This causes me to wonder if there's a French tennis player named Tuesday Poisson.
September 4, 2008
August 12, 2008
March 17, 2008
A mediocre game with a good finish
Sunday's Brier final was one of the poorest games I saw this week at the Brier. Joel and I had tickets from Thursday morning on - and also went to the Monday morning draw, and I watched some on tv too.
Both finalists - Kevin Martin's team from Alberta and Glenn Howard's Ontario team - had played much better in earlier games. Martin's rink had been unstoppable all week, going undefeated, although they did look human in their playoff game against Saskatchewan (a game the Sask boys should have won). But on Sunday they were far from their best.
The story was the same with Howard, who was the defending champion. Some of the players on the teams had been playing at 90% accuracy or more during the week, and it's hard to play at that high a level for a whole week. Sadly, they hadn't saved their best for last.
But they were equal in being off their game, so the game was close, but also a low scoring affair with only 9 points in total put up on the board. Each team only got a deuce - 2 points in an end - once. Howard's two point end came in the 9th to tie the game.
But that gave Martin the hammer - last rock - in the last end, and he made good use of it by drawing the four foot to score a tie-breaking point and win the 2008 Canadian Curling Championship, a.k.a. the Tim Horton's Brier.
It was a good shot, and classic finish to what was an otherwise less than classic game.
I'm happy I went to some of the games. One of the remarkable things about them was how fast the ice is. It's as if the ice was like glass. If I was throwing the weight that these players used for some of their take out shots on my draws at the Grain Exchange (where I curl mixed), I'd be hogging my shots (not even getting them in play). And their draw weight is even lower than the take out weight. Unbelievable.
Both finalists - Kevin Martin's team from Alberta and Glenn Howard's Ontario team - had played much better in earlier games. Martin's rink had been unstoppable all week, going undefeated, although they did look human in their playoff game against Saskatchewan (a game the Sask boys should have won). But on Sunday they were far from their best.
The story was the same with Howard, who was the defending champion. Some of the players on the teams had been playing at 90% accuracy or more during the week, and it's hard to play at that high a level for a whole week. Sadly, they hadn't saved their best for last.
But they were equal in being off their game, so the game was close, but also a low scoring affair with only 9 points in total put up on the board. Each team only got a deuce - 2 points in an end - once. Howard's two point end came in the 9th to tie the game.
But that gave Martin the hammer - last rock - in the last end, and he made good use of it by drawing the four foot to score a tie-breaking point and win the 2008 Canadian Curling Championship, a.k.a. the Tim Horton's Brier.
It was a good shot, and classic finish to what was an otherwise less than classic game.
I'm happy I went to some of the games. One of the remarkable things about them was how fast the ice is. It's as if the ice was like glass. If I was throwing the weight that these players used for some of their take out shots on my draws at the Grain Exchange (where I curl mixed), I'd be hogging my shots (not even getting them in play). And their draw weight is even lower than the take out weight. Unbelievable.
March 15, 2008
They can throw the rock but do they know the game?
I've been at the Brier the last few days. The top teams are really good, but yesterday and today Pat Simmons's rink from Saskatchewan showed some strategic shortcomings that led to their downfall.
Yesterday in the 1-2 playoff game - the winner to advance to the finals, with the loser to today's semi-final - they called the wrong strategy in each of the last three ends. First, in the 8th, they tried to draw with their last stone rather than take out the Alberta rocks that were sitting pretty close together in the back of the house. If those rocks are removed - or even pushed back so that the Sask rocks in the top of the house out count them, then Alberta can't get more than one point (Alberta had last rock then, and when the other team has last rock, your strategy is to limit them to one point).
Sask makes an error on the draw, and Alberta manages to gets two points that they had no business getting.
In the 9th, there are two Alberta rocks in the house (as well as two Sask rocks), and an Alberta guard rock in front of the house. Strategically, the most dangerous rock is the guard, as it can protect a rock later in the end, limiting what the opposing team can do. Instead of removing the guard, Sask eliminates the rocks in the house with a nice double take out.
However, later in the end Alberta gets a rock behind the cover of that guard, and it leads to back and forth draws, and then a steal of 1 by Alberta to tie the game.
Then in the 10th end, rather than keeping a clean sheet, which would be a good strategy if you only need 1 point and have last rock, they leave a number of rocks in play. Nevertheless, they have the opportunity to hit and stick for a single point and the win. However, their last rock picks on something on the ice and sails past Alberta's shot rock, failing to remove it, so Alberta counts 1 and wins the game.
The Saskatchewan rink was up 6-3 after 5 ends of a 10 end game, and should have come out on top. But they were outscored 5-1 the rest of the way, and lost 8-7, despite having last rock for most of the second half of the game.
Then today Sask is playing Ontario in the semi-final game. Again in the 10th end down one point, when they need to score 1 to tie and 2 to win, Sask allow a number of rocks to be in play and it's only with a great shot on their last throw that they get the necessary point to force an extra end.
In that end, Ontario plays a more conventional, lower risk strategy, by keeping the house pretty clean of rocks (e.g., hitting guards rocks in front of the house), and with their last rock they make an easy draw into the house for a point and the win.
And Saskatchewan goes home. Hopefully, they'll realize what they did wrong, and get it right next time. But they've been here before, more than once in fact, and usually there's only so many opportunities to get a break through victory.
Sadly, Saskatchewan didn't get one this year.
Yesterday in the 1-2 playoff game - the winner to advance to the finals, with the loser to today's semi-final - they called the wrong strategy in each of the last three ends. First, in the 8th, they tried to draw with their last stone rather than take out the Alberta rocks that were sitting pretty close together in the back of the house. If those rocks are removed - or even pushed back so that the Sask rocks in the top of the house out count them, then Alberta can't get more than one point (Alberta had last rock then, and when the other team has last rock, your strategy is to limit them to one point).
Sask makes an error on the draw, and Alberta manages to gets two points that they had no business getting.
In the 9th, there are two Alberta rocks in the house (as well as two Sask rocks), and an Alberta guard rock in front of the house. Strategically, the most dangerous rock is the guard, as it can protect a rock later in the end, limiting what the opposing team can do. Instead of removing the guard, Sask eliminates the rocks in the house with a nice double take out.
However, later in the end Alberta gets a rock behind the cover of that guard, and it leads to back and forth draws, and then a steal of 1 by Alberta to tie the game.
Then in the 10th end, rather than keeping a clean sheet, which would be a good strategy if you only need 1 point and have last rock, they leave a number of rocks in play. Nevertheless, they have the opportunity to hit and stick for a single point and the win. However, their last rock picks on something on the ice and sails past Alberta's shot rock, failing to remove it, so Alberta counts 1 and wins the game.
The Saskatchewan rink was up 6-3 after 5 ends of a 10 end game, and should have come out on top. But they were outscored 5-1 the rest of the way, and lost 8-7, despite having last rock for most of the second half of the game.
Then today Sask is playing Ontario in the semi-final game. Again in the 10th end down one point, when they need to score 1 to tie and 2 to win, Sask allow a number of rocks to be in play and it's only with a great shot on their last throw that they get the necessary point to force an extra end.
In that end, Ontario plays a more conventional, lower risk strategy, by keeping the house pretty clean of rocks (e.g., hitting guards rocks in front of the house), and with their last rock they make an easy draw into the house for a point and the win.
And Saskatchewan goes home. Hopefully, they'll realize what they did wrong, and get it right next time. But they've been here before, more than once in fact, and usually there's only so many opportunities to get a break through victory.
Sadly, Saskatchewan didn't get one this year.
March 9, 2008
Sexy Beast
Watched the film Sexy Beast last night. Very interesting. It's a robbery flick, where a guy who's retired to sunny Spain is asked come back to London to do one more job. Maybe it's inaccurate to call it a robbery flick, because the focus of it is more on getting the guy to do the job than the job itself.
Ray Winstone plays the guy who's asked to come out of retirement by Ben Kingsley, who's playing a character with the moral opposite of the Gandhi role that made him famous. Even before Kingsley arrives in Spain, the knowledge that he's coming is enough to ramp up the tension between Winstone, his wife and the couple they pal around with in Spain, who are all familiar with how brutal Kingsley's character is.
But Kingsley isn't the head bad guy - his character's too much of aloose canon for that. No the head bad guy is Ian McShane, who I first enjoyed in the Lovejoy tv series and has more recently found notoriety in Deadwood.
The robbery itself actually stretches the limit of plausibility to me, but it's not really the point of the film. It's more about interplay between the three characters played by Winstone, Kingsley and to lesser extent McShane (because he has less screen time), and how the past can haunt you and how in particular Winstone is going to deal with these characters from his criminal past that he'd really rather just say no to.
But sometimes saying no is a very difficult thing to do.
Ray Winstone plays the guy who's asked to come out of retirement by Ben Kingsley, who's playing a character with the moral opposite of the Gandhi role that made him famous. Even before Kingsley arrives in Spain, the knowledge that he's coming is enough to ramp up the tension between Winstone, his wife and the couple they pal around with in Spain, who are all familiar with how brutal Kingsley's character is.
But Kingsley isn't the head bad guy - his character's too much of aloose canon for that. No the head bad guy is Ian McShane, who I first enjoyed in the Lovejoy tv series and has more recently found notoriety in Deadwood.
The robbery itself actually stretches the limit of plausibility to me, but it's not really the point of the film. It's more about interplay between the three characters played by Winstone, Kingsley and to lesser extent McShane (because he has less screen time), and how the past can haunt you and how in particular Winstone is going to deal with these characters from his criminal past that he'd really rather just say no to.
But sometimes saying no is a very difficult thing to do.
March 6, 2008
Things done in ire
I was on the Air Canada site trying to book a flight to go overseas for a wedding in June, when it comes along to me signing in with my Aeroplan number and password. I'm not sure when I'd last signed in, so there's no way I can come up with my password. Thus, I click the old "Forgot/Need New Password?" button.
In going through the process of getting a new password it asks me the prompt question that I'd put in when I set up my last password. The question I put in was: "What is the most fucking annoying website for travel miles?"
That's what comes up as the prompt for me to login. I'm not kidding.
Clearly, no one edits the prompt questions people put into the website. I must have been really angry when I'd set the password up the last time, and trying to navigate around the Aeroplan website this evening I got the sense of why that might have been.
March 2, 2008
River skating
I went skating today on Winnipeg's River Trail. It was the first time I'd been skating in, umm, well, I'm not sure exactly. A long time. 10 years? Something like that.
It's the longest naturally frozen skating trail in the world. No, really. It is.
I went for about 5 miles maybe. I went from near my place to one end of it - the end on the Assiniboine River, not the Red River - and back and then a bit farther, as the river loops around my neighborhood, so going past where I started didn't put me any farther away from home than if I'd stopped where I started.
It was a good time. Interesting to see houses from the backside rather than the front side. There are some very nice homes along the river, and it was interesting to see how some of them have little (and some not so little) buildings along the river. Guest houses, perhaps. And at least one of those guest houses was bigger than some of my friend's places.
It was a pleasant skate, although much more so when I was going with the wind. That was the return leg of my journey, and I was happy about that. Skating with the wind - or without the wind in your face - was almost like skating downhill.
I'm not a great skater. One guy on fancy speed skates went speeding by me. Three times. But I didn't fall down, not even when I tried some cross overs. Didn't try an backwards skating, as there's not really the space for it. The trail's not really wide, so going backwards in my not so skilled manner might lead to some traffic problems.
But all in all, a good time.
It's the longest naturally frozen skating trail in the world. No, really. It is.
I went for about 5 miles maybe. I went from near my place to one end of it - the end on the Assiniboine River, not the Red River - and back and then a bit farther, as the river loops around my neighborhood, so going past where I started didn't put me any farther away from home than if I'd stopped where I started.
It was a good time. Interesting to see houses from the backside rather than the front side. There are some very nice homes along the river, and it was interesting to see how some of them have little (and some not so little) buildings along the river. Guest houses, perhaps. And at least one of those guest houses was bigger than some of my friend's places.
It was a pleasant skate, although much more so when I was going with the wind. That was the return leg of my journey, and I was happy about that. Skating with the wind - or without the wind in your face - was almost like skating downhill.
I'm not a great skater. One guy on fancy speed skates went speeding by me. Three times. But I didn't fall down, not even when I tried some cross overs. Didn't try an backwards skating, as there's not really the space for it. The trail's not really wide, so going backwards in my not so skilled manner might lead to some traffic problems.
But all in all, a good time.
February 29, 2008
This week
This week I went to Freud class, but didn't do well on the quiz, which was kind of frustrating as I'd done the reading (mostly) having felt guilty for not doing so in weeks past. Not a reinforcing experience that.
Nevertheless, I did pick up some other Freud books to help me out, so not giving up. Also, I'm simply sitting in on the course, so the quizes are really only for my amusement; the scores don't matter. Still it is a little disturbing to have done the work and not performed well on the test.
In my racquetball league match, in contrast, I did do well. I played Dave H, and as it was a 1 seed versus 2 seed match I was spotted 3 points in the first game, as I was the 2 and Dave is a 1. I took a 6-4 lead, but Dave came back to lead 9-6 in the first game.
Then I won 24 of the next 25 points, winning 15-9, 15-1. His point in game two was on a serve to the right side that I didn't move for (Dave's a left handed player, so serve to the right side are natural screens as the ball moves across his body, just as a right hander's serve to the left side are natural screens). When it happened, I thought "was that short? was that a screen? it was good? oh damn."
But at that point I was up 8 or 9 to nothing, so I wasn't concerned over 1 point. I just tried to keep the pressure on that had got me to that point, and I was able to get the result.
Very satisfying.
Then today I was over at a friend's baby shower. My gift was a bottle of wine that the parents can either drink now, or set aside for their child to have on her 18th birth anniversary. I'm suspecting the latter will happen.
Also, it was a pot luck dinner for the shower. My chickpea ragout - from Jacques Pepin - was a hit, and I also brought 3 bottles of sparkling wine from 3 different countries: Germany (Henkell Troken), Italy and Spain (Friexel sp?) with the idea that people could sample the different varieties of pseudo-champagne. It was good. I think I like all of them in general, and would need more time to distinguish exactly which I like best.
Nevertheless, I did pick up some other Freud books to help me out, so not giving up. Also, I'm simply sitting in on the course, so the quizes are really only for my amusement; the scores don't matter. Still it is a little disturbing to have done the work and not performed well on the test.
In my racquetball league match, in contrast, I did do well. I played Dave H, and as it was a 1 seed versus 2 seed match I was spotted 3 points in the first game, as I was the 2 and Dave is a 1. I took a 6-4 lead, but Dave came back to lead 9-6 in the first game.
Then I won 24 of the next 25 points, winning 15-9, 15-1. His point in game two was on a serve to the right side that I didn't move for (Dave's a left handed player, so serve to the right side are natural screens as the ball moves across his body, just as a right hander's serve to the left side are natural screens). When it happened, I thought "was that short? was that a screen? it was good? oh damn."
But at that point I was up 8 or 9 to nothing, so I wasn't concerned over 1 point. I just tried to keep the pressure on that had got me to that point, and I was able to get the result.
Very satisfying.
Then today I was over at a friend's baby shower. My gift was a bottle of wine that the parents can either drink now, or set aside for their child to have on her 18th birth anniversary. I'm suspecting the latter will happen.
Also, it was a pot luck dinner for the shower. My chickpea ragout - from Jacques Pepin - was a hit, and I also brought 3 bottles of sparkling wine from 3 different countries: Germany (Henkell Troken), Italy and Spain (Friexel sp?) with the idea that people could sample the different varieties of pseudo-champagne. It was good. I think I like all of them in general, and would need more time to distinguish exactly which I like best.
February 7, 2008
Quote of the day
Q: Well, what do you win?
A: Usually first.
- An ice sculptor from the Yukon being interviewed on Sounds Like Canada this morning. He was describing what people often ask him, and what he likes to respond, so he gave both the Q and the A that I've labelled here.
A: Usually first.
- An ice sculptor from the Yukon being interviewed on Sounds Like Canada this morning. He was describing what people often ask him, and what he likes to respond, so he gave both the Q and the A that I've labelled here.
January 20, 2008
Master's champion
Was out in Regina this weekend playing racquetball. I played singles, and lost in the semi-finals of A, and I played 35+ doubles with Dave - although they had Bill written down on the draw by mistake - leading to "Bill" jokes all weekend long.
We won our first two matches in a four team round robin draw. One win was in a tie-breaker, and the other was in two straight games.
In our third and final game today, we start a bit slow, and the other guys are able to win the first game: 15-12, I think. In game two, I realize that the guy on my side is just killing us with his forehand shots when I try to kill the ball up the middle. So, I try keeping it to his backhand, hitting the ball down the left side wall. This works well, and we win game two going away, 15-7?.
In the tie-breaker, it's close early on, but then we put together a streak, and take a 8-2 lead. But after losing serve at 8-2, we never served again. They came back and won 11-8! Ugh!
Making it worse for me was that all their serves were to me. They got to 10-8 with the guy on my side serving lobs to my backhand, and somehow we just couldn't get a point for love nor money. Then after winning a rally to get them half down, the second guy comes in and also lobs to me. I hit an ok shot down the line, but it comes into the middle a bit and the guy serving kills it to win the game and match. Sigh.
I was really disappointed and felt I let Dave down. To have that large a lead and not win was deflating. The final record in our division had three teams at 2-1, including us, and one at 0-3. I wasn't concerned about where we finished after that loss.
So I go and have a shower, and sit in the great whirlpool that club has. Really enjoyable. Then I go to their little bar and try to order some food. The person working says they are short of food but someone's gone to get groceries. So, I'm not sure whether to order or wait or what Bob, the guy I drove out with, wants to do.
Now twice disappointed - by our loss and by the lack of food at the club - I figure I'll go look at the final doubles standings to see where we finished with the thought that we'll be 2nd or 3rd.
BUT NO! We finished first! Ha!
I had a good laugh at that.
We won our first two matches in a four team round robin draw. One win was in a tie-breaker, and the other was in two straight games.
In our third and final game today, we start a bit slow, and the other guys are able to win the first game: 15-12, I think. In game two, I realize that the guy on my side is just killing us with his forehand shots when I try to kill the ball up the middle. So, I try keeping it to his backhand, hitting the ball down the left side wall. This works well, and we win game two going away, 15-7?.
In the tie-breaker, it's close early on, but then we put together a streak, and take a 8-2 lead. But after losing serve at 8-2, we never served again. They came back and won 11-8! Ugh!
Making it worse for me was that all their serves were to me. They got to 10-8 with the guy on my side serving lobs to my backhand, and somehow we just couldn't get a point for love nor money. Then after winning a rally to get them half down, the second guy comes in and also lobs to me. I hit an ok shot down the line, but it comes into the middle a bit and the guy serving kills it to win the game and match. Sigh.
I was really disappointed and felt I let Dave down. To have that large a lead and not win was deflating. The final record in our division had three teams at 2-1, including us, and one at 0-3. I wasn't concerned about where we finished after that loss.
So I go and have a shower, and sit in the great whirlpool that club has. Really enjoyable. Then I go to their little bar and try to order some food. The person working says they are short of food but someone's gone to get groceries. So, I'm not sure whether to order or wait or what Bob, the guy I drove out with, wants to do.
Now twice disappointed - by our loss and by the lack of food at the club - I figure I'll go look at the final doubles standings to see where we finished with the thought that we'll be 2nd or 3rd.
BUT NO! We finished first! Ha!
I had a good laugh at that.
January 16, 2008
More photos from home
My friend Lynn and her pal Will dropped by earlier this month. Lynn was in town to visit her folks, and Will had tagged along. They live in London now. Will was fascinated by some of the bits of my house, and he took some pictures.
Will was particularly taken with the steam radiators. Such as this one:
My vintage microwave oven also caught Will's eye.
It was a Christmas present from my dad to my mom back in 1975. The sticker on the back says it was manufactured in "November 1975." Yes, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Five. "I know!" said in that Craig Ferguson sort of way. "I know some people that aren't as old my microwave!"
Will was particularly taken with the steam radiators. Such as this one:
My vintage microwave oven also caught Will's eye.
It was a Christmas present from my dad to my mom back in 1975. The sticker on the back says it was manufactured in "November 1975." Yes, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Five. "I know!" said in that Craig Ferguson sort of way. "I know some people that aren't as old my microwave!"
January 10, 2008
Picture of Paris
I went looking for Freud books (again!) yesterday, and came home with a little picture.
It's an image of Paris, and I think it's looking from the left bank to the right; that is, the view is to the northwest. The bridge would be Pont de l'Archevêché at the eastern end of the Ile de la Cité.
I liked it, because (a) it's Paris, and (b) it's done in a comic book kind of style. I'm not sure if it's a print or a watercolour. It could be taken out of a book, although it is signed. "Guy" d'something, perhaps. I can't make out the two noms autre than Guy.
The picture measures 9" by 12" for picture itself and 16" by 20.5" for the frame. It was $60, and I figure it'd be hard get something framed for that, so it was a good deal.
The person at the bookstore couldn't tell me anything about it, except that they probably bought it at an auction or from an estate that they'd purchased books at. The back of the picture is covered in brown paper with a local framer's name tag on it. I'm thinking this is the kind of style of framing that was done several years ago, so it's probably at least 25 years old.
In general, I'm happy with it. It's the kind of image that I'd wanted to have of Paris, but never found to my liking before.
It's an image of Paris, and I think it's looking from the left bank to the right; that is, the view is to the northwest. The bridge would be Pont de l'Archevêché at the eastern end of the Ile de la Cité.
I liked it, because (a) it's Paris, and (b) it's done in a comic book kind of style. I'm not sure if it's a print or a watercolour. It could be taken out of a book, although it is signed. "Guy" d'something, perhaps. I can't make out the two noms autre than Guy.
The picture measures 9" by 12" for picture itself and 16" by 20.5" for the frame. It was $60, and I figure it'd be hard get something framed for that, so it was a good deal.
The person at the bookstore couldn't tell me anything about it, except that they probably bought it at an auction or from an estate that they'd purchased books at. The back of the picture is covered in brown paper with a local framer's name tag on it. I'm thinking this is the kind of style of framing that was done several years ago, so it's probably at least 25 years old.
In general, I'm happy with it. It's the kind of image that I'd wanted to have of Paris, but never found to my liking before.
January 1, 2008
What I did NYD
Slept in. Watched some football, sadly seeing the Illini lose and those nasty Wolverines win. Cleaned out the fireplace, seeing the bottom of it for the first time in ages. Had a fire: "fire, fire, heh, heh."
Reading Stephen Brunt's Searching for Bobby Orr, which is quite good. Very interesting about how Orr got involved in hockey, and ended up with the Bruins; that's how far I've got in the story. Orr's 14. Definitely worth picking up if you've any interest in hockey, or sport in general.
Reading Stephen Brunt's Searching for Bobby Orr, which is quite good. Very interesting about how Orr got involved in hockey, and ended up with the Bruins; that's how far I've got in the story. Orr's 14. Definitely worth picking up if you've any interest in hockey, or sport in general.
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