akhare

I am a chai snob myself and suspect that the remarks disparaging tea are based on those Lipton "dip dip" varieties :). IMO, for best results black tea leaves must be boiled in water for at least two minutes (preferably with a dash of cardamom, ginger and other spices thrown in) and then filtered and served with steaming hot (Soy) milk and sugar to taste. I do like the smell of some coffees though, but don't particular care for the flavour. However, I don't mind drinking the version prepared in Southern India (with a chicory blend). Back there they jokingly refer it to "meter coffee" -- they blend it by pouring the steaming hot liquid at over an arms length and manage never to spill a drop!!!

The only thing to hope that is that the batsman don't follow suit, i.e., keep aiming for the slips and fine leg :rolleyes:. All said and done, Ponting is in amazing form...

I don't think that I have ever seen anyone treating spinners with such utter disdain. Kaneria was way out of his league, but even Murali has complimented him. Hopefully someone will post a clip of the recent mauling (28 runs)? It's too bad that we likely won't see too much of him after the 2007 WC (he's 37 right now)...

What's wrong with drugs and prostitution? Btw, coke and opium are not allowed, only marihuana and such is. Absolutely -- I think the legalized prostitution might in fact actually contribute to the overall well being of society. No one makes a fuss about marijuana where I come from and there's actually a festival (Holi) where a lot of people get stoned on it (makes for some hilarious scenes).

Looks like a blatant attempt to engineer the result by unethical means. Why not just raise in tempo and hope to get a good result from the resulting X (if any)? Alternatively you can simply pass in tempo and hope that the X is left in.

♣s seem to be the obvious lead. Given that pard's hand is likely immaterial, you can make the case for leading J♣ / T♣ (the latter is preferrable unless you have played against this particular declarer often and your deceptive tendencies are known). BTW, it behooves this hand to plan discards in advance after taking a looking at dummy -- looks like it's going to face the entire brunt :)...

This must be a joke -- indeed, if there's so much hatred between the two political factions in our democracy, the country faces a far more serious danger than the one posed by terrorism. Also, I don't think that clubbing Ali Khamenei and the terrorists (presumably al-Qaeda) in one single sentence makes sense. The Persians have a vastly different cultural background and I suspect that their strategic objectives will be ill served by launching a terrorist attack on the United States. It might work for a stateless organization, but has to be suicidal for Iran...

Thanks for all the responses -- I really like this structure. Can you post or PM some of the follow up some to these sequences, especially how you resolve 3 card vs. 4 card support for a 1♥1♠ response? Also, continuaitons over 1♦ - 2♣ - 2♦ (minimum w/ no support) and more information about relays with unbalanced hands will be appreciated.

I have always hated the classic Precision 2♦ opening that shows short ♦s and am looking for ways to try and improve it. I think that 2♦ is better used to show intermediate hands with 6+♦s, multi (weak 2 in major only), or something along those lines. However, changing that bid directly affects the 1♦ opening (which shows 2+). Do you folks have a good response structure over the 1♦ opening that operates within these constraints (sorry -- 5 card majors)? 1) NT range must be 14-16 (13+ - 16-) 2) 2♣ opening must promise 6+ 3) 1♦ opening can promise as few as 0♦s.

India How about: The three of them are try to communicate but can't find a common language between them. Frustrated, the men decide to take "sanyas" (reclusion from domestic life) and the woman lives happily ever after...

Don't know what the other two dishes are about, but you can make this dish w/ sprouted mung beans too. It should go pretty well when served with naan (Indian flat bread)...

Yum -- being vegan myself, I agree w/ the first paragraph :). However, weight is just a function of "calories in" vs. "calories expended" and if being vegan becomes more mainstream, I am sure you will bump into some fat ones sooner or later :)...

Yes indeed -- a fine American who not too long ago shook hands with the very tyrant whose execution is now being hailed: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15590729/site/...week/?nav=slate But what about the Americans—the Republicans, in fact—who helped Saddam remain in power all those years and then, changing their minds when the monster proved beyond their control, launched the ill planned and shamefully executed war to eliminate him that continues to this day? The dictator killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, it is true. According to the most recent study by the British journal The Lancet hundreds of thousands more have died from combat, terror, crime and pestilence since the Bush administration brought him down. It's hard to imagine a more striking example of two wrongs making for a worse—horribly worse—outcome. Is there a moral equivalency? Actually, there is. The Republicans asked to be judged for their intentions. They wanted … what was it they wanted to do? Find weapons of mass destruction? Stop terrorism? Assure oil supplies? Ah, yes. They said when they launched the war that petroleum played no part in their judgment. “Nonsense,” was Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s dismissive retort.

Actually, it slightly more subtle than that. Casey / Ford can vote which ever way they want, but it's probably a safe bet that adominable issues like the constitutional amendment won't be on the agenda in the first place as long as the Dems are in power. As I see it, if keeping the wolves at bay involves dressing some of your own in wolves' clothing, so be it, as long as you don't eat your own.

A significant portion of our sense of taste is derived from smell and it has a powerful impact on our appetites as well. It's interesting as to note how cultural background and upbringing influences what smells are deemed as appetizing/revolting. For instance, the smells of most of the foods mentioned in this thread (bacon, steak) would likely make me feel like throwing up. By the same token, I know someone who finds the smell of cilantro obnoxious and I wouldn't be suprised if the spices I adore have a similar effect on other people :lol:....

Extending this to be more generic -- how about the ability to place constraints on the hand types that are dealt (a la partnership bidding)? Of course, scoring at such tables should be non competitive or should be compared only against similar tables...

Hey -- have you been spying on me :lol:? That's exactly what I made last night (had some left over stuffed eggplant "subji" to go along w/ it). As noted, you can make it with other lentils like masoor dal (kind of brownish lentil commonly used in Lebanese cooking too -- it's bright orange when split and w/o a husk). Note that in general, non-split varieties w/ chilka (husk) are best cooked in a pressure cooker (don't blow up your house though :)). The split dehusked ones cook pretty well in a covered vessel (make sure you add at least 2 parts water regardless of the method) and take about 15 minutes or so..

I concur -- Lieberman was a dampner for me as was Ford's loss. I agree w/ you on principle regarding social issues but I think that the Dems took a practical stance. For instance, it would have been almost impossible to unseat Santorum (good riddance) without assuming a conservative stance on those issues. Now, as long as they don't enact any legislation based on those obnoxious personal views, I couldn't care less what they say they believe...

5♠ seems to be pretty clear assuming the opps are remotely sane (in the bridge sense)...

Looks like it's Hair be gone -- this is the kind that most cricket fans won't mind losing. Any bets on the Ozzies vs. the Windies? I think India had an excellent chance of knocking them out before they lost the script (batting could have been better, but the bowling was brain dead)...

Last train for 4♠ -- better fess up to having ♠ support -- we know what will happen if we bid 4♥ or other cute bids :). Seriously, as Ron noted, I would just bid 4♠ and not worry too much about missing slam...

Well, we are likely to set this at least one. However, how confident am I that pard knows that the 4♥ bid was a cue in support of ♠s? Is it possible for pard to hold only 5♠? Does the 4♥ free bid (no pun intended :)) set up a FP situation? Bidding 5♠ could work, but my ODR isn't that good -- the stiff ♦ isn't likely to help too much because pard can't have too much length and the four junk ♣s are a huge liability. In the balance, now that I have trapped myself, P seems to be the best option.

I finally got around to reading Heeman and was really impressed by it. Is there similar structure over a 2N opening (20 - 21)? I suppose extended Puppet Stayman is a candidate, but I really like the fact that Heeman doesn't expose too much information about the opener's hand.

1♥ playing standard Precision. Richard et all, Playing Moscito should this hand be opened 1♦ (showing ♥)? Seems a little heavy, but might be the practical bid...

LOL -- is this system for real? All systems go over P. Over 1♣ openings are natural, but limited to say 13 points w/ 1N=12-14. X = any hand w/ 14+ points. We can probably use the same defence over 1♦, but the X should probably promise a slightly better hand. Over 1♥/1♠, X = takeout w/ 3+ cards in the bid suit OR any big hand and everything else is natural. Over 1N, X = balanced 14+ and everything else natural?