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Bridge: New ideas and bad habits

When I finish reading an article, I normally have two distinct impressions:

  • In the first case the article has detailed and well explained subject coming to a clear conclusion.
  • In the second the message is confused, does not reach the target, and becomes a generator of criticisms.

You also know that I love the bridge, which is the sport par excellence of mind and allows you to keep your brain trained through play. It has another big benefit: it is a perfect aggregation tool because it allows people of different ages And social classes to have a common subject conversation.

The last item published on the website of the Italian bridge game federation (FIGB) has left me perplexed.

I have reread the article signed by the president of the FIGB and the conclusions at which I arrived led me to write this article of mine.

I perceived a halo of negativity against the players who have chosen to NOT join the federation for the year 2021.

I quote verbatim: “ The provision would allow the approximately 10,000 bridge players who have not renewed, or in any case will not renew, the card in 2021 and for which the Federation could therefore close their doors. “

The first request that I set myself was: what are the reasons for which some players have chosen to NOT pay the card annually?

Assuming that each of us is available to pay for receiving a good / service, what services have the federation made available to its members when the pandemic made it impossible to play tournaments and leagues in presence? What did he do to help us overcome such a difficult time?

Let’s focus on two main thematic areas:

  • Online tournaments

After about 12 months since the beginning of the pandemic, the federation has chosen to use the platform Real Bridge.

Some might tell me 12 months to develop one platform of the online bridge was a record time (and totally agree).

But Real Bridge is an English company and the federation’s activities have been only those of becoming the through between the clubs and the managers of the platform.

In summary, the value was to have named her unique tool to play federal tournaments.

What benefit do they have received the circles?

Surely an economic income derived from the registration paid by the players to participate in the tournaments but, as there is no national regulation, each club was able to decide the price of registration (putting in fact in competition with each other the various associations “stealing” the players).

Which were I parameters that caused a club to have tournaments with the greatest number of participants and therefore success?

The ability to attract players was the result of the ingenuity and availability of each individual local organization. The enormous organizational effort of a few then advised us to join forces by often grouping online clubs.

And what benefit has the Federation had?

For each full table, the club paid to the FIGB 1 € (for club tournament) e 2 € (per national simultaneous ) from January 2021.

Who paid for the platform RealBridge?

Directly the club, by paying a fee for each player participating in the tournament (immediately).

It could be done better? Yes, developing its own service at home bridge online is also useful for the next point.

  • Use of digital platforms to encourage the game of bridge

My attention Not it is just placed on the promotion of our game in order to increase the number of players (which would require a deepening on the development methodologies to be pursued).

I think of the possibility (Unfortunately lost now that the pandemic no longer forces everyone at home) to realize online courses to help players of all levels improve their rank competence in the game.

The factor would be created reciprocity which would have thus reduced the distance between Federation And Players.

I add, think of the huge advantage competitive that could have been createdby exploiting the image of the bridge as an online aggregation point.

Instead of leaving space to impromptu organizers, the federation could have become the enabling factor and the fulcrum for creating a single large cohesive group of friends of the bridge.

It would have been a job demanding? Yes and like every time new professionalism is created, study and verification would have been necessary.

But Lady Luck would have assisted us, as they are already among us figures professional they have started to deal with this again template business before the pandemic. Why not do them become an integral part of the project?

Obviously, all accompanied by marketing actions would have highlighted the solidarity that is able to create our wonderful game.

A further reflection: the average age of the bridge player is over 60. Think about the opportunity formative lost.

If there had been that point of aggregation online we could have helped a player to use the new technologies (I’m talking about tablets, PCs …).

I imagine the marketing campaign where the commercial ends with the ” elderly ” bridge player who as a grandfather calls his granddaughter via FaceTime, google duo, WhatsApp, teams, telegram… using the Tablet with whom you play bridge online. The subtitle appears: Communicate with the bridge

But, there wasn’t any central direction.

My personal thanks to solidarity and availability from some which allowed fewer technological players to enter this “ new world “.

—-

Rereading my article, I hope it becomes clear that the real enemy is immobility, where we passively await the exit from the pandemic (hopefully in a definitive way) to return to a model that unfortunately Not alone is able to return our wonderful game to the glory it deserves.

—-

Let’s go back now to item :

Massimo Cerati proposes a solution for search for to re-enter the world of bridge the players who have chosen to play online only using other platforms not chosen by the FIGB you hate to play in presence tournaments NOT federal.

It is not just damaging to the federation but also for the circles which are the main meeting point of our sport.

What I really did NOT appreciate is that when faced with the proposal of a regional president, who is waiting to be evaluated by a federal council, the president can anticipate his own personal “merit” judgment.

Let me explain myself by reporting the sentence of the article again for greater clarity:

“ The measure would promote the 2022 membership of those who “speculated” in 2021: understandable speculation, given that it has resulted in savings for those who have implemented it on average equivalent to the cost of about a coffee a week! ”

I translate it as: “ The federation he expected that everyone would re-enrolled ”

But why expected that players sign up when in nine months of pandemic ( March – December 2020) your federation did not give value/services to your clients? They should have made the card for:

  • Sympathy?
  • Friendship?
  • Divine Manzoniana Providence?

If as the writer you have purchased the card, you did it by buying a product/service based on the confidence that you place in the people you know and who have been very good sellers.

I believe that when a proposal (right or wrong as it is) comes to the table, it is essential to carry out an analysis with spirit entrepreneurial, taking advantage of all the tools that can help us achieve a business plan in order to understand its real effectiveness.

Like? Responding to requests costs / benefits of the type (I have reported only 4 for simplicity)

  • What does it entail?
  • What income can I achieve (short and long term)?
  • What action should be implemented for those who have already trusted?
  • How can I help the clubs?

The answers must be economically valued to understand, numbers in hand, which is the best way to our splendid game.

It is difficult for me to understand a judgment as a “sensation”.

Let me explain: in your opinion, dear readers, at the moment in which the president already makes public your own judgment is not already there influencing the judgment of those who will have to take one decision?

The answer is up to you.

I conclude this long article of mine with an appeal to everyone we bridge players :

We seek to be more proactive, we give away our ideas at Bridge in order to create that value for will allow our hobby to be played in the years to come.

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Bridge – Safety Games

Article is taken from “ Encyclopedia of Bridge “By G. Barone.

AS IF. “As if” games are defined as those situations in which the requirements of the contract oblige the declarer to play in a certain way and only in that way because, despite having little chance of responding to the real position of the cards, it is still the only one that can allow the success.

The name derives from the fact that, when the deal is successful, the declarer gives the feeling of having played “ as if “ knew the cards of the opponents.

For example in the following color distribution:

If South must necessarily take all the tricks because the opponents have already taken those of their competence with respect to the contract, it is evident that South has no choice but to beat. Ace And King hoping that one of the opponents has Woman And Infantryman without other cards.

And so in the following situation:

If South absolutely needs to draw four tricks from the suit, he has only to play the Ace in the hope of capturing the King dry of East then twice overtaking the West Infantryman.

And of a similar type, a multiplicity of examples referring to different combinations could be listed but all characterized by the fact of admitting only one game solution, not because it is the most probable but exclusively because it is the only one that allows obtaining the number of indispensable tricks. to the declarant.

For example in the following situation:

self South play without trump e it has no return to the dead in seeds to the side, it is evident that to develop the color he has no other hope than to find theSingle ace with one of the opponents: in fact if the Ace is second or third the defender who owns it will not take the first round and places South in the impossibility of achieving more than a grip. On the other hand, if the Ace is single, the other opponent has F 10 9 in the suit; hence the need for an “as if” game, ie card from the hand and from the dummy for the single Ace; the King and the Woman of the dead will make Fante and Ten falls, releasing all the seed.

And this situation also deserves to be reported, which seems to allow no solution and is considered hopeless by most of the players. Instead, it is a case in which the game is imposed “ as if ”Not only because it is the only one capable of guaranteeing the desired number of tricks but also because it does not involve any risk of yielding more.

In the following distribution of a color:

The correct game is to leave the map on the side where the Ace is. Self East pass the Ten he covers himself with Fante for the honor of the west and, beating the Ace on the second lap, he drops the other honor by losing a single hold; self East pass his King or his Queen, South on the second round plays the An infantryman from the hand and, overtaking West’s honor, he frees all the other holds.

Another situation that is good to highlight , although easier to solve, is the following:

If a trick can be lost in the suit, the best game is to bat period but if South needs to make all the tricks he must play Queen or Jack and play “ as if ”The subdivision of the color was that indicated in the diagram.

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Earth Day: La giornata della terra

‘La Giornata della Terra’, celebrata ogni anno dalle nazioni Unite dal 1970 è il 22 aprile ed ha lo scopo di far conoscere e tenere vivo un valore fondamentale: l’etica ambientale.

Le buone notizie:

Per la prima volta dopo anni lo smog cala in ogni angolo del pianeta, e questo accade grazie alla recessione. La decrescita, con il rallentamento dello sviluppo, sembrerebbe essere la migliore cura per l’ambiente.

In cina,  l’inquinamento atmosferico è stato inferiore nell’ultimo trimestre del 30% rispetto ai 7 anni precedenti. (Sito Focus)

In America, da New York a San Francisco, i pendolari costretti a risparmiare per le ristrettezze economiche, riscoprono i mezzi pubblici meno inquinanti come le metropolitane e i treni.

Le compagnie aeree in carenza di passeggeri lasciano a terra parecchi velivoli e disdicono ulteriori contratti di acquisto con le società produttrici di aeromobili (Airbus e Boing).

Nei porti asiatici di Hong Kong, Seul e Singapore centinaia di navi porta container sono rimaste ferme a causa del crollo del commercio mondiale riducendo così lo smog del trasporto marittimo.

In Europa 150 città hanno aderito al movimento delle “Transition Town”  adottando un piano strategico sistematico per la riduzione dei consumi energetici; il consumo di elettricità (prodotta da centrali con combustione di carbone) è in calo per la prima volta da decenni.

Ancora, altra buona notizia: in enormi piazzali si accumulano i SUV invenduti (vero totem tecnologico del trasporto e status symbol sociale) disertati dai consumatori obbligati per necessità a scelte più consone e razionali in tempi di decrescita.

Insomma, tutte le cause di inquinamento sono in ritirata, alleluia per questa novella Waterloo!

Le associazioni ambientaliste americane spingono entusiasticamente una nuova etica di vivere imposta alle famiglie dalla crisi, cominciando a cambiare quella miriade di abitudini quotidiane che imponevano una pressione crescente sull’ecosistema.

Ciò che sta succedendo ora in tempi di recessione in realtà si era già verificato 30 anni fa all’epoca del crollo del muro di Berlino e dell’impero sovietico.

La crisi economica di tutta l’Europa dell’est con la chiusura di molte fabbriche in Russia, Ucraina, Cecoslovacchia (ai tempi un unico stato ndr) e paesi satelliti produsse una diminuzione del livello di smog sopra il Circolo Polare Artico del 50%.

Tuttavia dobbiamo porci un’ulteriore domanda: per l’ambiente questo miglioramento è durevole?

Sicuramente no, in quanto se il calo dello smog è solo un effetto dell’impoverimento, i suoi effetti non saranno duraturi.

La recessione diventa controproducente se le scelte economico-politiche dei paesi più avanzati rallentano gli investimenti in nuove tecnologie, che saranno penalizzate dall’offerta ” contro-choc”  del sistema petrolifero che avrà prezzi relativamente bassi.

Se il conto economico non sarà positivo, le aziende produttrici di energie alternative cancelleranno progetti, I finanziamenti a lungo termine che comportano lo studio e la ricerca di fonti energetiche alternative saranno ridotti.

Resta una grande speranza nelle promesse di politica di incentivi per le fonti di energia rinnovabili.

Quindi se la recessione fa bene all’ambiente, tuttavia NON può essere la soluzione perchè  da sola non ce la può fare.

Ben vengano dunque tutte le iniziative che incoraggino e mantengano viva un’etica ambientale – e al proposito vi propongo il racconto della fine degli anni ’80 del Dott. Invernizzi.

https://lnx.gable.it/home-page/?p=9374&preview=true

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Earth Day: La giornata della terra

‘Earth Day‘ celebrated every year by the United Nations since 1970, is April 22nd and aims to raise awareness and keep alive a fundamental value: environmental ethics.

The good news:

For the first time in years, smog is falling down in every corner of the planet, and this is thanks to the recession. De-growth, with the development slowdown, would seem to be the best cure for the environment.

In China, air pollution was 30% lower in the last quarter than in the previous 7 years. (Focus site)

In America, from New York to San Francisco, commuters forced to save money due to economic hardship rediscover less polluting public transport such as subways and trains.

The airlines in shortage of passengers leave several aircraft on the ground and cancel further purchase contracts with the aircraft manufacturers (Airbus and Boing).

In the Asian ports of Hong Kong, Seoul, and Singapore, hundreds of container ships have been stopped due to the collapse of world trade, thus reducing the smog of shipping.

In Europe 150 cities have joined the “Transition Town” movement by adopting a systematic strategic plan for reducing energy consumption; the consumption of electricity (produced by coal-fired power plants) is falling for the first time in decades.

Still, other good news: unsold SUVs accumulate in huge squares (a true technological totem of transport and social status symbol) deserted by consumers forced out of necessity to make more appropriate and rational choices in times of decline.

In short, all the causes of pollution are in retreat, hallelujah for this new Waterloo!

American environmental associations enthusiastically push a new ethic of living imposed on families by the crisis, beginning to change the myriad of daily habits that imposed increasing pressure on the ecosystem.

What is happening now in times of recession actually happened already 30 years ago at the time of the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet empire.

The economic crisis in all of Eastern Europe with the closure of many factories in Russia, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia (at the time single state ed), and satellite countries produced a 50% decrease in the level of smog above the Arctic Circle.

However, we must ask ourselves another question: is this improvement lasting for the environment?

Certainly not, as if the decrease in smog is only an effect of impoverishment, its effects will not be lasting.

The recession becomes counterproductive if the economic-political choices of the more advanced countries slow down investments in new technologies, which will be penalized by the “counter-shock” offer of the oil system which will have relatively low prices.

If the income statement is not positive, the companies producing alternative energy will cancel projects. Long-term financing involving the study and research of alternative energy sources will be reduced.

There remains great hope in the policy promises of incentives for renewable energy sources.

So if the recession is good for the environment, it CANNOT be the solution because it cannot do it alone.

Therefore, all the initiatives that encourage and keep alive environmental ethics are welcome – and in this regard, I propose the story of the late 1980s by Dr. Invernizzi.

https://lnx.gable.it/home-page/?p=9374&preview=true

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Modern Applications – Episod 3: Service workflow

The first two articles explained what a container is (article 1) and how they can talk to each other (article 2).

In this third article, I’m going to show how to deploy a service through this new and amazing container technology.

Note 1: I won’t cover the image flow deployment part (Git – Jenkins, Docker repository, and so on) because my goal is to explain how to implement a service, not how to write lines code.

Main Point:

  • As many of you already know, a service is a logical group of applications that talk to each other
  • Every single application can run as an image
  • Any image can run to a container
  • Conclusion: Deploying container technology is possible to build up any service

An example could clarify the concept.

Example: Web application

A classical web application is composed of a Front-End, a Back-End, and a DB.

In the traditional world, every single application runs on a single server (virtual or physical it doesn’t matter).

This old scenario required to work with every single brick of the wall. It means that to design correctly the service the deployers and engineers have to pay attention to all the objects of the stack, starting from OS, drivers, networks, firewall, and so on.

Why?

Because they are a separate group of objects that need a compatibility and feasibility study to work properly together and they require great security competencies also.

Furthermore, when the service is deployed and every single application is going to be installed, it often happens that remote support from the developer team is required. The reason is that some deployment steps are not clear enough just because they are not well documented (developers are not as good at writing documentation as they are at writing codes). The result is that opening a ticket to customer service is quite normal.

Someone could object and ask to deploy a service just using one server. Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve the issue, actually, it amplifies it up just because in that scenario, it’s common to meet scalability problems.

Let’s continue our example by talking about the architecture design and the components needed (Picture 1)

Picture 1

Note 2: In the next rows, I will skip how to deploy the front and backend architecture as well as the docker technology because:

  • Writing HTML and Javascript files for creating a website is quite easy. On Internet, you can find a lot of examples that will meet your needs.
  • Node.js is a very powerful open-source product downloadable from the following website where it’s possible to get all the documentation needed to work with it.
  • Docker is open-source software; it can also be downloaded from the official open-source website. The installation is a piece of cake.

My focus here is explaining how to deploy and work with docker images. Today’s example is the Mongo DB and Mongo Express applications.

I wrapped up the steps in 4 main stages:

a. First point: Creating a Network

It allows communication from and to the images.

In our example, the network will be named “thegable-network”.

From the console (terminal, putty….) just run the following commands:

b. Download from docker hub the images needed

c) Running the mongo DB image with the correct settings:

d) Run the mongo-Express image with the correct settings:

Note 3: The configurable settings are available directly from the docker images.

For example, to mongo-express, picture 2  shows the common settings. (https://hub.docker.com/_/mongo-express)

Picture 2

Connecting to the main web page of mongo-express (localhost: port), have to appear the mongo default Databases  as shown in picture 3

Picture 2

Now creating new Mongo DBs (through the Mongo-Express web interface just for example create the DB named “my-GPDB“) and managing your javascript file, it’s possible to build up your own web application.

In the javascript file (normally is named server.js) the main points to connect to the DB are:

(Please refer to a javascript specialist to get all details needed)

Is it easy? Yes, and this approach allows having a fast and secure deployment.

In just a word, it is amazing!

That’s all folks for now.

The last article of this first series on modern applications is Docker Compose

See you soon and take care

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VBR – Mac Backup

Veeam Backup & Replication (VBR) version 11 has a new feature and Mac users will fall in love with it.

It is now available for the backup and restores of your MACOS files.

It supports the last Operating Systems starting from High-Sierra (Big Sur 11.X.X / Catalina 10.15.X / Mojave 10.14.X / High Sierra 10.13.6).

Note 1: The Veeam Agent for Mac (VAM) version 1 supports the M1 processor via Rosetta.

Note 2: The VAM supports consistent data backup with snapshots for the APFS file system.

In the other file systems, the backup is created via a snapshot-less approach.

Note 3: At the moment it’s possible to perform the backup of user data (with a custom scope too). The image of the entire machine and a Bare Metal Restore are not available yet.

The configuration steps are quite easy as shown in the official guide:

To recap, the procedure consists of:

  1. From the VBR console create a resource group using a flexible scope
  2. Copy the files generated from VBR to the MAC to protect
  3. Install the package to your machine and import the created configuration. (It allows the communication between VBR and the Mac)
  4. From the VBR console creating the backup policy and apply it

The following video shows how it works in a managed VBR architecture.

Take care and see you soon.