HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: peewee@infoserv.com (Philip Stromer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re: 53 then 64 opening
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 10:58:12 PDT
Distribution: world
Organization: Banished CPU

In article <Bw71xu.IM3@world.std.com>, Elliott Winslow writes:

        >There are a *lot* of good, logical reasons for playing
        >24-18, 13-9 over 24-14.  They just require looking more
        >deeply than your one-roll hit-or-not-hit analysis.

If you want to be aggressive, why not 13-9, 13-7?  :)
Or maybe 24-20, 24-18.  You're very likely to be able
to establish either your 20 or 18 points on the next roll.

The reason that *I* would play 24-14 here is that if I
can avoid being hit on 14 (I'm a 26-10 favorite to do so),
my next roll will bring the blot on 14 to safety.  O still
has both men on his 1 point, and X is has a builder in
position to try to establish one of the 3 most important
points (the 5, 4, and bar points).

If on the other hand I move 24-18, 13-9, O is a decided
favorite to hit one of my blots.  Even in an exchange of
blots, neither one of us has much of an advantage, except
that O has made his 3 point on 22, whereas I have nothing.
I have no offense whatsoever.  It seems to me that the only
purpose of moving 24-18, 13-9 is to get into a battle of
back games.

|24 23 22 21 20 19| |18 17 16 15 14 13|
|X     O        O | |   O            X|
|X     O        O | |   O            X|
|               O | |                X|
|               O | |                X|
|                 | |                X|
|                 [ ]                 | (X to play 6-4)
|               X | |                O|
|               X | |                O|
|               X | |    X           O|
|O              X | |    X           O|
|O              X | |    X           O|
|1  2  3  4  5  6 | | 7  8  9 10 11 12|

I guess that's what makes backgammon such a great game.  Different
people can have genuine disagreements on the best roll.  I try to
base my choices solely on dice probabilities.

Pop quiz:  12 is easier to hit than 11 with two dice.  True or false?

Philip Stromer          
(peewee@infoserv.com)
From: 87u3074@csdvax.csd.unsw.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: <None>
Date: 7 Oct 92 22:20:20 +1000
Organization: University of New South Wales

In article <1992Oct4.173948.7668@news.vanderbilt.edu>, LIPSCOJA@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu (Andy Lipscomb) writes:
> I just logged onto the Ohio server, but the display format I was seeing was
> worthless:  no coherence in lines or anything.  Can anyone help?  My system is
> a VAX/VMS with 80-column display.

I am running a similar system, and initially had the same problem. If your
terminal has a setup option, you can change from 'no new line' to 'new line' in
the general setup if you have a VT420 terminal. I am not sure of the syntax on
the VT100 but I think it is similar.

Good luck.

Danny
89u4082@csdvax.csd.unsw.edu.au
From: mrubin@cs.umb.edu (Mark Rubin)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re: <=LDB=> from mark (Long Distance Backgammon)
Date: 8 Oct 92 05:33:54 GMT
Organization: University of Massachusetts at Boston

What is this account for - BKGAMMON@indycms.iupui.edu? I am assuming it is
a backgammon mailing list or mail-to-news gateway. I can't cancel the
previous message so hey, enjoy! :-)

-Mark
--
==========================================================================
|| Mark Rubin		|| Don't let your schooling interfere with	||
|| mrubin@ra.cs.umb.edu	|| your education.				||
|| UMass/Boston		|| 			-Mark Twain		||
==========================================================================
From: peewee@infoserv.com (Philip Stromer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re: >64 response to 53 opening
Keywords: 6/4 opening
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 92 11:07:36 PDT
Distribution: rec.games.backgammon
Organization: Moon Macrosystems

        >Is there not a possibility that he/she was initially
        >deliberately playing badly for psychological reasons?

Now we're getting somewhere.  I've often made "second-best" 
moves in money games, hoping to lure my opponent into wagering
more money, then moving in for the kill.

A hustler by any other name...  :)

--Philip Stromer--
(peewee@infoserv.com)
From: peewee@infoserv.com (Philip Stromer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re: ignorance
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 18:56:14 PDT
Distribution: world
Organization: Banished CPU

No, he does not have to take two 5's off.  To do so would be a terrible
mistake in the given position.  Take off a 5, and move the other 5 down
to the 2.  The game is an easy win, and probably a gammon.
From: peewee@infoserv.com (Philip Stromer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Backgammon
Keywords: Looking for SERIOUS players
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 92 19:57:28 PDT
Distribution: rec.games.backgammon
Organization: Moon Macrosystems

I'm trying to find some players to organize a tournament with.  The
SF Bay Area is okay, preferably near San Jose.

Please send responses to me via e-mail if interested, or reply onto
this newsgroup.  It appears that the activity on this newsgroup is
very limited.  Only 17 messages last week.

--Philip Stromer--
peewee@infoserv.com
From: QQ27@nmumus.bitnet ("Steve Kratohwil")
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: SUBSCRIBE NEW-LIST Steve Kratohwil
Date: 9 Oct 92 16:10:54 GMT
Reply-To: "Backgammon strategy" <BKGAMMON@indycms.iupui.edu>

SUBSCRIBE NEW-LIST Steve Kratohwil
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
From: pbf@heinlein.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Phil Franklin)
Subject: Re: 5-2 problem
Organization: Bellcore
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 12:26:07 GMT

In article <1992Oct12.124313.1@sara.cc.utu.fi>, johnsson@sara.cc.utu.fi (MIKA JOHNSSON) writes:
	[line muncher was here]
|> the question is should O move to 18 or stay back at 20:
	[line muncher was here]
|>   +-------------------------------------------------------------+         
|>   |\------------------------+-----+----------------------------/|
|>   || 13  14  15  16  17  18 |     | 19  20  21  22  23  24 ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |  X   O   X   X   X   X ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |  X       X   X   X   X ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |  X       X       X     ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |  X                     ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
|>   ||                        | B 64|                        ||  ||
|>   ||                        |  A  |                        ||--||
|>   ||                        |   R |                        ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
|>   ||                        |     |          O             ||  ||
|>   ||                  O     |     |  O   O   O       O   O ||  ||
|>   ||  X   O           O     |     |  O   O   O       O   O ||  ||
|>   || 12  11  10  09  08  07 |     | 06  05  04  03  02  01 ||  ||
|>   |/------------------------+-----+----------------------------\|
|>   +-------------------------------------------------------------+
|> 		O to move 5-2:

Mika, the question is really academic, because X should double
regardless of what O does.

But let's assume that O has the cube in a money game.  I would stay on
the 20 because:
  *  I'm well behind in the race.
  *  This gives me the best chance of hitting X.
  *  I can use the numbers efficiently to enter my home board, so if I
      get doubles next turn I'm ready to bear off.
In other words, I have more ways to win from the 20.

- Phil
From: johnsson@sara.cc.utu.fi (MIKA JOHNSSON)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: 5-2 problem
Date: 12 Oct 92 19:46:51 GMT
Organization: University of Turku, Finland

HI ALL !

this is a problem from a game played on server 

O to move 5-2 (actually O rolled 2-6, but 5-2 is a problem 2-6 is not)
X owns the cube at 9-7 (in 11 pointer)


the question is should O move to 18 or stay back at 20:

if O stays at 20: O gets 9 indirect shots (1/6) and 2 direct shots (11/36)

if O moves to 18: O gets 9 direct shots (11/36-13/36) and 4 inderect shots
(1/18)

so if O moves to 18 he gets more shots next time, but won't get any further
shots (ok in some rare cases yes X rolls 12, 12 or X prefers to hit for some
reason), but if he stays on 20 he will perhaps get many times shots on 12 or 13
(may even get shot on 19)

I would move 18/20  11/6 because in this case you get the shot next roll or not
(and if not O stll has some chances in race) O is well in the race in case X
rolls small and even if O doesn't hit (since X has rollled small and O big)

If O stays back he risks many pick and pass numbers also.


  +-------------------------------------------------------------+         
  |\------------------------+-----+----------------------------/|
  || 13  14  15  16  17  18 |     | 19  20  21  22  23  24 ||  ||
  ||                        |     |  X   O   X   X   X   X ||  ||
  ||                        |     |  X       X   X   X   X ||  ||
  ||                        |     |  X       X       X     ||  ||
  ||                        |     |  X                     ||  ||
  ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
  ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
  ||                        | B 64|                        ||  ||
  ||                        |  A  |                        ||--||
  ||                        |   R |                        ||  ||
  ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
  ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
  ||                        |     |                        ||  ||
  ||                        |     |          O             ||  ||
  ||                  O     |     |  O   O   O       O   O ||  ||
  ||  X   O           O     |     |  O   O   O       O   O ||  ||
  || 12  11  10  09  08  07 |     | 06  05  04  03  02  01 ||  ||
  |/------------------------+-----+----------------------------\|
  +-------------------------------------------------------------+
		O to move 5-2:


-mika
                        
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
From: BLICK@VM.CC.LATECH.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia,alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Dr Pepper (was Re: 7-Up)
Date: 15 Oct 92 19:50:10 GMT
Organization: LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY

In article <1992Oct15.062822.20959@news.columbia.edu>
lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:
 
>
>Anyone remember the Dr. Pepper item about "10 2 4" and what it meant?
>
      The company's slogan was "Drink a bite to eat at 10-2 $ 4 o'clock.
Dr. Pepper--Good for life!" That's from "Advertising in America: The First
200 Years" published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in 1990.
 
The authors go on to note that during the drink's first 40 years its symbol
was a lion. An illustration shows an old ad with the slogan "Dr Pepper: King of
Beverages" over a lion while in front of the animal the words "vim, vigor,
vitality" spout from a bottle of the beverage.
 
By the way, according to the Associated Press Stylebook, the correct name is
"Dr Pepper" (with no period).
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia,alt.folklore.urban
From: billmcc@seanews.akita.com (Bill McCormick)
Subject: Re: 7-Up
Organization: SEANEWS - Seattle Public Access News & Mail
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1992 00:01:58 GMT

In article <1992Oct15.204244.25356@meaddata.com> jefff@meaddata.com (Jeff Fleck) writes:
>In article <1992Oct15.062822.20959@news.columbia.edu>, lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:
>|> Anyone remember the Dr. Pepper item about "10 2 4" and what it meant?
>
>Yes. 10, 2 and 4 were the times during the day that one should drink Dr.
>Pepper.

Specifically because they are equidistant time-wise from the "standard"
meal times.  Dr. Pepper thought that keep your blood sugar level up by
getting a boost every 2 hours was healthy.  (8=breakfast,10,12=lunch,
2,4,6=dinner).

Bill

-- 
SEANEWS  []  Seattle News + Mail  []  Public Access  []  +1 206 937 9529
E-mail for PGP key.   MD5 (no sigs) is: 8e253e95133365a292261c7d0da58bcb
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
From: P.W.Frizzell@massey.ac.nz (P.W. Frizzell)
Subject: Re: Answers and Results to Katie Mark and Petes 2nd Quiz
Keywords: answers
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2c
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 00:01:19 GMT


Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
From: crosmun@crosmun.rtp.dg.com (William Crosmun)
Subject: Re: Largest cities by area
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 16:06:16 GMT
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC.

In article <1992Oct6.170725.966@newscan.canada.sun.com> ptaylor@airfarce.Canada.Sun.COM writes:
>
>dant@techbook.com (Dan Tilque) writes:
>> sommar@enea.se (Erland Sommarskog) writes:
>> >Daniel Blum (blum@news.ils.nwu.edu) writes:
>> >>I prefer not to discuss suburbs,
>> >>etc., since they're impossible to define consistently.
>> >
>> >And so are cities. Some places are divided into a number of
>> >small cities and boroughs like London. Others takes the whole 
>> >and a lot of wasteland around it. You call that consistent?
>> 
>> And indeed, Jacksonville and Juneau have expanded to take in rural
>> areas.  Jacksonville more or less merged with its county and someone
>> has already described what Juneau did.  Virginia Beach, Virginia also
>> merged with its county.  Another case like this, although I don't know
>> the exact details, is Toronto.  Any Ontarions want to fill us in?
>> 
>
>There exists a "City of Toronto" within a Metro Toronto, which is a 
>group of cities (Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York) and the 
>Borough of East York (which I'll call a city for convenience).  The 
>individual cities are separate municipalities but some of their
>councillors are on a Metro Council that deals with issues that they
>have agreed to share, eg transit, emergency services.  
>
>I don't know where the individual cities or Metro rank in size, except
>that Metro Toronto is the largest "city" in Canada at about 2.5 - 2.6 
>million people.  Metro does not even come close to encompassing all of
>the suburbs of Toronto.......one would have to include 3 neighbouring 
>"regions" (counties) in order to do so.  

Does every city have a mayor?  How about defining the city to include the
regions subject to the mayor?


>
>						Cheers! PKT
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
>Peter K. Taylor			||	Grab your egg-and-fours and	
>Sun Microsystems of Canada	||	let's get the bacon delivered!
> (the best little subsidiary 	||			mpfc
>	you ever did see!)	||-----------------------------------------
>Markham, ON, Canada		||           (so much for Pathos!)
>	


===============================================================================
William Crosmun
crosmun@dg-rtp.dg.com

===============================================================================
"No matter what the subject, there is some group which wants government
 to regulate or  subsidize it, and  there are always those  in Congress
 eager to take  over more power  and control.  But it  is impossible to
 get something for  nothing.  The government  produces no goods, so  it
 can hand out  favors to some  people only by taking  the earnings  and
 property of others first."

                       From the Libertarian Party platform - 1992

===============================================================================
From: dporter@csugrad.cs.vt.edu (Doug Porter)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
Subject: Re: The Whole Nine Yards
Date: 8 Oct 92 22:51:24 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Virginia Tech Computer Science Dept, Blacksburg, VA

ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet) writes:

>Our local newspaper weather columnist has been trying to find the
>origin of the expression "The whole 9 yards."  So far, readers have
>suggested the following:

This is from _More of the Straight Dope_ by Cecil Adams: (not a quote, just
the highlights):

1) Yard meaning one of the horizontal poles that hold up the sails on a 
   square rigged sailing ship.  A typical ship would have three masts with 
   three yards apiece, or 9 yards.  A captain who had sent up all the sails
   he could would be giving it the "whole nine yards."  (cecil doubts this
   explanation)

2) New England coal trucks contained 3 sections of 3 cubic yards each, if 
   you were expecting a cold winter, you'd ask for the whole nine yards.
   Same lines:  ready mix concrete trucks supposedly contain 9 cubic
   yards when fully loaded.

3) A man's three piece suit supposedly took 9 yards of material to make
   correctly.

4) Wedding veils used to be 9 yards in length if the bride's father was
   rich enough (Lady Di's train/veil were, indeed, approx. 27 feet)



There are several others listed, none of which seem likely enough to be 
related here... however, if you have not read _The Straight Dope_ or its 
sequel, shame on you.  Go get them this instant.


Doug
-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Doug Porter                        |
Virginia Tech                      |   "It had been necessary for him
President, CalvinBall WaterPolo    |    to swallow swords that he might
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia,alt.folklore.urban
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Citecheck Hell)
Subject: Re: 7-Up
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 15:59:49 GMT

In article <1992Oct14.121008.18303@echo.philips.nl> dolf@echo.philips.nl (Dolf Grunbauer) writes:
>I heard that the name of "7-Up" is 7-Up due to the fact that it
>was the 7th attempt to get this product on the market.
>
>Is this true or an Urban Legend ?
>If true, what were the reasons of the 6 failures ?

Ah, deja vu...

Before this thread goes too far, let me warn against the use of any joke
involving Preparations A through G.

Ted "at least the steak sauce got it right the first time" Frank
-- 
ted frank | thf2@midway.uchicago.edu 
also at quibeaux@uchicago.edu | standard disclaimers
the university of chicago law school, chicago, illinois 60637
ajax crypto-analyzer -- warning! remove all chicken bones first
From: hamel@uakari.primate.wisc.edu (Ray Hamel)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
Subject: Tv themes - MAVERICK
Date: 8 Oct 1992 21:55:41 -0500
Organization: UW-Madison Primate Center
NNTP-Posting-Host: uakari.primate.wisc.edu


> 
> >#59.      "Matched in New Orleans, livin' on Jackson Queens"
> >
> >Maverick
> 
> I always thought it was "Jacks & Queens"
> 

Actually it's "Natchez to New Orleans, living on Jacks and Queens".

Ray Hamel
University of Wisconsin
From: barryg@hplsla.hp.com (Barry Gunn)
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 14:28:17 GMT
Subject: Re: Unique Hobby
Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia

>	I have a friend who is trying to sculpt a full bust of
>	Dan Quayle out of his own (my friend's, not Dan 
>	Quayle's) excrement, snot and dried semen.......
>
>	(...though sculpting it out of Dan Quayle's own excrement, snot 
>	and dried semen makes for an interesting notion....)
>
>	No - I'm not making this up........

And I suppose the National Endowment(sp?) for the Arts is supporting it.
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
From: judim@wes.on.ca (Judi Mota)
Subject: Re: Largest cities by area
Organization: Waterloo Engineering Software
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 20:01:51 GMT

In article <1992Oct12.061140.16735@sq.sq.com> msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) writes:
>> So.... i think [Oslo] counts at least as a city with an area completely
>> out of proportion to its population, though probably not the largest city
>> (by area) in the world, or even Europe....
>
>Which leads to the question of what is the city with the lowest
>*population density*?  I don't believe I've ever seen any information
>about that.  Of course, as with the other issues you have to choose a
>definition of "city".  In this case I think the appropriate definition
>would require there to NOT be subdivisions with their own governing body.
>-- 
>Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com

Hi Mark!

I don't know if I'm quite correct on this but here in Kitchener-Waterloo (yes -
Ontario!) the radio station I listen to has a trivia question every morning.
One morning the question was (I think): "What is the largest city, by area,
in the world?"  And the answer was:  Timmins, Ontario!

I was only half listening because I figured it would be someplace in a foreign
country, so if I'm wrong then lash me 100 times with a wet noodle and I'll
hang my head in shame!  This might also be the answer to your population 
density question.  I'm not very good at trivia but I thought I'd stick my two
cents in here.

Judi 
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Largest cities by area
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 92 06:11:40 GMT

> So.... i think [Oslo] counts at least as a city with an area completely
> out of proportion to its population, though probably not the largest city
> (by area) in the world, or even Europe....

Which leads to the question of what is the city with the lowest
*population density*?  I don't believe I've ever seen any information
about that.  Of course, as with the other issues you have to choose a
definition of "city".  In this case I think the appropriate definition
would require there to NOT be subdivisions with their own governing body.
-- 
Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com
			"The recent explosion of tourism has ruined the
			 planet Arrakis for me forever."  -- Spider Robinson

This article is in the public domain.
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
From: avdavid@teal.csn.org (David Ewing)
Subject: Re: Answers and Results to Katie Mark and Petes 2nd Quiz
Keywords: answers
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 22:22:08 GMT

M.Byrne@massey.ac.nz (M.D Byrne) writes:

>What P. Frizzells article was supposed to say was that Neil Young recorded
>"I am a Child" on Decade.

Yeah, but "Decade" was a greatest hits album and "I am a Child" was
recorded with the Buffalo Springfield.

Dave

-- 
************************************************************************
David A. Ewing          Avalanche Development Company
david@avalanche.com     Boulder, Colorado
************************************************************************
From: cindy@solan10.solan.unit.no (Cynthia Kandolf)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
Subject: Re: Largest cities by area
Date: 11 Oct 92 22:50:00 GMT
Organization: /home/ludviga/cindy/.organization

Due to circumstances beyond my control (yeah, yeah...) i missed the 
beginning of this thread, so if this is a repeat, flame me gently:

The "Oestlendinger" around here claim that Oslo is "among" (hedge,
hedge) the largest cities in the world in terms of area.  While the
population is not impressive - about 600,000 - the area administered
by the city government and included in the city on all standard maps
includes large areas of forest as well as a number of farms.  

Meanwhile, the area has been given a unique political designation -
"bykommune", meaning essentially "city-municipality" - and is not
counted as part of any of the counties ("fylker").  So.... i think
this counts at least as a city with an area completely out of
proportion to its population, though probably not the largest city
(by area) in the world, or even Europe....

-Cindy Kandolf
 cindy@solan.unit.no
 Trondheim, Norway
From: hamel@uakari.primate.wisc.edu (Ray Hamel)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
Subject: Re:  7-Up
Date: 14 Oct 1992 21:28:11 -0500
Organization: UW-Madison Primate Center
NNTP-Posting-Host: uakari.primate.wisc.edu


	When 7-Up was introduced in 1929, the "7" stood for the
fact that the beverage came in a 7 ounce bottle, the "Up" was
short for "Bottoms up"

Ray Hamel
University of Wisconsin
Newsgroups: rec.games.trivia
From: M.Byrne@massey.ac.nz (M.D Byrne)
Subject: Re: Answers and Results to Katie Mark and Petes 2nd Quiz
Keywords: answers
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2c
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 23:14:16 GMT

What P. Frizzells article was supposed to say was that Neil Young recorded
"I am a Child" on Decade.

Mark
Xref: sparky rec.games.trivia:3322 alt.folklore.urban:25695