pdmunro

I'm a criminal defense attorney. You just stated my job perfectly. :) An absolute classic! I have long wished that there was some means of keeping a record of my favourite forum posts. Of course, making this less-than-relevant post is one method. Later, I can use "Find all posts by this member" (where "this member" is myself) in order to to find this one again. However, it has just struck me that maybe I can keep an annotated list of the www link showing at the top of the page. For example, kenrexford job description: http://forums.bridgebase.com/index.php?showtopic=21454&st=30

Quite a forceful riposte to a negative review: http://www.bridgeworld.com/default.asp?d=e...&f=maureen.html

When I reread my own post, I realized that a better subheading might have been "health problems" rather than "sad news". I tried to change it, but unfortunately one cannot edit the heading or subheading of a post (as far as I can work out).

I heard an interesting term on the radio today: dog-whistling. An example, that the political commentator gave, was the recently introduced citizenship test here in Australia. The test is easy: it asks questions such as "What is the first line of the national anthem?". Even if you knew none of the answers, and even if you couldn't speak English, you could rote learn the answers in 30 minutes.** The political commentator holds the view that the point of the test is not to weed out people from becoming Australian citizens, but rather to send an implicit message to xenophobes that "We are the political party that is concerned - just like you are - about immigrants not assimilating into our culture. So vote for us!". Another example given was President Bush's references from the Book of Revelations. Such references are only recognized by those with a familiarity with the Bible. They send a coded message to those people, that "I, President Bush, have your religous interests at heart. So vote for me!". Whereas, other listeners, not recognizing the origin of the words, simply hear the literal meaning. So, just as only dogs can hear the frequency of a dog-whistle, these "dog-whistling" political messages only evoke emotional responses in the minds of their selected audience. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ** Here is a parody that's are much harder than the government's test! I know I would fail this one. 2007 Australian Citizenship test 1. Do you understand the meaning, but are unable to explain the origin of, the term "died in the arse"? ___________________________________ 2. What is a "bloody little beauty"? ___________________________________ 3. Are these terms related: chuck a sickie; chuck a spaz; chuck a U-ey? ___________________________________ 4. Explain the following passage: "In the arvo last Chrissy the relos rocked up for a barbie, some bevvies and a few snags. After a bit of a Bex and a lie down we opened the pressies, scoffed all the chockies, bickies and lollies. Then we drained a few tinnies and Mum did her block after Dad and Steve had a barney and a bit of biffo." __________________________________ 5. Macca, Chooka and Wanger are driving to Surfers in their Torana. If they are travelling at 100 km/h while listening to Barnsey, Farnsey and Acca Dacca, how many slabs will each person on average consume between flashing a brown eye and having a slash? ___________________________ 6. Complete the following sentences: a) If the van's rockin' don't bother ... B) You're going home in the back of a ... c) Fair crack of the ... _________________________________ 7. I've had a gutful and I can't be fagged. Discuss __________________________________ 8. Have you ever been on the giving or receiving end of a wedgie? __________________________________ 9. Do you have a friend or relative who has a car in their front yard "up on blocks"? Is his name Bruce and does he have a wife called Cheryl? __________________________________ 10. Does your family regularly eat a dish involving mincemeat, cabbage, curry powder and a packet of chicken noodle soup called either chow mein, chop suey or kai see ming? __________________________________ 11. What are the ingredients in a rissole? __________________________________ 12. Demonstrate the correct procedure for eating a Tim Tam. __________________________________ 13. Do you have an Aunty Irene who smokes 30 cigarettes a day and sounds like a bloke? __________________________________ 14. In any two-hour period have you ever eaten three-bean salad, a chop and two serves of pav washed down with someone else's beer that has been flogged from a bath full of ice? __________________________________ 15. When you go to a bring-your-own-meat barbie can you eat other people's meat or are you only allowed to eat your own? __________________________________ 16. What purple root vegetable beginning with the letter "b" is required by law to be included in a hamburger with the lot? __________________________________ 17. Do you own or have you ever owned a lawn mower, a pair of thongs, an Esky or Ugg boots? __________________________________ 18. Is it possible to "prang a car" while doing "circle work"? __________________________________ 19. Who would you like to crack on to? __________________________________ 20. Who is the most Australian: Kevin "Bloody" Wilson, John "True Blue" Williamson, Kylie Minogue or Warnie? __________________________________ 21. Is there someone you are only mates with because they own a trailer or have a pool? _________________________________ 22. What does "sinkin piss at a mates joint and getten para" mean?

weedo->Kibitzers: Please let us all wish the best for Paul Soloway, who is in hospital had a leg removed from knee weedo->Kibitzers: diabetes, he will be replaced with Hemant Lall in China

I have read that Google interviews are technical. For example: "Ok, regarding the interviews, yes they are tough. They grill you with specifics, so you really have to know your stuff. Skills like C++ and Java were only secondary requirements for me, the main requirement being a different platform (I hesitate to mention it here, it would be too damning to me) so I can not give much specifics that would help most of you out there (plus I have to worry about the Non Disclosure agreement that I signed). The phone interview was around 40 minutes. It was technical, but wasn't too in-depth. I think the guy sensed I knew my stuff, so he didn't really grill me. On site interviews lasted almost 4 hours, and were rather grilling. Much of the technical questions they asked me were real design issues they were facing. They use whiteboards often, which was really cool for me, because I like hammering out solutions as I write and draw. They didn't throw any of the (in)famous puzzles that I hear about, nor did they try any kind of personality tests. They just grilled me on the platform that is my main expertise." http://weblogs.asp.net/jasonsalas/archive/.../04/424378.aspx

They're doing something right in Atlanta: http://home.earthlink.net/~atlantajuniorbr...sults070901.htm http://home.earthlink.net/~atlantajuniorbridge/cphoto07.htm

When I read an article like the link below, I can't help wondering why bridge hasn't got similar books for kids. Is it because we can't break the game down into simpler bits for kids? http://beta.uschess.org/frontend/news_7_525.php

Some nice clear explanations Stephen Tu. Very interesting. Better than any text I have read. But I think Orla's decision to go with the Jump to 2NT as 11-12 is the best for pick-up games. Absent prior discussion, it causes less grief to go with what the majority play. Even when I was playing with a regular partner in our local clubs, we had settled on the J to 2NT as 11-12. The longer we played together the more we simplified our system. (Strange, but true.) I think it reduced the misunderstandings. Plus the bidding was quicker, leaving more time to tell a few jokes. :-)

I play the jump to 2NT as 11-12. It seems most on BBO do. But I think you will find many references to it being something like 13-15, except when the player has previously passed, in which case it is then (10)11-12: Pavlicek: http://www.rpbridge.net/1t41.htm ACBL: http://web2.acbl.org/documentlibrary/play/...gle%20pages.pdf Wayne Burrows: http://bridgelessonssayc.blogspot.com/2007...-1-opening.html Fred: Bridge Base Standard (Basic) My bet is that the simpler idea of it always being 11-12 will win out in the end. :-)

To convert to text: Open .lin file offline with BBO. Click printer symbol in bottom corner. Text file is instantly created. To add comments: This is done online. Log in to BBO. Click MOVIE button. Open . lin file and annotate. Save.

http://forums.bridgebase.com/index.php?sho...c=8630&hl=blogs http://www.clairebridge.com/blogs.htm http://www.greatbridgelinks.com/gblIND/

My 2 cents worth. A few years ago at my local bridge club, I had a partner with whom I decided to meet and discuss the hands. It was not a success. For every argument that I put forward, he had a counter-argument. It took me some time - I am a slow learner - but I eventually realized that he just liked the argumentative process. I could see that I could never "win" an argument with this guy. So I stopped trying to convince him of anything. Actually, I am forever grateful that he taught me the pointlessness of arguing. Forget about trying to educate partner. Much better is to just go over a hand and educate oneself. It's something chess grandmasters learned long ago. (They never had a partner to blame!) They will look at a particular position for up to a week. Slowly all the nuances make themselves known and become part of the memory bank. The MAJOR reason why I play on BBO is because the bidding and play is recorded. I can look back at my hands and also check out what happened at the other tables. Prompted by Jlall's advice in these forums, I am reviewing my hands more frequently. I use Double Dummy Solver http://www.bridgemate.net/downloadDD.html to find all the permutations for a hand. DDS is great because it can read BBO files. It's fast and it's free. Regarding imps scoring on BBO, I have concluded that there are two key factors that influence ones results enormously, and over which you have little control: (1) Which pair has the game-scoring cards? (2) Did they bid game with them? Say the opponents have the cards and are competent enough to get to game. It is almost guaranteed that 3 or 4 pairs, out of the 16, will not bid game. So the opponents chalk up say 4 -5 imps. If the opponents get a run of good cards, after 6 boards, one is guaranteed to be behind 20-30 imps. Similarly, if your side gets a run of game-scoring hands, there's no point in feeling superior when one racks up 20-30 imps. As long as you can bid your games, you will win your imps. To repeat, this is chiefly a consequence of 3-4 pairs not bidding game. It is hard to remain focused when suffering a run of losses. I fell apart in that situation the other night. The opponents were unkind ;-) : they had the cards and they made a minimal number of errors. Under the pressure, I made a couple of “oops”. Plus I was tired. I like playing in the main bridge club. Of course, there is a lot of "rough and tumble", but I think the key is not to say anything. Never answer a partner if he asks, "Why did you ...?". Even if you just type "y” (as in "Yes I agree"), it can lead to further comments by your partner. And a hidden danger is that partner starts thinking about your hand rather than his own. That is a fatal mistake. If I start thinking about what partner should or shouldn't have done, I find I lose focus and start making mistakes myself. I try to keep out of the opponents "discussions". For some reason, neither opponent seems to appreciate my wise advice. :-) The only thing I occasionally do is send a private message of support to an intermediate opponent, if I feel he is being harassed by his partner. I have tried bridge4money.com a few times. There you cannot speak to your partners. In fact you have no idea who they are. It could be Zia! You make your decisions and you win and lose your money based on those decisions. Everything is completely anonymous. A “no blame” game. A great learning experience. I have found Josh Waitzin’s book of great assistance. http://www.joshwaitzkin.com/bio.html He writes about becoming a chess International Master and a Tai Chi martial arts world champion. Specifically, he addresses the issues of anger and frustration. In both these ultra-competitive games/sports, the opponents are out to unsettle you. Even the organizers may try to unsettle you, if they want their national champion to win. So you have to practice coping with anger and frustration. This was the best part of his book for me.

Thanks for the info. Always good to read a real world example. I'm teaching my third 8 week series of lessons at the moment. It's hard for people to pick up. I recall that it took me a couple of years to grasp the basics of SAYC. And that's all I play. The bonus of SAYC is that it enables me to play with lots of different partners. I learnt bridge in order to meet people outside of my normal concerns of Maths/Science. I never had a definite skill level I wanted to attain. I just wanted to reach a level where I wouldn't feel embarrassed at the table.

"The response of five key cards does not exists, as it is simply forbidden for the partner lacking any key card to query Blackwood. The old bridge joke that applies here is, if your partner used RKCB (or regular Blackwood), and you have all four aces (or all five key cards, playing RKCB), then don't respond at all. Instead, rise slowly from your seat and leave the room quietly, because you are playing with a lunatic and your life may be in danger." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwood_convention

Not bridge, but explains how the pointer on your screen works (highly magnified). Have speakers on. Move and click your mouse. http://www.1-click.jp/ Not bridge, but imagine if he dealt the cards. what a story he could make about the deal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C96Hc1m7pRU

In case you haven't seen these: The "fearsome foursome" classic from Canada http://www.firesides.net/cchumour.htm Bridge humour, English-style http://www.poorbridge.com/

Claire Martel's superb organization of links http://www.clairebridge.com/index.html Sally Brock compares SAYC and Acol http://www.mrbridge.co.uk/library/SAYC_card.pdf Susan Doty's clear and concise bridge notes http://www.bridgeclasses.com/notes/ Karen Walker explains some shape problems http://www.bridgeaholics.com/bidding/treatments/norules.html

Try http://forums.bridgebase.com/index.php?sho...=0entry186851

I think 5 card majors has some good mnemonic devices to aid the memory when you are beginning bridge. Teaching 5-card majors, there is the simple symmetry - a major fit is 5-3 - a minor fit is 3-5 Every time you pull out your convention card at the club, a memory jog is written in front of you "Opening bids promise: ♠♥ 5 ♦♣ 3". Similarly, the phrase: bid 4 card suits "up-the line", seems to stick in the memory. These parts of the system have to do with the shape of the hand. As regards the point count, there are a few repeated numbers that are the cornerstone for me: The key one is 11: 1 any - 3 same = 11-12 2/1 = 11+ 1-any - 2NT = 11-12 Then if you are trying to remember your system, you can say to yourself: 1S-2S must be less than 11. I need 6 to respond. Yes it's 6-10. The other important ranges to keep in the memory are 1NT = 15-17 with 8-9 required to bid as responder. Having only just learnt that 1NT-2NT invite showed 8-9, a complete raw beginner whom I teach - a lady who paints nails, i.e had nothing to do with numbers all day - knew to respond 3NT with 10 points. I was so proud of her. My simple policy is: Do my utmost to reduce the memory load in order to keep my customers coming back. Repeat ideas. Stick with a concept, so that they "get it". I truly believe it's all about the fundamentals. And beyond that, to go deeper rather than broader. A couple of my players kept saying they just couldn't get interested and were going to quit. I simplified my lessons even further and tried to remember to praise their achievements. And they have stayed and are showing real promise at helping others to learn.

I had a f-2-f beginners' bridge class last night. I wanted to share with you the teaching ideas I used. I initially became quite frustrated during that day trying to work out prepared hands using Bridge Baron, my favourite program of the moment. And I was not looking forward to the 90+ mins I would need to physically set up the boards. So below is what I tried instead. It seemed to go OK and was a lot less stress on me. The lesson was "game invite" sequences. I used Richard Pavlicek's online software http://www.rpbridge.net/xbp3.htm, to set up 8 illustrative bridge hands, with just EW hands displayed. At the start of the lesson, I spent 30 mins explaining the rudiments of the "game invite" sequence and helping the students to bid all the illustrative deals. Next I got the students to set up the illustrative EW hands and to randomly deal the NS cards. These were put into the boards. And we were ready to go. The students already knew the bidding so that was done quickly. NS didn't bid. To give everyone a turn at being declarer, we rotated the West position (the best hand). At the end of the play, declarer's hand and dummy were both exposed and the students discussed the play. Often they wanted to play the hand fully again. I wandered around the 3 tables and gave play suggestions. I found it easier and more interesting to look at a hand where the NS cards were random rather than set up the NS cards myself. And it made the hands seem more real, less contrived. One last point: I have found it works well if all the hands have the same bidding and play themes. So last night, all the illustrative hands had a 5-3 spade fit (for the "game invite" sequence) and a 5-3 diamond fit, dummy having 5 diamonds (for the play strategy). So the aim, during the play, was to see if declarer could (1) draw trumps and (2) utilise the 5 diamonds in dummy. Coincidentally, one of the students brought me the bridge column from the local paper where some players in a "quality field" had failed to utilise their 5 card suit in dummy.

A couple of examples. http://www.measuringusability.com/sample_continuous.htm http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c000709a.asp

Have you seen these? http://web.telia.com/~u88910365/ http://www.df7cb.de/blog/tag/bridge.html http://www.bridgemate.net/downloadDD.html I use the last link (bridgemate). It accepts BBO files. It seems much quicker than GIB.

Warning: The following is neither politically nor factually correct, nor is it about bridge! What do you call a blond with 2 brain cells? (Click-and-drag to reveal answer hidden below.) Pregnant

I want to put in a plug for the Main Bridge Club. I enjoy playing in the MBC with random opponents. SAYC is my only system. I am "advanced" and I will play with and against players of any level, but I prefer "advanced/experts". If a partner asks "Why did you ...?" I have found that the only answer is to say nothing at all and just get on with the next hand. Yes there are a few occasions when the bridge table in the MBC resembles a pinball machine with all the comings and goings. To my way of thinking, this chaos mirrors bridge itself. One deal we may have 23 points and easily make 3NT. The next hand we are in 3NT with 27 points, and the opponents take the first 5 tricks in their long suit. I'm going to make up a statistic: The probabilty that 25 points will yield 3NT is about 70% which is about the probablility that the players at a table will be pleasant. One has to remain calm when either the cards or the players don't work out as expected. Let the frustration and anger pass by like a cloud.