After the EOSC
Jane Williams asks how much talk there is about the new Collins word list over here. I'm looking forward to QIN# myself, and will probably have the hardest time stopping playing FOHS, FREON(S), LERNAEAN, ROMAS, TANAISTE(S), TIEROD(S), WASM(S), YOS and ZIMMER(S) myself: these are everyday words, what was Collins thinking?!
I sent out email on the Toronto club mailing list asking how many people wanted me to bring back copies of the new Collins Scrabble Words and Collins Scrabble Lists books; I was surprised (and relieved) that only three people did. The Air Malta connector to Heathrow is a regional airline with miniscule baggage limits.
Amy Byrne, the tournament director, is also the proprietor of Tilefish, so she had a whole bunch of CSWs and CSLs on display at the Tilefish merchandise table. Most people here are going to wait a few months before they start studying; and WSC contenders will probably wait until after the WSC. Theresa though has eagerly downloaded the WESPA pamphlet listing the major changes, and started studying them yesterday in the middle of the European Open. It doesn't seemed to have harmed her play (she was Gibsonized in the last round), so maybe other players will take a cue from her.
Kristen says things have been relatively quiet back home. There was one call from ABC Australia, I'm guessing from the morning show that interviewed me about Scrabulous; she referred them to JDW. One Toronto Star journo managed to track me down directly, and got about 15 minutes of my time. She seemed surprised (though not particularly interested) to learn that by the time CSW2 takes effect worldwide, about 10% of NASPA members will have played in a NASPA CSW tournament. (Somewhere in an alternate reality were Scrabble players rule the world, this is frontpage news.)
I just got up from sleeping with interruptions for about eleven hours, on this my first night between the European Open Scrabble Championship and the Malta International Scrabble Open (mm, MISO...). I had a little bit of trouble getting to sleep, probably due to too much caffeine over the last couple of days, but I'm glad I'm up in time for lunch, and may even have time to do a bit of yoga beforehand.
After we finished tearing down from the Open last night, we looked for somewhere nearby that was open on a Monday night, the usual closing night for restaurants around here. We ended up nextdoor to the hotel at a place called Al Dente, which served either a combination of Italian and Maltese food, or possibly Italian food for Maltese palates, or Maltese food for Italian palets: I would have asked, but I had to go to the restaurant, place my order, go back to the hotel, tear down the Ethernet equipment, take it up to my room, go back to the restaurant, eat my appetizer, go out to call the Toronto Star back, then bolt my risotto while everyone was finishing up. The food was good, though; I enjoyed it a little more than last night's spaghetti with sea urchin and calamari sauce at Avenue in Paceville, which wasn't bad either, just a little too much of a good thing. Photos of both can be found on Facebook (no login should be required), in my trip album.
I'm very much aware at all times of being on an island in the Mediterranean. As if the scenery (see album) weren't enough, we're right next to the water, so you can feel it in the air, and there's something calming in the sound of being next to a large body of water. The tap water is brackish and heavily chlorinated: it is salty to the taste, but sitting in a tub of it smells like sitting in a swimming pool. Potable fresh water is at a premium, and not freely available anywhere except in the Scrabble tournament room when it is in session. And of course the food, which is in the middle of the Mediterranean spectrum, and is palatable even when it's been sitting on a hotel buffet for an hour.
Off to see if I can still get lunch, before leaving at 15:00 to go play and run in an unrated tournament for ten players at Theresa and Geoff's.
I sent out email on the Toronto club mailing list asking how many people wanted me to bring back copies of the new Collins Scrabble Words and Collins Scrabble Lists books; I was surprised (and relieved) that only three people did. The Air Malta connector to Heathrow is a regional airline with miniscule baggage limits.
Amy Byrne, the tournament director, is also the proprietor of Tilefish, so she had a whole bunch of CSWs and CSLs on display at the Tilefish merchandise table. Most people here are going to wait a few months before they start studying; and WSC contenders will probably wait until after the WSC. Theresa though has eagerly downloaded the WESPA pamphlet listing the major changes, and started studying them yesterday in the middle of the European Open. It doesn't seemed to have harmed her play (she was Gibsonized in the last round), so maybe other players will take a cue from her.
Kristen says things have been relatively quiet back home. There was one call from ABC Australia, I'm guessing from the morning show that interviewed me about Scrabulous; she referred them to JDW. One Toronto Star journo managed to track me down directly, and got about 15 minutes of my time. She seemed surprised (though not particularly interested) to learn that by the time CSW2 takes effect worldwide, about 10% of NASPA members will have played in a NASPA CSW tournament. (Somewhere in an alternate reality were Scrabble players rule the world, this is frontpage news.)
I just got up from sleeping with interruptions for about eleven hours, on this my first night between the European Open Scrabble Championship and the Malta International Scrabble Open (mm, MISO...). I had a little bit of trouble getting to sleep, probably due to too much caffeine over the last couple of days, but I'm glad I'm up in time for lunch, and may even have time to do a bit of yoga beforehand.
After we finished tearing down from the Open last night, we looked for somewhere nearby that was open on a Monday night, the usual closing night for restaurants around here. We ended up nextdoor to the hotel at a place called Al Dente, which served either a combination of Italian and Maltese food, or possibly Italian food for Maltese palates, or Maltese food for Italian palets: I would have asked, but I had to go to the restaurant, place my order, go back to the hotel, tear down the Ethernet equipment, take it up to my room, go back to the restaurant, eat my appetizer, go out to call the Toronto Star back, then bolt my risotto while everyone was finishing up. The food was good, though; I enjoyed it a little more than last night's spaghetti with sea urchin and calamari sauce at Avenue in Paceville, which wasn't bad either, just a little too much of a good thing. Photos of both can be found on Facebook (no login should be required), in my trip album.
I'm very much aware at all times of being on an island in the Mediterranean. As if the scenery (see album) weren't enough, we're right next to the water, so you can feel it in the air, and there's something calming in the sound of being next to a large body of water. The tap water is brackish and heavily chlorinated: it is salty to the taste, but sitting in a tub of it smells like sitting in a swimming pool. Potable fresh water is at a premium, and not freely available anywhere except in the Scrabble tournament room when it is in session. And of course the food, which is in the middle of the Mediterranean spectrum, and is palatable even when it's been sitting on a hotel buffet for an hour.
Off to see if I can still get lunch, before leaving at 15:00 to go play and run in an unrated tournament for ten players at Theresa and Geoff's.