Subject: ackanomic digest V3 #99
From: [email-masked] (ackanomic digest)
To: [email-masked]

ackanomic digest       Saturday, April 11 1998       Volume 03 : Number 099

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Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:01:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: [email-masked] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Subject: Acka: Challenge

> Aye, they don't.  I had to go down t' mailing list, read three hundred
> emails, type out one message using one hand because the other was lashed
> behind my back, pay 20 pounds per message for access, and still had to
> keep up the Chess web page.

> Duncan C. "still looking for 3 more Yorkshireman for the sketch" Richer

To Slakko, sometime President of Ackanomia, Swinger for SPAM, Web-Harfer,
Winner of a Cycle of Ackanomic, Officer of the Blue Cross, Chess-Umpire,
RuneMaker, Map-Harfer, SHEEP, and Religious Nutcase,

Greetings.

I have been retained by a certain Gingham Wearer, Clerk of the Courts,
wearer of the Purple Robe of Justice, Count Tabula, CSRR Officer, bearer
of the Great Trombone of Ackanomic, Crazy French-Scotsman, sometime Boy
Wonder, Swinger for Klinton, and also SHEEP and Religious Nutcase, to
deal with a matter of honour.

The Gingham Wearer would like to inform you that as a result of your
reference to Yorkshiremen, a traditional enemy of eir native Lancashire,
that e demands satisfaction upon the field of combat.  E awaits the
reply of your Second with the Subgame of your choice.

I remain, as always,

    Alfvaen, Speaker of Ackanomic, Praetor, Swinger for MetaMorph, owner
    of the Amber Banana Tree, Archaeologist, Officer of the Blue Cross,
    Founder of the Church of Azpiazu, Financier, Illuminatus, Registrar,
    Scorekeeper, Undead-Harfer, holder of the Little Lamb, and Second to
    The Gingham Wearer.

- --
- --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
Current Album--The Kinks:25 Years--The Ultimate Collection
Current Book--Sean Stewart:The Night Watch
the fact that empty is glorious is not the point.  --kaite mcgrew

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:08:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mitchell Harding <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: TMBSG

At 02:17 PM 4/11/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>I am requesting membership in They Might Be Slumbering Giants.
>
>GF

No problem here.

I have no idea if I have to send this message or not, being the slumbering
giant that I am.

Robert Sevin
<http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~mitcharf/>
"Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to
do."  - Jean-Paul Sartre 

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:15:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mitchell Harding <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Brrr

At 11:57 PM 1/25/98 -0500, you wrote:
>I return from vacation.
>
>Malenkai

Sure, this message is about 3 months old. But did anyone really appreciate
the significance of its subject line?

Harf,
Robert Sevin
<http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~mitcharf/>
Who used to be wearing a silly vacation hat.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:17:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Thierry Joffrain <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: TMBSG

>>I am requesting membership in They Might Be Slumbering Giants.
>>
>>GF
>
>No problem here.

Same here.

>I have no idea if I have to send this message or not, being the slumbering
>giant that I am.

Being the more active current member of TMBSG, I would like to proxy all my
votes and power of decision in that organization (if possible) to Robert
Sevin. That's more in the spirit of our little social group.

>"Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to
>do."  - Jean-Paul Sartre 

Quoting Sartre is like playing chess with Nietzsche,
CnH

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:20:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: JT Traub <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Challenge

>To Slakko, sometime President of Ackanomia, Swinger for SPAM, Web-Harfer,
>Winner of a Cycle of Ackanomic, Officer of the Blue Cross, Chess-Umpire,
>RuneMaker, Map-Harfer, SHEEP, and Religious Nutcase,
>
>Greetings.
>
>I have been retained by a certain Gingham Wearer, Clerk of the Courts,
>wearer of the Purple Robe of Justice, Count Tabula, CSRR Officer, bearer
>of the Great Trombone of Ackanomic, Crazy French-Scotsman, sometime Boy
>Wonder, Swinger for Klinton, and also SHEEP and Religious Nutcase, to
>deal with a matter of honour.
>
>The Gingham Wearer would like to inform you that as a result of your
>reference to Yorkshiremen, a traditional enemy of eir native Lancashire,
>that e demands satisfaction upon the field of combat.  E awaits the
>reply of your Second with the Subgame of your choice.
>
>I remain, as always,
>
>    Alfvaen, Speaker of Ackanomic, Praetor, Swinger for MetaMorph, owner
>    of the Amber Banana Tree, Archaeologist, Officer of the Blue Cross,
>    Founder of the Church of Azpiazu, Financier, Illuminatus, Registrar,
>    Scorekeeper, Undead-Harfer, holder of the Little Lamb, and Second to
>    The Gingham Wearer.

It is my honor as the second for Slakko to respond to this Challenge to his
Honor by accepting the Duel and naming the Contest of choice to be that of
Single Capture Go.

- --JT
- --
- --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
Current Album--The Kinks:25 Years--The Ultimate Collection
Current Book--Sean Stewart:The Night Watch
the fact that empty is glorious is not the point.  --kaite mcgrew

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:22:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mitchell Harding <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: TMBSG

>>I have no idea if I have to send this message or not, being the slumbering
>>giant that I am.
>
>Being the more active current member of TMBSG, I would like to proxy all my
>votes and power of decision in that organization (if possible) to Robert
>Sevin. That's more in the spirit of our little social group.

I resent the implication that I am less active than you. I'm not only the
most active player in our organization, I daresay that I am probably the
most active player in the entire game!

>>"Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to
>>do."  - Jean-Paul Sartre 
>
>Quoting Sartre is like playing chess with Nietzsche,

And there is no one I'd rather play chess with.

Robert Sevin
"I had a linguistics professor who said that it's man's ability to use
language that makes him the dominant species on the planet. That may be.
But I think there's one other thing that separates us from animals. We
aren't afraid of vacuum cleaners."
<http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~mitcharf/index.html>
Support the Harf Project: <http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~mitcharf/harfproj.html>
All your questions answered, all your problems solved:
<http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/mitch/ask820/ask820.html>

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:23:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: JT Traub <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Challenge

I apologize for not clipping the signature file of Alfvaens from my reply
to the challenge.. (just in case someone got confused :)

- --JT

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:36:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: JT Traub <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Challenge

I also hereby volunteer to referee the duel between Slakko and TGW.

- --JT

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:39:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: [email-masked] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Subject: Re: Acka: Brrr

> >I return from vacation.

> >Malenkai

> Sure, this message is about 3 months old. But did anyone really appreciate
> the significance of its subject line?

I always thought it had something to do with being "On Ice", myself...

- --
- --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
Current Album--This Mortal Coil:It'll End In Tears
Current Book--Sean Stewart:The Night Watch
We bought a mobile home.  We hang it from the ceiling of our daughter's room.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:11:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: Guy Fawkes <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Markovian Dream

On Sat, 11 Apr 1998, Tom Walmsley wrote:
> 
> I suggest that Markovian Dream become a church again.

I approve this suggestion.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:16:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: [email-masked] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Subject: Re: Acka: Markovian Dream

> > I suggest that Markovian Dream become a church again.

> I approve this suggestion.

As far as I know you're not a member of the new church, since you were
removed when you left...

- --
- --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
Current Album--This Mortal Coil:It'll End In Tears
Current Book--Sean Stewart:The Night Watch
"But only if the hate desires of copious wish and fishes' sires."  --Lars

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:21:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: [email-masked] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Subject: Acka: Building

I hereby announce that I am starting to build a Pyraic Frobnotzer.  It
will be completed in three days.

- --
- --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
Current Album--This Mortal Coil:It'll End In Tears
Current Book--Sean Stewart:The Night Watch
And the needers all insist upon it.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:23:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: Brian Raiter <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Count Tabula Reports

> As I promised to do once the Election started, I step down as
> DeeJay.  I believe this makes both Alfvaen and myself legal
> candidates.

Not necessarily. Your eligibility is determined at the time of
Nomination.

In fact, your resignation might require a brand new election to begin.

breadbox

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:34:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Brian Raiter <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CSR

> I am using my powers as CSRR to make the following CSR numbered 135 as
> delimited by THIS TEXT:
> 
> THIS TEXT
> Modify rule 594.21 by deleting the text "I am using one of my scientist for a
> day otzma cards and paying the required fee to make the following discovery
> for a Good Ballot Stuffer: "

Whoops! How embarrassing.

That text is not actually part of Rule 594.21. It shouldn't have
gotten copied in there. I'll remove it at once. (This won't affect the
rest of your CSR).

By the way, CSR 134 was accepted without objections.

breadbox

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:43:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: JT Traub <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Challenge to Slakko

I have been asked by the Honorable Slakko to, in case the previous Duel
was not well-formed, to reaccept the Challenge on his behalf naming the
Contest as Ghost.  As before, I will be more than happy to referee this
Duel.

- --JT

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:51:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mitchell Harding <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Brrr

At 03:39 PM 4/11/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>> >I return from vacation.
>
>> >Malenkai
>
>> Sure, this message is about 3 months old. But did anyone really appreciate
>> the significance of its subject line?
>
>I always thought it had something to do with being "On Ice", myself...

Ah, but (if I don't miss my guess) it is in fact a reference to the grand
ol' days of Ghost, as played on Acka IRC. I'm sure /dev/joe will recall, as
I believe he was the one to discover the wonders of the word "brrr"...

Robert Sevin

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 17:08:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Tom Walmsley" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: CFJ 563 (Hubert)

Hubert has been selected.

Clerk of the Courts
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Call For Judgement 563 - April 11, 1998
Subject: Duels
Initiator: /dev/joe (sent April 11, 1998, 16:54)
Judge: Hubert (selected April 11, 1998, 17:06)
Judgement: 

Statement:
  Single-Capture Go is not a valid choice of Contest for a Duel.

Reasoning:
  The game of Single-Capture Go played on April 11, 1998 illustrates
a possible way the game may end without a winner.  If all players become
doomed simultaneously, and no one player has the most letters on the
board immediately before this occurs, then the game ends with no winner.

In addition, I note the unlikely but possible situation where the players
try to play on the same space every play, until the grid is entirely
full of @'s.  In this case, the game continues, but nobody can legally
make a play, so each round lasts a full 3 days with no change in the grid,
and nobody ever becomes doomed.  This is a trickier case -- there are other
games which could also theoretically go on forever without a winner, but
which never reach a situation where it becomes *impossible* to have a
winner, such as Spades if the players always overbid, or Viruses if the
players always play symmetrically or a symmetric starting grid and never
knock each other out, which we have been considering OK for duels.  The
other argument is a stronger case here, but this argument is another
thought that came up on IRC.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 17:10:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Tom Walmsley" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CSR

> Whoops! How embarrassing.
> 
> That text is not actually part of Rule 594.21. It shouldn't have
> gotten copied in there. I'll remove it at once. (This won't affect the
> rest of your CSR).

I wasn't sure. I thought that possibly it was in there due to me not
specifying what part of my message was the discovery clearly enough. Still,
no harm done.

TGW.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 18:45:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Uri Bruck <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: The Infrequent Ackan Volume 1 Issue 18

> Party Chess Report
> 
> WEIGHTS GO HAYWIRE
> 
> This week saw even more craziness in weights. After the Chess-Umpire
> admitted that "some mistakes" had been made, itself after some prodding
> from the Gingham Wearer, steps were taken to prevent a future occurrence.
> These steps revealed that what originally looked to be a 3-way tie for
> Swinger weight supremacy actually had Niccolo leading by 5 and 6, on 103
> to Slakko's 98 and The Gingham Wearer's 97. The new system should be
> completely up and running, properly tested, in time to ensure that the
> Swinger Weights for the next Swingpoint Calculation are verifiably
> correct.

An interesting thing to note about the Weights of the top Weight Swinger
is the relatively high defensive component. Niccolo Flychuck owes a fifth
of eir Weight to defense, and despite having been checked twice in the
recent fortnight, once by Vulcan Swinger /dev/joe and once by SPAM Swinger
Slakko, managed to maintain both a defensive position and a high mobility
factor. Now that Party member and alegged ally Alfvaen is off the board,
it remain to be seen whether the only Capital Swinger in Party Hall
will continue to secure eir position, or actually set out on a campaign
against one or more of the other Swingers.

 > Meanwhile, in actual play there was just as much turmoil. The Gingham
> Wearer finally used the promotion capacities of Demons to their full
> devastating effect, converting two of them into Rooks in the one Play, and
> thereby checking both Alfvaen and Slakko.

This is a very significant and very interesting play. It was only a short
while ago that the first Demon promotion took place, and now The Gingham
Wearer, Swinger for Klingon, pulled out of a hat a briliant double
promotion which created a double check and earned him a stabber's knife.
While everyone's attention was diverted by the antics of the various
tornados on board, a contest which replaced the prior contest for control
of Center, The Gingham Wearer employed classic Klingon guile to set up his
pieces for a favorable position.
Slakko, who also previously enjoyed a high defensive componenet,
sacrificed a small portion of eir defense in order to save eir King in a a
grudge defensive move that put him in an attack posture towards Klingon's
offensive Demon. While Razor Boomerang also took a piece of the action and
captured one of the recently created rooks with eir archer. This is a
significant gain for a relatively new Swinger. Although there is no doubt
that the Klingon's Swinger move was well thought out, and masterfully
executed, in retrospect it appears to be the climax of a plan rather than
part of a long ranging campaign. This suggestes that Party Chess is still
played more as a tactical game than a strategic one. Recent game history
that attempt to create strategic advantages, such as during the battle for
Center that took place not too long ago, will be opposed by short term
coalitions of other Swingers, and this commentator now believes that real
strategic advantages would only be achieved by similar coalitions. With 8
Swingers now plotting to attain their own stabber's knives, Party Hall has
become a place of the most fascinating kind of turmoil. Tensions slowly
built on the Party Board resolve often in unexpected ways.

 > 
> Fortunately for Slakko, this check was not fatal, as there was a single
> escape route for his King. If Alfvaen had not been checked, then a
> two-Atomic Play play would have seen Slakko out of trouble a little more
> easily. However, the escape from check cost Slakko more Swinger Weight,
> dropping em just below Alfvaen. It will be interesting to see the Weight
> effect of Alfvaen's response, if indeed e somehow finds a successful
> response to the trap that The Gingham Wearer has sprung.
It would have been interesting indeed, however it should noted that
Alfvaen's Weight, just prior to eir Surrender, nearly matched the top
Weighing Swigner in terms of material and mobility, but lagged far behind
them in defense. This does raise the point of how well the defensive
component reflects one's ability to defend one's position. Weight is in
reality a simplification of the  various interactions and potential
interactions on the Party Board. The defens componenet reflect only the
direct support given by friendly pieces. It does not account for pieces
strategically pieces ready for intervention on behalf of eir allies, this
is balanced out by a similar simplification of the attack component. The
mutual supoprt of friendly pieces is characteristically an aspect of a
secure position, and hence, despite it being a simplification, it actually
does reflect a ture state, and I think recent events show that some
correlation exists between the defnsive component and survival. While
Alfvaen might have saved himself by blocking with another piece, that
would have served as a temporary remedy at best, and it is this
comentator's opinion that Alfvaen made the right choice by surrendring. 
Metmorph's position was a good position when it matched the position of
other Swingers, however, following the trouble the Metamorph Swinger got
into during th eprevious Free Fol All, he was unable to match  his
development with the development of other (then) leading Swingers, and was
forced to fall back to protect the achievments he had already made.
In such a case it is sometimes preferable to pull back, and restart with a
new position, and enjoy the new-Swinger benefits for a while. Knowing that
there is a Free For All coming up in a coupl eof days also helped ease
this decisions, otherwise, any Placement by the Harf Swinger would have
kept Alfvaen off the Party Board for a long while indeed. Thus, this
commentator hopes that Alfvaen's Party memebrs will not seriously consider
his offer to return the Swinger's office to the Party.

Niccolo Flychuck

 > 
> Meanwhile, the trap had the beneficial effect for The Gingham Wearer of
> boosting eir weight to 133.5, clearly a record under the current Weight
> calculation system, and one that looks as if it will stand for some time.
> It is unlikely that anyone will be able to prevent The Gingham Wearer
> taking maximum Swingpoints on Monday, reducing the battle to the minor
> placings.
> 
> But even these minor placings are now of more interest. With the passing
> of "Swinger Swingpoint Simplification", all non-zero-Weighted Swingers are
> eligible for Swingpoints. Further, with a new Swinger appearing this week
> (Koxvolio taking over the HARF party Swingership), the top prize has
> increased to a record 8 Swingpoints per fortnight.
> 
> So keep watching - with a Free For All due to start on Tuesday (further
> objections not being in evidence) things are likely to stay crowded for
> some time to come.
> 
> STOP PRESS: Alfvaenhas surrendered eir Board Position as MetaMorph
> swinger, while failing to see that a piece purchase was capable of
> preventing the Check from continuing.  The Gingham Wearer has now earned a
> second Stabber's Knife, tying em with Slakko for the lead in the Game of
> Party Chess.  Keep watching for more breaking Party Chess news!

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 22:22:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: Hubert <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Markovian Dream

On Sat, 11 Apr 1998, Guy Fawkes wrote:

> 
> 
> On Sat, 11 Apr 1998, Tom Walmsley wrote:
> > 
> > I suggest that Markovian Dream become a church again.
> 
> I approve this suggestion.

As do I.

- -Hubert

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot. 

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 22:51:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: Hubert <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Randomness

On Sat, 11 Apr 1998, Aaron V. Humphrey wrote:

> Oh, and Hubert and I are safe from the B-Ack for today, but it's on
> the trail of The Gingham Wearer for tomorrow...

Wondering how I ever got to the Wilds, I return to my house.

What about the rest of the ill-fated Rafting team of the past week?

- -Hubert

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot. 

------------------------------

End of ackanomic digest V3 #99
******************************