Future-Proofing a PC: Possible or Not?

I've seen people asking how they can "future-proof" their computer.


Before I treat this seriously, I'd like to give the basic response that most "techies" will give you to this question: "Wait six months.....and then when you're ready.....Wait another six months....."

So,..to answer my own question in the Subject Field, I say no,...future-proofing is not possible.

Actually,...we should back up and answer this question first: When people ask to future-proof their computer, what are they asking?

I think there's 2 avenues of thought:

1. I want to build or buy a computer that I can use for the next 5-7 years as is
2. I want to be able to upgrade my computer with the latest processor and use the same motherboard, ram, case,....

and one major reason for both:

I want to be able to do what I do now on my computer 5-7 years from now

• I use excel, word, browse the internet, do my budget, pay bills,....basic stuff

    or

• In the case of a home theater PC, I want my HTPC to be able to run XBMC so I can watch movies 5-7 years from now.

I think it's important to first see what was going on ~10 years ago with computers.

Wayne Caswell wrote about future-proofing your home 12 years ago.
In his article he mentions the state of computers 12 years ago:

• Processor -- PC clock speeds increased over 100 times - from 4.77MHz to nearly 1GHz. Computing is now embedded in dozens of ordinary household appliances and hand-held and mobile devices. In the next decade, almost anything with a plug will get smart and networked, and so will some surprising devices that today have no power or electronics.

• Memory - Chip capacity has multiplied by 2,000 times - from 16KB to 32MB. Postage stamp-sized Compact Flash memory used in cameras and MP3 players will soon hold 1GB, up from 32MB today and enough to hold full-length movies.

• Storage - capacity is nearly 200,000 times greater - from 160KB diskettes to 30GB hard disks. No longer do we measure storage capacity by the number of stored typewritten pages, but by the number of hours of video stored.

• Telecommunications - At 1.5Mbps, ADSL modems are 500,000 times faster than the 300bps telephone modems of 1980. The home phone line networking that was introduced at 1Mbps just two years ago is already at 10Mbps today, going to 32Mbps next year. Switched Ethernet now delivers dedicated bandwidth of one gigabit per second to each device. And fiber optic network speeds will be measured in terabits per second - 3 billion times faster than the old PC modem.

So you can see, the huge changes brought about in just 10 years.
Now I'm not suggesting that you NOT buy the best computer that is within your budget,...what I am saying is that you should NOT get fooled in into buying 64G of RAM when you only currently need 4G of RAM.

I also like to argue this point by using a car example:
You don't need to buy a Jaguar to get to work everyday when all you really need and can afford is a used Ford Escort. They both do the same job. Sure the Jaguar has some really cool toys and such,,...has leather seats,...but you're buying something that isn't necessary.

Why do I care? Well, I suppose I'd like to see you buy what you need and not get sucked into believing that you need to buy a Ferrari of a PC.

Your thoughts?

Chess: Rook Pin

A pin is a move which forces one of the opponent's pieces to stay put because moving it would expose a more valuable piece behind it. Sometimes pinned pieces cannot move at all, as doing so would expose the king.

In the example below, you can see that black can not move his knight, since doing so we put him in check. So we say that the knight is pinned by the rook.

Chess: Knight Forks

As we saw with Bishop Forks, a Knight Fork puts two of your opponents pieces in jeopardy.

Int he example below, you can see that White's Knight is attacking Black's Queen and Black's Rook at the same time,..this is a Knight Fork.

Black will have no option but to move the Queen to safety and thereby losing its Rook.

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Chess: Bishop Forks (No, it's not something you eat with)

A bishop fork is when you move your bishop in that it now attacks two of your opponent's pieces at the same time. This also allows for a potential to capture of one of these pieces.

In the diagram below, you see that white is about to move the bishop and attack both black's knight and  his rook. Now black can either move the knight on d4 but then lose the rook,...or he can move the knight on g8 to block the bishop, but then white will take the rook and also go on to capture one of the knights.

If you've found this or any of my articles helpful, would you consider a small donation of any size. It would be much appreciated and help us to keep this site going,..and going,...and going,.. Please use the PayPal link below to make that donation.

Chess: Don't Move a Piece Twice in a Row

Seems simple enough right? Sometimes, these simple pieces of advice will go a long way in helping you avoid simple mistakes.

Try to move each piece only once in the opening. As you develop your pieces avoid moving them to squares which can easily be attacked by your opponent. This will only drive your piece to another square. 


It's also a good argument for not developing your queen early in the game. 




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Chess: Pinning Your Opponent's Pieces

As you develop, make an effort to threaten something or make it difficult for your opponent to develop.

In this example, white's bishop is pinning black's knight to his queen.

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Chess: The Most Popular First Move for White and Why?

Pawn to King 4. (also written as P-K4 or in algebraic notation: e2-e4 or simply e4)

This is the most common single opening move in all of chess.

The reason for this is that it offers you the most coverage.

As you can see below, the bishop is protecting 5 squares and the queen covers an additional 3. The pawn also attacks 2 squares, one of which is in the center. The rest of your pawns are covering the entire third row That's 18 squares. (almost 1/3 of the board).

If you're black, the counter move is move is to move your king pawn up to block the white pawn. The same reasons apply.

Chess: What are the First Six Pieces to Open With

A good rule of thumb (at least until you gain more experience and learn some openings) is:

When opening, rhythm is important.

Your tempo should be pawn-piece-pawn-piece . . .

This will ensure a nice even distribution of your resources throughout the board.

Chess: To Sacrifice or Not to Sacrifice?

First let's define "what is a sacrifice". A sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value.

Any chess piece except the king can be sacrificed. Because players usually try to hold onto their own pieces, offering a sacrifice can come as an unpleasant surprise to one's opponent, putting him off balance and causing much precious time to be wasted trying to calculate whether the sacrifice is sound or not and whether to accept it.

While players of any level should take advantage of this strategy, beginners should use extreme caution since it can throw a game to your opponent's advantage very easily.

In the opening, never sacrifice a piece without a very good reason. Reasons can include: 

1. Gaining control of the center
2. Advancing in development
3. Build up a strong attack
4. Prevent your opponent from castling
5. Etc . . .

Here you can see that white intends to sacrifices his bishop by taking white's king rook pawn and putting black in check. White hopes that when and if, the black king takes the bishop it will expose the black king to immediate further attacks. Once black takes the bishop, white can move in for an attack with the knight and the queen.

Chess: Which Pawn to Move First?

One of the biggest mistakes a new player can make is to start moving the Rook pawns. Yet, more times than not, a new player seems to be drawn into moving those pawns to get the Rooks out.

Don't Do It!

Instead you should move either the King or Queen pawns first. These will give you control of the center.

Chess: Doubled Pawns

"Doubled Pawns" occur when one pawn winds up one in front of another.

Usually, doubled pawns happen after a capture and only a pawn can recapture. You should usually try to re-capture with a piece in order to avoid doubling your pawns.

Generally, you should not be in rush to attack such weaknesses since doubled pawns are a "structural" weaknesses which will usually last for most of game. If you're patient, you can attack the weak pawns once all your pieces are developed.

Doubling your opponent's pawns also increases your chances of gaining a passed pawn.


As you can see below, black has doubled queen's pawns.  

Chess: Controlling the Center

One of the most important things that you should learn early on, is that controlling the center is critical to winning games. In the example below, you can see that White controls the four center squares. An experienced player would say that White has the upper hand so far.

You should try to dominate the center early in your opening.

By the way,...don't ever develop your rook pawns and knights as black has done.

Chess: The Two Move Check-Mate

All Right, I'll start this off by saying that as white you should never play this, nor should it ever come up in a game, but, just in case you're black and someone does, here it is:

HTPC: Why I chose to use Powerline devices

I suppose the first thing I should do, is answer the question: "What is a powerline device".

Well, a powerline device allows you to connect at least two computers together so they can communicate with each other by using your home's existing electrical wiring.

Typically you'd have to either run networking cable through your house and drill holes for the connections. You could also use a wireless network to connect your devices, but there can be dead spots, or other home devices such as microwaves can diminish the signal.

A powerline device is plugged into an electrical outlet and then your computer's network cable is plugged into this device. You do the same with a second device with a computer in another part of your house.

The powerline device sends it's network signal of a specific frequency through your home's electrical wiring. It's perfectly safe and has been in use for many years now.

In my case, I did not want to run CAT5 cable through my house,..nor drill holes in my walls,..nor fish wires through walls. This is not as bad as I make it sound,..but I just did not want to deal with it.

While I do have an existing wireless network,..the throughput I was getting when I tried to stream movies to my home theater computer was not so good.

With the powerline adapter,...I essentially plugged them into the electrical outlets, plugged in my network cables, set the encryption on the devices, and I was good to go!

Now I can stream movies with no interruptions or hesitations.

Here's the device I brought: ZyXEL PLA401v3 HomePlug AV 200 MbpsPowerline Wall-plug Adapter (Starter Kit - 2 units)

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Please use the PayPal link below to make that donation.

Chess: The relative values of the chess pieces

The following table provides the approximate value of the chess pieces. We assign a value of 1 point to the basic unit, the pawn. Of course, the king is not included in the table because, in a real sense, it has infinite value.

Use the values in this table as a rough guide. By that, I mean that a rook is roughly worth as much as a knight and two pawns. A queen is worth approximately as much as a rook, knight, and pawn. Two rook rooks are roughly equivilent to a queen plus a pawn. Of course, in most situations, there are many other factors to consider, especially the relative activity of the pieces.

Queen 9 points
Rook 5 points
Bishop 3+ points
Knight 3 points
Pawn 1 point

You will also note that the bishop receives a value slightly greater than the knight. The bishop is usually, though not always worth a bit more than a knight. See the special section basic bishop strategy for more information on why this might be so.

Note also that there are many moments when it will be to your advantage to give up or "sacrifice" some material in inorder to gain other advantages. By giving up a pawn, you might gain an important square for your knight or an open file for a rook. By giving up a rook or queen, you might be able to force checkmate. You should therefore use this table of values only as a rough guide and not as the sole consideration in your play. 

Great Ronald Reagan Quotes

His definition of federal economic policy 

If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. 

On Lyndon Johnson's Great Society 

We declared war on poverty, and poverty won. 

On big government 

A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth. 

It is an alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. 

On learning that government warehouses currently had 478 million pounds of surplus butter 

Four hundred and seventy-eight million pounds of butter! Does anyone know where we can find 478 million pounds of popcorn? 

On socialism 

A man goes up to a grocery store clerk in Moscow and asks for a kilogram of beef, half a kilogram of butter and a quarter kilogram of coffee. "We're all out," the clerk says, and the man leaves. 

Another man, observing this incident, says to the clerk, "That old man must be crazy." The clerk replies, "Yeah, but what a memory!" 

Reagan told this one to Mikhail Gorbachev 

An American and a Russian were arguing. The American said, "Look, I can go into the Oval Office, pound the President's desk and say: Mr. President, I don't like the way you're running our country." 

And the Russian responded, "I can do that." The American said, "You can?" 

The Russian replied, "Sure. I can go into the Kremlin, into the General Secretary's office, and say: Mr. General Secretary, I don't like the way that President Reagan is running his country." 

(Apparently Gorbachev was greatly amused.) 

Reagan enjoyed telling this Winston Churchill story 

Churchill stops by a men's room where he encounters Labourite Clement Attlee, the man who replaced him as Prime Minister after WWII. 

When Attlee took the next urinal, Churchill moved a few places away. 

"My, my, Winston," Attlee said. "Are we being modest?" 

Churchill replied: "Not at all, Clement. It's just that whenever you Labourite chaps see something that is large, privately owned and working well, you want to nationalize it." 

On sexually explicit scenes in modern movies 

I have always thought it was more suggestive to see a hand reach out and hang the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. 

On choosing a new member for the Council of Economic Advisers 

I've got several millionaires in my Cabinet who have made their own money. Why do I need a bunch of economists? 

On the shrewdness of the common man 

A lawyer and a farmer have a head-on collision on a country road. No one is badly hurt, but both men are shaken. Farmer goes to his car and brings out a flask and offers it to the lawyer. "You look like you need a drink." Lawyer takes a swig and then, at the farmer's urging, another. 

He hands the flask to the farmer. "Your turn." Farmer: "No thanks. I'm waiting for the sheriff." 

On human nature 

Two campers were hiking in the woods when they spotted a grizzly bear headed straight for them. One of them reached into his backpack and began to put on his running shoes. 

"What are you doing," his friend said. "You can't possibly outrun a grizzly." 

The other fellow said, "I don't have to outrun the grizzly. I just have to outrun you." 




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Chess: How Chess Games End

Checkmate rarely happens

Not every game ends with a checkmate. Many masters, before they are "mated," choose instead to resign. They believe that there is no longer any hope, so they award the win to their opponent. In tournaments, wins receive one point, recorded 1-0 when white wins and 0-1 when black wins. Many beginners are confused by such resignations. "Why did he resign here?" I often hear from my students. Figuring out the reason can be very instructive. And sometimes, master mistakenly resign when they were not losing. That is quite rare, but it's fun to see and talk about!

DRAWS

Between evenly matched opponents, chess games will often end in draws. So what's a draw? That's when nobody wins. In tournaments, draws are recorded as ½ - ½, essentially half a point rather than the full point for a win. There are six kinds of draws to discuss briefly.

(1) Draws by agreement

This kind of draw is the most common. At any time in the game, you can offer a draw to your opponent. Be mindful of good etiquette, however. Don't offer a draw on every move! That's just flat-out rude. And be sure to offer the draw correctly. Make your move, offer the draw ("I offer a draw" is fine) and only then press your clock (assuming that you are using a chess clock). An offer of a draw without making a move is NOT a legal offer and can be ignored.

Here's a famous grandmaster draw, a game drawn quickly. This game was famous because Tal already had 12 points in their 1960 world championship match. This draw resulted in the crowning of a new world chess champion! Tal had steered the game into a position in which Black has no meaningful chances to win, and Tal also had a large lead in the match.

(2) Stalemates!

In chess, each side must move. If the player who must move has no legal move (and is NOT in check), the game ends as a draw, a STALEMATE. Some stalemates are quite common. Here's an example of a king and pawn endgame that ends as a stalemate. At the end of the game, the Black king has no moves and is NOT in check.

Many examples are much more complicated and can be quite exciting.

(3) Perpetual check

Draws by perpetual check occur when one player, usually though not always with a queen, can deliver check regardless of the square chosen by the opponent's king. There's simply no escape from the checks.

(4) Threefold repetition

You or your opponent can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times in the same game, all with the same player to move. Such repetitions can easily occur in endgames when one player is checking another. To claim such a draw, you need to have an accurate scoresheet and demonstrate to the tournament director that the claim is valid. In one game between Fischer and Spassky, Fischer incorrectly claimed such a draw but Spassky, sure that Fischer must have been correct, agreed to the draw!

(5) Insufficient mating material

If neither side has sufficient material to win, either player can claim a draw. For example, suppose that each side has a king and a bishop. Try as you will, there's no way to FORCE a win. You can win force checkmate with a king plus a bishop and a knight (though some masters have trouble doing that!), but there is no way to FORCE checkmate with a king and two knights.

(6) The 50 move rule

This last rule is merciful. If after 50 consecutive moves by both players, no pawn move or capture has occurred, either player can claim a draw. Obviously, you will need to have kept an accurate score sheet to make this claim! 

Chess: Glossary of Chess Terms (even some I didn't know)

Alekhine: The 4th World Champion. Known for his guile and remembered for defeating the "Chess Machine," Jose Capablanca. He was also one of the original five grandmasters named by Czar Nicholas.


algebraic: A type of chess notation which uses a grid with coordinates, employing letters and numbers, to describe squares on a chessboard.


Bishop: A piece that moves diagonally on one color only. Each player has two Bishops at the start of the game.


board: Split into 64 squares, chess is played on this. Can be made of almost any material.


Botvinnik: The World Champion who succeeded Alekhine, Mikhail "Iron Mike" Botvinnik regained the title many times.


Capablanca, "Capa": Jose Capablanca made chess look so effortless, he was known as the "Chess Machine."


capture: To take an opponent's piece off the board and out of play.

castle: A special move in which a King and a Rook move simultaneously. Also, an informal, alternative name for a Rook.

Chigorin: The first Russian chessplayer. He is considered, by many, to be the founder of the "Russian School of Chess."

clock, chessclock: An object used to time a chess game. The usual penalty for exceeding the time limit is the loss of the game.

correspondence chess: A game in which both sides send their moves through the mail or by e-mail. (Formerly referred to as "postal chess")

descriptive: Also known as English Descriptive Notation. The form of notation in which each square has two names, depending on which side of the board is moving a piece. Most modern players consider this method archaic. See algebraic.

en passant: A special type of pawn move. It is rarely known by non-tournament players.

endgame: The portion of the game when most of the pieces have been taken off the board.

file: Vertical columns. labeled A to H, on the chessboard.

Fischer: The first world champion born in the U.S. Also, the youngest grandmaster up to that time.

flag: The term used for the plastic piece on a chess clock that indicates a time forfeit.

grandmaster: The highest level title that can be achieved in chess.

Gruenfeld Gambit: A pawn (or more important piece) sacrifice, played by Black in the Gruenfeld Defense.

handicap: An attempt, usually affecting time or material, to make a stronger player's challenges more equal to that of the weaker player.

illegal position: A position in which both Kings are in check or a number of factors are involved which make a position illegal.

Karpov: The past FIDE World Champion. He succeeded Bobby Fischer when Fischer forfeited the title.

Kasparov: The successor to Anatoly Karpov. He later formed his own chess organization, the Professional Chess Association (PCA).

King: The most important piece in a chess game.

Knight: The only piece that can jump over pieces in a chess game.

Legall's mate: A specific pattern that arises when one side sacrifices the Queen to checkmate with one Bishop and 2 Knights.

Marshall: A former U.S. Champion who coined the term swindle for a desperate trap that saves or wins the game.

middlegame: The part of the game that occurs after the opening and before the endgame.

Morphy: Considered by many to be the first unofficial world champion. He beat all the best player in Europe, but Howard Staunton refused to play him for the title.

notation: The method used to record a game. See algebraic.

opening: The beginning phase of a chess game.

passed pawn: A pawn with no opposition on an adjoining file.

Pandolfini: A prolific author of chess books, a national master, and a pivotal character in the book Searching for Bobby Fischer.

pawn: The weakest unit on a chessboard; but the only piece that can be promoted.

perpetual-check: When one side can continually check the other.

Philidor: A famous player, most remembered for the memorable phrase, "The pawns are the soul of chess."

Polgar: The last name of a family of chess players, which includes GM Zsusza Polgar, the Women's World Champion.

promotion: An event that occurs when a pawn reaches the opponents first rank.

Queen: The most powerful chess piece.

rank: Horizontal rows on the chessboard, numbered from 1 to 8.

Reinfeld: A National Master and author of hundreds of chess books.

Reti: One of the founders of the "Hypermodern" school. He gave Jose Capablanca his only tournament loss in 10 years. Rook: A piece that moves along ranks and files only.

Sicilian Defence: An asymmetrical answer to White's 1.e4; first played in Palermo in the 1500s. sixty-four (squares): The number of squares on a chessboard.

Smyslov: A former World Champion who beat Botvinnik, but lost the rematch. He has a clear style, good technique and an affinity for the endgame.

Spassky: Former World Champion who beat Tigran Petrosian and lost to Bobby Fischer. He has a "universal" style.

Staunton: A strong player who proclaimed himself world champion. He refused to play Paul Morphy.


Tal: Former World Champion who defeated Botvinnik, but lost the rematch. His fans idolized him and he was probably the most loved world champion in history. He had a speculative attacking style.

tempo: A single move. Very often a chess game becomes a fight for tempo.

threat: The essence of a chess game. Threats can be subtle, mating positional, etc. Threats are what you would do if you could play 12 or more moves without an opponent.

time control: A specific number of moves in a specific amount of time. Time controls can be either traditional or sudden death.

Timman: A Dutch Grandmaster who challenged Karpov for the FIDE World Championship when Kasparov and Short formed the PCA.

tournament: Unlike a match, more than two players are involved.

trap: A series of moves that leads to a favorable outcome for the person who sets it.

variation: The analyses of a chess game; specifically a line of play or annotation.

Waitzkin: A young, strong International Master and the main Character of the book and movie Searching for Bobby Fischer.

zeitnot: The German term for time pressure or having moves to make without a lot of time for thought. Almost always a very stressful situation for any player who finds himself there.

zugzwang: German for "compulsion to move." Instead of automatically recapturing material, one player makes a move that creates a larger threat (such as mate) and gets the material later.

Chess: How to Read and Write Chess: Chess Notation

There are many different ways to write chess moves. The most popular method (described below) is called algebraic notation:

The main idea is that every square has a name like this:

It looks very complicated but it's not! Each square on a chessboard has a first name (a letter) and a last name (a number). The letter identifies a file (column) and the number identifies a rank (row). Now, the important part is to know how to identify the pieces you are moving. You just need to use a single capital letter:

K = King Q = Queen R = Rook B = Bishop N = Knight

Note that "P" is not used. Chess players have agreed that a move without a letter — such as e4 — is
understood to be a pawn move. You are almost ready to start using chess notation. Just pay attention to the following symbols:

x = Take or Capture
0-0 = K-side castle
0-0-0 = Q-side castle
+ = check
# = checkmate
! = good move
? = bad move
?? = blunder

It’s a great idea to note your games. You can analyze and learn from your mistakes. We all make a lot of mistakes when we are learning a new thing. Don’t worry! Mistakes will help you improve your chess skills. Let’s put in practice what you are learning. We will use the famous "Scholar Mate," also called the four–move checkmate.

Chess: About Check and Checkmate or How to win the game

The main goal of chess is to checkmate your opponent's King. The King is not actually captured and removed from the board like other pieces. But if the King is attacked ("checked") and threatened with capture, it must get out of check immediately. If there is no way to get out of check, the position is a "checkmate," and the side that is checkmated loses.

You may not move into check. For example, moving into a direct line with your opponent's Rook, when if there are no other pieces between the Rook and your King, is not a legal move. Otherwise, the Rook could "capture" the King, which is not allowed.

If you are in check, there are three ways of getting out:

1. Capturing the attacking piece;
2. Placing one of your own pieces between the attacker and your King (unless the attacker is a Knight);
3. Moving the King away from the attack.

If a checked player can do none of these, he is checkmated and loses the game. If a King is not in check, but that player can make no legal move, the position is called a stalemate and the game is scored as a draw, or tie.

Chess: Special Moves (really, I'm not making this up)

Castling

Each player may "castle" only once during a game and when conditions are met. Castling is a special move that lets a player move two pieces at once — the King and one Rook. In castling, the player moves his King two squares to its left or right toward one of his Rooks. At the same time, the Rook involved goes to the square beside the King and toward the center of the board (see illustrations at left). In order to castle, neither the King nor the Rook involved may have moved before. Also, the King may not castle out of check, into check, or through check. Further, there may not be pieces of either color between the King and the Rook involved in castling.

Castling is often a very important move because it allows you to place your King in a safe location and also allows the Rook to become more active.

When the move is legal, each player has the choice of castling Kingside or Queenside or not at all, no matter what the other player chooses to do.




En Passant

This French phrase is used for a special pawn capture. It means "in passing," and it occurs when one player moves a pawn two squares forward to try to avoid capture by the opponent's pawn. The capture is made exactly as if the player had moved the pawn only one square forward.



In the diagram, the Black pawn moves up two squares to the square with the dot. On its turn the White pawn may capture the Black one on the square marked with the X. If the White player does not exercise this option immediately — before playing some other move — the Black pawn is safe from "en passant" capture for the rest of the game. But new opportunities may arise for each pawn in similar circumstances.

Chess: Description of pieces and how they move

The Queen is the most powerful piece. She can move any number of squares in any direction — horizontal, vertical, or diagonal — if her path is not blocked. She can reach any of the squares with dots in this diagram.

The Rook is the next most powerful piece. The Rook can move any number of squares vertically or horizontally if its path is not blocked.

  

The Bishop can move any number of squares diagonally if its path is not blocked. Note that this Bishop starts on a light square and can reach only other light squares. At the beginning of the game, you have one "dark-square" Bishop and one "light-square" Bishop.

 

The Knight's move is special. It hops directly from its old square to its new square. The Knight can jump over other pieces between its old and new squares. Think of the Knight's move as an "L." It moves two squares horizontally or vertically and then makes a right-angle turn for one more square. The Knight always lands on a square opposite in color from its old square.




 







The King is the most important piece. When he is trapped, his whole army loses. The King can move one square in any direction — for example, to any of the squares with dots in this diagram. (An exception is castling, which is explained later.) The King may never move into check — that is, onto a square attacked by an opponent's piece.

The Pawn moves straight ahead (never backward), but it captures diagonally. It moves one square at a time, but on its first move it has the option of moving forward one or two squares. In the diagram, the squares with dots indicate possible destinations for the pawns. The White pawn is on its original square, so it may move ahead either one or two squares. The Black pawn has already moved, so it may move ahead only one square at a time. The squares on which these pawns may capture are indicated by an X. If a pawn advances all the way to the opposite end of the board, it is immediately "promoted" to another piece, usually a Queen. It may not remain a pawn or become a King. Therefore, it is possible for each player to have more than one Queen or more than two Rooks, Bishops, or Knights on the board at the same time.

 

Chess: First Things First. Board Setup

Chess is a game for two players, one with the "White" pieces and one with the "Black" pieces. At the beginning of the game, the pieces are set up as seen below. (See diagrams below to identify pieces.) These hints will help you to remember the proper board setup:

1. Opposing Kings and Queens go directly opposite each other.
2. The square in the lower right hand corner is a light one ("light on right").
3. The White Queen goes on a light square, the Black Queen on a dark square ("Queen on color").



White always moves first, and then the players take turns moving. Only one piece may be moved at each turn (except for "castling," a special move that is explained later). The Knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. All other pieces move only along unblocked lines. You may not move a piece to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces. But you can capture an enemy piece that stands on a square where one of your pieces can move. Simply remove the enemy piece from the board and put your own piece in its place.

Chess? Anybody know how to play?

Years ago,...I created another blog. It was about Chess and Homeschooling, as well as others things that I was interested in. I stopped visiting the site, and then forgot my password. Needless to say, some more years passed, and I still would visit the site to try different passwords. No luck!

Well,...I was recently cleaning out a desk drawer when I came across a slip of paper that had the old blog's web address, and what appeared to be a password. Well, I gave it a shot and it worked!

So, what does this have to do with the title of this post? I'm getting to that part. On the old blog, I had posted a bunch of chess primer lessons. I had gotten so much positive feedback that I thought that I should post them here on this blog.

Look for the next few posts to be on Chess. I'm sure you'll enjoy,...and please feel free to ask questions.

Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan by Bruce Feiler (Thumbs up)

Title: Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan

 

Author: Bruce Feiler

BRUCE FEILER is the best-selling author of nine books, including WALKING THE BIBLE, ABRAHAM, and AMERICA'S PROPHET, and one of only a handful of writers to have four consecutive New York Times nonfiction bestsellers in the last decade. He is also the writer/presenter of the PBS miniseries WALKING THE BIBLE. His latest book, THE COUNCIL OF DADS, tells the uplifting story of how friendship and community can help one survive life's greatest challenge. Bruce Feiler's early books involve immersing himself in different cultures and bringing other worlds vividly to life. These include LEARNING TO BOW, an account of the year he spent teaching in rural Japan; LOOKING FOR CLASS, about life inside Oxford and Cambridge; and UNDER THE BIG TOP, which depicts the year he spent performing as a clown in the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus. His recent work made him one of the country's most respected authorities on religion, politics, and the emotional issues of our time. WALKING THE BIBLE describes his perilous, 10,000-mile journey retracing the Five Books of Moses through the desert. The book was hailed as an "instant classic" by the Washington Post and "thoughtful, informed, and perceptive" by The New York Times. It spent more than a year and a half on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into fifteen languages, and is the subject of a children's book and a photography book. ABRAHAM recounts his personal search for the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. "Exquisitely written," wrote the Boston Globe, "100 percent engaging." The book was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, became a runaway New York Times bestseller, and inspired thousands of grassroots interfaith discussions. WHERE GOD WAS BORN describes his year-long trek retracing the Bible through Israel, Iraq, and Iran. "Bruce Feiler is a real-life Indiana Jones," wrote the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. AMERICA'S PROPHET recounts his unprecedented journey through American history - from the pilgrims to the founding fathers, the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement - exploring how the Exodus is America's greatest story and Moses is our true founding father. Both were New York Times bestsellers. In 2006, PBS aired the miniseries WALKING THE BIBLE that received record ratings and was viewed by 20 million people in its first month. "Beguiling," wrote the Wall Street Journal. "Mr. Feiler is an engaging and informed guide." Bruce Feiler has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and Gourmet, where he won three James Beard Awards. He is also a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, CNN, and Fox News. He has been the subject of Jay Leno joke and a JEOPARDY! question, and his face appears on a postage stamp in the Grenadines. His latest book, THE COUNCIL OF DADS: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me, describes how he responded to a diagnosis of cancer by asking six men from all passages of his life to be present through the passages of his young daughters's lives. "I believe my daughters will have plenty of opportunities in their lives," he wrote these men. "They'll have loving families. They'll have each other. But they may not have me. They may not have their dad. Will you help be their dad?" A native of Savannah, Georgia, Bruce Feiler lives in New York with wife, Linda Rottenberg, and their twin daughters.

Book Description:

Learning to Bow has been heralded as one of the funniest, liveliest, and most insightful books ever written about the clash of cultures between America and Japan. With warmth and candor, Bruce Feiler recounts the year he spent as a teacher in a small rural town. Beginning with a ritual outdoor bath and culminating in an all-night trek to the top of Mt. Fuji, Feiler teaches his students about American culture, while they teach him everything from how to properly address an envelope to how to date a Japanese girl.

Gort's Review (Thumbs up):

I'd highly recommend this book as a first step in understanding the Japanese culture. The stories and experiences of the author are humorous and sometimes culturally baffling. After reading this book, and also studying Japanese myself, I felt compelled to e-mail the author. I received a prompt and warm response back.

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom (Thumbs up)

Title: Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson

 

Author: Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom is an author, playwright, and screenwriter who has written seven books, including the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time. His first novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, as were For One More Day, his second novel, and Have a Little Faith, his most recent work of nonfiction. All four books were made into acclaimed TV films. Albom also works as a columnist and a broadcaster and has founded seven charities in Detroit and Haiti, where he operates an orphanage/mission. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. 

Book Description:

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.

For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.

Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?

Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”: lessons in how to live.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.

It’s been ten years since Mitch Albom first shared the wisdom of Morrie Schwartz with the world. Now–twelve million copies later–in a new afterword, Mitch Albom reflects again on the meaning of Morrie’s life lessons and the gentle, irrevocable impact of their Tuesday sessions all those years ago. . .

Gort's Review (Thumbs up):

Another Mitch Albom book that I would highly recommend to others.

Why the increase in the electric bill, and what's a Kill-a-Watt

I've been running my unRaid server (see prior posts) 24 hours a day for a little more that one month now. Just received my electric bill and it was about $30 more than last month. Yes, we've been running the air conditioners but it seems to be more when compared to last year, but I needed to understand what was going on. But how??

Well with a Kill-a-Watt meter and here's what one looks like.

Okay, but what does it do?
The meter once connected to your appliance will assess how efficient they really are. The display will count consumption by the kilowatt/hour, same as your local utility. You can track minute-by-minute changes in electric consumption as major appliances are turned on and off. It lets you track the amount of electricity that your household uses in real time. It helps you reduce your energy consumption and decrease your monthly bills. The unit displays the total cumulative appliance power consumption in kilowatt hours (KWH). The unit will display KWH from 0.01 KWH to 9999 KWH.


So, I plugged this into the wall, and then plugged my server into the meter. I then powered on the server. The meter showed that my server uses 175W. I then spun down the 5 internal hard drives, and the meter showed that it now used only 143W.

Knowing this information,..I could "guesstimate" how much it costs each month to run the server.
In the US, 1 Watt running 24x365 costs about $1/year. Multiply the Watts being pulled by the server, times 8.76 to give you kWh for an entire year.

In the US, 1 kWh costs about $0.12, so a server that pulls 40 Watts, costs $42/year to run 24x365.... less in many places. According to the math where 1 Watt is about $1 per year,....175/12 = $14.58 per month. Of course that assuming constant 175W. With drives spun down 143/12 = 11.92 per month

So, this helps explain why I saw a bump in my electric bill.

If you've found this or any of my articles helpful, would you consider a small donation of any size. It would be much appreciated and help us to keep this site going,..and going,...and going,.. Please use the PayPal link below to make that donation.

Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji,...Say What?!

Say what is right!

When I first got interested in learning the Japanese language,...I had no clue about Hiragana and Katakana. I thought that the written Japanese language only consisted of Kanji. Not so.

So you might be saying, "Well, what is Hiragana and Katakana,..in fact what is Kanjii?"

Let's start with Hiragana (ひらがな):
Hiragana is a character sets in which each character represents one sound in the Japanese language. Hiragana is used to write native words for which there are no kanji. Hiragana is also used to write words whose kanji form is obscure, not known to the writer or readers, or too formal for the writing purpose.

Now onto Katakana (カタカナ):
In contrast to the hiragana syllabary, which is used for those Japanese language words and grammatical inflections which kanji does not cover, the katakana syllabary is primarily used for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese.

and now Kanji (漢字):
Chinese characters (Japanese: kanji) first came to Japan on coins, mirrors, and other decorative items imported from China. In modern Japanese, kanji are used to write parts of the language such as nouns, adjective stems, and verb stems.


I actually found that learning Hiragana and Katakana were not that hard if you studied well. Here is a practice chart showing you how to learn to write hiragana:

So, you know Japanese?

Well,....yes,..no,..maybe...sukoshi (a little).

At my prior company we worked on software that had to be internationalized and localized for the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese languages.

i18n  =  i + "the18 middle letters that make up nternationalizatio" + n
and
L10n  =  L + "the 10 letters that make up ocalizatio" + n

It's easier to walk around and saying "L10n" and "i18n" than "localization" or "internationalization".

Anyway, I had been studying Japanese on my own and I wanted to take some formal classes.
Fortunately, my company paid for me to go to school (Ramapo College) to take classes in Japanese.
I'd like to tell you it was easy,..but it was not.
I did however enjoy learning the language even though the other students were half my age.

Here are some of the books/tools that I brought on Amazon that really helped me learn Japanese.

Next Post: "Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanjii,...Say What?!"

Question: So Gort, why are your reviews so brief?

Answer:

Not to worry my friends. I have read a lot of books over the years.
One day, I decided that I should keep track of the books I've read over time.
And not just keep track, but I should review them too, so I know what books I may want to read again or avoid like the plague.

So, the first few reviews you see are from the first books I started keeping track of recently.
My first reviews were, well,..brief and to the point.
However, as time goes by, you'll see that I start to really get into this whole review business.

Another thing you'll probably see, is that I give a Thumbs Up to the majority of books I've read.
One of the major reasons (at least I think so) is that I read mainly non-fiction books.
These books tend to relate to things that are almost stranger than fiction.


Next Post: "So, you know Japanese?"

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (Thumbs up)

Title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

 

Author: Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom is an author, playwright, and screenwriter who has written seven books, including the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time. His first novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, as were For One More Day, his second novel, and Have a Little Faith, his most recent work of nonfiction. All four books were made into acclaimed TV films. Albom also works as a columnist and a broadcaster and has founded seven charities in Detroit and Haiti, where he operates an orphanage/mission. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. 

 

Book Description:

Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. As the novel opens, readers are told that Eddie, unsuspecting, is only minutes away from death as he goes about his typical business at the park. Albom then traces Eddie's world through his tragic final moments, his funeral, and the ensuing days as friends clean out his apartment and adjust to life without him. In alternating sections, Albom flashes back to Eddie's birthdays, telling his life story as a kind of progress report over candles and cake each year. And in the third and last thread of the novel, Albom follows Eddie into heaven where the maintenance man sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life (a la A Christmas Carol). Each person has been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs.

 

Gort's Review (Thumbs up):

Another Mitch Albom book that I would highly recommend to others.

For One More Day by Mitch Albom (Thumbs up)

Title: For One More Day

Author: Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom is an author, playwright, and screenwriter who has written seven books, including the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time. His first novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, as were For One More Day, his second novel, and Have a Little Faith, his most recent work of nonfiction. All four books were made into acclaimed TV films. Albom also works as a columnist and a broadcaster and has founded seven charities in Detroit and Haiti, where he operates an orphanage/mission. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. 

 

Book Description:

Mitch Albom mesmerized readers around the world with his number one New York Times bestsellers, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie. Now he returns with a beautiful, haunting novel about the family we love and the chances we miss.
For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one
As a child, Charley "Chick" Benetto was told by his father, "You can be a mama's boy or a daddy's boy, but you can't be both." So he chooses his father, only to see the man disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence.
Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding. And he decides to take his own life.
He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother--who died eight years earlier-is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened.
What follows is the one "ordinary" day so many of us yearn for, a chance to make good with a lost parent, to explain the family secrets, and to seek forgiveness. Somewhere between this life and the next, Charley learns the astonishing things he never knew about his mother and her sacrifices. And he tries, with her tender guidance, to put the crumbled pieces of his life back together.
Through Albom's inspiring characters and masterful storytelling, readers will newly appreciate those whom they love--and may have thought they'd lost--in their own lives. For One More Day is a book for anyone in a family, and will be cherished by Albom's millions of fans worldwide.

Gort's Review (Thumbs up):

Just finished this book. The author has a way of writing piercing stories that make you think you own personal relationships through. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The Flame Keepers: The True Story of an American Soldier's Survival Inside Stalag 17 by Ned Handy (Thumbs up)

Title: The Flame Keepers: The True Story of an American Soldier's Survival Inside Stalag 17

Authors: Ned Handy and Kemp Battle

Book Description:

Ned Handy was captured by Germans in April 1944, after his B-24 was shot down. Sent to Stalag 17, the infamous Nazi prison camp, Handy soon led an escape team determined to tunnel to freedom. Along with the unforgettable comrades he vividly describes, Handy worked relentlessly for months on a tunnel that was to prove instrumental in saving the lives of four fugitives sought by the Gestapo. One of those fugitives would become the only American ever to escape permanently from Stalag 17. The Flame Keepers is a vivid first-hand account of an American soldier's experience as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany and a poignant portrait of the POWs who worked to survive within the wire and their German captors. Illustrated with original photographs taken inside the camp from a smuggled camera and published for the first time in the trade press, The Flame Keepers recounts one of World War II's great untold stories.

Gort's Review (Thumbs up):

Awesome WW2 true story of American soldiers in a German POW camp. The description of their day-to-day survival routines as well as their intimate talks about home and food is inspiring. One of the best books I have read.