Search found 476 matches

by Conor
Wed Jan 03, 2024 6:54 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: The Dead of 2024
Replies: 54
Views: 3784

Re: The Dead of 2024

An ideal points system would probably take into account odds of dying (incorporating age and known illnesses) and extra points for the better known they are. I don't think you could really formulate a robust enough system for that. Does the frail 95 year old or the very ill 70 year old have a bette...
by Conor
Thu Dec 21, 2023 1:39 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Unpopular opinions you genuinely hold
Replies: 242
Views: 30303

Re: Unpopular opinions you genuinely hold

"genuinely" You've changed Perhaps this is how it starts, you start saying right wing opinions when at a party as a 'joke' and then 10 years later you're a racist. To actually offer something genuine: - Everything Everywhere All at Once might be the worst film I've ever seen. Crazy how ma...
by Conor
Thu Dec 21, 2023 1:26 pm
Forum: Countdown - Events
Topic: Co-Event Suggestion Box
Replies: 137
Views: 12562

Re: Co-Event Suggestion Box

Does anybody have some low effort high impact suggestions for reducing the % of botched printed conundrum reveals? I had a botched conundrum given to me in at least 5/8 of the events I attended in 2023 which had paper conundrums. Reasons for botched conundrums reveals could be any of (but not limit...
by Conor
Tue Dec 05, 2023 1:33 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Unpopular opinions you genuinely hold
Replies: 242
Views: 30303

Re: Unpopular opinions you genuinely hold

- Tax here is too high, and actually given that high earners have already paid a lot of tax the marginal rates should be inverted: earnings over 125k should be taxed at 20%, whereas up to 50k should be more like 40% - While investing in public transport should be encouraged, cycling should be banned...
by Conor
Wed Nov 29, 2023 10:22 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: What's the minimum time you have to be resident in the British Isles in order to qualify for Countdown?
Replies: 52
Views: 6473

Re: What's the minimum time you have to be resident in the British Isles in order to qualify for Countdown?

Am I still a sociopath and a trash person if I do this after retiring? Assuming the show holds up until then. Note that even if I lost early I wouldn’t mind. I’d keep living in and enjoying the UK for a while. I like your generally laid-back culture. Why don't you try to live here for a bit anyway?...
by Conor
Sun Jan 15, 2023 8:57 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Friday 13th January 2023 - CoC XVI QF 2
Replies: 29
Views: 3259

Re: Spoilers for Friday 13th January 2023 - CoC XVI QF 2

Very well played Dan. Took the early opening and held your nerve through the match, strong tactical play getting the call in round 14 right. Really feel for you Elliott: Dan was on form today and the way the letters fell made it tricky to get ahead before the conundrum. I missed the 1st numbers watc...
by Conor
Wed Jan 04, 2023 9:24 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Tuesday 3 January 2023 - CoC XVI, Prelim 2
Replies: 31
Views: 2795

Re: Spoilers for Tuesday 3 January 2023 - CoC XVI, Prelim 2

Very accomplished performance from Elliott among some tricky rounds. Great work from Elliott today. Can't wait to see if tomorrow's conundrum is: ADAGIETTO Though I doubt it. Damian knows the game and the players well enough to know that he can get away with two in a row, but if you go further then ...
by Conor
Wed Oct 13, 2021 9:03 am
Forum: Countdown - Events
Topic: Your preferred format for CO-events
Replies: 74
Views: 31497

Re: Your preferred format for CO-events

Overall Lincoln-style is probably more fun with more talking and socializing. But Bristol-style offers advantages for more serious competition: - everyone plays from the same selection which is fairer. As points are used to break ties on wins having some extra nines available or fewer impossible num...
by Conor
Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:44 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1609
Views: 623757

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

Mark Deeks wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:37 am In cryptocurrency terms, what's data mining?
This is probably the best introductory video I've seen.
by Conor
Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:55 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Olympics 2020
Replies: 135
Views: 16294

Re: Olympics 2020

Japan doing really well to come 3rd. It does seem like the host nation tends to do better than they normally would. And this time it can't be down to home support. I'm guessing some events confer some inbuilt home advantage (familiarity with the track/venue, or conditions) but mostly is because they...
by Conor
Sun Jul 25, 2021 8:13 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Olympics 2020
Replies: 135
Views: 16294

Re: Olympics 2020

Have gone big on Slovakia bandwagon too at 24/1.
by Conor
Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:29 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: TENNIS
Replies: 136
Views: 37984

Re: TENNIS

I’d say Federer’s early career advantage probably evens out with Djokovic’s current advantage. But maybe you’ve got to give Federer extra credit for raising the bar in what was conceptually possible and winning more than 50% of slams and threatening on every surface over several years in a way that ...
by Conor
Mon Jul 12, 2021 11:50 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: The C4C Football Thread
Replies: 1265
Views: 194590

Re: The C4C Football Thread

The whole match felt so similar to the World Cup semifinal loss to Croatia. A strong start and an early goal before a superior midfield started to control the game. It's just so difficult to keep attacking when your instinct is to defend. This is when you need leadership on the pitch, and ideally in...
by Conor
Mon Jul 12, 2021 11:30 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: The C4C Football Thread
Replies: 1265
Views: 194590

Re: The C4C Football Thread

But already the hype machine is saying it puts them in a great place to win the World Cup. Calm down ffs. Italy actually won the thing and I bet they're not talking about winning the world Cup before the qualifiers are even over. It's no wonder the players feel the pressure. This is a bitter loss, ...
by Conor
Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:08 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: The C4C Football Thread
Replies: 1265
Views: 194590

Re: The C4C Football Thread

I don't think it was a penalty. England would have had a strong chance of winning it in ET any way. When Italy won the World Cup in 2006, they beat Australia due to a last minute dive for a penalty (they would have had to play extra time with 10 men). Also, the Copa America has a very silly format t...
by Conor
Tue Jun 29, 2021 9:57 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: The C4C Football Thread
Replies: 1265
Views: 194590

Re: The C4C Football Thread

The tension must come from having a vested interest (being English or German). From my perspective, the game was just incredibly boring. It didn't have a fraction of the excitement of yesterday. I think this was just to be expected. It's probably not a coincidence that the two last-16 games with th...
by Conor
Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:44 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Special Spoilers for Monday 21st December 2020 (Special S47)
Replies: 24
Views: 6928

Re: Special Spoilers for Monday 21 December 2020

METALOPH in the POLYMATH round too.
by Conor
Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:53 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Friday 18th December 2020 (Series 82, Grand Final)
Replies: 42
Views: 10989

Re: Spoilers for Friday 18 December 2020 (Series 82, Grand Final)

Gavin Chipper wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:36 am With MAGESHIP and MAEGBOTE, I wonder if Luke just learnt all the words that started with the same four letters and happened to get really, really lucky.
Luke’s very first word (on the show, not as a child) was POSTGAME, so I think he learnt the endings too.
by Conor
Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:51 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Friday 18th December 2020 (Series 82, Grand Final)
Replies: 42
Views: 10989

Re: Spoilers for Friday 18 December 2020 (Series 82, Grand Final)

Mega-congratulations to Luke and commiserations Sam. That was a great final. Despite not crunching the stats Luke was around a 75% favorite in my mind heading into this because of his solidity on the letters and the occasional surprising miss from Sam. But Sam didn’t miss anything easy: MAGESHIP, MA...
by Conor
Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:18 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Wednesday 16th December 2020 (Series 82, 1st Semi-Final)
Replies: 20
Views: 4772

Re: Spoilers for Wednesday 16 December (Series 82, First Semi Final)

Very well played Luke, and unlucky Ian. Luke again maxing all the letters rounds! That numbers was the first round which Luke has lost despite having a valid word/numsol. i.e. the first time he has scored raw points that haven't also scored properly. Chinks in the armour? If Sam beats Leo tomorrow w...
by Conor
Sat Dec 12, 2020 1:10 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 10th December 2020 (Series 82, 1st Quarter-Final)
Replies: 19
Views: 5225

Re: Spoilers for Thursday 10th December 2020 (Series 82, QF 1)

Amazing stuff Luke, supreme performance. MAGNESIC in particular was nowhere near.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:13 pm True, but has she ever done it on the day of the game? She'd need to at least find out for herself.
She announced I was on for a max game after rd 13 vs Chris Hawkins.
by Conor
Mon Nov 30, 2020 10:38 am
Forum: Countdown - Events
Topic: How to host an event (for dummies)?
Replies: 44
Views: 34425

Re: How to host an event (for dummies)?

When I was researching venues, I found that £1000+ was often the going rate for a Saturday in central London at an accessible venue that fit 50+ people [...] Assuming you are talking about the Brighton Oval (I originally did not realise there was a Brighton one and thought you were absolutely mad f...
by Conor
Sat Nov 28, 2020 5:48 pm
Forum: Countdown - Events
Topic: How to host an event (for dummies)?
Replies: 44
Views: 34425

Re: How to host an event (for dummies)?

I think a key thing for a Co:Event is keeping the costs down. Event costs keep creeping up to the participant, and while a cost to offset the facility hire is inevitable, a decent proportion of it seems to be spent on the nick-nacks and individuality that I don't really want anyway. By the time tra...
by Conor
Sat Nov 28, 2020 5:25 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: People you shouldn't trust
Replies: 921
Views: 392707

Re: People you shouldn't trust

People who say 'The Rona' to mean Covid-19.
by Conor
Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:40 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: RIP Howard Somerset
Replies: 11
Views: 4834

Re: RIP Howard Somerset

Really sad to hear this. I had the pleasure of meeting Howard at a few events. He had a really sharp mind and a terrific sense of humour.
by Conor
Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:38 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Deathwatch 2017
Replies: 467
Views: 209181

Re: Deathwatch 2017

Been a rather quiet year, all things considering. Bit suspicious really.
by Conor
Sun Oct 25, 2020 2:02 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Re: Ticket #5803: ZoomDown - evidence of potential cheating
Replies: 72
Views: 23102

Re: Re: Ticket #5803: ZoomDown - evidence of potential cheating

In hindsight, it would have been better to bring up the overlay beforehand, but I didn't even think of possible accusations of cheating. I had something I'd made in Python tkinter which was potentially going to be used by the ZD production team but wasn't ready in time. Personally, I find it makes q...
by Conor
Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:10 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Three words
Replies: 7
Views: 4381

Re: Three words

I should probably say, this was a black IPA with blueberry and maple syrup in it, which should go some way to explain 1 and 3. And well, what do you know - looked up vaccinium and apparently we're talking blueberry. Thanks Conor! Is that a word you know? Not really, but it didn't seem like it could...
by Conor
Wed Oct 21, 2020 10:13 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Three words
Replies: 7
Views: 4381

Re: Three words

Vaccinium?
by Conor
Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:26 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: TENNIS
Replies: 136
Views: 37984

Re: TENNIS

Thiem looks like the best shot for getting to No. 1 outside the big 3. I can see one or more of Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas making a breakthrough and winning a grand slam in the coming years but they don't have the consistency to challenge for no. 1. Especially as Djokovic is super consistent in bot...
by Conor
Fri Oct 09, 2020 11:17 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You've just been made producer of Countdown...
Replies: 88
Views: 28635

Re: You've just been made producer of Countdown...

I don't agree with going back to 9 rounders. If the problem is too many one-sided games then you should try to reduce these rather than shortening the whole show. I'd allow past contestants to reapply. Not just 'unlucky losers' but everyone (series champions etc). There'd be a min number of years be...
by Conor
Wed Sep 23, 2020 1:58 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: COVID-19 Coronavirus Thread
Replies: 503
Views: 154976

Re: COVID-19 Coronavirus Thread

What I would suggest is that we don't have to decide right now what we should do in a year or two years or whatever if things haven't changed. It would obviously be a big problem if no vaccine proves effective and we can't keep the virus under control without big restrictions on our lives. And I th...
by Conor
Sat Aug 08, 2020 10:02 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Offensive Words
Replies: 57
Views: 25021

Re: Offensive Words

Regardless of your position about the offensiveness of a word taken out of context or used in a quotation, there is still a double standard here. Strong swear words are expressly forbidden before the watershed in any context but this word is not. Whatever process deemed the F-word unsuitable for br...
by Conor
Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:19 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Joke Items
Replies: 250
Views: 82479

Re: Joke Items

The word "garlicky". Such a horrific construction with "licky" in it and the k is arbitrary anyway. It should be "garliccy" and that's how I will spell it from now on (if I ever need to write it). Similarly it should be "panicced", not "panicked" (t...
by Conor
Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:25 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

With the collusion case, it might not be explicitly overheard but it would likely be pretty obvious what it is going on at a Lincoln style event. The host would pick up on it and if this was the game to decide who makes the final there’d be some spectators to witness it too. But at a Bristol style ...
by Conor
Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:20 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

With the collusion case, it might not be explicitly overheard but it would likely be pretty obvious what it is going on at a Lincoln style event. The host would pick up on it and if this was the game to decide who makes the final there’d be some spectators to witness it too. But at a Bristol style e...
by Conor
Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:45 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

If you show the scores but not the standings, it might solve the error correction problem, but for the prevention of potential tactical antics, that's almost the worst of both worlds. The majority of players, who are just naturally curious about where they're finishing in relation to others, now ha...
by Conor
Sat Jul 25, 2020 7:50 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

I don't like this idea, and not (only) because it would mean the loss of that sweet Atropine videprinter action. I think players like being able to see the running standings. At every event with a public-facing display, there's always a crowd of people gathering round the monitor as tables finish. ...
by Conor
Fri Jul 24, 2020 7:05 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

It's the "coming to an agreement" thing that makes this bad, not the individual decisions by each player to play conservatively in the hope of not dropping too many points, which itself is of course within the letter and the spirit of the rules. But in Gevin's example they also came to an...
by Conor
Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:03 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Ask Graeme?
Replies: 1740
Views: 682559

Re: Ask Graeme?

I've had a tacit assumption that over the years the standard of the top contestants has generally risen while the standard of 'most' contestants has slightly dipped. I don't think there's much point testing the first part, but how about the second? I'd suggest something like comparing the average ma...
by Conor
Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:21 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

I don't like redoing it if it's an -S plural but not if it's an -S third person singular verb. The former might be explicitly forbidden in the Contestant guidelines, but plenty of people attend Co-events without having been on the show: how would they know? A regular viewer might have reasonably not...
by Conor
Thu Jul 09, 2020 10:40 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Offensive Words
Replies: 57
Views: 25021

Re: Offensive Words

It also makes the game more inaccessible, since you'd need to know exactly which words (many of which are in common usage) have been removed.
by Conor
Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:45 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Ask Graeme?
Replies: 1740
Views: 682559

Re: Ask Graeme?

ANGRIEST stems with 19 I think. I'd be surprised if that can be beaten. For which words stem with any vowel: http://wiki.apterous.org/Fruitful_8s http://wiki.apterous.org/Fruitful_7s http://wiki.apterous.org/Fruitful_6s Ahh very nice - I thought something like this would likely have already been co...
by Conor
Sun Jul 05, 2020 12:38 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Ask Graeme?
Replies: 1740
Views: 682559

Re: Ask Graeme?

ANGRIEST stems with 19 I think. I'd be surprised if that can be beaten.

For which words stem with any vowel:
http://wiki.apterous.org/Fruitful_8s
http://wiki.apterous.org/Fruitful_7s
http://wiki.apterous.org/Fruitful_6s
by Conor
Fri Jun 26, 2020 8:25 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

All things being equal, I think most players are inclined to copy their opponent’s word just because of an instinctive loss aversion.
by Conor
Thu Jun 25, 2020 10:35 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 146825

Re: You Are The Ref

For those that think it's fine, when declaring your word second, to have written down 10-15 plausible words and then just point to the one your opponent says... would you prefer if apterous was coded in this way, instead of the perfectly logical way it's coded now? It would be stone cold mental to ...
by Conor
Wed May 27, 2020 2:39 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Weird celebrity crushes
Replies: 27
Views: 12124

Re: Weird celebrity crushes

Ursula von der Leyen
by Conor
Sat May 23, 2020 4:00 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Is picking the letters an advantage?
Replies: 33
Views: 11665

Re: Is picking the letters an advantage?

To test Jack's hypothesis that this is a bigger factor for the strongest players, I looked at games where both players were in the Pro Ranks top 25 at the time the game was played. This leaves about 30,000 rounds. In this case, the picker expects to score 6.58 points per round versus the receiver's...
by Conor
Tue May 19, 2020 10:24 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Weird celebrity crushes
Replies: 27
Views: 12124

Re: Weird celebrity crushes

She's also 25 years older than me, which isn't conventionally attractive. But here we are. It might be that most people who are 25 years older than you aren't conventionally attractive, but that's a very weird way of putting it. You could get a freak who doesn't age and is 104 years old, and is ver...
by Conor
Mon May 18, 2020 2:21 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And How Will We Feel Fine?)
Replies: 17
Views: 6579

Re: It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And How Will We Feel Fine?)

Hopefully a full review into the mainstream media here in the UK. Its reporting has been far too concerned with "gotcha" questions for the government and asking rubbish. A review into the mainstream media would be a good thing, but how they phrase questions to elected officials is far dow...
by Conor
Sun May 10, 2020 7:34 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Thursday January 10th (Birthday Prelim 4)
Replies: 48
Views: 12096

Re: Spoilers for Thursday January 10th (Birthday Prelim 4)

So much discussion spawned by FLORUITED over the years. Personally I see it as an open and shut case, and anyone who thinks it should be disallowed is an idiot and a savage. No, but really, I'm surprised there was ever so much discussion. 2 of the 3 Lexico example sentences use an inflected form of...
by Conor
Sat May 02, 2020 12:27 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Countdown Lookalikes?
Replies: 390
Views: 221145

Re: Countdown Lookalikes?

Series 80 runner-up Elliott Mellor:

Image

Irish singer Christy Dignam

Image
by Conor
Fri May 01, 2020 3:56 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1609
Views: 623757

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

Well no, that's the point. If you just throw away wrong answers, I can just list off every possible 'answer' to a question, regardless of whether it actually fits the specifics of what is being asked. For example, if the question is "name a European country with [unusual attribute]", I ca...
by Conor
Fri May 01, 2020 2:38 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1609
Views: 623757

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

How do they actually go about asking 100 people for Pointless. Like what if the topic is 'Masters Winners in the last 40 years' and they ask a golf trivia expert and they just rattle off all of them. What do they do? Ignore that guy, scrap the round, allow an impossible round to go through (I doubt...
by Conor
Fri May 01, 2020 11:42 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1609
Views: 623757

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

How do they actually go about asking 100 people for Pointless. Like what if the topic is 'Masters Winners in the last 40 years' and they ask a golf trivia expert and they just rattle off all of them. What do they do? Ignore that guy, scrap the round, allow an impossible round to go through (I doubt ...
by Conor
Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:59 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Religion
Replies: 548
Views: 140443

Re: Religion

In addition to Callum's points: most religious people are brought up that way. It's a basis for their moral modus operandi, and if that works for them, I can certainly get why many don't dig too deep to find out if it's actually true. I don't think religious people generally have different morals f...
by Conor
Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:18 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Religion
Replies: 548
Views: 140443

Re: Religion

In addition to Callum's points: most religious people are brought up that way. It's a basis for their moral modus operandi, and if that works for them, I can certainly get why many don't dig too deep to find out if it's actually true. In contrast, most people who hold these sort of fringe beliefs li...
by Conor
Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:28 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1609
Views: 623757

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

Would one of each be enough? I know I didn't define what it means for the human race to survive (as in for how long), but getting through one more generation won't be enough to satisfy anyone considering this. And when animals are endangered they often talk about the number of breeding pairs needed...
by Conor
Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:49 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1609
Views: 623757

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

If every human above a certain age were to die instantaneously, what is the minimum age that could be for the human race to still survive into the future in some form? I think it'd be somewhere under 1 year old. As Phil mentioned, there have been cases of children being raised by wild animals. Ther...
by Conor
Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:30 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Focal Talk podcast Episode 2 out now (featuring Ben Wilson and Conor Travers)
Replies: 13
Views: 6087

Re: Focal Talk podcast Episode 2 out now (featuring Ben Wilson and Conor Travers)

Also, I noticed you referred to Conor's natural skill at the game at the start (before he actually came on), and this general subject came up again towards the end, but I thought it would have been interesting to hear Conor's take on it a bit more. To what would he attribute his skill - how much do...