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Pandemic without end...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 794
Maybe it will, all of a sudden, but it seems unlikely. The days drag, slow, where the Pandemic hasn't conspired against us the weather has.
The patio, cold, windy, intermittent sunshine that doesn't last, ....
BC, the COVID numbers dropping, 800, 700, 600...
Alberta, the numbers rise, rise, rise again, 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300...
This Pandemic, it seems it will never end. Maybe, given the vaccination numbers, it will. All of a sudden, all at once, and the Covid will just disappear. But it seems unlikely.
Now, the latest, BC recommends, requests Albertans stay home, shelter in place, even if they have a BC residence.
It doesn't matter, the take out orders still come, Alberta area codes.
Maybe it will just end, but I doubt it, it seems more likely that it will be somewhat contained for the summer. Those that are inclined will get vaccinated. This will take a couple of months. Alberta's numbers might plateau, with their new lockdowns, BC's numbers will likely continue to drop, the borders will remain closed to all but "essential" travel, but how is this determined?
And come the fall the fourth wave, all of the anti-vaccers, the forty-odd percent of the population that knew infinitely better than all the doctors, it will be their turn to be infected, and the lockdowns will come again, only this time it will be natural selection, and my sympathies will be exhausted.
This is the never-ending pandemic, the Pandemic without end, and, a year and a half in, seeing everyone's reaction, our political will, I've almost come to rooting for it...
Chess, Sven & Meditation
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
- Hits: 551
Online, playing Chess VS Sven at Chess.com. It beats the endless well of Reddit.
I learned Chess in my early 20's from a friend, Milan. Which is to say I learned the basic moves, the "rules", and was largely self-taught.
A flaw which I passed on to my own children.
There was a reasoning I applied - that I should be able to "think it through" - but the game after only a few moves offers exponential outcomes and consequences, and the "think it through" requires a level of prodigal thinking that so far eludes me. Even after the first three pair of turns the game offers 121 million possibilities, and this number quickly expands to more possibilities than there are atoms in the universe.
I'm playing against a robot, "Sven", 1100 ranking, and it brings to my attention how poor my strategies are.
Nine, even Ten times out of ten I can beat him - but I am blindsided by how often I don't. How many "Blunders" - missing obvious consequences to stupid moves - "Mistakes", poor moves when better were available, the number of turns it takes me to finish up what should be a straightforward execution.
It's not about winning - in the right mood that's not the issue, it's about getting quick enough that these obvious stupidities are overlooked in the advancement of the game. That certain openings should be routine - and they for the most part are - but vary from the script, think for yourself and you're quickly in over your head. A missed fork, a straightforward "seized your queen", it's rare the game at this point that passes without some inadvertent or unplanned sacrifice - rare that I can see that the game developed without my helping stupidity, rare that it passes without a mistake or blunder or missed win.
It's good, it makes me think, and what I think most of all is that by teaching my children - simple enough - I probably inculcated a lifetime of prejudice against the game - I didn't go through and teach the advantages of setting up defenses, looking over the whole board, the unconscious recognition of better and worse moves, the ability to predict advantageous outcomes over trifling exchanges, in short, I taught them the rules and told them to think it through when - in fact - this can only take you so far, which is not very at all, you need to master established strategies without thinking, most of the game is wrapped up in memory and repetition of moves designed to advance and free your pieces, very little of it involves thinking - certainly at this level.
Anyways, my thoughts on Chess, the goal to defeat Sven without thinking or committing blunders, mistakes, 100% of the time, before advancing to play Nelson, who I can beat perhaps 50% of the time but who's wayward queen still forces me into dumb moves and entirely predictable outcomes, the overall goal to play a respectable game with a human opponent, practice, practice, and maybe time to watch a few explanatory videos...
Avoiding Stormy
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Stormy
- Hits: 525
Since moving to town I've been avoiding Stormy. The last couple of visits he rather tried my patience, and I'm terrified that if he finds out where I live I'll be marked by the neighbors as a nuisance with his constant visits, panhandling and unsolicited gifts. But - the few times I've run into him on the street he's insisted I go to pick up my scrolls - they've been piling up outside his apartment...
And so, today, after an unsuccessful morning of prospecting I head over. And there's a lot of shit. A dozen bags, purses, etc, all tied together with sting, yarn, rubber bands, you can't pick up one bag, you have to take them all, and god-damned, this place was clean for a full 2 weeks and now I have to do a major unboxing...
That's it, though, the food goes in the garbage and all the dumb-ass toys and books he's lifted from the free piles scattered around Nelson are going back to his house!
There does appear to be a lot of scrolls, though, so it seems like I have my reading cut out for me.
Damning the News
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 899
Not that there is news anymore, to find it you have to search the deep web. Most of what you read is Op-Ed, Postmedia basically is the Fox News of Canada, (Calgary Herald, National Post, Etc.), a lot of opinions, very few facts and almost always entirely irrelevant or out of context.
For example all the news surrounding the Vaccines. The efficacy, the drawbacks, misgivings, blood clotting, etc.
All this is controversy for the sake of print space and advertising. More people will die driving to and from getting the vaccine than will die of complications from the vaccine. Countless more people will die because they didn't get the vaccine, their heads filled with doubt fueled by irresponsible, scientifically illiterate journalism. Until everyone gets the vaccine the pandemic will continue, people will die and lockdowns will become a part of life.
Reporting on "Complications" with various vaccines is irresponsible, and click-bait journalism that leads with headlines like "Blood Clotting" only later in the article to advise you it's still comparatively safe are not only unethical but dangerous.
That's it, that's all.
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