Fan interference

I don't understand why MLB tolerates fan interference when it would be trivial to completely eradicate it.  Here is my plan.

The lowest 5 level of seats are reserved for season ticket holders only (this is probably already true).  If a fan interferes with a ball in play, the following happens:

1) they are ejected

2) they lose their tickets for the remainder of the season without refund

3) they lose the rights to those seats.

If you sold your ticket to someone else and they or a guest interferes; tough luck.  It is the responsibility of the seatholder to ensure the integrity of the game.  

The nice thing about these rules is that they would probably never be enforced.  No one would ever risk interfering with a ball.  Anyone who sells their ticket to such a seat would have to include a damages clause.

Football Overtime and CBS sunday scheduling

Since it seems impossible to arrive at a fair overtime situation in football that doesn't involve playing an entire quarter, why not allow regular season games which are tied at the end of regulation be scored as a tie?  That would generate a great deal more interesting playoff scenarios and end of game decisions.  Now in the playoffs, just play an extra quarter.

On a tangentially related note, I was disappointed that tonights CBS late game, Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore failed to go into overtime.  You see, CBS airs 60 minutes at the end of the game and all the rest of their sunday programming after that.  Well tonight, the season finale of Survivor was on CBS, and I bet there were a lot of people out there who record it who don't watch football and don't know to record the two hours after the program just to make sure they get it all (Amazing race fans have learned this lesson the hard way already).  An overtime would have made it so that even if you were recording the hour of reuinion show after Survivor you wouldn't have got the winner.  

CBS would have gotten many, many well deserved complaints and just maybe instituted a meaningful change.  I suggest airing 60 minutes in progress, then re-airing it after the regular sunday programming concludes.

Michael

Finger Foods

The pediatrician recommended starting Sammie on solid finger foods.  Specifically cheerios and Gerber Puffs.  I have a policy about trying whatever the baby gets, so I toss a cheerio in my mouth and try to eat it without using my teeth.  It takes a while to soften up, but then disolves to a swalloable paste.  Now I had no idea what a puff was, but I was imagining it to be something akin to a cheeto - light and airy, instantly disolving to nothing when eaten.

No.  Puffs are sort of like flavored cereal.  They take slightly less time to dissolve than a cheerio, but they are still pretty solid pieces of food.  We've fed her both.  The cheerios have caused a few spit ups already - especially if she gets more than one in her mouth.  

Yesterday, I bought one of my favorite snack foods, the all natural white cheddar cheetos.  Light, airy puffs of wholesome fat.  YUMMY!  It occured to me that this was something Sammie could really get into.  So I took a couple of cheetos and sliced them thin using a very sharp knife (courtesy of Barry Maurer).  Each cheeto makes about 10 pieces.  

They were a HUGE hit.  Even babies know a good snack when they get one.  So what would you want - a cheerio that takes 2 minutes to chew, or a cheeto?

Jan 09 MSC Problems

A:  Imps, Fav.  QT64, AQ853, K6, 84

1D (2S) ??

DBL.  It is too clever to try to stop short of game, so I will try to reach the best one.  I'll show modest hearts via the double and then a spades stopped with 3NT.  If partner insists on hearts, then he will be correct.

B:  MPs, ALL.  --, T64, QJT2, AQ9642

(P) P? (1C) P

(1S) P? (2S) P

(P) ??

3C.  I'd've bid minimal clubs both of the previous rounds and I bet there will be more than a couple of complaints from the panel.  Too dangerous to double here, as partner will be passing inappropriately.  I hope to push them up to the three level or more.  2NT is possible, but I don't think that shows more than 4 clubs catering to partner's potential length. (in general, if anyone is to show up with long clubs here, it would more likely be partner than the player behind the 1C bidder who failed to overcall).  

C:  IMPS, UNFAV.  J93, JT, KJ642, AT3

1H - 1NT;

2C - ??

2NT.  Isn't this a prototypical 2NT call... 10 HCPs, good pushers, lots of trick potential?

D:  MPS, NONE:  7643, A5, AK7, AKQ9

(1S) ??

DBL.  Then 3C over 2H.  With some partners I use power doubles, which would solve this problem nicely.

E:  IMPs, NONE.  AJ, 2, AQ9642, Q843

(3H) P (P) 4D

(P) 4H (P) ?

4S.  I don't see an alternative answer, although I guess the panel will come up with one.

F:  IMPS, ALL:  --, AKJ3, AT8532, K54

1D - 1S

??

2H.  A survey problem:  what is the min. to reverse?  I can't see bidding 2C, leaving these hearts unbid.  Partner doesn't have to have a disaster hand.

G:  IMPS, FAV.   J4, J9765, AK653, 6

P (1C) ??

2NT.  I'm in there with this type of hand.  Might find a good save.  Might disrupt their auction.  Against that, we might draw a roadmap in the play or go for a number.  My experience is that the odds favor bidding with the right shape.  And not by just a little.  In some partnerships, we use roman jump overcalls, so 3D would show this handtype, which would blow them out even more.

H:  MPS, BOTH,   J72, K62, JT8, Q942

(1NT) - (3NT)

DJ.  Safe.  I try not to blow a trick at the form of scoring.  Nowadays, more and more people blast 3NT with good majors on the theory that opening leader goes out of their way to lead one.  A spade lead is most likely to blow a trick (at imps, the SJ might be a good shot).  A heart lead is probably safe, a club isn't.

Over 8 hands, I held 18 spades and 34 diamonds.  I suspect that the way bidding systems are set up, you are more likely to encounter difficult problem with minor oriented hands than major hands. 

Kantar for the Defense

The Dec 2008 Kantar for the defense gives this:

Dummy:

T932

QJ92

T9

754

                   East:

                   A64

                    765

                   83

                   98632

2C - 2D

2N - 3C

3D - 3NT

Opening lead:  4th? S7, 2, A, ??  (really he needs to tell you declarer plays the 5; it makes a huge difference).

The official solution is to shift to a club.  It is explained that if partner has S KJ87, he will work out to drop declarer's SQ and you need to set up a trick.  All well and good.  

But then it goes on to say that if declarer is off the CA but has the SK... i.e.

K5, AKx, AQJxx, KQJ

That partner can win the CA and continue a low spade to still beat the hand.

NOT SO FAST.  Declarer wins the SK, Cashes the club QJ and partner outshows on the 3rd round.  Now declarer is 100% to make by cashing four hearts and exiting a spade. 

A club shift might be best, but it won't work in as may cases as Kantar claims.

After a takeout double - pet peeve

The Nov 2008 Bulletin aricle "claim with Colchamiro" (page 48) gives some pretty poor advice for intermediate players.

I quote

 "...after partner's 1S opening bid and a takout double, you would bid 2C with :

83, K7, 864, QJT643.  

The reason you can make a 2/1 bid is that a redouble shows 10 or more HCP and usually no great fit for partner's suit.  With a long suit (that can't be bid at the one level) and 10 or more points, redouble first, and then bid your suit (forcing one round) at your second turn."

OK.  There are some problems with this more or less standard approach approach.  The first is that your redouble turns on preemptive jumps for the opponents.  Here are the auctions we are comparing:

1S (DBL) RDBL

1S (DBL) 2C

Let's change the example hand a little, so it falls under that 10 or more HCP category.  Let's make it:  Kx, Ax, xxx, AKxxxx.  Come to think of it, this approach would require a redouble with: Qx, x, AT9, KJT9xxx.

How would you like this auction:

1S (DBL) RDBL (3H)

Pass/DBL (Pass) ??

Could your really stand your partner's double with the second hand.  If you pull to 4C, is that forcing?  Can't partner have either of these hands: AKJxx, Qxxx, x, Axx OR  AKxxx, QJTx, Jxx, x?  Why put yourself through this agony?

Even if it is 2H passed back to you the auction will be no bargain, effectively starting at the 3-level instead of the 2-level with both level and strain very much in doubt. 

What if the hand is complex with support...

KQx, x, Kxx, AJ9xxx

A better approach is to have your new suits at the 2-level show shape and be forcing through 3 of that suit.  You can send forcing messages by bidding 2 suits or cuebidding and partner can now rely on your redoubles to show a more balanced pattern (which may help your penalty doubles).

Here is a hand that is slammish opposite club support, but worth game only opposite none.  If you start with a redouble, you are getting none of your message across and will have to start your exploration at the 3 or 4 level.  If you start with 2C, you will find out about club support immediately.

What would be the downside to having your new suits at the 2-level being forcing through 3m?  Can you no longer bid 2C with the example hand... xx, Kx, xxx, QJTxxx.  I don't see why not.  You will be forced to compete to 3C, but that is very likely correct anyway once the opponents bid 2H.  

I've never taken a trick with a high card point.  You take tricks with cards.  Distribution is king and it is much more important to get that message off your chest in a competitive auction.  If you slow down with complex hands, you risk getting blown out.

Nova Fractals

We watched an episode of Nova the other night which was about fractals... it was very cool:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fractals/program.html

Now here's a thought - humans (and most species) reproduce in a fractal pattern.  Just look at a family tree.  You are already way zoomed in, but it would look about the same if you zoomed way out.