Spiel des Jahres 2006 nominees announced

The prestigious Spiel des Jahres (SdJ) has announced the nominees for 2006. SdJ is to boardgames what the Oscar is to movies.

Normally the winner is announced in mid-July but this year SdJ has already awarded Special Awards to 2 outstanding games!

• Shadows over Camelot for Special Prize (Fantasy Play), and
• Caylus for Special Prize (Complex Play)

To find out the other 5 nominees, go here.

Mensa Select Games for 2006

From USAToday (21/5/06), the 5 games selected by Mensa for 2006 are:

• - Deflexion, by Deflexion.
• - Hive, by Smart Zone.
• - Keesdrow, by Pywacket.
• - Pentago, by Mindtwister USA.
• - Wits & Wagers, by North Star Games.

For a complete list of past winners, go to http://mindgames.us.mensa.org.

Apparently the word Mensa means three things in Latin - mind, table and month. And someone suggested a monthly meeting of minds around a table. Hmmm. maybe Boardgamecafe.net can do a monthly Mensa Boardgames Meetup

to read the full article, click here

Senior Sales Consultant

Need to do a couple of interviews today for a senior sales consultant to build up the sales team. Hmmm... both candidates presented us with difficult choices. Both seems equally good on different areas.

Anyway we are meeting up a few more next week before we need to decide.

I remember Peter Drucker - "Marketing and innovation produce results. All the rest are costs."

Movie: The Da Vinci Code

Aaah.... nothing much to do on a Sunday. Felt like going for a movie but had no prior booking for any of the good-to-watch movie, so what do you do? Watch The Da Vinci Code?

Went to the cinema.... hmm... next show 5.50PM... went up to the ticketing counter, spoked in half-Cantonese-half-English to the lady manning the counter whether the 5.50PM show still has good seats left - good seats meaning those 10 rows after the front! haha...

The lady spoke back, "Cakap Melayu". Oh.. but she did look Chinese! Fair and even with Chinese features! Though I've to admit when she spoke, she sounded Malay.

After I repeated myself in Malay, she replied, "Depan sekali". Oh great.

Said No, thanks.. went back down to look for Yan and my sis... and we went look-see-look-see in Popular Bookstore. Saw the book "Da Vinci Code" and aargh... the itch to watch the movie returns!

But depan sekali wor.. so how? Stalk the ticketing counter, what else?

Huh?

Here's how you do it...

1. Go to the ticketing counter.
2. For the movie you wanna watch, find out how many "Uncollected Reservations" they show in the info screen, which usually hung above the ticketing counter.
3. If the reservation list is 150+ then you are in luck. Else go and sulk.
4. Find out when they released uncollected reservations, usually 45 min before the show....
5. Then wait....
6. At the exact released time, you'll see the "Uncollected Reservations" line go red, the number gets reset to "0". No, this does not mean suddenly someone came and collected all 150+ of the reservations. It simply meant the reservations have become open-game to everyone! The status color for this show should also turn from orange back to green. Yeah....
7. Quickly amble your way to the ticketing counter. Not run.... please.
8. You should now be able to get your tickets!

I reckon except in hot cineplexes like Midvalley and KLCC, most of them have a large % of uncollected reservations! So if you are really hard-pressed to watch the latest movie, you might wanna try "ticket stalking".

"No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking." ~Voltaire

btw, what was I suppose to write about here? Oh, yes the movie "Da Vinci Code" itself! hehe....

What do I think? Let me see....

• Still thinks Hanks does not cut it as Robert Langdon,
• I und why ppl said the book is better,
• Thankfully we watched this at 6PM and not 2AM,
• Still wondering whether the Kancil can pull off the stunts that Sophie did in her Smart car
• They should have explained the pagan ritual performed by Sophie's grandfather (my sis told me the ritual was explained by Langdon to Sophie) otherwise it does seem the grandfather were in some kind of cult,
• I now understand the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" better,
• I realized why the place is called Zion in the movie "Matrix",
• Did they explain what happened to all the money (or are they bonds?) that Bishop Aringarosa was carrying when he was shot by Silas? There's quite a lot of money there lor...
• I presume they have now put up a barricade around the glass floor at The Louvre where Langdon knelt at the end of the movie, and
• France is indeed a beautiful place.

I must be one of the twelve who have not read the book. I came, I saw, and I forgot. I can imagine how the book could be a page-turner.. but alas on screen, they would need something more arresting to grab our attention.

Perhaps Bratt Pitt as Langdon... or Angelina Jolie as Sophie... sorry, my thoughts started to wander.

To give credit, Dan Brown did do his homework to come up with the premise for his book. It also raised some interesting questions. It stirred my interest to know more about the Knights Templar, the history of Jerusalem, the Rose Line among others.

And I also found out there's a smaller car than the Kancil. I imagine with this car, the concept of side- and L-parking does not apply, no?

As an intellectual person, I do enjoy the puzzles and challenges posed by the quest for the truth faced by Langdon and Sophie but I would think as a cinematic experience, it may well fall a little short.

Lastly, the new Da Vinci Code boardgame based on the movie is due anytime.... Is it any good? Eerrr.....

Grease is the word....

"I got chills, and they're multiplyin' "

Went with Yan for Grease the Musical at KL Convention Centre. 1st time a musical is held here I think. We used to go to Istana Budaya for these things.

The venue's just a walk away from my office... when we arrived the place were crowded with people. Some all dressed up for the nite! Cool.....

We looked around for a quick bite, found some, service expectedly awful, the lady serving us doesn't seem capable of smiling (duh), and the food was, well when you are hungry and still prefer not to finish the sandwich, that's how bad the food was.

Anyway we consoled ourselves saying we were not there for the food... and prep ourselves for the musical.

For those who were brought up on boy-bands, Grease was a hit movie in '78 starring John Travolta (then the Disco King from his earlier film Sat Nite Fever) and Olivia Newton-John. The musical came before the movie.

The musical Grease was voted the Best Musical of All-time in 2003 by a Channel V poll. And the movie itself remains the highest grossing motion picture musical.

What about the musical then?

We were ushered in at 8.30 PM sharp... the show started on the dot with the MC trying to get crowd particpation to come up on stage to rock-n-roll. After many many many tries, he finally managed to get a few daring women to go up including one little gal who even danced using the hoola-hoop.

Of the few musicals we've been to, this would be the most feet-tapping one with rock-n-roll songs that are just so danceable. Surprisingly the musical underwhelmed us.....



Can't place my fingers yet on why it didn't WOW us... the right songs were there - Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Grease Lightning, and You're the One I Want.

Perhaps it's the delivery... we dun feel the passion in the voice. The Oomph's not there.... But anyway it was a good evening out for us, we bought Grease t-shirts (haha, we are suckers for merchanise!)

Even the merchandises were disappointing. They've the usual t-shirts (but which just seem to be normal tees with the GREASE logo stitched to the upper left corner), musical CDs (which we can get anytime at Tower Records) and umbrellas (huh?). Nothing else?

Somehow I get the feeling the whole event looks like a rush job!

Grease is the word (its the word that you heard)
It's got groove it's got meaning
Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion
Grease is the way we are feeling

Hmm.. as for the venue I think we still prefer Istana Budaya. And if you have not watched Grease before, I suggest you get hold of the movie DVD.

Still waiting for Phantom of the Opera to do its round over this part of the world.

Marvel Heroes await...

With all the noise around X-men 3, let me bring you to another hot item - the hugely anticipated Marvel Heroes boardgame from Fantasy Flight Games.

ETA? Summer 2006 which means... just about NOW?!!

Liverpool for World Team '06?

Liverpool are in the running for a prestigious honour at today's Laureus Sports Awards in Barcelona. The Reds have enjoyed a terrific past 12 months, during which time they have lifted the Champions League, Super Cup and FA Cup, and are now up for the World Team of the Year accolade.

Also nominated for this award are FC Barcelona, the All Blacks rugby union team and the all-conquering Renault F1 team. The nominees were selected by more than 700 sports writers and editors around the world. Winners will be chosen by the 42 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Interesting World Cup stats

ENGLISH clubs will provide one in seven players at the World Cup finals, according to a survey by Deloitte, the accountancy firm.

There are more than 100 players from English clubs in the official squads ? Chelsea provide the highest number (16). Germany has the next largest contingent of players, with 70. Only two squads Italy and Saudi Arabia are made up entirely of players from clubs in their own country.

Samurai - our new fave!

Played a few games of Samurai with my g/f (who loves gaming as much as I do). It plays not unlike Attika (another fave of ours) but I feel Samurai has richer gameplay and more challenging. It can be played with some luck (Euro-like) or totally without luck (Chess-like).

Playing is Euro-like is best I think. Not knowing how many items your opponents has secured (as that's hidden behind their screen), and which tiles they have in the hands adds to the tension.















I und why Edw said this is one of his all-time favorite. The other would be Kahuna, which we had the opportunity to play at the Starbucks presscon. Do we like that? Yes you bet. :) Another game to add to my Wish-List.

Get fit to play squash, not play squash to get fit

While discussing other biz matters with my partner JK, found out he's still playing squash! Apparently there are squash courts in his kondo (Angkasa Impian) and another associate (Keith) is also an avid squash player.

According to JK, Keith is good in squash and has not lost to JK. Hmm....

Told my g/f about this and she smiles..... More hmmms.

JK welcomes me to join them at his apartment... but first I think I need to whip myself into the stamina-level required to play the game. Let's see.. Fitness First?

Aiyah.. I then realized with KLCC Park less than 5-min away from my office, why do I even need to crack my head trying to get fit? Just bring some change of clothes and I can jog daily at KLCC!















First, I need to clear the shower place in my office so that I can have a quick shower after the job and continue with my work in the office. Ok, so next week's Operation Be-Fit. hic.

"Ring of Fire" #4 in UK Top 10 chart

Wah.... Liverpool FC has a single that's now the 4th selling record in UK over the last 7 days outselling Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Kooks and Primal Scream!

This song first came to the team's attention when it was used in last year's Champion's League Finals, and subsequently adopted by Liverpool as their FA Cup Song! It's performed by the Bootroom Allstars - Tim Speed and Apollo 440 - and featuring the distinctive vocals of Ian McCulloch.

If you have not heard this song, or wishes to download it - you can get it here. Remember all net proceeds from the single will go to the Marina Dalglish Appeal.

So many games.... so little time

Took collection of some new games when I met Edw at the Starbucks presscon of the Designer Game Cafe launch. Let's see what are in my goodies bag:

Fury of Dracula. A 4 vs 1 partially cooperative game where 4 players play the role of Dr Seward, Van Helsing, Lord Godalming and Mina Harker as they hunt for the Count across Europe.





Samurai. Another Knizia classic that scales well for 2-4 players. Using his unique scoring system that forces you to balance your play, this is a very fast mini brain-burner that can play as a filler in between the heavier games!






Clash of Kings. An expansion to A Game of Throne, now you can play AGOT 6-player. With other additions like the Ports of Westeros, Siege Engines, Special House Cards and even a variant on the Cards of Westeros that eliminates "luck". A must-have for those who love AGOT!


Heck Meck. The fun game of having roasted worms for lunch! Just roll the dice and get your worms! Simple, fast and fun to play for 2-7 players.







Eastern Front. Ah.. with the Pacific Theatre expansion just around the corner, it's high time I pick up this awesome expansion to the Memoir 44 game. Now you can command the Russian armies.... play on desert terrain, blwo-up bridges and try your luck defusing landmines! Makes a fun game even better!

Check my gaming reports over the next few days to see how these games play. Now, let me get back to tearing those shrinkwraps... aiieeeee......

7-min of X-men 3

If like me, you can't wait to watch the latest X-movie here's a 7-minute trailer that's sure to keep you drooling for more..... Looks like there'll be many new mutants!

Click here to watch the trailer...

Ebert has reviewed Da Vinci Code

That's fast. He has seen the movie and guess what? He's given it a 3 star (out of 4)! Me haven't yet decided when I'm going to catch the movie esp since X-men 3 is coming next week. Cool....

Here's the link to Ebert's review and the extract below tells you why he's a fave movie reviewer of yours truly.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060517/REVIEWS/60419009/-1/email_headlines

This poor man has been shot and will die late at night inside the Louvre; his wounds, although mortal, fortunately leave him time enough to conceal a safe deposit key, strip himself, cover his body with symbols written in his own blood, arrange his body in a pose and within a design by Da Vinci, and write out, also in blood, an encrypted message, a scrambled numerical sequence and a footnote to Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), the pretty French policewoman whom he raised after the death of her parents. Most people are content with a dying word or two; Jacques leaves us with a film treatment.

Paris - The end of dreams

After a very encouraging run in this year's Champion League, Arsenal's dream ended at Paris early this morning (MY).

Campbell's early goal gave them high hopes.. but getting your goalkeeper dismissed was not exactly how you want to play against Barna.

If I'm being honest, I would luv to see this Arsenal team win the CL. But sadly tis not to be their day.

And oh.. Eto mentioned how Liverpool's fightback last year against Milan inspired them to keep their hopes of winning after falling behind by Campbell's 1st goal.

My Games Library

These are the games in my own library now. I dun get to play all of them but I still derive a lot of joy whenever they get pulled out to the table.

Find out what's my current hot 10 games and all-time top 1o games.

JACK208 LIBRARY
("*card" denotes card games)

1. 6 Takes! *card
2. A Game of Thrones
3. A Game of Thrones: Clash of Kings (exp)
4. Acquire (1972)
5. Acquire (1999)
6. Afrika Korps
7. Antike
8. Apples to Apples Party Box *card
9. Attika
10. Axis & Allies (Revised)
11. Bang! *card
12. Bang! Dodge City *card
13. Bang! Fistful of Cards *card
14. Battle Line *card
15. Battle of the Bulge
16. Billionaire (aka Pit) *card
17. Blood Feud in New York
18. Bohnanza *card
19. Boomtown *card
20. Cafe International
21. Carcassonne: The City
22. Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers
23. Citadels *card
24. Clans
25. Clue 50th Anniversary Ed
26. Color Magic
27. Dawn Under
28. Die Handler
29. Diplomacy
30. DOOM
31. End of Triumvirates
32. Fury of Dracula
33. Gulo Gulo
34. Hare & Tortoise
35. Heck Meck (aka Pickomino)
36. Lupus in Tabula (aka Werewolf) *card
37. Lost Cities *card
38. Math Magic
39. Math Magic 2
40. Memoir 44
41. Memoir 44 - Eastern Front
42. Munchkin *card
43. Mystery Rummy #3: Jekyll & Hyde *card
44. Pick Picknic
45. Pictionary
46. Pirate's Cove
47. Pompeji
48. Power Grid
49. Power Grid: France/Italy maps
50. Puerto Rico
51. QQ Chess
52. Ra
53. Rail Baron
54. Ricochet Robot
55. Risk
56. Risk 2210AD
57. Rook *card
58. Saint Petersburg
59. Samurai
60. San Juan *card
61. Scrabble (travel ed)
62. Serenissima
63. Stock Market Guru
64. Stratego
65. Stratego Nostalgic Ed
66. Subbuteo
67. Super Munchkin *card
68. Target Arnhem: Across 6 Brisdges
69. Terra *card
70. Ticket to Ride
71. Tigris & Euphrates
72. Tikal
73. Totopoly
74. Traders of Genoa
75. Wallenstein
76. War of the Ring

What are the games I'm eyeing now? Check out the games on my radar.

Starbucks Designer Game Cafe

Gonna be at Starbucks later for Edw's press con on the launching of the Designer Game Cafe concept between PGI and Starbucks. Here's the design of the table standee.. cool eh?


Will do a write-up on the event later tonite, probably at the Boardgamecafe.net blog. C ya

NatGeo: Checkmate on the Prairie

(c) National Geographic. Photos by Victor Jose Cobo

A heads-up from a Chess egroup about an article in National Geo on chess. Luv this game myself but ain't got the time to invest in playing *sigh*. For those interested to read the article, here's the link

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0605/feature6/index.html

Which reminds me, I need to renew my subs for NatGeo?!

My Top 10 Games

What are the games that I'm playing now? My Hot 10? My All-time Top 10? Well here they are...

MY HOT 10 GAMES (May 2006)
Games which I'm playing (very often) nowadays

1. Antike
2. Game of Thrones (with Clash of Kings expansion)
3. Fury of Dracula*
4. Puerto Rico
5. Power Grid (with France/Italy maps)
6. Ende Das Truimverat
7. Samurai
8. Die Handler
9. Wallenstein
10. Memoir 44 (with Eastern Front)

*I actually haven't gotten to play Fury yet but I just have da feeling this will be a hot game for me!

MY ALL-TIME TOP 10 GAMES
Games that are my all-time favorites

1. Diplomacy
2. Puerto Rico
3. Tigris & Euphrates
4. Antike
5. Power Grid
6. Acquire
7. War of the Ring
8. Traders of Genoa
9. Game of Thrones
10. 1830

I did not really got to play 1830 (played once, did not complete) otherwise I'm sure it'll have been higher up my chart. But the short playing session did provide me with enough insights into its game mechanics for me to like it very much.

Want to do a round or two of the above games with me? Sure why not.... :)

For the full list of games in my library, click here.

Games on my radar

2006
These are the games on my radar though they are not in any particular order. If you have them in good condition and wish to trade/sell, send me an email.

My MUST-Have list:

• Union Pacific
• Clash of Kings expansion for Game of Throne (17/5/06)
• Battle of 3rd Age expansion for War of the Ring
• Totopoly (16/5/06)
• Twilight Struggle
• M44 Eastern Front pack (17/5/06)
• Formula De
• Age of Steam
• Power Grid Expansion Maps (France/Italy) (14/5/06)
• Caylus
• Robo Rally
• Dune (oop)
• Storm over Arnhem (oop)
• 1830 (oop)
• Space Hulk (oop)

My Waiting-For list:

• Fury of Dracula (17/5/06)
• Settlers of Catan (2/6/06)
• Seafarers of Catan (6/6/06)
• Settlers of Zarahemla
• Railroad Tycoon
• Chicken Cha-cha
• Samurai (17/5/06)
• Primordial Soup
• Reef Encounter
• PR Expansion (30/5/06)
• Cafe International
• Indonesia
• Ra (3/6/06)
• Torres
• Niagara
• Hamsterolle
• Kuhandel (You are Bluffing)
• El Grande
• Taj Mahal
• San Juan (1/6/06)
• Amun-Re
• Battle Line (3/6/06)
• Colossal Arena
• Who Killed Dr Lucky (Deluxe Ed)
• Mu und Mehr
• Coloretto
• Chinatown (oop)
• Havoc
• Nuclear War
• Thurn und Taxis
• Top Secret Spies
• Kahuna
• Heck Meck (17/5/06)
• Munchkin (1/6/06)

My Maybe list:

• Il Principe
• Cash-n-Guns
• Liberte
• Medici
• Knights & Cities of Catan
• Struggle of Empire
• Bootleggers
• Elfenland
• Heroscape
• Cartagena
• Robo Rally
• Friedrich
• Thru the Desert
• Louis XIV
• St Petersburg (3/6/06)
• Ingenious
• Descent
• Royal Turf
• I'm the Boss
• Evo
• Wyatt Earp
• Around the World in 80 Days
• Mystery Rummy #3: Jekyll & Hyde (1/6/06)

Want to know what games I already have now? Click here...

Remember the Alamo!

Watched this movie during the weekend. This is a 2004 movie, and with my busy schedule I only catch the must-watch on the big screen. The rest I save them for DVDs hehe

The Alamo was a famous battle. It's here that the phrase "drawing a line" was created (by the young Lt-Col Travis).

All defenders in Alamo were killed when the Mexicans attacked... Gen Sam Houston has the opportunity to send reinforcement but he knew he would not be able to hold the Alamo and instead of sending in more troops to be slaughtered, he opted to bid his time.















This is another example of "proportionate decision" which I first came across in the movie "The American President". About how you would want to sacrifice a few for the greater objective though as Michael Douglas (the President) commented in that movie, "Explain that again to the wife of the staff tomorrow morning." The "staff" referred to the people still working in the facilities which he's about to send in bombers to bomb.

Anyway here Gen Houston consciously allowed the Alamo to be routed.... with the hope of catching Santa Anna offguard - which he did when he routed the Mexican army and captured Santa Anna himself just after the Battle of the Alamo (in the Battle of San Jacinto). The San Jacinto was the battle that made famous the rallying cry "Remember the Alamo".

My Rating: 3.5/5

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318974/
Official Site: http://www.thealamofilm.com/
Roger Ebert: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040409/REVIEWS/404090301/1023 (3.5/4)

Totopoly - one of the games that started it all for me!

Just received my copy of Totopoly (bought from eBay) today! Seller was quick, took him less than a week to get the game to me after I paid via Paypal. Technology surely makes the world so much smaller!

Anyway this is a light game, a family favorites that plays 2-6. For more info, you may check out Boardgamegeek:Totopoly. If you wanna play a game, then sign up at KL Boardgames Meetup!

Cafe turning retro

While I was at Games Circle last Sat, I couldn't resist popping into Kopi-time (in Atria) for their roti bakar special!

Amazing how the coffee shop industry changed from Starbucks/CBTL back into the "retro-style but upgraded with new decos" cafe like Kopi-time, Kopi Club in Low Yat, Old Time Cafe in Maluri and I'm sure many more dotted around the Klang Valley.

Oh. Speaking of Starbucks. my buddy Edw is launching the Designer Games Cafe this coming Weds (17/5) at Starbucks 1 Utama.

For more details, check out the Event here and get the invite!

p/s Me also going with my g/f Yan for the Grease musical at KLCC on the evening of the same day.

Weekend Gaming 12/5/06

Fri (12/5) was a holiday (Wesak Day) and what better use of a non-working day than to meet up with some buddies for a gaming session! In fact, we'd arranged for this much earlier in the week and were looking forward to it.

Did the following games with the Terasek Gamers - Puerto Rico, Clans (4x) and Power Grid (on new France map!) Had to break the session at 7+ since the host has a business to attend to tomorrow morning. But we'll be back next Fri!

Sat (13/5) Meetup at Games Circle. Usual regulars were there. Two games were in play - a 4-player Friedrich and then 5-player Antike. Later dropped in to Toybox for a chat with Nic and Vincent.

New games still have not cleared Kastams, so no new joy this weekend. Apparently a few boxes were missing and Edw's trying to trace them. Gosh.. hope it's not Fury of Dracula!

Sat (13/5) Nite. One of the Pudu Gamers - Stan Phang - were having a dinner reception for his marriage tomolo evening (Tsui Villlage, Low Yat) so tonite's a bachelor nite! Instead of partying, these groups prefer to have a Bachelors' Gaming Nite! Whhoooo.......

So brought my boards over.... Alan brought his new card games (bought from his recent trip downsouth). They were playing Kuhandel (You're Bluffing) when I arrived.

Oh.. I was late... coz I gotta wait till the ,khv were completed. And boy, did I not regret watching the match. Must be one of the best FA Cup Finals in recent years! I already blogged about this earlier, so no point repeating myself.

Anyway when I sampai, they were bluffing and bidding and generally giving away the whole "cow"! This is a fun game... recommended by Kandang.

After Kuhandel is over, we split into two groups. A 5-player group did Antike (on German map) while the other 4 played Chor-Tai-De.

Remember to catch the gaming report and photos later at www.boardgamecafe.net

Liverpool - FA Cup Winner 2006

Whoa! Liverpool did it again!

While not exactly another Istanbul, Liverpool had to come back from behind (1-0, 2-0, 2-1) to draw level at 3-3 in injury time with an awesome 30-yard drive from Captain Gerrard!

No goals scored in extra-time, taking the game to penalty shoot-out! Reina saved three penalties to snatch the FA Cup for Liverpool!

Image (c) Liverpoolfc.tv

Some noable quotes:

I said to Steven at the end, "I thought you would
have saved those [goals] for the World Cup!"
- Alan Pardew, West Ham maanger

'Today was not good for the heart so we should try to win things
easier.'
- Rafa Benitez, Liverpool manager

In the past, I've commented the Liverpool team lack the mental strength to win things. Now I can see a very different team out there. A team that knows even when things are not going smoothly for them (like trailing 2-3 in a Cup Final with only minutes to go), they still continue to play on to create openings....

Well done, lads. Let's wish for an even better season next!

You Never Walk Alone...

LYN Squash Club playing at Catholics High (PJ)?

Still on squash, I read from the Low Yat Net forums that a group of budding squash players are contemplating setting up a squash club (LYN Squash Club) and play regularly at Catholics High, which used to be the place where I was playing squash a few years back.

Yeah.. that was when I was all fit. Now ... sigh.. perhaps a month or two at Fitness First might get me back to that stamina-level. Will see...

Nicol stayed #2

Just read that Nicol David remained as No. 2 in the Women Squash world ranking. She reached the Top Spot end of last year after a tremendous run but lost the top rank after defeats by current #1 Atkinson.

Read the full report here
http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2006/5/11/sports/14177417&sec=sports