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[quote=captcha]Keeping my mouth shut while he’s playing other kids is hard.[/quote]

It is super-important to do so (keep mouth shut), though.

Hard to explain how important it is to learn by failure. Better to keep track of the moves and go over the mistakes after the fact than to help them.

One thing you can do w/ your kids is switch places every 8 moves or so. You start as white, then switch to black, then back. You get to see your own weaknesses this way.

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[quote=briansd1][quote=walterwhite]I think chess can teach us much about the housing market.[/quote]

Gaming theory is very useful in economics.

Chess is too rational. Poker is more like real life.[/quote]

+1 on the bold part.

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I bet temeculaguy has a man-cave, too.

‘cept he calls it a “house”

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[quote=Ren]Ideally it would be fully finished, insulated, and vented for HVAC.[/quote]

Wouldn’t that make it more likely for females to possibly enter?

Save the money on HVAC – make it hot in the Summer and freezing in the Winter and even more man-friendly.

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You got me thinking about this man-cave thing. I don’t really have one – just my shop in the new garage with power tools, workbench, electronix station, small TV to watch games while I build, etc.

I’m really missing the other kind – the sit/relax/drink/play/TV room. So, I think I really need 2 man-caves. One where I can build stuff and other where I can play stuff because I would get sawdust all over the pool table if they were 1 cave. My ultimate cave would really be a game room for the family.

To have it all, I would include, in order or priority: big TV with gaming console, computer station, small bar, resizable poker/game/puzzle table for 4 to 10 players, pool table or bumper pool table/foosball/shuffleboard/air hockey, drum-kit. Might include a small project table for crafts and smaller shop projects.

Navydoc’s room scores points for the big TV and dark wood but is disqualified as a man-cave due to the pillows on the couch, flowery art on the walls and the effeminate lamp. Don’t get me wrong – it’s very nice, but it’s like wearing designer jeans to a rodeo.

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I can help you there. My son started playing as a 4-year old and is now 10. I never played but, like you are planning to do, I learned as he learned.

You have lots of options.

1) Fritz and Chesster software / game. This is the best way for kids to learn, I think. It is designed for kids but teaches serious chess. The software technology is a little outdated but as a teaching tool, is simply excellent – fun, funny, educational. Dad will learn alot, too. There are 3 levels. I discovered it after my son already knew the game so we started with level 2 and have not yet bought 3. If your kids knows how to castle, know what en passant means, know the value of each piece, have basic check-mating skills, they may be able to skip level 1. Level 2 introduces forks, skewers, pins, endgame, openings. So much to learn and a really fun package.

2) I find chess books horrible. Very complicated, hard to follow. Have to spend way too much time reading to understand anytyhing useful. Even books written for beginners are annoyingly unclear and dry.

Only exception I found is – Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. It is a series of situational puzzles that end up teaching alot. My son went through this book before he could read. I read him the problems and he solved them. Starts out very simple and gets very tricky later on. Lots of fun.

A book called Traps and Zaps would be a second choice later on.

3) chess.com – allows you to play correspondence chess w/ your kids. It is difficult to find time to play a full game, so I play him online and we each have 7 days to move. Can play from home, work, iPad, etc. He can play when he gets home from school and I can play after he goes to bed. I travelled last week but continued playing chess w/ my son and friends. Chess.com seems to have a rich learning environment also but I haven’t gone there.

4) San Diego chess club. We went once when he was 5 years old but the kids’ night lasted until 9:30 or 10 pm and it was just too late for him, even on Friday. I hassled them about it and they refused to move it earlier. I was annoyed. We should probably check back in on that now that he is 10.

FYI – I took my son to a tournament at the chess club. The choice was beginner or intermediate. He was beating everyone at his school so I put him in intermediate and he got creamed. So, those are good players down there, compared to after-school chess players, I’d say.

5) For your son, not you, check for after school programs. A guy named Larry Evans runs them in San Diego. Mountain Chess or something like that.

6) Summer camps. Did a week-long Larry Evans camp one Summer and he really enjoyed it.

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Check the shadows ?

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I’m not sure I would say those programs are “working” (i.e. stabilizing the housing market).

I think I would say that people are expecting them to start working and are waiting for a better market to sell.

Simultaneously, those who want / need to sell are tired of waiting for a better market and giving in to lower offers.

This combined w/ a Jumbo limit of $545K that forces buyers to stay below $545K +

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[quote=bearishgurl][quote=flu]Here we go again….[/quote]

Funny, I was just saying this same thing to Piggs in pm. Same tired old subject. Same ignoramus comments stemming from trash-talk put out by “MSM pundits” located in NYC!

Go figure ….

The Piggs need a CA “civics lesson” here…..[/quote]

FLU knows all about Asian cars. He can tell you whatever you need to know about Civics.

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[quote=walterwhite]It’s part of an effort to cut Internet usage by 95 percent.[/quote]

Does this mean your average post length will go from 10 words to 1/2 of a word ?

Seriously, check for used phones on ebay. Can always get a working cell phone for $15 to $30.

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[quote=sdrealtor]I just played 36 holes of golf in the desert with one of them yesterday. He asked me why I couldn’t just put the smartphone down for a few hours and enjoy the game. I told him I needed to keep working so my taxes could cover his green fees. He just smirked and continued kicking my ass on the golf course.[/quote]

– post of the month nominee

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Even if you like to haggle, at least find out the costco price and use it as a starting point for other dealers.

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Camping and being a tourist in my hometown of Tucson.

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Wow. This is the first time in about 30 years that I missed the first day of the tourney. I thought it started next week. Looks like soccer has completely taken over cuz I watched the Chelsea / Napoli game yesterday.

So, thanks for the heads up. The Pac-12 is a disaster this year. No Wildcats. No Cardinal. I went to grad school just so I would double my chances of having a team in the tournament.

SDSU is all I have this season.

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Try costco. They sell at invoice +/- X where X varies depending on the car.

I have bought three cars using costco. Best way to go, I think. Then you don’t have to hunt for rebates, haggle, etc.

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