onoway

It's still against the law here but it's unfortunate that there isn't a law against people in authority being stupid, especially if they are allowed to carry guns (or tazers) or are politicians.

"A 70-year-old man was shot by police during an incident Friday in Montreal. Montreal police spokeswoman Anie Lemieux said officers were responding to a call near downtown about a man expressing suicidal thoughts." They didn't kill him, he was shot "in the lower body and taken to hospital". They sure know how to handle suicidal people in Quebec, bet he won't do that again.

Congratulations China club I think we are now even so I'm not going to keep on keeping score in this forum. I notify IAC of the results and I assume you notify the China club and I also assume nobody else cares very much :).

Was just at a table where someone seriously announced to the kibbers (probably about 40 or so of them) that one of the players, who is a top player in his own country, was a cheater when he claimed to be an expert,and was really only an advanced, whereas the speaker, who has won "multiple BBO tournaments" was an expert. I told him that accusing people of being cheaters was against BBO terms of service and he gleefully claimed that he could prove it and directed me to that site which appears to be BBO ratings. I told him that according to that site a few months ago when I looked at it; I had been designated an expert, which is so far from reality it might as well be talking about finding living elephants on the moon, but of course that made no impression. He is also advertising lessons on his profile. When I asked him what LIVE national or international events he had won, he had nothing to offer, just continued to slander the player at the table. It infuriates me that such comments are supported, however flimsy the support, by anything that casually could be construed as having some validity. He also made these comments just as the table closed, so he couldn't be publicly called on them. I know nothing can be done about it but wanted to vent as I found it very upsetting..and it wasn't even me or anyone I know personally that he was accusing.

Absolutely agree with you BUT I also think that lots of people tend to present science AS absolute truth. Teachers in school said, "the atom is the smallest particle there is." and never ever modified it to add, "as far as we now know". I'm sure I am dating myself with that comment but I'm also sure that much of what is being taught in at least most schools now is equally dogmatic. So what happens when science turns out to be as riddled with errors, charlatans and snakeoil salesmen as any other enterprise? It isn't surprising that people who don't have the expertise or interest or time to distinguish between the real thing and the fake simply say, "a pox on all of it" and stick with whatever they feel comfortable with. When people who "believe" in science then mock such people it will only turn the mistrust into hostility. Outside of what normally come to mind when someone says "science" much the same thing is beginning to happen with the medical community. Very few people seem to trust their doctors as people used to do and even fewer don't have concerns about big pharma. It's a little scary where that can lead sometimes, I just tried to bring some sense into a thread in another forum where someone was - apparently seriously - suggesting using some herb written about in 1887 to treat rattlesnake and other poisonous snakebites. OTOH when a modern prescription for a mild infection has as possible potential side effects permanent liver damage or even death can you really blame people for looking at alternatives? Just to be clear, I don't think science ought to be regarded with the disdain that it often is, but I do think that the scientific community has brought it on themselves. (Helped along by cynical politicians and predatory businessmen in some cases.) I found the title of this thread mildly offensive and arrogant and that's brought out my devil's advocate side.

Ah t'ís a good thing to have faith. Are you familiar with this site? http://www.badscience.net/

Times not only change but they are changing quicker than ever before. People have to decide where they are going to put their energies to keep up. I think often it's a matter of people not even thinking about a lot of stuff that they were brought up with, they are so busy trying to keep up with the changes they have to keep up with. If someone is worried about their job or if they are in constant pain then they are unlikely to be spending a lot of time pondering whether or not everything they believe is "true".(presumably as decided by science.) Also, science has a bit of a bad rap right now as with such things as climate change and GMOs it's very clear that science is often as divided (publicly at least) as any religious group touting their own version of the "truth". As a minor example, there are even arguments about whether or not a honey locust tree is nitrogen fixing, with scientists firmly on both sides of the argument. That would SEEM to be a fairly simple matter to resolve. Also, it often appears ,correctly or not, that whatever result someone wants to pay for, science can justify. As an example we get some of the drugs which have been released supposedly after rigid scientific study only to be withdrawn after causing a lot of damage. Science most decidedly does NOT have the reputation of knowledge for knowledge's sake anymore - if it ever did -, everything seems to be geared to some agenda, and thus is suspect. I think that many if not most people now regard science with jaundiced eyes just as any agnostic regards religion. Psychology suggests that you cannot take away a belief without offering something to replace it. People are not comfortable with a vacuum (that they are aware of, on some level) in their lives and depending on the cumulative circumstances of how they experienced their environment - from the time they were born onward - they fill it with something which is usually synchronistic with their experience and their needs. To change their beliefs, you have to offer something which will also resonate at least with one or the other. I also think that some of your "bad ideas" examples are highly arguable, but you specify you don't want any discussion about that.

Thanks Lycier and the China Bridge Club for an enjoyable and polite match. I believe we agreed that the next match next Sunday will be a slightly earlier time: at 9 AM NY time, which would be Sunday 9 pm (21:00) your time, if the World clock is correct. I will see how many members will be available so early, we may need to make it a little later in future, but can try for that time next Sunday. I was also wondering if it might be possible to reverse the time sometime and have the match some day at 9 pm (21:00) NY time =9AM your time, for perhaps a second weekly match? That would allow more of our members to participate.

Hi Nige I'd be happy to include you but you don't seem to be a member of IAC at the moment and since this is being shaped up as IAC vs CBC that's a bit of a problem. If you like I can let you know how things are shaping up and then you can decide if you would like to join, it's free of course.

Hang on I don't know yet how many IAC people are interested/able to play so can't make any plans until I hear from people. I'm not sure at all we will be able to get 10 teams who are able to play at the times you can play,it will take some time to sort out. Maybe you should say just when your teams can play so we know what times we have to work with?

According to the world clock, New York and Beijing are exactly 12 hours apart so 2 PM in New York is 2 AM in Beijing.

I seem to have missed a whole lot of stuff here. Didn't see where there was a discussion about "earning a spot" and I really would like to hear from an organizer about the motivation for these matches, with all respect to greenman. Way back when, I thought the matches were just for experts so hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the posts about them. I wonder how many other people have done the same? It would be helpful if there could be a recap of what it's all about and then possibly also of how people might go about getting to play IF you suddenly get swamped with people; I'd imagine most of us here have both asked and answered questions or tried to help. Sorry about being late to the party but it would be a shame if the JEC matches were to disappear, and I bet I'm not the only one who hadn't thought playing might be an option, since I'm not an expert.

Hi I am looking to see what interest there might be in IAC to make up a team or teams to participate. It may take a little while, I'll keep in touch as to how it's going.

Ok what exactly is the idea here? Is it to try to form teams to beat them or is it to field players who would love to try in spite of being clearly outclassed but who have some degree of skill and lots of enthusiasm for the game? I think that the latter might possibly be less fun for JEC but would be a whole lot of fun for those of us who fit that category. IF that was understood to be the case, that is. I just remembered a newspaper clip of Goren playing with a bunch of sailors..he'd apparently play anywhere with anyone and just have fun. If that's basically the idea then let us KNOW and you'd have lots of volunteers I'm sure. If the goal is simply to beat them, which is what I understood, then that clearly lets most of us out, as in spite of our best efforts and intentions it's unlikely to happen.

So a bank or a car company is "too big to fail" but not a city of 900,000 or so. Economics is a wonderful thing. It would seem, then, that this isn't really going to cost the city much except the ability to sell bonds for a while? That sounds fairly harmless so will other cities follow suit?

Well, maybe not. Detroit declaring bankruptcy can't be seen as a good sign. What does that even mean, a city declaring bankruptcy? How does that even work?

ok thank you I will pass the info on.

I know this has come up before but I can't find the thread. Someone who hasn't played a whole lot on BBO tried to register to play in a tourney and was told no, the record of tourney completion was too low. Since this person hasn't PLAYED in tourneys before, it seems as though it's a bit of a circle...if they can't play in tourneys they certainly can't complete them, so how does it get broken? Or do I just tell them that they can forget about playing in tourneys, that will be an aspect of BBO unavailable to them?

This may be obvious to everyone else but me, but what exactly is stopping the whole thing from going pop? It seems as though everything that had people planning for an economic doomsday - like the level of governmental debt - hasn't gone away but now people are happy and marching forward with a smile on their face and a song in their hearts, so to speak. What did I miss?

It was certainly Texas and I think it was Houston that someone who had built a deck onto his house was told he had to take it down because he hadn't asked permission first, and it was something like 9 inches too big in one direction..I don't remember the details exactly now as it was a few years back, but it was (to my mind) totally bizarre. I'd always thought that Texans were a fiercely independent "man's home is his castle" sorts but it seems there are as many people there as anywhere else who don't have anything better to do than supervise the neighborhood. Apologies to Houston, just checked back on emails and it was Austin.

Lots of the guerilla gardeners are about making space more attractive rather than growing food but today ran across this: (I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't a TED talk about pretty much anything! I wasn't looking for this one, it just turned up) It seems to be typical in that he starts out with municipal spaces such as road verges and then grows from there with lots of volunteers getting involved.

of course it is. There was a case not too long ago, in Calgary if I remember, that a vacant lot which was simply an eyesore with garbage and junk collecting (as it will) which had had people planting stuff in it and the owners got very huffy. Apparently they liked the "nobody cares" look and put a huge chain link fence around the property so the junk and weeds wouldn't be disturbed. To be fair though, they may have worried about insurance if someone tripped over a carrot,or got into a squabble over the zucchini,or a knife fight broke out over who got to pick the marigolds. People sue at the blink of an eyelash sometimes. Most of the time such reactions are simply dog in the manger though, imo, but it is after all their property so if they want to be silly about it they absolutely can. It's the chance guerilla gardeners face, that their efforts will be for nothing. Sometimes what they've done is appreciated instead. I've heard but don't know if it's true, that Detroit is actively working with citizen groups trying to get blocks of derelict and/or abandoned properties used to produce food gardens.

When there are a bunch of applicants for a job then employers tend to use criteria which on the face of it has little to do with the job in order to filter out the number of people they have to deal with. Education level is a quick and easy way of doing that and is very common here. OTOH when jobs are much more plentiful than applicants it all goes out the window. A number of years ago I once phoned a store to ask if they had something or other in stock (as I had never been there)and got offered a job over the phone. They had no idea if I was the bride of Godzilla, and apparently didn't care.

Most urban municipalities which allow chickens only allow hens. They are quiet unless being threatened by something (like a fox or dog or raccoon) when they will understandably squawk but the roosters do tend to be quite noisy. Don't need a rooster to get eggs though.

I think that one thing that none of this discussion is addressing is that University education doesn't mean a whole lot anymore. Saw an ad a year or so ago requiring applicants for a traffic person for highway construction projects (the person holding the sign saying alternatively stop or slow) had to have a B.A. When so many graduates are unable to find work in their chosen field and end up at home again with a huge debt, a nicely framed piece of paper and a job delivering pizza or some such, perhaps a rethink of the whole system is in order.