onoway

"yet, from all reports, the actual quality of education in this country has steadily dropped since about 1966, '67... it seems amazing to me when i hear or read that there are actually hs grads who can't read or write at more than an elementary school level... such a thing was unheard of when i went to school " Unless they were really good football or basketball players. :wacko: Some college students used to get into University on athletic scholarships and they were there ONLY for the athletics..some of them were barely articulate, much less literate and certainly unable to make use of any of the classes. When they became ineligible to play they got dumped. I am told this has been cleaned up somewhat now.

Another thing that has changed is homework. Even when my kids went to school I would have been amazed and bewildered if they had come home with homework to do (unless something they missed for some reason, or a special project) before about grade 5 or 6. Now infants in primary school carry their knapsacks of books hither and yon. Lord knows if the teachers go on strike somehow the curriculum gets attended to in weeks less time than usual, so why persecute the kids like that? Kids need time to be kids. I have read that some doctors are warning of permanent damage being done to young bodies from lugging around heavy books and papers.

I have heard a slightly different version: Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach, teach teachers. It would be interesting to know the reasons why so many people are now opting to homeschool. I always thought my kids would be lucky to get one really good teacher sometime in their school career, and each did. One. (not the same one, we moved a lot.) While the majority of them were competent, there also were several who were truly terrible. To make things worse, the really good ones all left the education system. Surely in this time of instant electronic communication it is time to revamp how education is structured? Now it is possible for kids to get the very best teachers no matter where they are, as far as content is concerned. (Obviously speaking of levels above kindergarten and primary school).

http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/

Who knew what you could do with a blowtorch and a loaf of bread. :) http://www.toast2art.co.uk/artwork.html

A question..could street gangs in some cases be considered terrorists? Certainly a large part of what they do is intimidate and threaten and in some cases harm civilians. They certainly curtail civilian freedoms (such as walking in some areas) In one case I was told about people were unable to insure their homes because of active and constant gang activity in their district. They alter the justice system in some places as police tend to have difficulty finding people to testify against gang members. Does the political side to it have to have a specific agenda beyond power for power's sake (with economic perks asa result) to be considered terrorism?

BBO_IAC private club also offers an assortment of learning situations from tourney/review to straight teaching sessions. We have people teaching Precision and other systems, (though not Acol ..yet, anyway) as well as teachers concentrating on specific aspects of the game. Unfortunately not enough people play in the club at the moment, but it can be a way of expanding horizons in terms of meeting other people actively trying to improve. Some of the sessions are of little interest to advanced players but others are of benefit to all. We are trying to be the "next step" after BIL, as well as being a place where advanced can also benefit. We are also trying to organize team matches on a scheduled basis and some of the players involved would give ANYONE a degree of challenge. We are hoping more players who are advanced will get involved with those. It seems a shame to restrict yourselves to playing with the first group of people you get involved with. There are a lot of people who have inflated ideas of their skill everywhere on BBO but also a lot of very nice people who can give most players a decent game. Certainly Main is subject to both strange and wonderful players. (btw, the little numbers beside the name may not mean a whole lot either as BIL gives out partial points to everyone as an incentive just for playing in their tourneys.)

Common sense still alive in Scotland? A London lawyer visiting Scotland runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by a Glasgow policeman. He thinks that he is smarter than the cop because he is a lawyer from LONDON and is certain that he has a better education then any Jock cop. He decides to prove this to himself and have some fun at the Glasgow cops expense. Glasgow cop says, ' Licence and registration, please.' London Lawyer says, 'What for?' Glasgow cop says, 'Ye didnae come to a complete stop at the stop sign.' London Lawyer says, 'I slowed down, and no one was coming.' Glasgow cop says, 'Ye still didnae come to a complete stop. Licence and registration, please.' London Lawyer says, 'What's the difference?' Glasgow cop says, 'The difference is, ye have to come to complete stop, that's the law, Licence and registration, please!' London Lawyer says, 'If you can show me the legal difference between slow down and stop, I'll give you my licence and registration; and you give me the ticket. If not, you let me go and don't give me the ticket.' Glasgow cop says, 'Sounds fair. If you would just get out of your vehicle, sir.' The London Lawyer exits his vehicle. The Glasgow cop takes out his baton and starts beating the heck out of the lawyer and says, 'Do ye want me to stop, or just slow down?'

Just to exonerate the ACBL this was in a Hornets tourney, we did enquire about the bid after the tourney and got basically an insulting response, which was what led to posting in the forums. "What else do the opponants desire? The opening fits a SAYC weak two bid and thus not alertable. All west has to do is then bid the 2 hearts and likely find the heart contract. The inquiry actually showed more, that it was weak and two suited. The opponants now are likely to know more than partner. The bottom line is that West passed a weak two bid with a good five card major. Most pairs also made 6 clubs instead of the five East made here. These players seem to be trying to make an excuse for bad bid and bad play. http://online.bridgebase.com/myhands/hands...141495-22732777 " We are making no claims to be above making mistakes in bids or play but it is no help when you have no idea what opps bids mean. I had never before run across a bid where player would respond to a pard's weak opening with a magnificent 4 hcps, for example, and it most certainly did have an effect on both bidding/play. Also this was not an indy tourney so highly unlikely these people were unfamiliar with the bid meanings. In the years I have been playing in various tourneys on BBO I have never run across this before so very doubtful random pards try this on. Certainly p had nice 5 card !h suit, but with both openers suit unknown it is perhaps not unreasonable to wait and see if there is a misfit. And to be sure, 6!c was there, but when floundering it is sometimes difficult to see the correct line of play. We were quite pleased that we even got to game in the circumstances, actually, and not unduly unhappy given the circumstances, with our 46+% However, we were curious if this was actually some sort of recognized system or something these people had just dreamed up. To make a snide comment about the fact that we only made 5 when some made 6 ( and lots either never made it to game or went down but of course that is unmentioned) says more about your attitude and competance as a person to whom queries should be directed than anything else. Since I see now a variety of posts following the one I was responding to, thanks to all who have treated the question with respect and given us info which will be helpful if in future this comes up.

♦[hv=n=sj2ht973dqjt54ct9&w=sat9haq854d96cj32&e=sk84hk62d3cakq654&s=sq7653hjdak872c87]399|300|All red south open 2♦ alerted as 5-5 west P North2♥ not alerted. We ended up in 5♣ making but were in total confusion as to what opps bidding was, and of course missed the slam. We had no idea what the 5-5 referred to. Any suits? specific suits? One known? we were told no further info was available. We also were astonished (when we saw it) at the ♥ bid response with that puny suit (hand!) over an alerted weak 2 bid. What is this?[/hv]

:lol: I never even thought to check the math. When it gets up into billions (esp in somebody else's country), the numbers go into a vague realm of wow that's a lot of money and pretty much get left there. Maybe some of the problems governments have stem from other people also being unable to grasp the reality of how much that actually is,( or just misplacing the odd decimal point in their calculations!) So much for that idea..it was a nice fantasy while it lasted (and no, I haven't checked your numbers either) :P

"What's wrong with rich guys making a lot of money? If they're providing a service that people want, shouldn't they be allowed to profit from it? " With the same reasoning, why not allow people to sell crack and heroin? The thing with slots is that they are designed to be addictive. Because each pull of the lever is usually a small amount of money it pulls people in who otherwise would likely stick with their lottery tickets. If all slots cost at least $20 a pop to play there would be a lot fewer people playing them. But I bet (!) the average loss for most people is well above that. To compare the movies to playing slots is silly..it would be difficult to spend $1000 at a movie but not at all difficult to do so with slots, in the same or less time. If proponents of slots were not so dismissive of the downside then they might be more persuasive about the upside.

someone just sent this to me I have no idea who said it or where it came from. "Subject: Fw: FW: The Bailout I like this idea. This idea sounds just crazy enough to possibly work,> so>> naturally it won't be given serious consideration. How great is our bureaucracy!I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend. To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals> $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00. What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family? Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved. Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads. Put away money for college - it'll be there. Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car - create jobs. Invest in the market - capital drives growth. Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves. Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else. Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President. If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+! As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up. Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work." But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom? I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC. And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam. Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest." I am just tossing it into the mix as a bit of creative thinking which fell into my email Imagine the Block Party indeed :)

There IS a cost to the gambling, esp the slot machines. These came to Alberta a few years ago and I know a few people who have ended up the worse for it. Examples are a 26 year old marriage dissolved/bankruptcy proceedings Another person lost their small company because of not monitoring the accounts sufficiently after an employee of 10 years got in too deep. Another is a business which cancelled all the Christmas bonuses for their employees because one of the owners lost $60 000 in the slots. There are stories in the paper of small children being left in cars in parking lots while parents play, or unattended at home. The use of the food banks has risen sharply. A friend of mine was terrorized after she had a fairly big win by being followed, first on foot ( she had a casino escort) and then by car by four young men, an adventure which included a wild race through various subdivisions.( The first was to confirm she was being followed and not just paranoid, after that it was pretty much just terror). Unfortunately it seems that often the people most desperate or least able to afford to lose money are the ones who gamble, and slots are so quick and hypnotic people can lose a lot of money very quickly indeed. Addiction is a reality for a percentage of the population and addiction leads to social costs. Whether those costs balance out is a matter of opinion. In spite of being awash in oil and gambling revenue Alberta still has income tax, a severe shortage of hospital beds, nurses and doctors, still charges health care premiums,has an education system which claims the schools are all falling apart, and a lousy environmental score. So more revenue doesn't necessarilly mean much of value comes out of it. Sometimes more money just means you don't have to be as careful about what you do with it. Btw this is not to suggest that anyone who enjoys gambling is doomed to disaster. I am always up for an afternoon at the races. :) But the slots in particular are not an unalloyed answer-to-all-prayers uness you are a casino owner.

I was told today that players rotating in and out of a table, even if they do so as dummy so someone else can sit, can result in a three day ban. Is there some sort of warning given that you are in jeapordy of such a ban? Frequently we do this at a team table so everyone gets to play. We also have done this at mentoring tables. Now I am anxious that some day we will all be flung out into the void with black marks against our names as quitters. We try to be careful that it is dummy who rises and does so before the end of the hand so that the next player doesn't get a preview of the hands before he or she sits. This should mean that there is no impact on other tables playing the same hands. The only other option would appear to be having players switch after the hand is over and then looking to redeal every time, which seems a bit wasteful of everyone's time. At what point does the computer consider leaving a table to be running? After the hand is dealt? After the first bid is made? After dummy is down? Since there is virtually no time lapse between the end of one hand and the beginning of another this is a bit disconcerting to consider.Is there any way to reassure the computer that everything is fine and the rotations are deliberate?A special designation for the table perhaps? Finally, is this something we should be concerned about? So far, obviously, we have had no troubles but it is a worry to think we might have been teetering on the brink without knowing it... :(

I'm not sure if it counts but I have played fairly often in Turkish or Polish run tourneys and always been made to feel most welcome. They happilly take my dollar, forgive me for not speaking their language and I don't expect them to speak mine, as I am a guest. The only complaint I have was I played my heart out for weeks last year and never managed to win a t-shirt :(

added in error so deleted

The Biden comment: apparently the gaffe was saying television rather than radio as otherwise it was true..FDR not as President but as governor of New York at the time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDR

On the radio yesterday there were complaints about Canadians being more interested in the American presidential race than in our own elections coming up. Well; 1) nobody in our own elections seems to be saying or doing anything of substance either but they are doing it with much less colour 2) to me at least, it is fascinating to see how so many people in the States are so aggressive in showing that they think with the acumen of a sack of bricks. (we have proportionately as many in Canada but they tend to be less enthusiastically open about it) "I'm voting McCain/Palin, he was a POW and she's hot!" (or "she's a hockey mom!") 3) Some Canadians are gearing up for another massive influx of the "best and brightest" Americans should McCain win 4) Some Canadians are gearing up to move to Europe or Australia or other distant spots should McCain win 5) Since the recent past shows that our government prefers to have the American government make at least some decisions for us, it's only natural we should be more interested in the American race.

http://www.elsid.co.za/bridge/jokes/bridge_better.html

a change of pace but this seemed interesting..no explanation why this works as it does, though. http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_aug2006/RotatingIllusion.htm

Hi I am not sure if this is the spot but I am trying to organize team matches on a regular basis and have a problem. Last spring I took names and did it all by hand, sorting out partners and teams and such, but this is time consuming and stressful. Is there any way to have some sort of partnership table set up for people who want to play in team matches, but may not have a partner? The matches are to be twice a week, on Wednesday night and Sunday morning... I can if necessary put the pairs together and set up the matches but people need to find their own pard. It seems a lot of people would love to play in the team matches but finding pards is sometimes a problem just as for tournaments. Originally someone offered to set up a web page but it seems that it is far more difficult than either of us thought, and he has found he hasn't the time. I know little about computers and have no clue how to go about doing that (which is why I thought it would be relatively simple). To make changes to the club news is (I am told) both time consuming and tricky, or we would just have used that and entered people's names as they came in, and moved them to another spot as they got matched up. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. .

oh now, be nice. Have you never found yourself in a tournament with someone who is apparently having the worse bridge day of his life and consistently scuppers every hand? It makes it possible to get through it if you can vent to somebody who won't mind(even if they chortle at you afterward). You can still smile sweetly behind gritted teeth when your pard tells you that your *over*bid was wrong and the reason he went down (although in the trailers afterward all the other pairs made or bettered the same contract).Or laughs and says he forgot he had splinters on his profile and sorry for leaving you in that suit, ha ha. Or doesn't support your red 1 level overcall, or come in on the opps subsequent rounds of bidding but leaps in at the five level with 3 hcp and 2 ( the 6 and 4) of your trump (which you only bid once). (And if you are REALLY lucky, then suggests a different line of play from the one you tried). If you can moan to somebody it helps stop you from a) being rude to your pard or b ) running screaming into the night, and subsequently getting blacklisted from tourneys :rolleyes:

[hv=d=s&v=e&n=s543ha654d7cajt72&w=sakq762hd96432c43&e=sjhkqjt92dakqj5c5&s=st98h873dt8ckq986]399|300|Scoring: IMP what is the right way to bid this? Checking the traveller, bids were all over the place. If bidding goes P 2♠ P then what? This was in a BIL tourney so 2NT asking for a feature didn't work very well (got left in it for -1 on a ♣ lead) [/hv]

Unlikely I would ever play in it. One of the things I find uncomfortable (boring?) about some of the tourneys esp acbl is when a hand is passed out or claimed quickly and nobody says a word for 5 minutes...it's like being in an elevator with a bunch of people and everyone pretends they are alone. (Is my non duplicate background showing?):) However, the idea of TD's having the option of having GIBS sub for missing players would be a huge benefit at times. (But might encourage people to run mammoth tourneys knowing they can fill them up with GIBS when half the players quit because of bad boards or whatever. Maybe a max of 3?) The problem of who is responsible for delay in game is ongoing, it would be nice to have some solution.