<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891</id><updated>2012-02-15T22:38:55.591-08:00</updated><category term='useless verbosity'/><category term='news'/><category term='law'/><category term='movies'/><category term='Random stuff'/><category term='politics'/><category term='cheese'/><category term='punk rawk'/><category term='David Lynch'/><category term='music'/><category term='games'/><category term='nature'/><category term='art'/><category term='BCC Championship 2008'/><category term='chess'/><category term='USCL'/><title type='text'>Slowly Growing Dead</title><subtitle type='html'>Music, movies, life, and chess...</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>32</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-8220590585568156823</id><published>2009-04-01T22:03:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-04-04T12:52:14.813-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>A TN in the Grunfeld? Well...</title><content type='html'>A few months ago I was trying to find something to play as White against the Grunfeld.  I thought the Bf4 line was pretty solid, and since I'm a greedy little guy, I decided to take a look at a line where Black gambits a couple of pawns for activity.  Take a look at this position, after Black's eleventh move:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRMkpyaviI/AAAAAAAAADg/fSeAvQYCUHU/s1600-h/diagram1.png"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 258px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRMkpyaviI/AAAAAAAAADg/fSeAvQYCUHU/s320/diagram1.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319961252407721506" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;White's up &lt;s&gt;two pawns&lt;/s&gt; a pawn, has sidelined one of the Black knights, and even has the move.  Come on, he must be better, right?  Well, no -- Black seems to have enough compensation for the material here, because his pieces are all active and White's queenside is extremely vulnerable.  Castling queenside doesn't help White: from the diagram position, 12.0-0-0 is met with 12..e6 13.Nc7+ (or 13.Nc3 Bxc3 and Black will have good play against the c-pawns) 13..Nxc7 14.Bxc7 b5! with a strong initiative.  The best move is actually the lame-looking 12.Rb1, after which Black has to play carefully.  A game between Novikov and Sutovsky continued 12.Rb1 e6 13.Nc7+ Nxc7 14.Bxc7 Na4 15.Bd6 Nxb2 (not 15..Bxb2?? 16.Rxb2 Nxb2 17.Be5) 16.Ba3 Na4 17.Rxb7 Bf8, giving this position:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRPaB34gsI/AAAAAAAAADo/GxmkySNIinY/s1600-h/diagram2.png"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 258px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRPaB34gsI/AAAAAAAAADo/GxmkySNIinY/s320/diagram2.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319964368429417154" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Black's last move prepares to trade off White's only active minor piece, after which the Black pieces will flow into White's queenside.  As the game proved, Black is fine here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When studying the game, I wondered if there was a more direct way for White to play.  After 12.Rb1 e6 13.Nc7+ Nxc7 14.Bxc7 Na4, I began looking at 15.e4, with the obvious idea of playing e5 and closing the long diagonal.  The next few moves seemed to be forced: 15..Rc8 16.Bd6 Nxb2 (if 16..Bd4, trying to stay on the diagonal, then 17.Ne2 develops with tempo) 16.e5 Nxc4 17.Bxc4 Rxc4 18.Rxb7, reaching the following position:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRRkYqsXmI/AAAAAAAAADw/yoKexoZMfpo/s1600-h/diagram3.png"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 258px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRRkYqsXmI/AAAAAAAAADw/yoKexoZMfpo/s320/diagram3.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319966745370058338" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a fun position to investigate, since both sides have concrete problems with king position and development.  At first I was enthusiastic about White's chances. The threat to the a-pawn carries some importance in lines like 19..f6 20.Ne2 fe 21.Rxa7, with advantage to White, while a line like 19..a6? 20.Ne2 f6 21.Kf2 fe 22.Rd1 shows what happens if White can get his kingside pieces into play -- the dark-squared monster on d6 cuts Black's position in half.  Moreover, after the obvious 19..Rc1+ 20.Kf2, White actually threatens to sac an exchange with 21.Ne2, for example 20..a6 21.Ne2! Rxh1 22.Rb8+ Bc8 23.Rxc8+ Kd7 24.Rc7+ with the initiative.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For a moment it looked as though I had finally produced a decent novelty.  Sadly, I soon realized that the 19..Rc1+ 20.Kf2 f6! spoils all the fun.  White can grab on a7, but his kingside is bottled up for the foreseeable future.  The deeper you play this position, the less your computer will like it for White.  &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;I then looked at the finesse 19..Rc1+ 20.Kd2!? Bh6+, but suffice to say that 21.Kd3 Bc6(!) 22.Rb8+ Kd7 23.Rxh8 leads by force to a perpetual check (The reader can work out the details as an exercise).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRdrB5nFFI/AAAAAAAAAEI/jgOawoN3eMk/s1600-h/diagram4.png"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 258px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRdrB5nFFI/AAAAAAAAAEI/jgOawoN3eMk/s320/diagram4.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319980053657228370" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(Black to move and draw)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Meanwhile, 21.Ke2 is untrustworthy after something like 21..Kd8 22.Rxa7 Rc2+ 23.Kd3 Rd2+ 24.Kc3 Rd1, locking White's kingside pieces in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRc7NgfF3I/AAAAAAAAAEA/psvN2FsVq0w/s1600-h/diagram5.png"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 258px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRc7NgfF3I/AAAAAAAAAEA/psvN2FsVq0w/s320/diagram5.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319979232139351922" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(White to move and suffer)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Shattered, I steeled myself to play the Bg5 &amp; Qa4+ line instead, despite the fact that it's almost as wussy as the London system.  And yeah, I've started playing that too.  Sometimes searching for 'truth' just takes too much energy...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[p.s. for those who are interested, the opening moves in this Bf4 Grunfeld line are 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 c5 6.dc Qa5 7.Qa4+ Qxa4 8.Nxa4 Bd7!? 9.Nc3 Ne4! 10.Nxd5 Na6 11.f3 Nexc5.  One of the reasons this "novelty" was never going to be very good is that there are many fine alternatives for Black: on move five there is 5..c6, on move eight 8..Be6, and on move nine 9..Bc6!?.]&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-8220590585568156823?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/8220590585568156823/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=8220590585568156823' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8220590585568156823'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8220590585568156823'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/04/tn-in-grunfeld-well.html' title='A TN in the Grunfeld? Well...'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdRMkpyaviI/AAAAAAAAADg/fSeAvQYCUHU/s72-c/diagram1.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-5862729574304049866</id><published>2009-04-01T21:10:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-04-01T22:02:02.086-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='art'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='nature'/><title type='text'>Found Object</title><content type='html'>I'm a Philistine when it comes to art, but I love &lt;a href=http://www.giacomobrunelli.com/pictures.html&gt; this &lt;/a&gt; collection of photographs.  It's amazing how mysterious and alien animals can look when taken out of a 'normal' setting. (Found via &lt;a href=http://andrewsullivan.com&gt; andrewsullivan.com&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-5862729574304049866?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/5862729574304049866/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=5862729574304049866' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5862729574304049866'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5862729574304049866'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/04/found-objects.html' title='Found Object'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-2228778778585791602</id><published>2009-03-30T17:29:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-30T23:46:38.037-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='nature'/><title type='text'>Zealand Falls, 03/28 - 03/29</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdG2Mnqf8VI/AAAAAAAAAC4/a3bd2R5wnNU/s1600-h/501338402_img_0721.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 163px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdG2Mnqf8VI/AAAAAAAAAC4/a3bd2R5wnNU/s320/501338402_img_0721.jg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319232962823188818" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My friends and I spent the weekend hiking at beautiful Zealand Falls, in New Hampshire's White Mountains.  It was a fantastic trip: the weather was pleasant, and the scenery was gorgeous.  However, I was a little unprepared for all the snow.  It completely covered the trails and was quite treacherous -- I found myself constantly sinking into snowy 'potholes,' some of which were a good 2-3 feet deep.  Fortunately, AMC volunteers at Crawford Notch lent us hiking poles and gaiters, which helped a lot.  To add to the excitement, we were warned that there was an aggressive bull moose frequenting the trail.  Though we didn't see him, his tracks were everywhere (along with other signs of his presence: the big guy seemed to be going through some sort of digestive crisis).  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdG3XWdsePI/AAAAAAAAADA/eG4Vu5TeE_k/s1600-h/501341042_img_8687.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdG3XWdsePI/AAAAAAAAADA/eG4Vu5TeE_k/s320/501341042_img_8687.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319234246696270066" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our hike took us to the Zealand Falls hut, around seven miles from the highway.  We were among the first people to arrive at the hut, but as the hours passed, more and more hikers filed in.  The atmosphere was very communal: everyone crowded into the small common area and kitchen to cook or share stories about their exploits.  Soon after arriving, we decided to head up to Zeacliff, roughly 1.5 miles away and 1000 feet up.  It was a challenging hike due to the snow, but the view of the surrounding area (below) was certainly worth it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdGxIntMTtI/AAAAAAAAACQ/Jo-dVBaIa4c/s1600-h/501347986_img_8709.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdGxIntMTtI/AAAAAAAAACQ/Jo-dVBaIa4c/s320/501347986_img_8709.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319227396556869330" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After spending the night at the hut, we set out for home, only to find that much of the trail had completely frozen overnight.  The resulting hike down the icy path was tedious, and the skies threatened to open up while we were sliding around on the trail.  Fortunately, we got back to our car before the rain started, safe and relatively dry.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-2228778778585791602?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/2228778778585791602/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=2228778778585791602' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/2228778778585791602'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/2228778778585791602'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/zealand-falls-0328-0329.html' title='Zealand Falls, 03/28 - 03/29'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SdG2Mnqf8VI/AAAAAAAAAC4/a3bd2R5wnNU/s72-c/501338402_img_0721.jg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-8806968816261204748</id><published>2009-03-23T20:56:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:29:24.570-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='David Lynch'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='music'/><title type='text'>Music Monday</title><content type='html'>"The Comedians," from Roy Orbison's last album, &lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Mystery Girl&lt;/span&gt;.  The song was written for Orbison by Elvis Costello.  This performance is from Orbison's "Black and White Night" concert, a star-studded tribute/comeback special: Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, K.D. Lang, and Bonnie Raitt, among others, played in the backing band.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8-vwkbAZ5Kw&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8-vwkbAZ5Kw&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Historical Footnote: At the time of this performance, Orbison was experiencing a career resurgence, sparked when his song "In Dreams" was used in the David Lynch movie &lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Blue Velvet&lt;/span&gt;.  Twenty years later, Lynch used a cover of Orbison's "Crying" as the centerpiece of his movie&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt; Mulholland Drive&lt;/span&gt;, resulting in one of the strangest, most powerful scenes I've ever watched.  I won't post it here, because it's not nearly as effective on its own, but I highly recommend watching the whole movie (if only because it's Lynch's best, and if you don't like it you can safely avoid the rest of his stuff).&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-8806968816261204748?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/8806968816261204748/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=8806968816261204748' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8806968816261204748'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8806968816261204748'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/music-monday.html' title='Music Monday'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-659654440267097051</id><published>2009-03-22T23:10:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:39:34.917-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Random stuff'/><title type='text'>Movin' On Up</title><content type='html'>My parents have decided to move back to Boston from San Diego, starting in July.  I think they're crazy, of course.  (Hi Mom, hi Dad.  Love ya!)  But it will be great to see them again!  I am a little worried that our dog will oust me from the pack now that I'm constantly covered in cat hair, but hey, she'll probably be cool with it.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SccqBvh46yI/AAAAAAAAABE/qwCNOZDLzU8/s1600-h/clea2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SccqBvh46yI/AAAAAAAAABE/qwCNOZDLzU8/s320/clea2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316264094561004322" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;The probable reaction (yes, this &lt;/span&gt;is&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt; a dog)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-659654440267097051?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/659654440267097051/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=659654440267097051' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/659654440267097051'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/659654440267097051'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/movin-on-up.html' title='Movin&apos; On Up'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SccqBvh46yI/AAAAAAAAABE/qwCNOZDLzU8/s72-c/clea2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-4392496161982626321</id><published>2009-03-20T17:21:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:47:48.361-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='law'/><title type='text'>"Free room service, free cable -- ooh, Free Willy!"</title><content type='html'>I recently came across &lt;a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/us/18juries.html&gt; this &lt;/a&gt; article in the New York Times, describing how jurors are using Blackberries, Cell Phones, and other portable internet browsers to research cases they are sitting for.  At the risk of sounding cynical, I'm not sure that this is such a horrifying development.  Many civil litigation cases, and certainly most of the large ones, are highly complex.  Without background knowledge and research, a juror will find it extremely difficult to evaluate the arguments each side is making.  This means that jury verdicts in these complex civil cases will contain a large element of randomness.  It's no accident that a larger and larger percentage of these cases are being settled out of court each year -- when the stakes are high, most parties become risk-averse, and relying on a jury verdict is an inherently risky proposition.  Jurors who surreptitiously conduct online research certainly breach the legal principle of impartiality (at least in a practical sense, since it is impossible to know the biases of their sources), and I'm not ready to set aside that principle just yet.  But the system we have now is becoming increasingly irrelevant, and it's time to confront that fact.  Perhaps this story will help bring the issue to the fore.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-4392496161982626321?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/4392496161982626321/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=4392496161982626321' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/4392496161982626321'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/4392496161982626321'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/free-room-service-free-cable-ooh-free.html' title='&quot;Free room service, free cable -- ooh, Free Willy!&quot;'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-106985907630858752</id><published>2009-03-20T17:16:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-20T17:37:17.574-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='punk rawk'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='news'/><title type='text'>Your Daily Dose of Pessimism</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover&gt; This &lt;/a&gt; is a truly scary article.  It's also the most concise explanation I've read of the CDO/CDS derivatives that magnified the financial crisis.   Worth reading in full.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-106985907630858752?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/106985907630858752/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=106985907630858752' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/106985907630858752'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/106985907630858752'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/your-daily-dose-of-pessimism.html' title='Your Daily Dose of Pessimism'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-1631701073485927908</id><published>2009-03-19T22:47:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:39:19.379-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='music'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>IM Fluffy Cares Naught for Your Opening Surveys</title><content type='html'>I needed to get good and drunk after this one.  Enjoy!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;!-- iChess v1.2, (c) 2007-2009 GameKnot.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess739853"&gt;Play &lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;chess&lt;/a&gt; online!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new ichess_create(11,'ichess739853',3);if(o){/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.im('c2c4g8f6b1c3e7e5g1f3b8c6e2e3d7d5c4d5f6d5f1b5d5c3b2c3'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'f8d6d2d4c8d7e1g1e8g8a1b1d8e8f3d2c6a5b5d3e8e6d1c2h7h6c3c4e5d4'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'e3d4a5c6d4d5');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.il(0,0,1);/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ip([0], ['-']);/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ia(['','I%20had%20mostly%20prepared%20for%201.d4'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'%3B%20in%20retrospect%2C%20I%20probably%20should%20have%20e'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'xpected%20this%20move.%20%201.c4%20is%20always%20an%20annoy'+/*&lt;br 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/&gt;*/'%20%282435%29%20vs.%20Riordan%20%282403%29%2C%2040/90%2C%20'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'SD/30');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.go(0,0);}}/*&lt;br /&gt;*/&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-1631701073485927908?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/1631701073485927908/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=1631701073485927908' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1631701073485927908'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1631701073485927908'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/im-fluffy-cares-naught-for-your-opening_3542.html' title='IM Fluffy Cares Naught for Your Opening Surveys'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-5018743629887359477</id><published>2009-03-15T22:40:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-15T22:45:46.272-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Random stuff'/><title type='text'>Poor Concept, Poor Execution</title><content type='html'>The Pre-Taped Call In Show.  The ending to this is priceless (apparently David Cross was a big Monty Python fan, and you can definitely see their influence here).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HrlS9_n8GX4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HrlS9_n8GX4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-5018743629887359477?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/5018743629887359477/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=5018743629887359477' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5018743629887359477'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5018743629887359477'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/poor-concept-poor-execution.html' title='Poor Concept, Poor Execution'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-300363945763212375</id><published>2009-03-09T21:25:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-15T22:40:31.861-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Amateur Team East, Round 2</title><content type='html'>Sorry for the lack of posting recently: a combination of illness and laziness.  Here is another game from this year's Amateur Team East tournament.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;!-- iChess v1.2, (c) 2007-2009 GameKnot.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess180355"&gt;&lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;Play chess&lt;/a&gt; online!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new ichess_create(11,'ichess180355',3);if(o){/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.im('c2c4e7e5b1c3d7d6g2g3g7g6f1g2f8g7d2d3c7c6e2e4h7h5f2f4'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'h5h4g3g4h4h3g2f3d8h4e1f1e5f4c1f4h4f6d1d2c8g4f3g4h8h4g1h3h4g4'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'h1g1g4h4f1g2f6e6h3f2g7e5f4g3h4h5a1c1g8f6d3d4e5g3h2g3b8d7d2e2'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'e8f8');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.il(0,0,1);/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ip([0], ['-']);/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ia(['','Experimenting...','','','...and%20I%27m%'+/*&lt;br 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/&gt;*/'ombination%20of%20moves%20like%20..Be6%2C%20..Ne7%2C%20and%'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'20..d5%2C%20is%20to%20take%20on%20d5%20with%20the%20e-pawn%'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'20and%20then%20exploit%20the%20pin%20against%20b7%20with%20'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'a%20move%20like%20Qb3.','An%20interesting%20move.%20%20The%'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'20obvious%20response%20is%207.h3%20%28intending%20to%20meet'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'%207..h4%3F%21%20with%208.g4%29%2C%20but%20Black%20can%20th'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'en%20consider%20playing%20a%20quick%20..Be6%20and%20..Qd7%2'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'0to%20disrupt%20White%27s%20Kingside%20development.%20%20Th'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'is%20is%20probably%20what%20White%20should%20play%2C%20sinc'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'e%20he%20can%20always%20%22castle%20by%20hand%22%20with%20N'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'ge2%2C%20Kf1-g1-h2.%20%20On%20the%20other%20hand%2C%20the%2'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'0moves%20..Be6%20and%20..Qd7%20fit%20in%20well%20with%20Bla'+/*&lt;br 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/&gt;*/'%20%282412%29%2C%2040/2%2C%20SD%201');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.go(0,0);}}/*&lt;br /&gt;*/&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-300363945763212375?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/300363945763212375/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=300363945763212375' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/300363945763212375'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/300363945763212375'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/amateur-team-east-round-2.html' title='Amateur Team East, Round 2'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-5921870393652844043</id><published>2009-03-09T19:28:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-09T20:16:55.531-07:00</updated><title type='text'>My Contribution to the Page of History</title><content type='html'>CRR's immutable law of human nature: Songs with the word "human" in the title shall never rock.  Examples include "Human" by the Killers, "The Human Song" by The Human League, and... um... look, I'm sure there are some more.  The point is, musicians should not write songs about humans.  And that's what I'll be remembered for prophesying.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;(ed. -- "Only Human," by "K".  Get a last name, pal!) &lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-5921870393652844043?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/5921870393652844043/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=5921870393652844043' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5921870393652844043'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5921870393652844043'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-contribution-to-page-of-history.html' title='My Contribution to the Page of History'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-6615801416475061616</id><published>2009-02-21T20:59:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:39:19.380-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='music'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Amateur Team East, Round 1</title><content type='html'>As usual, annotation will appear in the text box beneath the board as you play through the game.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;!-- iChess v1.13, (c) 2007-2008 GameKnot.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess843806"&gt;Play &lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;chess online&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new ichess_create(11,'ichess843806',3);if(o){/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.im('e2e4c7c5g1f3d7d6d2d4c5d4f3d4g8f6b1c3a7a6c1e3e7e6f2f3'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'b7b5a2a4b5b4c3a2e6e5d4b3d6d5e3g5c8e6e4d5d8d5d1e2b8d7b3d2f8e7'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'d2e4d5c6a2c1f6e4g5e7e4c3e2d2e8e7b2c3c6c3d2c3b4c3c1e2h8c8a1a3'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'a8b8e2c3b8b2e1d2d7c5d2c1b2b4a4a5c5b3c2b3c8c3c1d2c3b3a3b3b4b3'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'f1a6b3a3a6d3a3a5h1c1a5a4c1c2a4d4c2c3e6f5g2g4f5d3c3d3e7e6d2e3'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'d4d3e3d3g7g6d3e4f7f5g4f5g6f5e4e3e6d5e3d3f5f4d3e2d5c4');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.il(0,0,1);/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ia(new Array('','','My%20opponent%20handles%20the%20posit'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'ions%20after%201.e4%20e5%20very%20well%20as%20Black%2C%20an'+/*&lt;br 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/&gt;*/'20vs.%20Riordan%20%282391%29%2C%2040/2%2C%20SD%201');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.go(1,0);}}/*&lt;br /&gt;*/&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-6615801416475061616?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/6615801416475061616/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=6615801416475061616' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/6615801416475061616'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/6615801416475061616'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/02/amateur-team-east-round-1_21.html' title='Amateur Team East, Round 1'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-2529701934214046226</id><published>2009-02-17T22:20:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:40:59.471-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Eastern Amateur Team Championships</title><content type='html'>Many congratulations to Paul MacIntyre, Brian Hulse, Libardo Rueda, and Alan Price, the winners of this year's Amateur Team East tournament!  Out of the 250+ teams participating, theirs was the only team with a perfect 6-0 score, sealed by MacIntyre's clutch &lt;s&gt;win&lt;/s&gt; &lt;i&gt;(the game was actually agreed drawn in order to seal the match)&lt;/i&gt;  over GM Kaufman in the last round.  The Boston-based squad will play for the national championship in March, and we wish them well.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your humble scribe also participated in the tournament, and over the next few days I will try to post some of my games, with analysis.  In the meantime, I have to put down an insurrection from my cat, who apparently took my absence as a sign that she is the true master of the house, and is now stealth-biting me at every opportunity.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-2529701934214046226?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/2529701934214046226/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=2529701934214046226' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/2529701934214046226'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/2529701934214046226'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/02/eastern-amateur-team-championships.html' title='Eastern Amateur Team Championships'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-7427795147543570910</id><published>2009-02-10T21:29:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:40:28.741-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Random stuff'/><title type='text'>A Restaurant Review (?!)</title><content type='html'>I should really leave this sort of thing to &lt;a href=http://gltsoi.livejournal.com/&gt; G &lt;/a&gt; (who, unlike me, actually knows food), but I do have one recommendation: If you're ever at Tartufo in Newton Center, order the signature dessert.  It's a scoop of coffee gelato in a thin shell of walnut shavings, with fruit and whipped cream.  Delicious, and definitely the highlight of my evening there.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-7427795147543570910?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/7427795147543570910/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=7427795147543570910' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/7427795147543570910'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/7427795147543570910'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/02/restaurant-review.html' title='A Restaurant Review (?!)'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-2860236992974789870</id><published>2009-02-02T21:54:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:47:48.361-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='law'/><title type='text'>What not to do with a Drunken Sailor</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=http://people.boston.com/articles/cityandregion/?p=articlecomments&amp;activityId=6666898659532182314&gt; This &lt;/a&gt; story is a bit old, but worth mentioning.  Last year, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts heard an interesting case that tests the limits of employer liability and civic duty.  The facts were these: six men hired a limousine to go clubhopping, got roaring drunk in full view of the driver, and asked to be dropped off at a bar close to where their cars were parked.  The driver did so, and one of the men promptly drove his car into an intersection, causing an accident that killed an off-duty police officer.  The officer's family, along with others injured in the accident, sued the livery company on grounds of negligence.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The trial court dismissed the claim, asserting that the limo driver did not have a duty to the victims once his passengers left his vehicle.  However, the SJC disagreed, holding that the limo driver "owed a duty" to the plaintiffs, since he could have known that his passengers were drunk and could thus have concluded that they would soon be driving while intoxicated.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first thing to note is this:  Contrary to the lead paragraph of the Globe article, the SJC did not rule that the livery company &lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;was&lt;/span&gt; liable in this case; they merely held that it &lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;could be&lt;/span&gt; liable, and that the case should be decided by a jury.  Small consolation to the company -- I'm sure they'll settle so as not to risk a painfully expensive verdict -- but important nonetheless.  From a theoretical perspective, there are really two issues involved here: first, the delineation of the driver's duty to the victims (how much would he have had to know in order to be liable -- would he actually have to see the passengers drink alcohol inside the limousine?  What if he suspected they were going to drive home, but wasn't 100% sure?  Would it make a difference if only some of the passengers were drunk?); second, the practical question of the driver's options in this situation.  Should he have called the police?  Driven around until the passengers sobered up?  If he had done so, and the passengers attempted to leave (a likely scenario), would he have had a duty to restrain them?  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For me, this second question is really the sticking point.  I can understand wanting service drivers to keep an eye on their passengers (in the same way that we want bartenders to cut off a drunk patron), but I'm not sure that the real-life benefits would be that great -- sooner or later, you're either going to have to let your passenger go, unless you take draconian measures to detain him.  The costs, by contrast, are readily apparent: it would be a lot harder for a limousines, cabs, etc. to do business in Massachusetts, because they would always have to err on the side of caution when dropping off someone who has visited a restaurant or bar.  In addition, there's a little demon perched on my shoulder, whispering about the implicit abrogation of personal responsibility involved in this decision (and in all decisions that extend the scope of "civic duty," e.g. misprison of felony cases).  That guy has some serious social issues, though, so I'm not sure whether to trust his judgment.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What do you think of the decision?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-2860236992974789870?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/2860236992974789870/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=2860236992974789870' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/2860236992974789870'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/2860236992974789870'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-not-to-do-with-drunken-sailor.html' title='What not to do with a Drunken Sailor'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-8788700360867095546</id><published>2009-01-24T22:46:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-24T23:44:33.461-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='useless verbosity'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Frustration in the English</title><content type='html'>I've been thinking of switching to the English opening from 1.d4, but one of the peculiar things about it is how difficult it is to get an advantage against the reversed Sicilian.  Take the position after 1.c4 Nf6 (a sneaky way to force 2.Nc3, as 2.g3 c6! is harmless IMO) 2.Nc3 e5:  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src = "http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/54uvxslzn688.png"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From here, White can try a few different moves, but each one has a drawback.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;a) 3.g3 -- here, I think that Black's most accurate move is 3..c6!  Now 4.d4 ed 5.Qxd4 d5 has been tried in many games and seems fine for Black (Kosten's excellent book on the English recommends delaying Nc3 in part because of this line).  If White tries 4.Nf3, then Black can play 4..e4 5.Nd4 d5 6.cd Qb6!?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src = "http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/1lpbxbtoaf28.png"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is never played with colors reversed (1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.d4 cd 6.Qb3), presumably because ..e6 would be a good response.  From the diagram, if White plays 7.e3, it is clear that the extra move g3 is actually detrimental.  If instead 7.Nb3, then Black can gain the initiative with 7..a5!, threatening to trap the knight.  This was recently played by Bacrot, and looks pretty strong. Therefore, instead of 3.g3, most people play 3.Nf3 Nc6, with another split:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;a) 4.g3 Bb4 (4..d5 is also surprisingly hard to get an advantage against).  White would love to play 5.Nd5, but Black responds with 5..e4, and the extra move Nf3 is suddenly a drawback.  So most games continue with 5.Bg2 0-0, reaching a well-known position.  I can't begin to do this line justice in the space I have here, but it does score well for black and I'm not particularly inclined to play it as White.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;b) 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3!? 6.Qxc3 Qe7!.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src = "http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/cb4iler5ogoc.png"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm astounded at how annoying this move is -- my computer actually thinks that Black has a slight advantage here, and while I'm not sure about that, I think it is fair to see that equality has been achieved.  Basically, Black will play ..d5, White's queen will get kicked around, and Black's lead in space and development will be enough to counter the bishop pair.  So why can't White players try the same thing in reverse, as an anti-Taimanov line?  Essentially, because the Black knight is still on g8, and thus 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 can be met with either 4..Nge7 or the immediate 4..Nd4.  If an enterprising White player tries to waste a tempo with something like 4.a3, then Black can simply respond with 4..a6, which is part of his plan in the Taimanov anyway.  Speaking of a-pawn pushes:  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;c) 4.a3 d5 (4..g6 is also playable and roughly equal, because the a3 move becomes useless) 5.cd Nxd5, and we reach our final split:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src = "http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/1gy7ll2samkg4.png"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;i) 6.Qc2 Nxc3!? 7.bc Bd6 8.g3 Qe7(!) 9.d3 b6 has done pretty well for Black.  White probably wishes the a-pawn was back on a2.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ii) 6.e3 Nxc3 7.bc Bd6 is similar.  I always enjoyed playing White in these positions with colors reversed, and I would rather play Black here, although it's a matter of taste.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;iii) 6.e4 Nf4!? 7.d4 ed 8.Bxf4 dc&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src = "http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/wkus1x4stwgk.png"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now 9.Qxd8+ Nxd8 10.bc Ne6 is not what we want as White.  With colors reversed, Black usually takes the pawn back immediately, but here, 9.bc gives Black the extra option of 9..Qxd1+, and all of a sudden recapturing with the rook leaves the a3 pawn &lt;i&gt;en prise.&lt;/i&gt;  Curse you, extra move!  To be fair, White can recapture on c7, but the position isn't very inspiring.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So there you have it, a peripheral look at what everyone knows already: the reversed Sicilian seems fine for Black.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-8788700360867095546?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/8788700360867095546/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=8788700360867095546' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8788700360867095546'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8788700360867095546'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/01/frustration-in-english.html' title='Frustration in the English'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-8904041001139039274</id><published>2009-01-04T14:52:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-04T22:00:24.955-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Invasion of the Pinniped People</title><content type='html'>An interesting &lt;a href="http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Judge-Orders-Protection-of-the-Seals-at-Childrens/Y2FpHqoIgUOFsaeMMUpw0g.cspx"&gt; story &lt;/a&gt; is developing on a small beach in La Jolla, California.  The city has slated the beach for use as a children's pool.  But recently, a vicious pod of harbor seals decided to claim it as their own, in clear violation of state and international law.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SWFNMTSDfAI/AAAAAAAAAAc/rdmhh0HNpms/s1600-h/Seehund.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SWFNMTSDfAI/AAAAAAAAAAc/rdmhh0HNpms/s320/Seehund.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287592311239441410" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Avast, maties!  The shore is ours!&lt;/span&gt;   &lt;br /&gt;(Photo by Marcel Burkhard)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seals now lie on the beach all day with their layabout kids, thinking that their cuteness will save them from legal repercussions.  For now, it looks like their daring raid will pay off: a federal judge has given the order to put a rope barrier around the beach for protection during pupping season.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My friends, such appeasement will only serve to embolden the seal horde!  It is now only a matter of time before they make their way the East Coast.  How can we defend ourselves?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;UPDATE:&lt;/span&gt; Few people know that in addition to piracy, seals excel at running telemarketing scams.  Sadly, the little fellow below forgot to use an untraceable number.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eEhQ5nauXgY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eEhQ5nauXgY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-8904041001139039274?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/8904041001139039274/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=8904041001139039274' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8904041001139039274'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8904041001139039274'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2009/01/invasion-of-pinniped-people.html' title='Invasion of the Pinniped People'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/SWFNMTSDfAI/AAAAAAAAAAc/rdmhh0HNpms/s72-c/Seehund.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-4306560088055939183</id><published>2008-12-26T21:55:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:47:17.797-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='useless verbosity'/><title type='text'>Greetings from sunny San Diego!</title><content type='html'>Where the weather is fine, the people are friendly, and I get passed on my morning "run" by octogenarians.  It may be time to get in better shape.&lt;br /&gt;My health resolutions aside, I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.  I've found that copious amounts of alcohol combined with a Six Feet Under DVD box set makes for a pretty good time.  Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and a Bountiful Solstice to all.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-4306560088055939183?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/4306560088055939183/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=4306560088055939183' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/4306560088055939183'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/4306560088055939183'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/12/greetings-from-sunny-san-diego.html' title='Greetings from sunny San Diego!'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-9180738146893853166</id><published>2008-12-18T20:42:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-18T21:00:25.264-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='useless verbosity'/><title type='text'>Perplexed</title><content type='html'>Re: The $50 billion lost in the Madoff hedge fund fraud -- where on earth did all that money go?  Originally I had just assumed it was lost in bad stock investments, but I have been told by someone who used to prosecute these cases regularly that the people who run Ponzi schemes don't typically invest the proceeds, since they want to keep a pool of capital available to pay their "investors."  Is this correct?  There's no way Madoff could have spent $50 billion on just his own lifestyle, right?  If anyone can demystify this situation for me, please do leave a comment.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-9180738146893853166?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/9180738146893853166/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=9180738146893853166' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/9180738146893853166'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/9180738146893853166'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/12/perplexed.html' title='Perplexed'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-3883317633186634361</id><published>2008-12-18T20:39:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-23T22:47:17.797-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='useless verbosity'/><title type='text'>Exams over, posting can resume</title><content type='html'>Just as soon as I have something to say...&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-3883317633186634361?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/3883317633186634361/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=3883317633186634361' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/3883317633186634361'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/3883317633186634361'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/12/exams-over-posting-can-resume.html' title='Exams over, posting can resume'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-3922539424722800925</id><published>2008-12-06T22:21:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-18T20:59:58.178-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='USCL'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>So Close, And Yet So Far</title><content type='html'>Well, the US Chess League Championship match did indeed go to a tiebreak, and just like last year, Dallas emerged victorious over Boston.  Congratulations to the Dallas Destiny, and to the winning lineup of IM Zivanic, IM Kuljasevic, FM Schneider, and WFM Zorigt!  Congratulations also to team manager John Bartholomew, who has put together what is clearly the premiere organization in the USCL.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The match itself got off to a good start, with GM Christiansen offering a dangerous gambit in the Taimanov Sicilian.  I'm not sure if this is something he prepared specifically for IM Zivanic, but he quickly proved that White's initiative and pressure against f7 was worth more than Black's two bishops.  NM Esserman was the next to finish, with a nice victory over FM Schneider from a Marshall Gambit declined.  I have played Schneider myself and know from experience how good he is at defending tough positions, so it was impressive to see Esserman play so precisely to convert his opening advantage.  Unfortunately, NM Krasik was already in difficulties against WFM Zorigt, and couldn't save a tough position out of the King's Indian Defense.  This left it up to Board 2 and IM Kuljasevic, who was the hero of the night.  First he showed nice technique in creating queenside pressure against SM Sammour-Hasbun's Semi-Slav, and then he eliminated all three Boston players he faced in the blitz tiebreaks, sealing the match for Dallas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So once again we came up just short at the finish line.  This would be a proper time to find something inspirational to say, but I can't think of anything at the moment besides tired Red Sox analogies, and those won't do anyone any good.  So instead, here's some Vera Lynn.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-gb0mxcpPOU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-gb0mxcpPOU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-3922539424722800925?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/3922539424722800925/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=3922539424722800925' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/3922539424722800925'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/3922539424722800925'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/12/so-close-and-yet-so-far.html' title='So Close, And Yet So Far'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-6414471663229183712</id><published>2008-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-18T20:59:38.779-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='USCL'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>US Chess League predictions</title><content type='html'>Ah, the USCL finals are upon us once again.  Last year, your Boston Blitz were defeated by the Dallas Destiny, in what was surely the most exciting USCL match ever -- or would have been, had the match not lasted until 2:00 am.  This year, the two teams have marched inexorably towards a rematch, and the commissioner has wisely moved the starting time to 3:00 on Saturday, December 6th.  My prediction: another drawn match, but this time Boston will prevail on tiebreaks.  In Esserman (and his 3000 ICC blitz rating) we trust.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Update:&lt;/span&gt; I just remembered that Boston hasn't had a drawn match all year.  I'm downgrading myself from a Kreskin to a Criswell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xes0F36eTJA&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xes0F36eTJA&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-6414471663229183712?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/6414471663229183712/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=6414471663229183712' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/6414471663229183712'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/6414471663229183712'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/12/us-chess-league-predictions.html' title='US Chess League predictions'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-5590425382460395340</id><published>2008-11-09T10:26:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-11-09T10:27:23.515-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='BCC Championship 2008'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 1</title><content type='html'>&lt;!-- iChess v1.13, (c) 2007-2008 GameKnot.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess42954"&gt;Play &lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;online chess&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new 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/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/5590425382460395340/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=5590425382460395340' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5590425382460395340'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5590425382460395340'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/11/boylston-chess-club-championship-round_09.html' title='Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 1'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-4895368154978972622</id><published>2008-11-03T23:14:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-11-03T23:15:02.332-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='BCC Championship 2008'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 4</title><content type='html'>&lt;!-- iChess v1.13, (c) 2007-2008 GameKnot.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess468915"&gt;&lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;Play chess&lt;/a&gt; online!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new 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/&gt;*/'','%21%20%20White%20finally%20brings%20out%20another%20piec'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'e%2C%20and%20now%20has%20the%20dual%20threat%20of%2020.Bg4%'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'20and%2020.f5.%20%20','%3F%20%20Losing%20a%20piece%2C%20but'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'%20Black%20was%20in%20trouble%20anyway.%20%20The%20only%20w'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'ay%20to%20keep%20the%20game%20alive%20was%20to%20play%2019.'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'.f5%20%2819..h5%2020.Nd1%20doesn%27t%20help%29%2C%20when%20'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'the%20silicon%20beast%20recommends%2020.d5%2C%20undermining'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'%20Black%27s%20center%20with%20a%20huge%20advantage.%20%20'/*&lt;br /&gt;*/,'Black%20cannot%20defend%20against%2021.Bg4%20without%20los'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'ing%20a%20piece.%20%20Therefore%2C%20Black%20resigned.%20%2'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'0A%20lucky%20victory%2C%20but%20you%20take%20what%20you%20c'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'an%20get.%20%201-0'));/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ih(1,'Boylston%20Chess%20Club%20Championship%2C%20Round%'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'204','Riordan%20%282383%29%20vs.%20Vigorito%20%282417%29%2C'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'%2030/90%2C%20SD%2045');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.go(0,0);}}/*&lt;br /&gt;*/&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-4895368154978972622?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/4895368154978972622/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=4895368154978972622' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/4895368154978972622'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/4895368154978972622'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/11/boylston-chess-club-championship-round_03.html' title='Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 4'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-3591025731466347803</id><published>2008-11-03T20:23:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-11-03T22:02:44.852-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='useless verbosity'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='politics'/><title type='text'>Obligatory Election Thought</title><content type='html'>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."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;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."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On this election day, as on all others, I am thankful that &lt;em&gt;our &lt;/em&gt;apparatchiks are replaceable.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-3591025731466347803?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/3591025731466347803/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=3591025731466347803' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/3591025731466347803'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/3591025731466347803'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/11/election-thought.html' title='Obligatory Election Thought'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-5881650716742727850</id><published>2008-11-03T19:45:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-11-03T20:07:20.389-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='games'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='music'/><title type='text'>Guitar Hero World Tour</title><content type='html'>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).  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you tried the game yourself?  Any songs you would like to see included in the next installment?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-5881650716742727850?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/5881650716742727850/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=5881650716742727850' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5881650716742727850'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/5881650716742727850'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/11/guitar-hero-world-tour.html' title='Guitar Hero World Tour'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-1476338031828629811</id><published>2008-11-02T10:12:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-11-03T20:07:04.391-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='BCC Championship 2008'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 2</title><content type='html'>&lt;!-- iChess v1.13, (c) 2007-2008 GameKnot.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess596981"&gt;Play &lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;online chess&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new ichess_create(11,'ichess596981',6);if(o){/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.im('d2d4d7d5c2c4e7e6g1f3g8f6g2g3f8e7f1g2e8g8e1g1d5c4f3e5'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'b8c6e5c6b7c6e2e3c8a6b1c3a8b8d1a4b8b6f1d1f6d5a2a3d8b8c1d2b8b7'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'e3e4d5c3d2c3b6b3a4a5b3b5a5a4b5b3d4d5a6b5a4a5c6d5e4d5e6d5g2d5'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'b7b6d1d2e7f6a5b6c7b6c3f6g7f6a3a4b5a6a1e1b3d3d2d3c4d3b2b4f8d8'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'d5f3d3d2');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.il(0,0,1);/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ia(new Array('','','','','','','','','','','','','The%20O'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'pen%20Catalan.%20%20The%20normal%20move%20here%20is%207.Qc2'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'%2C%20but%20I%20decided%20to%20try%20something%20different.'/*&lt;br /&gt;*/,'','%28%21%29%20%20Probably%20the%20best%20response.%20%20I'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'%20have%20had%20this%20position%20as%20White%20a%20few%20ti'+/*&lt;br 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/&gt;*/'ouble%20his%20pawns%2C%20when%20he%20will%20be%20positional'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'ly%20better%20with%20a%20good%20pawn%20in%20hand%20to%20boo'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'t.%20%20Black%20now%20exploits%20his%20advantage%20very%20a'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'ccurately.','','','','','','','','','','%21%20%20And%20Blac'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'k%20wins.','','','','','','White%20resigned%20due%20to%2031'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'.Rd1%20Bc4%20and%20..Bb3%2C%20or%2031.Ra1%20Re8%2032.Bd1%20'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'Re1+%2033.Kg2%20Be2.%20%200-1'));/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ih(0,'Boylston%20Chess%20Club%20Championship%2C%20Round%'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'202','Riordan%20%282383%29%20vs.%20Warfield%20%282158%29');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.go(0,0);}}/*&lt;br /&gt;*/&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-1476338031828629811?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/1476338031828629811/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=1476338031828629811' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1476338031828629811'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1476338031828629811'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/11/boylston-chess-club-championships-round.html' title='Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 2'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-7142428513021392181</id><published>2008-11-01T13:08:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-11-02T09:35:00.287-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='BCC Championship 2008'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 3</title><content type='html'>&lt;!-- iChess v1.13, (c) 2007-2008 GameKnot.com --&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess260413"&gt;&lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;Play chess&lt;/a&gt; online!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new 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class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-7142428513021392181?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/7142428513021392181/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=7142428513021392181' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/7142428513021392181'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/7142428513021392181'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/11/boylston-chess-club-championship-round.html' title='Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 3'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-1625520170586971036</id><published>2008-10-31T19:16:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-31T19:22:05.604-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='cheese'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='movies'/><title type='text'>Happy Halloween!</title><content type='html'>In honor of the occasion, a clip from one of the most poorly made horror movies of all time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HyophYBP_w4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HyophYBP_w4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-1625520170586971036?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/1625520170586971036/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=1625520170586971036' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1625520170586971036'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1625520170586971036'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-halloween.html' title='Happy Halloween!'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-1876634117771725067</id><published>2008-10-28T23:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-11-01T13:08:15.003-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='BCC Championship 2008'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chess'/><title type='text'>Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 6</title><content type='html'>From time to time I'll be posting games from this year's Boylston Chess Club Championship. You can see my commentary simply by playing through the game. If you spot any errors or have any questions, please feel free to comment!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript" src="http://e.ichess.com/ichess.js" type="text/javascript"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="ichess346366"&gt;Play &lt;a href="http://gameknot.com/"&gt;online chess&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;script language="JavaScript"&gt;/*&lt;br /&gt;*/if ((typeof ichess_create)!='undefined')/*&lt;br /&gt;*/{o=new ichess_create(11,'ichess346366',6);if(o){/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.im('e2e4e7e5b1c3g8f6g2g3d7d5e4d5f6d5f1g2d5c3b2c3f8d6g1e2'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'e8g8a1b1b8c6e1g1d8d7d2d4a8b8f2f4e5d4c3d4b7b6d4d5d6c5g1h1c6e7'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'c2c4d7g4e2d4g4d1f1d1c8g4g2f3g4f3d4f3f8e8f3e5b8d8c1b2f7f6e5d3'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'c5d6b1c1c7c6d5c6e7c6d1e1e8e1d3e1c6a5b2c3d6a3c1c2a5c4e1f3d8d1'+/*&lt;br /&gt;*/'f3e1a3b2c3b2d1e1h1g2c4e3');/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.il(0,0,1);/*&lt;br /&gt;*/o.ia(new Array('','','','','','A%20surprise%21%20%20I%20had'+/*&lt;br 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width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-1876634117771725067?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/1876634117771725067/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=1876634117771725067' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1876634117771725067'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1876634117771725067'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/10/testing-chess.html' title='Boylston Chess Club Championship, Round 6'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-8436342655088551916</id><published>2008-10-28T21:55:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-28T22:05:38.520-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='movies'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='David Lynch'/><title type='text'>Laura Dern is Freaky!</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;object height="344" width="425"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x1V4v0CPyMo&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x1V4v0CPyMo&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This deserved to be on someone's blog. Why not mine? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;WARNING: Impossible to understand without context! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;WARNING: Equally incomprehensible &lt;em&gt;with&lt;/em&gt; context! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-8436342655088551916?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/8436342655088551916/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=8436342655088551916' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8436342655088551916'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/8436342655088551916'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/10/laura-dern-is-awesome.html' title='Laura Dern is Freaky!'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439149464004511891.post-1272407614824816761</id><published>2008-10-20T22:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-29T21:24:54.610-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='movies'/><title type='text'>Idiocracy</title><content type='html'>Decent movie. I'm becoming a bit of a Mike Judge fan -- &lt;em&gt;King of the Hill&lt;/em&gt; in particular is a fantastic show, and &lt;em&gt;Office Space &lt;/em&gt;was good as well, if overhyped. I'm surprised that Judge is still struggling to obtain financing for his projects: &lt;em&gt;Idiocracy&lt;/em&gt; was nearly abandoned by Fox before it was finally released in a small number of theaters.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Idiocracy&lt;/em&gt; centers around Private Joe Bauer (Luke Wilson), a likeable everyman whose only ambition in life is to obtain his pension from the army: When his superiors tell Joe to lead, follow, or get out of the way, he invariably chooses the third option. Unfortunately, Joe's utter normality makes him an attractive guinea pig for army scientists working on a top-secret cryogenisis project, and thanks to the requisite series of mishaps, Joe is accidentally frozen for five hundred years. Upon awakening, he discovers that humanity has literally bred itself stupid. (Harvey Danger was right!) With the help of a fellow test subject (Maya Rudolph), Joe attempts to find a way back to the past, while coping with the hazards of being the only intelligent man in a world of morons.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For the most part, this movie lives up to its premise. The people of the future are a sorry lot, completely dependant upon a rotting infrastructure left to them by their more intelligent ancestors. They live as hedonists, but without creativity -- stuffing themselves on fast food, breeding like mad, and gaping mindlessly at the TV. Judge fleshes out his vision of the future with some great little details, satirizing pop culture (thrill to the hit TV show "Ow, My Balls"), commerce (marvel at "Brawndo," the sports drink/crop waterer that's "got what plants crave!"), and politics (laugh at President Camacho, the ex-wrestler who has taken power by virtue of sheer machismo!) Of course, Joe's interactions with these nitwits provide most of the movie's humor. My favorite scene involves his long, painful attempt to convince the President's Advisory Council that plants might actually crave water instead of electrolytes. Their response: "Water? Like from the toilet?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sadly&lt;em&gt;, Idiocracy&lt;/em&gt; is a little thin on plot.  The movie sometimes seems unsure of where it's going (will Joe and Maya get together?  Would anyone care?), and it falters at the finish line, with a predictable "hero-in-peril" scene followed by a preachy monologue.  Still, I'd give it a solid B+.  It's got a lot of laughs, and that's all I'm really looking for in a light comedy like this.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Holt sh*t, it Beef Supreme!&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8439149464004511891-1272407614824816761?l=emptyhall.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/feeds/1272407614824816761/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8439149464004511891&amp;postID=1272407614824816761' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1272407614824816761'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8439149464004511891/posts/default/1272407614824816761'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://emptyhall.blogspot.com/2008/10/idiocracy.html' title='Idiocracy'/><author><name>CRR</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02268274726283433678</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h1goAZ-0My8/Sch1GzIcidI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_zvGxCa9Dvk/S220/crr.JPG'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry></feed>
