HeavyDluxe

IE6, WinXP Pro (SP2) here and BBOFLASH works fine.

You know what Jon? I'd give some number of fingers and toes to be half the bridge player you (probably) are... You seem be a real student of the game with the talent to make that study blossom into skill. In that, I envy you. But this kind of ignorant, intolerant, name-calling rhetoric is just absurd. How do you expect anyone to take your point of view seriously when you resort to this kind of lowbrow politicking....? Oh, wait! I can hear your response now! "Well, I'm just adopting the tactics of GWB and his cronies." Whatever. Whatever talent you have, I can't help but imagine that the gigantic foot in your mouth is going to make it hard for you someday. In the meantime, if you want to spout stuff like this, might I suggest you use your blog for it and not these forums? Thanks.

Well, actually, this is not correct. If a cat can be both dead and alive, and if an electron can be in more than one place at the same time, then surely all religions can be right. I think it is correct. An electron doesn't 'claim' anything. The cat doesn't declare it's state of being. We observe their state and apply definition. Christianity in particular makes absolute, exclusive truth claims... Therefore it sets up a position in which it is either correct or bunk. We aren't left with the 'both/and' option.

*nods* Same thing.

http://images22.fotki.com/v754/photos/1/127099/1923196/ike_where_this_thread_is_going-vi.jpg sry... Just had to employ the infrequently used IMG tag.

Helene, Just to clarify my point - I'm a borderline O/C filer. :) I *do* have these people marked as friends right now, but I'd just be interested in having them separated out. Again, hardly a big deal. And yes, player notes are an awesome feature for which I'm very grateful...

Very, very minor suggestion... Is it possible to add a 3rd - or, depending on you perspective, 4th - person flag? Currently, other BBO players can be flagged as neutrals, friends, or enemies. It would be great if there was a 4th coding we could apply. For me, I'd use it to mark people I like to kibitz... That way, I could see, separate from my friends, that I have the option of depressing myself by watching someone decent (I'd list names, but don't want anyone to feel excluded). That said, the flag could be left 'undefined' so player could use for any number of other things... Perhaps some will want to have 1st and 2nd tier friends, or players who are always up to fill in team games but you want to remember to put on the other team... Just a thought.

*must resist urge to pun*

FWIW (and that's not much), I think it's a club cuebid with hearts as trumps. This auction would have a specific 'agreement' with the folks I normally play with... 1♥ 1♠* 3♣ 3♥* Game forcing heart raise. The 1S (or 2C or 2D) would show a good five card suit (2 of the top 3 honors). This 'delayed raise' is the responder's analog to a 4 level opener's rebid to Jacoby 2NT. 4♣ 4♦ 4♥ 5♣ Assuming the 'gadget' above, 4C is bidding out shape or control showing. 4D is a cuebid. Opener has no extra values, so bids 4H but responder has other ideas. Take this with the biggest grain of salt imaginable. Mmmmm. Salt.

My goodness! Aren't we ever opinionated.

Ummm... Mortification and humiliation? And what Roland said... As an aside, I've learned "You suck, Dluxe" in many new languages as a result. :)

I would imagine that Root's Commonsense Bidding or Caitlin's Standard Bidding w/ SAYC might fit the bill. I say that as someone who is far from a great bidder... So, if someone else contributes - listen to them. :blink:

First off, thanks for Gerben for the game and for tracking the results! This made the whole Championship a ton of fun. I only regret that I couldn't watch more of the matches live! Congrats to the Harald for the win. I suspect this will be the pinnacle of my achievements in bridge. I just won't tell people that it was a pick 'em pool. :) Thanks everyone... It was fun!

Congrats to the Norwegian team, administrators (like Harald), and other Norwegian bridge 'fans' on their team's success! As Gerben noted, the team had a very convincing march through the KOs and an even more convincing win in the finals. Worthy champs, indeed.

Hi all... Threads/topics/discussions like this do little, I suppose, to change the opinion of the people participating. Those people who think 'The Sign Incident' was in poor taste will always think that. Those people who think 'The Sign Incident' was humorous or even patriotic will continue to think that, I suppose. Welcome to the internet, eh? Regardless of the transformational value (or lack thereof) this thread holds: I think the behavior of the winning women's team, if it was as described, was in very poor taste. The Bermuda Bowl stage *in CHINA* is simply not the place for this kind of political statement to be made. If the tournament were held in the US and you wanted to make such a statement, fine. To do so in someone else's house is just immature and disrespectful, IMHO. If the point was to distance the participants on the team from the negative perception the US currently has abroad, doing so at the CLOSING CEREMONY is certainly absurd. By this point, the women had already conversed and competed with representatives from all the countries. If you want to tell people, "Yes, I think GWB is a idiot, too. Please don't think of me the way you think of him" then you've had ample chance to do so. If you support support the action of the US women's team using their 'free speech' option, then I hope you would also support another team making a different, perhaps more inflammatory statement from the podium. Perhaps "We hate the UK" or something like that...? The simple fact is that the general dislike of the current Presidential administration is influencing our view of their behavior. However, I believe the fact is that the behavior was wrong and immature - no matter how much you might resonate with the content. They are completely entitled to their opinions ("We hate Bush"), but should have sought a more appropriate soapbox to stand on. Anyways, FLAME ON!!!!

Hi. I was trying to get the vugraph movies from last night's BB finals. When I downloaded these two files: http://web04.bridgebase.com/vug/3_5_Bermud...6_8%20-%20G.lin http://web04.bridgebase.com/vug/0_8_Bermud...5_8%20-%20A.lin ... there are no boards visible in the files. Just thought someone should know. Thanks for the great service you all provide to us! - Dluxe

Some people have a lot of nerve.... I would never, in a million years, think of randomly asking a player completely unknown to me to play in a team match. To ask someone who is a 'star' would be even more ridiculous. That said, if I even considered it, I'd at least try to ask the person via private message while they're dummy or otherwise lurking online. A random invite seems to be the height of rude. re: kibbing - I know that I watch a lot of the players on here when I have the chance. Once, I think at a table with Hannie and pclayton, I accidentally fired a really random comment intended for another player to the table. I felt really bad about it. The fact is that a flip of a check box by the table host means that we wouldn't be able to watch at all. While 99% of what I'm watching goes over my head, that 1% that does take root is valuable. And I'm grateful for the chance to peek in. So, on behalf of the random masses of BBOers: Sorry that some of us are idiots.

*ahem* Not simply a homer call! As I said in my post, why pick Italy like everyone else? If USA2 won, I'd look like a genius. Also note my stunning integrity... I did not waver from my pick even when the news came that Soloway wouldn't be making the trip (meaning no offense to Jlall's pop, of course). Integrity. Of course, I'm also looking like a huge loser. B) But I'm used to this, especially re: bridge. Good luck to one and all... And thanks for running this, Gerben!

As the quintessential, sucky, BBO pickup partner, I say: What he said.

You know, that video is drawing countless youth into the game... Be thankful. *cough cough*

Interesting thread, actually... As I've mentioned elsewhere, I love bridge and am bummed that I have only gotten around to playing 'seriously' (bad) in my adulthood. I want to expose my kids to 'thinking games' in general, and bridge obviously is a particular idol I'd like to see come to the fore. I agree with what's already been said in this thread: Chess is easier to teach kids than bridge. Teaching young children to play *well* is also easier, I think, since so much of early chess development is tactical. Since all the moves are right there in front of you, kids start to see the patterns relatively easily. My plan of attack for developing my 6 year-old into the next Belladonna looks something like this: Right now, exposure to card games and other games as 'fun'. Our son love to play games, and we merrily go along. No pressure, just enjoyment. For card games, we've been using this guide to card games for kids as an idea source. Right now, our son loves Uno, chess, and a homemade whist-ish thing we came up with (played with half decks - 8-A or 2-7) called "Follow [and beat] the leader". He's learning about the suits, ranks (which, with the number cards is a counting/math thing), and how to win/lose graciously. Eventually, something like minibridge will probably come into play - assuming he's still interested. Adding up 'points', some inference, and strategy etc. And on, and on it goes. Based on what we've seen, just get them playing cards and having fun. As they start to get the idea of a particular game, add a complication or move to a new game that stretches them. Above all, make it fun. The reasoning to really start thinking about bridge will come with time, and I think the kid will let you know when the time is right.

frouu is my new hero... and not just because of his snappy taste in avatars. EXACTLY what I was looking for. Rock on! Er... actually. Closer. I guess I was hoping for being able to click the team match name and get a single .lin file with all the boards. Still, this is *much* better.

Thanks, Harald... Actually I was referring to team matches, rather than vugraph. My question was prompted because a couple team matches I was interested in kibbing (the recent Canada/Poland tune-up for example) ended before I was able to get online. The match was *just* closed, so I could see the match in the 'recently completed matches' listing and I could view the movie file... I clicked save, dropped the file on my computer, and went on my merry way. When I went back later to look things over, I realized that all I got was the first hand at the Open table... The rest of the file, though it was on my screen when I clicked save, seemed to have vanished. Oh well, perhaps I just need to spend even more time online... Ack!

Hi. Users can see a list of recently completed team matches and view the results. You can also open the movie file for the match showing all boards and scores (at both tables). If, however, you try to save this movie file, you get only *one* board at *one* table (whatever board/table is highlighted). Is there a way to save the full file so you can look at the whole match at both tables? As a side question: Is there anyplace that archives such lin files for team matches? The BBO Team room only displays the last 5 or so matches to finish... Thanks, Dluxe

Thanks for the note back, Fred... And thanks again for letting us all play in your sandbox. As probably the worst player on these forums, that works for me. I need all the chance to think about declarer cardplay as I can get. B) In the client version, I believe you can check a button that allows you to set how the hands 'rotate' when you're dummy. While I have no issue not being able to see opponent's cards, it would be nice to be able to control the perspective at the table (rotate when dummy or not). Thanks, again,