Antrax

Did you also try pointing out that over a weak heart opener, N might choose to overcall NT (if it's natural) rather than double with a balanced hand and 17 HCP?

Robot cars don't have to park anywhere, they can just drive around or drive back to your house once they're done driving you to work or whatever, until you call them back. At worst they can park in huge lots outside the cities. I totally await the day my son looks confused about the concept of "a parking problem".

Is it any different in other debates? Most humans tend to operate like that, why is it noteworthy? If anything people are much more open minded in this thread than the BW one.

We're behind the times. Facebook shaming for various offenses is currently a hot topic. As you can imagine it started out good, then people started using it for viral marketing or lies, then crazy people started shaming pages for things nobody in his right mind would find offensive, etc. But cars parking in handicap spots with no permit (especially police cars) are still in the consensus.

...in the US, I guess. In Israel it's a function of the car, not of who's in it. Theoretically if you have a handicapped family member you could take their car and park in handicapped spots while leaving them at home. I think it's even legal. The only deterrent is the social norm itself, which in the Facebook era implies potential public shaming.

That's one of the worst examples of backpedaling I've ever seen. Did you really mean "in this debate, there are the supporters of one side of the debate and the supporters of the other side, so it can't progress"? How is that not the situation in any debate with two sides? Maybe not. Are you saying it is, implicitly?

Kudos on the research, but that analogy is pretty off. It would make sense if Israel insisted that German players, or even Palestinian players, would be screened before participating. IOW, it would make perfect sense for anyone to ensure their safety when playing in a tournament hosted in Israel - even ignoring Jewish terrorist acts, Israel is a pretty dangerous place at times.

I personally use those as a short-suit game try.

BTW, I'm still interested in the question in the OP. I realise moving to a new country incurs costs, and I know being far away from the grandparents when you have a small child is a pain. I'm curious to see if there are factors I didn't think about that might sway my decision.

We have some open air restaurants, there's a nice one by the sea so unless the kid is working up an aneurism, the waves are going to drown the noise :)

Really? I thought Germany learned the correct lesson from the holocaust. Which reminds me, it's fun fact time! In the late 90s when Jews from Ethiopia moved to Israel, they were given contraceptive shots without their knowledge. When they donated blood, it was dumped to the trash as a matter of policy. I don't like Switzerland because it also has mandatory conscription and they have atomic fallout shelters in every house.

Upon further reflection, maybe I should elaborate why I want to leave. Simply put, Israel is slowly turning into a theocratic dictatorship. It's going pretty much by the books. The economy is ***** and it's being blamed on outside factors, specifically on immigrants. Xenophobia is on the rise - not only anti-arab racism, which has always existed, but now immigrants are also blamed for spreading disease and crime. The IDF is now above all criticism, and Judaism is slowly being integrated into schools. First steps are being taken towards securing extra rights to those who serve in the army. Segregation between the sexes is supported by the state. Peaceful demonstrations are routinely being broke up violently, with the main stream view being "good, they're traitors for not agreeing with the government". There's a significant minority in power that outright says that Israel should be Jewish first and democratic second. Oh, and the state continuously accumulates more power. In two years I'll be forced to give my fingerprints to a state-managed database - but that's cool, because you need a police officer to authorize access, so it's probably safe enough, right? I have more, if that's not convincing enough. But basically, it's not me being spoiled, it's this country going to hell. [edit] lol, the word for excrement is probably the least awful swear word in the text above. Good job, BBF censor.

Fun fact: cars are taxed around 150% in Israel, and that's before the insane fuel tax. It's actually a bit funny, because due to the tax, a car is very expensive. And then when you need to raise taxes, you go for cars, because they're for rich people anyway. I lived in the US for six months. Does that count?

I'm flattered. But you're right the criteria for US immigration make it seem as though they're just swamped with young couples with ~20 academic years between them. With Germany I'm cheating because I have a EU citizenship. No clue how strict the immigration policy there is.

Not the USA. First of all, the USA is too picky. Canada and Australia, for instance, are willing to take us yesterday. With the US, it's a long, drawn-out process. Also, there's a time zone issue - I'd like to be only a couple of hours away from my family, if possible. We're looking at Germany for the destination. Still no clue near which major city.

I'm seriously considering emigration. When talking with a friend he half-jokingly warned me that I'll move to a new country only to find a new set of issues to complain about. This seems like a multinational enough place, so what really bugs you about where you live? I'd start but it would turn this into an Israel discussion and I'd rather avoid that particular angle for now. Thanks!

Never happens, handicapped spots are marked very clearly and are 2x larger than normal to allow for ramps and the such. That's actually one of the few social norms both the city and the people in it still respect. In the unlikely scenario there's a handicapped party and all the designated spots are taken, they're allowed to park anywhere they want as long as it doesn't obstruct traffic. (I AM THE PARKING AVENGER!)

The lead of the ♣K promises the ♣Q, so GIB E tried to hide the fact the hand will need to be redealt.

Company car, they fix it for free while I'm at work. You can't beat my system :P

The bad auction is 1♣-1♠, 2♠-4♠ when 3NT was our spot. I'm sure that's not a problem in your partnership, but if the partnership style is to require four cards, then most of us don't have the tools to figure out when opener raised on three.

No, I agree with your characterization, but it's funny how you found it noteworthy, as though if you just wrote "I sat next to a screaming five year old" people would think "huh, probably her father's fault for not reasoning with her". Kids are noisy, for most part. I don't know what I'll do if I ever have to fly with mine for a longer duration than I can get him to sleep.

I bid 2♣ here because I'm from a part of the world where you very rarely raise on 3 and my club suit is robust enough that I prefer rebidding it. If you're okay with raising on three then this is a hand to raise on three. Another option you might want to consider on a 3=4=1=5 hand in this auction is 1NT. It's pretty bad when it goes 1NT-3NT, unless your opponents always lead a heart on this auction because you lead majors vs. NT. In other scenarios, though, you survive.

Oh, I did. It was a while ago but Diana contacted me online and we figured it out. If memory serves me, you get several shots at generating a deal. If no random deal generated within the allotted time fits the constraints, you get this error. So, if your constraints are super strict you might get this pretty often.

lol

Yep, you got it. I thought it was obvious - was my phrasing weird?