The Play Of the Hand Unblocking
Three ways to get extra tricks are called “Hold-Ups,” “Unblocking,” and “Ducking.” Last month we talked about Hold- Ups. This month we will discuss Unblocking. Next time, we will get into Ducking.

Unblocking is all about being in the right place at the right time. As Declarer you want to be able to take all the tricks you are entitled to without getting stuck in the wrong hand. Let’s take a simple, but familiar, situation to begin with. Disregarding the rest of the hand, lets assume you have the following in clubs:

Dummy
♣ K Q J 3
Your Hand
♣ A 7

You must play the A first and then the 7 or you will be stuck in your hand with no way to get the rest of the Clubs. This type of Unblocking should also used in the following situation:

Dummy
♣ A K J 4
Your Hand
♣ Q 6

In most situations where you have a solid or nearly solid suit divided between you and the Dummy, it is critical to plan the play so that you exhaust the hand with the shorter number of cards before getting to the hand with the longer number of cards in that suit.

Another interesting use of Unblocking is when you have a singleton honor Let’s look at the following hand:

You are playing 3 No Trump. West opens the K of spades. You can duck, but it wont make any difference if you or don’t. If you do, he will simply play the Q next and you will have to take it with your Ace.

You now have to decide if you want to establish the clubs or the diamonds. You have 8 diamonds and only 7 clubs. But, the clubs, if properly planned, can give you 6 tricks. The diamonds at best can only give you 5. Look again at the Diamonds. You must give up one diamond to establish the rest. Because you have 8 there are 5 outstanding all of which are higher than yours, after you take the A and the K. When you give up that diamond, the opponents will take their spades and you will go down. So, we need to establish all the clubs.

Immediately, you must play the J of clubs. Now, how do we get to the rest of the clubs. Well, the A of Hearts looks like a good entry … but look at all those heart tricks you can get of the K is onside. Well, if you’re an optimist, you can finesse the K of hearts by playing the Q and letting it ride. As it happens, East will win the K and start in on the spades and down you go. Or, like me, if you are Unlucky Louie, you take the Ace and play down all the clubs and make your contract. This assures the contract but is not always the winning board.

Another “Unblocking” technique is unblocking by discarding. Let’s look at the following situation. Assume you have no other entries in the Dummy except those in this suit:

You must be careful to start off by playing the 10 and not the 3. You might need it later to get to the Dummy. The 10 is covered by the J and you win with the Ace. East, of course, plays the 7. Now you play the K and the Q falls. You must be careful to discard the 9 or you will stuck in your hand with no way to get back to the Dummy.

Do not be a careless player. Don’t get caught in the wrong hand at the wrong time. Unblock!

An important concept in financial management is the time value of money. Simply put, a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. Why? You can put today’s dollar to work for you earning income, such as interest. Consequently, you should try to collect any money owed to you as soon as you can. For example, if your are entitled to a tax refund, file your tax return at the earliest possible date. Conversely, to maximize the time your dollars are working for you, hold onto them as long as you able. Following are three deals that allow you to do this.

The Good Deal

Let’s say you need to buy a big ticket item (a refrigerator, a new bedroom set, etc.) Look for retailers that offer zero-interest with a long-term payback period, such as Sears, Best-Buy, and Rooms To Go. For example, at the time of this writing Rooms To Go offers no down-payment and no interest on purchases until Jan. 2020, provided you make equal monthly payments during this period. How good is this deal? Let’s say you buy furniture for $4,000 in Apr. 2016. According to the offer, you’ll have 44 months to pay-off the $4,000 in equal payments of approximately $91 ($4,000/44) per month. Rather than pay $4,000 today, a portion of these funds can be earning income for you over the next 3+ years.

The Better Deal

Currently, credit card companies are issuing blank checks to cardholders that can be used to consolidate debt at a lower rate or to make large ticket purchases. Most credit card companies offer 2 options: (1) borrow for a long period of time at a low variable interest rate, or (2) pay a one-time fee (3%-5% of the amount borrowed) with no interest if the full amount is repaid within a prescribed period of time (generally 6-18 months). Generally, the second option is the better of the two.

Recently, I purchased an appliance for approximately $2,000. The retailer offered me a 5% discount or a zero-interest, 12-month pay period. A few days earlier, a credit card company had sent me a blank check with zero-interest, a one-time fee of 3% of the amount borrowed, and a payback period of 12 months. I combined the 2 offers. By paying off the appliance immediately I saved $100 (.05 x $2,000). I accepted the credit card terms requiring a fee of $60 (.03 x $21000). Net net, I came away with $40 and a monthly payout of approximately $167 ($2,000/12).

The Best Deal

Southwest Airlines provided me with the best deal. My husband and I needed to fly one-way from Maryland to West Palm. Southwest offers three categories of online ticket pricing: Business Select, Any-time, and Wanna Get Away. On the day we needed to fly, Wanna Get Away tickets were available for $71 per person.

When I went to pay the $142 (2 x $71) for the 2 tickets, I was offered a Southwest Credit Card that would immediately give me a credit of $200 that I could use toward the flight. So essentially, Southwest paid for the flight and gave me an additional $58 ($200-142).

The Take-Away

In financial transactions, always keep in mind the time value of money. Look for deals that enable you to hold onto your money as long as possible.

The 3 deals mentioned above at not the only ones in town. If you know of any, please let me know at [email protected] and I’ll pass on the information to readers.

My widowed father prides himself on being independent. But during my recent visit I noticed his medications (he takes a number of them) scattered in different parts of the house. Some bottles were on the kitchen counter, others by his nightstand. I’m concerned he’s getting confused and could hurt himself, but I don’t know how to tell him this. Any suggestions?

Answer:
Almost half of adult children surveyed in a research project conducted by Home Instead Senior Care, Inc., expressed concern about their parent’s medication management. Other worries, according to the survey, include the parents’ finances, living alone, driving habits, their health and what plans they have for late life choices.

For many boomers, however, these are sensitive subjects to discuss with their aging parents, said communications expert, Dr. Jake Harwood who acknowledges such talks are especially difficult when the parent is still dealing with his or her grown child like a child, rather than as an adult. However, such conversations are important to initiate before a situation reaches a crisis stage.

To that end, Harwood, author of Understanding Communication and Aging, offers tips for conversation starters for sensitive senior subjects in a pamphlet published by Home Instead Senior Care titled The 40-70 Rule. (For a copy, call 954-505-7957.)

For the medication quagmire, Harwood suggests in the booklet, to begin the conversation with something casual like “How the heck do you keep all these pills straight, Dad?” If his response is sensible like the meds kept in the kitchen are those taken with meals, and the ones by his nightstand are what he takes at night – there’s no need to worry.

If, however, said Harwood, dad seems confused, the situation warrants attention. Offer to buy a pill organizer (available at pharmacies) and set up a week’s worth of meds to get him started. Check often to see if he’s doing OK. Be sensitive when talking to your dad as he may feel embarrassed and resistant to help.

Check your tone of voice, don’t nag. Approach it as a conversation, not as a scolding or lecture. Remember, he’s your dad, not your child.

Volunteers advocating for Florida’s long-term care residents answer your questions regarding the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents in long-term care facilities.

Sponsored By: Aberdeen’s Resident Long Term Care Certified Ombudsman
Pauline Ogus, Sam Golden, Ronnie Ostrow and Marty Weissman

Q: What is a Long-Term Care Ombudsman?
A: An ombudsman is a specially-trained and certified volunteer who has been given authority under federal and state law to identify, investigate and re-solve complaints made by, or on behalf of, long-term care facility residents. Ombudsmen respond to resident complaints and concerns ranging from issues with medication and care administration to matters of dignity and respect. It is the ombudsman’s role to protect the legal rights of residents and assure that they receive appropriate treatment and quality care. The experience of being helped by an ombudsman is often comforting. Our volunteers offer direct assistance to those who need and request it, and strive to resolve concerns with warmth and professionalism.

Q: What if I have a concern about Long-Term Care?
A: Anyone can report a concern, including residents, relatives, friends, facility staff, legal representatives and other concerned citizens. Complaints may be related to the facility, its employees, or any agency or person that threatens or violates the rights, health, safety or welfare a resident.

Complaints filed with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program are kept completely confidential, unless permission is given by the resident or complainant to disclose related information. Details of the complaint are documented and the case is as-signed to a local ombudsman for investigation. The ombudsman contacts the complainant or resident within seven calendar days and begins a thorough investigation. Once all facts are verified, the ombudsman takes appropriate action by advocating for the best possible solution that satisfies the resident.

Ms. Stania Rodriguez is the District Manager for the Palm Beach County Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

To ask for an Ombudsman’s assistance, learn more about the program, or to become a volunteer ombudsman, call the District Office at 561-837-5038 or toll-free at 1-888-831-0404.

For anyone, some activity is better than none. By starting at a pace that is a little challenging for you, whether it’s adding a l0-minute walk to your day or working up to an hour of walking a day, you can get stronger and reduce your cancer risk.

Setting goals – even small ones – is essential to making physical activity part of your daily routine. Set a goal for a week, write down the physical activity you do for how long, how vigorously, where and when. Afterward, you’ll be able to judge what activities work best for you. Use the “SMART” system. The letters stand for:

Specific: A specific goal describes exactly what you must do to reach your goal. What will you do to be more active?

Measurable: A measurable goal allows you to track your progress. How often will you be more active?

Achievable: A goal can be as high as you want it to be, but make sure you know it is possible. Will that type of activity be something you can do now?

Realistic: Goals should be realistic considering your resources and time. How can you fit your goal into your budget and schedule?

Timely: Give yourself a specific time frame. When do you aim to reach your goal?

A SMART goal example would be: “I will take the stairs instead of the elevator 3 times per week over the next month.”

More ideas are:
Take a 5 minute activity break once every hour during the day, even if it’s just standing to stretch your legs.

Stand up and pace while you’re talking on the telephone.

Before or after a meal, take a 15 minute walk. Offer to walk a neighbor’s dog.

Lift hand-held weights anytime you’re sitting, even while you watch TV.

Borrow a beginner’s exercise video for stretching, aerobics or tai chi from the library and try it out at least once this week.

At least two days this week, spend 15 minutes doing some form of aerobic exercise, like brisk walking, vacuuming, bicycling, rowing, swimming laps or following a low-impact aerobic exercise video.

At least two days this week, spend at least 15 minutes doing some form of strengthening exercise, that may include: lifting free weights or doing resistance band exercises, doing wall push–ups or doing sit-ups.

Get social smart – You may feel more motivated with a friend or neighbor to walk or cycle with. Or consider a club for hiking, boating, cycling, dancing, and walking. All offer ways to become more active. American Institute for Cancer Research – Winter 2016 Issue 130

The drives are grueling. The days are long and very hot. The nights are endless and sometimes uncomfortable. Yet, the reward at the end of this road is incalculable.

I’m urging you, actually imploring you, to hit the road this summer and take a baseball road trip with your children, grandchildren or both. I’ve done it numerous times and collected adventures and memories along the way. Best of all, I forged an unbreakable bond with my son.

Our baseball trip adventures took almost a decade to complete.

We’ve been to every Major League Baseball park, about a dozen minor league parks and one in Italy. We’ve traveled by auto, airplane, train and boat to get to the parks.

It started with my wife justifiably cursing at me. I showed her the details of the first multi-ballpark trip I planned in 2002 that started in New York, with stops in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Binghamton (minor league game) before ending at Shea Stadium back in New York. My wife’s reaction! “You’ve made me plan every summer vacation for the last 15 years and never helped once, but this you can do,” she said with indignity that still makes me shutter. “I’m sorry. I won’t go,” I said ashamedly, “we don’t have the money anyway.” “Oh yes we do and you are going. End of discussion.”

We called her from every stadium just before the National Anthem to check in. I got teary-eyed at every “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” thinking of her sacrifice. But my son and I made the most of every minute. We listened to books on tape along the way. We collected mini bats and pins from every stadium and had a photo taken of us with the scoreboard in the background. All are on display in my den in Bermuda Isle. We visited state capitals, national parks, museums and major college campuses when there was time.

We met many colorful characters on the road like the grandfather sitting next to me in Pittsburgh who’d played college football against Johnny Unitas and Mike Ditka at the University of Cincinnati but who quit the baseball team after one training session because he knew he’d never beat out another left-hander for a starting pitcher’s spot. The other pitcher was Sandy Koufax.

Oh, the memories. I remember sitting in left field during batting practice in the Minneapolis ball park called the Homer Dome while home runs fell in every section except ours. We lamented never getting a ball in the stands and estimated we’d been to 100-120 games together. Soon we were in our third baseline seats. The 20 seats to our right were still empty. This was important because Toronto first baseman Lyle Overbay sliced Matt Garza’s pitch foul about 10 seats to my son’s right. It bounced twice and then right into his hands. The Holy Grail was ours! And I can still feel the hug that they showed on the huge stadium scoreboard.

So go and make memories like that this summer. And here I am to help. It took about an hour to research and design a super trip for this July right after the All-Star break. What I put together is a maximum see-it-all 17-day driving trip to 14 parks in the east and midwest. That’s almost half the MLB parks. Here’s your Triptik beginning Fri., July 15.

The calculations: 4,060 miles at 59 hours, 8 minutes in stadium-to-stadium distance and driving times, according to Google Maps. At 27 miles per gallon, you’d use 150 gallons of gasoline. If the summer price rises to an average $2.25, figure about $350 for fuel. Fifteen hotel rooms at $150 would come to $2,250. Fourteen tickets for three getting $30 seats would be $1,400. Total without food, souvenirs, etc. rounds out to a $4,000 trip for 2.5 weeks. Of course, you could add a game in Baltimore on Day 19 and continue to Atlanta, Tampa and Miami on the way home to Aberdeen.

My son and I recall the details of the trips, games and players frequently. It’s part of our shared experience. He met friends I reconnected with in St. Louis, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle and family in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. He saw where I went to college and had my first job. We argue about which was the best ballpark and the worst. The best ballpark food and the worst. And we enjoy the irony that when we finished our “cycle” of major parks in 2009 at Coors Field in Denver, the Rockies’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki paid homage by getting for a “cycle” (single, double, triple and a home run in same game).

I’m not finished with baseball road trips either. My son and I will go to the new Miami park this season and I’d like to tour the Florida State League parks this summer and next. But the real treat will be when my grandsons are old enough to go on the road. Let the bonding begin.

1. On average, a woman’s earnings decreases 4%for each child she has, while a man’s pay increases more than 6% when he becomes a father.

2. After spending nearly a year in space, astro-naut Scott Kelly is hanging up his spacesuit. The 52 year old Kelly, who spent 340 days in orbit on the International Space Station, will undergo tests to see how the human body holds up for long periods of time in space when compared with his twin brother, Marc, who remained on the ground.

3. New York City police cracked down on costumed characters who aggressively hassle tourists for tips in Times Square, arresting Capt. America, Jesse the cowgirl from Toy Story and at least 2 Spider Men.

4. English is rapidly becoming what the creators of Esperanto had envisioned: a language spoken on every continent and the primary medium for communication among different nations. Linguists estimate in 2115, only about 600 of the 6,000 language spoken around the world will remain.

5. A man in the U.K. paid $465 for lifesaving surgery for his constipated goldfish. “The actual surgery is quite straightforward,” said the vet. “Administer-ing the anesthetic is quite complicated.”

6. A police department in Northern CA decided to equip officers with nunchakus-wooden sticks connected by a chain and featured in many martial arts films – to better subdue unruly suspects. (All they need now is Bruce Lee to instruct them.)

7. A new study revealed that college football players who practiced without wearing helmets were 30% less likely to suffer potentially dangerous head impacts during games because they learned to stop using their heads as weapons while tackling.

8. A report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute of Columbia University named Denmark as the happiest country in the world, followed by Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden. The U.S.A. came in at #13.

9. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiuborn Aug. 20,1910 in Skopje, Macedonia joined the Loreto order of nuns in 1928. This woman, known world-wide as Mother Teresa, cared for the poorest of the poor, founded the Missionaries of Charity order, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and will, deservedly, be elevated to Sainthood on Sept. 4, 2016.

10. About 20% of women who married in recent years chose to keep their birth names, according to an analysis of wedding data. Another 10% chose either to hyphenate their name or to legally change it while continuing to use their maiden name professionally.

The Play of the Hand Hold Ups
As we discussed last month, the key to success in Bridge is making a Plan. First we need to count the top winners and then plan a way to get the rest that we need before the opponents get what they need. Three ways to get additional tricks (or avoid losers) which are not so obvious are called “Hold Ups”, “Unblocking”, and “Ducking”. This month we will discuss Hold Ups.

Hold Up simply means just that. When you see the possibility of losing too many tricks before you have a chance to develop your own tricks, you might want to consider holding up. There are times to hold up and times not to. We can examine each here. Let’s look at an example.

You are South, the Declarer, in 3 NT. You have plenty of tricks in the other 3 suits, but you must first get rid of the opponents ♥A.

West leads the 4, fourth from his longest and strongest suit. The rule of 11 tells you that his partner has 3 higher than the 4. This is important, because now you know the partner has at least 3 Diamonds and you must “Hold Up” twice. So, if you take your Ace right away, whoever has the missing Ace will play Diamonds and the opponents will get 4 diamonds and the Ace of hearts and defeat the contract.

Well, there are 2 ways to prevent that from happening. One is to pray that the diamonds are divided 4-4 and the opponents will only get 3 diamond tricks and their♥A. The other is to hold up and hope that the opponent with the Ace has no more diamonds to return to his partner.

Holding up in this situation has no disadvantages. If the diamonds are divided 4 and 4, the opponent with the Ace will have a diamond left to return to this partner, but they can only take 3 diamond tricks and you can still make 3 NT. If the opponent with 5 diamonds also has the Ace in question, there is nothing you can do and you will go down … but so will everyone else playing this hand. Holding up gives you a 50/50 chance, you do not have if you take your Ace right away.

With that said, let’s now talk about situations where the “Hold Up” should not be employed.

1. When it is apparent that the partner of the opener has more of the suit than you do.

2. When it is apparent that the partner of the declarer will never get the lead.

3. When holding up can do more damage than good. Let’s look at an example:

South is the declarer at 3 NT. West leads the ♠3. North plays the J and East plays K. By the rule of 11, East has 4 Spades higher than the 3. So, East must have 4 and West must have 4. Therefore, there is no danger of an opponent having 5 and no reason for the hold up. Also in this situation you want to get in quickly, so you can establish your clubs before the opponents establish their diamonds.

Finally, you should not hold up when winning the trick might develop an additional trick in that suit. For example:

North
♥ 10 2
South
♥  A J 8

Whatever West leads, North plays the 2 and East must play the Q or the K, if he has one of them. It would be foolish to hold up and take only one trick when you can take the Ace and later the J. The 10 in the North hand will force out the other honor and the Jack will take a subsequent trick.

I have worked with dogs for many years and now have been lucky enough to be trusted to care for many of my furry friends in and around Aberdeen. I have always enjoyed my research about dogs and love the wealth of knowledge that’s on the internet these days as well as the seminars and classes I have attended.

I would love the opportunity to create a place to share your dog stories and mine with a laugh or two and a helpful hint here and there as well. After all, besides grand children, what’s more spectacular than our own pets!

Katie is my ten-year-old Yorkshire Terrier and has been the hostess with the mostest and my best furry friend since she was 11 weeks old. She runs around the culdesac and immediately rolls over on her back for a belly rub greeting from everyone including the landscapers and the mailman. She’s quite a character.

Walking a dog in Hampton is like going to a party. The lush lawns are the perfect place to meet your neighbors at any time, day or night. It’s an odd day to go for a walk and not pass someone walking a dog with a kind word and an excited woof.

At home on a quiet day we practice basketball, bowling, jumping through her hula hoop and of course her signature trick of closing every door in the house. My friends are convinced that I have too much time on my hands but it’s really just so much fun. Katie is extremely food-motivated, so I can teach her basically anything with food. Keeping her weight down is another story for another day.

Is there any better expression of unconditional love than the one on your dog’s face? It’s written all over her/him. She loves everything about you: the sound of your voice, your smile, the way you smell. She instinctively knows when its time for you to make dinner, when you usually shut the lights at night and she will even start pacing if you’re late. Doesn’t she start barking before you open the garage door upon your return home? If you are fortunate enough to belong to one of these marvelous creatures you will probably agree that her tail wagging greeting is a heart warming experience to share and that there would be a great void in your life without your furry friend.

My goal is to bring people in Aberdeen together in an open circle of pet-people with stories and perhaps photos of our four legged friends. Any cat lovers and bird parents, please feel free to join me.

Joyce Hirschman
[email protected]