Tuesday Coffee

The Pause that Refreshes

Got back from a tournament in Figueira da Foz on Monday only to find that the internet in our house was disconnected. My wife had changed the internet provider to another because of some frustrating service issues, but unfortunately, the new system had not yet been installed.

It is now Tuesday and nothing has changed in the tech department. I am presently writing from a local coffee shop.

I have to admit that it is a secret pleasure to not be connected to the internet at home 24/24! We have become so much part of the internet during the past 20 years that we too often allow our daily routine to be one of constant responsiveness to emails and notifications of all sorts that come our way.

These past 36 hours have been liberating for me. And they have allowed me to catch up on all sorts of little things that I simply did not have the time for when I was connected to the ‘matrix’.

Like putting my filing system into order and up to date. Like sorting out all of the junk that has accumulated in my ‘inbox’ on my PC. I am beginning to feel human again…almost!

A Blast from the Past (Quebec)

I came across the above photo in the 1967 ChessReview Annual. The Quebec Carnival Open is a tradition in Quebec chess, I myself have played many times. In the photo above we can see Leslie Witt (extreme right), Jules Therien (next to him) playing Juda Sousman and Gerald Rubin. 

I never met Juda Sousman, but he was a strong player and the actual Quebec Champion when the photo was taken. If you are interested, both games ended in draws and the 4 tied for first. Rubin won the title.