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It has been revealed that celebrities are being paid to appear on charity versions of popular TV quizzes. Some celebrities really exploit charity to build their reputation in the industry whilst others also get paid to appear on shows like Celebrity Pointless. When they do the celeb specials you expect the celebs to hand over the winnings to their chosen charity but what you don't expect (but secretly suspect) is they are appear for selfish reasons. It's not ten grand or anything but it is four figures. On Pointless they were often taking home more than they were winning for the charity. The highest profile guests on some of the quiz shows have received up to ten grand. Tessa Sanderson confirmed what we all knew that celebs generally don't do these shows for nothing and so don't really give their time and she owned up to pocketing £900. There is nothing more tedious than a comedian of celebrity who does panel show after panel show and doesn't create anything new for us to enjoy in the interim. The worse offenders would be every middle-class stand up comedian that is currently working and well known and David Mitchell. These people are leeches and contribute little to the charity they proclaim they represent.
Mastermind has its celebrity version and no doubt up to the same thing. As the show is rather cerebral the celebrity version is 'dumbed down' so to draw a wider selection of celebrities of all genders, sizes and skin color. Radio and TV presenter Victoria Derbyshire revealed that she was actually sent a crib sheet of what questions and subject matter she 'may' be asked so to encourage her to come on. She declined. But we like to answer questions our celebs don't know and so these shows successful as the celebrities either do really well with the mostly easy questions or are indeed stupid for us to laugh at. No wonder they all have big smiles on Pointless.
The Mastermind general public version is a rather dated affair now and perhaps more famous for its big black leather chair, Magnus Magnusson and the Two Ronnie's sketch than the winners. The problem is the contestants really are normal looking people who generally want to test their brains and not on it for their looks and attitude. These guys memorize everything they now about their specialized subject after work every night and want to do very well to prove something to themselves. Why The History of Loganberries matters is something only they will know.
=== Some of the oddball specialist subjects===
• The History of the Existentialist and Phenomenological Philosophical Movement
• Routes to Anywhere in Mainland Britain by Road from Letchworth
• The Banana Industry
• Orthopaedic Bone Cement in Total Hip Replacement
• The Development of the Self-service Petrol Station, 1963-68
Creator Bill Wright based the game show on drawing inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II. The dramatic and menacing theme tune and the dimming lights did the rest. The pass thing was clever as it kept the game moving and penalized the dim contestants more. Recalling the player for their general knowledge round would be the second half of the show and the lowest scorer up first. Magnus would be form but fair and extremely charming.
===The Record Breakers===
According to Wikipedia in August 2010 a 'Jesse Honey' scored 23 out of 23 on "Flags of the World" in the specialist subject round, an all-time record. He finished as runner-up with a combined score of 36 points in the Champions of Champion event. The same year he blasted 23 out of 23 in the general knowledge in those same 140 seconds. Get a life comes to mind. No one is going to recognize him in the street for his achievement and I'm guessing he doesn't have too many friends. On Junior Mastermind, an 11-year-old schoolboy called Callum Smith scored 19 points on his specialist subject, cricketer Andrew Flintoff, a kid's record. I think it's fair to say Andrew Flintoff would not have got half that in the big black chair. The current record for the overall lowest score is 5 points, set by British Indian software analyst Kajen Thuraaisingham, scoring 4 points for his specialist subject of The Life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Pipe fitter and general chancer Mick Burton scored just 2 points on his specialist subject of 'Angels'.
The first winner was Nancy Wilson in 1972 and although women actually won the first three and then four out of the first seven they would win only 6 of the next 33, men having a winning record of 30 to the ladies 10 over the decades. The most famous winner is Fred Housego, mainly because he was a black cab driver in London. Alan Heath is the current champion.
It's not the most entertaining quiz show on TV as you have little chance of getting anything right in the first-half, unless they happen to do your specialist subject. It's second only to University Challenge and Eggheads for that frustration. But with your evening meal on your lap you can have a crack at the general knowledge and if you get into double figures then well done you.
Code breaking is becoming a lost art in today's school children, but the demand for young adults who understand code has soared. OK we're not really anticipating another Bletchley Park scenario, but computers are all based on code, and I don't think anyone can imagine a future in which the influence of computers wanes. Mastermind was invented by Mordecai Meirwitz, and Israeli telecommunications expert in 1970. It is thought to have been inspired by a MIT computer programme known as Moo from the late 1960's.
Mastermind -or Master Mind has been produced by a t least four manufacturers ( Invicta, Hasbor, Pressman and Orda) and with several modifications. I own the Invicta set shown above, which currently sells for £16.99 on Amazon. There is a cheaper set for £9.99, but it looks cheaper as well. It looks terribly fiddly, and while it is meant to be for up to five players, I really can't see this working. Mastermind works best as a two person game. I paid nearly as much for a used Invicta Version, but I am well pleased with it. It is a good sturdy plastic with a built in case to store the pegs. Unlike the newer version, this has a solid built in lid rather than something that looks more suitable for a takeaway. You get both code and scoring pegs and these fit very well into the slots, so there is no worry of them falling out if you wish to pick this up and move it in play.
Mastermind is listed for ages 8+ and many people feel it is too difficult for an 8 year old. It is actually used by prestigious US Universities to determine applicants aptitude for computer programming courses, and does present enough challenge for an adult. I quite enjoy the game myself. However - it can be made easier - with a few alterations you can make this game quite suitable for children as young as age 5. However you play it, as an adult it is unlikely you will reach your last chance without cracking the code. The idea is not just to beat the code, it assumed that you will. The idea is to beat it using as few moves as possible.
Set a number of games to play, and even number must be played to give each player an equal chance.
Choose who will be the first code maker.
The code maker places 4 coloured pegs in the code slot, which is hidden from his opponent. Each colour can only be used once.
The code cracker starts off playing 4 pegs in the slots at the far end. This first move is pure guesswork.
The code maker must score the code crackers code, giving a red peg ( may be black with an older set) for each peg of the right colour in the right space and a white peg for each peg of the right colour in the wrong space. The problem is - if you have one peg in the right place - you don't which one it is. But don't worry. You get 12 tries to figure it out and there are only 360 possible combinations, assuming you are playing with the rule that a colour can only be used once. If however, you eliminate the incorrect colours, you bring it down to 24 possible combinations, which is a lot more workable. This is game of elimination and deduction, which certainly has relevance in science as well as mathematics. You can learn as much by eliminating a possibility as discovering one, and your chances of beating this without systematic elimination are very slim. I have read there are maths algorithms which allow a player to crack any code in 5 moves. But I have not been able to find how to do this, and it would likely be over my head anyway. However, through systematic elimination, I have always been able to crack the code by the end of the board, unless I have done something stupid.
Scoring is simple. You simply add up the number of tries the code cracker used to crack the code and then reverse roles. The player with the most cracked codes will win if someone fails. Otherwise it is whoever has the lowest average number of moves to crack the codes. This really does require a lot of thought and is quite difficult for younger players. I would put the minimum age on this as 8, and even then there make well be some frustration. However you can make it easier.
HARDER VERSION FOR ADULTS: Allow colours to be used more than once. This increases the possible number of combinations to 1,296 while you still only have 12 guesses.
Super Easy Version suitable for ages 4 - 6
The code maker makes the code as usual, and the code breaker guesses with a random guess. The code maker uses the same scoring pegs, but tells the child which scoring peg is for which code peg. So if my code is blue, yellow, orange, white and my son guesses blue, green, purple and yellow. I place the red peg in a slot corresponding to the blue peg. He now knows this peg is correct and only has three more to work out. The white peg in the matching slot tells him that yellow is the correct colour, so he just needs to find the right place. Because there was no peg for green or purple, he knows to discard these and try other colours. There is absolutely no chance of losing with this game. The child will get the code before using up 12 guesses so frustration levels are reduced, but they are still using logic and elimination to find the correct code. This is the version I play with my five year old.
Easy Version for players 5 - 8
Beginning game play is the same, however, no white scoring pegs are used. If the player gets the correct peg I tell which peg is correct. He then only has 3 lots to fill and then 2 etc... My son had fun with this for awhile, but the fact that you can't lose makes it boring, as does the lack of elimination, so after awhile he tired of it.
Slightly less challenging version ages 7 -10.
This is a very simple way to make the game easier for a child and level the playing field when a child plays against and adult. Simply remove one or two colours from the code pegs for a younger player, and play according to the full adult rules. This is currently the version I play with my 8 year old.
As with all board games, simply spending time with a parent, talking and interacting one on one is meant to help children develop intellectually. Mastermind specifically teaches children to solve codes. It is used at the university level to teach mathematical algorithms and there are entire maths textbooks written on the game. Obviously, this is a bit above our level of understanding, but this does teach children to use logic, deduction and elimination to crack the code. If they should reach the last line without having cracked the code - it also teaches the value of an educated guess. This is very much a game of thought rather than chance, and if you should try to win by pure chance - or wild guesses your odds would be incredibly slim.
In addition, if playing a set of games simple addition and division are used to find the average number of moves used to beat the code. Children can determine the average number of moves needed to solve different variations on the game as well.
My oldest quite likes this game, and the youngest does enjoy it as well. I think the fact that we were able to start out easy and progress to a more difficult game made this more interesting, and you can keep increasing the difficulty so it does remain a challenge. My son does choose this game fairly regularly when asked to pick a game to play with me, so it is something he actually likes. I feel it is quite educational as well. l do enjoy this myself, and I feel that this a game which will never really be outgrown, so I certainly feel it is well worth adding to any family game shelf.
A digital version of Mastermind is available on several sites to play free online
Mastermind for Kids uses only 4 code markers - which are shaped as jungle animals. This makes the game much easier - but you can do this with a regular game for far less. The kids version will set you back nearly £40 for a new copy and doesn't look very well made , but used games are available in amore reasonable price range - £12.62 from Amazon.
Walt Disney Mastermind - looks beautiful for Disney collectors but as this is no longer in production and highly collectable the price on Amazon of £64 used rules it out as a child's game in my opinion.
There are also word, numbers, travel sized and a few other versions which have been produced as well as copycat versions in wood such as Brainmaster.
Mastermind is a two player code-breaking board game. The suggested age range is eight years old and over however I think it is probably better suited to slightly older children due to the amount of concentration needed and the potential to get frustrated!
===How to play===
Before starting the game, one player needs to be designated the code-maker and the other player will, by default, be the code-breaker. The code-maker selects four coloured pegs without the other player seeing and places these in a row of holes in the board but they are obscured by a plastic screen so they cannot be seen by anyone else. It is the code-breaker's job to guess the colours and positions of the pegs by placing a set of four pegs at the other end of the board. After each attempt the code-maker will mark the other players progess by placing either a black marker peg or a white marker peg in the smaller holes on the board. A white marker peg means that one of the colours has been guessed correctly and it is in the right position whereas a white peg means a colour has been guessed correctly but it is in the wrong place. So obviously the best outcome is 4 black marker pegs because that means you have completely cracked the code! The code-breaker uses this information to change some of the colours and their positions to see if they can improve upon the score they have been given. After one game is complete, you will then swap over and who ever cracks the other players code in the least attempts is the winner.
===Which edition is best?===
The mastermind game has been around since the 1970s and is therefore available in a large number of different editions and varieties. My grandparents have the original 1972 version of the game which is easier than the modern versions as there are only 6 different coloured pegs and therefore fewer possibilities but the pegs are stored in a separate box which is less convenient and the screen to shield the pegs from view is not attached to the board and easy to knock which ruins the game.
The version I own is the 1994 edition which I think is the best in terms of being of intermediate difficulty level and having a decent size/shape/colour of board. The newer editions just don't look as good in my opinion. The game includes many coloured pegs which are one of eight different colour possibilities (red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and white) and skinnier black and white marker pegs as well as a few red marker pegs to keep track of who is winning if you are keen enough to play more than 2 games in one sitting! The pegs are all kept in a compartment on the side of the board with a flip down lid which keeps them tidy when not in use.
===Hints and Tips===
The first attempt the code breaker makes will be a complete guess. (However you can make an educated guess as code-breaker because, in my experience, when playing as code-maker some people always pick their favourite colour to include in their code!)
If both players want a quicker game, you can decide in advance to only allow a particular colour to appear in the code once with no colour repetitions allowed. Alternatively you can agree to only use 6 of the colours for the code and the guessing to make life easier.
Don't play in dim light as the red and the pink pegs can look a like and the code-maker can mark you wrong which will throw a spanner in the works! (Unfortunately I have learnt this the hard way).
Ask the code-maker to double check your scores (especially if it is your brother and he is watching TV at the same time!!!!) as 9/10 it will just be that you a missing something obvious but sometimes this will result in: "Oh, sorry, that should have been a black marker, not a white one." Arrrghhh!
===Where to buy===
I would recommend buying Mastermind on secondhand on ebay or Amazon as it can be found there for around £5 plus postage (depending on the seller which is a good price. If you are interested in buying new I believe you can get it in Toys R Us but this will just be the most recent version.
I rate mastermind 4 stars as it is fun to play but requires a lot concentration and can get frustrating as it can be quite tricky to solve sometimes.
I unexpectedly came across this game in a shop. I remember playing it when I was a child and didn't even realise it still existed. There are a coupkle of slight amendments to the rules, for example, up to 5 people can play at a time now. I've not even looked how this works, maybe I'm a traditionalist or just stuck in my ways but I would rather keep it as a two player game, one person versus another. Tjhe board layout of the game has also altered, being brought more up to date and made to look a more modern and interesting, but the principle remains the same.
The aim of the game is for one person to select 4 different colours and the competitor then gets 12 attempts to select different coloured pegs and place them in the order that they think they may appear in the competitors selection. The person who has chosen the colours then scores each attempt by marking how many colours are correct and how many are in the correct place. However, the guesser doesn't know which ones so has to use logic and elimination skills to determine the correct combination.
I bought this game officially for my 9 year old daughter but I absolutely love playing it with her, and I have even played it with my own friends! Although she is intelligent she still finds the game quite challenging, yet great fun too.
It is a game where both participants are involved in the enjoyment just as much and it gives a wonderful oppurtunity to spend time with your child, intellectually stimulate them, and have great fun all at the same time.
In addition, it is such a welcome and refreshing change to play a game that doesn't require batteries, complicated 300 page instruction manuals or a screwdriver by your side!
If I had to pick any fault it would be that the game can get quite frustrating if you keep getting it wrong. This is no fault of the game itself though! Also, people with larger hands/fingers may find inserting the pegs a little fiddly but again, it's no big deal, don't ket that be enough to put you off the game!
A highly recommended buy for simple, fun, intelligent entertainment.
Years ago all we had to entertain ourselves on those wet and windy days were strange and very slow games consoles, such as the Sinclair ZX 80, 81 and Spectrum, then there was the commodore 64 for the more well off people back then.
But, if like me, money was a bit tight, it was down to staying dry and entertaining oneself using board games and the like, such as monopoly, cluedo, hang man, (although technically Hangman was played on a piece of paper, and other such games that were around at the time.
One of those games I played a lot back then was a game called mastermind, which, even though the name sounds the same, didn't involve a leather chair and a lot of questions; it involved a plastic moulded board with holes pierced into it in a patterned manner, several coloured pieces with rounded tops that slot into some holes and some smaller pegs which slot into other holes on the board.
Firstly, for those people who were born during the modern playstation/X-box/WII/DS/ era, here's a brief idea of how this none electronic game of mastermind is played
It can be a bit confusing, especially if it's your turn to try and solve the code.
A player chooses a code which consists of four colours.
There are four coloured 'pieces', those being purple, orange, blue and green. Then there's two different coloured 'pegs', white and orange.
A player, or the code maker as they're known, makes up a row of coloured 'pieces' in the secret code area, which hides behind a flap.
The second player, or the code breaker, then has to try and guess the colour combination of the code makers secret by placing the coloured pegs in the holes along the playing board.
Once the code breaker has placed a row of coloured pieces on the board the code maker then uses the white pegs to tell the code breaker that the coloured pieces are in the code but in the wrong position and the orange pegs to show that the coloured pieces are in the code and in the right position.
Although the pegs don't state which pegs are right and which are in the correct position.
The code breaker continues to place the coloured pieces in the rows until they either find the correct code or use up their 8, 10 or 12 attempts, (this depends on which version of the game you play). Each attempt at breaking the code is answered by the code maker using the orange and white pegs, without telling the code breaker exactly which colours are correct.
This sounds more confusing than it is, believe me. Once you've played a game you'll be amazed how simple, and somewhat addictive this game is.
My opinion...
When I first played this game, as a much younger person, a few years ago, I remember that I found it a good game to play, being interesting and involving a few tactics, in a way, together with a bit of brain power. So when I got hold of the up to date version I was glad that the idea had not changed at all, even if the design has.
I even remember the image on the box itself, with a rather odd looking man, who resembled a bad guy from the James Bond movies, sitting in a chair whilst a woman stands at his side. Sadly though, this new box image is totally different, showing the game board with several of the coloured pegs flying through the air as if showing that the game is a fast flowing one.
This new style game is more curvy, and as per usual, with the way they 'improve' things that don't need it, it makes the game slightly more 'confusing' looking, especially in the 'scoring' side, with the white and orange pegs being replace by white and red sliding 'counters', sort of, sticking out of the sides.
I much prefer the original game board as it was a lot easier to show which coloured counters were right and which weren't.
Don't get me wrong, the new style isn't bad, it's still a fun game to play, giving the 'guesser' or 'code breaker' the same confusion as the original version, trying to guess the colour formation within the 12 attempts, lining up the coloured counters from the bottom to the top until they 'crack the code'.
The good thing about this new style, although the original one was the same, is that it has a storage space for all the coloured pegs and counters, so that nothing should get lost, hopefully making the game survive longer than some games.
Setting it up can take a matter of minutes, depending on how quick you can separate the coloured pegs and counters, but once done your ready to play.
Each game can take about ten to fifteen minutes to play, but can be shorter if you crack the code, or longer if you 'take you time' a bit.
You do have to remember that there are many many small bits in this game and every single one of them can be picked up by a small person and will go straight into their mouths, which could cause choking. So make sure that those little hands stay well clear of those pieces and they don't try to eat them.
Now for the price of this compact game that will have you thinking so hard your brain will start to hurt.
This game sells for around the £15.00, with the travel version selling for about a tenner. But if you want to go back in time and get your hands on the original version than you can grab one from places such as E-Bay and may be a charity shop.
But, which ever one you buy, the way you play it is just the same.
In all, this game may look as if it should be played by toddlers at day care but it actually takes a bit of tactical play and the ability to work out which colour pegs belong where.
© Blissman70 2012
Mastermind Board Game
Dun Dun Dun Duuur duuur dun!
O.k. O.k. , so it doesn't sound the same when you read it off a screen as it does when you hear it on the TV. Good job I'm reviewing the Mastermind board game and not the TV show then. I'll move quickly on before the men in the white coats turn up.
Mastermind is another game I remember from my childhood in the seventies and it lined the shelves of all major toy stores from nineteen seventy onwards. It was of course nothing to do with the TV series and there's not a famous black chair in sight on the cover of the game box.
The Game Contents
The game consists of a plastic board with rows of holes in, which plastic pegs are placed, and is known as the decoding board. The board had a removable plastic strip or shield at one end to cover a section with four holes, which were separated from the other rows of holes. The rest of the holes lined up in ten rows of four and lined up with the four separate holes. Next to each row is four tiny holes in the shape of a square. These are the marking holes.
There are six different coloured pegs, namely: black, white, red, green, blue and yellow. There are twelve of each of these coloured pegs. There are also twelve small black pegs and twelve small white ones, used for marking.
The box has changed its design over the years (See pictures) and I will talk about that later on in the review.
Playing the Game and the Rules
For the purposes of this review I will refer to players as he and in no way intend to patronise the females reading this review. In other reviews I will use 'she'.
The game is played by two players aged eight and up. However, more than one person could play with one of the other players if the players were that way inclined, but generally it is a two player game.
One person must be nominated to be the person who makes up the secret code. He will be known as the 'Code Maker'. The other player then has the job of breaking the code and is known as the 'Code Breaker'. The secret code is basically a combination of any four coloured pegs, such as two red, one yellow and one blue.
The code Maker lays his four coloured pegs into the four separate holes at the top of the board. The code breaker must turn away while this is done. Once the Code Maker has his pegs in position he cover them with the shield. This enables only himself to see the combination. The code breaker is situated at the other end of the board and can only see the solid shield.
The Code Breaker has the rest of the coloured pegs at his disposal and can now place four of them into row one of the board to try and replicate the four colours behind the shield. In order to crack the code he must not only get the right coloured pegs but they must also be in the right position or the same position as the ones behind the shield. If you're looking down from whichever celestial plane your are housed in Grandfather, then this what I tried to explain to you all those years ago.
The Code Maker will then let the code breaker know if he has guessed any colours or positions correctly. A small black peg in the corresponding hole next to the row would denote a correct colour in the correct place, so that hole is all sorted. A small white peg and it would denote that the colour was right but the position was wrong. So if one black peg and one white peg were placed in the marking square after round one, then the Code Breaker would know he had one coloured peg in the right place and one correct colour but in the wrong place. So by way of deduction he know knew that the one coloured peg would be the same through all of his guesses at the code because he got one black peg. Now he would have to work out which one of the other three was the right colour but in the wrong place. He could do this by trying one of the colours in a different place on row two and changing the other two colours. If the white marker remained he would know he had the right colour but still in the wrong place. So by way of elimination he would now know it was in the wrong place twice and another hole has the correct pin in. So on turn three or row three he would then place that peg into the remaining hole he hadn't tried. This would give him two correct pegs now. However if the initial white peg had been removed he would know that the correct colour in the wrong place from row one was now one of the other two colours that he changed. It sounds more difficult than it is and once it is picked up you can have some really good games.
Each time a row is completed the Code Maker gets a point as his code has not been broken. If all twelve guesses are used then the code is not broken and the Code Maker gets an extra point. The two players then switch roles. The number of games you play is decided at the start of the game or you can simply play until you want to stop. The winner overall is the person who accumulates the most points. Simple!
The Games History
The game came in many shapes and forms dating back centuries and was mainly played with chalk on stone or at a later period pencil and paper. It has been know as Cow and Bull, Soldier Vs Spy and many other names.
In nineteen seventy, a former postman, who was the head of a telecommunications company, invented 'Mastermind'.
He was an Israeli by the name of Mordecai Meirowitz and still holds the rights to the game today (lucky guy).
He first put his idea together and sent it off to various game designers and game manufacturers. None of them wanted to touch it. How foolish were they? He eventually heard from a small, nondescript (no disrespect to them) company from Leicester in the UK.. Their name was Invicta Plastics. They helped Meirowitz with his design and decided to take a gamble on him and put the game on the market. What a gamble it turned out to be and good for them. The game went on to sell fifty million copies in eighty-three countries and was by far the best selling game of the seventies. If only the publisher who threw 'Harry Potter' manuscripts in the bin had read this before he made his rash decision.
Mastermind Over the Years
My parents got me the game in 1977, when I was ten years old and I can remember being quite the cockerel strutting about after untold victories against the, obvious, lesser mortals that were my grandparents, aunties and uncles.
I still remember the cover with the business type white guy with the Asian woman at his shoulder. I always thought she was his secretary.
I was really pleased to discover that these two got back together thirty years later for a new cover in the original poses (see pictures). How cool is that? Their names were Bill Woodward and Cecilia Fung and in June 2003 a new cover was used for the latest relaunch. They have aged pretty well, seeing as it was thirty-three years later.
In the Seventies Invicta gave license to Hasbro to manufacture the game for them around the world as the game had become so popular Invicta were too small a company to handle all the orders. They remained as producers of the game as a silent partner with Hasbro mass manufacturing the product to all and sundry.
Other games manufacturers, such as Pivotal, Gold Crest and Harrison Heath tried to bring out similar versions of the game using different boards and markers instead of pegs. None of them were successful however as they hadn't got the traditional look of the original mastermind.
Pressman Games faired a little better as did Parker Games as they stuck to the original using different packaging and went through Invicta to be the official sellers in the US, Israel and the Far East.
There is a lot of information available on the internet if you care to search it out but the usual modes of search such as Wikipedia and the likes are very disappointing and allude more to the math behind the combinations within the game than any real talk of how it is produced.
Invicta would later capitalise on the franchise by developing 'Mastermind 44' which was the same game but with four interlocking boards for four players and more appeal for parties or family games.
There have also been a variety of computer based games which can be played online or on mobile phones. They come under various names but all follow the same premise of the original game.
My Thoughts
I used to enjoy playing Mastermind and once I'd collected the pegs up from being used as hand grenades for my Action man's latest battle I would take great delight in trying to confuse or defeat my befuddled Grandfather, whom, I am sure, would let me win as he was a wily old geezer, may he rest in peace.
Mastermind is still an enjoyable game today and plenty of my friends and family still get it out for a game, especially at Christmas and I'm sure Mr. Meirowitz still raises a glass in toast on New Year's eve.
©Lee Billingham
Mastermind is a simple game involving 2 players, one to create a 5-peg code and the other to guess it. There are 8 colours of peg (red, green, blue, yellow, orange, black, brown and white), allowing 59000 permutations. The code maker conceals his code in a little hood and marks the code breakers attempts using white pegs (a colour is present but in the wrong place), black pegs (a colour is correct and in the right position) or no pegs (this colour is not present).
It is quite a difficult game, requiring logic, concentration and perseverence, similarly to chess but with less forward-thought and expertise required to be good at it. It is recommended for 8 years and over, and this is suitable as the difficulty of the game can be adjusted by either playing the marks for a code in the corresponding holes (so if the code maker puts a black marking peg in the hole on the right, then the code breaker knows that their coloured peg on the right is correct) to make the game easier, or for adults not doing so.
A game of one round (where one code is made and broken) typically takes about 12 minutes if the code is found in about 7 goes, but the number of goes can vary between 4-11. This makes it a good quick coffee-table game, along with many card games, Boggle etc.
A disadvantage is that the code maker may become a bit bored, because they have less involvement in the game. This is why it is good to have time for a few rounds, taking in in turns to make and break the code.
Though simple, this is an addictive and challenging game worth having in any family games cupboard.
Mastermind is another one of those classic games, where the structure of the game is so simple, however becoming a master is very hard work.
~~ Contents of the game ~~
When you first open the box, you see a very nice tray, with ten to twelve rows of four large holes, all set out in a line, and a final row of four holes behind an orange cover. For the first twelve rows of holes, to one side of them, there are four much smaller holes set out in a two x two square formation.
To the left of all of this is a massive covered area, containing different coloured pegs inside. However a dire warning, this is the ONLY time you will see the game as neatly presented as this, once that peg compartment is open, they gte everywhere.
Anyway, the pegs come in two different sizes, large and small in order to fit the different sizes of holes.
The larger pegs come in eight different colours (which sometimes vary depending on which version you have, and the colours I am describing apply to the set I have in front of me.)
The smaller pegs come in two different colours (also sometimes change upon set variety.)
According to the instruction leaflet, which is also provided with the game there are 12 large pegs in each colour, as well as 15 small pegs of each colour.
~~ Playing Mastermind ~~
Mastermind is a two player game, and the first decision you make before playing is who will set the code, and who will try to break it.
Whilst the person trying to break the code looks away, the person setting the code takes four of the bigger pegs (any colour combination) and places them in the final row of four holes (the one that is hidden from view.) Be aware at this point not to be in a room with any mirrors, as if people are tempted with cheating, they will cheat.
Once the code has been set the other player looks back and now has to try and guess the code that has been set. They have to choose from the eight different coloured pegs to place into the holes.
(The eight colours in my set are: white, red, yellow, orange, purple, blue, magenta and green. This can cause some problems as I will explain later.)
Back to the the rules: once they have chosen their combination, the combination is ranked.
Using the smaller pegs, you must score there guess by the following system:
Red peg = right colour in the right place
White peg = right colour in the wrong place
You can put these in any of the four holes, as they bear no correllation to the position of the guess. This way your opponent has to use their brain to deduce which colours are in the right places.
This continues until they have successfully worked out the code.
Then the tables are turned and you have to figure out their code. The winner of the game is the person who does it in the least moves.
~~ Alternatives ~~
For some players this variation of the game is too simple, if that is the case then you can add these features:
1. For a very slight increase make the rule: the same colour can be used twice in the sam combination.
2. For a major step-up in difficulty, include spaces in the combination. I have played this variation before and it is very difficult to get it within ten goes.
~~ Difficulties with the game ~~
There are a few difficulties with this game though. Firstly, you ALWAYS run out of one colour. There are only twelve of each colour, yet you always end up running out of one and having to use one from a previous guess to fill in.
You always run out of the marker pegs (small pegs) and have to take them from earlier guesses.
Some of the colours can be hard to distinguish, especially in certain lights. This happens mainly with reds and oranges, and blues and greens (as greens are more cyan in colour.)
Finally, and most of a nightmare: however careful you are, there is always one person who knocks the tray and all the pegs go everywhere. It is almost inevitable when my family plays this game (especially when grandma's had a bit too much brandy!) and also don't bother sorting big pegs from little pegs, they only move back and mingle with each other.
~~ Summary ~~
This is a great game, suitable for the ages of children, 6+ I'd say, as the pegs can be choking hazards for younger children.
My one message to you: you will always regret it when you say: "that can't be right, it's impossible for it to be anything else" as you will have missed something or your friend may have marked it wrong. However, most of the time it's one combination you've missed and then you feel like a complete fool for missing it.
Due to the fiddliness of the pegs however and lack of distinguishable colours, I will give it 4*.
~~ Oh wait.. ~~
Did anyone else find the brain in the jar on one of the old adverts for this eally disgusting? lol leave me a comment
by jessyclown on 01.02.2002 at 22:57 I see you are new to dooyoo. I hope you enjoy reading and writing opinions. If have a good look at some of the better opinions you will see what people give good ratings for. If you read and rate other people's opinions they may read and rate yours thats what it is all about! by Gwenick on 01.02.2002 at 23:01 Here's a tip. Spend more time on each opinion. Only post one a day (at most) and read and rate other people opinions. You'll get more read (and therefore more money) that way. As it is you are doing what is known as 'churning' - and people won't read you at all! Gwen by MALU on 01.02.2002 at 23:42 That's right! One look at the number of your ops and I stay away. Malu Comments on the opinion by KingHerrod on 02.02.2002 at 10:58 Hi and welcome to the site, I see you submitted 20 reviews on your first day. Take it from me that will not make you any money and most of the reviews probably will not help consumers a great deal either. My best advice to you is to have a peek at the community page, at the premier reviews and the advice to new members. Have a read around the site and have fun, but by posting a large number of reviews straight away, you may get yourself a bad name. I noticed nobody had rated this review yet. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me, the address is on my profile page, just click on my name. by MonsterSpice on 01.02.2002 at 23:34 Please stop churning and why did you rate my last opinion SU when everyone else did VU spite I think and I have sent a note to dooyoo about it. You are knocking all the serious members out of the latest list and ruining the enjoyment for others. Mark Thanks, you are all so kind. Goodbye.
Mastermind is a thinking - preson's game, requiring logical thought and concentration, rather than knowledge of trivia like the TV programme of the same name. I played this a few times when I was younger, and could never get into the blasted game - it was infuriating. Basically, you have to make up a secret code, consisting of four pegs, each peg can be any of four differnt colours, thus giving lots of possible combinations. This code is tucked away behind a secret screen. Your opponent then has to place pegs in holes on the board, trying to guess your code. Your opponent has to try and guess the code before he or she runs out of rows (each row representing one guess). If not, you win. However, you have to give them a bit of help, naturally. So if they place a peg of the corret colour in the correct hole, you have to tell them. You also have to tell them if they place a correct colour peg in a hole, but it's the wrong hole. By using this information and a process of elimination, your opponent might be able to work it out. Sounds an interesting challenge. The problem with the game is that you then spend the rest of the afternoon finding where all the tiny pegs have got to,. You'd be surprised where they kep turning up. Apart from that, this game is a cheap board game that will get you thiking, but to be honest, it just doesn't have the playability to keep you coming back for more.
This is an incredibly simple game to set up and play but it is totally absorbing. One player sets up four coloured pegs in a row of holes. A cover protects these so that the opponent cannot see them. By a process of elimination and guesswork the opponent has to guess what colour the pegs are and in which position. The opponent puts down his own row of four pegs and the first player has to say whether any of them are – a. the right colour in the right place b. the right colour but in the wrong place Th opponent is not told WHICH of the pegs are correct though, that's something they have to work out for themselves! The opponent then makes a further guess of four pegs and receives the same information about these. The guesses and results remain on the playing board for the duration of the game so that the opponent can use them to work out which are the correct pegs in each guess. The idea is to guess the colour and placement of the four pegs in the shortest number of moves. This requires a lot of lateral thinking and logic. It exercises the brain without you having to remember a set of complicated rules. If you can't get anyone to play with you get the PC game and play against the computer! We used to play a version at college called 'bulls and cows' using two bits of paper and a row of four numbers instead of pegs. A bull was a correct number in the correct place and a cow was a correct number but in the wrong place.
If you are a person who likes brainteasers and have a great deal of patients, then you will like this game. Mastermind is a two-player game that starts off with one person setting up a four-colour code (i.e. Red, green, blue, and yellow) and the other person has to guess what that code is. The only clues you have are two pegs. One is white, the other black. You get a white peg for a colour that is right but in the wrong place and a black peg for a colour that is in the right place. If this sounds all to confusing then do not be put off. Give it a try, you will be amazed how you will grow to like this game, especially when you get it right within nine goes. To play this game you do need two of you who like this type of brain game otherwise it is a waste of time, unless you by the pc version where you can play against the computer.
Another one of the classic's and another game that will still be around for many years to come. Having the same name as a now retired TV programme, it bares no similarity. No questions and no big black chair. It is a thinking game and ideal for adults and children alike. My 8 year old likes to play this with me and is still learning. He likes to be the one that sets out the code. The game comes in standard, Super and Deluxe with extra holes for those that have mastered the standard version. Basically, someone is the code maker and the other person is the code breaker. They line up a set of coloured pegs behind a little screen and you have to find the correct code. The code maker helps you along by placing white pegs if you have entered a correct colour but in the wrong hole and a black peg if you have entered the correct colour in the correct hole. But which is which? That is what the code breaker must find out by using trial and error and looking back at his past lines of coding. Fairly priced for what you get and an excellent stocking filler.
The simple games are the best and this is no exception and is actually quite an intellectually challenging game, and can really further you child's mental thinking. Basically it's a game of deduction for 2 players. There are 6 different coloured pegs, one player chooses a four peg combination and the basic idea is for the opposing player to guess the combination. This player has ten attempts of placing pegs in the right order, and this requires a bit of luck at first but then a bit of brain power to work our which pegs are right and which aren't. It's a nice, traditional game and in the travel form can really help a car journey pass along nicely. Overall it's challenging and good fun although as with most 'traditional' games if you play it non-stop for hours it gets boring.
A very simple challenge, but a very frustrating game. The idea is simple enough. Choose a combination of coloured balls/pegs and your opponent has a set number of turns to guess, not only the number of different colours, but also the exact sequence you have them in. Each guess you grade according to how many correct colours they've guessed and whether any of them are in the correct order. It's all very logical and, theoretically, easy to do, but incredibly frustrating when you're sure you've got it sussed, only to find you're certain answer is wrong and you've just run out of turns to guess it in! It has, though, limited appeal and is a game that you can tire of quickly. If you can't think logically, you'll be bored and, if you can, you'll consistently guess correctly and the challenge will be gone.


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DEJECTED Jeff Softley says he was "shocked" after receiving the news in a 30-second phone call that he was sacked as Downton manager.
Softley, pictured, had a difficult season at the helm as the Robins finished second from bottom in Wessex Premier.
For the majority of the campaign he was left managing a depleted squad as injuries and missing players took its toll.
But the former manager, who spent eight seasons in control, couldn't believe his time had come to an end over the phone on Sunday, May 4.
"I'm still struggling to come to terms with it," said Softley.
"However, I did have a bad feeling about my future when I was in the bar after the last game of the season. But I was shocked to be sacked over a short phone call and not even be pulled in for a meeting.
"I'd already been in the process of sealing a sponsor for next season - I'm just very disappointed.
"The lads have been good, calling and texting me to thank me for my time as manager. Fellow league coaches have also been in contact."
The former Bemerton Heath Harlequins coach led Downton to the Wessex Division title in 2010/11 and he secured a sixth place finish – the highest in their history - the following season.
Softley also brought three Hospital Cups to Wick Lane.
Meanwhile, Softley is still keen to stay in management and has already had two offers from local clubs, including one in the Wessex Premier.
He added: "I don't want to be out of football yet.
"I have to do what's best for my family and I will be thinking carefully about the offers."
Colin Hopkins has succeeded Softley as manager and budding coach Jack Brooks is his assistant.

subset: commoncrawl


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Actress Gillian Anderson has split from her partner of six years, Mark Griffiths.
The couple, who never married, have sons Oscar, five, and Felix, three together.
Anderson's rep confirmed their split, stating, "Gillian Anderson and her partner Mark Griffiths have amicably separated after six years together."
Anderson has been married twice before. She was married to film art director Clyde Kotz and they had a daughter together, Piper, 17, before their split in 1997.
The "X Files" actress was married to documentarian Julian Ozanne for two years before they split in 2006.
Click thumbnails for larger pictures
Images: wenn.com


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Timeliness of successive bladder surgery
Three months ago, I had a sling release surgery from a urethral sling obstruction I had implanted a month prior to that. During the release, I had a small perforation of the bladder neck and not sure if it healed. I have since been diagnosed with a diverticuli around the bladder neck, and a possible fistula, slight urethral scar tissue, and something is hanging down in my vagina. (prolapse?) I got a first opinion from the original urologist and I have another opinion scheduled in a month and a half. I have significant stress and urinary incontinence, but have no UTI`s or pain or problems otherwise. The urologist I will be seeing hinted that he might look at taking this sling out. My question is: If I wait another 5 weeks for my second consult for surgery, am I probably going to be fine waiting until then or should I get a second opinion someone where else sooner? Is time of the essence? I just heard that the longer one waits, the harder it is to get these out? Maybe I should see if someone else can see me sooner? Also, will my fistula become worse if I wait that long? The original doctor recommends a fistula and diverticuli repair with a Martius flap and a Bio-Arc sling. The second opinion is pending and I am worried that 5 weeks is too long? Just want to be sure I am doing the right thing. Thank you so much.
I thought you had the sling removed? It is difficult to remove the entire sling after weeks. I assume a piece of it is still there to bother you. The second opinion you have obtained sound practical. Time is the best healer if you don't have a fistula. But if you do have the fistula, the repair suggested is a good idea. Don't confuse yourself with more opinions.
Ahmad Hamidinia, MD
Formerly, Professor of Clinical Surgery
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati


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Powdersurfing Chronicles: Part 2 – The Wolle Nyvelt Project
Words: Josh Ruggles
Photos: Chris Owen
For several years Nyvelt has been getting us used to the idea of surfing and skating snow. In his video parts with Absinthe Films it has become commonplace for him to have at least a few shots of bindingless pow turns.
In the next dosage of Powdersurfing Chronicles we take a look at the legendary Austrian's latest project, Asmo. The powder surfers that everyone wants to get their hands on are soon enough going to be available to more than just homies, Nyvelt explains.
"We have been giving them out to close friends and people we respect… Right now though, we think we found a good balance on shapes and want to make some boards for people next season."
In the winter of 2006, Nyvelt and long time friend Steve Green began shaping boards. An idea sparked from 70's snowboard designs and the more recent Salomon Pow Skate and Burton Fish.
"We just wanted to catch that feeling of shaping our own boards and then riding them," Nyvelt said.
Terje Haakonsen putting down a nice slash in Niseko, Japan | Photo: Owen | FULL GALLERY
Being arguably the closest snowboarding has ever come to surfing, the process in construction is also more surf inspired. No bindings, no clips — just shaped wood and padded tops make Nyvelt's designs a new way to get pitted. More similar to building a hull of a boat than a snowboard, many of the shapes are pintail or swallow to allow maximum control and front end float.
"Because you ride without bindings, the lines you draw are different and you have to plan your line down a mountain; much like riding a wave," adds Nyvelt.
Depending upon the technicality of the shape, one board can take six to eight hours of pressing and shaping. And after roughly 40 shapes, Nyvelt and Green have 15 or so solid shapes capable of riding a wide range of conditions.
"The steeper it gets, the more control you want and the flatter it is, the more speed you want. It's a balancing act depending where and what you want to ride," said Nyvelt.
The potential for the niche industry is still unknown, but one could be sure that the snowboard community will be seeing more powder surfing in the years to come. When it comes down to it, in the minds of the riders like Nyvelt and Green, it's just about making turns.
Nyvelt adds, "I always liked that quote from Steve Lis, were he said 'We're just gonna keep surfing and keep making boards and it doesn't matter what the media or industry thinks because it wasn't about them to begin with.'"
As snowboarding makes its way into every corner of the snow capable world, it is clear there will always be a demand for new and innovative products. While some fall to the wayside like those ridiculous jester snow hats, powder surfing has the potential to be something that sticks around.
"Snowboarding is getting older and our history is getting more and more interesting. All in all, people and the industry got way more open minded, I think. And if you look at some places in Japan, this could be something we see more around the globe," explains Nyvelt.
Keep your eyes and ears open as Nyvelt and Green are currently gearing up their product lines and will be selling their boards this fall.
Vertical sequence: Terje Haakonsen in Niseko, Japan | Photo: Owen
Want more? Check out part one of the Powdersurfing Chronicles with Grassroots Powdersurfing.


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Editor's note: The following commentary was written by Suzie Wilde, the wife of a Texas family farmer and originally posted on the Texas Agriculture Talks website.
I kiss a family farmer.
Some of the land he farms has been in his family for almost 100 years. He does all the work himself at this point in his farming career, except for harvest time when two or three other folks have to help. Often those are even all family members, including his town-dwelling wife, at times. (I can pack a pretty tight module, if I do say so myself.) But lately I have come to realize that many of those out there who are critics of farming think that the farmer I kiss should not be allowed to be called a family farmer.
They think that he has too much land, too many tractors, a barn that is too big… They contend that he is "big ag" or "corporate farming."
This leads me to look for a definition of any family business. There is a family here in town who owns my three favorite Mexican restaurants.
Because they own three restaurants, does that disqualify them from being a family business? Are you only allowed to own one restaurant to be a family business? Can that family hire employees to bus tables or do only family members have to bus tables? If the farmer I kiss only owned one tractor, would the critics then let him be called a family farmer?
Sounds a bit bizarre when you put it in these terms, but often bizarre ideas are quicker to float around the social media world than truths and facts.
I recently saw a comment on a blog post which reflected the opinion that most farmland is being farmed by corporations. I cited the EPA's numbers that show 98 percent of farmers are family farmers.
The commenter promptly said that may be so, but those 98 percent only farm 2 percent of the land. He had no information to cite for his numbers, which is pretty common on the Internet. Just make something up and throw it out there.
Other facts from USDA show that his comment is completely incorrect.
I have been around farmers and farming since the day I was born. I have yet to personally know some huge, faceless corporation that farms. Where are they? Who are they? So I started looking at all the farmers I know more closely.
I do, in fact, know some corporate farmers. I won't use names, because it's just plain rude to start talking about folks on the Internet without their permission. But, for example, let's take a dad and his two sons who farm about 2,500 acres with lots of tractors and plows. They have their operation set up as an LLC, a limited liability corporation. This makes very good business sense, and it provides some protection of their home and personal assets from lawsuits against the LLC. Now, the dad and his sons do 98 percent of all the work. They drive all the tractors, plant all the crops, harvest all the acres (except maybe an extra person or two to build modules at harvest, which most likely is a nephew or the farmer wife they kiss.) But, since the dad and the two sons operate under "Dad & Sons Farms, LLC," do they no longer get to be considered family farmers? Are they now a huge, faceless corporation? No.
It seems to me that a lot of this labeling or refusing to allow a label may be a reflection of the class warfare being waged in our country. There are those who want to put a limit on what is okay to have or have not.
If Farmer One has too many acres, he is too big, he can't be considered a hard-working family farmer. Is it only Farmer Two, who has a five-acre garden he handpicks himself, who can be considered a hard-working family farmer?
Is it really too many acres, or is it that Farmer One appears to be more successful than Farmer Two? I hope our country is not going toward a time when the American dream of running a successful family business of any size will be looked upon as a bad thing.
I have decided to create the definition of a family farmer that will apply to this blog site for the rest of the blog's life: Family Farmer (noun)–a person or persons growing food, fiber and fuel who are actively engaged in the day-to-day operation and process of growing a crop, regardless of the size of the operation or processes.
The person or persons must care for and about the land they use to grow the food, fiber and fuel. They must go about the growing process in a responsible manner, following strict guidelines set forth by the USDA, FDA and EPA.
I kiss a family farmer. Follow our adventures on http://www.facebook.com/KissedAFarmer or http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com.


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Loras College
ONLINE REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED! Please call 563.588.7170 to purchase tickets.
Cheer on President Collins ('84) as he throws the first pitch! U.S. Cellular Field | August 14, 2013 White Sox vs. Detroit Tigers | 1:10 pm
Ticket Package | $30 per personTicket and Transportation* | $58 per personGroup Transportation* Package | $50 per person (minimum of 6 tickets) Packages includes: reserved outfield ticket, Loras t-shirt, koozie, tailgate food prior to game, roundtrip bus travel from Dubuque to Chicago* Transportation check - in | Keane Hall Parking Lot | 6:30 a.m.Please arrive in Keane Hall parking lot at 6:30 a.m. to begin the check-in process. Parking will be available in the lower lots. Buses will depart the Keane Hall at 7:00 a.m. Small coolers are allowed on the bus - NO GLASS BOTTLES. The buses will depart U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago immediately following the game. There are no scheduled stops between Loras and U.S. Cellular Field, in either direction.
Tailgate | Lot A | 11:00 a.m.The tailgate will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Lot A. Click here to view the map. Food will be provided by Loras College Campus Dining/ARAMARK. Please bring your own coolers (NO GLASS BOTTLES) for the tailgate as additional drinks will not be available until we enter the game. Tickets | T-shirtsTickets and t-shirts will be distributed at the tailgate to the person that reserved the tickets. A Photo ID is required in order to receive tickets. Seats | Sections 157, 158, 159 | Enter Stadium by 12:30 There are three sections in the outfield (sections 157, 158, 159) just off third base with large blocks of seats reserved for Duhawks.To ensure viewing and cheering on President Collins as he throws the first pitch, we will need to enter the stadium at 12:30 p.m. We will enter through Gate 5 near our tailgate location. Game time is 1:10 p.m.
Privacy policy | ©Loras College | 1450 Alta Vista St., Dubuque IA 52001 | 800.245.6727


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San Francisco -- As consumers await the debut of Apple's iPhone 5, two retailer applications are now ranked among the Top 20 "bestsellers" free apps as ranked by Apple.
Target ranks No. 8 overall and Walgreens No. 10 as of Thursday.
Target version 5.5.1 now allows users to receive coupons directly in the app and scan them in the store and is compatible with Apple's latest iPhone operating system iOS 6. And now search results on the Target app can be filtered by price, in-store or online availability and color.
Walgreens version 3.2.1 brings to life the company's just-introduced loyalty card program Balance Rewards with the new update.


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VALLEJO (MNG) -- A Lakeport man was arrested in Vallejo Sunday morning on suspicion of drug possession and parole violation.
Vallejo police took Jean Valencia, 27, into custody about 10:30 a.m. following a traffic stop in the city, Lt. Kenny Park said.
Officers pulled Valencia over, determined he was on parole and searched the car, Park said. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and methamphetamine in addition to the alleged parole violation.


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|May 1, 2002
Volume 4, Issue 18
|Midwifery Today E-News
"International Midwives Day"
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DOULA PROGRAM IN CHINA is one of the presentations you will hear when you attend the Midwifery Today conference in Guangzhou.
"Healthy Birth"
Get the full program online. The three-day conference will have components of Midwifery Today conferences as well as the presentation of several papers. Chinese doctors have been asked to arrange for midwives to be present as well as doctors, and it has been noted that we are interested in Chinese medicine. A hospital focused on the practice of Chinese medicine is located across the street from Shamin Island, where our venue is located.
INNOVATIVE MIDWIVES: Midwifery Today literally searches the world for them. Then we bring those midwives to you for the most in-depth learning experiences.
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Get the full program online. A two-day midwifery education conference precedes three days of international conferencing.
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Quote of the Week
"We must give women the opportunity to challenge their fears, work with them, and birth through them. Not only will this change each woman, it will change the political and medical climate in which they make these choices."
- Connee L. Pike-Urlacher
The Art of Midwifery
For herbs to help restore the body's balance after a miscarriage, my favorite recipe is licorice root, sarsaparilla, blessed thistle, black haw (or cramp bark), and squaw vine (partridge berry). Mix equal parts and take one heaping tablespoon in boiling water in this way: week 1, 1 cup a day; week two, one cup every other day; then progress to letting three days go by between cups, and finally choose a day for your last cup.
- Raven, Midwifery Today Forums
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News Flashes
Researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine searched the Utah Population Database to identify a study group of 298 men and 237 women born between 1947 and 1957 whose mothers had preeclampsia during their pregnancy. They identified 947 offspring of the men and 830 of the women. Characteristics of the pregnancies were compared with those of matched control subjects unaffected by preeclampsia and their offspring. In the male study group, 2.7% of offspring were the product of a pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia, compared with 1.3% of offspring of male controls. For women, the rates were 4.7% in the study group and 1.9% in the control group. Researchers concluded that there is a paternal as well as a maternal component to the predisposition to preeclampsia.
- N. Engl. J. Med. 2001 344:867-872, 925-926
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Midwifery Today is proud to present Having a Baby Today!
Are you a midwife, doula or other birth professional? Check out Having a Baby Today and make sure your clients have the information they need to make responsible, informed choices.
Celebrating International Midwifery
This is a story of a 9-year-old boy who woke up on the Three Kings' night and got the most beautiful present he could imagine. He witnessed the birth of a baby, his nephew. He saw two strong women, brave, alone. He saw how the mother hugged her daughter and helped her grandson be born. No men were present, just women and two male children -- the newborn and the one who was watching through a crack in the door. The others were not aware of the boy's presence. Nobody saw him, but for the boy that was the best present ever. He saw something magical, secret, unforgettable, something that filled his eyes with awe and admiration. The boy turned away and went to bed, but he couldn't sleep. He thought it would be wonderful to have those feelings forever. He wanted to see babies being born. Time passed and life made that boy's wish become a reality.
This is my story, the reason I assist homebirths. When I assist homebirths, my eyes still keep that boy's look. I'm amazed and full of admiration in the presence of birth. When I assist at a birth, I'm not there as a man but as a human being with the innocence of a child.
- Jésus Sanz
The Philippines
I have fought to save the life of a newborn and lost. I have held a dead infant in my arms and sobbed over the loss of her life. I will never forget the feel of her silky hair or the sound of her mother's anguished cries as we handed her a tiny bundle. I have slid down a wall, pulled my knees to my chest, and wished I was dead.
I have fought to save the life of a newborn and won. I have forced air into tiny lungs, seen her skin turn pink and her limbs flex. I rejoiced to see her lower lip quiver as she gathered her strength to scream in protest. I wrapped her up and gave her to her mother, who reached out for her child, crying with relief. I have fallen to my knees in gratitude, knowing that this life easily could have been taken. I have seen only a fraction of the poverty and suffering that is endured here daily, and it wrecks me. I have felt God's heart for the poor and I know with all that is in me that the love he holds for them is strong, tangible and unwavering.
- Amy, student midwife
United States
Strengthening midwifery for the future will require us to overcome our fears of professionalization. Without it, there would be no hospital-based midwifery care at all. If we want midwives to be available for our grandchildren and their children, we midwives will have to commit to high professional standards, to creating reliable mechanisms by which one can make a living at midwifery, and to being accountable to women for our practices. We will also have to accept responsibility to refer pregnant or laboring women to medical providers when we reach the limit of our expertise. Our goal should be autonomous practice regardless of setting. I would like to see a midwifery practice that is accountable to women and their needs rather than to corporate needs or to the requirements of other professions.
To those who believe gaining professional status means a necessary loss of autonomy, I would say the autonomy some homebirth midwives have now is extremely fragile in those states that have not yet legitimized the practice of direct-entry midwifery. Many midwives are still one fetal death away from discipline, not by their professional colleagues but by the criminal justice system. And when these midwives reach the end of their working years, there are not likely to be replacements for them unless we who are midwives now create the foundations for the future of midwifery. Individuals, regardless of talent and competence, cannot erect such foundations. It must be a cooperative effort.
- Ina May Gaskin
From the West we look to India for what our souls have lost. From here in the East there is a gaze toward the West for what glistens in the name of progress. The two worlds have offerings to make to one another, and from my vantage point of Southeast Asia I see the human spirit here being weakened in the exchange. With regard to childbirth, there are gains in the availability of emergency care, but the traditions around women's fertility and childbearing power are being highly threatened by the trend to give birth in a hospital setting...
There are 700,000 traditional healers and dais (midwives) in India. Seventy percent of the nation's babies are born at home, and the dai's work is a living tradition. Ironically, modern hospitals and public health clinics fully represent allopathic medicine. A precarious balance is being kept here between these paradigms of care. Women are being coerced and convinced by government advertising programs to leave the home and all that is traditional to give birth in environments that suggest safety and promise degradation. It is my feeling that we face a highly critical time here of losing a primal force -- an ancient way -- to a superficial, transient understanding of the birth process.
- Diane Smith
UNICEF began a small-scale program call Cultural Adaptation in Maternal Health. The program trained doctors and midwives to accept that mothers have fewer problems with delivery if they are at home, that the area must be warm and private, that most women prefer female providers and that most women want family members inside the delivery room. The project was able to help the Ministry of Health implement workshops to finally look at birth from the perspective of the mother.
Meanwhile, professional midwives were receptive to the idea of supervised birth, a practice that many midwives have used with great success. In a supervised birth, both the partera and obstetriz are present in the home or health center with the mother during delivery. In ideal circumstances in which there is sufficient trust between the two, the partera would actually attend the birth with the obstetriz present. Experience has shown that most obstetrices who work with parteras are informed early on of pregnant women in the community, thereby improving the chance for early and continued prenatal care. Parteras have much more respect and trust in the community and it behooves obstetrics to work with them. By the third year of the project, the number of reported maternal deaths was down dramatically.
- Ruth Madison
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Question of the Week: Aromatherapy and Labor
Q: Will readers please share any tips/experiences for using aromatherapy during labor?
- Anonymous
Send your responses to:
Question of the Week Responses: Herbs for Hemorrhage
[Editor's note: This is an edited version of this column when it was mailed May 1, 2002.]
Q: What are your favorite herbs (and amounts) for postpartum hemorrhage? What has not worked? Have you ever felt that you could not keep a hemorrhage under control with herbs and bimanual compression until a mother could be transported to a hospital?
- Amy Kieffer, student midwife
A: We have had very good luck with strong shepherd's purse tea. Two quarts of water and 2 handfuls of shepherd's purse is boiled for about 5 min, left to steep until cool (or until we need it -- whichever comes first), then is strained. We give it to mom only in the case of moderate to severe portpartum bleeding and hemorrhage. It works most of the time.
A: When I apprenticed I learned that the first treatment for a hemorrhage is to say loudly and clearly "STOP BLEEDING." Most women are in an altered state of consciousness, and sometimes this strategy is enough to stop a hemorrhage. I have used it with success. If this treatment doesn't work I've seen black cohosh do the trick. Occasionally a full bladder can cause a woman to bleed, and simply emptying the bladder will work.
Know a strong woman? Helping empower one? If you haven't already done so, please forward this issue of Midwifery Today E-News to one or two of your friends or business associates. Thanks so much!
In response to mom's size and ability to birth [Issue 4:17]:
- Ann Mcleod Taylor
I am a 4'9" woman who gave birth 8 months ago to my first baby. I had a vaginal birth with the aide of my doula using hypnobirthing. I did not have any drugs or episiotomy (but I did tear). My labor was easy, and delivery was very quick. My baby was 8 lbs. 12 oz. and very healthy. I for one believe height has nothing to do with prolonging a vaginal birth. If anything, it quickens it because your birth canal should be shorter (by assumption, not medically speaking). I am a true believer in relaxation! The more relaxed you can be and just let your body do its thing, the easier it will be for your baby to birth and for you to give birth.
- Jessica
How do we think the human species survived all these centuries before the last few decades of medical care? Women in New Guinea and Latin American Indian tribes are most often under five feet, and they must be having babies -- their groups continue to exist! I personally have attended the births of two women under five feet. Both had very nice births, no different than anyone else. One of them has six children, the last five of which were born at home. I've also attended the births of numerous women in the five foot and just-over range; they did fine and so did their babies. I don't see height as a determining factor in birth. It is simply one contributing factor, along with dozens of others.
- DJ Graham
In response to Dr. Parke Hedges [Issue 4:16]:
- Sara Ferguson, CNM,
In response to physicians doing more c-sections to get paid more [Issue 4:17]:
- Anonymous
If more obstetricians cared about the well being of women and not money, they would educate their patients about pregnancy and childbirth; they would practice preventative care and teach their patients about proper nutrition during pregnancy; they would teach their patients how to deal with labor through education and relaxation instead of giving them drugs; they would not count on electronic monitoring for assessment of labor, etc. The studies are out there for them to follow, yet they ignore them. Our maternal and infant mortality rates and the increase in low birth weight and premature birth rates certainly speak for themselves. Yes, doctors are practicing defensive medicine because they CHOOSE not to approach pregnancy and birth as a natural event, and they choose to do c-sections on women who do not need them, and yes, they are making more money for it. If doctors took a different approach to pregnancy and childbirth and truly educated women and practiced preventative medicine, they would not have the malpractice claims they do.
- Mandy Wyche Viator, natural childbirth educator, AAHCC
EDITOR'S NOTE: Only letters sent to the E-News official e-mail address, firstname.lastname@example.com, will be considered for inclusion. Letters sent to ANY OTHER e-mail addresses will not be considered.
The International School of Traditional Midwifery in Ashland, Oregon is accepting enrollment for 2002 classes that start in May. For information call 541-488-8273, or go to http://www.globalmidwives.org
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Midwifery Today: Each One Teach One!


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Batista!! Idea how to use him
by, 05-22-2012 at 10:22 AM (5675 Views)
just thought i'd write a blog on a idea i come up with on how to bring batista back and how to use him
now we all know batista left because he didnt like the pg product ( with the majority of the iwc and other wrestling fans agreeing that they dont like it pg) infact this is what batista said after leaving ....
* Batista said he left WWE last year because he no longer fit with their product. He dislikes WWE's kid-friendly direction, saying there is nothing kid-friendly about Dave Batista. Batista said WWE's direction leaves a bad taste in his mouth as it's too unbelievable and hokey. He feels he became disconnected from the industry and became unhappy with it. Though he still believes in WWE as a company, he doesn't think there is a place for him anymore.
Read more: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...#ixzz1vbvPmPzB
but he also said..
Regarding his future in the wrestling industry, he said that he'd like to finish his career on his terms and return to WWE for a brief run and retirement match. He is also interested in working with the organization in a non-wrestling capacity
Read more: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...#ixzz1vbwGJRfj
so i thought of an idea how to bring him back for his final run, when brock lesnar and hhh have their next confrantation on raw, they could have brock attacking hhh again after a heated arguement, hhh tries to fight him off with one arm but brock just overpowers him then f5's him, then brock goes to do some more damage on hhh's arm and put the kimara lock on hhh's "broken arm", at this point their is nothing hhh can do to stop him, paul heyman is standing their shoutin brock to snap his arm off, then all of a sudden batista's music hits he comes sprinting down to the ring and spears down brock and starts striking brock , brocks escapes from the ring and starts goin nuts whilst retreating, batista grabs the mic and says if you wanna get to hunter you gotta get through him ..boy
so whilst hhh takes some time off to heal his "injured arm" batista will be goin into a fued with brock lesnar,they are now scheduled to face eachother at the next ppv, and this fued should be aggressive, maybe a couple of backstage attacks, and batista powerbombing paul heyman whilst brock isnt their (because of his schedule), and hopefully wwe would allow a bit of blood, then have a another match at the next ppv with a added stipulation like a cage match or stretcher match or something
batista and brock have never really faced eachother apart from in ovw-link below
well just a thought, it would be good to see, but doubt it would happen, for now we will have to put up with john cena, big show and john laurinitus bein shoved down our throats on 3 hour raws! lol
thanks for reading guys and let me know what you think


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SAN JOSE -- Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle and his teammates indicated Sunday they now face two simultaneous challenges: winning games in a shortened season and winning back fans who felt abandoned by the NHL.
"I understand where they're coming from and how upset they are," Boyle said Sunday. "You're just kind of hoping they can put their anger and bitterness aside. We need them to come back."
Boyle was speaking less than an hour after he learned that a tentative agreement had been reached overnight to end the NHL lockout in its 113th day.
And he worried that fans may not be as forgiving as they were eight years ago when an entire NHL season was lost and record attendance followed.
"This time around it was almost like, I won't say unnecessary, but the differences were so close for so long," Boyle said. "Hopefully they forgive the process."
While forward Logan Couture said he doesn't have any expectations on how fans will respond, he seemed encouraged by the number of people who have been asking about when the Sharks would be playing since he returned to San Jose last week.
"I know it's tough and we've taken the game away from them for four months and if I were a fan I'd maybe think twice about buying merchandise or coming to the games," Couture said, "but they love their hockey out here."
Defenseman Douglas Murray was the only Shark on the NHL Players Association negotiating committee, and he, too, was hopeful fans would be back.
"I understand they're frustrated," he said. "I think we've been frustrated through this and the frustration is shared. But it's their money and they get to decide what to do. I really hope they're ready to forgive."
Murray was quick to declare there were no winners and losers in the tentative agreement.
"Absolutely not," he said before adding: "The only winning part of this is we're playing again and the players, the owners, the fans especially won't have to deal with this another eight years, maybe 10."
The new labor agreement would extend for 10 seasons, with both sides having the option to reopen negotiations after eight. The deal still has to be ratified in separate votes by the league's players and board of governors.
Malcolm Bordelon, the Sharks executive vice-president for business operations, said the team would not learn when a new 48-to-50 game schedule would begin until sometime between Monday and Wednesday. Once that is determined, another date will be set for the start of training camp.
On Sunday, players were still waiting to see the complete terms of the tentative agreement announced by union president Donald Fehr and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at 1:40 a.m. PST after a marathon 16-hour bargaining session in New York.
But Boyle suggested that the 2013-14 salary cap -- as the player share of hockey revenue drops from 57 percent to 50 percent -- might have been the final hurdle that needed clearing. The league wanted that figure set at $60 million, but the players, concerned about possible contract buyouts, wanted it to be $65 million.
Eventually, the sides agreed to $64.3 million, according to reports.
"Although that may seem like small numbers, that's a lot of jobs and a lot of unnecessary player movement," said Boyle of the proposed $60 million cap. "I think that was a huge issue that got settled. Hopefully, not too many players are hurt by that."
Reliable figures provided by capgeek.com show that the Sharks have $54.3 million committed to 14 players for 2013-14. A a $60 million cap would have left $5.7 million for the remaining nine roster spots. That likely would have forced general manager Doug Wilson to buy out existing contracts.
Boyle recognized that would be unsettling for everyone.
"You can never be 100 percent sure. Obviously we're all candidates," he said. "It's one of those things that you see in other sports, but you never really saw in hockey, where teams may actually be happy and thrilled with a certain player, but they have to let him go because of cap restrictions and stuff like that."
Beyond concerns about fans returning, the immediate reaction from players was a combination of joy, relief and excitement to getting even a delayed start to the season.
"I'm just thrilled," Boyle said. "Obviously I want to get back on the ice. That's where we belong."


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The R-C Morning Report for Feb. 28
February 28, 2014
I had both snow and rain on my commute into Gardnerville this morning. It's snowing and sticking in Gardnerville as of 7:30 a.m. The Weather Service says to expect rain for most of the rest of the day with as much as a half an inch falling.
The highways are quiet this morning, with chains or four-wheel drive required over Interstate 80 from Truckee west and over Highway 89 between South Lake Tahoe and Picketts Junction. Chains or snow tires are being required over Echo Summit and Carson Pass.
Topaz Ranch Estates got a little shaker at 5:04 a.m. with a 1.4 magnitude earthquake in the Pine Nuts along the east side of Minnehaha Canyon.
Birds of Chicago are performing tonight at the CVIC Hall in Minden in a concert presented by the Carson Valley Arts Council. Tickets are $28 at the door.