c4countdown

Phil H

No one has stopped to think about mental health. No one has even considered the fact that there are 20,000 lockdown deaths not down to COVID directly - almost half as many as COVID itself. I knew we had different political sympathies but I don't usually disagree with you quite so often or so strong...

Phil H

Ian Volante wrote: ↑
Thu Sep 10, 2020 11:49 am

Ooh, I've not seen much 90m+ throwing for ages. No thanks to the BBC who really don't like throwing events! I must look out for this bloke.

Volante-like cheekbones to boot.

Phil H

The worst events are the high jump and pole vault due to their binary nature - setting the target in advance and then just seeing whether you can make it or not. It's what allowed Bubka to break the world record countless times by touring the big events and upping the record by a centimetre at a ti...

Phil H

Obviously nearly breaking a record is never going to be as sexy as actually doing it, but I was quite excited about Johannes Vetter's 97.76 in the javelin on Sunday - only 72cm behind Jan Zelezny's 98.48, which I've heard being called the most impressive of all athletics world records.

Phil H

"Despite the lack of big names, the British Athletics Championships peaked at 1.4 million viewers on BBC2 at 8.25pm Friday - more than BBC1 and ITV at the same time."

(from @benbloomsport on twitter)

Phil H

I don't know how big darts is generally, but take away my Countdown friends and the Kirk Bevins effect, and I'm not sure I know anyone who gives a shit about it. A few weeks ago I went to my local pub hoping I could ask for the French domestic cup final featuring Paris Saint-Germain (football) to b...

Phil H

I don't think it's necessarily a contradiction to say that the NHS is both underfunded and has aspects of significant inefficiency. But I do agree that it's worth asking more specifically where the money might be spent, rather than simply agreeing that "more money" for "the NHS" = better.

Phil H

I might be weakening a little on this; it feels different now that so many of them have been through the mill. But I haven't quite weakened enough to actually join in with the clapping yet.

Phil H

This is a good interview on the use of police powers and lack of consistency between "guidance" and law: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/better-human-podcast/id1481010283 And a much shorter summary of the interviewee's points can be found here: https://davidallengreen.com/2020/03/the-coronavir...

Phil H

We all need something to make lockdown less boring, I guess.

Phil H

My step daughter cleans our doctor's surgery. She enjoyed the adulation. I do quite like the aspect of including people like cleaners and care assistants whose jobs aren't given the same social status. Another line being thrown around a lot at the moment is something like "it should be nurses that ...

Phil H

Well, I've opened the windows and I can certainly hear it in my flat, even though I live in a notoriously reserved area of a notoriously reserved city.

Phil H

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑
Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:58 pm
I guess Phil H can do a slow hand clap

I might use that timeslot to get my groceries. Probably the safest time to do so. Maybe that'd even be a better way to honour the NHS than clapping.

Phil H

It's what separates us from the animals. It is therefore a huge source of national pride. It's just about the only thing I have any national pride in. I'm embarrassed to say I don't know if it was the first universal healthcare system of its kind - it might well have been - but it's often said that...

Phil H

I don't have anything against individual workers unless they've given me a reason to, but it's not uncommon to hear people say things like "after this, they should never have to pay taxes again." Okay, maybe they didn't mean it literally, but still, what the fuck? Off the top of my head, a friend te...

Phil H

This might be unpopular but at least it's topical: I find the extent to which the NHS are valorised above almost everything else in this country rather weird and at times sinister. Yes, its creation was a massive step forward for the UK. Yes, it has been badly neglected and underfunded by recent gov...

Phil H

This champion geezer is pretty good. Very solid on the letters. I think I've beaten him in one letters round over two games but the numbers have let him down a bit. Yep. I'd predict him to win eight and finish as number 3 seed so far. That's a pretty tight target to aim for! I've obviously become t...

Phil H

Folks, aren't we getting a bit carried away with the "identity theft" business? I'm no lawyer but I'd have assumed it only becomes a crime if you try to make payments using someone else's money, get a loan in someone else's name, or suchlike.

Phil H

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑
Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:24 pm
This champion geezer is pretty good. Very solid on the letters. I think I've beaten him in one letters round over two games but the numbers have let him down a bit.

Yep. I'd predict him to win eight and finish as number 3 seed so far.

Phil H

May I politely suggest that the moderators consider moving the non-genuine events to the off-topic forum so that a noob coming across the forum is not confused about what's real and what isn't? I'm really insulted that you assume this is non-genuine just because inanimate objects are taking part. I...

Phil H

Martin Peters wrote: ↑
Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:17 pm

Why are you doing this ?

Mainly to give myself, and perhaps others, a break from the forum being spammed to fuck.

Phil H

It's actually at MY HOUSE... do you see what I did there? But I tweaked it to be down with the kids. Looking forward to my debut as a Co-event host! Confirmed entrants: Me Four empty pizza boxes Eight empty cans of Strongbow Dropdeadfred (from the incel forum I go on) All the models from the top ten...

Phil H

Fiona T wrote: ↑
Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:42 pm

You're from Glasgow? Cunt is a term of endearment, no?

I once had an argument on the bus with someone who said something about "Asian cunts" and then claimed he meant the word in an entirely neutral way.

Phil H

Jennifer Steadman wrote: ↑
Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:06 pm
Yes, but what I really want to know is how people's monologue specifically manifests. I'd say about 20% of mine is in the third person.

I've developed a habit of saying to myself, "He was a fucking arsehole/cunt/etc" and then realising it's myself I'm annoyed with at the time.

Phil H

The first time I played Apterous after contributing to this thread, I found my internal voice a lot more noticeable than previously!

Phil H

Oh, and on the subject of the top players, I don't actually know my 25 times table in the same way I know my 7 times, so I have to check on myself when I'm looking for 425 - "That's 17*25, right? 400 would be 4*4, which is 16, so yeah, 17 for 425." I don't quite say every word of that in my head, bu...

Phil H

Interesting stuff again. I think what Callum describes is more or less what I experience and what I assumed to be standard. It's quite common for people to say that their internal voice seems to disappear when they are reading at their most fluently. I once did an evening class about the "psychology...

Phil H

Artistry isn't it? That's the word I was looking for! Thanks. I stand by my comment about Countdown/Scrabble/Chess vs. Football/snooker/martial arts in these terms. Countdown, Scrabble and Chess are effectively turn-based games (I know Countdown's 'turns' occur simultaneously, the conundrum especia...

Phil H

To a large extent, the factors that might be considered to make Countdown less worthy of respect are the things I like about it. Compared with Scrabble, participation levels are much lower, prizes are (I'm guessing) relatively trivial, and games are far shorter, making the element of luck greater (t...

Phil H

Unsurprisingly, Feargal Delaney was indeed Irish - I recall watching his game while on holiday in Ireland. Likewise Gary McEnaney, who filmed on the same day as me.

However, I'm fairly sure Wayne McSorley, who beat Matty Artell, had an English accent.

Phil H

Very good shout I think, David. On a more mundane note, I think Norm Ahmad might have been the Apterite with the highest rating at the time (1550-1600 iirc) not to make the series finals since I joined in 2015. Anyone know if Matt Croy or anyone else before Norm would have been higher? (I assume Zar...

Phil H

Tiger Lily Hutchence/Geldof was another which surprised me, at least.

Phil H

I'm surprised not to have heard David Lammy mentioned yet. I don't feel I know enough about him to champion him, but he's certainly impressed me on occasion. Then again, I have my doubts about whether an apparently pro-Brexit electorate would ever elect a black Prime Minister, and Labour might have ...

Phil H

A bit like Jen, I've got rid of a decent number in my time and have only regretted one or two. I haven't thought much about the getting it down to 100 thing, but I don't think I'd find it too difficult. For those who say they never unfriend, how have you managed to avoid ever friending someone who ...

Phil H

A bit like Jen, I've got rid of a decent number in my time and have only regretted one or two. I haven't thought much about the getting it down to 100 thing, but I don't think I'd find it too difficult. For those who say they never unfriend, how have you managed to avoid ever friending someone who ...

Phil H

Also - even on here, I may be the only person for whom the aesthetic appeal of my current total number is a factor. Last night I was going to get rid of someone who I knew had closed her old profile and started a new one, especially as I prefer the number 225 to 226, but decided against it because I...

Phil H

A bit like Jen, I've got rid of a decent number in my time and have only regretted one or two. I haven't thought much about the getting it down to 100 thing, but I don't think I'd find it too difficult. For those who say they never unfriend, how have you managed to avoid ever friending someone who t...

Phil H

I take out a handful now and again where it seems that the elastic has stretched too thin, or I can't even remember how I know them. Pretty rare though, usually old korfballers. Interesting to see when people unfriend me, although I don't think it's happened for a year or two. Do you have a way of ...

Phil H

Virginia Roberts/Giuffre/Roberts-Giuffre/Roberts Giuffre has emerged as a contender.

Phil H

I don't know why so many people seem to poo-poo the relevance of rolling ratings. I mean, it suits me in a way, because according to ProRanks I was better than Conor or Kirk the last time I looked, but clearly that's bollocks.

Phil H

Dan Byrom wrote: ↑
Tue Sep 24, 2019 11:49 am

Ok that'll do for now. Well done if you made it this far!

Fair play for taking the time to write all this and being a gent about it throughout. In a way I don't want to challenge it, but I may yet come back and do so...

Phil H

Quite a few of my 100 least favourite songs in there

Phil H

Would Mr Eadie be willing to reveal what proportion of Countdown applicants fail the audition?

And how come the postal address is still in Leeds?

Phil H

I do think that Junaid writing PBUH every time he mentioned Mohammed was ridiculous and about as sycophantic as you can get. Surely it loses its effect if you abbreviate it anyway and shows you're not committed to it - like it's just an afterthought. Do it properly or not at all! Would it have been...

Phil H

Probably the 'checkmate' moment in my ceasing to be a Christian was reading a site called "Why Won't God Heal Amputees?" I too have spent a long time in church and come across people who seem to have overcome addictions and other mental health problems, or even experienced improvements in their phys...

Phil H

UK
France
Ireland
Spain
Greece
Italy
Kenya
USA
The Netherlands
Germany
Portugal
Cote d'Ivoire

Fuck, is that all?

Phil H

What's the average margin in QF1? 50 points? I actually think Seed 8 might score higher against Elliott than some other Seed 1s. You might lose one or two more letters games, but you'd hope for 40 points in the numbers games. If you get a maximum you score points no matter how good your opponent is...

Phil H

Most crucially, here are the top 10 players when arranged by percentage max achieved:- #1. [S69] Jen S. (952) = Max of 1024 [93%] #2. [S69] Dylan T. (974) = Max of 1050 [93%] #3. [S57] Craig B. (907) = Max of 987 [92%] #4. [S71] Dan McC. (942) = Max of 1026 [92%] #5. [S63] Jack H. (946) = Max of 10...

Phil H

See below. In a way, it's not surprising, but in another way, it only hits home when you see it in black and white: Elliott got 97.5% of the available max, further ahead of the previous best than it was ahead of the previous 10th place.

(Forgive my inability to use the quote function.)

Phil H

We'll have to wait at least until Elliott (I assume) duly wins his series before deciding where he fits in, but in terms of "best", if not "greatest", surely only Conor's 30BC form compares to what we've just seen.

Phil H

Fewest points dropped in an octorun: 26 so far. Jen dropped 72. This is perhaps the most ridiculous of the records. Fucking hell. I assume he didn't drop many today , so I withdraw my comment about the maxes being the most impressive record. I'm also now confused as to who obviously didn't make it ...

Phil H

Will there be an audible reaction from the audience when* he surpasses 974 and/or 1000, I wonder? (*Barring Elvis and Lord Lucan riding into the studio on Shergar, that is.)

Someone who knows Dylan better than me should edit his wiki to rub in the fact that his record no longer stands to this day.

Phil H

I associate Moonies with a religious cult whose heyday was maybe in the 1980s...

Phil H

Still, if it had turned out to be the difference between a max game and not... Anyway, all's well that ends well.

Phil H

Beat Elliott to the conundrum today! But seriously, another great game and another unlucky opponent. Got that all-important last numbers though! The conundrum originally wasn't this and the slowness was in part due to me being a bit flustered by a bit of controversy. It was originally MOUSEFLLY, an...

Phil H

Fucking amazing. As stupid as it sounds, yesterday was a weak game by his standards, but that's him right back on track.

Phil H

On the wiki: "Furthermore, his score was the highest ever achieved by just spotting three nine-letter words."

Surely this is redundant unless it also applies to Apterous?

(If I was on any other site, I'd apologise for my pedantry, but it hardly seems necessary here!)

Phil H

Thomas Carey wrote: ↑
Mon May 20, 2019 12:57 pm
I was in the studio Elliott losses 230-220 to andy sc in this one x

Phil H

An average of 117 for Elliott in his remaining games would do it.

The balance of probabilities may now be in his favour...

Phil H

Why is inserting photos too hard for anyone with a rating under 1700?

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