anand

This was today's game of the day on ChessGames.com: Aronian-Anand, 2013

Unreal...

Playing through the game was one of the weirdest experiences ever. I didn't bother to try analysis after the first couple bizarre moves.

the line

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Sometimes it takes two pictures to tell one story.

error message

This is a genuine error message, from Windows 2000.

Error Message: Your Password Must Be at Least 18770 Characters and Cannot Repeat Any of Your Previous 30689 Passwords

Seriously. Go read all about it. 

Also,

Note that the number of required characters changes from 17,145 to 18,770 with the installation of SP1.

goat

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Taking the sun, near Mahabalipuram, India.

voicemail

Pope Francis called the Carmelite nuns of Lucena in Cordoba, Spain, on New Year's Eve to greet them.

They didn't pick up. He left them this voicemail, wondering what they were up to that they couldn't answer the phone. 

I like this guy!

arctic air

 Our weather forecast for the next few days:

Accumulating snow expected Sunday and Sunday night.

Brutally cold wind chill to follow Monday into Tuesday.

A winter storm will move across the Ohio Valley Sunday and Sunday night. Arctic air moving in behind the storm will usher in the coldest weather in 20 years.

Timing: snow will develop Sunday morning. The heaviest snow will occur Sunday late afternoon through evening. Some small amounts of rain may mix in during the afternoon hours. Snow will taper off after midnight, but winds and rapidly falling temperatures will lead to hazardous conditions through early Monday morning. Arctic air will spread into the region from Monday morning through Tuesday.

Impacts: hazardous travel conditions are expected due to reduced visibilities and snow accumulations. The frigid conditions will be dangerous to those venturing outside. Prolonged exposure may cause frostbite.

Winds: winds from Monday through Tuesday will be westerly at 10 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph.

Temperatures: temperatures will drop below zero on Monday, reaching values of 10 to 20 below zero on Monday night. Temperatures on Tuesday will be near zero to 10 below zero.

Wind Chill readings: wind chills will be between 5 and 15 below zero on Monday morning, falling to 30 to 40 below zero from Monday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon.

30 to 40 below zero.

I can't hardly wait.

critique

From Michael Dirda's review of John Batchelor's biography of Alfred, Lord Tennyson:

Both shy and incredibly self-centered, he would alternately thrill and bore the other guests at dinner parties by reading aloud his latest long poem. Once he did this with his friend the classicist Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol, who listened gravely and then said, “I think I wouldn’t publish that, if I were you, Tennyson.” As Batchelor writes, after a moment of frigid silence, Tennyson answered, “If it comes to that, Master, the sherry you gave us at luncheon was beastly.”

Such a truly human moment, no?