good winter reading

[songbird]

_the nature and properties of soils_ by Brady and Weil. i'm nosing through the 2002 (13th edition) and enjoying it. a more recent edition would be fun to go through eventually to see how much it has changed. likely going to take me a while to digest this one even at the surface level, but like the lichens, i'll eventually etch something outta it.

next up: _nematode behavior_ ed. by, Gaugler and Bilgrami, chs 12 (population dynamics) and 13 (survival strategies) are looking good to address some of Derald's questions about predatory nematodes, but the rest of the book should also be good fun. ;)

before starting on these i went through a sf book on the supervolcano eruption in Yellowstone (thought the book was ok, but didn't much care for the style of the author so won't recommend it), and another on genetic engineering and the future post apocalyptic nomadic farmers (called _Seed_), it was a much better work in that at least the author had some interesting ideas and characters. for a first book, i'd say it was pretty decent.

what's on your reading list?

songbird

[David E. Ross]

I read no differently in winter than in summer. I garden year round, except on the few days it rains or is unbearably hot. This month, I begin pruning roses, grapes, and a very young peach tree. Of course, I will have mounds of leaves to rake, all from one ash tree. Next month, after all pruning is done, I will have to do dormant spraying. My effort to renovate the potted plants in my breakfast room greenhouse window by rooting cuttings will continue.

And I promised my doctor that, if rain prevents me from gardening, I will go to the gym for exercise. In them meantime, my bridge partner just gave me a book on the 25 most important bridge bidding conventions.

[Higgs Boson]

***That's interesting. I prune 3rd week in January (my birthday). Wonder if that's due to the difference between our micro-climes? Around Christmas, I always get a flush of blooms, so that would be too early for moi.

, grapes, and a very young peach tree. =A0Of course, I

***Awesome. Maybe in my next life I will have enough smarts to play bridge

HB

[samsam]

me to , i hope that i can become smart enough ! thanks for your sharing ! [image:

[songbird]

...

good luck!

hehe, helps to know which ones your partner actually knows and uses. do you play duplicate bridge?

if you know what a Higgs Boson is it's pretty likely you can learn bridge. takes time and practice but nothing mystical about it.

songbird

[David E. Ross]

I play duplicate most Mondays and Fridays. It's a "seniors" program at a local city's recreation center. At 70, I'm the third youngest player.

My partner and I even invented a convention, the Lozano-Ross Convention. It's similar to a transfer bid after a no-trump opening, but it's the response to your partner's take-out double. It serves the same purpose as a transfer by keeping the stronger hand (the hand that doubled) concealed while the supposedly weaker partner's hand becomes the dummy. Unlike a transfer, however, if I bid 1 heart indicating spades is my best suit, my partner (the doubler) is NOT required to actually bid spades.

[songbird]

...

years ago, when learning, the bridge club on campus was a pretty good distribution of age ranges. around here i have not investigated the bridge scene.

ok, so opponents open 1NT, your partner doubles indicating strength enough to defeat the opponents hand, you bid hearts saying you have strength in spades, but your partner may bid on with something else from there or leave you in 2 hearts.

(i'm confused here a bit, you did mean 2h above right?)

songbird

[David Hare-Scott]

Agreed. Almost anybody can play, it takes hard work to play well.

D

[Billy]

The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street by Robert Scheer,

Fleurs du Mal by Chuck Baudelaire,

and something called "The Weather Makers" by Flannery.

[David E. Ross]

Doubling an opening suit bid is a take-out. That is, it forces the doubler's partner to bid even with a worthless hand unless there is an intervening bid by an opponent. A take-out double generally means: "I too have a hand worth an opening bid, and I can accept (but might not prefer) playing in any suit other than the suit I doubled." In this case, our convention requires the doubler not to pass unless there is a bid by the opponents that will allow the doubler's partner to bid again. Thus, with the bid sequence 1 club, double, pass, 1 heart, we would not remain in hearts unless the doubler has an exceptionally strong heart suit; but in that case, we would probably wind up at 4 hearts (game) and not merely 1 heart.

We are still developing this convention. We will have to discuss it further regarding a double of an opening no trump bid. Some players do not consider such a double to be a take-out. If that is how my partner and I want to play, then our convention would not apply since it applies only over a take-out double.

Yes, all this seems complicated. I hope that dealing with such complications helps me to avoid the deterioration of mental capabilities as I continue to age.

[Higgs Boson]

Those folks over at CERN think they may have found My God Particle, but whoa, stop, halt...not just yet! In fact, I may not even exist! Time -- lots of it -- will tell.

HB

[Steve_Mason]

I really like 'Hartley Botanic's'

range of Greenhouses - they're high end but worth it IMO.

[songbird]

David E. Ross wrote: ...

thanks for the further clarification. :) makes sense to me now.

songbird