Many happy returns

Yesterday marked the beginning of my last fortnight in the Upper Valley. I feel some sadness about leaving, but it's greatly mitigated by the knowledge that I'm coming back next year. And it will be a very happy return indeed, for Ellen and I have set a wedding date! We'll be getting married in the Upper Valley (precise location TBD) in early September 2010. Don, our pastor at Christ Redeemer Church, will be performing the ceremony. Ellen and I couldn't be happier.

On the subject of happy returns, I played in my first over-the-board chess tournament in seven months on Saturday. The Hanover Chess Club hosted quads (a four-player round-robin event) that were converted into a Swiss due to attendance considerations. I was a bit rusty after so long away from tournament chess, but it was great to start getting back into the swing of things. I scored 2-1, losing on time in the final round after reaching a difficult endgame that was not without drawing chances. My favorite game was this round two victory. The game began as a mild-looking Fajarowicz Gambit, but my opponent left his king in the center too long. 18. ... g6 is the critical weakening move.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. a3 d6 5. Nd2 Nxd2 6. Bxd2 dxe5 7. Bc3 Qxd1+ 8. Rxd1 Nc6 9. Nf3 f6 10. e3 Be6 11. Be2 Rd8 12. 0-0 Be7 13. Rxd8+ Kxd8 14. h3 Ke8 15. Nh2 Kf7 16. b4 Rd8 17. Ng4 Bf8 18. c5 g6 19. f4 Bxg4 20. hxg4 e4 21. Bc4+ Ke7 22. g5 Bg7


23. f5 Rf8 24. fxg6 hxg6 25. b5 Nb8 26. c6 bxc6 27. Bb4+ Ke8 28. Bxf8 and Black resigned soon thereafter. I've heard Buffalo has a fairly strong chess club and I hope my studies will permit me at least a little time to play next year.

PS: It was brought to my attention that the photos in my most recent post weren't loading properly. The problem should be fixed now.

Birthday and baptism

Friday was my 22nd birthday. To celebrate, Ellen took me to a Fisher Cats game (AA baseball in Manchester). We had a fantastic time! Our seats were in the second row behind the visiting dugout. I'm pretty sure that's the closest I've ever sat at a professional baseball game. With a little gyration I was even able to touch the top of the dugout from my seat. On top of all that, Ellen made me birthday cupcakes AND a birthday cake. I'm very blessed to be engaged to this wonderful woman who knows me so well!

The Sunday before, I took part in Christ Redeemer Church's baptism ceremony. Four of us were baptized that day in a compact but touching service at the Wilder boat launch. A large number of the CRC congregation were in attendance, as well as my aunt and a friend from Dartmouth. Don, our pastor, began by offering a brief explanation of the meaning and significance of baptism. After that each of us got up in turn and gave his testimony of faith, and then we moved down to the water.



As I waded into the Connecticut River, Don insisted that the water was warmer than ever before for a CRC baptism. That may be so, but past ceremonies were surely performed above the Arctic Circle. In any event, I was only in the river for two or three minutes at most. Being baptized was one of the high points of the summer so far, and in a lot of ways that are even now continuing to sink in for me, one of the most momentous occasions in my life.

Baptism symbolizes the new life we have through faith in Jesus Christ. Being lowered into the water and brought back up represents spiritual rebirth. When performing baptisms, Don emphasizes that this is something happening to you and not something you can do under your own power. Baptism is also a partial fulfillment of the Great Commission, the instructions Jesus gives his disciples when he addresses them following his resurrection. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28: 18-20).



As I said at the conclusion of my testimony, I praise God that He brought me here to Dartmouth and I praise Him that He led me to this wonderful church, because through the faithful witness of the saints He brought me to His Son.

How to pay for healthcare

That seems to be the $64,000 question these days. President Obama's health care-reform plan carries with it an estimated $1+ trillion price tag, and no one is entirely sure how to come up with the money. The New York Times reported on Friday that some congressmen were contemplating an incremental tax on individuals making $280,000 or more and couples making more than $350,000 a year. Predictably, this prompted a flurry of polarized comments, many of which were criticizing the proposal. On the whole, though, it's really not a bad idea.

Health care reform is necessary. The number of people in America who have little to no health insurance--and therefore little to no access to adequate health care--is both shocking and embarrassing. Any kind of systemic improvement will come at a price, but who should be paying? Asking those who are already hard-pressed to pay for health care to pay still more for affordable health care is a solution worthy of Joseph Heller. So why not institute a modest tax on those with substantial means? The Robin Hood undercurrent notwithstanding, it's a relatively small contribution per person that will do vast good across society. When it comes to health, less is not more.

And let's not forget the words of preeminent philosopher Count Rugen, "If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."

In other news, the Home Run Derby was tonight, the All-Star Game is tomorrow and my birthday is on Friday. It's going to be a good week!

Back to the Upper Valley

For 2010, that is. My fiancee was officially accepted as a Ph.D. student at Dartmouth, where she will be continuing her space physics research. Which means that once I complete paramedic school in August 2010, I'll be returning to the Upper Valley for the next few years. It also means that Ellen and I are close to picking a date for our wedding!

Last week I wrote about a federal advisory panel's recommendation to ban Vicodin and Percocet, along with several other painkillers, due to concerns about the overuse of acetaminophen. Yesterday Tara Parker-Pope's New York Times health blog ran an article seeking to calm fears about acetaminophen use. The issue, she writes, is not that it is an inherently harmful drug but that it's so ubiquitous that people are unknowingly exceeding the recommended dose. No word yet on whether or not the FDA will adopt the panel's recommendations. For now, make sure to carefully read the label whenever you take medicine.

In other news, a tentative deal has been struck to sell the Chicago Cubs. The prospective buyer is the Rickett family, whose credentials include founding the TD Ameritrade brokerage firm. The Cubs haven't won a World Series in 101 years and Wrigley Field now hosts night games, so things really can't get any worse. Maybe this will be a jolt in the right direction?

Excited for July

July is my favorite month of the year. Not only are my birthday, Independence Day and the baseball All-Star Game all in July, but July means summer vacation, a reprieve from school and everything that comes with it. Now that I am in the perpetual summer vacation of alumnus-hood, I have equally high hopes for the 2009 edition.

I have a lot more time to read these days, which is extremely exciting. I'm currently working on Australian novelist and critic John Harwood's The Ghost Writer, which is a fascinatingly subtle ghost story. After that I'll be looking for something else, so if you've read something good recently, please let me know! My previous book was Christopher Whitcomb's Black, which was a fun action / spy book. If you're into Tom Clancy or Vince Flynn, give it a look. It's a quick read.

In other news, a federal advisory panel voted yesterday to recommend that the FDA ban Vicodin and Percocet, currently among the most frequently prescribed painkillers in the world. Interestingly, the panel was not concerned about the addictive potential of the narcotic ingredients but about the potential for liver damage from the acetaminophen in the pill. Overdoses of acetaminophen (which is the active ingredient in Tylenol) cause more than 4,000 deaths and ten times as many hospitalizations each year. Unsurprisingly, Tylenol's manufacturer "strongly disagrees" with the panel's recommendations.