thepossum

Sorry to hear the news. Always enjoyed Nige1's contributions As someone who was occasionally on the receiving end from other posters he seemed a really nice person and even respected some of my posts with a comment

My favourite Gorbachev related memory was as a young impressionable traveller among those taken in by the changes in Russia/Soviet Union enthusiastically raising the topic in conversation with some Polish entrepreneurs. Met with a retort along the lines of "Gorbachev. He is just a mouth. The people cannot eat words" I would love to give more circumstances of the conversation but wish to protect the innocent. It may also have involved Bridge, vodka and various other goodies seemingly not available to everyone. I was very impressed as you can tell :)

I find this sad For me I always find the bidding the most interesting part of the game of Bridge

It is possible that all attempts at social engineering no matter how well intentioned can lead to possible fascism or something else bad Maybe a nice simple modelling exercise. Basic model Economy going well -> encourage people to go to school with loans -> great things going well for a while -> economic shock -> people can keep borrowing to replace lack of opportunity -> and so it goes I forgot other important parts of the loop which Chas touched upon. Price of essential services is rocketing. Why I have a vague recollection of a quote. Something like - God may be dead but try getting a plumber on a Sunday Not sure why Trollope also came to mind. From Wikipedia "Nevertheless a certain class of dishonesty, dishonesty magnificent in its proportions, and climbing into high places, has become at the same time so rampant and so splendid that there seems to be reason for fearing that men and women will be taught to feel that dishonesty, if it can become splendid, will cease to be abominable. If dishonesty can live in a gorgeous palace with pictures on all its walls, and gems in all its cupboards, with marble and ivory in all its corners, and can give Apician dinners, and get into Parliament, and deal in millions, then dishonesty is not disgraceful, and the man dishonest after such a fashion is not a low scoundrel. Instigated, I say, by some such reflections as these, I sat down in my new house to write The Way We Live Now" Regarding the other weird thing discussed above - our ex-PM's secret ministries I have tried to put an understanding take on it - we were under defence command during the pandemic etc. Who knows why it happened. The last thing you would need under a crisis would be media/public asking difficult questions

I never assumed that Just Declare auctions were real Given the nature of some contracts they even appear beyond GiB What kind of person would contrive hands to trip up a bot :) Come up with a weird auction and reverse engineer a hand that kind of fits maybe

Back to preparing one of my possible legal cases Having to self-represent given lack of budget and/or pro-bono legal team After all I am unable to play bridge or make reliable forum posts :) - with or without UI/Internet problems Of course I realise that those I am up against could be reading everything and even changing it is as I write it

Where are all those events going. Making a high spec device and OS(?) behave in such a problematic way Why can we get no decent support or explanation or analysis from the corporations we trust to provide those services to us They are services that are essential to every aspect of our lives and security - personal security and national and global security What troubles me most is my personal security for the rest of my life - especially after what happened over the first 60 years of it, especially the last 30 Sorry if I sound over-dramatic but I am not exaggerating at all How many times do I have to click to get action - apparently without me knowing I've been doing it over and over again Also, as I have said elsewhere if you are not involved (anyone) there is no need for anxiety. I am just asking for disinterest or support. That is your choice. I have been using an alias, not so much to hide, but just because it made me feel somewhat safer. My identity is not a secret obviously Maybe what I am up against is. And it involves trying to get justice from possibly the world's biggest and most corrupt industry - in all its forms And it is possible to play into those corrupt people's hands with even a totally innocent comment that upsets someone on a forum Clearly at the micro-level all those mouseclicks are going somewhere without obvious response, whether I am playing bridge, trying to make a post on a forum, trying to write a top-secret email perhaps. But they don't all appear to have done anything. That's at the micro-level of global security, not the bigger issue that concerns me personally

Dear Mycroft Yet again you attack through patronising and missing the point Maybe its time I gave a few more details about what I am up against That includes the quite high chance of widespread global gaslighting which can take many forms No need for any comments like that. You have done it before Before you dare to insult and patronise again, have you any idea how bad the UI/Internet/OS/event issues would have to be for that to happen Back to school Also do you realise that you made one of my points for me about what happens when I raise these serious issues on any forum. There is a always a Mycroft-type character to attack and undermine. Strange Becauuse that is what it does. It undermines and contributes to the gaslighting - I use the term broadly We are talking about very serious stuff which could be global, could be local, could be national What I am hoping for and keep asking nicely for is a bit of understanding and support Lets hope you don't know more about what I am dealing with than you should and be part of the "we know how to manipulate the possum and make him look bad" crowd. There are a lot of them with many different motives. Many just relating to global corruption and evil and trillions of dollars of revenue Do I have to keep stating it on forum after forum until somebody listens to a story of incredible evil. Nobody would want to be unknowingly complicit in terrible evil would they. You may not realise how unsupportive behaviour on any forum could play into the hands of a psychopath say

As an aside query Can anyone else see my 4 identical posts in the little new posts frame at the top right of the forums Or is it just me that can see it in my browser

EDIT Apologies. No need to read and waste time at all unless you have nothing better to do :) I know it sounds crazy but after 40 years workinng with computers and networks I know when there is something evil going on When nobody anywhere is prepared to help identify it from some local neighbourhood creep to something evil on the Ingternet or a platform, or in an app its even more scary I just had another torunament ruined by fighting dodgy events and other weird interface stuff. Wherever the problem is. In my hardware, my wifi, anywhere between me and Bridgebase etc Sorry for using this forum but I am alerting all relevant ones. I haven't yet been bullied off this one for raising it It is just evil in the interface for everything. Hello Norton. Can you help I use many of the World's top brands of stuff and pay my licenses. I don't like creepiness Oh look there are 4 identical posts by the Possum. What caused that. And the typos and rrors Something evil in scripts Sorry for sounding rather anxious but it is getting extreme and the lack of avenues to raise awareness or get it identified is scary these days, as is the reaction of industry people when issues are raised Did I mention the recent news about certain countries spying on every little thing we do It could be just a creepy neighbour doing something evil. Who can I call that is trustworthy tto identify the cuplrit wherever and whoever they are Sorry about typos. With dodgy interfaces things happen A lot of important confidential stuff happens on my devices and networks, as with many BBO users I imagine The nearest I have to evidence is a print screen of the 4 identical posts I apparently made while trying to make one post. That's if anyone doubts something is awry somewhere Please take this post as just notification of something awry and very creepy. Have you ever felt you were almost wrestling some evil force while trying to make a post or play Bridge :) -its not my only excuse for occasional typos and bad bridge scores but wrestling every single UI event doesn't help those of us with limitations

You definitely feel like you are exploring unknown parts of the universe at times

This was very sad leading to a 20 point swing on the final hand of an IMPs tourney I was not alone in trying to find a minor slam Sadly GiB did not heed the advice to bid the lowest of the suits you can support I thought it must have nice set of hearts (as did quite a few of us) Double appeared to be taken as a rather dull penalty 5 clubs would have worked as a nice gamble getting to 6 I regret not following my instincts and bidding 6C over 5H Nobody found 5NT which I also considered as an escape [hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~~M12670,~~M12668,~~M12669|md|2S62HA8DKQT8CAKQ98,SKQT87543H52D5CT6,SAHJT63DAJ42CJ732,SJ9HKQ974D9763C54|sv|n|rh||ah|Board%2012|mb|4S|an|Preempt%20--%208+%20!S;%205-9%20HCP%20|mb|P|mb|P|mb|4N|an|4+%20!C;%204+%20!D;%2017+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|5H|an|4+%20!H%20|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|SJ|pc|S2|pc|S8|pc|SA|pc|HJ|pc|HQ|pc|HA|pc|H5|pc|CA|pc|C6|pc|C2|pc|C4|pc|DK|pc|D5|pc|D2|pc|D7|pc|CK|pc|CT|pc|C3|pc|C5|pc|DQ|pc|H2|pc|D4|pc|D9|pc|SK|pc|H3|pc|S9|pc|S6|pc|DA|pc|D6|pc|D8|pc|SQ|pc|DJ|pc|D3|pc|DT|pc|ST|pc|CJ|pc|H4|pc|C8|pc|S7|pc|H9|pc|H8|pc|S4|pc|HT|pc|C7|pc|HK|pc|CQ|pc|S5|pc|H7|pc|C9|pc|S3|pc|H6|]400|300[/hv]

As Tyler said :lol:

Hi all Not expecting sympathy but this auction was something of a test in the designated ranges. Instead of using my judgement. That is pass 3NT I thought to myself. No I will believe the point range that my partner claims to have and add it to mine, and think, oooohh. Maybe when added to my points we have a slam Some people will say but you should know from the bidding. But that's not what the point ranges say I do not know where blame lies but when I add my points to the max, 19, I get enough for 6NT despite what the updated label on my bid says. I was not alone but relatively lonely in this disaster. But I had a strange premonition People will say but in real bridge you would know Not showing my play (irrelevant) because I didn't manage to make the 3-1 that many made I thought about it for ages. Instinct says pass 3NT but, no, it could have 19 points. What an opportunity Then I thought, don't worry, if its at the bottom end of that range it will leave you in 4NT I do everything I can to bid in a disciplined way and according to the constantly variable bid descriptions but sometimes I struggle Even according to the massively distorted updated descriptor on my 4NT 13 points only adds up to a minimum of 32. Even then. Despite all other possible considerations, errors, whatever I know some may try to make out I know nothing about computing and basic sums but adding up points should be quite easy. The top end of our alleged ranges added up to more than 40 which considering what EW had was remarkable I know its my fault being brought up with systems where fairly quickly you knew how many points you had within a few points [hv=pc=n&s=sq9h65dakt6cakt63&w=st76432hq2d432c54&n=sakhkt98743dqj8c8&e=sj85hajd975cqj972&d=n&v=e&b=9&a=1h(11%3D21pts%205H)p2c(Forcing%2013%2B%20hcp)p2h(5%20hearts%2011-21%20pts)p3d(13%2B%20points%20forcing)p3n(12-19%20HCPs)p4n(19-20%20HCPs%20oops)p6n(14-16%20HCPs%20oops)ppp]399|300[/hv]

Hi all I was curious about this endplay/midplay. Almost every table was 3NTN-n, except this table who managed to get GiB to give up all the diamonds Are they just smart or is it a mistake by GiB. Approximately trick 7 I think Name has been changed to anonymous to protect the innocent player who managed it Did West think it was a safe discard or did it feel squeezed? As far as I know it could see South's hand (remember the South player was declaring as North) [hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|anonymous,~~M31230,~~M31228,~~M31229|md|1SQ2HA932DAKT742CK,S5HK865DJ953CQJ75,ST984HQJDQ6CA8432,SAKJ763HT74D8CT96|sv|o|rh||ah|Board%2011|mb|1D|an|Minor%20suit%20opening%20--%203+%20!D;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|1S|an|One%20over%20one%20--%204+%20!S;%206+%20total%20points%20|mb|P|mb|2H|an|Opener%20reverse%20--%205+%20!D;%204+%20!H;%203-%20!S;%2021-%20HCP;%2018-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|3N|an|4+%20!S;%208-11%20HCP%20|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|SK|pc|S2|pc|S5|pc|S4|pc|SA|pc|SQ|pc|C7|pc|S8|pc|SJ|pc|H2|pc|H8|pc|S9|pc|H7|pc|HA|pc|H5|pc|HJ|pc|CK|pc|CQ|pc|C2|pc|C6|pc|D2|pc|D9|pc|DQ|pc|D8|pc|ST|pc|S3|pc|H3|pc|D3|pc|CA|pc|C9|pc|H9|pc|C5|pc|D6|pc|H4|pc|DK|pc|D5|pc|DA|pc|DJ|pc|C3|pc|S7|mc|10|]400|300[/hv]

I thought only an immediate double of a conventional bid was lead directing for GiB and normal bridge Isn't that double something like a penalty double which is unlikely given the auction so far I wouldn't have known what it meant :) I guess if I looked at the auction and thought it was penalties and you hadn't yet bid that it meant you had hearts

ok thanks I was hoping it was fairly well decoupled from table performance Would hate to be responsible for wasting anyone's valuable seconds :)

Sorry but the OP lost my interest immediately You need to be able to sell a Bridge query

Hi all I appreciate that connection and other problems of a player at a table could/does impact performance of the table/play or play of a Bot, but does Kibitzing have any impacts or is that well isolated from the table The reason I ask is that sometimes I like to Kibitz/watch (to be more precise - I keep my mouth shut) another table at the end of a tournament. I would hate to slow the thing down anymore. Today I was watching the very last minute of a tourney and was willing the player/bot to speed up. I hoped I wasn't responsible

Maybe if the defence is that flaky it would be better put to more like a coin toss decision on which line of defence. Maybe more accurate representation of variance. I am surprised at many things about how Gib "sims" work or not and understand problems with how seeds are used or generated it still seems a bit unfair How would a reasonably competent human have defended? Would the play of the Jack versus x really be enough to change a Double Dummy calculation on that defence. Its curious to some of us I will remember to do it next time the situation arises and see what happens EDIT. I tried it in another Bridge program and the initial defence was a heart, not a diamond. However after forcing a diamond defence it continued with it

OK Brief summary. Almost every other table bid 4S, either the same way as me or via 2NT - EDIT correction, several never made it past 2 but that's irrelevant What appears to be the difference was the play of the J or x of Clubs on trick 2 leading in my case to a suicidal switch to Hearts by East, yet on other tables maintaining a successful diamond attack on trick 3 :) Enough to "trick" a sim obviously, somehow And I have sampled about 60% of the tables that also bid 4 and my hypothesis on the play of Clubs on trick 2 appears to hold up

[hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~~M43203,~~M43201,~~M43202|md|3SAQ6HKT976DT7CKQ5,S54HQJ4DKQJ963CT8,SKJT873HA82D42CJ4,S92H53DA85CA97632|sv|e|rh||ah|Board%209|mb|2S|an|Weak%20two%20bid%20--%201-4%20!C;%201-3%20!D;%201-3%20!H;%206+%20!S;%2010-%20HCP;%207+%20total%20points%20|mb|P|mb|4S|an|The%20Law:%2010%20trump%20-%3E%20game%20support%20--%202+%20!S;%204+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|DA|pc|D7|pc|D6|pc|D2|pc|CA|pc|C5|pc|C8|pc|CJ|pc|H3|pc|H6|pc|HJ|pc|HA|pc|SK|pc|S2|pc|S6|pc|S4|pc|S3|pc|S9|pc|SQ|pc|S5|pc|CK|pc|CT|pc|C4|pc|C9|pc|CQ|pc|D9|pc|H2|pc|C6|pc|HK|pc|H4|pc|H8|pc|H5|pc|H7|pc|HQ|pc|S7|pc|C7|mc|11|]400|300[/hv] It was a bit embarrassing. The simplest possible bidding and play yet it scored 100% for yours truly For everyone else East seemed able to find 3 winners On a very small sample I appeared to trick GiB by playing the J clubs on trick two (I was declaring as North :))

I reckon pluralistic democracy is ***** In Australia we have a commission that adjusts boundaries to even it all up :lol: Oh dear that one is heading the wrong way etc Edit One of the learnings I put down as getting too old to care is that every vote is "equal". I think I need to study ancient Greek philosophy What is democracy. Which is more democratic. China or the USA? China has two sides two. Those in the party and those not

One of the "downsides" of being a federation :) I reckon the world would be much better if it was all run by our big inner city areas I came to "love" the Australian "unrepresentative swill" :) Edit. Sorry different uses of quotes

Hi Occasionally I have considered playing one of the Pairs tourneys that allows you to join with a Bot (I know that sounds very sad. I have only considered it) However I am concerned about alerting requirements, as in the details for the tourneys If you play with a Bot are all your bids automatically described/alerted as per GiB descriptions I am also somewhat concerned what happens if you accidentally play too slow and are replaced by another Bot P