As originally envisioned, a separate beginner's game would allow newcomers to become familiar with the mechanics of Duplicate Bridge, without the stress of strict rules and director calls interfering with their learning. But now it seems to have become a separate club and is destroying the parent.

The following NCBC members have recently earned a change in rank as posted on the Florida Unit 128 website. Congratulations to all!

Sectional Master
Aruna Raghaven

Club Master
Steve Macri
Dottie Maklary

Junior Master
Kathi Heintz
Barbara McMaster

Science fiction stories frequently have a person don a helmet or something and have foreign memories induced.

Now, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF.gov article), Japanese and American researchers have demonstrated using special MRI's in reverse to "implant" knowedge into a person's brain. The article suggests "it may be possible ... to learn to play a piano ... or hit a curve ball with little or no conscious effort."

Instead of merely recording the activity of a brain, apparently they repeatedly "tickled" small areas of one person's brain in the same pattern that someone else has, who has had some small visual training. After having this done, the subjects were also trained. This happened with or without the subjects knowing ahead of time what was being trained, and with no active participation of subject. 

Message from Shirley Matters' family:

I am very sorry to tell you that Shirley passed away this evening.  She spent her final moments at Hospice in Lecanto. Thank you for all of your prayers and kind thoughts.  We took all of your cards to the hospital and read them to her; they brightened her spirits.

Debbie Wrightson
Shirley's daughter.

Address sympathy cards to:

7 Winged Foot Court West
Homosassa, FL  34446-4639