Arab Women's Chess Championship

Arab Chess Championship: Egypt’s Mona Khaled Takes Lead Correspondent 23 December 2008 SHARJAH - Mona Khaled of Egypt is in commanding position in the Arab Women Chess Championship after taking a full point lead with 3 rounds to go after defeating Hamza Amira of Algeria. Mona is at the top of the table with 5.5 points. Women: Hamza Amira (3.5) lost to Mona Khaled (5.5); Mouradian Knarik (4.5) bt Latreche Sabrina (4); Mezioud Amina (3) lost to Mir Mahmoud Afamia (4.5); Essa Kulood (3.5) drew with Algildah Nibal (3.5); Fuad Natalie (3.5) drew with Jelda Fatma (3.5); Salem Amna (2) lost to Basil Ziana (3.5); Nouman (2.5) lost to Mona (3).

AICF to Host Women's International Tournament in 2009

AICF has announced it will host a women's international tournament in 2009: From The Hindu.com Tuesday, December 23, 2008 International women’s open MANGALORE: The All India Chess Federation (AICF) secretary, D.V. Mr. Sundar said the AICF would conduct an international open tournament exclusively for women next year. “Mangalore could host the tournament,” he added. “Though women could play in the various open international tournaments, we feel by conducting an exclusive international event for them, we could promote the women’s sport better. “We will bring Woman Grandmasters from abroad for the tournament.” — Principal Correspondent

More Shoveling... A Holiday Hiatus

It was a mere 10 below zero F tonight on the walk home and, now being sufficiently thawed out, I have to once again don the down filled coat, hat, two scarves, gloves and over-mittens to shovel out the drifts from yesterday's fierce windstorm. It's supposed to start snowing again later tonight, and I want to get this out of the way while I can. I've got the pot roast going in the slow cooker, 4 hours tonight, 2 hours tomorrow night and then on warm until dondelion arrives, Goddess willing, right on time (around 7 PM by taxi from the airport). I've still got to scrub the bathrooms and vacuum - and wrap gifts for various people at the office that I will haul in tomorrow morning. The temperature is supposed to moderate tomorrow and creep into the mid-20's F - a heat wave. No down coat tomorrow, back to the fiber-filled jacket and tall boots - there are still lots of drifts on the sidewalks that haven't been removed by weary homeowners and the streets are a mess - the city is having the same problem as moi - nowhere to go with the snow! I won't be blogging at all from Las Vegas - assuming we get there. Between tonight and Wednesday we may accumulate as much as 10 additional inches of snow, and the winds, much calmer today (up to 10 mph) than yesterday (sustained at 20-30 mph, with guest at 40 mph and over), are once again supposed to pick up. So - dondelion and my trip to visit Isis and Michelle in Las Vegas is in the Goddess' capable hands. If there aren't any new posts here for 4-5 days, don't run away darlings, I'll be back! Happy Holidays to all of our readers and fans. We appreciate your support and comments and emails. Now it's time to pull out the shovel and work some more at whittling my waistline down :)

Santa v. Rudolph Grudge Match

From the Muskogee Phoenix.com Published December 22, 2008 06:45 pm - Chess battle at North Pole By Eric Morrow Sunday, Dec. 21, was the solstice and the first day of Hanukkah. It also marked the date of the much anticipated grudge match between Santa Claus and Rudolph. The source of the tension was their draw at the North Pole Championship in September. The game ended in a time scramble, as hoof and hand pounded the clock after each move. Rudolph fouled in the scramble when the compact horn on his front right hoof touched a pawn before moving his queen out of danger. The elves and reindeer inhaled as one but Santa moved before the arbiter could compel Rudolph to move his pawn, as required by the touch move rule. On Santa’s next move he, too, accidentally touched the wrong piece, as he reached to check Rudolf with his rook Santa’s sleeve brushed against his king. Dancer and Dasher burst out “Touch move!” But Rudolpf moved his king out of check before the arbiter again acted. Since then, Santa and Rudolph have been taunting each other with trash talk. A small, vocal minority of elves hinted that they can prove that Rudolph secretly got computer assistance when he went outside in the snow to relieve himself. Comet wrote a piece for the “Daily Pole” that Santa just got lucky. Vixon and Sugarplum Mary only fanned the flames when they joined forces and began taking bets. At sundown the match began. The first to win a game won the match. The first two games were hard fought draws. In the third game, however, Santa underestimated black’s attacking potential and failed on his previous move to trade his bishop on b2 for black’s knight at e5. With this hint in mind please try to find how Rudolph mated Santa in two moves. [No board diagram was included in the online version of the article, unfortunately, so we can't see how the pieces were aligned on the board]. Black’s bishop on b8, knight on e5 and queen on f4 are all posed to act in concert. Rudolph struck up the tune by moving his knight to f3, checking white. Black now threatens mate on h2 with its queen supported by either its bishop or knight. Because Santa is in check, he must either take the knight or retreat his king to h1. One way or another the queen next mates on h2. After Rudolph’s knight check on f3, Santa resigned. He took Rudolph’s hoof in hand and said, “Well done. And to all a good night.”

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Don't let the author fool you with the references to "hoof" and "horn" - I think the Rudolph he's talking about is actually a coy reference to WIM Anna Rudolf of Hungary, who played in the Dresden Olympiad for Hungary Women's Team. Note the queen's mate attack :) Santa is recently widowed and word has it that he's making a list and checking it twice, looking for a new mate:) It's a wise man who knows that the way to a woman's heart is through a good mating dance. Ho ho ho.

2008 National 'A' Women's Chess Championship of India

From The Hindu.com - Round 4 Report. Five players currently tied with 2.5/4. Current leader is Kruttika Nadig with 3.0/4. December 22, 2008 Kruttika outplays Swati, in sole lead Kamesh Srinivasan NEW DELHI: Kruttika Nadig sailed past former champion Swati Ghate in the fourth round of the Parsvnath 35th National ‘A’ women’s chess championship at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture here on Sunday. Kruttika played the closed Sicilian with a rare touch of authority to cruise home in 31 moves, for her third win of the tournament. Kruttika is the sole leader with three points, while defending champion Tania Sachdev, Amrutha Mokal, Eesha Karavade, Mary Ann Gomes and Soumya Swaminathan were breathing down her neck with 2.5 points each. On a lively day, when five of the six games were decisive, Kruttika took the cake with her crafty handling of a sharp variation. “I sacrificed a pawn to gain initiative. Eventually, I not only got the pawn back but also a strong positional advantage. I usually don’t play this, but had prepared it in the morning,” said Kruttika. Eesha beats Soumya The fine run of Soumya hit a speed-breaker in the form of Eesha. “I surprised her with the French opening, but she played badly,” said WGM Eesha, after her 34-move demolition of the overnight leader. Amrutha continued to fight hard despite her constant trouble with time. In fact, the lesser the time on her clock, the better she played, as she check-mated the better-rated Padmini Rout in 32 moves. Tania back on track Tania of Air-India revived her fortunes with a clinical performance against last year’s runner-up Kiran Manisha Mohanty. She galloped on an active knight in the end game, against her opponent’s frozen bishop, to grab a crucial point. Asian junior champion Mary consolidated her position with a victory over Pon N. Krithika in 49 moves. The results (fourth round): Amrutha Mokal 2.5 bt Padmini Rout 1; Kruttika Nadig 3 bt Swati Ghate 2; Nisha Mohota 1.5 drew with Bhakti Kulkarni 1; Mary Ann Gomes 2.5 bt Pon N. Krithika 1.5; Tania Sachdev 2.5 bt Kiran Manisha Mohanty 1; Soumya Swaminathan 2.5 lost to Eesha Karavade 2.5.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

The weather notwithstanding! Despite the dire economic news that is pounding on us nearly non-stop, I am a happy person and filled with the holiday spirit. Someone else is, too... another Golden Eagle has shown up in a Salvation Army pot. From NPR: In Fla., A Mystery, Annual Gift To Salvation Army Listen Now [2 min 1 sec] All Things Considered, December 17, 2008 · For the third year in a row, a Liberty Eagle gold coin worth almost $1,000 was dropped in a Salvation Army kettle. Each time, the coin has been accompanied by a small note, "In memory of Mimi." Megan Spears, resource management director of The Salvation Army of Lee County, Fla., talks about the donation.

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The red kettles showed up earlier than usual this year, because the need is greater than ever. I put a dollar in every kettle I pass, and I pass then quite often because there are kettles at both the local Walgreens and Pick 'n Save supermarket that I visit nearly every night after work for something or other. If everyone could put in a small contribution each time they pass a red kettle, Salvation Army would maybe receive enough money to help everyone who needs it through fiscal 2009. These are scary times; you do what you can do and thank Goddess for your blessings, and try to share what you can with others less fortunate, having faith than in due course things will change for the better.

Unique at Chesstique: Chessly Gifts

If you're looking for a last minute chessly gift, or something unique for yourself, please check out our boutique at Chesstique, featuring unique chessly designs by dondelion and Isis. Not the usual stuff. Here is one of Isis' gorgeous hand-made cloth chessboards, this one with satine ribbon, velvetine and gold braided trim. Standard 8x8 playing surface. Several one of a kind pre-made boards are offered, or contact Isis and she'll make up a custom order according to your specifications. We also offer tee-shirts and hoodies for men, women and kids, tote bags, coffee mugs, and various other goodies with our unique Goddesschess designs.

Mysterious La Palma Stone

Story from Andina.com No estimate of age of these findings was given in the story - not even a hint. I found that rather odd. Also note the reference to tourists already showing up in the area because of publicity (?) given to these recent finds, and how the regional authorities are already geared up for an influx of tourists, busy training guides and setting up rest-stops and food vendors! Hmmmm... I guess I just have a suspicious mind. The "stone" is interesting - no way of telling from the photograph how big it actually is (no size was given in the story), but it looks large - and long. At first I thought it was a vertical carving, like on a cliff face (the story did mention caves), but after looking at it more closely I see mountains on the horizon with sky above, so this rock or stone is laying horizontally on the ground. All the easier to carve??? I see what looks like a grid of lines (for a board game?) (upper portion) and what look like cup holes (lower portion), in addition to a sort of zig-zag line that ends in what looks sort of like an angular figure-eight (center of stone, lower portion). Petroglyphs, ceramics, dwellings and cave art found in Amazonas, Peru Bagua Grande, Dec. 16 (ANDINA).- Petroglyphs, dwellings with vaulted niches, ceramics and cave art were discovered during cleaning works in Pachallama hill, located in the village of La Palma, in Jamalca-Utcubamba (Peru’s Amazonas), according to researchers who arrived in the zone. Elvis Chugna, archaeologist and member of the research group of the Sub-regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Bagua-Utcubamba, said that these findings have been confirmed by a recent expedition sent to this zone. He recalled that a first expedition group, integrated by local authorities and of the provincial municipality of Utcubamba, has recently reported this finding. Chugna indicated that the petroglyph includes a group of elements which designs can be viewed according to the sun’s position; in the morning, some geometric shapes can be seen, and at noon, and sunset others figures emerge. In the zone, several caves have been also found with ceramics, thermal waters, fossil mollusks, and impressive flora and fauna, besides of a great variety of orchids. In turn, Benedicto Perez Goicochea, coordinator of the area’s tourist circuit denominated Pachallama, said that due to this discovery, 124 tourists have already visited the zone who have been properly registered in a visitor book. He said that an accommodation is fitted out for tourists that arrive in this place, located three kilometers far from Pachallama hill. The food and security are in charge of peasant patrols of the zone. Pérez also indicated that community members are organized and they continue with the cleaning works. About five hectares have been cleared in the zone (covered of lush vegetation) finding evidences as the petroglyph, which is a stone with engravings and geometric designs that inhabitants denominate the mysterious stone of La Palma. Elkin Herrera, director of the Sub-regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Bagua-Utcubamba, said that a series of activities have been launched in La Palma village such as courses of orientation and training of people, who have been organized as tourist guides. (END) APV/JOT/GCJ/LVT

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One other note - there was only one other photograph of a find from this discovery - photograph two in the Andina article shows a partially re-assembled piece of pottery. Again, no age given. There were no photographs of the "cave art" or "vaulted niches" inside the caves. I understand that a newspaper has limited space to present a story - but why show a broken piece of pottery when you could show a cave painting instead? This all seems rather strange to me, and more than a bit suspicious.

Bronze Hoard Discovered at Cuzco

From Andina.com 277 bronze artifacts found at Archaeological Park of Sacsayhuaman Cusco, Dec. 17 (ANDINA).- Skilled workers and professional staff of Peru's National Institute of Culture in Cusco (INC) founded 277 bronze artifacts (champi) when conducting archaeological research at the Archaeological Park of Sacsayhuaman located on the outskirts of Cusco 179 plumbs (cylindrical cone-shaped weights) of different types and 98 nose rings were discovered inside the enclosure No. 06 of the archaeological site of Inkacárcel that, according to preliminary investigations, was a warehouse or "qolqa". The director of the archeological park, Washington Camacho, said that these artifacts were found with decomposed human remains, and burned products such as corn, among others. He highlighted the importance of this discovery, which would confirm the hypothesis that Incas had different methods of construction used to build their houses, and employed high-quality techniques to control vertical alignments of their buildings. (END) NDP/PZA/JOT/

Orion over Mount Nemrut (Turkey)

A breathtaking photo. See the larger photo for its full impact. Orion Dawn Over Mount Nemrut Credit & Copyright: Tunç Tezel (TWAN) Explanation: What's that in front of Orion? Forty kilometers north of Kahta, Turkey, lies Mount Nemrut, a mountain adorned with the fragments of vast statues built over 2000 years ago. The stone sculptures once stood nearly 10 meters high and depicted lions, eagles, various ancient gods, and King Antiochus I Theos, who ruled Commagene from 86 BC to 38 BC. Ruins of the bodies of several sitting figures are visible on the hill above, illuminated by moonlight. Zeus' head can be found near the above image's center, while the king's head is seen next closest to the horizon. Visible far in the distance in this image, taken three months ago, is the familiar constellation of Orion. The red patch just below Orion's belt is the Orion Nebula, while the bright star to the left of Orion is Sirius. On the far left, a red and brightening horizon announces that the Sun is beginning to rise.

Something Wrong with this Picture...

Is it only me, or is there something wrong with this picture? Why are these chess dudes (2008 Nanjing), only one of whom is Chinese, all dressed in these 21st fantasy versions of the Mao jacket? YECHY - and damn scary, too! What does this say about the modern Chinese mentality? Reminds me of the Borg - EEK! Now that's really scary! (Photo from Susan Polgar's excellent blog)

Oh no, it's snowing again...

It's begun - the snow - but current forecast calls for a mere 1-3" tonight, an additional inch tomorrow with possibly another inch accumulating after 6 PM tomorrow night. The big story is strong winds and plunging temperatures that have not hit - yet - but are in the forecast through noon on Monday. Great, just great. That means I get to walk to the bus stop Monday morning in -40F winds with blowing frozen snow slapping me in the face the entire 3/4 mile.

I thought I'd look for some long underwear - can't get it delivered in time for Monday morning's trek, of course, but it would be a wise wardrobe addition for January, February, March and April, which is roughly the span of winter in Wisconsin in addition to November and December. Sigh. I found these red and white striped very cute long johns - but don't dare wear them unless you weigh less than 100 pounds and are at least 5'10" tall. Obviously not made for anything remotely resembling a REAL American woman like yours truly, LOL!

Blast from the Past: Kramnik the Lucky Loser

Chess News by Jude Acers from PlayJava.com March 27, 2000. London, England. World top five chess grandmaster V. Anand of India has shocked the chess world today by rejecting a two million dollar ($2,000,000) -16 game match with world number one rated superstar G. Kasparov. Mr. Anand reportedly demanded $300,000 from the fund being held in escrow in advance , withdrew when the cash did not arrive. Mr. Malcolm Pein (The Daily Telegraph) reports that V. Kramnik of Russia will be offered the challenger's role with launch date April 5, 2000 for all arrangements....the startling developments today complete the near miracle luck of Mr. Kramnik, now guaranteed $665,000 loser's purse and the Kasparov match in one of the apparently great rip-offs of all time --.Mr. Kramnik was badly beaten, losing two and drawing 8, winning NONE versus superstar A. Shirov for a Kasparov match two years ago...Readers will recall that Mr. Kramnik WAS PAID A REPORTED 200,000 FOR LOSING, Mr. Shirov left with huge bills, received nothing for winning when world number one Kasparov disappeared with collapse of the "guaranteed 3 million dollar" Kasparov-led match arrangements. Mr. Shirov, ALREADY deprived of one million dollars PLUS a match with Kasparov earned one thousand times over, must now only watch in agony as fate robs him of everything anew. Mr. Shirov, probably a de-facto world chess champion after defeating all of the top three available chess players in MONACO last week ( including Anand, Kramnik, Karpov etc. with a tremendous first place score: 14.5/22 in the Melody Amber half blindfold play/half rapid event, is so far quite the most unlucky chess grandmaster in history...

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With the FIDE-imposed rule changes regarding the Grand Prix and the creation of a new eight-player tournament to determine a challenger to Anand for the world title, Kramnik will have yet another kick at the can without having earned it. Most everyone who has commented on the matter assumes that the Russians will come through with a bid for the event and nominate Kramnik as their man to play.

What's the old saying - the more things change, the more they stay the same...

2008 National 'A' Women's Chess Championship of India

The Indian press is giving enthusiastic coverage to the National 'A' Women's Chess Championship this year - the best yet, I'd say. Perhaps the fantastic year that Indian chess stars have had, including the successful defending of his world chess champion title by GM Vishy Anand, has fired the press up as never before, and interest is at an all-time high in chess across the country. I love seeing this kind of enthusiasm for the game I love, particularly for a chess femme event. Here is a sampling of article that cropped up in a news search a few minutes ago: Kruttika defeats Bhakti Hindu, India - 1 hour ago NEW DELHI: Kruttika Nadig took the long route to victory against former National junior champion Bhakti Kulkarni in the third round of the Parsvnath 35th ... Amrutha holds Soumya in Parsvnath National Women Chess Bombay News, India - 5 hours ago Maharashtra's Amrutha Mokal held overnight leader Soumya Swaminathan to a creditable draw on the top table in the third round of ongoing Parsvnath 35th ... Amrutha holds Soumya in Parsvnath National Women Chess SINDH TODAY, Pakistan - 6 hours ago New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Maharashtra’s Amrutha Mokal held overnight leader Soumya Swaminathan to a creditable draw on the top table in the third round of ... Amrutha holds Soumya in Parsvnath National Women Chess Thaindian.com, Thailand - 7 hours ago New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Maharashtra’s Amrutha Mokal held overnight leader Soumya Swaminathan to a creditable draw on the top table in the third round of ... Tania, Amrutha held at National Women championship Indiatimes, India - 8 hours ago 20 Dec 2008, 1833 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Defending champion Tania Sachdev was once again held to a draw, while overnight leader Soumya Swaminathan also ... Soumya stuns Tania Hindu, India - 22 hours ago NEW DELHI: Soumya Swaminathan surprised defending champion Tania Sachdev with her clean calculation under time-pressure to emerge as the leader after two ... Here's the first article from The Hindu. The writer enthusiastically conveyed the excitement and tension of Round 3, which was keenly fought by all of the chess femmes. Sport - Chess Kruttika defeats Bhakti Kamesh Srinivasan (File photo: Kuttika Nadig) NEW DELHI: Kruttika Nadig took the long route to victory against former National junior champion Bhakti Kulkarni in the third round of the Parsvnath 35th National ‘A’ women’s chess championship at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture here on Saturday. With the leader Soumya Swaminathan being held to a draw by a gutsy Amrutha Mokal, the 20-year-old Kruttika had reasons to be satisfied with her position, half point behind. “It was a very funny game,” observed Kruttika. Complicated position After the Slav Defence had led to a complicated position, Kruttika conceded that she tried ‘all kinds of tricks’, to find a breakthrough. Eventually, she had two bishops against a rook, but combined her queen with the bishops to wreak havoc and swallowed the rook as well. Kruttika could have sealed the match with a bishop move on the 62nd turn, but drove the enemy king all over the board before executing the checkmate in 73 moves. “I sacrificed to gain tempo, but she made some mistakes and lost,” said Kruttika, even as she agreed that she did not play the best moves, owing to time trouble. Three-time Asian junior champion Mary Ann Gomes, grappling with a bout of cold, bolstered her sagging morale with a 37-move victory over last year’s runner-up Kiran Manisha Mohanty. “It was a very tough game. She had an attack, but once it failed, my pieces became active. I gained material advantage too. “I should not have let the match drift for so long. There should have been a better option,” said Mary. She took her tally to 1.5 points with the victory in 37 moves. Swati Ghate was also happy to get back to winning ways after an error in the second round when she had to endure the ignominy of being check-mated following a hasty king move. The 28-year-old sacrificed to gain momentum, but did not have to work hard on her strategy for long as her opponent blundered the queen and lost her way. “I could have played a better course, but there is a long way ahead,” said Swati. Time trouble Soumya played as well as she could, but found dark horse Amrutha a tough nut to crack, despite the latter facing her usual enemy, time trouble. At one stage, Soumya took so much time to plan her course, nearly 20 minutes for a move, that there was hardly any difference in the clock of the two. “She played very well. There was nothing much I could do,” said the 19-year-old Soumya who had upset defending champion Tania Sachdev in the second round. The 22-year-old Tania revealed her craft in holding WGM Eesha Karavade to a draw in 53 moves, despite being a pawn less in a knight against bishop end-game. Pon N. Krithika continued to impress with her understanding of Ruy Lopez, as she snatched half a point from WGM Nisha Mohota in a 36-move encounter. The results (third round): Soumya Swaminathan (2.5) drew with Amrutha Mokal (1.5); Eesha Karavade (1.5) drew with Tania Sachdev (1.5); Kiran Manisha Mohanty (1) lost to Mary Ann Gomes (1.5); Pon N. Krithika (1.5) drew with Nisha Mohota (1); Bhakti Kulkarni (0.5) lost to Kruttika Nadig (2); Swati Ghate (2) bt Padmini Rout (1). Fourth round pairings: Amrutha-Padmini; Kruttika-Swati; Nisha-Bhakti; Mary-Krithika; Tania-Kiran; Soumya-Eesha.

It's DONE! (for now...)

The driveway is finished! I got back from the store at 1:40 PM and shoveled for another hour and 10 minutes and it's finished! This go-round I didn't even crack a sweat.

I stocked up on nuts for the squirrels and goodies for me and a meaty pot roast with fixings that I will make in the slow cooker Monday nigh, store overnight in the fridge (the inner crock pot removes from the heating element and has a glass dome cover) and finish up Tuesday night in anticipation of dondelion's arrival. Nothing better than having a good home-cooked meal and a tall glass of wine and warm rolls waiting for one after a long hard day of traveling. What can I say - I spoil the man rotten :)

Saturday Morning and No Heart Attack!

Hola darlings! I've survived the storm - now another one is on the way. New bulges on the arms - I tell you, I WILL have Popeye arms in another week or two if this keeps up. This new storm will be a doozy, not so much because of the amount of snow that is expected (maximum a mere 7") but because of strong winds and plunging temperatures that will push sustained windchills to 35 to 40 below zero F starting later tonight, and all day tomorrow. Blowing and drifting snow is expected to cause major travel hazards locally and white-out conditions. So, I've got a lot more to do today before the storm hits - it's already noon! I got behind the time when Isis called from Las Vegas - where more snow is forecast! We chatted for a good hour at least. I slept in today, did not get up until 7:30 AM, eek! I've been shoveling. Got out at 9 AM and put in a good hour this morning in addition to the initial 40 minutes yesterday and then an hour and 15 minutes later yesterday, moving the heaviest of the snow -- clearing out the base of the driveway where the plow piled up chunks of ice and hard snow to 4 feet deep. Here's what my driveway looks like at present:

You can now barely see the mail and newspaper boxes from the front stoop now (compare to photos taken 24 hours ago) The fresh layer of snow that accumulated over the past 24 hours is also clearly visible - ha, the weather dude said "no accumulation" expected from lake effect snow, which I ALWAYS get.

The driveway is now much narrower since the last shovel-out and is also "crooked" - lol! There are also decided curves in the cleared area although my driveway is a straight shot from the road. Well, it was hard to judge where to plunge the shovel into the snow banks to start shoveling yesterday when the snow was still blowing in my face. Once I get the rest of the bulk shoveled away (starting where the shovel is buried) closest to the house and garage door (probably another hour's worth of steady hard work), I will whittle away on the sides of the snow banks to widen out the driveway area and attempt to straighten out the curves. I don't need to do this, of course, since there is no car parked in the garage that I need to drive in and out. But it's damn good exercise, both aerobic and muscle-wise. Since I'm not walking anymore during lunch-hours I need to get in what exercise I can, when I can. I still want to get down to the weight I was in November, 2003, the last time delion and I visited Las Vegas. The scale keeps fluctuating - I either have to lose 5 lbs. or 3 lbs., depending on what time of the day it is. Can I do it? Assuming we can get out of Milwaukee on 12/24, I've only got a few more days to lose those last pounds! Eek! The left shoulder is aching again - I'm very mindful of not wanting to tear my rotator cuff, so I try to get equal time in on the right shoulder, but despite my best efforts there is just no comparison.

But first I've got to hike down to the supermarket and get a few things, some wine (for moi) and nuts (for the critters), and start stocking in food for dondelion's visit, assuming he can get here. Weather is very iffy in both Montreal and Milwaukee for his Tuesday flight, we're crossing out fingers. I won't be stirring outdoors at all tomorrow other than to shovel off the deck for the critters, the weather is supposed to be that bad. The forecasters are already warning about the mini-blizzard conditions, which is bad enough. It's the 35 to 40 below zero F temperatures that most bother me. My hands freeze up in nothing flat despite investing this season in supposedly super-duper thermal gloves. Ha! Fraud! Well - at least they have a waterproof outer coating which comes in handling when shoveling because with the winds whipping around I get lots of blowback - mostly in the face but on the hands and jacket too. Arghhh! Okay - time to get a move on. Have much cleaning and then doing Goddesschess stuff to do before I'll be back here blogging. Right now, time to put the boots back on and bundle back up and head to the Pick 'n Save. I do not look forward to battling the mad crowds there, which there are sure to be! Heave Ho, Jan. Time to brave the elements once again...

Furry Friends

The squirrels are out in force this morning - no doubt they can anticipate the new storm blowing in that may dump another 7" of snow here starting later on this afternoon, yech! Here are three different visitors all within a minute of each other: (1) on a thin branch (nice view of my neighbors' shed and backyard :)) (2) Ninja squirrel - demonstrating her stealth and wary mode (3) and (4) are the same cheeky little gal - she's covered in snow because she loves to dig deep in the snow. I missed a great shot of just her tail sticking up out of a deep hole, lol! I whistled my presence at the patio door and she came up out of the hole and made a beeline for me. She's checking me out with the camera - not sure what the heck it is, but she grabbed a nut anyway and then paused long enough at the top of the edge of the snow for me to grab the final shot. You can see the fresh snow that fell after I shoveled the deck yesterday morning and all of the critters' paw prints all over the place - as well as their pathways from the trees up to the partially excavated deck.

King Tut's Father Identified

At least, Zahi Hawass says so :) King Tut's Father ID'd in Stone Inscription Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News Dec. 17, 2008 -- An inscribed limestone block might have solved one of history's greatest mysteries -- who fathered the boy pharaoh King Tut. "We can now say that Tutankhamun was the child of Akhenaten," Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Discovery News. The finding offers evidence against another leading theory that King Tut was sired by the minor king Smenkhkare. Hawass discovered the missing part of a broken limestone block a few months ago in a storeroom at el Ashmunein, a village on the west bank of the Nile some 150 miles south of Cairo. Once reassembled, the slab has become "an accurate piece of evidence that proves Tut lived in el Amarna with Akhenaten and he married his wife, Ankhesenamun," while living in el Amarna, Hawass said. The text also suggests that the young Tutankhamun married his father's daughter -- his half sister. "The block shows the young Tutankhamun and his wife, Ankhesenamun, seated together. The text identifies Tutankhamun as the 'king's son of his body, Tutankhaten,' and his wife as the 'king's daughter of his body, Ankhesenaten,'" Hawass said. "We know that the only king to whom the text could refer as the father of both children is Akhenaten, himself. We know from other sources that Ankhesenamun was the daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Now, because of this block, we can say that Tutankhamun was the child of Akhenaten as well," Hawass said. Found among other sandstone slabs in the storeroom of El Ashmunein's archaeological site, the block was used in the construction of the temple of Thoth during the reign of Ramesses II, who ruled around 1279-1213 B.C. But the block wasn't freshly cut by the workers of the temple. Instead, it was recycled and brought there from el Amarna, along with some other thousand blocks, originally used to build the Amarna temples. Now known as el Amarna, the city was once called Akhetaten after the "heretic" pharaoh Akhenaten (1353-1336 B.C.) had established the capital of his kingdom, introducing a monotheistic religion that overthrew the pantheon of the gods to worship the sun god Aton. When Akhenaten died, a state decree was issued to purposefully destroy Amarna and its building materials were distributed for use elsewhere. According to Hawass, the block comes from the temple of Aton in Amarna and the forms of the inscribed names clearly date it to the reign of Akhenaten. The best-known pharaoh of ancient Egypt, King Tut has been puzzling scientists ever since his mummy- and treasure-packed tomb was discovered in 1922 the Valley of the Kings by British archaeologist Howard Carter. Only a few facts about his life are known. While he lived in el Amarna, his name was Tutankhaton ("honoring Aton" -- the sun god). When he ascended the throne in 1333 B.C., at the age of nine, and moved to Thebes, he changed his name to Tutankamun ("honoring Amun" -- a traditional cult). As the last male in the family, his death in 1325 B.C. at age 19 ended the 18th dynasty -- probably the greatest of the Egyptian royal families -- and gave way to military rulers. Mapping out the lineage of the Egyptian pharaohs is one of Hawass's latest challenges. King Tut has been either credited to be the son of Akhenaten or the offspring of Amenhotep III, who was Akhenaten's father. Doubts also remain about King Tut's mother. Scholars have long debated whether he is the son of Kiya, Akhenaten's minor wife, or Queen Nefertiti, Akhenaten's other wife. Egyptian researchers are currently carrying out DNA testing on two mummified fetuses found in King Tut's tomb, believed to be his offspring. "If the fetus DNA matches King Tut's DNA and Ankhesenamun's DNA, then we would know that they shared the same mother," Hawass said. According to Swiss anatomist and paleopathologist Frank Ruhli, head of the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich, Hawass' finding is very important. "It supports one of my favorite theories about King Tut's parentage. DNA of proven relatives would help if it matches with the one of King Tut," Ruhli told Discovery News.

2008 National 'A' Women's Chess Championship of India

Story from The Times of India: Soumya upsets Tania to jump into sole lead 20 Dec 2008, 0055 hrs IST, TNN NEW DELHI: Soumya Swaminathan jumped into sole lead with 2 points after upsetting defending champion and top seed Tania Sachdev in the second round of the 35th National Women’s A Chess Championship on Friday. The day saw a lot of surprises as the four decisive results went in favour of underdogs. Amrutha Mokal got the better off WGM Swati Ghate in 35 moves. In another surprise result, N Krithika overcame second seed Kruttika Nadig in just 30 moves. Another WGM, Nisha Mohota also suffered a setback as she lost to Kiran Manisha Mohanty of Orissa. Padmini Rout and Eesha Karavade signed the peace treaty against Bhakti Kulkarni and Mary Ann Gomes respectively in the other matches.

Blizzard Aftermath

So, about 12:15 PM I pulled the boots back on, bundled up, and headed out to the deck to shovel. I did about half of it before running out of steam. Then I tramped lots of snow through the house to go out the front door and tackle a pathway to the road. I was outdoors altogether about 40 minutes and made some headway, as you can see from the photos (bel0w). I came in to warm up and take an hour's break. I came upstairs with the memory card and sat down at my desktop. LOL! I kid you not, while I was sitting here shortly after 1:00 PM downloading the photos this email from Travelocity appeared: Jan, you need a break. Here's the bad news: you look tired. [Gee, I wonder why>] But here's the good news: we can fix that! You might not know it, but you've still got time to book a vacation before the end of the year. Whether you want to head home over the holidays or spend them lying on a tropical beach, we've got some great deals just for you. Head over to Travelocity.com and you'll find the following: Low fares, a variety of destinations, and thousands of customer-reviewed hotels Our convenient FareWatcher Plussm tool, which lets you watch up to 10 destinations and tells you when the fares drop Our cutting-edge ExperienceFindersm planning tool Our industry-leading Guarantee, which ensures that we'll look out for you all trip long—even before you go Plus, we'll help you out with a great holiday offer [travel coupon]. dondelion and I do have a get-away planned - to the relative warmth of sunny Las Vegas which only received 3.6" of snow on Tuesday, if he can actually get here from Montreal on the 23rd and if we can actually get out of here Christmas Eve morning! Photos: Deck - about half-shoveled, I shoveled off the part that only had a foot of snow first. The second half has about a foot and a half to two feet of snow, I think I'll wait until it melts in the spring... Front - stoop is now somewhat cleared and I have the start of a pathway not quite half-way down the drive. The goal is the mail box and paper box that you can see behind my shovel in the far distance... It's now 1:41 PM. I think I need a nap...