slothy

I was playing in a tournament recently on BBO and our opponents played this too :) What was nice was that one of the partnership wasnt aware of it :) and they ended up in a 6NT with 3 aces missing. I think he cottoned on the 2nd time he did it

No problem, Bertha B)

I cant remember whose equation it was (i am sure someone will trigger my memory B) I think he was some white-ivory-towered prof from MIT quite high up in the echelons of SETI) but someone came up with an equation to find the probability of life, life per se not 'intelligent life', existing somewhere else in the Universe (our Universe, if not one of many :) ) What is quite uncanny is that 1) the number of variables, although not arbitrary, were selected from a harvest of many more based on what he, and his esteemed collegues, assumed were most important in sustaining and procreating 'life' in general (ie not in our immediate galactic environment and one that he was familiar with, but ANY???? ); 2) these were 'mashed-up' using some 'proven algorithm' (this is a quote: how the hell can something so expansive be proven within the confines of some frilly-wallpapered badly-lit office on a z80 processor does beg another question) 3) the equations themselves were formulated and conceived within the confines and parameters of our own collective intelligence!! (ie OUR mathematics, at least the direction and momentum that human mathematcis has taken ( and arguably the pinnacle of human intelligence [besides the invention of checkback stayman, of course]) : another intelligent life may have something similar to mathematics but may have a means of defining the existence of intelligence elsewhere in the Universe differently (ie NOT through the conscious and meaningful juxtapostion of a finite set of symbols ie 'a number').... I think this whole idea of contemplating or even trying to discover whether Intelligent Life exists anywhere else in the universe is a fatuous one. And let us say IF it did, we are presuming they would not be a hostile civilisation and see us a threat and exterminate us?? (now we are venturing into the realms of Star Trek...i am sure i played against a Vulcan-like personality just the other night) To put it in perspective: The amount of money the defunct U.S.S.R. and U.S. spent on landing on the moon (what for??????? for a game of golf??) could be equated to 240 times more than the estimated investment lost in this recession. What remained could alleviate the collective debt of every developing country FOUR TIMES OVER. ie. why not focus our own intelligence into making the world and life on a planet we KNOW exists into one which will maximise the collective standard of living and happiness of the people living on it, and for our ancestors, instead of fumbling around on some wild-goose chase trying to find out whether some green-coloured people with 4 eyes exist somewhere else? The money that is being spent on the anticipated landing on Mars (does water exist on Mars - who fookin cares!! - and will we find unicellular organisms mulling over a cryptic crossword light from the Sunday newspaper?? (Sunday??? This is a noun used to describe time??? Other intelligence may perceive time differently or may not perceive or have any concept of time at all!!!! it is a dimension that we have evolved to experience and which shapes our lives!! Newspaper - words, language, images, communication (female breasts with specific allusion to the UK Sun Newspaper) ?? we assume that other intelligences would have something similar or even dare say it, communicate telepathically???) is mind-boggling and i am convinced, beyond any doubt that the most optimistic outcome of the journey cannot warrant what will be spent on it (its already spiralling out of control). There are much more pressing concerns within a 50,000 mile distance to overcome than any that may be discovered approximately 48 million miles away. If an intelligent life existing 160 million light years (quite near apparently according to some) and were aware of our existence and had a powerful enough telescope to see us they would see dinosaurs roaming about an Earth totally unrecognisable from our own (assuming they not managed to harness something beyond the speed of light). Even 3 million light years away they will see badly-shaved men throwing spears at mammoths! I think to contemplate the probability of whether life exists somewhere else is to look a bit closer to home: we should think of the enormous serendipity of our planet and the conditions, at least 'geoically'. of the planet we live on. A few things to mull over:- 1) if the average orbital distance of our planet was 2% of its actual distance closer to our 'sun' it would be too hot for water to exist as a liquid: it would be a vapour. Life, as we know it would not exist. THe atmosphere would not be able to absorb the extra enthalpy. 2) if the average orbital distance of our planet was 2% of its actual distance farther away from our 'sun' it would be too cold for water to exist as a liquid: it would be a solid. Life, as we know it would not exist. THe atmosphere would not be able to compensate for the loss of enthalpy. 3) If our sun was in, human terms, 30 years old, when it was 28 years old the ravaging heat of its core would be way too hot .... if it were 32 it would be way to cold.ie it could not sustain any life that had managed to procreate itself in those conditions. There are many more astounding facts to do with pressure, composition of our atmosphere and our core and our surface and our own evolution as well as that of our planet. I dont give a ***** whether life exists on some rock 4 billion miles away. If it did, i couldnt see myself going to play a bridge tourney there (i might bvecome an Exterrestrial Life Master there, who knows?) Anyway need a smoke and i am getting pissed off....

Does this poll include asking whether one believes Intelligent Life exists in West Chicago?

I read something or other about bridge every day without fail. I tend to read books re areas that i have decided i need or want to improve upon normally evolving from some recent gaffe i made in some hand :) Play and defence books i find the most interesting. Kelsey and Lawrence rereaders

Thank you for your reply Trinni. However, sorry to say, it was a rather (unsuccessful as it turns out) attempt at being sarcastic rather than a plea for explanation :) Having said that i am sure that any non Dutch woman betrothed to Dutch partners (and i am sure there are many of them) stumbling upon this thread might re-evaluate their prenup :) Maybe i should have stressed the fact that i was referring to the scenario of Dutch women who specifically had the surname 'Husbandssurname-Maidensurname'. Not that this is the first, nor undoubtedly the last, time that my attempt at humour has fallen flat on its face. Alex

Was great article Frances I read it and enjoyed. good luck!

Dear Helen(uh), I was in Amsterdam recently and never met or heard of any lady whose was named 'Husbandssurname-Maidensurname'. Must be a bugger to sign cheques and stuff. Maybe it is different in the provinces or somewhere? I know Dutch tend to have long (and totally unpronounceable) surnames but isn't this a bit over the top? Alex

Unfortunately, barmar, that story was not apocryphal. ;) Unfortunately ( or fortunately, depending on your perspective ) the person sitting at the table when the nude woman walked by was me :rolleyes: (i did, however, severely reprimand my ex mother-in-law later, telling her that she should restrict her desire to walk naked in public to the privacy of her nudist asylum) The only reason that i didnt notice a woman in this state of undress was nothing to do with the hand in question (it was a simple trivial hand involving a backwash squeeze with an intricate preparatory elimination) but the fact was my gaze was fixated on two rather raunchy buxom blondes who were sat opposite me smothering each other with (semi-skimmed) cream and licking it off the other in a, i must say, rather ubersexual fashion. The opps denied having anything to do with having my ex mother-in-law stroll casually by OR with the 2 ladies in question. I, of course, reserve judgement. Alex

lol lost the thread of this thread ages ago was gonna contribute ... but to mix my metaphors this thirsty horse loitering around the water-hole has been flogged to death :(

Funny this hand looks uncannily familiar to me :P What was even more memorable about this was that in the prognosis of the hand it was insinuated i was unethical, that i psyched and even more that i 'cheated them out of a game', which on immediate analysis of the hand was an obvious red herring. The opps at the other table bid 4H making 10 (exactly, no chance of 11 if played by W) with no opening by my hand. Once i had opened 2S our side was committed to 4S (p having KJ9x xxx Jx AKQx) I was NV vs V and i decided to open lighter than maybe we normally play (my p is a bit more conservative than me). NV against V we have no lower limit. i am a bit more circumspect Vul (in fact unexceptionally), even at equal. I was NOT asked during the auction what our range was; i reconfirmed that it was 5-5 and weak. I was asked accusatively as the play of the hand developed. I certainly felt that i was the accused and had myself hauled over the coals for not 'playing fair'. As i see it, the moment i opened 2S they were on for a bad board, even if LHO did manage to find a X after my 2S or after ps 4S. Maybe this was the reason for the post. Had it of course backfired (as it has done on many an occasion, believe me :) ) (say 4H wasnt making and we phantomed in 4S) i doubt he would have reacted the way he did ie worthy of a post in this forum

I can't

Sarah Palin got verbally bruised in the papers recently for thinking Africa was a country. Wasn't the first time it appears she said something embarrassing and educationally-smoggy (heck if there ain't a word invent one, in the tone of this thread) , especially as a 'hockey mom'. I question the credibility of the accuser and whether it was actually said, and even if it was, whether it was simply an innocent slip of the tongue. However there are pages and pages of the internet devoted to Bushisms. So will we have Palininisms now ( actually seen this word see previous URL) ???? Since she donned (no reference to fellow forummeister jdonne) her new wardrobe it seems that the press are hanging on her every word waiting for a slavering verbal booboo. I am thinking of writing to the Oxford English Dictionary and asking them to change the meaning of the word Palindrome from its correct lexicographical meaning to just this, cross-referencing Bushism - which seems to have sneaked in by the back-door in the last (online) edition Or even have a new portmanteau word for Palindrome, merging Palinism and Syndrome and refers to :- "That collection of facial expressions and nervous massaging of Gucci <put famous name of haute couture designer here> buttons on Sarah Palin's face 5 seconds after she realised she made a verbal gaffe" Just an idea. I like the new word, i think it has mojo... Alex NB Should be a comma before 'and' and after 'buttons'. I am not suggesting in any way that Sarah Palin has the rare disfigurement of 'button growth' on her face.

All I can say Ken: I hope you got a watertight prenup :( :) Alex

2 points : First Point About Obama's lack of political experience: from the general consensus of journalistic opinion, (the 'heavies' in the broadsheets) at least in UK, it seems quite divided as to whether this situation will affect his presidency, at least in terms of public credibility. People wanted a fresh change and they got it - without of course, considering the wider and historical implications of the election outcome - 'touching the arc of history' etc hee hee. What was encouraging was the turn-out on poll day. 97% of African-Americans in Georgia i heard: which is amazing! To encourage people to exercise their franchise is something that both parties are hell-bent on doing here in UK. As i recall, JFK had no political shadow. No one criticised him, at least in terms of his municipal and governmental naivete. Although he oozed more charisma than an overripe fig, he did exactly what OBamBam is doing. He surrounding himself ( omitting his brother of course which was outright nepotism :) ) with well-chiselled, political stalwarts along with young aspiring politiicians to balance the histogram, which pacified any people who thought he was mavericking. He has a lot to prove. Unfortunately, unlike JFK, he is inheriting an economy stampeded with stock-market crashes and a general climate of manic-depression. I watched his victory speech: what stood out more than anything was that it was delivered behind bullet-proof glass. Is he going to spend his time mollycoddled by a flotilla of gorilla-looking security officers with wires coming out of their ears? Are the fears of assassination ( very realistic imo :( there are a lot of disillusioned, wretched people in this world who are quite willing to sacrifice a life that symbolises an ethic that contradicts the ones that they bigotedly and religiously (sic) uphold and resent being challenged on) going to be the one thing that distances him and eventually alienates him from the people he so desperately wants to serve? I was happy when he got elected, irrespective of any political persuasions i quite unashamedly shy away from having. It symbolises change and good change, whatever the outcome. It doesn't wipe out the past but it certainly sets new horizons: too many people get neck-strain looking over their shoulders to see what had happened in the past. I am waiting for our next elections. Maybe if one of the parties put forward a South Asian, non-English-speaking, wheel-chair-bound transsexual and s/he got elected a lot of cawing birds will be killed with one stone :) May I live in hope :) SECOND POINT I was mildly amused and disturbed by Palin's comment about Africa being a country :) It seems to have been referenced many times as well as other comments which seems to underpin her ability to embarrass herself. Are we going to see a flurry of Palinisms** following in the wake of Bushisms, especially as McCain publicly announced Palin as the 'new face' of Republican America. Well don't see that lasting very long post election :) At least people living in the village of Europe think that Palin wont last long ** cant we call them Palindromes ? JAJAJAJAJAJA

albeit belated Happy Birthday Arendino

actually i am 43 :) must have input dob wrong :o

lol thx guys.... Might come and post something i guess....kinda miss it in a perverse kinda way

Darn, this 'thread' didnt have people in stitches huh ? ;)

if you are enthusiastic about finding them, may I suggest you contact your National Bridge Federation. I wanted to track down a guy i played with a few years back. He left suddenly ( for good reason :) ) and left no forwarding address. I contacted the EBU ( English Bridge Union) and they gave me in which county he was registered. After that it was just a matter of contacting a few clubs and hitting the jackpot.

was that a typo Winston Did you mean to say Jello?

You dont need to understand anything Martin..... just watch out for the jajajajajajaja bit..it means someone said something funny (or, as is more likely the case, they were ridiculing your declarer play). May i suggest you play against Tibetan players.....they are very honest and good company... The only thing is on the 2 occasions i did play against them they made a rather protracted brb as they had to go throw some more yak dung on the (eco-friendly) stove in the corner of the yurt :) On one occasion, i made the comment, ' I smell a rat' after he made a rather curious discard....his reply was that i must have a sixth sense to know what he had just thrown on the stove :*

i certainly did not post here for the discussion to get personal and for people to swing broadsides at each other .. i am referring to 2 people in particular (other than Aisha and I that is jajaja: i certainly wasnt going to mention who my partner was but she decided to stick her Perelli underwear on the washing-line as it were :P ) and i wish they would cool down, shake hands and not be so eerie (ok ok bad pun) .... When i bid 3 ♣, i believed that my 3♣ was correct. I posted the hand in this forum to convince myself that my credo was in fact justifiable, and it would have needed a very persuasive argument to sway me contrarily. I wanted to convince Aisha that, all things considered, bidding 3N was not the right bid on this auction and it would have needed a very persuasive argument to sway me contrarily. In some peoples minds, it is correct: they are entitled to, and may even cherish, their opinion, but it certainly disagrees with mine. The easiest way of convincing her was the power of popular opinion - and there was me thinking i could never be able to find a common thread interweaving bridge and politics :) Of course, there was no judgement made (by me) on her proficiency as a bridge player, just, maybe, on her assessment of a particular hand in a particular auction. Maybe, it may have ramifications beyond this, who knows. I agree with mike and with han to an extent. Of course, everything Aisha has said about me is scurrilous and libellious and i am taking legal action as we speak, jaja. I personally have learnt a lot from these forums and in a few cases some thread-sets have altered my mind-set quite tangentially on topics which i thought i was quite unwavering to. I have also taken great glee in being able to causterise some threads with one post :rolleyes: The day i stop learning from players better than, and even not as good as, me and become numb and irreceptive to the persuasive arguments of others is a day that i think i would genuinely stop playing this beautiful game - stubborn dogma as well as reckless evangelism bear sour fruit in bridge (as well as life). I also wish someone very dear to me, who is improving all the time, has, nay continues to adopt, the same attitude. Yalla

:) lol trying to make me out to be some retributive, sulky, bad guy??? i have talked to her and i will play with her...but maybe not at 3am in the morning :D chill, hon. Have a cig and a lemonade. sana optum Yalla Bridge is fun, yes. Sword swallowing was never a past-time i pursued....i value my uvula too highly. As for gynaecology :) As a man, i tend to disagree that it is not as fun as bridge. There are certain mysteries in the female form that i still strive to understand.

Thx for replying guys (and the odd meddling female, who, like the archetypal statistician, had to apportion percentages based on gender-coupling :) :) ) As was suggested by most, i think 1♠ followed by 3♣ describes this hand quite well. Not a hand to make a force of 2♠ ,or raise my ps 1NT in NT, but show that my offensiveness is based on a black-suit distributional. At least 6-4, never mind the comet-tailed 7th ♣ IMHO, 3NT is asking for trouble on this bidding. Why? A ♥ lead is 100% marked and having A to empty ♥ opposite a likely singleton, cum crappy doubleton means that 3N only coming in if black suits run. This is unlikely bearing in mind the nature of the bidding. With solid running ♣, or face-cards in reds, i am more likely to close my eyes ( well maybe squint) punt a 3Ner and hope p can stop opps running 5 in the reds. Why dont i l personally like 2♣????? It doesn't require much from partner for a 5♣ contract to have a realisable (sic) chance. Or for that matter 3 NT if she happens to hold the Ax. xx xxx Axxxx Jxx, Qx Axx QTxxx Jx (i wanna be in 5♣ defo). She has a clear pass over 2♣ but over 3 she knows her J is blubber-bound. I have a FOUR LOSER hand... things being =, most likely 3C is gonna make whatever p has (and if a red A like she had practically lay-down...i am certainly not going to down-grade my hand in an anti-pointy-schmionty sorta way to miss a chance for game when making a 3♣ bid isnt gonna push the boat out too far.