In Chinese class tonight, we learned how to say the Chinese equivalents of "Bush" and "Blair". Both names start with the same character, which is pronounced "bù", so the Chinese call them "liang ge Bù"--"the two Bù's".
We were practicing introduction dialogues and someone was having trouble properly pronouncing the character which, in this context, is translated as "honorable". It's used to formally ask someone their family name and is pronounced "guì", but this person kept saying "guǐ", so our teacher pointed out that "guǐ" means ghost, which we thought was perfect, since it's Halloween. So she told us that one way to say "Halloween" is "Guǐ Jiě" which literally means "Ghost Festival".
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Homepage
By adding a search tool in the upper right corner of browsers, Google made it totally ridiculous to continue using their site as a homepage. This opened worlds of possibility. At home, I've been using Go Base for a while, merely to do their problem of the day when I first get up in the morning. These problems are generally easy and don't take much time. Also, I have many of them memorized by now. Still, it's good to wake up to a Go problem.
Now I have my computer in the office--a whole new homepage to contemplate. I tried Igo-Kisen for a bit, but their games are organised by country, so I don't get the most recent games at the top of the screen. I'm exceedingly lazy, so this just wasn't going to work. Today I switched to Go4Go, which lists new pro games by date. So now, before I start working in the morning, I can check out the latest pro games.
Now I have my computer in the office--a whole new homepage to contemplate. I tried Igo-Kisen for a bit, but their games are organised by country, so I don't get the most recent games at the top of the screen. I'm exceedingly lazy, so this just wasn't going to work. Today I switched to Go4Go, which lists new pro games by date. So now, before I start working in the morning, I can check out the latest pro games.
4 a.m. in the courtyard during a week off from classes
Yesterday when Brenda mentioned that we don't have to do tutorials this week as the students have a mid-term study break, I groaned. Sure enough, I was woken in the dead of night last night from a dream in which there was a TV in the background playing a Saturday Night Live skit mocking a Jerry Springer show.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Weiqi Update
I should be playing at the Central London Go Club today, but due to utter exhaustion, I'm staying home. In an attempt to get some work (i.e., math) done, I've put less time this week into Go and Chinese than usual. I am doing some Go studying today though, as I have a lesson on Tuesday and a lot of homework to do for it.
While playing Guo Juan in my last lesson, I played A in the following diagram.
I didn't really understand the move though, so my follow up was not very severe and she was able to settle easily. My homework is to read out the situation, i.e., why White can't respond at N3 and why, after White plays O4, Black can play N3, which is severe. This is only part of the homework I have for Tuesday.
I don't think the Chinese kids we played this summer cared at all that we posted our games with them online, but I'm afraid that my opponents here might stop playing with me (and rightly so) if I posted their games without permission. So I'm not posting my actual games, but I will continue to post interesting positions, problems and new joseki.
Today I'm looking at the first round game of the 61st Honinbo title match between Takao Shinji and Yamada Kimio. Takao Shinji (playing White) wins by resignation. After memorizing the game, I watched Guo Juan's audio lesson review of it. I like to memorize the games first, because it helps me to realize what it is that I don't understand about the game before I watch the review. It's generally the moves that I have a hard time remembering that I really don't understand. If I don't memorize it, I often just overlook those moves without trying to figure them out.
In this review, Guo Juan shows a few joseki. From the position shown on the left, Black has the attachment at C3 as a follow up. I know this joseki; I've seen it many times. Yet whenever I'm faced with it in a game, I always panic a bit because I have a hard time remembering what the final result looks like (and, therefore, whether I want to play it). The basic joseki is shown below.
Another joseki that Guo Juan shows in this review starts from White's pincer at 2 (shown on the left). I've seen this joseki before as well, but, as she notes in the lesson, it's a modern joseki, so it's not in the books and is worth noting. This is a simple joseki and worth having in your pocket. The joseki is shown below.
While playing Guo Juan in my last lesson, I played A in the following diagram.
I didn't really understand the move though, so my follow up was not very severe and she was able to settle easily. My homework is to read out the situation, i.e., why White can't respond at N3 and why, after White plays O4, Black can play N3, which is severe. This is only part of the homework I have for Tuesday.
I don't think the Chinese kids we played this summer cared at all that we posted our games with them online, but I'm afraid that my opponents here might stop playing with me (and rightly so) if I posted their games without permission. So I'm not posting my actual games, but I will continue to post interesting positions, problems and new joseki.
Today I'm looking at the first round game of the 61st Honinbo title match between Takao Shinji and Yamada Kimio. Takao Shinji (playing White) wins by resignation. After memorizing the game, I watched Guo Juan's audio lesson review of it. I like to memorize the games first, because it helps me to realize what it is that I don't understand about the game before I watch the review. It's generally the moves that I have a hard time remembering that I really don't understand. If I don't memorize it, I often just overlook those moves without trying to figure them out.
In this review, Guo Juan shows a few joseki. From the position shown on the left, Black has the attachment at C3 as a follow up. I know this joseki; I've seen it many times. Yet whenever I'm faced with it in a game, I always panic a bit because I have a hard time remembering what the final result looks like (and, therefore, whether I want to play it). The basic joseki is shown below.
Another joseki that Guo Juan shows in this review starts from White's pincer at 2 (shown on the left). I've seen this joseki before as well, but, as she notes in the lesson, it's a modern joseki, so it's not in the books and is worth noting. This is a simple joseki and worth having in your pocket. The joseki is shown below.
Friday, October 27, 2006
The Bitter Bathroom Battle
In the building where my office is located, there's a bathroom for women on our floor, but the guys are supposed to either go up a flight of stairs or down a flight to use the bathroom. I found it a bit odd when I got here to discover that most of the guys pay no attention to this whatsoever and just use the women's bathroom. It doesn't particularly bother me, but I did think it was a bit strange, perhaps just because I'm accustomed to bathrooms being segregated by gender.
Apparently there is someone who is really bothered by it though, because a few weeks ago some signs appeared on the door to the bathroom noting that this bathroom was for women only and there are men's bathrooms on the first and third floor. It also noted that bathrooms in work places are required by law to be segregated.
The guys responded by removing these signs and covering the permanent sign on the bathroom door with a unisex bathroom sign they had printed out. They continued to use the bathroom.
Whoever it is that wants them segregated did not stop. Someone official from whatever office on campus is responsible for such things came by and hung up more signs (also on the inside door and even the stall doors this time) asserting again that by university policy and law this bathroom was not to be used by men. These signs also cited a contact in case any of the men cared to discuss the issue further. They simply removed the signs again and continued to use the bathroom.
More women-only signs have been placed on the bathroom door. Still the guys continue to use the bathroom, but I think they've gotten bored with removing the signs. Whoever is trying to get things to change has my support. I have to go to other floors in other buildings to use the bathroom. Why are the guys here so stubborn? Plus, don't they feel weird about continuing to use the bathroom when they know it bothers someone? I would imagine that every time they use it, they must wonder whether they'll run into the woman who doesn't want them there.
Apparently there is someone who is really bothered by it though, because a few weeks ago some signs appeared on the door to the bathroom noting that this bathroom was for women only and there are men's bathrooms on the first and third floor. It also noted that bathrooms in work places are required by law to be segregated.
The guys responded by removing these signs and covering the permanent sign on the bathroom door with a unisex bathroom sign they had printed out. They continued to use the bathroom.
Whoever it is that wants them segregated did not stop. Someone official from whatever office on campus is responsible for such things came by and hung up more signs (also on the inside door and even the stall doors this time) asserting again that by university policy and law this bathroom was not to be used by men. These signs also cited a contact in case any of the men cared to discuss the issue further. They simply removed the signs again and continued to use the bathroom.
More women-only signs have been placed on the bathroom door. Still the guys continue to use the bathroom, but I think they've gotten bored with removing the signs. Whoever is trying to get things to change has my support. I have to go to other floors in other buildings to use the bathroom. Why are the guys here so stubborn? Plus, don't they feel weird about continuing to use the bathroom when they know it bothers someone? I would imagine that every time they use it, they must wonder whether they'll run into the woman who doesn't want them there.
Wedding Bells
My family is heading to California this weekend for my cousin Brian's wedding. He and Lauren are getting married in Yosemite National Park, so it should be pretty spectacular. I wish I could be there to celebrate with them!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
It Don't Feel Right
Cheney calls the use of waterboarding by the CIA a "no-brainer". It's a good description: If one has no brain, one might think it's a good idea. Let's put aside the obvious (and not exactly new) arguments that we shouldn't use torture because it's inhumane and because the only information you're going to get out of it is what the victim thinks you want to hear anyway. Instead, let's just consider the selfish arguments for not using torture.
Torturing prisoners of war (even if you've decided to call them "detainees") is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and, as such, is (supposedly) something for which all individuals responsible are to be prosecuted.
From an article in "The Nation":
So Cheney has now admitted that he is responsible for prosecutable war crimes. I'm sure he's not terribly worried though, as there is not exactly a whole lot of precedent for actually prosecuting the atrocities of powerful countries against their weaker counterparts.
Coming from such a musically inclined family, I seek the voice of protest in music. Mostly that search seems to be in vain. Old songs with messages as potent as ever might mean a lot to me, but they don't exactly get a lot of play now. Pete Seeger is, of course, still doing his part, but being, after all, mortal, we probably can't count on him forever. It seems to me that hip hop artists are the only musicians who have the guts to really come out and say something these days.
Torturing prisoners of war (even if you've decided to call them "detainees") is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and, as such, is (supposedly) something for which all individuals responsible are to be prosecuted.
From an article in "The Nation":
No less a figure than Alberto Gonzales, then-White House counsel to George W. Bush and now US Attorney General, expressed deep concern about possible prosecutions under the War Crimes Act of 1996 for American mistreatment of Afghanistan war detainees.
This relatively obscure statute makes it a federal crime to violate certain provisions of the Geneva Conventions. The Act punishes any US national, military or civilian, who commits a "grave breach" of the Geneva Conventions. A grave breach, as defined by the Geneva Conventions, includes the deliberate "killing, torture or inhuman treatment" of detainees. Violations of the War Crimes Act that result in death carry the death penalty.
So Cheney has now admitted that he is responsible for prosecutable war crimes. I'm sure he's not terribly worried though, as there is not exactly a whole lot of precedent for actually prosecuting the atrocities of powerful countries against their weaker counterparts.
Coming from such a musically inclined family, I seek the voice of protest in music. Mostly that search seems to be in vain. Old songs with messages as potent as ever might mean a lot to me, but they don't exactly get a lot of play now. Pete Seeger is, of course, still doing his part, but being, after all, mortal, we probably can't count on him forever. It seems to me that hip hop artists are the only musicians who have the guts to really come out and say something these days.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
New Teacher
For some reason, our previous Chinese teacher is no longer able to teach our class, so we have a new teacher who started last night. There are pros and cons to both, but she is the complete opposite of our old teacher. While our old teacher barely opened the textbook in class, she followed it almost line for line. On the other hand, the things she did outside of the textbook were really good. When she came in, she introduced herself in Chinese, even though we hadn't yet done introductions (we did that last night). Rather than just practicing numbers in order, she gave us her mobile phone number to see if we could understand it. She also taught us the hand symbols for the numbers. But sometimes she would just ask us to read something in the text book on our own in class, which I think is not the best use of class time. I can (and do) read the book outside of class. We only have one and a half hours in class each week; I think we shouldn't be using that time to read the book.
I had started thinking to myself that perhaps our "freshers" were getting bored of fire alarms, but last night at 3:30 a.m. the insistent ringing pierced my sleep once again. The fire department actually came, so perhaps there was actually some fire. They kept us outside for about 20 minutes. We were not allowed uninterrupted sleep after that; we were woken by short bursts every hour or two through the rest of the night (presumably testing after resetting the system).
One positive aspect of all this was that one of the other students in my Chinese class found me outside. I had introduced myself to her (in Chinese) during one of our reading times during class. She's from France, studying European studies, and eager to learn any new language she can get her hands on. Perhaps, together, we can keep the interaction up during class so we can get some more practice in.
On a completely different topic: Last night I was talking to my flatmate Imram (from Pakistan) and asked him about the earthquake last year. He said he lost a close friend and described the horrors of helping to excavate afterwards. He also said that, particularly in the more remote areas, many people are in exactly the same condition as the day after the earthquake, and are facing the prospect of another rough winter without real shelter. Eventually Imram reproached me for bringing up such a depressing topic and awful memories.
I had started thinking to myself that perhaps our "freshers" were getting bored of fire alarms, but last night at 3:30 a.m. the insistent ringing pierced my sleep once again. The fire department actually came, so perhaps there was actually some fire. They kept us outside for about 20 minutes. We were not allowed uninterrupted sleep after that; we were woken by short bursts every hour or two through the rest of the night (presumably testing after resetting the system).
One positive aspect of all this was that one of the other students in my Chinese class found me outside. I had introduced myself to her (in Chinese) during one of our reading times during class. She's from France, studying European studies, and eager to learn any new language she can get her hands on. Perhaps, together, we can keep the interaction up during class so we can get some more practice in.
On a completely different topic: Last night I was talking to my flatmate Imram (from Pakistan) and asked him about the earthquake last year. He said he lost a close friend and described the horrors of helping to excavate afterwards. He also said that, particularly in the more remote areas, many people are in exactly the same condition as the day after the earthquake, and are facing the prospect of another rough winter without real shelter. Eventually Imram reproached me for bringing up such a depressing topic and awful memories.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Get Out the Vote
This morning I mailed my absentee ballot back to Massachusetts. The most interesting part was the series of non-binding resolution questions (all the way at the bottom) like whether we should end the war in Iraq and bring home all troops. The other questions were on whether Massachusetts should cease investing in Israel and whether all refugees (and explicitly Palestinians) should have the right of return. These questions are certainly more interesting than whether to vote for the unopposed Democrat for "Clerk of Courts".
Meanwhile, I still don't understand why election day is not a holiday in the U.S..
Meanwhile, I still don't understand why election day is not a holiday in the U.S..
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Reading List
When I arrived in London, I was just finishing Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, kindly supplied and recommended by Kate. Between Nafisi's references, Linda's suggestion (in the case of Tolstoy) and picking up some practically free books at the residence hall sale, I've been reading a lot of classics since I got here:
Now I've jumped continents and centuries and am reading Wild Swans by Jung Chang. It dovetails nicely with my Chinese class. The book relates the experiences of the author, her mother and her grandmother growing up in China through the Communist revolution and its fallout. It's interesting to reflect on how much this tumultuous history continues to very deeply and personally affect Chinese people today. Several people, while I was there this summer, mentioned how they have more freedom now, but they are still not free to say what they think. Those who made such comments clearly yearn to speak their minds, but still feel restrained.
There's another book by the same author and her husband (called Mao: The Unknown Story), which waits on my bookshelf along with a British sci-fi book The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks which Jess sent me.
- War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
- Daisy Miller and Other Stories, Henry James
- Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
- Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
- The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
Now I've jumped continents and centuries and am reading Wild Swans by Jung Chang. It dovetails nicely with my Chinese class. The book relates the experiences of the author, her mother and her grandmother growing up in China through the Communist revolution and its fallout. It's interesting to reflect on how much this tumultuous history continues to very deeply and personally affect Chinese people today. Several people, while I was there this summer, mentioned how they have more freedom now, but they are still not free to say what they think. Those who made such comments clearly yearn to speak their minds, but still feel restrained.
There's another book by the same author and her husband (called Mao: The Unknown Story), which waits on my bookshelf along with a British sci-fi book The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks which Jess sent me.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Invigilating
Today the class for which I'm tutoring has a test. I've agreed to "invigilate" the test. David (the professor for the class) has secured the services of quite a few invigilators for this test, even though there are only about 80 students in the class, because the testing room is "raked".
Yesterday was the weekly London Number Theory Seminar, which is at Imperial College this semester. It's in Kensington, which is a bit of a hike for me, more so because I already walk in to work. The past couple of weeks I've taken the tube, because it's the easiest when you don't really know where you're going. Yesterday I braved the bus system for the first time. Of course, it's quite easy to use, but people always seem to be intimidated, mostly, I think, because one isn't sure where to get off. The bus does take longer (in some places the traffic is bad enough that I'm sure I could walk faster), but it costs half as much as taking the tube and I get to see everything along the way (especially with the added advantage of the upper deck). Between King's and Imperial, the bus passes Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens. There are numerous statues and beautiful old buildings along the way, though with a certain disgust for the modern version of "new money", I think the beauty is compromised by the fact that these buildings are generally inhabited by grotesque international (often American) chain stores.
Yesterday was the weekly London Number Theory Seminar, which is at Imperial College this semester. It's in Kensington, which is a bit of a hike for me, more so because I already walk in to work. The past couple of weeks I've taken the tube, because it's the easiest when you don't really know where you're going. Yesterday I braved the bus system for the first time. Of course, it's quite easy to use, but people always seem to be intimidated, mostly, I think, because one isn't sure where to get off. The bus does take longer (in some places the traffic is bad enough that I'm sure I could walk faster), but it costs half as much as taking the tube and I get to see everything along the way (especially with the added advantage of the upper deck). Between King's and Imperial, the bus passes Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens. There are numerous statues and beautiful old buildings along the way, though with a certain disgust for the modern version of "new money", I think the beauty is compromised by the fact that these buildings are generally inhabited by grotesque international (often American) chain stores.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Strokes
Yesterday we learned the 8 basic types of strokes and some simple rules for stroke orders. I like the idea of a written language designed with aesthetics in mind. As my teacher explained last night, "If it didn't have that little flick on the end, it wouldn't look nice." I haven't even attempted to write any Chinese before, so this aspect is totally new for me. It's funny that I find being demoted to an undergraduate degrading, but I find being demoted to a five year old (as far as writing goes) delightful.
After Chinese class, I met Brenda to go out for drinks. I ran into Alicia (in theoretical physics, from Mexico; she's in a different office) and invited her to join us. I confessed to them that in walking so much around London, I've been tempted by some of the theaters that I pass on a regular basis. Brenda already knew where I was going with this, but I first mentioned that I really want to see Kevin Spacey in Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten". I went on to admit that, right down the street from our office, there's another show that tempts me. Brenda, on the edge of her seat, whose boyfriend already told her she could find someone else to accompany her to this one, was saying "Go on, go on". It's true, I'm won over by the bright pink signs that quip, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner". That's right, "Dirty Dancing" live on stage. I love also the juxtaposition with "Footloose" playing right down the street: the latter is advertised merely as "the hit movie" live on stage while the former is "the classic story" live on stage. I can't wait.
After Chinese class, I met Brenda to go out for drinks. I ran into Alicia (in theoretical physics, from Mexico; she's in a different office) and invited her to join us. I confessed to them that in walking so much around London, I've been tempted by some of the theaters that I pass on a regular basis. Brenda already knew where I was going with this, but I first mentioned that I really want to see Kevin Spacey in Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten". I went on to admit that, right down the street from our office, there's another show that tempts me. Brenda, on the edge of her seat, whose boyfriend already told her she could find someone else to accompany her to this one, was saying "Go on, go on". It's true, I'm won over by the bright pink signs that quip, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner". That's right, "Dirty Dancing" live on stage. I love also the juxtaposition with "Footloose" playing right down the street: the latter is advertised merely as "the hit movie" live on stage while the former is "the classic story" live on stage. I can't wait.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Small Victories
I finally got a bank account! Even better, I've already submitted the paperwork, and should get paid in about a week! Furthermore, I now have a computer in my office. The guy in charge of such things will finish setting everything up on Monday for me. This means I no longer have to lug my laptop around. My laptop is not terribly heavy, but I walk about 2 1/2 miles to get to my office each morning, and it will be nice to not have the added weight and worry of bringing my laptop with me. Finally, a couple of my officemates and I went out for a beer last night. This meant that I skipped my regular visit to the Nippon Club, but I was tired and distracted anyway. I'll play at the Central London Go Club today.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Reading Material
Linda and I usually exchange books (and mostly fiction), but here are some articles we've been reading lately.
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/182163.php
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/americasnuremberglaws
The above article was forwarded to me by the organizer of the Brooklyn Go Club.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6256039
This last link is a story on NPR. It's awfully convenient to have it as a policy to retire out of service those who do what they think is right rather than blindly following the party line. Thus it's not "retaliation" because they told him before hand that he'd forfeit his career for doing his job.
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/182163.php
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/americasnuremberglaws
The above article was forwarded to me by the organizer of the Brooklyn Go Club.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6256039
This last link is a story on NPR. It's awfully convenient to have it as a policy to retire out of service those who do what they think is right rather than blindly following the party line. Thus it's not "retaliation" because they told him before hand that he'd forfeit his career for doing his job.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Heavy Stones
My friend Rich sent me this picture (the Go pun possibilities are endless). They are doing some logging on their land: "thinning", i.e., not rampaging through and clear cutting everything in sight but instead intelligently choosing which trees to remove (and which to leave) so as to develop the forest in a positive way. His draft horse, Tom, will be pulling logs out (hopefully I'll get some photos of that too). In preparation, they needed to make a landing (a place to pile up all the logs to be removed so that a truck can come and get them); there were some big rocks in the way.
Memorizing (old) pro games
Guo Juan asked Rich and I to memorize Nie Weiping's China-Japan Supergo Match games from the 1980's. Here's the beginning of the third game we're memorizing.
Nie Weiping played white against Kato Masao on June 12, 1982. Kato won by 7.5.
The style of professional play has really changed over the past 20 years with the rise of Korea on the Go scene. The classy style exhibited here is typical of that time and generally associated with the Japanese who, for a long time, held the undisputed distinction of being the best in the world. China had a resurgence and started challenging the Japanese and then Korea, led by the revolutionary Lee ChangHo, started to dominate the world Go scene. The current style of professional play, generally associated with the Koreans, is marked by very complicated fighting, starting early in the game. Lately, China has been winning many of the international title matches.
I've been daydreaming about someday opening a Go cafe. It would be a beautiful and comfortable place where people would want to spend their time, regardless of whether they are playing Go. The cafe would finance the space enough that Go players could afford to regularly play in an appropriate setting. The equipment would be of good quality, we'd have a resident professional (I'm thinking Zhang Pei Pei would be perfect), we'd hold regular classes, both beginners' and advanced and we'd have our professional regularly lecture on the latest big professional games. I'd of course need some big sponsors; who will finance my little dream?
Nie Weiping played white against Kato Masao on June 12, 1982. Kato won by 7.5.The style of professional play has really changed over the past 20 years with the rise of Korea on the Go scene. The classy style exhibited here is typical of that time and generally associated with the Japanese who, for a long time, held the undisputed distinction of being the best in the world. China had a resurgence and started challenging the Japanese and then Korea, led by the revolutionary Lee ChangHo, started to dominate the world Go scene. The current style of professional play, generally associated with the Koreans, is marked by very complicated fighting, starting early in the game. Lately, China has been winning many of the international title matches.
I've been daydreaming about someday opening a Go cafe. It would be a beautiful and comfortable place where people would want to spend their time, regardless of whether they are playing Go. The cafe would finance the space enough that Go players could afford to regularly play in an appropriate setting. The equipment would be of good quality, we'd have a resident professional (I'm thinking Zhang Pei Pei would be perfect), we'd hold regular classes, both beginners' and advanced and we'd have our professional regularly lecture on the latest big professional games. I'd of course need some big sponsors; who will finance my little dream?
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Ni hao!
I had my first Chinese class tonight. We did numbers and some basic greetings, as well as some discussion of tones. None of what we did tonight was new to me, but it's definitely much faster than learning from a cd, so I'm sure we'll get there quickly. I feel like I have access to secret knowledge though--stuff that you'd never learn unless you actually went to China and spent some time with Chinese people. Tonight, for example, we learned how to count, but we were not taught the hand symbols one uses for the numbers six through ten. In Chinese, you can count to nine with just one hand (ten uses the forefinger from each hand).
Apparently I missed more than a simple housewarming this weekend. Kevin and Linda and both of my sisters (liang ge meimei) went to a blimp inflation at one of their neighbor's. I had heard about this blimp before, but these photos (courtesy of Kevin) are stunning. I was only going to put a couple of them up here, but the sequence really tells a whole story, and quite a magical one at that.
I haven't heard any report about the Guo Juan workshop at the Woodlands yet, and I imagine I'll never hear what happened at the MGA tournament, which also took place this weekend. Walther and I waited in vain all summer for someone (anyone!) to tell us about the summer tournament. Even the Upper Valley Go Club, which I thought for sure I could count on, failed to send a report. I think the MGA is the only AGA club that doesn't put little blurbs into the AGA E-journal about tournament results. I guess I should be careful though, because I no longer get the member's edition of the E-journal, so maybe I'm just not getting the right issues.
Apparently I missed more than a simple housewarming this weekend. Kevin and Linda and both of my sisters (liang ge meimei) went to a blimp inflation at one of their neighbor's. I had heard about this blimp before, but these photos (courtesy of Kevin) are stunning. I was only going to put a couple of them up here, but the sequence really tells a whole story, and quite a magical one at that.
I haven't heard any report about the Guo Juan workshop at the Woodlands yet, and I imagine I'll never hear what happened at the MGA tournament, which also took place this weekend. Walther and I waited in vain all summer for someone (anyone!) to tell us about the summer tournament. Even the Upper Valley Go Club, which I thought for sure I could count on, failed to send a report. I think the MGA is the only AGA club that doesn't put little blurbs into the AGA E-journal about tournament results. I guess I should be careful though, because I no longer get the member's edition of the E-journal, so maybe I'm just not getting the right issues.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Perks
I've received two packages from Kate already and I just got a care package from Jess today! I guess there are some perks to living in a dorm.
I think my tutorial last week went well. I told the students that I'm American, and they were going to have to put up with my American ideas of teaching: I'm forcing them to participate. There's not too much leeway for creative teaching in a tutorial, but I had them put solutions to the problems on the board. Most people just copied furiously, but I had a couple of people ask questions and I even got some people to volunteer to come up to the board. Though you have to push them to participate, I think they enjoy it.
We'll see if anyone comes back this week.
A few of us in my office have agreed that the place needs to be livened up a bit. So we actually chat with each other a bit now (as opposed to sitting in absolute silence and barely acknowleding the existence of each other) and are trying to find time to go out for a beer. Mathematicians' stereotypical social awkwardness and the natural reticence of the Queen's subjects makes for a deadly combination, but I think we're making progress.
I think my tutorial last week went well. I told the students that I'm American, and they were going to have to put up with my American ideas of teaching: I'm forcing them to participate. There's not too much leeway for creative teaching in a tutorial, but I had them put solutions to the problems on the board. Most people just copied furiously, but I had a couple of people ask questions and I even got some people to volunteer to come up to the board. Though you have to push them to participate, I think they enjoy it.
We'll see if anyone comes back this week.
A few of us in my office have agreed that the place needs to be livened up a bit. So we actually chat with each other a bit now (as opposed to sitting in absolute silence and barely acknowleding the existence of each other) and are trying to find time to go out for a beer. Mathematicians' stereotypical social awkwardness and the natural reticence of the Queen's subjects makes for a deadly combination, but I think we're making progress.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Too Slow
I'm much too slow. Last night, at the Nippon Club, I decided to play on the clock to try to speed up my play. We played with half of an hour each; no overtime because they only have those analog clocks that don't have a convenient way to do byo yomi. I just played the same as usual though, and lost three games on time, rather than playing one game that I get to actually finish. I need to actually make an effort to play faster, not just put the game on the clock so that it ends sooner. It's so hard though, especially when I'm as tired as I was last night. Hopefully today will be better.
It looks like I'm finally on my way to getting a bank account (though I'm not quite there yet). After applying online with HSBC for an international student account (which means I pay them a monthly fee in exchange for the absolute barest minimum of a contract that might be construed as a bank account), I got some information from them in the mail, which, according to instructions, I took back to the bank. Suddenly (after all the previous difficulty), I was able to provide sufficient proof of my existence with just my passport and a letter from the department which states my U.S. address and my U.K. address. The funny part is that the school has absolutely no proof whatsoever of my address; they just have on record whatever I tell them. Anyway, it doesn't have to make sense as long as I have an account so that I can get paid. I don't yet--they just made photocopies of my passport and took the letter from the school and said that they should give me an account soon. In the letter I got in the mail, the first sentence said, "You're nearly there." Clearly, I'm not the only one who has to jump through fiery hoops to get a bank account here.
It looks like I'm finally on my way to getting a bank account (though I'm not quite there yet). After applying online with HSBC for an international student account (which means I pay them a monthly fee in exchange for the absolute barest minimum of a contract that might be construed as a bank account), I got some information from them in the mail, which, according to instructions, I took back to the bank. Suddenly (after all the previous difficulty), I was able to provide sufficient proof of my existence with just my passport and a letter from the department which states my U.S. address and my U.K. address. The funny part is that the school has absolutely no proof whatsoever of my address; they just have on record whatever I tell them. Anyway, it doesn't have to make sense as long as I have an account so that I can get paid. I don't yet--they just made photocopies of my passport and took the letter from the school and said that they should give me an account soon. In the letter I got in the mail, the first sentence said, "You're nearly there." Clearly, I'm not the only one who has to jump through fiery hoops to get a bank account here.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
My home, well, one of my homes.
My parents are closing on a house in the Catskills today. They seem to be inclined towards calling it "187 Dewitt" (the address) or "187" for short. My sister and I were hoping for a David Sedaris-style debate, or at least for our choice of names to be taken up. The house is blue, albeit a pale periwinkle, and we want it to be known as "ol' blue". (There's some debate as to who came up with this brilliant appellation.) Dad seems oblivious to even the existence of our opinion. *sigh* 
They'll be moving in this weekend. Actually, I think they will have all of their stuff there today, so I would say that they'll be settling in this weekend, except that they'll be in and out (what with having to go back home for church and all) so much that I can't imagine there will be anything settling about it. Not far away from there is another event I'll be missing this weekend. This one's another regularly occurring Go event, a workshop given by our teacher, Guo Juan, at the Woodlands. I always regret missing an opportunity to spend some time with her, but I should get a chance to visit her at home in Amsterdam in the near future. Siu (who was in China with me this summer and also hails from The Netherlands) complains that the country is so small that on many world maps, they don't have room to write both "The Netherlands" and the capital "Amsterdam" so they opt just to put the latter. He then has to deal with questions like "What's the capital of Amsterdam?"
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Paris
Tomorrow I give my first tutorial for a section of David Burns' Linear Algebra course. Inconveniently, the students turn in their homework each week on Wednesday afternoon (while I am at Imperial College for the London Number Theory Seminar) and I have to grade it in time for the tutorial on Thursday. I met with David this morning ostensibly to discuss details about grading and giving the tutorial, but the first thing he asked me was, "Would you like to go to Paris in November for the first Paris-London Number Theory Seminar? We'll pay for it."
and yes I said yes I will Yes.
The seminar is only one day, and I will only be there one night, but I'm happy to go. Fred (my advisor) is one of the speakers, and the whole seminar is supposed to be about Serre's conjecture, which (since this is what I am studying) should be useful for me.
and yes I said yes I will Yes.
The seminar is only one day, and I will only be there one night, but I'm happy to go. Fred (my advisor) is one of the speakers, and the whole seminar is supposed to be about Serre's conjecture, which (since this is what I am studying) should be useful for me.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Unrecognizable
I had another Go lesson online with Guo Juan today. She's amazing.
In her audio Go lessons, she has started a series called "typical mistakes" where she explains mistakes that amateur players often make. In one of the games I sent to her to have reviewed today, I made a typical mistake (one that hadn't made it into her lectures yet) twice in the same game!
In a situation like this, when White approaches at 1, Black should not play 2. Note that the Black stone at C9 is not at C10, in which case 2 is a normal response. The reason is that White will immediately jump into the 3-3 point. Why should White immediately jump into the corner? This is a principle: if White does not immediately jump into the corner, Black can close off a large territory with just one move (at A). This is very efficient for Black, so White should prevent it. So where should Black play instead?
Usually, Black should play at 2 here. Black gets a lot of points this way. However, Black ends in gote with this sequence.
If Black really needs sente, Black can play 2 as in this diagram to protect the corner.
In my game, I actually pincered at 2 here, but I still should have protected the corner at D3.
In both of the games I sent to Guo Juan for my lesson today, I killed big groups of my opponents. She said she didn't even recognize me. I have a reputation for protecting myself rather than being aggressive against my opponents. In fact, among the Vermont Go Club (where I started playing), it got to the point where everyone recognized that I wouldn't ever kill my opponents' groups, no matter how weak they were. That's no longer the case, but I'm still working at being less afraid and more aggressive.
In her audio Go lessons, she has started a series called "typical mistakes" where she explains mistakes that amateur players often make. In one of the games I sent to her to have reviewed today, I made a typical mistake (one that hadn't made it into her lectures yet) twice in the same game!
In a situation like this, when White approaches at 1, Black should not play 2. Note that the Black stone at C9 is not at C10, in which case 2 is a normal response. The reason is that White will immediately jump into the 3-3 point. Why should White immediately jump into the corner? This is a principle: if White does not immediately jump into the corner, Black can close off a large territory with just one move (at A). This is very efficient for Black, so White should prevent it. So where should Black play instead?
Usually, Black should play at 2 here. Black gets a lot of points this way. However, Black ends in gote with this sequence.
If Black really needs sente, Black can play 2 as in this diagram to protect the corner.
In my game, I actually pincered at 2 here, but I still should have protected the corner at D3.
In both of the games I sent to Guo Juan for my lesson today, I killed big groups of my opponents. She said she didn't even recognize me. I have a reputation for protecting myself rather than being aggressive against my opponents. In fact, among the Vermont Go Club (where I started playing), it got to the point where everyone recognized that I wouldn't ever kill my opponents' groups, no matter how weak they were. That's no longer the case, but I'm still working at being less afraid and more aggressive.
Languages
One week from today I start my Chinese class. It's just a beginner class, and only meets once a week, so it won't be moving too quickly. Though I'd like to learn faster, this is probably good, as I don't have a lot of time to spare for Chinese. By the end of this year, they tell me that
"you will be able to communicate in basic everyday-life situations, including greetings, introductions, daily activities, finding your way, telling the time of day and the date, making simple purchases, ordering a meal, etc. You will be able to understand simple texts and ascertain specific information on simple topics."
If I'm able to keep it up through next year as well, they say
"you will be able to communicate verbally on everyday matters, including personal and family information, shopping, simple health problems, housing, free time, job-related issues, etc. You will be able to deal with written simple texts, such as personal letters and emails."
I think on principle that I shouldn't be able to get a PhD without at least some language skills. I'm trying also to read some maths papers and texts (relevant to my research) in French. I don't know French at all, but with a dictionary and knowledge of the phrases used so commonly in maths, it's not too bad. The problem is that for material that's really new to me, it's hard enough to read it in English.
"you will be able to communicate in basic everyday-life situations, including greetings, introductions, daily activities, finding your way, telling the time of day and the date, making simple purchases, ordering a meal, etc. You will be able to understand simple texts and ascertain specific information on simple topics."
If I'm able to keep it up through next year as well, they say
"you will be able to communicate verbally on everyday matters, including personal and family information, shopping, simple health problems, housing, free time, job-related issues, etc. You will be able to deal with written simple texts, such as personal letters and emails."
I think on principle that I shouldn't be able to get a PhD without at least some language skills. I'm trying also to read some maths papers and texts (relevant to my research) in French. I don't know French at all, but with a dictionary and knowledge of the phrases used so commonly in maths, it's not too bad. The problem is that for material that's really new to me, it's hard enough to read it in English.
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