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Fireside Chat
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FIRESIDE CHAT JANUARY 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Bidding with Bridgboy
Hand of the Month
Bridge For the Club Player
Moogal's FireSide Log
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
=======================================
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hi all! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Welcome to the January, 2005 issue of FireSide
Chat, our monthly newsletter written for and about
our FireSide friends and events.
We hope you enjoy all of this month's articles and
features. Please feel free to write to us with any
comments, questions, ideas, or whatever, that you may
wish to share. This newsletter is for and about you,
and we want you to feel welcome to participate. Just
email Believer at sarastobbe@aol.com or Moogal
at moocake@bellsouth.net.
A special thanks to all of you who have been sending
us contributions for our "giggle breaks". We appreciate
everything you send, and use as many as we can. Keep
'em coming, please! :-)
You can find current and past issues of this "FireSide
Chat" newsletter posted at our FireSide web site:
http://www.firesides.net/thechat.htm
If, for any reason, you do not wish to receive
these mailings, please write to Believer at
sarastobbe@aol.com to be removed from our mailing
list.
===========================================
CURRENT FIRESIDE SCHEDULE
Day Pacific Time Commentator
MON 11:00 A.M. POOKA
MON 5:00 P.M.* BRIDGBOY
TUE 11:00 A.M. BRIDGBOY
TUE 5:30 P.M. WINTAKA
WED 11:00 A.M. FREDW3
WED 5:30 P.M. DIANEW
THU 11:00 A.M. POOKA
THU 5:30 P.M. WISHTRIK/FIFEE
FRI 11:00 A.M. BLUEBEE
FRI 5:30 P.M. KALTICA
Commentators may change without notice,
according to their availability.
(*starts 1/2 hour earlier on Monday night)
*******************
Although there is no set fee for participating in
these "open to all" sessions, please note that FireSide
Bidding Practice Sessions operate with the support of
those in attendance. For information about how to
become a supporting member, please contact Kaltica at
kaltica@mts.net, Moogal at moocake@bellsouth.net,
or Believer at sarastobbe@aol.com.
Thanks to all of you for supporting the FireSide sessions
in all the many different ways you have of doing so.
We want to thank our commentators for their dedication
and caring. Please, think of them when you are thinking
of taking private lessons, paying a professional to play
tourneys with you, getting involved in a group session
mentoring program... most, if not all, of our commentators
and contributors to this newsletter are available for those
services. Just think how much easier it is to learn
from someone who's already a friend!
*******************
All articles herein (c) 2005 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
===============================================
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
Hi :) Happy New Year! Who would have thought when we started
this newsletter back in April, 2000 that we'd still be plugging
away at it 5 years later! Just seems pretty amazing to me that
you all haven't gotten sick of us yet!
Our book winner this month is -- Potts! Congratulations Paul :)
You win the book, "Develop your Bidding Judgment", by Terrence
Reese. Hope you enjoy your new book :)
Please be sure to get your check in the mail to be included
in next month's drawing, or go to www.firesides.net/support.htm
to send your support via PayPal.
Thanks to all of you who continue to support the FireSide
sessions. Watch for our upcoming Gator Tourney in the next
couple of months -- it's a lot of fun, and our only 'big' fund
raising event for the year, so please be sure to participate!
I was so glad to see so many of you playing in last month's
Novice/Mentor tourney. I hope to see you there again this
month, second Thursday at 6pm OKb time (January 13). It's a
lot more fun playing when there are more people!
********************
And to start out the new year, a fun hand for you. Ever play in
7S -- missing 2 aces? :)
Crazy hand.... crazy bidding -- as Colin would say... "Grease" :)
Don't lead a club, don't lead a club, please please don't lead a
club....
west
S AT732 south west north east(me)
H pass 1D 1H 1S
D AKJT752 2H 6S 7C 7S
C J (all pass)
south north
S 9 S
H A653 H KQJT742 Opening Lead: HA
D Q986 D Result: +7
C Q975 C AKT832 Score: 1510, IMPs: 12.98
east Playing time: 5:33
S KQJ8654
H 98
D 43
C 64
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
S HA 9 6 8 9 3 Q C5 C7
W S2-SA-DA-DK-D2 S3-D5 T-DJ-DT
N 2 CA H4 C2 H7 T C3 HJ C8
E 8 4 3 4 S5-H9 SJ-S6 C4
********************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sarastobbe@aol.com
===============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Benson and Luc for this giggle:
We went to breakfast at a restaurant where the "seniors'
special" was two eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast for
$1.99. "Sounds good," my wife said. "But I don't want the
eggs."
"Then I'll have to charge you two dollars and forty-nine
cents because you're ordering a la carte," the waitress
warned her.
You mean I'd have to pay for not taking the eggs?" My wife
asked incredulously. "I'll take the special."
"How do you want your eggs?"
Raw and in the shell," my wife replied. She took the two
eggs home.
===============================================================
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
Happy New Year! In 2005 we start a series to highlight the
differences of scoring between matchpoints (MPs) and IMPs. IMP
scoring is often used in team events where one set of 4 players
competes against a second set of 4 players. This is commonly used
in ACBL events such as Swiss teams or Knockouts. A primary
difference between these two methods of scoring is identification
of the enemy. In a team event one representative of your team
holds each hand at one of two tables. Your true opponents are the
four players of the team you are playing against. The only ones
you need to beat are these other four players. Your goal over a
set of boards is for your team to score more cumulative IMPs than
the other team. A big margin of score on one hand may offset many
closely contested hands of small differences.
Matchpoints is a very different game. At MPs you earn a score on
a particular hand, and this score is compared against all the
other people playing in your section. In these pair events your
true opponents are not actually the people you are playing
against at that moment, but rather the other players sitting in
your same direction. You must think in terms of battle against
perhaps 12 other pairs rather than just one! Your goal is to beat
as many of those other pairs as possible on each board. A
critical difference in MPs scoring is that the margin of victory
is of no consequence. When comparing against other pairs sitting
in your direction, you either win, lose or draw. This difference
influences the overall strategy that you should embrace.
A resulting change in these scoring methods is the tolerance for
risk. At MPs you often make decisions based on what score might
occur at many other tables on any given hand. Success at mps
often requires taking risks in your play or defense to try and
beat as many pairs as possible. Early in the hand you often have
to guess how many tricks will be required for a good score. It is
not unusual to risk the contract in order to possibly obtain a
valued overtrick. In contrast, at IMP scoring the bidding and
play are calculated to reduce risk. The extra overtricks and
undertricks have value, but only when they can be obtained
without risk. Safety is always paramount at IMP scoring but that
is just not the case while playing matchpoints.
Let us look at how potential small differences in scoring play
into our thinking. When we play MPs we emphasize contracts in the
majors and no-trump before minors because we want to achieve the
highest possible plus score. For example, you hold:
S 2
H Q32
D AKJ982
C 1082
When partner opens 1NT at MPs, we would never think about the
fact that 5D might be a safer contract than 3NT so we will just
bid 3NT. Now that statement on any one particular hand might
actually be true, with 5D making while 3NT goes down, but it
would be wrong to channel our thinking that way when every other
person will leap to 3NT more often than not, expecting to run the
diamonds, and not worrying about the spade suit. If we make 5D
and they make 3NT we both earn the same score, but if they can
make one overtrick in NT contract we will most likely earn a
bottom score because our plus score will be lower than everyone
else's score. However, if I am playing teams I am less worried
because the difference between +400 (5D making 5) and +430 (3NT
making 4) is minute. So we should always prefer to play 3NT or 4
of a major if at all possible at MPs.
Next month we will look at the term "par contract" and see how it
applies to the two different games.
********************
You can find Bridgboy (Bob Lavin) doing his FireSide
sessions on Monday evenings at 5:00 p.m., and Tuesdays
at 11:00 a.m. OKbridge time.
Anyone interested in one-on-one lessons on any topic of
the game may contact Bob at bridgboy@charter.net
============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pooka for this one:
An update on the birds and bees.
The little boy asked his father - Daddy, how was I born?
Dad responds, ah, my son, I guess one day you will need to
find out anyway! Well, you see, your Mom and I first got
together in a chat room on MSN. Then I set up a date via e-
mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked
into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download
from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we
discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and
since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months
later a blessed little Popup appeared and said:
You've Got Male!
===========================================================
HAND OF THE MONTH
=================
This month we are thrilled to present our 'Hand of the Month'
feature, with a big "thank you" to Gail Wix for formatting it for
us.
From The 2004 Daily Bridge Calendar. For more information
call 1-888-453-1976, or email: calendar@interlog.com.
********************
Vul: none North
Dlr: East S QJ83
H K876
D J73
C 73
South
S T9742
H A
D K2
C QJ862
West North East South
1NT* 2C**
p 2D p 2S
P P P
Opening Lead: H3
South used one of the many popular conventions that are available
for bidding against an opening 1NT. The one shown here is the
"DONT" convention, which stands for Disturbing Opponents' No
Trump. South's 2C bid said he had clubs and another suit. North
saw that whatever that suit was, he wanted to know about it so he
bid 2D. The 2D bid told South to pass if his second suit was
diamonds but bid his other suit if it was not.
South bid his spades and that was that.
Two questions:
Does your partnership have a convention to use against an opening
1NT bid?
Do you think the South hand is good enough to bid over 1NT?
********************
S QJ83
H K876
D J73
C 73
S K5 S A6
H QT53 H J942
D Q865 D AT94
C T94 C AK5
S T9742
H A
D K2
C QJ862
Contract: 2S Lead: H3
*******************
It is a fact that most players know how to bid when their partner
opens 1NT. You have Stayman and Jacoby to work with and some
partnerships have other tools too. It is reasonable to say that
if left alone, getting to the right contract after an opening
notrump is not that tough.
If you have a convention that lets you show a two-suited hand
over a 1NT bid by your opponents, you often will upset their
bidding enough that they do not achieve their maximum result. On
this hand you got to 2S and you made it. If you did not bid,
they would have rested in 1NT and would have made at least seven
tricks.
When you have good shape, 5-5 being ideal and 5-4 in a pinch,
bidding when you have decent suits often works. If you get lucky
and find a fit, you can make lots more tricks than the point
count would suggest. If you do not have a fit, you get a bad
result but even then, only if the opponents do the right things.
The upshot of all this is that I encourage you to play a
convention against 1NT. Ask your friends which one they like and
see if it suits you.*
*Calendar Editor's Note: Here are just a few of the more common
ones you might choose from: Brozel, Cappelletti, DONT, Landy.
********************
Hand and analysis by Michael Lawrence, courtesy of the Daily
Bridge Calendar, published by Ashlar House Inc., Brampton, ON,
Canada. Reprinted with permission. (Special thanks to Lee
Daugherty and Dann Kramer.)
===========================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pringle for this giggle:
Revenge
Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the
church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's
business.
Several members did not approve of her extra curricular
activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new
member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup
parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon.
She emphatically told George and several others that everyone
seeing it there would know what he was doing.
George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and
just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or
deny. He said nothing.
Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front
of Mildred's house.........and left it there all night.
============================================================
BRIDGE FOR THE CLUB PLAYER
==========================
"LTC" Preempting
So now that we know how to determine our Losing Trick Count [Ed.
note: Please see "Ian's Partnership Stuff, December 2004], what
do we do with it? Please realize that entire books written and
systems developed using the "LTC". (Ron Klinger comes prominently
to mind.) My purpose in these articles is to help the club player
become just a bit better without replacing the fun.
Time out for a bit of Brawner philosophy: We all have a limited
amount of "brain bucks" that we can "spend" at the table. The
less we spend in one area, the more we have left over for others.
In other words, whenever I can follow a simple system instead of
doing any wondering/thinking/outthinking/guessing/agonizing, I do
it.
Let's use the LTC to put this into action -- what would you open
this hand at favorable vulnerability? Both vul? Both non-vul?
Vul vs. not?
x
KQJxxxx
Jxx
xx
You've got 7 hearts. Does that mean you would open this hand
three hearts vul vs. not? Then you are indeed bold. What about
opening two hearts? How do you decide?
Let's reevaluate this hand using the LTC. It has seven losers (1
spade, 1 heart, 3 diamonds, 2 clubs). Instead of agonizing about
hand evaluation, let's try out a rule -- the old "Rule of 2 and
3". (Remember that one?) I am going to be within 2 tricks of my
bid when vulnerable and within 3 tricks when non-vulnerable.
If I have SEVEN (theoretical) losers, I must have SIX
(theoretical) winners. Using the good old "Rule of 2 and 3",
that means this hand is worth bidding THREE hearts when
non-vulnerable, and TWO hearts when vulnerable. While this is
neither earth-shattering nor ground-breaking, the question about
when to open "only" two holding a seven-card suit was just
answered without spending any brain bucks. It also isn't
difficult.
I have substituted a working system for my judgment. (My judgment
doesn't work so often...) This is the litmus test for any
bidding system or convention: Does it work more often than
whatever I was using before?
Looking at a similar hand:
x
KQJxxxx
Jxxx
x
By moving that small club to the diamond suit, we just reduced
our LTC from seven to six. That means we can now open this hand
THREE hearts when vulnerable. And when NOT vulnerable, we can
open this hand FOUR!
Responding to partner's LTC preempts
To begin with, when I have a fit with my partner, I raise.
Period. And I don't have to worry about vulnerability, since
partner has already done that. With non game-going hands (which
can actually be fairly strong!), I use the following no-brain
rule:
With three trumps, I raise ONE level. With four trumps, I raise
TWO levels. Etc., etc. There is (usually) no need to raise past
game. The only adjustment I make is that with no singletons and
four or more trumps for my partner, I mentally subtract one
trump. This helps keep us out of trouble.
"Law of Total Tricks" fans of the world, unite! This means that I
would raise 2 Spades to 3 with either xxx, xx, xxx, xxxxx OR Axx,
AJxx, x, Jxxxx. Let the opponents guess which hand I have!
Here are two of my maxims:
Whoever makes the last guess loses in the long run.
Speak now, or forever hold your peace. (In other words, quit
trying to "buy" the hand cheaply. It doesn't work. I consider it
a bridge sin to pass and then raise your partner later, after the
opponents have exchanged information.)
But perhaps the true benefit of using the LTC for your bidding is
that partner will know EXACTLY what your LTC is, and will have a
MUCH clearer idea when to raise you when they have a good hand.
Here is a typical hand that the club player might agonize over.
Partner has opened three hearts:
KJx
xx
AQxx
Axxx
A soapbox aside: If you look at this hand and say "I am ALWAYS
bidding game with fourteen points", then you have momentarily
forgotten that partner has 10 OR LESS. If you are going to live
and die as a point-counter, do it properly -- grin.
What do you do when partner opens three hearts? If they opened
three hearts with the first example hand, you should pass. If
they have the second hand, you should raise to four. And since
there are about thirteen gazillion different hands that partner
might have opened 3 hearts with, what do you do?
Now suppose we have a partner that is using the LTC? Gee, now
you "know" that he/she is within TWO tricks of their bid if
vulnerable, and THREE tricks if not. Let's see how many of
partners losers we can cover. If we are using the same deck of
cards that they are, we can count the King of spades, the Ace and
Queen of diamonds, and the Ace of clubs as cards that partner
probably doesn't have (grin). Four losers "covered." That
means, in theory, that we should raise partner to game at any
vulnerability IF they open three hearts.
Notice, though, that if partner opened three hearts with that
first hand, he is going down, down, down. But if he used the
LTC, and only opened only two, you can comfortably pass.
About now, some of you are saying about "HEY! NO FAIR! That King
of spades isn't pulling it's weight!" Well, the Queen of
diamonds is. So it's fair. Grin.
Seriously, though -- the true test of a system is whether or not
it works in the long run. Some cards will pull their weight,
some won't. Remember, the purpose of preempting is to make the
opponents guess wrong! And the test of any system is whether or
not it works at the table. And after many years of letting the
LTC help me with my preempts, I am firmly convinced that this one
does.
*******************************************************
Do you want to be more aggressive with your preempts, especially
that you have all this new-found accuracy? Flush the
old-fashioned Rule of Two and Three, and replace it with the
"Rule of Two-Three-Four". At unfavorable vulnerability, I am
within TWO tricks of my bid. At equal vulnerability, I am within
THREE tricks of my bid, and at favorable vulnerability, I am
within FOUR tricks of my bid. (Not only do I use this myself, I
have been teaching my students this style of preempting, and they
love it!)
This means that with the first hand, I would open either two,
three, or four hearts, depending on the vulnerability. Please
note that this style ONLY works if partner is on the same page.
This style of preempting combines aggression with discipline -- a
great combination in my book!
I also use the LTC for my weak-two responses, and for my
interference over their no-trump openings, but of course that's
another article (or two).
Happy Bidding!
Jack Brawner
(TrojanOwl@AOL.com)
********************
Jack welcomes students of all levels for lessons.
Contact him for information at trojanowl@aol.com
============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Benson for this one:
SENIOR CITIZENS ARE THE NATIONS LEADING CARRIERS OF AIDS!
HEARING AIDS
BAND AIDS
ROLL AIDS
WALKING AIDS
MEDICAL AIDS
GOVERNMENT AIDS
MOST OF ALL, MONETARY AID TO THEIR KIDS!
===========================================================
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
=====================
OKB Tourneys
Well done to all our Fireside friends who excelled in
the tourneys this past month!!
Sun Dec 5 12:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 Kaltica/moogal 62.61
Tue Dec 7 11:00 AM
Rank Team Score
1 rex1/wheels 68.63
Tue Dec 7 12:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 rex1/wheels 75.00
Tue Dec 7 08:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 antai/tuna 5.40
Wed Dec 15 11:00 AM
Rank Team Score
1 kaysha/logwg 81.47
Sun Dec 19 07:00 PM
Rank Team Score
2 julie/potts 3.41
Tue Dec 21 05:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 Mslizzzy/tomglou 4.46
Our Flight B/C tourney stars:
DESIREE, FRANK-1, LEE-1, DLOYE, POTTS, JULIE, ASK1, NEOPHYTE,
JANWA, MARYS, ELGRINGO, LSSCOTT, KARLJK, RIGGIN, MACAVITY,
TAXLADY, BELIEVER, BIRDIE, FLEE
We encourage you to change your flight to B or C so that you
are competing on an appropriate level -- you can do this on
the OKB website home page. Look for "Change my flight" in the
box where your icon appears. This is OKB's way of letting
everyone have a chance to get some pond points. And, as more
and more of you change your flights, the flighted results
will be more realistic. And, remember, if you do place in the
overalls, you are still eligible for the higher awards!
I know I must have missed a few of your names here. I can't
check every result -- believe it or not I do have a day job
:)) Please email me and let me know about your good results.
We want everyone's name up here in lights!
**********************************************************
NOVICE MENTOR TOURNEY
Well done to all our top finishers:
Thu Dec 9 06:00 PM
Rank Team Score
1 flobabe/symy 62.50
2 Birdie/flee 60.42
3 eilati/wchen 57.64
4 nancor/queenhrt 56.94
5 tuna/vladko 56.94
6 believer/pascha 53.47
7 analisa/sansjoie 53.47
8 sha/wandaw 52.78
9 altair/raven99 52.78
Be sure to show up on the second Thursday each month (Jan
13th this month) for your chance to play in this fun, easy-
going session of an OKB mini. You may be encouraged to try
the daily ones!
**********************************************************
FIRESIDE'S TEAM GAME
Our December winners are:
12-12-2004 TEAM UNICORN Unicorn, Pringle, PollyE & Lwilmot
We'll be back in 2005 after the holidays on January 9th! We'd
love to have you join us.
Visit our website at www.firesides.net/mtc.htm for info and
lists of all our top placing stars. To get on the email
reminder list for these games, contact us at
firesider@aol.com - all welcome!
**********************************************************
Get well wishes to my teammate Jonathan (JHARRISH) who
recently had to spend some time in the hospital. I'm happy
to report he is now recuperating at home and looking forward
to playing bridge.
We send our best wishes Jonathan!
**********************************************************
HELP WANTED
I could use some help! If anyone would be interesting in
going through the tourney records each day on the website,
and putting the winners into an email to me, please let me
know. All you need to know is how to cut and paste, and I
can show you how to do that! The pay is very good....a big
thank you each month here in my column, plus a mini each
month with Colin. ( Second place gets two minis?:) )
Email me if you are interested at moocake@bellsouth.net
**********************************************************
Tales of the Wild West by Richard Pavlicek
Modern-day bridge owes a lot to the Wild West, from the rush
to win Gold Points, to gunfights at the OKbridge Corral.
Join the fun by selecting your calls on these six problems
from a past tournament. You might even be able to guess the
location from my clues. Try it!
http://www.rpbridge.net/8w17.htm
Results of the December contest "Let Your Heart Be Light"
(ending Dec. 31) will be posted January 3, 2005 at 21:00 GMT.
For these, and everything else related to the monthly polls
and contests, go to:
http://www.rpbridge.net/rppc.htm
And here is a fun puzzle from Richard's site to get your 2005
off to a good start:
Puzzlers Anonymous
It was "Initiation Night" at the weekly Puzzlers Anonymous
meeting, and just one new applicant was scheduled to appear.
The P.A. regulars had arrived early and were musing about the
mental gyrations they had in store for the newbie -- one
Timothy Tenace -- who would join their ranks.
"Let's go easy this time," suggested one. "We're running
short of members as it is."
"No way!" interjected Professor Freebid, the senior P.A.
member, as a hush fell over the room. "I have a puzzle that
will grill him good."
Suddenly the door opened, and in walked a scrawny
bespectacled young man, hardly a day over 21, with a
disheveled look that labeled him as the perfect candidate.
"Hi, I'm Timothy. Is this the P.A. meeting?"
"Yes, come right in," lured the Professor. "You're just in
time. Tonight's topic is bridge. Do you play the game?"
"I sure do," Timothy asserted, "and I just became a Life
Master."
"I see," said the Professor. "That might explain it all. Oh
well, it's too late to change that. Let's see how good you
are on opening leads. Sitting West, you pick up:
S K Q 10
H K Q 9
D K Q 3 2
C K J 10
"Before you have a chance to bid, your opponents Blackwood
their way to slam. This is what you hear:"
West North East South
4 S Pass 4 NT
Pass 5 D Pass 6 NT
"That's ridiculous," said Timothy. "I would double for sure."
"OK, suppose you double and it's your lead. Which card do you
lead?"
"Does it really matter?" Timothy laughed. "South has
obviously lost his mind and he's going down a bunch."
"Maybe not," said the Professor. "There might be some method
to his madness. Now, which card would you lead?"
"Hmm," Timothy thought. "The dummy is going to come down with
a long spade suit and exactly one ace from the Blackwood
answer... probably ace-jack seventh or eighth. I'll just lead
the spade king ..."
"Bzzzt! Wrong," interrupted the Professor. "North's ace might
not be in spades. The deal could be:
S J 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
H 10
D 10
C A Q 9
S K Q 10 S --
H K Q 9 H 6 5 4 3 2
D K Q 3 2 D 7 6 5 4
C K J 10 C 8 7 6 5
S A 2
H A J 8 7
D A J 9 8
C 4 3 2
"As you can see, leading the S K gives declarer 11 easy
tricks with the club finesse, and you will get squeezed for
12."
"Wait a second," said Timothy. "What if I lead the ten of
spades? Doesn't this mess up declarer's communication?"
"Hardly," chided the Professor. "Declarer wins two spades,
finesses the club and gives you a spade. Then you return a
club (best) to remove dummy's last entry. The squeeze still
works because you have to protect *three* suits:
S 6 5
H 10
D 10
C 9
S -- S --
H K Q H 6 5
D K Q D 7 6
C J C 8
S --
H A J
D A J 9
C --
"On the S 6 South throws a diamond, and you must give up a
trick. Curiously, South could even throw the heart ace and
succeed with a repeating triple squeeze. Sorry, you'll have
to do better than a spade lead if you want to beat this
slam."
"Darn!" Timothy exclaimed. "I see what you mean. I guess I'd
better lead the diamond king then."
"Bzzzt! Wrong again," said the Professor. "If you do that,
the layout could be:
S J 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
H 10 8
D --
C A Q 9
S K Q 10 S 2
H K Q 9 H 7 6 5 4 3 2
D K Q 3 2 D 4
C K J 10 C 8 7 6 5 4
S A
H A J
D A J 10 9 8 7 6 5
C 3 2
"The diamond king plays right into declarer's mitt, allowing
him to easily establish that suit for 11 tricks. And, of
course, you will be squeezed as usual for the 12th trick."
"Argh," resigned Timothy. "I guess that also eliminates the
heart king, since declarer's long suit could just as easily
be hearts."
"Very good! You are finally showing some deductive powers."
"And obviously a club lead could be equally bad," Timothy
continued. "So I guess there's no lead that's guaranteed to
beat the slam."
"Bzzzt! What is the first thing you were taught about leading
against notrump? Fourth from your longest. That's right! All
you have to do is lead a *low* diamond and there is no layout
on which declarer could succeed, assuming North has exactly
one ace as indicated by the Blackwood response. The
possibilities, however, are interesting. Look at this one:
S A J 9 8 7 6 5
H J 10
D 9 8
C Q 2
S K Q 10 S 3 2
H K Q 9 H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
D K Q 3 2 D 7 6 5 4
C K J 10 C --
S 4
H A
D A J 10
C A 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
"After winning the D 10, declarer will lead a low club. When
you win the C K you must return the S K to kill dummy's
entry, else you would be squeezed.
"And here's another:
S A J 9 8 7 6 5
H J 10
D 8 7 6
C 2
S K Q 10 S --
H K Q 9 H 6 5 4 3 2
D K Q 3 2 D 5 4
C K J 10 C 8 7 6 5 4 3
S 4 3 2
H A 8 7
D A J 10 9
C A Q 9
"After winning the D 9, declarer will start spades, and you
must play the *ten* first to let North's jack win. Declarer
next ducks a spade, and you must return your last spade
*immediately* to prevent declarer from executing a Vienna
coup and squeezing you.
"This may be difficult to see, so here's what would happen if
you failed to lead your last spade, or if you split your
spade honors on the first round. Declarer would cash both red
aces before running the spades to reach this ending:
S 6
H J
D 8
C 2
S -- S --
H K H 6 5
D K D --
C K J C 8 7
S --
H --
D J
C A Q 9
"On the last spade, South throws his diamond and you are
triple squeezed. Throwing a club would surrender two tricks
immediately, so you part with a red king. It makes no
difference which; declarer leads dummy's new winner to
squeeze you again.
"Of course, the above is only possible with misdefense.
Anyone who is clever enough to lead a low diamond against 6
NT would hardly fall into that trap. Right, Timothy?"
"Say what?"
"I said good night, Timothy. And remember, you're on the
wagon now. No more puzzles until our next meeting."
Copyright (c) 1984 & 1999 Richard Pavlicek. All rights
reserved.
**********************************************************
December was a busy month for most of us....I hope you all had
a happy holiday season and are ready for some good bridge in
2005!
We had the joyous occasion of our new granddaughter's Baby
Naming last week. That is ceremony where a Jewish girl
receives her Hebrew name....with friends and family gathered
around to celebrate. Jordie Farah will now be known as Shayna
Pnina in her religious life.
At the party following the ceremony, we surprised our daughter
and son-in-law, showing a video that my younger daughter had
put together as her present to them. If you would like to take
a peek, go to
www.firesides.net/PhotoStory7.wmv
It is best to click on View/Full Screen or Alt-Enter
once the video starts.
(note: this is case sensitive, please cut and paste, or type
exactly as you see it here, if you are unable to click on it).
With all our best wishes for a healthy and happy 2005.
Hugs....Janice
********************************************************
While we list the lessons offered by the commentators who
write for The Chat, we want to note that some of our other
commentators and newsletter contributors also give lessons
in most shapes and sizes....mentoring games, tourney play,
partnership coaching, just about whatever type of lesson
you could envision.
Please feel free to contact any of them for lessons:
Colin/Kaltica kaltica@mts.net
Bill/Wintaka btreble@shaw.ca
Lynn/Wishtrik lynn@lynndeas.com
Dann/Pooka pspeard@telusplanet.net
Bob/Bridgboy bridgboy@charter.net
Diane/DianeW diane@walkersweb.org
Bernard/Bluebee Bernardh@btinternet.com
Fred/FredW3 Please msg on OKB
Patricia/Fifee andersonscorner@atlanticbb.net
Nightowl/Jack trojanowl@aol.com
The lessons can be more affordable than you might
think, especially mentoring games. We think our
commentators give you your money's worth when you
choose private lessons, and they really value your
business. Maybe you can hint to a loved one what
you would like for your next birthday!
***********************************************************
Rainbow and Spectrum Series Online!
The popular Rainbow (SAYC and play) and Spectrum (2/1-GF)
series have been automated for your convenience. You can take
any of the lessons at your leisure simply by clicking on either
of these links:
http://www.firesides.net/rainbows.htm
http://www.firesides.net/spectrums.htm
Enjoy!
***********************************************************
Have a comment you'd like to make about the FireSide program? An
event or announcement you'd like to share with the rest of us? A
question you'd like answered? Here's a great place for us to
visit every day and keep up with each other:
http://www.firesides.net/chatline.htm
********************
Can't remember if this is a Mentor Cup week or when the next
Fireside session is? Get the complete schedule of events at:
www.firesides.net/whatsup.htm
Bookmark this page, and check back often. You don't want to
miss anything!
For those of you who use a credit card to support Fireside,
it's easy now with PAYPAL! Go to:
www.firesides.net/support.htm
*********************
FIRESIDE UTILITY SITES
http://www.firesides.net/checker.htm
http://www.firesides.net/dealhand.htm
********************
And if you haven't had a chance to check them out yet,
here are some links to some of the quizzes that Colin has
developed to enlighten us:
www.firesides.net/staymantest.htm
www.firesides.net/sayctest.htm
www.firesides.net/sarctest.htm
www.firesides.net/spectrumtest.htm
www.firesides.net/bidstest.htm
www.firesides/net/IGITSAP.htm
(Note that IGITSAP must be in CAPS.)
Give them a try! They are fun and instructive.
*****************************************************
January Events: (All times Pacific)
===============================
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY:
Thursday, January 13, at 6:00 PM, OKb time. A low-key
introduction to the tourney experience, sponsored
by Fifth Chair...see www.fifthchair.org for more info
on this and their other services, including getting a
mentor.
FIRESIDE MENTOR CUP TEAM GAME:
Sundays, 5:00 P.M. January 9 and 23 .
See www.firesides.net/mtc.htm for info and lists
of past winners. To get on the mailing list for
this game, email me at firesider@aol.com.
OKSCRIPT SEMINAR:
OKScript seminars are held as demand warrants.
Email Kaltica to schedule a session, usually available
on the same Sunday as the Mentor Cup Game, at 2:30 p.m.
OKScript is an add-on program that saves you many
keystrokes while playing on OKB by sending
prepared text to the table, opps, or lobby at the
push of a button. Try to download the program BEFORE
the seminar by going to www.firesides.net/okscript.htm.
For more information, email Colin at kaltica@mts.net.
FIFTH CHAIR INSTRUCTIONAL EVENTS:
=================================
Interested in getting a mentor to play with you periodically
in your learning of this wonderful game? Please contact
tarsh1@mindspring.com and ask for a mentor.
SAYC Novice Team Game:
Saturdays, at 8:00 a.m. PACIFIC. Newcomers very
welcome! In addition to the team game, there will be
an open table for those waiting to join the team game.
This table will also have a commentator.
2/1 Team Game for intermediate players:
Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Pacific. Novices are welcome in
spectator mode.
Look for the words FIFTH CHAIR beside the server's name,
in the table notes, to attend either of these sessions
You can also go to the Fifth Chair Foundation webpage:
www.fifthchair.org if you have any bidding questions. After
clicking on the webpage, find the Ask Anything section. Write an
email to Lucy, and she will be most happy to answer your
questions.
OKbridge offers us an email discussion opportunity,
the Discuss List. You can join that list by emailing them
at Discuss-Request@okbridge.com and put the word 'subscribe'
in the subject line. You can also participate in the
discussions via the OKbridge web site now, just go to the
members area at www.okbridge.com and you'll find the Discuss
List there at the bottom of your opening page.
********************
Moogal (Janice Kofman) stays busy collecting all sorts
of news about our FireSide family members to share with us.
Please help her out by emailing her any news or stories you
are willing to share with the group.
Janice's email address is moocake@bellsouth.net
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Luc for this one (almost too late to use it!)
30 years difference
1974: Long hair
2004: Longing for hair
1974: KEG
2004: EKG
1974: Acid rock
2004: Acid reflux
1974: Moving to California because it's cool
2004: Moving to California because it's warm
1974: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2004: Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
1974: Seeds and stems
2004: Roughage
1974: Hoping for a BMW
2004: Hoping for a BM
1974: The Grateful Dead
2004: Dr. Kevorkian
1974: Going to a new, hip joint
2004: Receiving a new hip joint
1974: Rolling Stones
2004: Kidney Stones
1974: Being called into to the principal's office
2004: Calling the principal's office
1974: Disco
2004: Costco
1974: Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2004: Children begging you to get their heads shaved
1974: Passing the drivers' test
2004: Passing the vision test
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will
certainly change things. Each year the staff at Beloit College
in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the faculty
a sense of the mindset of this year's incoming freshmen.
Here's this year's list:
The people who are starting college this fall across the
nation were born in 1985. They are too young to remember the
space shuttle blowing up.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.
The CD was introduced the year they were born.
They have always had an answering machine.
They have always had cable.
They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
They never heard: "Where's the Beef?",
"I'd walk a mile for a Camel"
or
"de plane Boss, de plane."
They do not care who shot J. R. and have
no idea who J. R. even is.
McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
============================================================
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
===================
Tightrope
Last month, I met up with my long-distance partner, Dave
McLellan, in Orlando for the ACBL Fall Nationals. We hadn't
played in almost a year and had some rust to shake off before
the major events, so we warmed up in a two-day knockout
teams. We actually succeeded in remembering most of our
encyclopedic convention card and advanced to the finals
before losing to a strong junior team. Then it was on to the
Blue Ribbon Pairs, where most of the top pairs in the world
congregated to slug it out through a grueling three-day event.
Dave and I had finished in the overalls a few years before in
Phoenix, but the final day was quite mediocre and we hoped to
improve on our placing this time around.
The field was around 500 pairs, and reduced to slightly less
than half after the first day. Our afternoon game was in the
mid-50s, and the evening game was good except for the slam
bidding. To our amazement, we matchpointed like fiends and
had a 64% game when we were expecting a result in the 57-58
range. One of the hands was a real tester, both in the
auction and the play, as I held as West, vul against not:
S-- AQxx H-- x D-- K98xxx C--AK
By the time it came around to me, the bidding had started:
North East South West
3S dbl pass ?
Alas, no level of diamonds would be a forcing slam try, so
the only way to explore a grand slam is with a 4S cuebid.
But that entails some problems as well, since a later removal
of clubs to diamonds would suggest both red suits, not really
an impression you want to convey to partner. I finally
decided to forego a seven-level contract and blasted straight
to 6NT.
A heart was lead and these were the combined holdings:
East
S-- J
H-- AKxx
D-- Ax
C-- QJ9xxx
West
S-- AQxx
H-- x
D-- K98xxx
C-- AK
Glad we didn't try for 7D. Partner had a tough call as the
hand isn't perfect for a takeout double, but 4C bypasses 3NT
and risks losing the heart suit. It looked as we had twelve
off the top, but when I won and led a club to the Ace, the 3S
pre-emptor on my left showed out. Hmmm. The communications
were a bit skewed and there was no guarantee of an operating
squeeze, so I decided to play North for three diamonds. I
cashed the second club, went to the Ace of diamonds and two
more club winners, discarding spades from my hand. Leaving
the other heart winner on the table, I cleared diamonds,
leaving the following ending:
East
S-- J
H-- Ax
D-- void
C-- xx
West
S-- AQ
H-- void
D-- 98x
C-- void
As I hoped, LHO won the third round of diamonds, and now I
had the rest. He was down to major suit cards, and if he
leads a spade my hand is good, while a heart allows me to win
on board, divesting myself of the spade Queen, and then lead
a spade to my Ace for the rest.
The second day was somewhat of a nightmare. The first
session we expected to be in the neighbourhood of 53%, but
the matchpointing was grotesquely bad as seemingly average
results turned out to be near-bottoms. We languished at 48%,
needing a good second session to make it through to the final
day. Nothing seemed to be going our way in the evening
session, but we hung in and managed to turn the flow in our
direction and concluded the night with a 53.5% game,
advancing to the final of 104 pairs. True, we had fallen
from 18th to 75th place, but had managed to survive a trying
day and were actually fairly confident that we'd bring our
"A" game to the table the next afternoon.
Here's an interesting test of hand evaluation, with you as
South:
S-- AJxx H-- K D-- J10x C-- AQ9xx
South North
1C 1H
1S 2D*
3C 3D
3NT 4H
?
Partner's 2D was fourth-suit, artificial and game-forcing.
With no support and lacking a diamond stopper, we rebid a
slightly uncomfortable 3C, whereupon partner continues with
3D, showing a red two-suiter. Then he removes 3NT to 4H.
Partner should have at least ten red cards and six or more
good hearts, as our bidding implies shortness in his primary
suit. There's also a fair chance he has at least mild slam
interest, taking the slow instead of the direct route to 4H.
How good is opener's hand? It may look dog-eared, but the
auction has improved it greatly. There won't be any black
suit losers as your values there are pure, and the K of
hearts is a fabulous card. On top of all that, your J10x of
diamonds are good fillers in North's second suit. I would try
4S with the South hand, which should be a cuebid as opener
has denied five spades. The result is gratifying, as partner
holds:
S-- xx H-- AQJxxx D-- AQxxx C-- void
Either 6D or 6H will make, at pairs we opted for the major
suit slam, which duly came home.
The afternoon session of the final day had a couple of nice
testers. On the first one I held as East, vul against not:
S-- J10 H-- A D-- A9xx C-- A9xxxx
The bidding went:
South West North East
3D 3H 3S 4C
4S 5C 5S ?
Although I had two losing spades and partner might have the
same, I continued with a brisk, in-tempo 6C, hoping the
opponents would succumb to the favourable vulnerability and
take the push. LHO passed as did Dave, and now RHO went into
a trance and emerged with 6S, which I gladly doubled. The par
contract was 5S doubled by NS, so jostling them a level
higher was worth nearly all the pimples our way.
Finally, a defensive problem, and you are in the West seat on
this bidding sequence:
North East South West
1NT pass 3NT pass
pass pass
The 1NT opening was 14-16 HCP. Partner leads the Q of spades
and you can see:
South
S-- Axx
H-- 9xx
D-- KQJx
C-- Jxx
West (you)
S-- 63
H-- J10xx
D-- xxxx
C-- 10xx
Declarer takes the spade Ace and leads a club to the Queen.
That wins, and he now plays another round of clubs. Partner
takes the King and shifts to the heart Ace. It's unlikely
that he's playing from an unsupported honour in a topflight
matchpoint event, so we have to assume he has the AK of
hearts. Generally, the King from an AK holding is looking
for attitude, whereas the Ace is an enquiry about count.
Here, then, because of the unusual nature of partner's shift
in mid-hand, you should comply with the J of hearts, showing
both count and your high cards in the suit. This will
suffice to defeat the contract, as partner bangs down the Ace
next. The layout of the heart suit is:
South
9xx
East West (you)
AKxx J10xx
North
Q7
Most Easts led a spade from QJ109 and shifted to a heart, but
the most popular card was the King, which could be from KQ.
West duly encouraged, a low heart was continued and declarer
scored the doubleton Q. The low heart is necessary from West
if partner has Qxx of hearts, so as to avoid blocking the
setting trick. The Ace is actually the correct shift, if
West draws the right inference and plays the Jack.
After the first session of the finals, we had improved our
ranking from 75th to 45th, but weren't satisfied yet. One
more round to go, and we'll get into that next month.
********************
You will find Bill doing his FireSide sessions on Tuesdays
at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Bill is available for private/group lessons and/or
supervised play sessions. Email Bill at (btreble@shaw.ca)
for more information.
================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pooka for these:
Subject: Fw: THE YEAR'S BEST [ACTUAL] HEADLINES OF 2004
----- (Do newspapers ever hire English majors?)
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
War Dims Hope for Peace
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
===================================================
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
Ward Rules
One of the greatest pleasures in Orlando was meeting
Paul "Guido" Friedman, author of the famous "Guido Rule":
"Always let Partner make the last mistake!"
Seeing him reminded me of a promise I made to list the
Ward Rules someday. This being our last issue in 2004, today
is that "someday". Here is a partial list:
#911: "If you are going to go for a telephone number...
...at LEAST keep it LOCAL."
#747: "In aviation, any landing that you walk away from
is a GOOD landing.
At IMPs, any contract that makes is a well
played contract."
#111: "One psyche...
...per hand!"
#100: "If you don't have a slam invitational BID....
...you likely don't have an slam invitational HAND.
#63: "If you are gonna lose your mind...
...lose it QUICKLY."
#62: "Be sporting. Always give the opponents a chance
to go wrong."
#62, then, is merely a variation on the Steinitz Rule:
"Never interrupt the opponents while they are
making a mistake."
#48: "There is only ONE way to make a 1NT overcall:
RELUCTANTLY."
#35: "Always finesse through the more annoying opponent."
#23: "Always double any auction you've never heard before."
#18: "If you think that there is only ONE correct bid...
...take up CHESS."
#17: "The only defence against a pre-empt is an overbid."
#13: "No good bid ever went unpunished."
#12: "Try not to bid anything that you can't beat."
And now, in talk show host tradition, we count down our top
10:
#10: "If you bid the final contract it is a 'sacrifice'.
If Partner did, it's an 'overbid'".
#9: "MPs is for bad bidders. IMPs is for bad cardplayers."
#8: "Your next bad bid is only a beer away!"
The next one was originally in the top five Treble Rules.
It relates to predicting winners in an event:
#7: "Always take known luck over purported skill."
#6: "Never psyche a Heart when a Spade will do."
#5: "Underbid early, overbid later."
#4: "Always trust your partner...
...but only as a last resort."
#3: "When in doubt, and having tried everything else...
...THINK!"
#2: "Behave politely, bid obnoxiously."
And now for the #1 rule, the one that we should never
consider violating even during this festive season:
W
a
i
t
f
o
r
i
t
#1: "Never play bridge with anyone more sober than you are!"
==================================================================
Happy New Year, all!
**********************
You'll find Kaltica (Colin Ward) doing his FireSide
sessions on Friday evenings at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Colin is available for private/group lessons and/or
supervised play sessions. Email him at (kaltica@mts.net)
for more information.
Rainbow and Spectrum Series Online!
The popular Rainbow (SAYC and play) and Spectrum (2/1-GF)
series have been automated for your convenience. You can take
any of the lessons at your leisure simply by clicking on either
of these links:
http://www.firesides.net/rainbows.htm
http://www.firesides.net/spectrums.htm
Enjoy!
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
And thanks to Tuna for this one:
My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo
on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach,
but we didn't seem to get food poisoning.
My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to
eat it raw sometimes too, but I can't remember getting E-
coli.
We all took gym, not PE... and risked permanent injury with a
pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having
cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and
built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but
they must have happened because they tell us how much safer
we are now. Flunking gym was not an option.. even for stupid
kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym.
Every year, someone taught the whole school a lesson by
running in the halls with leather soles on linoleum tile and
hitting the wet spot. How much better off would we be today
if we only knew we could have sued the school system.
Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national
anthem and staying in detention after school caught all sorts
of negative attention. We must have had horribly damaged
psyches.
I can't understand it.
Schools didn't offer 14 year olds an abortion or condoms (we
wouldn't have known what either was anyway) but they did give
us a couple of baby aspirin and cough syrup if we started
getting the sniffles. What an archaic health system we had
then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.
I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before
I was allowed to be proud of myself.
I just can't recall how bored we were without computers,
PlayStation, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital cable stations. I
must be repressing that memory as I try to rationalize
through the denial of the dangers that could have befallen us
as we trekked off each day about a mile down the road to some
guy's vacant lot, built forts out of branches and pieces of
plywood, made trails, and fought over who got to be the Lone
Ranger. What was that property owner thinking, letting us
play on that lot? He should have been locked up for not
putting up a fence around the property, complete with a self-
closing gate and an infrared intruder alarm.
Oh yeah... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit
when I got that bee sting? I could have been killed!
We played king of the hill on piles of gravel left on vacant
construction sites and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the
48 cent bottle of Mercurochrome and then we got our butt
spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a
10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics and then Mom calls
the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly
vicious pile of gravel there......it was such a threat.
We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we
did, we got our butt spanked (physical abuse) here too ...
and then we got butt spanked again when we got home.
Mom invited the door to door salesman inside for coffee.
Kids choked down the dust from the gravel driveway while
playing with Tonka trucks (Remember why Tonka trucks were
made tough ...it wasn't so that they could take the rough
Berber in the family room), and Dad drove a car with leaded
gas.
Our music had to be left inside when we went out to play and
I am sure that I nearly exhausted my imagination a couple of
times when we went on two week vacations.
I should probably sue the folks now for the danger they put
us in when we all slept in campgrounds in the family tent.
Summers were spent behind the push lawn mower and I didn't
even know that mowers came with motors until I was 13 and we
got one without an automatic blade-stop or an auto-drive. How
sick were my parents?
Of course my parents weren't the only psychos. I recall Wayne
Holinbaugh from next door coming over and doing his tricks on
the front stoop just before he fell off. Little did his Mom
know that she could have owned our house. Instead she picked
him up and swatted him for being such a goof.
It was a neighborhood run amuck.
To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told
that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we
possibly have known that we needed to get into group therapy
and anger management classes?
We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills that we
didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking
Prozac!
How did we survive?
=============================================================
Fireside Chat Issues
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Ocbober, 2001
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November, 2001
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December, 2001
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January, 2002
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February, 2002
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March, 2002
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April, 2002
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May, 2002
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June, 2002
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July, 2002
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August, 2002
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September, 2002
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October, 2002
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November, 2002
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December, 2002
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January, 2003
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February, 2003
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March, 2003
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April, 2003
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May, 2003
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June, 2003
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July, 2003
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August, 2003
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September, 2003
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October, 2003
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November, 2003
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December, 2003
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January, 2004
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