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I'm sorry to hear that. nickf sydney

Well there's no question he was a great entertainer. I couldnt get over the saturation coverage even here on the other side of the world. The national news on a popular network devoted its first 20 mins to MJ, including interviewing a local school girl who was too upset to go to school and a fan who spent the day sobbing in his MJ shrine at the back of his house. Of course, the real issue now is... who is the new King of Pop? Aaah... time for a new poll, I think. nickf sydney

I'd like to start another poll. How often has a friend or acquaintance called you with breaking news that Team XXX has just won Event YYY? Maybe it's just that no one wants to call me because my response would be and always will be zero. nickf sydney

Why does it matter so that the delay is much longer? Would you really know that it wasnt live if you werent told? The number of bridge tournaments that put results on the web not long after a session is over (let alone live) is so so few that it wouldnt be an issue. And even then the organisers could delay putting VG match results up. What are you going to do? Phone a friend on-site to get the result rather than wait 2.5 hours? nickf sydney

I had to read this twice to get what you meant - at first it seemed triinu was redundant. nickf sydney

Earlier this year I was negotiating with the TD of our biggest MP event to broadcast the Final over BBO. For the Final (3 sessions) the field was broken up into about 15 sub-fields, based on Qualifying: - the Final - the Plate - the 'A' consolation - the 'B' consolation etc As the final was run as a barometer, the Final all played Bds 1-3 in round 1, the Plate played Bds 4-6 in Round 1, etc. I wanted to broadcast the Final (the top tier). The issue the TD had was a participant in the Plate or the A Con, B Con etc could, if they were so inclined, between rounds phone a friend who was watching BBO and get information on boards they had not played yet. Nowadays, they can slip into the toilet and grab a hand on their iPhone. I think the TD mulled over the issue for a few months before relenting. Security concerns are very real, but I have doubts the real threat is greater. nickf sydney

I fully endorse the idea. Of course, there will sometimes be (sadly not often enough) real time scoring that might provide a spoiler but my gut says the proportion of VG watchers who'd - know of the existence of realtime scores - care enough to go check the result is so small it's insignificant. When I was watching the Euros last night, I didnt even know what time it was in Sanremo, let alone care that the match was live. That it could have started 30mins prior in no way detracted from the spectacle. I organise a lot of VuGraph here, and aside from the dinosaur who runs a lot of tournaments here, the only grief I get is the occasional question about security. nickf sydney

essentially based on registered bridge numbers. And Aust-NZ dont get 2 spots, we have to slug it out with New Caledonia, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and other heavyweights from the south Pacific. nickf sydney

Not quite correct. Strictly speaking it's the owner of a popular brand of Italian coffee that decides these matters. nickf sydney

A NZ umpire officiating an Australian game? Since when did they toss the notion of impartial umpires out the window? nickf sydney

When I had a razr there was firmware that could link your phone to your PC in order to backup, sync etc. I think there was a faciltity to save contacts, photos etc to files on yoru PC. not sure if that helps. nickf sydney

I can't ignore this incredibly provocative comment and believe it warrants a typical aussie response: 1) Piss off Kiwi. oh wait, no what I meant to say was: "20/20 cricket, it's not real cricket of course (well not real cricket until Australia wins a substantial trophy)." nickf sydney

I need another clue. Who dropped the Queen doubleton? Was it declarer or partner? I guess this influences the next card I play. nickf sydney

My only gripe was when I first started subscribing about 12 years ago - unenveloped magazines (with the address label adhered to the back cover) would arrive in my mailbox. I wrote to them that I though this was an unusual practice, particulary as my copy had to travel half way around the world. Eventually they changed their practices. I dont notice these days if my copy arrives on time - I'm just aware I get a copy every 4 weeks. nickf sydney

What am I missing? 2C asks for simple preference. I think 2D is the best description of my pile. nickf sydney

It's not going to be St Petersburg but more likely a city in the USA. nickf sydney

I dont get it. We have a captive audience of young enthusiastic adolescents who are interested in pursing a past time that is in decline, and they are actively discouraged from playing particular conventions? Cut these people some slack. They love playing conventions (and on the weirdo convention scale of 1-10, Multi rates about a minus 3) and most of the time they dont care if it leads to +790 or -670. They laugh it off, and try it again three boards later. I've yet to see them pissed off that they were caught out by some obscure treatment - in all likelihood they'll applaud the bidder and add it to their own repertoire. Young people will be driven away from bridge if they cant play stuff. My personal opinion is that too much system is bad for their bridge development but I think we need to be resigned to the fact that system is of great appeal to young people. nickf sydney

The issue of operator or commentator is complex. And it's important to differentiate between comments on what's happening at the table ("Gitelman has his head in hands", "Wald has knocked over his coffee", "Grue can't keep still") as opposed to hand analysis. I run a lot of VG presentations here and I have a preference for operators not to engage in hand analysis, with few exceptions for the simple reason that operating for most people requires a lot of focus and quite frankly their analysis skills just arent up to the level of Roland's squad. I also dissuade operators from over-commenting because its clear to some players who arent focussed that the operator is typing away, often for a reason and that opens up the UI can of worms. And to that extent, I didnt enjoy the Cavendish as much this year, mainly because one of some of the operators were way too chatty and moreover, their analysis was superficial or in some cases inaccurate. nickf sydney

During the Yeh Bros Cup here a couple of months ago, the BBO operator was asked to provide a statement during an appeal, on a similar issue, length of hesitation. nickf sydney

I'm waiting for the CD to come out. nickf sydney

you're in a lot of trouble now. Already my wife complains I waste too much time playing with my iPhone. nickf sydney

Can you clarify please? I found this ambiguous. Are you inferring: - most but not all police who lie, bully and practice oral sex on men are detestable? OR - all police lie, bully and practice oral sex on men but you only find most of them detestable? And while you're answering, what exactly makes them detestable? Is it the lying? Is it the bullying? Or is it the oral sex on men bit? nickf sydney

so you cant win a match 16-14 or 17-13 under this model? nickf sydney

Hi, I downloaded a bridge application for my iPhone, and among its features are VP scales, which I thought looked wrong, and I wrote to the developer to let him know. It seems the scales were taken from here which I found after searching "VP Scales" on the ACBL site. Apart from the columns being misaligned on page 1, can anyone confirm that this data is correct, or otherwise? And how common is the use of 20 VP scale matches in the US (or anywhere for that matter). thanks in advance nickf sydney

I wouldnt crime 1NT, in fact this is exactly the sort of hand that Michael Courtney, one of the world's great rubber bridge players, frequently opens 1NT on. nickf sydney