cell phone policy

[xcurt]

Your argument is irelevant because, in fact, there are people who are expected to return pages and calls 24/7 whether you agree or not.

Life sucks for you if you're on call 24x365.

 

How many people are there like this, and how many of them are bridge players who enter national events? Should the rules really accomodate such extremes?

 

Could the meltdown of Bear-Stearns have been avoided if Jimmy Cayne had been able to receive calls during the Spingold?

Actually it was the IMP pairs. And since he played the entire final (with his Italian pro partner) he certainly wasn't inconvenienced by the policy. IMO it was grossly irresponsible of JEC to be in Detroit that Friday and not in NYC possibly helping broker a deal -- seeing as how the company was going to fail if it couldn't sell itself to another entity with a stronger balance sheet before the open of business the following Monday.

[H_KARLUK]

Dammit.

As "Beautiful Boy" John Lennon said : Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

[Gerben42]

Actually it was the IMP pairs. And since he played the entire final (with his Italian pro partner) he certainly wasn't inconvenienced by the policy. IMO it was grossly irresponsible of JEC to be in Detroit that Friday and not in NYC possibly helping broker a deal -- seeing as how the company was going to fail if it couldn't sell itself to another entity with a stronger balance sheet before the open of business the following Monday.

 

I think this is grossly unfair to Mr. Cayne. Apparently it is your opinion that CEOs do not have the right for time off, where they are simply out of office. It is my opinion that everyone has such a right.

[hrothgar]

Actually it was the IMP pairs. And since he played the entire final (with his Italian pro partner) he certainly wasn't inconvenienced by the policy. IMO it was grossly irresponsible of JEC to be in Detroit that Friday and not in NYC possibly helping broker a deal -- seeing as how the company was going to fail if it couldn't sell itself to another entity with a stronger balance sheet before the open of business the following Monday.

 

I think this is grossly unfair to Mr. Cayne. Apparently it is your opinion that CEOs do not have the right for time off, where they are simply out of office. It is my opinion that everyone has such a right.

Fiduciary responsibility is a bitch....

 

I've had the option to sit on a couple Board of Directors.

Each time, I declined because I wasn't willing to assume the inherent liabilities.

 

CEO's certainly should be allowed time off.

 

However, they also need to exercise some judgement when they exercise this option.

[H_KARLUK]

Can someone please translate and also supply him with an "e" key for his keyboard?

I'd rathr rmov th othr 25 lttrs.

<_<

roflmao

 

Th = the

wtp = what's th problem

 

etc etc.

 

I mean some guys are able to got it, some guys don't. -_-

[jdonn]

Can someone please translate and also supply him with an "e" key for his keyboard?

I'd rathr rmov th othr 25 lttrs.

<_<

roflmao

 

Th = the

wtp = what's th problem

 

etc etc.

 

I mean some guys are able to got it, some guys don't. -_-

wtp = acronym (ok, technically abbreviation)

th = typo

 

I mean some guys are able to got it, some guys don't. -_-

[bid_em_up]

deleted

[bid_em_up]

http://forums.bridgebase.com/uploads/av-4454.gif

[H_KARLUK]

I mean some guys are able to got it, some guys don't.  :P

wtp = acronym (ok, technically abbreviation)

th = typo

I mean some guys are able to got it, some guys don't. :)

Dead Parrot Sketch :unsure:

[IdiotVig]

Th = the

wtp = what's th problem

 

etc etc.

 

I mean some guys are able to got it, some guys don't.  :unsure:

 

Actually, you're quite right, Hamdi.

 

Language - especially slang - is inherently cultural. So, when you try to create your own slang, you're taking part of the culture and making it your own.

 

Let's ignore the problem of the language barrier first. You're living in a part of the world that most BBO forum posters don't. And, while I've never been, I feel reasonably confident that the culture (even pop culture) in your locale is different than most BBO forum posters. So, while using the word "th" might make cultural sense where you're from, it doesn't to the rest of us.

 

This isn't a bad thing. I'm not criticizing. However, what you are doing is akin to taking a piece of text, translating it into one language (like through Babelfish), then translating it back to the original language. You're going to lose something in the translation, even though you understand the basic idea of what's being communicated.

 

So, some guys don't get it. In fact, it's almost all of us. Weird things happen when you try to change the culture, and the culture of language - especially when you're on the outside.

[qwery_hi]

Actually it was the IMP pairs. And since he played the entire final (with his Italian pro partner) he certainly wasn't inconvenienced by the policy. IMO it was grossly irresponsible of JEC to be in Detroit that Friday and not in NYC possibly helping broker a deal -- seeing as how the company was going to fail if it couldn't sell itself to another entity with a stronger balance sheet before the open of business the following Monday.

 

I think this is grossly unfair to Mr. Cayne. Apparently it is your opinion that CEOs do not have the right for time off, where they are simply out of office. It is my opinion that everyone has such a right.

He wasn't away for one day, it's more like ten days. The situation is similar to a addict high on bridge while his house is burning. Unfortunately, some of the neighbors houses got burned too.

[helene_t]

At least he wasn't reading BBF while at work :unsure:

[jdonn]

At least he wasn't reading BBF while at work :unsure:

That makes him a lot better than I am...

[barmar]

There is a difference between: "Please turn your phone off for the next four hours, it might annoy other people if it rings" and "You are required to give your phone to some untrusted individual. If you are lucky you might get it back in four hours; if you are unlucky you will probably see it again in eleven hours, but then again it might be stolen or lost or handed to the wrong person. In addition, you are required to pay this individual to take care of your phone."

Yes, there's a difference, although the arguments about emergency personnel, surgeons, and dying relatives and pets suggest that they're concerned about the 4-hour case, not just the 11-hour or never cases.

 

Has there really been a significant problem with people not being able to get their phones back? One person posted in this thread that they were gone when he went to retrieve his phone (he says they "used pretty much the whole time", but my guess is that he actually ended his match pretty late).

 

I think at at least one of the NABCs the phone check fee was being donated to charity. Is that correct?

[TimG]

I think at at least one of the NABCs the phone check fee was being donated to charity. Is that correct?

To me, that would be irrelevant. Two bucks out of my pocket is two bucks out of my pocket.

[barmar]

I think at at least one of the NABCs the phone check fee was being donated to charity.  Is that correct?

To me, that would be irrelevant. Two bucks out of my pocket is two bucks out of my pocket.

I think some people have expressed concern over whose pockets were being lined.

[H_KARLUK]

In my culture believed :

If one of your possessions is damaged, you feel as if you yourself have been injured.

I hope am not mistaken about discussion subject.

[jdonn]

I think at at least one of the NABCs the phone check fee was being donated to charity.  Is that correct?

To me, that would be irrelevant. Two bucks out of my pocket is two bucks out of my pocket.

To me it's even worse, in a sense. Sorry if it sounds like scrooge, but if they were stealing out of greed I would at least understand, however if they are stealing money they don't even want then I really get mad.

[barmar]

I think the charge may be a "nuisance fee", to encourage people to leave their cell phones in their cars or hotel rooms rather than checking it at all. And then they give it to charity to show that they didn't institute the cell phone ban as a money-making endeavour.

[jdonn]

I think the charge may be a "nuisance fee", to encourage people to leave their cell phones in their cars or hotel rooms rather than checking it at all. And then they give it to charity to show that they didn't institute the cell phone ban as a money-making endeavour.

Ah, so it's a tax on not being wealthy enough to afford the on-site hotel rooms. Now I feel better.

[Vilgan]

Has there really been a significant problem with people not being able to get their phones back? One person posted in this thread that they were gone when he went to retrieve his phone (he says they "used pretty much the whole time", but my guess is that he actually ended his match pretty late).

I was that person. And no, we did not end late. I don't know that you are allowed to end late in the early days of the Vanderbilt.

 

Time on the clock was 2 minutes for the 2nd quarter when we finished. We compared, turned in result, and phone lady was gone.

[blackshoe]

I would have walked back into the playing room, found the director, and insisted that he find my phone. Right now. If he tells me he's too busy, or otherwise unable, I'll want to speak to the DIC, who, as the direct legal representative of the Tournament Organizer (see Law 81A), is responsible for correcting this problem.

[xcurt]

Actually it was the IMP pairs. And since he played the entire final (with his Italian pro partner) he certainly wasn't inconvenienced by the policy. IMO it was grossly irresponsible of JEC to be in Detroit that Friday and not in NYC possibly helping broker a deal -- seeing as how the company was going to fail if it couldn't sell itself to another entity with a stronger balance sheet before the open of business the following Monday.

 

I think this is grossly unfair to Mr. Cayne. Apparently it is your opinion that CEOs do not have the right for time off, where they are simply out of office. It is my opinion that everyone has such a right.

1. Cayne was no longer CEO (having tendered his resignation after the big Q4-2007 losses). Cayne was Chairman of the Board and a very big BSC shareholder, maybe the single biggest one (I saw one estimate where the collapse of BSC cost him $900M). It's hard to conceive how a potential buyer would be able to conclude an acquisition of BSC in the required time frame, Cayne's absence could reasonably be presumed to have made it more difficult to do so. Since the Paulson/Bernanke team at Treasury and the Fed was going to offer the necessary guarantees to whichever other ibank they shotgunned into the impending marriage, it's also reasonable to conclude that Cayne's absence cost US taxpayers (including me) in one way or another. It's also not impossible to conclude that the political fallout from the BSC rescue led Paulson/Bernanke/Cheney/Bush to conclude that LEH should have been allowed to fail, and that was the event that really ignited the cycle of disinvestment we are still trying to break, at a cost that's going to be in the multiple trillions to US taxpayers and unknown additional costs to taxpayers in the euro zone and other member states of the G20.

 

2. Cayne was awfully well compensated for his work at BSC, and it's not unreasonable to hold him to standards different than you or me. Another poster already mentioned fiduciary responsibility.

 

3. There had been grumbling for some time among BSC shareholders about Cayne's priorities. When he wasn't at the table he was spending a lot of time playing golf. I don't have a reference handy but it shouldn't be hard to find one. This was a contributing factor, or at least reported as a contributing factor, in the BSC board forcing Cayne out of the CEO role.

[mike777]

Bottom line this is a huge story and one well worth reseaching and telling.

 

I have read several researched versions of this.

 

As in many forums stories..I hope to read versions: ownership vs employee.....

 

 

So far so many forum comments seem to focus on nonownership.

[Apollo81]

Since the nationals this summer will be in D.C. (which is roughly where I live), the subject came up at work (there aren't any other bridge players at work). In the course of things I mentioned the cell phone ban, and to my surprise the main reaction I got was "well of course cell phones are banned, it would be trivially easy to cheat using them since you could do it discreetly"

 

While I have been opposed to the ban, this reaction made me think twice about it. Perhaps I have been assuming that the number of people who would cheat if given an easy opportunity is a lot lower than it really is.