Getting Out Of Debt

I have to admit, I never thought I would learn to play chess. The game gets a bad rap, especially on TV shows and in movies. Let's face it; it's never a bunch of cool kids whenever they show the chess club and it always leads to bunch of bad stereotypes.

My first venture in to the game of chess came at age eighteen. My brother was home for the weekend from school and asked if I wanted to play him. I laughed and let him know that wouldn't be happening any time soon. But my brother being who he is, he persisted and I ended up relenting to his imploring.

As we sat down to the chess board, I was not expecting much. Honestly, I thought it was going to be more like checkers when I looked at the board. How wrong I was. It was nothing like checkers! All of the different pieces enthralled me and caught my imagination. And how they moved, this was truly a new and exciting experience for me. It was a game of strategy and I was immediately hooked. In fact, I was the one who ended up doing the pestering to play chess from then on, although he never complained.

It never gets old for me. There's always a new strategy to try and no reason to follow the same pattern. No other game provides the constant promise of combining moves and game pieces in an attack manner that differs each time I sit down at a chess board. Sometimes I sacrifice my pawns to pave the way for my more important pieces to assail my opponent. Other times I like to let my knights go charging ahead of the pack to see just how much damage I can do with those two pieces. I like to have fun with it, never forgetting why I became hooked on the game.

This game lets you be creative and actually use your mind. It's not just a bunch of button pushing and loud noises, which are all videogames are these days. It allows true face-to-face interaction with another player. The game forces you to see your opponent, hear your opponent, and study your opponent. When was the last time that a videogames was able to give you that? So give it a try if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed.

Bradford Roegner is webmaster for BraRoe Quality Chess Sets. He is available to help provide people with the tools to bring chess into their life. You can contact him Bradford@braroechess.com any time with questions.

AP - Move over, Tina Fey, there's a new Sarah Palin impersonator in town.

UTAH JAZZ 25-27

What has changed: It didnt take long for the Jazz to rebound from the old Stockton/Malone team. Already theyre vying for the postseason and with their cast of defensive characters have a shot.

The Utah Jazz are a playoff team if not for their wide array of injuries. Kirilenko, McLeod, Giricek, Harpring and Boozer have combined to miss 100 games this season. Right when Carlos Boozer came back they immediately lost Giricek and McLeod to injuries.

Andrei Kirilenko is the does-it-all leader of the team who doesnt get enough press. His 15.7 points, 8.4 RPG, 4.1 APG (team-high), 1.62 steals and 2.81 blocks are certainly All-Star worthy. Mehmet has also proven to be worth the money with his team high 17.8 points. Journeyman Milt Palacio has settled into Utah with his penetration game and has taken the starting job over Deron Williams.

Utah is a very good defensive team. They hold their opponents to just 92.9 a game, are 8th in opponents FG%, 3rd in rebounding, 3rd in blocks and 5th in allowing assists. Theyre defense has made them the only team to beat the Detroit Pistons twice this year.

But for as good as this team is defensively they struggle just as mightily on offense. The Jazz score just 90 a game, are 28th in FG%, dead last in 3P% and 27th in turnovers. How is it possible for a team with stats that bad to be just a game back of the playoffs?

They do some things well. It is the Jazz after all, so you can expect a lot of pick & rolls and set plays. They are in the top 10 in assists but they could be number one if they converted more of their shots. At times an outside shot is nearly impossible to come by. Okur is shooting just 36.7 from the 3-pt line, yet hes actually leading the team.

Another issue isnt just what shots are being taken but whos taking them. Kirilenko and Okur are good off-the-ball scorers but shouldnt be a teams go-to-guy. Really the Jazz are a team that you could plug a Vince Carter or T-Mac in and theyd be a great team. But a lot of the times its scorer by committee and they suffer for it.

Utahs defense is good enough that they should be able to topple the Lakers if they can just stay healthy. Theyre reasonably deep and can match up to any team they face. But their offense is so deficient that thats what could ruin their season. If Boozer can make his way onto the starting lineup, then I like their chances of making the playoffs.

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Dear Abby - DEAR ABBY: Please help me. I wasn't sure how to handle an uncomfortable situation last Halloween, and your answer will help me be better prepared this year.

It's nice to surf the net, browse cool websites and play online games. But do you ever think that your computer is at risk by the time you are doing all these stuff? Yes. Your computer is in a big risk. Keep your computer safe while getting in the Internet. How? Use a Firewall to secure your computer from offensive Internet sites and even from online hackers. What does a firewall do?

Firewall serves as a block or a wall in your computer from the Internet and in a computer from another computer inside a network. It neutralizes every data-entry that goes out from your computer to the Internet and from the Internet to your computer. It is somehow similar with the physical firewall that blocks your house from physical fires. Thus, keeps your house safe from being burned and/or blocks an entry from any unauthorized person.

For a more technical definition, a firewall is a software or hardware, designed to filter online information from the web to your computer. When you go to a website you send in information from your computer to the Internet. This information is considered as special commands. Each special command (data) is sent through packets. The packets sent need to abide online rules that are virtually set. If a packet fails to abide it, it will be discarded inside the network, meaning, it will not reach it's destination. Firewall is designed to work that way. It will not let unauthorized packets to get in through such network passage without complying on the protocol.

There are several types of firewall. Two common firewalls: Personal firewall (which is a special program installed in your computer), Virtual or Online Firewalls (which resides inside the Network). Personal firewall protects the computer itself while Online firewall protects the online network (the Internet).

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AP - Families in this Iraqi border village prepared to hold funerals Monday for eight people they say were killed when U.S. military helicopters launched an extremely rare attack on Syrian territory. Local clergy washed the bodies as angry residents gathered nearby chanting "May God's wrath fall on them."

QinetiQ Group PLC, a British defense technology company, claimed on Sunday, August 24, that its ultra lightweight plane has broken the world record for the longest lasting unmanned flight.

According to QinetiQ, the aircraft, which is called the Zephyr, flew for 83 hours and 37 minutes straight. That is more than twice the official world record set by Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk back in 2001. It is also longer than the Zephyr's accomplishment last year, which was 54 hours of continuous flight.

QinetiQ, however, will not be celebrating anytime soon. The reported flight time of the Zephyr may not get into record books, because it did not meet the criteria laid down by the world's air sports federation, which is the body responsible for measuring and verifying air and space records.

"We were concentrating more on the flight than the record," said QinetiQ spokesman Douglas Millard.

The Zephyr, which has potential in the fields of reconnaissance and communications, is built from carbon fiber and features paper thin solar panels. It weighs 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and was launched by hand on July 28 in the Arizona desert in the United States. The aircraft was flown by autopilot and via satellite to an altitude of over 18,000 meters (60,000 feet), QinetiQ said.

During the day, the ultra lightweight was powered by the sun. At night, it relied on its rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries.

QinetiQ stated that the Zephyr's more than three-day flight was witnessed by US and British defense officials. Still, it does not change the fact that the record is likely to remain unofficial.

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Politico - Barack Obama will conclude what aides referred to as a 10-day "red state tour" Monday, a trip that culminated in a two-day swing through three key Western states.