Friday, May 15, 2009

the "love theory," zombie ants, swine flu

Natalia Pogonina's webmaster/ boyfriend wrote me a letter! In a previous post, I had called his Chess Kamasutra a (probably) sexless flashcard training program. It seems I was quite wrong. He left this comment:

Dear Elizabeth,

I have stubmled upon your post by chance and was very surprised and amused by it. Thanks for spreading the news about Natalia's website, it's very much appreciated.

However, Chess Kamasutra is in no way a dull chess training program. It's a book that teaches chess using analogies from sex, and vice versa.

E.g. links openings and middlegame positions and the way you should play them to positions from Kamasutra, offers unique training exercises for boosting both your chess and sexual powers, promotes "the love theory" which is an innovative approach to beating your opponents, etc. It's a very interesting project indeed.

Best wishes,
Peter Zhdanov
Co-author of Chess Kamasutra


I'm so excited! How hilarious is this going to be? I hope it's not all in Russian. Do you think the chess training can be done alone, or do you need a "study partner"?

In other news, I just started playing in the Marshall Thursday-over-1600-one-slow-game-a-week tournament. I won my first game. hurray! (it's coming soon).

also...

Pest control: Ants become headless zombies
Flies used to lay eggs on invasive fire ants, maggots then eat brains


FORT WORTH, Texas - Researchers are trying an unusual approach to combat fire ants — deploying parasitic flies that turn the pesky and economically costly invasive insects into zombies whose heads fall off....

The ant will get up and wander for about two weeks while the maggot feeds, said Rob Plowes, a research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.
"There is no brain left in the ant, and the ant just starts wandering aimlessly," he said.

I know all about that.

Flu Outbreak At School!!


Two days ago, kids in one seventh grade class at IS 318 started feeling sick. Yesterday a lot of kids were out; by today, 350 out of 1500 were absent. They all have high fevers: one or two were so bad that they were sent to the ER. Three schools in Queens were closed after many kids became ill and several cases of swine flu were confirmed. One assistant principal (from Queens) is in critical condition and on a ventilator. Freaky, right? I'm staying home tonight as a public service.

UPDATE: At the recommendation of the health commissioner and the chancellor, IS 318 will be closed for the next five days: 5/18 to 5/22. Students and staff report back 5/26.

wow, I have a whole week off.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

so is pawn supposed to mean porn

Anonymous said...

Hey, Elizabeth, isn't that you on the right of this Web site banner? http://www.betsydynako.com/svmanager/

Elizabeth Vicary said...

yes, that'sme!

Anonymous said...

Hey Lizzy...playing in the G/60 tomorrow at MCC?

Anonymous said...

Hey Lizzy...playing in the G/60 tomorrow at MCC?

Anonymous said...

are you saying that swine flu is at 318 now or are you talking about some school in queens in general

Elizabeth Vicary said...

I'm not playing tomorrow. We're having a tournament at 318. Join the
Thursday night thing with a bye!

I don't know that swine flu is confirmed at 318, just at the school in queens.

Anonymous said...

OK maybe I will if only one round past. Good luck to your crew tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I knew that was you on the Betsy Dynako site! Very nice.

You and your students--stay healthy!

Anonymous said...

ship the paid vacation amirite?

Elizabeth Vicary said...

actually, now I am playing :)

Anonymous said...

sorry to carry over from the previous topic regarding whether you should seek help with your moodswings, but for what it's worth (and possibly something you already do), I strongly recommend trying meditation on a daily basis. Scheduling time to meditate can be difficult when things get fast-paced in life, but even 20 minutes of sitting still everyday and allowing things to just be as they are, following your breath, etc., really works wonders. This "numbness" you refer to will eventually come to the surface and dissolve, and what's underneath that will be able to be felt and released. Also, just a hunch, but your nervous system may overtaxed and you may want to see a dietician. B12 vitamins are great for overtaxed nerves. Be well.

Anonymous said...

A good entry-level meditation book is Quiet Mind. It comes with a CD of guided meditations.

Anonymous said...

so do u know if any of your chess superstars are infected . if so my blessings go out to them. and if not i still hope that those who are infected get well soon.

Anonymous said...

Hope everyone is okay at 318. 9 out of 21 kids were out sick from my daughter's 1st grade class with high fevers this week but no confirmed cases of swine flu. (Someone joked that none of the upper east side pediatricians want the notoriety of having diagnosed the first case of swine flu in the neighborhoos).

Anonymous said...

I'm sooo excited about that new site.

Almost as excited as Jen Shahade was when they announced there was cake at the US Championship.

Well, not THAT excited, but close.

Anonymous said...

will u marry me liz

Elizabeth Vicary said...

wow, you know, I totally would have, I was just thinking "I'm going to marry the next person who asks me," it's such a shame you're anonymous.

Anonymous said...

LOL.

You failed for being anonymous.

I always post with my real name which coincidentally really is "anonymous". My parents named me that to confuse people on the internet.

Anonymous said...

so... can I have your NIC subscription if you do have the swine flu?