Cheaters July 16, 2006
Posted by dorigo in chess, computers, games, internet.3 comments
Yesterday I got a visit from a cheating chessplayer… He found my page after searching a web engine for the following combination of words: “connecting fritz to pogo chess“. Bad boy! Fritz, for those of you who are unfamiliar with computer chess, is one of the strongest chess playing programs… On a fast hardware, it can beat almost any player in the world.
Fraud is not just a way to make money, get away with a misdemeanor, or illegitimately obtain advantages. It is, apparently, a lot of fun. Sure, among the people who use a computer to win a chess game there are of course many frustrated individuals. Same goes with those who play bridge on pogo connecting to the same game with two different computers (they get a huge advantage, but not necessarily a winning one). Those who cheat obtain a higher ranking, get to play with strong opponents, get the dubious privilege of boasting about their score. But they also get an additional kick: they typically enjoy it. I am sure many would do it just for the sheer sake of it.
And unfortunately, I believe this is a widespread feeling, and it does not just apply to games, but to everyday life at least as much. People just can’t follow the rules of the game, and show it in the way they live their life. Dodging taxes, speeding, spending working time at the coffee machine or on the internet… All useful and enjoyable practices: but the additional bonus that by cheating one feels smarter than others - or, sometimes, the avoided scorn of seeing others cheating while one follows the rules - is really an important additive.
A box for the 16″ mirror July 16, 2006
Posted by dorigo in astronomy, personal, travel.add a comment
My dobsonian is transportable, but only barely so. The telescope weighs about 90 pounds, but can be taken apart in pieces which are cumbersome to move around but not too heavy. However, living in Venice makes these kinds of things harder, since my car is 800 meters and three bridges away.
The only time I did take the telescope to my car and back I found out it was a long, complex procedure, and I was exhausted by carrying the 30 lb mirror on my arms ”cake-style”, with great strain to the muscles. So I decided I had to construct a mirror box for an easier and safer transport.
I did it today. It took some design, buying the hardware, a little sawing and drilling, and a lot of sweating - I used as a workplace my terrace, which is invested by the sun and above 100 degrees right now.
Anyway, the pictures below show the result of my effort. In the first you see the box, closed and ready to be carried on your shoulders with the shoulder strap. In the second you see the arrangement of the interior: the floor of the box has seven rubber disks (barely visible, they are transparent) to support the mirror. The sides are lined with foam, and the cover has a large disk of foam which presses just hard enough on the mirror, when closed, to keep it firmly in place.
Overall, the woodworking is not perfect, but given the fact that I do not have a laboratory, but just a few tools, I am pleased by the functionality and appearance of the final product… Now I am ready to transport the scope to Padola, for a few sessions of deep-sky observations under really dark skies.
