onoway

Is the present system really broke? Sounds as though people who are reading things they don't care about are asking someone else to take over the editing so as to save them the effort of leaving and going to another thread. There have already been instances where a thread has been moved, so is there really a need to patrol the threads and sort them more than they already are? It's hard to imagine this would be a very satisfying or productive way for fine players to spend their time. With this number of people there will likely always be some threads which wander into the "wrong" place. Usually someone makes a comment about it, which likely will encourage the poster to find the "right" spot the next time. The threads seem to be self regulating to a degree..it is possible to over organize and you will never please everyone. I would much rather see the time and effort spent in certain other areas, but specifying them would mean this would be in the wrong forum thread. B)

re Phil's post: LOL ! I agree! :)

Ken said it better than I could

Something which is intriguing is this: http://www.score.uk.com/research/Shared%20...l%20version.pdf The original site I found (since disappeared through time attrition) showed that they have actually got the thing working..2 hours of fire produces enough ice for 24 hours refrigeration (in Africa, so an accomplishment) and it does have the capacity to charge batteries. Would this be based on some sort of vortex tube? If that is a dumb question, forgive me..science in the schools I went to was less than inspiring so am entirely naive about such things.

It isn't a video but it shocked and amazed me..sorry, but I didn't know how to disengage it from the pretty much unrelated story below it (story is obviously what it is, but amusing anyway if you are in the right mood). It's very nice we don't have to worry about these things in Canada. http://www.bentbay.dk/electric_fence.htm Those jaws are spread 20 inches wide!

In a small open tourney today there were a number of "disconnects" which were highly suspicious in that they suddenly happened with no red dot, and only when it was clear they were going to get a perhaps unusually bad result from the hand. Might it be an idea to set up a system to track these people and if it was a pattern, to penalize them by tacking on a minus 20 imps to "their hands" results the first time it was decided that they were just running to avoid the result, and maybe 50 imps the second time? Matchpoint results could be similarly modified. The TD's would have to be careful, of course, and appeals might be allowed with no penalty for either player or TD if it was decided perhaps they were involuntary disconnects. Most of the TD's already have a list of "runners'..it might be possible to expand on this as presently there seems to be no way to control or penalize these people and the problem seems to be getting worse. It makes the TD's lives difficult and most certainly affects the enjoyment and concentration of the responsible players. If there was some way to make it more hurtful to disappear than to take a bad result it might change some attitudes, or prevent these people from joining the tourneys in the first place.

Heated discussion is one thing, this thread seemed to be heading downhill very fast from any sort of discussion. I also applaud UDay's decision, fwiw

I didn't know as much as I thought I knew (nothing new about that!).There's also Africa, Europe, South America, etc... http://www.purposegames.com/game/countries-of-asia-quiz

a question: what happens when a professionally trained doctor misdiagnoses and the patient dies as a result? Are they also charged? If so, then I have no problem with your last statement. However, if this sort of punishment is only for people who have rightly or wrongly set themselve up outside standard medical parameters, then there is imo, a problem. The point I was trying to make earlier was that the medical profession is very like a dogmatically religious group, they are NOT open to information coming to them from any direction except the ones they specify as worthy of consideration (read, from one of their own). Not only that, but they actively witchhunt anyone who tries to encroach however timidly on their turf. E.g. in at least one province in Canada, there is still a strong lobby from the medical profession against midwifery, maintaining it should be a criminal activity. Sooooo just who decides if a treatment has some validity? The people who have a vested interest in maintaining their monopoly? The people who synthesize a compound from a plant, patent it and charge lots of money for the result, then try to prevent people from being able to access the plant itself? I read recently that there are now studies being done using Linus Pauling's protocol for using an injectable form of vitaminC for cancer. He was laughed at and dismissed as someone who was over the hill when he wrote about it, BUT to my understanding, the protocols used at the time to check his results, were entirely different than his, including using a different form of vitaminC. Was this science? Now...apparently...guess what? His protocol is showing the results he claimed. In the meantime, how many people could have been helped? So the question remains, who decides if a treatment is valid or quackery?

well you are not likely to run across any studies about witch doctors or faith healing as people who are truly such people are basically subject to intimidation if not prosecution for doing anything. The medical community is extremely jealous of its "only game in town" status and can hold its own in that regard with any fundamentalist religious group. The pharma companies are actively involved in trying to negate any possiblity of competition from, for example, herbalists, by disseminating outright lies and halftruths about alternatives "herbal medicines kill!!" (possibly true of a very few herbs such as foxglove, from which digitalis was derived. but extremely unlikely otherwise) and "Created drugs are safe!!" (also untrue, if you follow the records of drug related deaths or simply even read the info they provide with presriptions now). This is not to say that created drugs don't have a time and place, but that they are absolutely in line with the sort of "sacramental" status that religious objects are afforded by the faithful. I personally know of someone who suffered for years in spite of numerous professional medical efforts to help, from a bad back. He saw a 'witch doctor" in Mexico. Once. He was alarmed because he didn't understand how it was that he could become able to walk free of pain again for the first time in years even though the intervention was a minimal touching. I saw a "healer", also in Mexico, (not the same one, not even in the same area)for a knee which several doctors in Canada declared needed surgery. She was about 4 feet tall looked 100 years old and frail, and I couldn't understand more than one word in 10 but she fixed my knee in that while it had been going "out" about every 4 months for a week or so,(and had "gone out" there, which is why I saw her) it has never once gone out since I saw her. I was supposed to go back, but she alarmed me as well, it was something beyond my understanding (and besides, my knee was working again and didn't hurt anymore). Neither wanted a lot of money ( much less than the Doctors would have required) and neither did anything weird ..except fix the problem. Both of these people would have been prosecuted had the authorities known about them.

sorta related, from the TED talks: http://videos.streakr.com/bumptop.htm

It seems to me that some of the (to many Americans) bewildering antipathy they sometimes meet in other parts of the world stems from a perception that often the U.S. is seen to act in a way which says do as I say, not as I do. Therefore, it is fine to prosecute other countries and other leaders for "crimes against humanity" while indulging in them ..because who can challenge the States?This means to me that Americans themselves may have to step up to the plate unless the image of an out of control bully is not to continue to be part - now- of the image many non-americans have of the States. Didn't the U.S. sign the Geneva Convention? Didn't that have something to say about what sort of behaviours people at any level of authority might indulge in? I was taught that silence in such situations signifies at least acquiecense if not direct approval. If the U.S. can't or won't show leadership in tough and uncomfortable situations with their own, then what is the point of their "bringing democracy"" or anything else to the rest of the world (whether they want it or not)? Without the willingness/ability to deal with questions of the legality of behaviour no matter by whom, indeed all you are left with is might makes right. At that point is it only a matter of degree (actual ability to do what you want) and a few p.o.v.s between you and the Taliban, for example?

something to give the day a smile.. http://www.strangeplaces.net/weirdthings/barbie.html

Happy Birthday Warren! :)

For examples of evolution in action check out the Darwin awards, which have been compiled for several years now.

Happy Birthday Ken! You are always a pleasure to play with and your forum posts are always interesting and often very entertaining. Thanks for being you and have a great day!

It seems that most of the time the rating system, such as it is, works ok ( and this from someone who brought this topic up once in frustration!) Generally as a guideline I have found it often to be pretty close so that when it ISN"T, it brings on shock and dismay. I have found often what the profiles say to be very useful as a counter to what the rating is..if someone says advanced followed immediately by NO TRANSFERS (e.g). they may be a wonderful player but unlikely to be the pard I am wishing to play with. Not that I am a hotshot, by any means! So no profile can be (but not necessarilly is) a warning sign. If it is truly distressing it would be possible to track who goes into the PAID tourneys such as ACBL and BBO_PL or whatever as people who pay for tourneys on a regular basis seem to tend to have a better idea where their skills sit on the scale. Or simply play in them yourself. Supporting BBO is a GOOD thing :) Bewildered players do sometimes show up there as well, but not so often. And anyone can have a bad day. Ratings would be a disaster for tourneys..subs can already be a problem and if you were rated according to your results they would likely be impossible to get.This morning I subbed for one (the final) hand of a tourney. It was worth +7.5 imps but my result for the TOURNEY showed as -20something..who would sub if they thought that would have an effect on who would play with them? Also, hardly anyone ever complains about the people who are true experts who wander around calling themselves intermediates or even novices, it is only when blindsided by people in the other direction. I think that there are too many negatives (already noted by others, above) associated with some sort of more "official" ratings. Perhaps something might be done for somebody's personal interest, such as using Bridgemaster, but to make it something "official" which would be attached whether you wanted or not would imo be a big mistake. Perhaps it is more reasonable to assume that the occassional anguish of being trapped is like getting your car dinged in the parking lot, just part of the way life is sometimes. And it helps having the forums to moan in :)

Maybe an old hippy turned CIA thought this up, it's shades of the 60's ...make love not war :P

http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#url=ht...tmas-Maxine.jpg But Merry Christmas anyhow to everyone who celebrates it, and happy times to everyone else. ;)

"30 already? don't worry, it starts moving really *really* fast now... happy b/d " Moves even faster when you have two birthdays a year :)

Happy Birthday :)

well not the same place but ..if this is an example of the police in Michigan.... http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#url=ht...eo%252FiTiG77hT

any bets on how frequently this comment/complaint/question comes up in the forums? :) Every two months or so, perhaps? Maybe there should be a permanent forum dedicated to this so people know they are not alone in their bewilderment about novices who play Lebensohl with aplomb and experts who can't count the trump cards:)

I wonder how many people like me, first learned to play bridge by watching my parents? I would be reluctant to try to teach my kids bridge now, it is far too complicated. The gap between the average player (me) and the average forum poster (most everyone else) is enormous and the more complicated the game becomes the more I have to work at enjoying it. There is another forum thread as to why partnerships disintegrate..it might be interesting to know why people give up playing bridge, or never get beyond the first game or two. Most games that seem to last are games that are deceptively simple to play, like chess or go. The rules can be learned in a few minutes and people can play at any level but the same rules apply. Bridge became popular when it was made simple to learn how to play, and now it has become so incredibly complex, it is no surprise to me that people can't be bothered trying to learn the game. I doubt very much that making it more complex will entice more people to play. It just depends what your ultimate goal is, perhaps. I remember reading somewhere a quote that "bridge is the only game where you tell your opponents what you have and dare them to do something about it" or words to that effect. It seems to me that a lot of these conventions are designed to tell your opponents only very reluctantly, and in the hope they misunderstand. Certainly opening 1 of something with 0-7 points and no more than a 5 card suit is far from being anything like suggesting what you expect to be able to actually make. Maybe I misunderstood, but it seems to be a dishonest bid whose only job is to be destructive to the opps communication. Well, you aren't allowed to throw sand in the first baseman's eyes when he is about to catch the ball that will put you out and I personally don't see that much difference. Perhaps the answer might be to make up another name and claim it is a cousin of bridge, just as whist is, only this would be the OTHER side..whist is simpler, bridge in the middle and this other game, whatever it is, could be called something else.Bridge could be left relatively traditional and the other could be a free for all for those with that sort of dedicated interest. It's difficult to imagine another game which encompasses the range of the fabled 100 pages of specialized agreements of some partnerships and the game played in living rooms while claiming both to be the same game.

"When he took on J.P. Morgan, he was really revolting...except for his electric personality in high society. He then made camp outside of Denver but met a lot of resistance to his work. After he got tired of swatting flies, he went to work on a death-ray... A real American (Serbian) hero... " It was shocking how he ate current jam...