Playing Fortnite in 2020 lockdown, mobile user

Oops, looks like there are three or four guys running the show now in place of a genuine server. Sad because they cannot stand a smart a***, touche guys. App deleted when it started searching my ipad for goodies. These guys work shifts so game outside a game to avoid those who just cannot play within the spirit of the game.

Playing Duplicate Bridge with bridgebase in 2020 lockdown

Sad that gentlemanly conduct has gone now you can watch the game you are playing on a mobile, what? Lots of players are doing this now. Its obvious when play is random compared with how the set should go.

Another sad loss is the excellent SAYC learning package, there are only sample deals now, in my opinion worth little since they are too specific.

Still it is worth a try for as long as you can hold back your frustration.

Playing bullet chess online

lichess.org is highly recommended. If you end up playing an AI or a computer driver just resign and start a new game. Ideal.

Anyone remember the ITV murder mystery where all those present were cannibals? The detective finds out just as she is about to become an item on the menu. It was interesting because everyone except the detective colluded without any failing or tripping up. I think the writer made out that they became cannibals after surviving a plane crash in the mountains with nothing to eat or drink and so had to meet (meat!) up every year to "remember" the experience.
Is it possible that this applies to the Madeline case? Could Richard Branson have crashed in some lonely place once? Should they check the hotel kitchen for DNA... I dread to think.

Using computers for classical guitar music enthusiasts

If you ever work away at transcribing or composing your own classical, blues, folk or jazz guitar music you may have used something like powertab, guitarpro or tabledit. There are excellent sites to start you off in this direction such as 911tabs or mypowertabs. My latest finding is score recognition software. If you are like me you already have scanned in all your music sheets and are using a laptop to display them while you play. If turning the pages is a chore then something like the above music tab editors can play them quietly while you read the musioc line by line. Admittedly it takes extra skill, but when did that requirement ever hold back a dedicated aficionado? So if you search carefully there are quite a few demo versions of programs to get you started, then if they are useful you can procure them. Some tips are to change the read score to be an octave lower than written before exporting the music, sometimes as midi files. If they are midi you can easily import them into powertab. Voila you're there! Of course those experience ed know how much work they are taking on making a difficult score polished, however some pieces just lend themselves to this process with little extra editing required. Don't forget to visit all of us guitar enthusiasts in north wales if you are there on holiday - see the www.northwalesguitarcircle.co.uk for details of meetings. There are also some excellent folk and jazz clubs too. Watch out for random gigs at the Vaynol Park Estate, bands such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin look-alikes and serious classical musicians/singers have been there. Also visit the Beaumaris festival this year!

Playing Yahoo Chess Sunday 12th March 2006

Lots of people complain about the bad behaviour of others. I just found this blog site after trying to understand Yahoo Chess. There everyone bloghates people who play and run just to score points. I did notice that most people I played were reluctant to chat. The real issue is that noone knows who is from which cultural group. This makes starting a conversation really difficult unless you can bridge all these barriers. One good ploy to test the water is just say Hi. If your opponent doesn't respond either they are foreign or you need a different approach. Try considering their icon and username, maybe this will help suggest some other short catchy non-committal icebreaker. Folk who enjoy chess will talk to you eventually. You will notice that I have the cheek to place myself in the cultural group of dedicated chess players who just love the game for the sheer hell and scariness of the unknown.
My tip for those who have read this so far is smile and the world smiles with you. Good Luck with the chess.