Raising Rank

Over the weekend I played a couple games of go and i raised up in rank to 21kyu. For those unfamiliar with go ranks it goes from 30 kyu to 1 kyu, then 1 dan to 9 dan. The dan ranks are professional players, 10k-1k is considered advanced amateurs, 20k-10k are intermediate, and 20k-30k are beginners.

There is so much to this game, its wonderful. Every time I play I learn something new.

Saturday Carnival

So, the day after her birthday, AJ went to the carnival with her dahee and me. She got her face painted and got to ride several rides, including going on the Ferris wheel with me. That's where I got the great shot. She had fun, I got a tan, and all of us got to get out of the house for a while. It was wonderful.

AJ Birthday

So Friday was AJs birthday. She didn't get to miss school because we planned a party at Peter Piper for Saturday. It was fantastic. Several kids showed up. Some from dance and some from school. All the kids had a blast and Anna brought home more than enough stuff. She has slowly been going through things playing with one thing or another. Anyway, here is a great shot of the birthday girl.

Spring Pictures

Well yesterday A J's spring pictures came in. She is so photogenic. If you look closely you can see her first adult tooth. Its not quite fully in, so you can see the small gap ^_^ I'll be posting the picture as soon as i can get it scanned and added.

Preparations Complete!

Well, we have almost all of A J's Birthday invitations out to people. We have the party scheduled and are buying a few toys. It seems like her entire dance class is coming and we have other invitations out. She is getting excited but still has trouble grasping how long 2 weeks is. Should be a good turn out this year.

The flow of the stones

No. I'm not into zen, feng shui, or stone gardens. I'm talking about the game of Go.

Last week I taught A J the rules of chess and she's eating it up. Then I wandered off and actually started learning the 3000 year old art of Go. So I bought some books, bought a board and stones, and sat down to learn.

Having learned the rules I proceeded to the nearest online site to play with my new found knowledge. Talk about being humbled. There is really nothing to the rules. They are simple. So simple a 5 year old can easily be taught the basics. From those basic rules an entire world opens up. It was like a bucket of water being thrown in your face. I have an overriding goal now. To become a professional go player.