Elianna

I never said it was sexist, I don't know anyone who did. I'm sorry that I don't find comments humorous that seem to be at someone else's expense.

Correct, and then later; I don't think that it's sexist so much (after all, bulls DO have them), it's just that the expressions IS "grab the bull by the horns", and the strike-through correction seems put in just to rile someone. I mean, why write "balls" with a strike-through EXCEPT to try to offend?

AKA deluge

I'm going. I have no idea what I'm playing in or with who. It kinda depends on GNTs, which are not even final for my district until MAY! I really haven't had any experiences with the partnership desk at nationals. I would advise not making long-term plans with pick-up partners found at either nationals or ACBL's online PD. Play it one day at a time, so you're not stuck with someone with whom you can't get along.

These are exactly my sentiments. I have never purposely broken any rules in my life, but this rule makes me feel so mad. I also hate being accused of wanting to use it while playing, which a few people seem to be saying is what those of us who are upset want. BTW, anyone remember that awful bridge is cool commercial, and what was very prevalent in each segment? :)

If people wouldn't get upset when they are reminded that they are adults and can express themselves in an intelligent, rounded manner and shouldn't needlessly use profanity as a crutch for lack of linguistic ability then "the world would be a better place" (quoting the post above).

I'm not upset about not being able to use my phone. I'm not happy being told that I have to leave my phone somewhere. I have yet to hear a proposal where I would feel safe leaving the second-most expensive object that I own. And leaving it in my hotel room is impossible, as the very reason for bringing one to an NABC is to be in contact with partners/teammates before the game.

I sometimes wonder if people who think that describing someone as "having balls" isn't sexist also think that saying a female bridge player "plays like a man" isn't sexist, either. I think that one is definitely less obvious than the other, but just because something is less blatant doesn't mean that it's still not sexist. About the original post, I thought that it was a funny way to say "How big are your balls?" from a female point of view (changing balls to breasts). I felt it was an amusing twist when I actually looked at who wrote it. I understand why a moderator deleted the thread title. When I first saw it, I thought a spammer had managed to post something really vulgar. Then I saw the originating poster, and realized that it was probably safe to open. :D

I've seen several people say this, but ACBL also gives away money to charities. This seems rather incongruous (that ACBL is either a charity, or gives to charities, but why both?) Sorry for continuing the digression off topic.

This thread is one reason I'm against birthday threads. I think that one should be started on the first of the month, for everyone in that month. That way, anyone who doesn't get a thread started for them doesn't feel left out.

I wish that BBO forums would let me make music notes, but... A very merry unbirthday to you!

No, you can't. :)

Oh, ok. I guess I was confused, because I thought that it was the same for withdrawal rate from tournaments, but it definitely makes sense for the software to treat it as differently in this instance.

I also would have had much more of a problem with this if the same exact thing happened abroad, because then I'd feel that he was representing Americans, and that he should behave better.

I was just in a team match recently that had two people get disconnected, one of them being the organizer, and the match wasn't cancelled. They were able to come back later (it took something like 2-5 minutes) but it's still rather wierd that you've had TM cancelled, and we didn't have this one cancelled, unless BBO reacted very quickly to your complaint. :)

When the early start times are at the East Coast NABCs, this is like playing bridge at 7am to a West Coaster. That's where the comment of "arrive a week earlier" was made to us. And it's rather funny, as early start times seem to be much more common at the East Coast NABCs than at West Coast ones (where early start times would be beneficial for East Coasters). I for one would be really unhappy waiting a half hour (or longer?!?) after the session to pick up my cell phone. And just to give some people an illusory feeling that there isn't cheating going on?

Did he spend government money on this prostitute? Did he use a government paid trip to solicit this prostitute (either travel, or hotel room paid by government)? If the answer to either of these is yes, then I would have a problem if I were a citizen of New York (because it would be my tax money that financed this). Otherwise, I would think that it's solely his wife's business. I wonder how long before she's running for governor, btw. I voted for the second choice, if that's not clear.

I thought that I was defending mathematicians. :P

Hi Ian, and welcome! A lot of people find themselves in your situation, and I agree that the "find a game" could probably stand improvement, but in the meantime, I suggest finding some of the other younger people on BBO, making friends with them, and playing with them. I know, easier said than done, huh? Hopefully some of them will see your message here, and contact you. They're nice people. -Elianna

I, for one, cannot imagine what they plan on doing about this. I mean, if they plan on starting to search people, I can see many deciding not to go to NABCs. Otherwise, how are they going to enforce the "no cell phones in the playing area"? My guess is by when one goes off, orr someone just takes one out, which seems to be a rule "No use of cell phones", not "no bringing cell phones". I agree with Rob, you're going to see a lot of people ignoring the rule. And not just the under 35s, either.

If (1) is actually enforced, isn't (2) an impossibility?

I may have posted this before but it fits the theme: An engineer walks by a burning house, grabs a firehose, and puts the fire out. A physicist walks by a burning house, sees the houses next to it aren't on fire, decides on average there isn't a fire, and walks on by. A mathematician sees a house NOT on fire, and so sets it on fire reducing to an already solved problem

I voted for playing in speedballs, but it might be a more personal thing. I tend to play VERY fast(1), and have to work very carefully to not play too quickly. This makes me very susceptible to the sominex coup, btw. If I play in speedballs, it reinforces my laziness, and I carry that out into regular bridge games. (1) Those who've played against me online might think that I'm very slow. I am slow online, usually because I'm being a bad person (tv + TWoP + food)

Or they're old. Or old fashioned.

If you can get your compiler to tell you the line that causes the error, that can give you a hint of why it is sayin no \begin{document} when it is there. Of course, you have to be able to figure out where to look. In TeXnic center, when an error occurs, you can find a "!" button lit up at the top, and if you press it, it tells you were it found the error. This will appear in the bottom of the screen, and you'll need to scroll through the information to find the errors. I highly recommend always starting with the first error. Also, if you are unsure what is causing an error, you can comment out portions without erasing them, by using the percent sign (%) Note: In the above comments, "you" applies to Cascade, whom Ken is replying to, not to Ken.