So where have I been?

Two weeks and no word from me. Such a long disappearance does not bode well when it arrives early in a blog's life. But any actual explanation would be pointless. Sure, there were intervening events (an interruption in my connection, the unexpected collapse of the home network, etc.), but these could have been worked around. If I had to blame something in particular, it's my aversion to posting when I have nothing (or, more appropriately, nothing properly prepared) to say. But writing begets writing, so I figure it's time to put something in the box.

My recent flirtations with Go have ended, for now. A good friend was kind (evil) enough to send me an enormous number of excellent chess publications; these have brought me back to the True Faith. My asian mistress will have to wait in the wings. However, I offer you the little tactic I developed to fluster my computerized 9x9 Go opponent, a tactic which instantly catapulted me from 9 kyu to 4 kyu in its bizarre rating system.

I always got hammered playing white against the computer, though I often wound up solidly within the komi. Moves like black 5 I found difficult to counter--my instinct was to play for the center with 6; but while this is a good space grabber, it makes my 4 and 6 stones easy to cut with a black play at f6. I would often play there at the first opportunity to prevent the cut, but then black slides under me with a move at h6 and pillages in "my" corner. So I decided that I first needed to block black's access to the upper right. Thus, while black solidifies his territory with 7, I move at 8. This is, by the way, considered to be a bad move the "compromised diagonal") in some ways, because it can be easily cut. But the "standard" response to it (to prevent me from rampaging down the side) is black 9. Now, with this in place and with white having the initiative, I can move in at 10. Then I am set up to march in all sorts of directions, keeping black on a serious defensive. A direct challenge to my tactics, via a black play at g6, for instance, simply doesn't occur to the computer.

But I've set all that aside for now, taking up some serious chess repertoire work at present (not what I need to improve, butsomething I'll feel happy is behind me). Mostly it's just building up a framework to study and keep up-to-date with the things I already play, and filling in some holes. And in case you're eager for a taste, let me just say that if you're a 1 e4 player, you'd better be ready for my Petrov.

Some political work, too: been tinkering with some writeups on judicial activism and the filibuster issue; but again, since one of the purposes of this blog is for me to have a "scratch pad" on which to formulate my arguments, I'm reluctant to put something down that's completely raw. Plus, the lawn is giving me fits, so work proceeds slowly...