of them, though, they're probably used to that and don't care.

Resumes and Identity Theft

Hint for people looking for work. Your social security number should not be on your resume. With identity theft being the fastest rising crime of this century, you need to be more alert of where your social security number is needed. When you apply for a job, your social security number is needed to process your pay. However, your resume normally has a larger circulation. Recruiters, human resources personnel, supervisors, and even technical review personnel will have access to this document. They're not necessarily all honest people, or trained to properly care for (shred) such documentation. Please keep your SSN off the resume, and save it for when it's absolutely necessary.