NBA 2022 MVP race – part 4

(Originally posted on Sunday, 27 March 2022)

Part 4 ends with games played on 26 March 2022.

All the statistical data I used I found on this site:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/

I described my way of calculating the MVP and the MFP values in these posts:
Comparing NBA MVPs
Most frustrated NBA players

Before the 2021-22 season is over I have to make mathematical projections of the MVP and the MFP values. The assumption behind the projections is that every player and every team will play exactly the same way they have been playing so far (the numbers of projected team wins are rounded to whole numbers).

Because of the pandemic some players have already missed some games due to safety protocols without any fault of their own. It means that the results are/will be skewed and there's nothing I can do about it. Well, some injuries happen also without any fault of the players and it also influences the results. We have to live with it.

With the assumptions described above, the current NBA 2022 MVP race list is this:

1. Nikola Jokic:    1957.9    (projected team wins: 48)
2. Devin Booker:    1871.4    (projected team wins: 66)
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo:    1828.8    (projected team wins: 51)
4. Joel Embiid:    1809.8    (projected team wins: 52)
5. Jayson Tatum:    1706.4    (projected team wins: 51)
6. Stephen Curry:    1601.7    (projected team wins: 53)
7. Karl-Anthony Towns:    1545.8    (projected team wins: 47)
8. DeMar DeRozan:    1524.3    (projected team wins: 48)
9. Chris Paul:    1513.7    (projected team wins: 66)
10. Luka Doncic:    1472.8    (projected team wins: 50)
11. Ja Morant:    1464.0    (projected team wins: 57)
12. Mikal Bridges:    1428.8    (projected team wins: 66)
13. Trae Young:    1404.6    (projected team wins: 41)
14. Desmond Bane:    1343.2    (projected team wins: 57)
15. Donovan Mitchell:    1334.2    (projected team wins: 50)
16. Deandre Ayton:    1296.3    (projected team wins: 66)
17. Jaren Jackson Jr.:    1263.4    (projected team wins: 57)
18. Nikola Vucevic:    1243.4    (projected team wins: 48)
19. Rudy Gobert:    1243.0    (projected team wins: 50)
20. Zach LaVine:    1238.2    (projected team wins: 48)

Nikola Jokic is the leader of the race, but I think his team's seed is too low for him to win the MVP award. I think Devin Booker will not win the MVP award over Chris Paul. Giannis Antetokounmpo already has two MVP awards, so it seems that this year belongs to Joel Embiid.


With the same assumptions (described above) the current NBA 2022 MFP list is this:

1. Christian Wood:    954.0    (projected team wins: 22)
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:    877.6    (projected team wins: 23)
3. Saddiq Bey:    846.6    (projected team wins: 22)
4. Dejounte Murray:    810.3    (projected team wins: 33)
5. Franz Wagner:    790.3    (projected team wins: 22)
6. Wendell Carter Jr.:    784.1    (projected team wins: 22)
7. LeBron James:    769.8    (projected team wins: 35)
8. Cole Anthony:    722.0    (projected team wins: 22)
9. Jonas Valanciunas:    690.9    (projected team wins: 34)
10. Cade Cunningham:    665.7    (projected team wins: 22)
11. Harrison Barnes:    663.5    (projected team wins: 30)
12. Trae Young:    650.9    (projected team wins: 41)
13. Jae'Sean Tate:    648.8    (projected team wins: 22)
14. De'Aaron Fox:    648.0    (projected team wins: 30)
15. Julius Randle:    646.4    (projected team wins: 35)
16. Mo Bamba:    631.5    (projected team wins: 22)
17. Russell Westbrook:    604.0    (projected team wins: 35)
18. Jerami Grant:    571.8    (projected team wins: 22)
19. Darius Bazley:    566.8    (projected team wins: 23)
20. Kyle Kuzma:    561.0    (projected team wins: 35)

Currently there is only 1 player in the top-20 both on the MVP list and on the MFP list – Trae Young (13th and 12th).

NBA 2022 MVP race – part 3

(Originally posted on Thursday, 24 February 2022)

Part 3 ends with games played on 17th February 2022.

All the statistical data I used I found on this site:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/

I described my way of calculating the MVP and the MFP values in these posts:
Comparing NBA MVPs
Most frustrated NBA players

Before the 2021-22 season is over I have to make mathematical projections of the MVP and the MFP values. The assumption behind the projections is that every player and every team will play exactly the same way they have been playing so far (the numbers of projected team wins are rounded to whole numbers).

Because of the pandemic some players have already missed some games due to safety protocols without any fault of their own. It means that the results are/will be skewed and there's nothing I can do about it. Well, some injuries happen also without any fault of the players and it also influences the results. We have to live with it.

With the assumptions described above, the current NBA 2022 MVP race list is this:

1. Chris Paul:    1948.8    (projected team wins: 68)
2. Nikola Jokic:    1875.2    (projected team wins: 47)
3. Stephen Curry:    1869.3    (projected team wins: 58)
4. Devin Booker:    1864.7    (projected team wins: 68)
5. DeMar DeRozan:    1734.7    (projected team wins: 53)
6. Giannis Antetokounmpo:    1720.3    (projected team wins: 49)
7. Joel Embiid:    1639.3    (projected team wins: 49)
8. Ja Morant:    1462.3    (projected team wins: 56)
9. Jayson Tatum:    1432.5    (projected team wins: 46)
10. Nikola Vucevic:    1405.5    (projected team wins: 53)
11. Luka Doncic:    1392.5    (projected team wins: 49)
12. Mikal Bridges:    1387.9    (projected team wins: 68)
13. Karl-Anthony Towns:    1352.9    (projected team wins: 43)
14. Trae Young:    1329.4    (projected team wins: 40)
15. Zach LaVine:    1311.8    (projected team wins: 53)
16. Donovan Mitchell:    1300.1    (projected team wins: 51)
17. Fred VanVleet:    1273.7    (projected team wins: 46)
18. Desmond Bane:    1261.3    (projected team wins: 56)
19. Jaren Jackson Jr.:    1252.0    (projected team wins: 56)
20. Rudy Gobert:    1231.9    (projected team wins: 51)

Recently I felt as if something (somebody?) were pushing me to make my MVP calculations and I wondered why. When I look at the list above I know why – this year Chris Paul had a legit shot at the MVP award. It seems that Phoenix Suns could win 68 games! Unfortunately he suffered an injury and his MVP value will go down very quickly.

It's worth to notice that DeMar DeRozan, after his historic span of games (that will hopefully last even longer), climbed to the 5th place ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid. And Ja Morant is 8th – so far he has never been so high on the list.


With the same assumptions (described above) the current NBA 2022 MFP list is this:

1. Christian Wood:    970.4    (projected team wins: 21)
2. Saddiq Bey:    911.9    (projected team wins: 18)
3. Franz Wagner:    875.3    (projected team wins: 18)
4. Wendell Carter Jr.:    865.5    (projected team wins: 18)
5. Dejounte Murray:    824.5    (projected team wins: 32)
6. Cole Anthony:    779.4    (projected team wins: 18)
7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:    738.2    (projected team wins: 25)
8. Jonas Valanciunas:    726.2    (projected team wins: 32)
9. Jae'Sean Tate:    707.1    (projected team wins: 21)
10. Julius Randle:    669.4    (projected team wins: 35)
11. Trae Young:    664.7    (projected team wins: 40)
12. Harrison Barnes:    663.8    (projected team wins: 30)
13. Mo Bamba:    654.7    (projected team wins: 18)
14. Cade Cunningham:    652.7    (projected team wins: 18)
15. Josh Giddey:    647.9    (projected team wins: 25)
16. LeBron James:    639.5    (projected team wins: 38)
17. Luguentz Dort:    622.0    (projected team wins: 25)
18. De'Aaron Fox:    607.8    (projected team wins: 30)
19. Brandon Ingram:    591.8    (projected team wins: 32)
20. Jusuf Nurkic:    585.3    (projected team wins: 35)

Currently there is only 1 player in the top-20 both on the MVP list and on the MFP list – Trae Young (14th and 11th).

No comment (4)

(Originally posted on Saturday, 19 February 2022)

NBA 2022 MVP race – part 2

(Originally posted on 30 January 2022)

Part 2 ends with games played on 29 January 2022.

All the statistical data I used I found on this site:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/

I described my way of calculating the MVP and the MFP values in these posts:
Comparing NBA MVPs
Most frustrated NBA players

Before the 2021-22 season is over I have to make mathematical projections of the MVP and the MFP values. The assumption behind the projections is that every player and every team will play exactly the same way they have been playing so far (the numbers of projected team wins are rounded to whole numbers).

Because of the pandemic some players have already missed some games due to safety protocols without any fault of their own. It means that the results are/will be skewed and there's nothing I can do about it. Well, some injuries happen also without any fault of the players and it also influences the results. We have to live with it.

With the assumptions described above, the current NBA 2022 MVP race list is this:

1. Stephen Curry:    1957.8    (projected team wins: 61)
2. Chris Paul:    1877.3    (projected team wins: 67)
3. Nikola Jokic:    1850.7    (projected team wins: 46)
4. Devin Booker:    1759.5    (projected team wins: 67)
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo:    1663.7    (projected team wins: 50)
6. Joel Embiid:    1597.5    (projected team wins: 50)
7. DeMar DeRozan:    1528.7    (projected team wins: 51)
8. James Harden:    1506.6    (projected team wins: 49)
9. Kevin Durant:    1447.4    (projected team wins: 49)
10. Ja Morant:    1395.0    (projected team wins: 55)
11. Zach LaVine:    1360.7    (projected team wins: 51)
12. Rudy Gobert:    1333.5    (projected team wins: 49)
13. Andrew Wiggins:    1298.3    (projected team wins: 61)
14. Jayson Tatum:    1293.1    (projected team wins: 42)
15. Miles Bridges:    1291.6    (projected team wins: 46)
16. Trae Young:    1281.1    (projected team wins: 39)
17. Mikal Bridges:    1248.5    (projected team wins: 67)
18. Donovan Mitchell:    1216.3    (projected team wins: 49)
19. Nikola Vucevic:    1214.9    (projected team wins: 51)
20. Desmond Bane:    1207.6    (projected team wins: 55)

Stephen Curry is still the leader of the race. Chris Paul and Devin Booker complement each other perfectly. Nikola Jokic is again awesome, considering especially the number of big injuries on his team. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are also great, but their MVP values are a little too low for them to be true contenders.

It's worth to mention that there are 3 surprising names on the list: Miles Bridges, Mikal Bridges and Desmond Bane. Respect!


With the same assumptions (described above) the current NBA 2022 MFP list is this:

1. Christian Wood:    924.8    (projected team wins: 23)
2. Franz Wagner:    920.2    (projected team wins: 16)
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:    917.5    (projected team wins: 24)
4. Domantas Sabonis:    912.3    (projected team wins: 29)
5. Dejounte Murray:    847.1    (projected team wins: 31)
6. Wendell Carter Jr.:    840.8    (projected team wins: 16)
7. Saddiq Bey:    828.1    (projected team wins: 19)
8. Cole Anthony:    779.1    (projected team wins: 16)
9. Jonas Valanciunas:    773.9    (projected team wins: 30)
10. Tyrese Haliburton:    712.2    (projected team wins: 29)
11. Cade Cunningham:    697.2    (projected team wins: 19)
12. Trae Young:    689.8    (projected team wins: 39)
13. Mo Bamba:    685.1    (projected team wins: 16)
14. Jae'Sean Tate:    673.8    (projected team wins: 23)
15. Harrison Barnes:    649.3    (projected team wins: 29)
16. Luguentz Dort:    639.8    (projected team wins: 24)
17. De'Aaron Fox:    635.7    (projected team wins: 29)
18. LeBron James:    624.2    (projected team wins: 39)
19. Brandon Ingram:    618.4    (projected team wins: 30)
20. Josh Giddey:    617.6    (projected team wins: 24)

Currently there is only 1 player in the top-20 both on the MVP list and on the MFP list – Trae Young (16th and 12th). Interestingly LeBron James is only on the MFP list while Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis aren't on either list.

No comment (3)

(Originally posted on 30 January 2022)

Since when a heart attack and very serious health condition leading to amputation of both legs are linked to Covid-19 instead of the vaccine?

(Originally posted on 30 January 2022)

Since when a heart attack and very serious health condition leading to amputation of both legs are linked to Covid-19 instead of the vaccine? Do they think that people are idiots? Just search for “Claire Bridges” and read how they comment about her illness. Unbelievable!

“You suck Canada” must be sprayed also in French

(Originally posted on Saturday, 29 January 2022)

Recently I have been on a spree of watching movies with John Candy. I have loved Spaceballs (co-starring with Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis) for a long time, but recently I have also watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles (co-starring with Steve Martin), The Blues Brothers (a small role), 1941 (a small role) and Canadian Bacon (co-starring with Alan Alda, Kevin Pollak and several other fun actors).

The movie Canadian Bacon is AWESOME! It's hilarious on so many different levels that it's hard to describe! I picked some Youtube videos, but they are taken out of context, so they are even more funny while watching the whole movie.



By the way: I didn't know that Dan Aykroyd (a small role) is a Canadian and I learned that John Candy was a Canadian only recently. It makes their roles even more hilarious! There are many other references to Canadian customs or people which are really funny.



And this double-performance is simply awesome!



The movies with John Candy I am going to watch in the near future are: Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, Armed and Dangerous and Who's Harry Crumb? (all starring or co-starring John Candy; in The Great Outdoors he is co-starring with Dan Aykroyd).

My previous New Year's resolution (for the year 2021)

(Originally posted on Saturday, 29 January 2022)

My previous New Year's resolution (for the year 2021) was to exercise twice a day. That would give me 730 sets of exercises in the whole year. I described is my own set of exercises here:
My previous New Year's resolution

With 5 reps (repetitions) of each kind of exercises it would give me 3660 reps of each kind of exercises! In reality in the year 2021 I managed to do only 16 (SIXTEEN) sets of exercises, which is only 2.2 % of the plan. Abysmal result, but it still means that during the year I did 80 push-ups, 80 knee-bends, 80 “leg-ups”, 80 dumbbells lifts and 80 reps of every other kind of exercises I do during every set. Better this than nothing.

My New Year's resolution for the year 2022 is less ambitious – to exercise once a day. And I also allow myself to do two sets of exercises in one day in order to catch up my “days off”. On 29 January 2022 I have already done 10 sets of exercises, which is 65.5% of all the sets of exercises in the previous year! Yep, to me the year 2021 was even worse than the year 2020.

Respect for Evangeline Lilly!

(Originally posted on Saturday, 29 January 2022)

Evangeline Lilly is 100% right as far as anti-covid vaccines are concerned!

“I was in DC this weekend to support bodily sovereignty while Canadian truckers were rallying for their cross-country, peaceful convoy in support of the same thing.

I believe nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will, under threat of:
-violent attack
-arrest or detention without trial
-loss of employment
-homelessness
-starvation
-loss of education
-alienation from loved ones
-excommunication from society
…under any threat whatsoever.

This is not the way. This is not safe. This is not healthy. This is not love. I understand the world is in fear, but I don’t believe that answering fear with force will fix our problems.

I was pro choice before COVID and I am still pro choice today.”

Biggest plane on Earth vs. fog

(Originally posted on Wednesday, 12 January 2022)

I won a chess game without ANY deep thinking!

(Originally posted on Sunday, 2 January 2022)

In this post I use the Chesstempo PGN viewer that can be found on this site:
https://chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer/

Today I was playing an online chess game and my almost-7-year-old son asked me if he could watch it. Obviously I said “yes”, but I also started making short explanations of some of my moves. Even my wife got interested. When the game ended I realised that it was a game that I won without ANY deep thinking! A great example for all chess newcomers. I was playing white. {This is a game that I won without ANY deep thinking! A great example for all chess newcomers.} 1.d4 {I ALWAYS start with 1.d4.} 1...d5 2.Nf3 {This is my second move in vast majority of cases.} 2...e6 3.Bf4 {Fearing ...Bd6.} 3...Nf6 4.h3 {Making a hiding place for my bishop.} 4...Be7 5.c3 {My typical pawn setup.} 5...c5 6.e3 {Fearing ...cxd4.} 6...cxd4 7.exd4 {I prefer the e-file to be semi-open instead of the c-file to be completely open.} 7...O-O 8.Bd3 {My typical setup.} 8...a6 9.O-O {I would have to castle sooner or later.} 9...b5 10.a3 {Preventing ...b4.} 10...Nbd7 11.Nbd2 {My typical setup.} 11...Bb7 12.Re1 {Placing my rook on the semi-open file. A useful move in the long run.} 12...Nb6 13.Qc2 {Aiming at the h7 pawn.} 13...Nc4 14.Bg5 {Threatening to remove the defender of the h7 pawn.} 14...h6 15.Bf4 {Retreating and waiting for the opponent to make a move.} 15...Rc8 16.Rac1 {I want to move my queen to b1, but first I activate my second rook.} 16...Qb6 17.Qb1 {Moving my queen away from a potential threat from the c8 rook.} 17...Rfd8 18.Ne5 {Making things happen one way or another.} 18...Rf8 19.Ng4 {I want to exchange knights and bring my second knight to the same area.} 19...Nxg4 20.hxg4 {Recapturing.} 20...Nxd2 21.Bxd2 {Recapturing.} 21...Qd6 22.Re2 {Making a place for my dark-square bishop.} 22...Bf6 23.f3 {Making another place for my dark-square bishop.} 23...Qg3 24.Be1 {Attacking the queen.} 24...Qd6 25.Rcc2 {Making way for my queen.} 25...Bg5 26.Qd1 {Bringing my queen closer the action.} 26...Bf4 27.Bf2 {Making another way for my queen.} 27...Bh2+ 28.Kh1 {Moving out of check.} 28...Bf4 29.Qg1 {Placing my queen on the same diagonal as my bishop.} 29...Rce8 30.Be3 {I want to exchange bishops or achieve a draw by threefold repetition.} 30...Bg3 31.Bf2 {Offering a draw.} 31...Bf4 32.Be3 {Offering a draw.} 32...Rc8 33.Bxf4 {I was short on time, so my opponent kept playing for the win by allowing me to exchange bishops.} 33...Qxf4 34.Qh2 {I want to exchange queens.} 34...Qf6 35.Qe5 {I want to exchange queens.} 35...Qd8 36.Rcd2 {Making way for my bishop.} 36...Rc6 37.Qe3 {My plan is to place my bishop on b1 and my queen on d3 threatening mate at h7, but I make this move first, so my opponent would realise my plan later.} 37...Bc8 38.Bb1 {As planned.} 38...Qf6 39.Qd3 {As planned.} 39...g6 40.Qe3 {Attacking the h6 pawn.} 40...Qg7 41.Qe5 {I want to exchange queens.} 41...Qxe5 42.dxe5 {Recapturing with my pawn to keep the enemy bishop blocked by his (or her) own pawns.} 42...Bb7 43.Kg1 {Bringing my king closer to action and preventing a possible long-rang threat of ...Rc1+ after which I would lose my bishop.} 43...Rfc8 44.Kf2 {Bringing my king closer to action and preventing a possible long-rang threat of ...Rc1+ after which I would lose my bishop.} 44...Kg7 45.Rd4 {Blocking the d5 pawn.} 45...Rc4 46.Red2 {Fearing ...Rxd4.} 46...Rxd4 47.Rxd4 {Recapturing with my rook and keeping the c file semi-open (instead of opening it completely).} 47...Rc4 48.Ke3 {Bringing my king closer to action.} 48...Bc6 49.Rxc4 {Making my king my main weapon.} 49...dxc4 50.Kd4 {Going for the a6 pawn.} 50...a5 51.Kc5 {Attacking the bishop.} 51...Be8 52.Be4 {Aiming at c6.} 52...h5 53.Bc6 {Good enough, but g5 would be better.} 53...Bxc6 54.Kxc6 {Recapturing.} 54...hxg4 55.fxg4 {Recapturing.} 55...Kh6 56.Kxb5 {Winning a pawn. It's a race now.} 56...Kg5 57.Kxc4 {Winning another pawn.} 57...Kxg4 58.Kd4 {Making way for the c3 pawn AND protecting the e5 pawn.} 58...Kg3 59.c4 {Four moves left to reach a queening square.} 59...Kxg2 60.c5 {Three moves left.} 60...Kf2 61.c6 {Two moves left.} 61...g5 62.c7 {One move left.} 62...g4 63.c8=Q {Reaching a queening square.} 63...g3 64.Qc2+ {I want to check the king for as long as it takes to prepare for another move.} 64...Kg1 65.Qd1+ {Getting closer to the king.} 65...Kh2 66.Qh5+ {Pushing the king in front of the pawn.} 66...Kg1 67.Ke3 {Getting my king closer to the enemy king. It also freezes the enemy king - ...Kg2 would make no sense and ...Kf1 would be met with Qe2+ (pushing the king back to g1).} 67...g2 68.Ke2 {I missed that Qd1+ followed by Kf2 was winning right away.} 68...a4 69.Qxf7 {I want to queen my e5 pawn, but from now on I have to avoid a stalemate AND prevent the g2 pawn from queening.} 69...Kh2 70.Qh5+ {Pushing the enemy king back in front of the g2 pawn.} 70...Kg1 71.Qg6 {Avoiding stalemate while placing my queen on the 6th rank.} 71...Kh2 72.Qh6+ {Checking the king AND aiming at the e6 pawn.} 72...Kg3 73.Qxe6 {Capturing the pawn that was blocking my e5 pawn.} 73...g1=Q 74.Qg6+ {Another point of my previous move - the enemy queen has no chance to act at all.} 74...Kh2 75.Qxg1+ {Exchanging queens.} 75...Kxg1 76.e6 {Going to the queening square. Black resigned.} 1-0
Please notice that it was a blitz game (3m+5s), so there was no time for really deep thinking by definition, but my own thinking was extremely “short-sighted”.

PS.
Recently I changed my chess clock setting (previously it was 3m +10s) and while the games are clearly shorter, my results are actually better. Interesting.

No comment (2)

(Originally posted on Sunday, 2 January 2022)

Second day in a row!

(Originally posted on Sunday, 2 January 2022)

Game winning buzzer-beating 3-pointer by DeMar DeRozan for the second day in a row! Wow!



Please notice that it wouldn't be possible without Zach LaVine: 35 points on 11-22 shooting, including 7-12 3-pointers. What a pair of ballers!

What a great way to start the new year!

(Originally posted on Saturday, 1 January 2022)

In my home city it was already past midnight when I saw this:



What a great way to start the new year!

Matrix Resurrections – negative reviews are moronic

(Originally posted on Wednesday, 29 December 2021; updated on 31 December 2021)

In the update I added some things at the end – I left my original post unchanged.

We (me and my daughter) have just come back from the cinema and I have to say this: all the negative reviews of the movie Matrix Resurrections are simply moronic! We both LOVED this movie, even though it was not perfect. My rating: 9/10.

There are so many negative reviews of this movie on the net that I was really hesitant to go to the cinema, so I feel the need to point out the most moronic and/or misleading ones:

1. “The special effects are weak”.
This is NOT true! The special effects are great, but they are used only when they are needed! In this regard it's similar to the great movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

2. “This is not an action movie, but a love story”.
This is NOT true! There is LOTS of good action! Moreover the action is very gripping, especially the “final showdown”! Nail-biting!

3. “The melee fighting is weak”.
This is NOT true! I enjoyed the melee fighting a lot! I think it's way better than the over-the-top melee fighting from the Matrix Revolutions.

4. “This is a feminist movie”.
This is NOT true! I despise some stupid feminist crap myself, but I had no trouble to watch this movie at all. I actually liked the fact that Trinity was as important as Neo – it shows that it takes two people of different sexes to “achieve the best results”.

5. “Wachowski wanted to explain plot holes from the original trilogy.”
This is NOT true! There are many references to the original trilogy, but the plot is all about a new story and it explains really well how it's all possible. The plot is actually quite ingenious and adds new ideas!

6. “It's similar to the movie Matrix (one)”.
This is NOT true! All the new ideas make it a whole different story! A great thought-provoking story!

7. “It breaks the 4th wall.”
This is NOT true! The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imagined wall separates actors from the audience – while the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. In the Matrix Resurrections the actors don't make any direct eye contact with the camera and all the references to the original trilogy are shown just as their dreams and/or memories (real ones or from a computer game that is a part of the story).

8. “It insults true Matrix fans.”
This is NOT true! It shows that some people over-react to something and/or over-interpret a fictional character and/or over-idealise a real person but it's NOT insulting. It's merely an observation – some people do such things in the real life! You do such things in the real life? Live with the consequences! I loved the original Matrix (the very first movie) and I didn't feel offended by the Matrix Resurrections at all.

9. “Jonathan Groff is weak as the agent Smith.”
This is NOT true! I really enjoyed how Jonathan Groff coped with this role. Maybe he wasn't perfect, but he did a really GOOD job!

I have no idea why the Matrix Resurrections gets such negative reviews. Maybe Wachowski has rubbed somebody the wrong way? But when? The one thing I know is that some “experienced reviewers” praise some very annoying movies (like the Last Jedi or the Ghostbusters 2016), but shit on some really enjoyable movies (like the The Rise of Skywalker or the Ghostbusters: Afterlife). It seems to me that after the “Last Jedi reviewing fiasco” the “experienced reviewers” are now backed by an army of “Internet people” who only pretend to be “standard movie-goers” and repeat all the crap the “experienced reviewers” are trying to force, so the “experienced reviewers” won't make idiots of themselves again. But I digress.

I have to point out my favourite actors in the Matrix Resurrections: Neil Patrick Harris and Jessica Henwick – I really enjoyed the way they played their roles! To me Neil Patrick Harris stole the whole movie!

Summing up:

I LOVED the movie Matrix Resurrections! My daughter loved this movie too! And I didn't hear anybody complaining among all the people who were leaving the cinema!

UPDATE:

In the post above I wrote about negative reviews specifically with the misleading claims above, but also about negative reviews/ratings in general. I understand that personal reviews/ratings are by definition strongly subjective, but a rating of 1/10 means that there is NOTHING good in this movie, which is an utter nonsense. In case of Matrix Resurrections the ratings of 3/10 or below are simply pathetic. I rated one of my most hated movies – the Last Jedi 4.5/10. This is called objectivity. Yes, you have to retain some objectivity even in personal strongly subjective reviews/ratings.

I have to admit that I am surprised by the number or “medium ratings” (4/10, 5/10 and 6/10) – I can't believe that so many people can't appreciate Matrix Resurrections.

On the other hand I myself have always approached this series in a different way than most of the fans – I didn't watch the first Matrix in the cinema because in a trailer I saw some people running on walls and I said “pass”. I watched it only after some time in TV and I liked it a lot, but it wasn't because of special effects. The following 2 movies I watched in the cinema and each time I was walking out of the cinema more and more angry – in the simulation there was more and more fighting just for the sake of the fighting and/or for the sake of special effects (for example the fight of Neo against a horde of agents Smiths to me wasn't magnificent but just silly) and in the world outside of the simulation there were less and less cool and/or sensible things (I got angry especially by what was happening in Zion and by the fact that Neo from some moment was “wirelessly connected” to the world of machines). Matrix Resurrections to me is simply a return to the source – most scenes happen in the simulation and the city Io is different (less annoying) than Zion. As far as the philosophical side is concerned this movie raises the bar even higher, for example the idea that Neo produces more energy (for the machines) when he is subjected to negative emotions is simply fantastic – looking at our present world it gives me shivers.

My opinion about chess

(Originally posted on Saturday, 20 October 2018; updated most recently on 19 December 2021)

In this post I now use the Chesstempo PGN viewer that can be found on this site:
https://chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer/

Currently the Chesstempo PGN viewer is the best free online PGN viewer that I know of, but it's not perfect. For some reason it makes the first move by default and I don't know how to turn it off. I added a “null move” at the start, but You have to avoid “taking this move back” because the PGN viewer “gets confused” then and messes up sides. I also don't know how to make the move list window smaller, but there is “a vertical height resize handle” at the bottom, so you can make it smaller (or larger) yourself.

Recently my opinion about chess have improved significantly. I have always known that chess is called “the royal game”, but I didn't like the fact it relies heavily on memorizing things. Now I have learned that chess prevents or at least slows down some mental diseases, for example Alzeimer's disease and other cases of dementia. Interestingly even people suffering from schizophrenia benefit from playing chess – it was an even bigger surprise for me. I learned about it here:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/health-benefits-playing-chess-louay-alzaher

From my own experience I can say that chess:
1. Helps you to handle your own failures/mistakes.
2. Improves your concentration and your time management.
3. Teaches you that some things may be improved just by altering the order of your actions.

Chess is a fascinating game because a relatively small number of rules transforms into a very complex analysis. Moreover there is no “proper strategy” in amateur chess – every player is different and every player can play the way it suits his skills.

One of the best things about chess is the fact that even relatively simple endgame positions can be played in many different ways.

My favourite, by far, endgame is the Lucena position – as the stronger side you can always win it, but you have to know what you are doing.

1. Mate threat.
The losing side makes a mate threat, but after one additional move by the winning side the defending king has only one square to go without being checked on the very next move.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/8/8/3R4/1r6 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kd6 2.Kd8 Rh1 3.Rd2+ Ke5 4.c8=Q Rh8+ 5.Kc7 Rxc8+ 6.Kxc8 1-0
2. Capture.
It's not quite the Lucena position because the defending rook is on the same file as the attacking pawn, but it shows why the defense in the proper Lucena position is as it is.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/8/8/3R4/2r5 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kd6 2.Kd8 Rxc7 3.Rd2+ Kc6 4.Rc2+ Kb6 5.Rxc7 1-0
3. Building a bridge.
This is the proper Lucena position – the losing side waits for the attacking king to move and then keeps checking him.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/8/8/3R4/1r6 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kf7 2.Re4 Rb2 3.Kd7 Rd2+ 4.Kc6 Rc2+ 5.Kd6 Rd2+ 6.Kc5 Rc2+ 7.Rc4 Rxc4+ 8.Kxc4 Ke7 9.c8=Q 1-0
4. Anti-bridge defense – rook.
The losing side wants to prevent the bridge by using the rook on the crucial rank – it ends up with a bridge anyway, but with a different move order.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/1r6/8/3R4/8 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kf7 2.Kd7 Rd4+ 3.Kc6 Rc4+ 4.Kd6 Rd4+ 5.Kc5 Rd1 6.Re4 Rc1+ 7.Rc4 Rxc4+ 8.Kxc4 Ke7 9.c8=Q 1-0
5. Anti-bridge defense – king.
The losing side wants to prevent the bridge by using the king.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/8/8/3R4/1r6 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kf6 2.Re4 Kf5 3.Re7 Kf6 4.Kd8 Rd1+ 5.Rd7 Rh1 6.c8=Q Rh8+ 7.Kc7 Rxc8+ 8.Kxc8 1-0
6. Anti-bridge defense – capture.
The losing side hopes that the winning side will recapture with the king instead of with the rook. It could happen in blitz chess with very little time on the clock.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/8/8/3R4/2r5 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kf6 2.Re4 Kf5 3.Re7 Kf6 4.Kd8 Rxc7 5.Rxc7 1-0
7. Building a bridge – stalling defense.
I must admit that I missed this variation in my earlier analysis and I wonder if I would see the “obvious answer” with very little time on the clock.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/8/8/3R4/1r6 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kf7 2.Re4 Rb2 3.Kd7 Rd2+ 4.Kc6 Rc2+ 5.Kd6 Rc1 6.Re5 Kf6 7.Rc5 Rxc5 8.Kxc5 Ke7 9.c8=Q 1-0
8. Anti-bridge defense – stalling defense.
Another missed variation in my earlier analysis. It combines three elements: anti-bridge defense with the rook, anti-bridge defense with the king and a stalling move. If the winning side plays the same way as in the previous stalling variation (Re5) it would end up drawing – the losing side would simply take the pawn.
[FEN "2K5/2P1k3/8/8/1r6/8/3R4/8 b - - 0 1"] 1...-- 1.Re2+ Kf6 2.Kd7 Rd4+ 3.Kc6 Rc4+ 4.Kd6 Rc1 5.Rd2 Kf7 6.Kd7 Rc3 7.c8=Q Rxc8 8.Kxc8 1-0
Below is my own game with the Lucena position. The endgame was started as in the variation 1, but my opponent didn't actually make the mate threat and he (or she) resigned right away. The game is interesting for a whole different reason – it was 94 moves long! I was playing white, so the precise number of single moves was 187. It was a blitz game, but with time increment – the clock was set as 3 minutes + 5 seconds per move and it lasted 17 minutes overall!

The game is a very good example of my playing style and of my personality as well. I played a very quiet and safe opening (the London System – the “boring system” – the “old man’s system”). When my opponent castled queen-side I did the same – he planned an all-out attack on my king, but I didn't let him do it. He got too relaxed and he missed a simple combination that gave me his rook for my knight. Staying in my style I gave back the exchange right away, but for a pawn – I would have to do it sooner or later anyway. Soon after that I managed to win another pawn, but later I messed up the endgame and the position became drawn again. Well, it was drawn with proper defense, but my opponent messed things up himself and we ended up in the Lucena position. A position I knew I would win. Cool feeling.
1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 Nc6 4. c3 Nf6 5. h3 a6 6. Nbd2 h6 7. Qc2 Bd6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Qxe4 Bd7 12. Be2 O-O-O 13. O-O-O f5 14. Qe3 Qd5 15. Kb1 g5 16. g3 Na5 17. Qe5 Bc6 18. Qxd5 Bxd5 19. Rhe1 Nc4 20. Bxc4 Bxc4 21. Ne5 Bd5 22. Nf7 Bf3 23. Rd2 Be4+ 24. Kc1 Rdf8 25. Nxh8 Rxh8 26. Rde2 Bd5 27. Rxe6 Bxe6 28. Rxe6 Kd7 29. Rf6 g4 30. Rxf5 gxh3 31. Rh5 Rf8 32. f4 Re8 33. Kd2 Rg8 34. Rxh3 Rg6 35. Ke3 Ke6 36. Kf3 Kf7 37. Rh2 Rb6 38. g4 a5 39. Re2 Rc6 40. Re5 b6 41. Ke3 a4 42. a3 Kf6 43. Rh5 Kg7 44. g5 hxg5 45. Rxg5+ Kf6 46. Rb5 Rc4 47. Rb4 Rc6 48. Rxa4 Re6+ 49. Kd3 Re1 50. Kd2 Rf1 51. d5 Ke7 52. Rd4 Kd6 53. Kc2 Rf2+ 54. Kb3 b5 55. a4 bxa4+ 56. Rxa4 Kxd5 57. Rd4+ Kc5 58. Rc4+ Kd6 59. Ka3 c5 60. b4 cxb4+ 61. Rxb4 Kc5 62. Kb3 Rf3 63. Ra4 Kb5 64. Re4 Kc5 65. Rd4 Kb5 66. Re4 Kc5 67. Re5+ Kd6 68. Re4 Kd5 69. Ra4 Kc5 70. Ra2 Rxf4 71. Ra5+ Kb6 72. Rd5 Kc6 73. Rd8 Kb5 74. Rh8 Kc5 75. Rh5+ Kc6 76. c4 Kb6 77. Kb4 Rf1 78. Rh6+ Kc7 79. Kc5 Rc1 80. Rh7+ Kd8 81. Kd6 Ke8 82. c5 Rd1+ 83. Kc6 Rc1 84. Rh8+ Kf7 85. Rd8 Ke7 86. Rd2 Ke6 87. Kb6 Rb1+ 88. Kc7 Rc1 89. c6 Ke7 90. Kb7 Rb1+ 91. Kc8 Rc1 92. c7 Rb1 93. Re2+ Kd6 94. Kd8 1-0
PS. To be clear: I am strongly AGAINST teaching chess at schools as an obligatory subject. A game of chess is still just a game – a child can be perfectly fine without chess. There are LOTS of other games that improve concentration, mind abilities and things like that. Promotion of chess is good, but obligation of learning chess is unacceptable to me.

Weird Science – one of the funniest movies I have EVER seen!

(Originally posted on Sunday, 19 December 2021)

The movie Weird Science is extremely funny! I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard while watching a movie, even a comedy sitcom! Many times I literally burst into laughter!

By today’s standards the movie is far from political correctness, which makes it even better. Well, the main female character (named Lisa) is actually the smartest character in the whole movie, but she is also extremely sexy (played by Kelly LeBrock) and she understands why the two nerds created her (they wanted a female). The nerds’ plan is actually NOT realised (except for some kissing), but there are lots of hilarious sexist jokes, for example when the nerds are designing Lisa one of them asks the question: “Should we give her a brain?”. They end up giving her “Einstein’s brain”, so the nerds are actually quite “decent”.

The movie is a TRUE teenage movie about the time when teens (or rather their bodies) are ready for procreation and they subconsciously think only about sex. The movie is one big funny exaggeration of such situations. Please notice that Lisa has some “magic abilities” (thanks to it there are as many hilarious scenes as possible), so the word “TRUE” applies only for the teens’ “state of mind”, not to what is actually happening. As I wrote – it’s one of the funniest movies I have EVER seen!

Lisa takes charge of the whole situation and lots of jokes are actually on the nerds. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Lisa picks up Gary to take him to a party and she talks to his parents. Gary is played by Anthony Michael Hall who is AWESOME in this role!


The movie features also Bill Paxton – one of my favourite actors ever! He plays Chet who is Wyatt’s older brother. He’s also a total asshole and a little crazy, but Paxton is, as always, fantastic! “Here's the bottom line, Wyatt. I'm telling Mom and Dad everything. And I'm even considering making up some shit.”


There is also very young Iron Man, I mean very young Robert Downey Jr. who plays a kind of bully!

Light pollution comparison

(Originally posted on Friday, 23 April 2021)

The first two videos below are simply spectacular, but it’s the third video that is really mind-blowing! The problem of light pollution is not only about “how many stars you can see”, but it’s also about the life (or death) of many living species on the Earth! Interestingly, it’s also about safety of people, including policemen, but it turns out that very bright night-streets are NOT safer! Though-provoking stuff, really!

Turn the full screen on!





Here I would like to point out something that I have just realized – the maximum star magnitude that you can see with the naked eye in the DARKEST locations on Earth is ONLY 7 or 8! But in my small telescope (70/700 refractor) on a balcony in a city with big light pollution I can see (in good viewing conditions) even stars of magnitude 9! The catch is that the field of view of any telescope is EXTREMELY narrow when compared to the field of view of the naked eye, so the experience is greatly diminished.

Yes, it's fun to see many stars even from the middle of a city with big light pollution (thanks to a telescope), but it doesn't compare to the awesomeness of very dark skies. Obviously when you go out of a city to a place with significantly lower light pollution then the overall number of stars that can be seen in a given observing tool will be MUCH higher, so it's doubly worth it!

Welcome to my blog!

Originally this blog was dedicated purely to Glen Cook novels, but over time it expanded over different topics.

Some labels contain many posts with Youtube videos and this is the reason why they load so slowly.

The most recent posts on this blog

I've changed the date in most of my posts, so they are in the order I prefer. The original date is at the start or at the end of every modified post.

The most recent posts are:
My opinion about chess (19 December 2021)
Weird Science – one of the funniest movies I have EVER seen! (19 December 2021)
Chess is not about intelligence (18 December 2021 - update)
Listen to this! (15 December 2021)
NBA 2022 MVP race – part 1 (28 November 2021)
A constant grin of true happiness (thanks to Ghostbusters: Afterlife) (21 November 2021)
Polish soldiers taking the oath (11 November 2021)
Learning to fly AND land a radio controlled plane with CRRCSim (11 November 2021)
Do you think that modern communism would be much different than this? (9 October 2021)
Respect for Kyrie Irving! (9 October 2021)
The Ultra Vivid Lament – a song-by-song review (3 October 2021 - update)
Most universal types of binoculars (3 October 2021 - update)
Easy astronomy for total amateurs (16 September 2021 - update)

My top 12 favourite posts (on any topic) are:
The Dragon Never Sleeps re-read (Glen Cook's masterpiece)
303 (Polish) Squadron - Battle of Britain diary
My favourite list of Manic Street Preachers songs
Glycemic index makes fools out of people
A man who saved the life of George Washington
Embrace your problems with joy!
Gravity, acceleration, centrifugal force, tides and time
Men's and women's brains
Echoes of the Great Song re-read (David Gemmell's masterpiece)
Peace between people
Difference between an unborn baby and a newborn baby
Beauty of nature

Sticky:
“I'll go barefoot”
Fascinating history of modern astronomy
A reminder

You can find all of my favourite posts under the label “00 – My favourite posts”.