Chas_P Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 I could not disagree more.BBO, Stepbridge and others have proven that Bridge and all of the other mind sports really are video games - best undertaken from the comfort of your own home.I could not disagree more. I think it was Alan Truscott who mused, "Bridge is essentially a social game which, unfortunately, attracts a substantial number of antisocial people." Our small local club doesn't really have any antisocial people; we have a few who are cantankerous but, by and large, we enjoy each other's company. I miss that. If you are content to sit at a keyboard and pitch digital pixels I'm happy for you. As for me, I'm looking forward to the day when I can sit across from my partner and have him yell, "Why didn't you lead a diamond?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 I could not disagree more. I think it was Alan Truscott who mused, "Bridge is essentially a social game which, unfortunately, attracts a substantial number of antisocial people." Our small local club doesn't really have any antisocial people; we have a few who are cantankerous but, by and large, we enjoy each other's company. I miss that. If you are content to sit at a keyboard and pitch digital pixels I'm happy for you. As for me, I'm looking forward to the day when I can sit across from my partner and have him yell, "Why didn't you lead a diamond?" Get Skype or Facebook - and a cup of coffee. I'm happy to yell at you about diamonds from wherever you are in the world . NPP you blithering idiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas_P Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Get Skype or Facebook - and a cup of coffee. I'm happy to yell at you about diamonds from wherever you are in the world . NPP you blithering idiot As I said, If you are happy pitching digital pixels I'm happy for you. Live long and prosper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 I could not disagree more. I think it was Alan Truscott who mused, "Bridge is essentially a social game which, unfortunately, attracts a substantial number of antisocial people." Our small local club doesn't really have any antisocial people; we have a few who are cantankerous but, by and large, we enjoy each other's company. I miss that. If you are content to sit at a keyboard and pitch digital pixels I'm happy for you. As for me, I'm looking forward to the day when I can sit across from my partner and have him yell, "Why didn't you lead a diamond?" And go to the pub afterwards and examine the hand records with a bottle of wine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 And go to the pub afterwards and examine the hand records with a bottle of wine. All jokes aside, there are many reasons people play bridge and many ways of enjoying it. Just as there are many reasons for writing on the Forum. No particular reason or approach is better or worse than another.Britain is a country about the size of Manhattan - so to speak. Bill Bryson writes lovingly of his experiences of walking into an English pub and asking for directions. He had to leave 30 minutes later "with his ears bleeding" while the drinkers argued about the fastest way to get to Leeds.Australia has the population of Manhattan in a continent the size of the United States. My home club is Stepbridge, tournaments often start with greetings about the weather from thousands of kilometres away: Hobart to Cairns, Sydney to Perth, with a bit of Singapore and Amsterdam thrown in sometimes. I like playing behind 'screens'. It is different, Vive la difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helene_t Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 And go to the pub afterwards and examine the hand records with a bottle of wine.Yeah, that's one thing that would temp me to move back to the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Yeah, that's one thing that would temp me to move back to the UK. I grew up in Sheffield - surely the weather would be pretty tempting as well... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 And go to the pub afterwards and examine the hand records with a bottle of wine. Mind you, here's one I just played that I'd be happy for you to examine . Sometimes the robots can be really kind - from an ACBL IMP's tourney = +7.6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL78 Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 I could not disagree more. I think it was Alan Truscott who mused, "Bridge is essentially a social game which, unfortunately, attracts a substantial number of antisocial people." Our small local club doesn't really have any antisocial people; we have a few who are cantankerous but, by and large, we enjoy each other's company. I miss that. If you are content to sit at a keyboard and pitch digital pixels I'm happy for you. As for me, I'm looking forward to the day when I can sit across from my partner and have him yell, "Why didn't you lead a diamond?" I agree. Online interaction is a very poor substitute for physical face-to-face connection. I enjoy hugging my female friends at the club, you can't do that from behind a keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerardo Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 I don't blame you for wanting to leave. One thing that's been clear is the advantage being taken of the pandemic. Thousands flocked to BBO and in exchange BBO has decided it's OK to charge $15 for an online regional and $6 for a SYC game when there's bare minimum efforts required to run these games. Not to mention the fact that it's only 18 boards when it should be 24. It's sad. I hardly spend a dime on BBO now. It's just not the same as it used to be. Those are ACBL's games, not BBO's, so ACBL set the price, length, and runs them (*) (*) I'm told SYC games use the same set of TD as Speedballs (Club Directors), while Regional games do use Tournament Directors (a higher certification needed). Also, note that SYC games predate Virtual Clubs availability, so at one point they were the main, perhaps only, source of income for Clubs which had to close their doors due to the pandemic. BBO does take a cut of both fees, and Clubs get the lion's share of the SYC fee. I know that. I don't know the %ages, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 ... I enjoy hugging my female friends at the club, you can't do that from behind a keyboard. Now there is a screenshot that's going to become a meme on the internet for why women do not want to go back to that club - Adam. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL78 Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Now there is a screenshot that's going to become a meme on the internet for why women do not want to go back to that club - Adam. Thankfully UK society has not regressed to the depths of the US so over here, a man can hug a female friend without being labelled a sexual predator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helene_t Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Thankfully UK society has not regressed to the depths of the US so over here, a man can hug a female friend without being labelled a sexual predator.It does sound dubious if it's specifically about female friends, though. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Thankfully UK society has not regressed to the depths of the US so over here, a man can hug a female friend without being labelled a sexual predator. Try taking a poll - see how far you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 My home club is Stepbridge, tournaments often start with greetings about the weather from thousands of kilometres away: Hobart to Cairns, Sydney to Perth, with a bit of Singapore and Amsterdam thrown in sometimes. How much live bridge do you play (or did you play before lockdown)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandakh Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 Britain is a country about the size of ManhattanAustralia has the population of Manhattan in a continent the size of the United States. UK land area: 242,495km2Manhattan land area: 59.1 km2Manhattan population: 1,629,000Australia population: 25,659,200Australia area: 7,692,024km2USA area: 9,833,520km2 Yep, sure all looks the same to me... :unsure: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 How much live bridge do you play (or did you play before lockdown)? Thank you for asking . Quite a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 UK land area: 242,495km2Manhattan land area: 59.1 km2Manhattan population: 1,629,000Australia population: 25,659,200Australia area: 7,692,024km2USA area: 9,833,520km2 Yep, sure all looks the same to me... :unsure: I see what you mean - I really like the maps in our world in data that describes the size of countries in terms of their population, or in terms of the difficulty in getting around and so on. There are lots of different ways of thinking about it. Brits think that their country is huge. They were amazed when I took a day trip from London to Birmingham. For me, this was just a commute.Back in Australia, my Boss once took a flight from Sydney to Paris for a Board meeting, took a quick stroll around the Tuilleries then came home 24 hours later. Numerator/denominator - it's all a matter of perspective.Good work with google though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelandakh Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 Brits think that their country is huge.Actually Brits think the UK is tiny and are generally surprised to find out that it is almost the same size as pre-unification Germany (248,577km2). But I know already that you are less interested in facts and are more interested in "being right", alternative facts one might say, so there is not a lot of point in responding to you. I gave your quotes in my previous post. You can retract them or stand by them, up to you. They are pretty well indicative of everything else you claim here so no reason to admit a mistake I would think. Enjoy your commute. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 Actually Brits think the UK is tiny and are generally surprised to find out that it is almost the same size as pre-unification Germany (248,577km2). But I know already that you are less interested in facts and are more interested in "being right", alternative facts one might say, so there is not a lot of point in responding to you. I gave your quotes in my previous post. You can retract them or stand by them, up to you. They are pretty well indicative of everything else you claim here so no reason to admit a mistake I would think. Enjoy your commute. As usual, nice to chat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherdano Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 And go to the pub afterwards and examine the hand records with a bottle of wine.And that's why Brexit happened. Outside London, we go to the pub and discuss hands over a pint! ;) :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilowsky Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 And that's why Brexit happened. Outside London, we go to the pub and discuss hands over a pint! ;) :P So, what is it that you do with the wine or the 'pint' to the hand records in order to examine them? Doesn't it make a mess of the keyboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 So, what is it that you do with the wine or the 'pint' to the hand records in order to examine them? Doesn't it make a mess of the keyboard? Hand records are printed on paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL78 Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 There are lots of different ways of thinking about it. Brits think that their country is huge. They were amazed when I took a day trip from London to Birmingham. For me, this was just a commute. That likely was nothing to do with the perceived distance and everything to do with all the possible places to go for a day trip, why Birmingham? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 And go to the pub afterwards and examine the hand records with a bottle of wine.Several of the players in my regular weekly club game used to do that. Now we play in a virtual club game the same night, and afterward we get together on Zoom. A couple of weeks ago one of them mentioned that the restaurant we were going to now has patio dining. But since we're already at home when we're playing the game, it's more convenient to just hop on a Zoom call, rather than get dressed to go out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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