zman102

"Significant portions of the Republican base are completely detached from reality." Yes, and a lot of them live in Arizona. I think it is the water.

"American Pie" by Don McLean has always been one of my favorite songs. Before the internet I didn't realize how the lyrics referred mostly to rock-n-roll groups and their songs (as interpreted by various folks (don't believe Don McLean has ever stated much except to say the song was dedicated to Buddy Holly)). I tended to interpret the lyrics in my own reference (as I guess we all do). The lines "the birds flew off with a fallout shelter. Eight miles high and falling fast" meant to me the very real fears that we had during the fifties and sixties of having a hydrogen bomb dropped on us. But folks think it refers to the Byrds who had a song "Eight miles high". That makes sense, but I didn't know about the reference for about 35 years. Anyway, I think the song was written about 1969-1971 and if you have never heard it you might enjoy listening to the song. It is long, over 5 minutes, but it is, I think, my all time favorite. American Pie lyrics A long long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And maybe they'd be happy for a while. But February made me shiver With every paper I'd deliver Bad news on the doorstep I couldn't take one more step I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride But something touched me deep inside The day the music died {Refrain} So bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my chevy to the levee But the levee was dry And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die Did you write the Book of Love And do you have faith in God above If the Bible tells you so Do you believe in rock 'n roll Can music save your mortal soul And can you teach me how to dance real slow Well, I know that you're in love with him 'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym You both kicked off your shoes and I digged those rhythmy blues I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck But I knew I was out of luck The day the music died I started singin' {Refrain} Now for ten years we've been on our own And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone But that's not how it used to be When the jester sang for the King and Queen In a coat he borrowed from James Dean And a voice that came from you and me Oh, and while the King was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown The courtroom was adjourned No verdict was returned And while Lenin read a book of Marx The quartet practiced in the park And we sang dirges in the dark The day the music died We were singing {Refrain} Helter Skelter in a summer swelter The birds flew off with a fallout shelter Eight miles high and falling fast It landed foul out on the grass The players tried for a forward pass With the jester on the sidelines in a cast Now the half-time air was sweet perfume While the Sergeants played a marching tune We all got up to dance Oh, but we never got the chance 'Cause the players tried to take the field The marching band refused to yield Do you recall what was revealed The day the music died We started singing {Refrain} Oh, and there we were all in one place A generation Lost in Space With no time left to start again So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Jack Flash sat on a candlestick 'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend Oh, and as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage No angel born in hell Could break that Satan's spell And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw Satan laughing with delight The day the music died He was singing {Refrain} I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away I went down to the sacred store Where I'd heard the music years before But the man there said the music woudn't play And in the streets the children screamed The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken And the three men I admire most The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died And they were singing {Refrain} They were singing bye-bye, Miss American Pie Drove my chevy to the levee But the levee was dry Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die

A most Happy Birthday! regards

OMG......to be young again (and stupid too probably)

Thank you barmar. Yes I did get the auction right. Wish I knew how to do a handviewer link. On "myhands" I am zman102. The hand was "hand 62" at 00:30 on 9/18/2009. The contract was 2 ♣ by north for plus 90.

I think it would be a good idea to have a GIB area. I am always looking for GIB stuff. I do have some comments about GIBS: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) I log on to BBO through the BBO web site. When there I go to "robot world" and ask to play with 3 GIBs. But using this method, I can not adjust their playing speed or use the claim button. I would like to have the option to do both of these things. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2) GIB is playing the hands better than he/she/it did as lately as a year ago. And I wish to thank whoever has fixed most of the poor play. In particular, GIB does not seem to do the wild unblocking that it used to do when it played the hand. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3) GIBs opening leads on defense are not particularily good. GIB doesn't lead my suit. GIB underleads aces too often. GIB switches suits too often on defense (this has actually been to my benefit when I have made impossible 3NT bids when my GIB opps are defending and switching). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4) My bidding with GIB seems to be going pretty good. I have to beware of waving red flags at him to avoid impossible slams. But there is one situation that has occurred twice now......so I may be missing something in the system we are playing. I don't know how to use the suit symbols, so in descending order the suits are spades, hearts, diamonds then clubs. I held as dealer: 1075 AJ85 K4 Q1073 The bidding goes: P P 1D X 1H P 2C P ? Playing with a human I would probably redouble with my 10 pretty good points, but I decided to bid one heart. Now I should raise to 3 clubs to block out the spade suit, but I didn't, so alot of what happened (when I passed) was my bad bidding. But partners hand was: A2 K1032 AQJ873 5 I don't understand the 2 club bid by GIB (I actually thought he had diamonds and clubs). And since it has happened twice I thought I would mention it. In GIB's system when I bid over a double do I promise another bid? Or was GIB being tactical (hoping to correct over opps spade bids)? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I may attempt an ACBL with GIB in the near future.

In Arizona waiters and waitresses make less than $3.00/hour. So I always tip them (15-20%) unless they are rude, mean or arrogrant Then I don't tip. I don't tip in the taco bell. In casinos I tip the drink person a dollar (so maybe they will find me again). I sometimes tip the cashier. But I don't know how much to tip if I win a nice jackpot that requires a hand pay. Once I was just wandering around and put 3 nickels into a machine and won the progressive ($8,874). Didn't even sit down. I didn't tip when they paid me (a stack of $100 bills) as I was in a state of shock. But I am not sure what a reasonable tip would be for a hand pay when you win a jackpot of some kind. Usually when I win a royal flush on a 0.25 cent viedo poker machine I tip each person paying me (and there are usually 2 at least) $10.00. Last week I won $2,060 playing mega bucks. Most times when I go to the casino I put $21.00 (7 pulls) into mega bucks in case lightning strikes. I hit one red and white 7 with 2 other symbols that multiplied by 9 the amount that 3 of the sevens would have paid. I didn't have my social security card with me and they went to extra trouble to fill out more government forms so they could pay me. When they paid me they gave me 20 $100 bills and 3 twentys. There were three of them, so I gave each of them a twenty. I could tell by the looks on their faces that I had given them too much (or was it too little). So i have no idea how much to tip when gambling. Maybe someone can give me a clue.

Hi peter....I would play what my friends and partners wanted to play. Mostly keeping it simple. But I personally am most comfortable playing 2/1, as learning early that you are going to game removes the worry that partner may pass below game. As others have pointed out though, the forcing 1NT response (in 2/1) can prove awkward, but all systems have strong and weak points. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ An off topic aside: I have always understood that SAYC meant "standard American yellow card". I know what "standard American" means, but I am not sure about "yellow card". In the back of my mind I recall seeing convention cards with a yellow stripe on them where the partner's names go. But that was many years ago and I can't quite remember (CRS).

Elton John in the hollywood bowl in the eighties...BeeGees in las Vegas

Sorry Hrothgar......I wrote Ken instead of you......please ignore my mistake.

Hi Ken, How did your chilles rellenos turn out? I have made these for years from a recipe from the Sunset magazine's Mexican Cookbook (circa 1975). The recipe gives three ways to make the coating (thin and crisp, puffy or omelet like). I like the puffy variety. I always made them using fresh California (Anaheim) chilles. They say you can use canned, but I always liked the roasted taste of the fresh chilles. First fell in love with this dish when I had it at Gay and Larry's Mexican restaurant (in Riverside, CA and later Rubidoux, CA). I think the restaurant is closed now. My preference is to serve them without sauce, with fresh salsa, avacado and sour cream on the side. Hope yours turned out well. Paddy

Hi Fred,I did have something strange go on (with the web-based version) during an ACBL speedball game on Monday evening (January 19th). I played in two ACBL games and when we started the second one two strange things occurred. We finished the first hand and the score for this hand was placed on line 3 of my results. The second hand was scored on line two and the third hand was scored on line one. We moved to the next table and the 4th hand was scored on line 4 (where it should be). My opps were thinking about their bids (on hand 5) and I glanced at our score from the first round and I couldn't see the score as I had made my playing window too large. So I drug the interface to make the my results area larger. Then when it was my time to bid I didn't have anywhere to bid. The numbers and the suits that show up in the right hand bottom corner wasn't there. Of course, it was speedball and everyone paniced (lol). The director came and told me to log off and come back and I could get back in. So I did and everything was normal after that.I wish that I had had my wits about me and just made my window larger again as maybe I covered the bidding area when I made the window smaller. Suspect I may have caused my own problem. It wasn't a big deal. Logging off and coming back worked. My left hand opponent, Chris (I think that was his name) said this had happened to him before too (not the way the score showed, but losing the place to bid). I didn't mention the funny way the score showed up as, well, this was speedball and no time. I am still a fan of the web-based version.

I really like BBO's web-based client. Have been playing there since about the first of the month, and have wandered around and answered most of my questions (at least those I am aware of). I bought a new computer in December with a 22 inch monitor and it is great to have large cards that I can see well. Also like being able to drag to make the areas bigger or smaller. I have experienced no real problems with the web BBO. I do have one question. On 1-2-09 I purchased the GIBs for one month for $3.00. I can play with them on the BBO version on my computer, but I can't figure out how to do it on the web-based version. Thought maybe playing with GIBs had not been activated on the web version (other than in robot races), until I saw someone playing with GIBs in the main bridge room the other night. So I am missing something. My $3.00 payment shows up on both BBO on the computer and the web-based versions. Any instructions would be appreciated. Thanks for working to improve my bridge experience on BBO. Like I said I really like the web-based version.

too many zeros in 2001....lol

Learned to play by filling in for my parent's bridge games in 1950. Played my first duplicate game in June 1963 and became a life master in August 1965 (i had very good players helping me win master points). School, work and caring for a son with MS caused me to simplify my life and I stopped playing in 1973 until I got online in 20001 and played on the zone until I found BBO and have been playing on BBO since. There is no face to face bridge closer than 150 miles (round trip), so I only play online. I checked over 55 years in the poll, but as you can see, that is really not correct if you take into account all of the down time