Monthly Archives: December 2008

Playing Chess

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I have started to play chess again (for the first time in many years). I am not very good at it but I am keen to learn and find it intellectually stimulating. At the moment I am playing against the computer but I may play against real people (online) at some point. I purchased some basic chess books as my Christmas present and am slowly working my way through them.

For some reason I have always been intrigued by the game. Grandad and Grandma Howell gave us a really nice wooden set when we were younger (I have it in the shed) and Chris and I would sometimes play games. From memory he would usually beat me…

At the moment I am just playing the version of Chess that ships with Mac OS X. I have installed Deep Green (by Joachim Bondo) on the Newton 2100. I will be having a look at Glaurung as well.

Red-capped Plover

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Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus, Point Walter, WA, Australia).

I stumbled across a pair of Red-capped Plovers while walking to the end of the spit at Point Walter.  I was initially trying to get a better look at the birds further out into the river and didn’t see them until I was 2-3 metres away.

New Mobile Phone

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My Sony Ericsson K610i has had a hard life – busted screen, poor battery, numerous scratches. I have replaced it with a Sony Ericsson W610i. I purchased the phone outright.

So far it has been a nice phone – has the same connection cable (for charging and data) as the K610i (so I have less “redundant” chargers lying around) and a few new features (you can use it as a torch, it has a radio tuner). It also has much nicer buttons (that don’t try and connect you to the web the moment you brush them accidentally).

The torch/light feature comprises of two white LEDs. One of the applications on the phone signals SOS continuously…