_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

On 12/10/11 8:01 PM, songbird wrote:
_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

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.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Dec 10, 10:26*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 12/10/11 8:01 PM, songbird wrote:









* _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

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

***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. *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.

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

HB

Higgs Boson wrote:
On Dec 10, 10:26Â*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
....
And I promised my doctor that, if rain prevents me from gardening, I
will go to the gym for exercise.

good luck!


Â*In them meantime, my bridge partner
just gave me a book on the 25 most important bridge bidding conventions.

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


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

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

On 12/12/11 9:17 AM, songbird wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote:
On Dec 10, 10:26 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
...
And I promised my doctor that, if rain prevents me from gardening, I
will go to the gym for exercise.

good luck!


In them meantime, my bridge partner
just gave me a book on the 25 most important bridge bidding conventions.

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

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.


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

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
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

David E. Ross wrote:
songbird wrote:
....
hehe, helps to know which ones your partner
actually knows and uses. do you play duplicate
bridge?

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.

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.


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.

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

songbird wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote:
On Dec 10, 10:26 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
...
And I promised my doctor that, if rain prevents me from gardening, I
will go to the gym for exercise.

good luck!


In them meantime, my bridge partner
just gave me a book on the 25 most important bridge bidding
conventions.

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


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

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.



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

D

In article ,
songbird wrote:

_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

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.
--
- Billy

E pluribus unum
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/17/ex_asst_treasury_sec_paul_craig
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96993722
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405

On 12/12/11 12:26 PM, songbird wrote:
David E. Ross wrote:
songbird wrote:
...
hehe, helps to know which ones your partner
actually knows and uses. do you play duplicate
bridge?

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.

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.


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.

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

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.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Dec 12, 9:17*am, songbird wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote:
On Dec 10, 10:26*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
...
And I promised my doctor that, if rain prevents me from gardening, I
will go to the gym for exercise.

* good luck!

*In them meantime, my bridge partner
just gave me a book on the 25 most important bridge bidding conventions.

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

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

* 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

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

I'm reading a great wordpress blog by "wellywoman" there was a really interesting post about the Holly and Ivy recently. There also quite a few book reviews on there for the reading list, so I'd possibly look to get for some of those for the winter period

David E. Ross wrote:
....
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.

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


songbird