Since a lot of go players also have an interest in Asian culture, this story might be interesting:

For the fan who has everything (else)



¥42.88 million is, of course, about $420,000.

And 3 kg is about 96 ounces of gold, which has a value of about $121,000. I think I'll pass if it is not pure gold.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

I'll take US$121,000 of whatever gold.

@DrStraw It's probably pure gold. The mark up is for the exclusivity. In a black market no one gives a detritus but for a collector, people will pay a lot to be the only one to have it.

Gold bug here. I've bought, researched and studied precious metals for years. Love the stuff.

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If you have any food related questions or thoughts, share them here viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10351

Oops. sorry. I read $42,000, hence my assumption it was not 24 karat. I am with you on the gold bug issue althought it sound like you probably have a whole lot more than I.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

Nothing to do with gold soccer balls, but England are chronically overrated every tournament.

(If only the US could have gotten a better group....)

Is this tournament now in progress? And is Japan playing in it?

(Yes, I know I could look it up, but I am to lazy because it really doesn't interest me that much. Now, if it were cricket ..... ).

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

Yes, Japan are in it, and they just scored to go up 1-0 over Ivory Coast in their first game

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Todd K. Pedlar
Associate Professor of Physics, Luther College
Decorah, IA

And gave up two in the second half...

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

To lose 1-2 in their opener.

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

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I never hear hype for England (who i think just got eliminated)

I usually hear Brazil, Germany, Spain. Sometimes Italy and France.

But Spain played poorly this time.
Brazil I'm not impressed. I'm surprised Mexico didn't score on them at least twice.
Germany I missed.

And I'm so mad at Altidore(USA).

Slightly hyped for Netherlands. Missed both the Chile games. Can't wait to see how USA does.

And that's everything I know about this world cup haha.
I wish I could get hyped for more teams though. I just don't know who to pay attention to.

I usually don't care about soccer, but I really hope Japan makes it a little further, just for their mascot =)

Go has the ear-reddening move. Football has Luís Suárez.

Are you saying that black stone should have received a 2-year ban? Or are you implying it left a mark?

the Netherlands against Mexico. Just in Time. I almost started to despair but then there were Kuyt, Robben, Sneijder and Van Huntelaar. Hup Holland hup!

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I think I am so I think I am.

It was a game of strategy. First half, NL had rest to avoid running like mad for 90 minutes in the tropic heat. Second half, NL actually played soccer. Then came Robben in good old Maradona style, but instead of a Hand of God Robben fell for the devil just in time.

Don't forget the ref's unwillingness to book uber-diver Robben for his flops. Disgraceful from a neutral's perspective.

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- Brady
Want to see videos of low-dan mistakes and what to learn from them? Brady's Blunders

Just to avoid my own bias I watched this match on the neutral Belgian TV station. They clearly stated that Robben was denied a sure penalty earlier. They assumed the referee restored the balance of his decisions. Apart from that Robben was unjustful hindered in the penalty area and by implication deserved the penalty. At least as much as Brazil deserved its penalty in the first match. Objectivity is needed more than neutrality.
@Robert: I guess Oranje avoided in the first half to attack because that would be at the hot sunny side of the stade. In the second half they could attack over the right side in the shade. I advised this strategy to dutch coach and I was glad he listened to me.

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I think I am so I think I am.

Did these Belgians also refer to the first half incident where the Mexican striker was kicked in the face in the penalty area? That was probably the worst incident in the game, certainly the most dangerous (admittedly hard for the referee to see from his angle). I very much doubt good referees "balance the books" - that's a really dangerous path to go down.

Note that I don't think Robben's theatrical fall at the end was a particularly egregious dive. I would say that the Mexican defender was tired and lost concentration, and made a clumsy challenge. He made it easy for the referee to give the penalty. Mexico paid for relaxing during the second half after their goal - they surrendered the initiative to the Netherlands, and couldn't reclaim it when they needed it.