So, I can't figure out why this box keeps popping up on my Mac. I don't want to access idisk, and don't pay the $100 annual fee to be a Mac member. I don't know the password, if there ever was one. I hit the cancel button and it pops right back up. I hit the cancel button again and am given five minutes of peace before the routine starts anew. Any suggestion on how to squash this nuisance would be much appreciated.

So my wife is sick. Confined to the upstairs, throwing up sick.

This has left me as the lone soldier in a house with three young, energetic children, and stoked once again my admiration/sympathy for single parents everywhere.

At day's end the house looks like a day-old battlefield, except instead of dead bodies there are clothes, toys, dishes and an empty pizza box scattered across the landscape. It will take three days, minimum, to get everything in order, and I don't have particularly high standards.(Three days at the rate I move, and even then only if the kids are out of the house and not getting in the way.) Come to think of it, cleaning up a few dead bodies would be easier, if only I wasn't so squeamish.

The kids in bed, I was going to start at the cleanup by taking a jug of bleach to the upstairs bathroom and disinfect Little Round Top, where Joni had waged her battle with the flu bug during the day. But she talked me out of it, worried that our positions would be reversed in a day or two, and that she would then be holding the short end of the stick. I think her exact words were, "Are you sure you don't want to wait until I can do it? We can't have you getting sick, too."

That's all I really needed to hear, but I pretended to seriously ponder the danger.

"I guess you're right," I finally commiserated, before heading straight to the computer, dishes be damned.

In other news, I've got tentative plans to make plans to go to Chicago for a one-day Scrabble tournament next Saturday. It's a done deal if someone offers me their couch for a night. I could use some time away, and who knows, our house might be clean again when I get back.

Great night for me at the Northville club, as I went 4-0 +465 or so.
( Read more )

I don't know who was singing, or what song it was, or even how I happened to hear it yesterday - but this gets my vote for corniest song lyric of the year, so far:

If you were my diet, I'd put on forty pounds
And still not eat anything.
You are just a dream.

Yes, I'm playing Fenton this weekend. Both days. Here's your chance to study up on my game, if you're going to be there.

( read more )

We met the women who will be teaching our kids at a school open house Tuesday, and am glad to report that I'm very happy with their teachers, both as people and as educators.

My oldest is entering the 2nd grade, and it is from a poster in Mrs. Weaver's room where I cribbed the following:

( 10 Reasons to Write )


Good luck to those of you lucky enough to be playing in a Scrabble tournament this weekend.

I saw men wearing shoes without socks.

I ate great food.

I had a miracle win and an unbelievable loss among 31 games of Scrabble.

I pretty much covered my expenses with poker winnings in the after-hours room ($100) and at the casino ($300).

Yes, I'm glad I went to Dayton.

( Read more )

It was a tough nationals for me record-wise, but otherwise I had a good time.

Here's some of the words that came up in my games; I'll post them as a quiz:
Good or No good?

pUTZERS

XANTHOID (hooking the X on the front of Anthoid for 56)

OUTFIB

(P)REMOUNT

COLITION

ALFREDOS

MUTaSES

MOWINGS

TAfFETA

BORTZES

---SPOILER---





















The last four are good, all the rest are phoneys.

I'm bringing a relatively new tracking sheet to Dayton, one which I used somewhat successfully in the MVO tourney. It's aligned horizontally, with plenty of room for notes.

While it's not a cure-all, I'm putting my under-over on games tracked correctly at 28 for the tournament. I can do this!

The Michigan vs. Ohio tournament proved to be everything it promised and more. Great games and good times, backed by another Michigan win. The final tally was 61-44, although at one point on Saturday the Buckeye state put on a solid run to give us a scare.

Much like last year we jumped on them right from the start and took a 20-8 lead at the lunch break. Three rounds later it was 26-23 and the ship was listing. Captain Idalski gave us a calming pep talk and with a 5-2 edge in round eight we added a little breathing room going into Sunday.

Sunday it was all Michigan, but there were many close games. There was at least one recount going on after every round, it seemed, and my table was no exception.

Here's my final game against pbzeigler. a high-scoring affair.
Pete has also posted it, so I've taken the liberty to include his racks.