Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Lesson 105: Patterned Sacrifice (2)

By Nam Chi-hyung Sacrifice is a useful tactic when your opponent’s group of stones is stronger than yours. You can make your group or shape stronger by sacrificing some stones, while keeping your opponent satisfied by capturing what you sacrifice. Diagram 1 The corner was occupied by Black with knight’s enclosure. It is pretty hard for White to disturb the corner territory if Black wants to keep it, as you can see in his intention expressed in Black 4 and 6. In this case, it can be an alternative for White to let Black get the corner and save the outside influence for himself instead. Diagram 2 White’s goal is to make the best use of what he sacrificed and to make a strong shape outside. Giving atari with 1 and 3 is a method to enlarge the sacrifice. By doing that, White can force Black to capture White 1 through the inefficient sequence from 8 to 14. To play a loose netting move with 9 is a tesuji to make the opponent’s shape heavy. Diagram 3 Black 2 is one of the more often-played replies against the one-space approach of White 1. If White bends at B, t

Jul 19, 2007

Summer Hygiene Care for Your Pet

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter Lim, a 31-year-old salaried man in Seoul, has two dogs to take care of. They have been with for more than six years now and are as precious to him as family. Up to now, he had left his dogs at pet hospitals whenever he had to leave for summer vacation. However, this year, he has decided to take them with him. Here are some of the most important tips for the hygienic care for your pet this summer. Dotted with humidity and sizzling temperatures, the weather can wreak havoc for those trying to keep their pets clean and, more importantly, healthy. When you take your pets with you on your summer vacation, you should always have your pet on a lead so you can control it. Although your pet may mean the world to you, remember that it can show unpredictable behavior when encountering strangers. Also, be sure to always bring bags for pet excrement. One of the things that most troubles people during the summer are mosquitoes. So please spray your pet with insect repellents that are especially made for repelling them. That way, you can prevent y

Jul 15, 2007

363th Turtle Marathon to be Held

For those looking for a leisurely stroll with company, come join the 360th Turtle Marathon. As an added bonus, there is also a chance to win various prizes. Along with regular citizens, 60 Miss Korea 2007 candidates will participate in the marathon. The theme is ``the strength that makes the world well’’ and National Cancer Center Director, Yoo Keun-young will be the honorary head for the event. Much like the turtle in Aesop's fable would have completed his race, no running is involved. A scenic 7-kilometer walk through the Namsan Mountain area, the event has taken place once a month since 1978. This event is organized by The Korea Times’ sister company, the Hankook Ilbo. After the event, the National Cancer Center will hold a campaign, snacks and water will be distributed, and prizes that include electric fans and bicycles will be given to participants by comedian Lee Sang-yong. Certification for two hours of volunteer work will be given to middle and high school students who participate in beautifying the environment. The Turtle Marathon is free. When: July 15th

Jul 13, 2007

Lesson 104: Patterned Sacrifice (1)

By Nam Chi-hyung Sacrifice is a method of deliberately giving up stones or territory. Since people usually don't want to give up their stones or territory without proper reason, many of the sacrificing tactics are emergency measures. However, we can also find that many josekis are formulated through a sacrificing method. Because a joseki is a sequence where both Black and White get balanced results, it is important to get the corresponding benefit when a player sacrifice his stones. Diagram 1 The sequence up to White 3 is a 5-4 point joseki that appears often. A to C are Black's possible answers to White 3, but here let's look at the variations with Black B, which are related to the sacrifice tactic. Diagram 2 After pushing with 1, Black cuts at 3 and extends at 5. There, 3 and 5 are sacrificing stones which White can capture with 4 and 6. Black will not try to save those, but make an influence by using them. Diagram 3 As you see here, even though the two black stones are dead, Black can have a wall outside. Diagram 4 Black 4 is a variation of the

Jul 12, 2007

Lesson 103: How to Enjoy Your Game

By Nam Chi-hyung Nowadays, Baduk is taught in about 1,000 elementary schools in Korea as an extra curricular activity, which means that about 100,000 children are learning the game at this moment. However, it is difficult for all the kids to fully appreciate the virtue of Baduk and continue learning and playing it for a long time. There are various reasons why children lose interest in a game; they may find other things of interest, or they may have no spare time to spend on a pastime. Many young players give up because they think it is just too difficult to become good at. Even grown-ups consider Baduk a game usually for those who like puzzles and solving difficult problems. They say that their lives are already too complicated and they don’t want to use their brain for the sake of a game. However, Baduk is actually like singing a song. Have you seen the movie “The Sound of Music?” There you learn that if you know the notes, do, re, mi, then you can sing most anything. Baduk is just like that. If you know the fundamentals, you can play all sorts of variations

Jul 5, 2007

Naming Emotions Makes You Feel Better

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter Putting feelings into words makes sadness and anger less intense, according to U.S. brain researchers on Thursday. They said naming negative feelings activates a part of the brain that is in charge of impulse control. Los Angeles brain researcher Matthew Lieberman at the University of California and his colleagues scanned the brains of 30 people, consisting of 18 women and 22 men aged between 18 and 36, who were shown pictures of faces expressing strong emotions. The results of the study were published in the U.S. journal Psychological Science. The participants were asked to categorize the feelings in words like sad or angry, or to choose between two gender-specific names like ``Harry’’ or ``Sally’’ that matched each face. It turned out that when people matched a word like sad to a sad-looking face, the response in the amygdala portion of the brain that deals with panic, fear and other strongly negative emotions decreased. The findings revealed that while putting emotions into words decreases the response in those basic emotio

Jul 1, 2007

Exercise for Weight Loss

By Dr. Park Chan-Joo Obesity is one of the most common and serious health problems all over the world. It is well known that obesity is related to chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and eventually reduction of longevity. Since obesity is a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body, weight loss should be focused on decreasing the amount of fat. In contrast to temporary weight loss by reduction of such body materials as moisture, muscle and fat, exercise can especially help reduce fat in the long term. Physical exercise can contribute to maintaining a healthy weight by building and maintaining healthy bone density, strengthening muscles, keeping joints flexible, and strengthening the immune system. Needless to say, it is essential for not only losing weight but also staying healthy. Then what kind of exercise would be more effective in losing weight? Of the three categories of exercises _ aerobic exercises, anaerobic exercises and flexibility exercises _ obese people should first choose a

Jul 1, 2007

Lesson 102: Back to Basics

By Nam Chi-hyung The following is a well-known anecdote: a man asked a famous Baduk master if there was a secret method for improving Baduk strength. The master answered, if such a thing exists, he would like to learn it as well. Like it says in the proverb ``there is no royal road to learning,’’ perhaps the best way to get better in any field is to spend more time and effort. However, you may still want to know where to invest the time and effort, and this is my answer; trust what you already know. In learning Baduk, if your goal is to have more and more knowledge, you will never be satisfied. Baduk is always changing, and there are an enormous number of moves and variations, far beyond human capacity to master. I’ve never heard it said in Baduk that the winner of a game knows more than the loser. We may say that the winner plays better than the loser, but the amount of their knowledge is incomparable. Then, what is it that you already know? In short, it is the basics. Let’s look at some representative cases where the use of the basics is the best armor you have. Di

Jun 28, 2007

Lesson 101: Difference in Counting Rules (3)

By Nam Chi-hyung In the last lesson, we looked at examples in which the two different rules draw different conclusions. Let’s look at some more examples in this lesson and how they are resolved in many international Baduk tournaments. There are numerous situations which are regulated in the same way as the bent-four-in-the-corner situation. Diagram 1 The black and white groups in this corner seem to be in a dual life because both have an eye and cannot play at A as it is. Actually, this is not a dual life situation but a big eye vs. small eye, and the black group is dead under the Territory rule ``when only one player can start a ko and the other can do nothing but kill himself, the group of the latter is considered to be dead without further play.’’ That is, only White can play A and start a ko after he captures the three △-marked black stones, so the black group is considered dead as it is. As you may have already noticed, the logic regulating this situation is exactly the same as the one regulating bent four in the corner, and therefore the problems accompanying

Jun 21, 2007

Foot Care in Summer

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter Summer has begun so it is time to take care of our feet, which we often expose in order to keep cool amid hot weather. We want our feet to look good, feel good, and smell good. No one wants bad smelling feet with dry cracked heels, calluses, or ugly fungal infected toenails. While the sunny days beckon us to beaches and swimming pools, it’s important to be aware of potential foot problems that can. Here are some tips to keep your feet looking and feeling great all summer long. 1. Be sure to wash your feet everyday. Keep your feet dry and clean when away from the water, and apply a topical anti-fungal medication on any cracking or peeling. 2. Avoid going barefoot even when you go to a swimming pool. Wear slippers, shoes, or aqua shoes around the pool, on the beach and in the locker room. If you walk barefoot on warm wet floors of locker rooms, you are most likely to pick up a fungal nail infection. 3. After a long day of sightseeing, hiking or intense exercise, treat your feet to a soak in lukewarm water, a brief massage and then eleva

Jun 17, 2007

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