onoway

once you get past the first bit, the main comments have to do with the degree of tv coverage Obama gets, although nothing to do with the actual fly episode. http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=zximuwl3jh

One of the advantages of playing online is that you can maintain the aspect of good manners at the table while in the privacy of your home you can be screaming at your partner or beating your head against the wall or howling in glee at a good result. You can even do a victory dance like a football player after a touchdown if you are so inclined, with no-one the wiser so you don't appear to the rest of the players at the table as a jerk. As far as that goes, you can PRIVATE message partner between the rounds and share a gloat if you must. If your pard is the sensitive type you can private message the opps with a SINCERE wdos. Sarcasm here should get you booted, private message or no. So why in the world would anyone need to be unpleasant at the table? If you can't be nice, be silent.

Agree with trumpace. Tables can be set for no undos if you want, or you can simply disallow them when asked. For teaching and practice tables alone, undos are a valuable tool at times. Also, there is little fun in playing a hand out that someone's mouse hiccupped and they ended up in 7 !h instead of 7!d.

I have wondered for some time if there might be some value in having a team match club set up in somewhat the same fashion as the TotalPoints club. Set times for matches, people could arrive with/without partner/team and get set up by alternating volunteer directors. (or set their own tables, if the boards are going to be for just the two tables.) A friend passed on to me a program he had written to allow for multiple tables (rather than just two) to be set the same hands, which would be wonderful except that I was afraid to try it as the setting of matches is so time sensitive. (one glitch and you might well have to set all the tables again.) If anyone wanted to tweak it to see if they could make it faster/easier to use then I will ask him for permission..I am no computer person so it won't be me. That said, Ray's Bridge Ladder is available for pairs or teams who wish to play at least semiregularly. It was also free last time I looked, and I think it is possible to set up your own leagues. Games are played on BBO.

I don't care about psychs, the only ones so far which have hurt are the ones my pards have bid. Although I have no problems with sacs against games, what DOES get an emotional response from me is the deliberate bidding of a totally unattainable 6 or 7 in an effort to prevent slam contract scores, the bidder KNOWING he is going down a bunch of tricks. I know it is part of the game and I don't whine about it but it still stirs a resentful feeling that it is poor sportsmanship and the penalties for failure ought to be higher. Holdover from rubber bridge? yes. Rational? Possibly not. But it's still there.

I got this in my email...not sure exactly how this works in Canada, but much the same, I would think. Also many pharmacies here charge anywhere from $7 up just to count pills from a big bottle and put them into a little bottle. It isn't as though they are making any of these things. Another question which is totally aside from anything below, is how many drugs have major side effects which cause different and further problems...such as Celebrex helping with arthritis pain but vastly increasing the chances of a heart attack. Not exactly cost effective therapy in my book. Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I haven't edited it. And I haven't checked to see if the person named actually exists :( Quote: Make sure you read all the way past the list of the drugs.The woman that signed below is a Budget Analyst out of federal Washington, DC offices. Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America. Celebrex:100 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60 Percent markup: 21,712% Claritin:10 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71 Percent markup: 30,306% Keflex:250 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39 Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88 Percent markup: 8,372% Lipitor:20 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37 Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80 Percent markup: 4,696% Norvasc:10 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14 Percent markup: 134,493% Paxil:20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27 Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60 Percent markup: 2,898% Prevacid:30 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77 Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01 Percent markup: 34,136% Prilosec: 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97 Cost of general active ingredients $0.52 Percent markup: 69,417% Prozac:20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11 Percent markup: 224,973% Tenormin:50 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13 Percent markup: 80,362% Vasotec:10 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20 Percent markup: 51,185% Xanax:1 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79 Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024 Percent markup: 569,958% Zestril:20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89 Cost of general active ingredients $3.20 Percent markup: 2,809% Zithromax:600 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19 Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78 Percent markup: 7,892% Zocor:40 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27 Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63 Percent markup: 4,059% Zoloft:50 mg Consumer price: $206.87 Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75 Percent markup: 11,821% Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone should know about this.� It pays to shop around! This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner. On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in� Detroit �, did a story on generic drug prices gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. So often we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are saving $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10! At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience I had to use the drug Compazine which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08. I would like to mention, that although Costco is a 'membership' type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your own e-mail, and send it to everyone you know with an e-mail address. Sharon L. Davis Budget�Analyst U.S. �Department of Commerce Room 6839 Office Ph: �202-48... Office Fax: 202-482-5480 E-mail Address:sdavis@doc.gov (end of quote)

I'm confused. Why is a monster tip from someone who can afford it creepy? I bet the cocktail waitress didn't think it was! Why should people only give generously to charities, many of which waste a good deal of it or skim off the top anyway? I don't understand the logic that says it's ok to give a bunch of millions to an organization but not over some undefined limit to an individual. Seems a really wealthy person is caught in the middle..if he gives the usual he is a cheap s.o.b. but if he gives more he is creepy! So is $1099.99 ok but $2000 not? Where is the tipping point where generosity becomes creepiness? It isn't the amount anyway, it's the scale...paying off the mortgage to him, might be the equivilent of a $100 tip for some other people. And I'm fairly sure she likely wasn't the only sexy waitress who ever served him. (Besides, she likely would have to take out a new mortgage to pay the`taxes on the gift). If someone is moved to show appreciation of efforts made to make life happy for him and he can afford it, more power to him. I think both of these examples simply show a generosity of spirit.

I also was given nightmares after seeing a couple of movies as a 5 year old; for me it was GungaDin (the scene of the guy falling off the top of the minaret probably is the reason I am still weird about heights). Going to see a movie to watch the violence is as alien to me (and as uncomfortable!) as eating live spiders would be...theoretically possible, but why?

If someone is bound and determined to see cheaters, they WILL see them, whether they are there or not, and there is little you can do about it. I think it would be unreasonable to demand that a pair cannot play from the same location. Most people are honest and it would be ridiculous imo to require someone leave their house and wander into the night looking for somewhere to hook into the internet just because their partner also wants to play bridge. If over time people get to be KNOWN as cheaters, I would imagine they would have a hard time finding people to play with them, and they would find themselves unwelcome if not banned in tourneys. So if someone makes such an accusation, it is likely wise to follow up on it with abuse, to prevent unfair rumors growing wings, as well as to encourage people to develop manners.

One thing which started in Edmonton a couple of years ago ( so don't know if this is elsewhere or not) was that the MANAGEMENT was taking a portion of all tips that came in. Friends who used to be regulars at one place were told by their usual waitress she was leaving and why; since then I have heard of several others. I don't go to those places any more..how would other people deal with this?

ah ha I guess I need to look things up in snopes before getting all outraged, though even snopes comes up with a number of cases which were about as reasonable (and they note that eventually those were thrown out.) Sorry for wasting people's time!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2160489/posts

Something I ran across on an extension of a story about the Somali pirates: "Somali Pirates claim that they are only responding to abuse by the International Community, which has stolen their fish and their livelihood. They claim that foreigners dumped toxic waste there. Some don't believe it. Well, here's something you CAN believe: The UN Special Representative, using money from a Norwegian Oil firm, is engineering a deal where Somalia gives up its claim to a large chunk of its territorial waters to Kenya, including the rights to the oil under the sea there. The so-called TFG Somali Government parliament has not approved any such deal. To Somalis, this looks like one more expropriation of their resources by former colonials, cutting deals with individual politicians who do NOT represent the will of the people. That is going on RIGHT NOW. ........ The Brussels conference raised $250 Million, then promptly committed to spend it to increase the militarization in the region. Just what they need: more guns and more bullets. The USA is spending about $3.5 Million per day to patrol Somali waters with a naval force designed to fight the navy of another superpower. That money would have a much bigger impact on reducing Piracy if we gave it to the Puntland government instead." The statement about the U.N. Special Representative screams for an investigation. It's interesting, if true, that the U.S. is so flush with money right now it can spend this sort of money PER DAY in what is basically a negative direction. It may temporarilly stop the piracy, but it does nothing to prevent its recurrance, nor to address the root of the problem. It's like buying tons of coughdrops for a person suffering from T.B. but doing nothing whatsoever about the T.B. (or perhaps more like patrolling outside the house with a platoon and shooting anyone who coughs B) ) .

Who knew the answer was so easy? http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3308615.html

listened to a health worker talking about how smoking pot was actually worse for your lungs than smoking tobacco, as unlike certain U.S. politicians, most people do inhale and tend to do so more enthusiastically than with tobacco. On the other hand pot doesn't have an alternate life as a very effective bugkiller so I thought he had some sort of agenda going.

In spy novels they have developed "truth" drugs which basically force people to reply to questions..seems as though this should be something that could be developed if we have technology that can create virtual invisibility (albeit on a very small scale yet) and other such wonders. That would of course negate any rationale whatsoever for any sort of torture. Certainly already there are drugs which have people babbling on happilly without a lot of inhibitions about what they say, so it couldn't be a very long stretch, and I would imagine the info would be at least as valid as that gained by waterboarding or other torture. Not nearly so satisfying to thugs in uniforms or suits though.

If you play in a pay for tourney or rent GIBS you can banish the ads? What a great idea! I play in pay-for tourneys sometimes but hadn't made this connection. This is something worth knowing. Thanks!

If you are interested in playing mostly with beginner/novice/intermediates then likely the best bet would be to join BIL, which is restricted to people of that level (exceptions being teachers/mentors and BIL graduates). Or, you can open your own table and restrict admission to whatever level you wish. If you are looking to join a table, then put your cursor on the names of people at a table you are thinking of joining, it will show you their profile and you can then decide if you wish to join the table or not. Otherwise it's pretty much a free-for-all. Other than in BIL, you are more likely to find the lower level players in such places as WP or Relaxed than Main although people of all levels play anywhere and everywhere. I have noticed that clicking on "Take me to a Table" tends to take me to tables BBO software thinks would be compatible, but not sure if this works for all levels or not, and it only works in Main, which is not always the friendliest place for lower level players. Good Luck.

I listened to all of it and found it fascinating. It would be interested to hear just what (precisely) makes this whacko? He was very forthcoming as to how he comes to the conclusions he does, and some of the reasons have some resonance. I have some questions that weren't addressed in the interview, but to dismiss the whole thing out of hand without details or explanation seems a bit arbitrary.

Click on the yellow cog at the bottom of your screen, choose sounds and then scroll down the left side list and make sure that the bar saying "my turn to bid or play" is highlighted. Then turn your sound to max. If that doesn't help then perhaps you could talk to matmat.....

Perhaps the answer would be to line up potential subs before the matches start..some people don't mind being on stand-bye. Or you can find someone and ask them then simply do the substitution. I have advertised in the club for subs (but if it isn't a club you can't do that) then simply done the substitution..BBO has never subbed anyone in without my involvement so not sure why it might be happenning to you.

Not in any position to know for sure either but for some years now there has been an expectation of another pandemic, as apparently we are 'overdue" for another. This flu is a bit more than "sniffles", people have already died from it, and not the usual or expected group, but young healthy adults. Therefore there is a concern that this has the potential to become the next pandemic. I very much doubt Mexico is eager to dissuade people from travelling there so it would seem they have recognized they have a serious problem. According to Wikipedia the 1918 flu pandemic killed 50 million people. Travel wasn't as common or fast then as now. Certainly SARS was a matter of serious concern when it hit Ontario. The governments of Ontario and Canada spent quite a chunk of change containing it and I think every penny was well worth it. Trying to stop it before it gets going seems to me to be a highly intelligent thing to do.

the link worked for me.

This quote is attributed to Congressman Henry Waxman From an interview on NPR as relayed by Tavis Smiley: “We’re seeing the reality of a lot of the North Pole starting to evaporate, and we could get to a tipping point. Because if it evaporates to a certain point - they have lanes now where ships can go that couldn’t ever sail through before. And if it gets to a point where it evaporates too much, there’s a lot of tundra that’s being held down by that ice cap..” Aside from anything else, heaven help us if the tundra isn't gonna be held down anymore, who knows what might happen when it all flies off into space ... :angry:

MORE school is unlikely to be the answer, esp if it appears that the longer the kids stay in school the further behind they get:) Also, it is amusing in a macabre sort of way that even when kids are out of school because of prolonged teacher strikes or whatever, they seem to manage to do quite well on standardised tests even with the shorter school time. So it begs the question as to how much of school time is already just fluff which nevertheless has even primary school kids lugging home homework every day. The longer school terms would also likely see a leap in dropouts, especially by the kids who are: extremely bright and already bored out of their skulls by school, the kids who have no interest in/aptitude for university, and the very creative, who often are made to feel there is something wrong with them, and that they definitely don't belong unless they shape up and fit in. Indeed, many truly creative teachers are forced out of the school systems by a beaurocratic distrust and interference. So what chance has a student who naturally thinks "outside the box"? Also, these kids have an abundance of physical energy ( or should, if healthy) and that needs to be given some recognition/outlet beyond gym class, (which in and of itself is a horror to a lot of kids.) It likely wouldn't hurt to have them all out on farms heaving around hay bales and clearing fencelines and learning what's involved in feeding the world, for example. But sitting in a classroom over the summer just because? School already seems to feel too much like jail for many kids, and they didn't have to get caught doing anything wrong to be sentenced to 12 years. (Comment made by a kid) Seems to me a lot of teachers are in a holding pattern, just trying to get through the day and too often so are the kids. Unless that changes the results of more of it wouldn't be any different from what is happening now.