Sunday, November 9, 2008

Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 1




Monday, November 3, 2008

Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 4



Play chess online!

Obligatory Election Thought

In 1936, Mikhail Tomsky learned that he was about to be arrested for treason by the secret police of the USSR. He committed suicide. The Soviet Foreign Minister, Molotov, later claimed that "Tomsky's suicide was a plot, a premeditated act. Tomsky had arranged, not with one person but with several people, to commit suicide and therefore to strike a blow once again against the Central Committee."

In 2006, three detainees held indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay hanged themselves in their cells. The camp commander, Rear Adm Harris, claimed that the suicides were carefully plotted: "[These men] have no regard for life, either ours or their own. I believe that this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us."

On this election day, as on all others, I am thankful that our apparatchiks are replaceable.

Guitar Hero World Tour

My friends G and R just bought the latest Guitar Hero, which features two new instruments to go with all the usual fun. Naturally, we have spent many, many hours testing it out. Verdict: thumbs up! The playlist is quite diverse, with songs from a nice mix of genres including country, pop, and heavy metal. The guitar and bass parts are largely the same as in previous games, but the drum kit is a fun addition, and the learning curve for it isn't too steep. World Tour also comes with a microphone for covering the vocals, which means that we all had plenty of chances to make fools of ourselves (always a good thing).

Have you tried the game yourself? Any songs you would like to see included in the next installment?

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 2




Saturday, November 1, 2008

Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 3



Play chess online!