Some "leftover" photos from Friday last week. It never ceases to fascinate me how the light falls differently at different times of the day; and sometimes a certain place you pass quite frequently can suddenly be illuminated in a very special light.
Sitting down on a bench to rest and just looking UP can also suddenly give you a new perspective on familiar surroundings.
The weather changed again for the weekend - Saturday was cooler, and quite windy; and on Sunday it rained most of the day. From the local newspaper. I knew that there were all sorts of things going in the city centre and park on the Saturday: At noon the annual celebration of the town's birthday (403), including a presentation of a new 'Borås Ambassador' (a new one appointed every year, and this time the Swedish/British pop singer Shirley Clamp, who was born here). And in the afternoon a Pride parade. For my own part, I was feeling tired though, and not inspired for neither long walks nor crowds of people. So I just had a generally lazy weekend at home (with just short walks closer to home).
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While resting my body, I explored a new way of exercising my brain. It was the giant chess game recently set up in the square downtown that inspired me. My dad taught me the basics way back in my childhood, but I can't say I ever really took to it (involving too much waiting - and rarely winning! - I found it rather boring). I think I've hardly played all since my teens. Now it occurred to me to check up on what I remembered, though; and I found the website Chess.com, where (among other things) you can play against "chess bots"... Just the thing when you want a partner with endless patience - but who never lets you wait too long for their next move! ;)
(I played on my tablet, resting against cushions on my bed - but I love this AI created image from Bing, with a chess board replacing the keyboard...)
9 comments:
You are adorable in this pic of you playing chess! Phil is extremely good at chess and has a lot of trophies and awards. He has played on chess.com. He says to tell you that gameknot.com is a really good website as well. He prefers that one.
I know exactly what you mean about the changing light adding so much to our familiar walks and places. And looking up is something I encourage everyone to do - unless they are walking on a busy street or uneven ground, of course :-)
Our weather was similar to yours on the Sunday, after the Saturday had been VERY warm (around 33C) and with high humidity levels; Sunday never got warmer than 20 or 21C in contrast, and it rained nearly all day.
PS: My experience with chess is similar to yours. I was taught the basics as a child but never could sit still long enough and was too easily bored with it. Nowadays, my mind is just so full with a lot of other things, I honestly can't be bothered to brush up on the game.
Ginny, if only I could make my hair look half as good as in the AI pic! ... ;-)
Say thanks to Phil for me for the tip, I might check it out to compare. I just tried the first chess website that came up for me when I searched. Starting (over) at age 69 I doubt I'm likely to advance very far with the game, it just occurred to me on a whim that it might be interesting to see how it works to play with a "bot" - and if I even remember the basics...
for a while, when I got my smart phone, about 2 back now, I played Scrabble with a bot and another word game. I really enjoyed playing with a bot more than a person. my brother is really good at chess or any other game. I can't play, can't rember who does what or why.. he beat me not matter what game we played when children. even Chinese checkers and monopoly all board games
you and AI did a beautiful graphic. love it
Meike, I can totally see why :) I'd have said the same only last week! For all I know, it might just be one of those whims that are bound to strike if you happen to be passing a giant chess game in the town square about two months before you'll be turning 69... (And how long it might last - or not - only time can tell!)
Thanks Sandra. I've been playing Words with Friends (similar to Scrabble) with a few friends online for many years, we just do a move now and then when we have the time (we're in different time zones as well). In between I sometimes play a few moves with a bot, if I'm in the mood for more.
In my family we used to play several different board games, and also card games. Some I liked better than others.
I was in the chess club in secondary school. I think these days I'd have to give some thought to the basic moves. Oh dear.
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