I grew up in a classroom that had a poster on the wall with a bunch of different kids from different countries saying "hello" in their native languages... and they all looked friendly and waved at me, and it showed their flag waving in the background, and the kids were wearing different stereotypical garbs. I looked at these pictures and ( Read more... )

Rd 1: 
IND 13   BAL 23
CIN 24   HOU 27 (F/OT)
SEA 31  WAS 14
GB 35    MIN 17

Rd 2: 
SEA 23   ATL 24
GB 28    SF 17
HOU 16   NE 41
BAL 13   DEN 27

Rd 3:
GB 31   ATL 17
NE 35   DEN 31

SB: 
NE 28   GB 24

After a really impressive 2011 year, I expected the uptrend to continue in 2012. As it turned out, the rating I started the year with (1839) would be the highest rating I'd have all year, and I'd plummet all the way down to 1731 before settling at 1751. That's not what I'd call improvement or growth. As for club rating, I began the year at 1770, ( Read more... )

The Austin tournament was a colossal disappointment for me. Last year, I was seeded 2nd/14 and finished 2nd. This year, against a comparable field, I was seeded 6th/12 (others' ratings increased while mine stayed steady) and finished 11th, at 5-8. This was a quick change of scenery from the Waco tournament, where, against a stronger field, I ( Read more... )

It's been a hot topic for a while, but I can't seem to stop thinking about it right now: Should I switch to Collins? I've been pretty opposed to the idea for a while, but I can think of several reasons to.

Pros:
I'll be able to relate to games played in the rest of the world. For right now, I feel like I just shouldn't look at games played elsewhere ( Read more... )

NFC North:
Packers: 12-4         
Bears: 10-6
Lions: 9-7                          
Vikings: 6-10

NFC East:
Philadelphia Eagles: 11-5
Washington Redskins: 7-9
New York Giants: 7-9
Dallas Cowboys: 6-10

NFC West:
Seattle Seahawks: 9-7 
San Francisco 49ers: 8-8
St. Louis Rams: 7-9
Arizona Cardinals: 3-13

NFC South: 
Atlanta Falcons: 11-5
New Orleans Saints: 9-7
Tampa ( Read more... )

Well, shit. I'm not slated to play another big tournament until nationals- just a few one days here and there. My rating is 1798. Division two at nationals cuts at 1700. So barring an absolutely horrendous run at these one-days, it looks like I really am going to have to play in division one for the first time in my Scrabble career. Sigh ( Read more... )

For the entirety of this semester, I've just been really freaked about about life. Most specifically, it just kinda dawned upon me that I can do absolutely anything I want with it. I can be unemployed, I can work hard and get a good job, I can do drugs, I can not, I can drink, I can stay sober, I can make friends, I can be alone... I'm starting to ( Read more... )

For most of February and March, I just felt kinda down. Like, a day or two every week where I couldn't even get out of bed, nothing really made me happy, and I was just trying to get through the days as quickly as I could. I didn't really have energy to do anything. But for the past week or so, I have felt rejuvenated and happy! I don't really know ( Read more... )

http://cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=10745#2

This is the situation. Clearly, I have SEQuOIA and Dave just blocked all of my places to play it. Lame. Looking for a while, nothing seems to be a very good play. I can play OE/JOE for 14 or exchange either AQO or IOQ. I chose to do the last one. But Kenji had something else in mind. Kenji thinks I ( Read more... )