[aguahombre]

There is a battery powered light out there on the market which a player can use....configured in such a way that it seriously brightens up the whole table without even coming close to glaring.

If you want, I can find out where it is available from the player who uses it at our club.
IM me, or aguahombre2@yahoo.com (that's a "gee", not a "que"

No, this is not an ad...I don't sell anything.

[awm]

 Phil, on 2012-January-24, 19:59, said:

To play against both of these pairs is a minor inconvenience, however, after I leave their table I count my blessings. In the end it is no bother at all, and simply do not understand Cyberyeti's attitude about such matters.

Perhaps Cyberyeti has the same problem I do. I am hyper-sensitive to blue light; it may be related to color-blindness. Basically, I get a throbbing migraine within about thirty seconds of exposure to this kind of light. I have serious problems being around copying machines and blue halogen headlights (that some, but not most, cars have).

Anyway, the lady you are referring to has a super-bright blue light at the table, and I effectively cannot play against her. This has caused some issues for directors; unfortunately one of the local directors chooses to simply ignore my medical condition (and in fact delights in assigning me to play at her table even if there are enough pairs in the movement that this can be avoided), which is somewhat unfair considering that substantial accomodation is made for other people's medical conditions. Even spotting her table from across the room in a national event can cause issues for me; I often have to select my seating direction carefully so I will not happen to gaze in her direction at any point during the game! Recently I've acquired a special pair of blue-blocking sunglasses (at substantial expense) which may (or may not) help me if I'm forced to play at such tables. The point is, this is not a matter of mild annoyance for me, it's a real issue!

In fact I have no problem playing against other people with visual issues; we have a blind fellow in our area who plays at some club games and we call out the cards for him. Several other players I've encountered have (non-blue) lights at the table and these present no issue for me.

[Cyberyeti]

 Phil, on 2012-January-24, 19:59, said:

There are two players like this in Southern California. They both have been playing a long time and both are quite good.

The first is a very nice lady. She gets a stationary table with her husband and has a 100 watt lamp so she can see.

The 2nd is an elder gentleman. His eyesight is even worse and might only play 1-2 tournaments a year. He requires a special deck of cards with symbols that are about 1" high along with the high powered light. In order to see your hand you have to spread your cards very wide.

To play against both of these pairs is a minor inconvenience, however, after I leave their table I count my blessings. In the end it is no bother at all, and simply do not understand Cyberyeti's attitude about such matters.

This is not a 100 watt light, MUCH brighter than that (200 ?) and painful on my eyes, they get a static table where they can plug it into the mains.

You also don't understand just how bad the odour was, playing bridge while attempting not to throw up is not my idea of fun. I suspect the British players on these boards will know this guy and many will have played against him at that time, and it was grim.

[gordontd]

 Cyberyeti, on 2012-January-25, 00:45, said:

You also don't understand just how bad the odour was, playing bridge while attempting not to throw up is not my idea of fun. I suspect the British players on these boards will know this guy and many will have played against him at that time, and it was grim.

This is true. For a while he played while carrying around a lit scented candle, which helped a bit. It was a pity, because he was a good player (often the highest master-point winner for the year), a very amiable man who lived to play bridge and didn't seem to view it as an option to stay away from events.

[jdeegan]

I can offer only one word to add to this marvelous thread: GEO Day