March's Daily Duels

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 7:54 am

There's some weird shit going on with the results so far for March. It's only the 2nd of the month, but already the accumulated scores show Dinos in the lead with 408 points from 25 Duels. I'm assuming that the results for the Endurance Event have somehow become bundled in with the March scores.

Dinos Sfyris · Post by **Dinos Sfyris** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:31 am

Personally I don't see anything wrong with the results as they stand

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:07 am

Woooow!!!

Joint third place in yesterday's Duel! Only one point off the max! Whooooooo!!!

I'm so happy right now.

(OK, so it was probably the easiest Duel in ages. But I'll probably never do that well again so allow me my moment of glory.

)

Julie T · Post by **Julie T** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:05 pm

Phil Reynolds wrote:Woooow!!! Joint third place in yesterday's Duel! Only one point off the max! Whooooooo!!!

I'm so happy right now.

(OK, so it was probably the easiest Duel in ages. But I'll probably never do that well again so allow me my moment of glory. )

It's only easy if you can do it, Phil! (says she who came 31st out of 43!

)

Congratulations, as I came 3rd on 26th Feb, I know how delicious it feels.

Congratulations also to Howard Somerset, who dropped only 2 points off the max - a personal best?

Howard Somerset · Post by **Howard Somerset** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:26 am

Julie T wrote:Congratulations also to Howard Somerset, who dropped only 2 points off the max - a personal best?

Definitely a personal best, Julie! Thanks. I was quite expecting to look the next day and find everyone else was only 1 or 0 points off max.

And well done Phil for making it 1 away.

As for Wednesday's duel, what are the grounds for allowing SEDATIONS? I thought about it, and discarded it in favour of the safer SEDATION, and consequently lost ten points. Checking the OED2r later, I see SEDATION is only listed as a mass noun. It doesn't seem to fit in with the exceptions that are normally allowed. However, most people seem to have been confident that it was ok.

Karen Pearson · Post by **Karen Pearson** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:28 am

I'm with you Howard. I don't see how you could pluralise SEDATION. I too lost the points!

Dinos Sfyris · Post by **Dinos Sfyris** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:23 am

Me 3. I thought I could vaguely remember it being allowed before, though whether on Apterous or the show I'm not sure, but I didn't risk it.

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:31 am

Howard Somerset wrote:what are the grounds for allowing SEDATIONS?

A Google search comes up with this which seems a plausible example of real-world use.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 12:54 pm

Generally the rule with medical procedures is that they can be pluralised in the sense of "the act of...", e.g. a doctor might say "I did four sedations today." Whether this makes any sense I leave you to decide.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:15 pm

SEDATIONS has been allowed on the show two times. I remember this coming up in a COGST game of mine.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:20 pm

"The sedations went to plan" is surely more sensible-sounding and efficient than any alternatives such as "sedating the patients went to plan".

Kai Laddiman · Post by **Kai Laddiman** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:28 pm

Howard Somerset wrote:As for Wednesday's duel, what are the grounds for allowing SEDATIONS? I thought about it, and discarded it in favour of the safer SEDATION, and consequently lost ten points. Checking the OED2r later, I see SEDATION is only listed as a mass noun. It doesn't seem to fit in with the exceptions that are normally allowed. However, most people seem to have been confident that it was ok.

Hmmm.

Howard Somerset · Post by **Howard Somerset** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 4:53 pm

I only said most people, Kai.

I notice that even Jim - he of JimDic fame - went for SEDATION.

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:13 pm

Howard Somerset wrote:I notice that even Jim - he of JimDic fame - went for SEDATION.

That's because - as usual - I remembered that there'd been some discussion of it in the past but - as usual - couldn't remember which way the decision went in the end. Oh, and - as usual - chose the wrong way

Edit: Shit, having now seen the results, that's got to be my worst Duel ever (sorry Howard). I went to get a drink after round 1 and returned to find it was the end of round 2 (hence no declaration). Then a speed-induced typo in round 4 cost 10 points, and a plain stupid typo that I somehow failed to notice until it was too late in round 5 cost another 8. Then failing SEDATIONS. Then going for MARRIER. Then...oh god, it's all too awful.

Neil Zussman · Post by **Neil Zussman** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:33 pm

Out of curiosity Charlie, how do the duels actually work? Do you select the format (and presumably the order of Consonants/ Vowels) and then just leave it random which letters come up? Or do you input something like 'Round 2 will have a 9' or 'The max will be 110'?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:40 pm

Neil Zussman wrote:Out of curiosity Charlie, how do the duels actually work? Do you select the format (and presumably the order of Consonants/ Vowels) and then just leave it random which letters come up? Or do you input something like 'Round 2 will have a 9' or 'The max will be 110'?

Essentially I set the format (round order, round length, Goatdown or not, etc) and the C/V order and then everything else is left to chance. However in practice I have a script which sets all this automatically and only occasionally override it for the more unusual set-ups.

Howard Somerset · Post by **Howard Somerset** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:35 pm

JimBentley wrote:Edit: Shit, having now seen the results, that's got to be my worst Duel ever (sorry Howard).

No worries, Jim. For me to come only one place behind you in your worst duel shows I must be improving.

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:41 pm

My first win (albeit joint) on a duel. Yay me.

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:03 pm

Hmm, crap. I made two bad decisions yesterday, first of all going for ADULTNESS in the first round, which seemed perfectly plausible at the time, but less probable now. I was thinking of the 'quality or state of being adult' - what is the noun derived from adult, then? Then in round 3 I tried ARSONS which was a bit stupid because I had other sixes, and I thought ARSONS was ok. Come to think of it, you'd say "there were two cases of arson in London last night" and not "two ARSONS" so I'm happy with that one.

Ok the NODE gives adulthood, but what about the figurative sense of adult? An adult movie/film. Ah well...

Dinos Sfyris · Post by **Dinos Sfyris** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:56 pm

Martin Gardner wrote:what is the noun derived from adult, then?

Adultery

Julie T · Post by **Julie T** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 3:18 pm

Martin Gardner wrote:Hmm, crap. I made two bad decisions yesterday, first of all going for ADULTNESS in the first round, which seemed perfectly plausible at the time, but less probable now. I was thinking of the 'quality or state of being adult' - what is the noun derived from adult, then? Then in round 3 I tried ARSONS which was a bit stupid because I had other sixes, and I thought ARSONS was ok. Come to think of it, you'd say "there were two cases of arson in London last night" and not "two ARSONS" so I'm happy with that one.

Ok the NODE gives adulthood, but what about the figurative sense of adult? An adult movie/film. Ah well...

I almost went for ARSONS, but didn't risk it, since I'd already had a zero round by going for BETHRONE. Not in ODE2r in any shape or form. Dunno if it's Shakespearean or if I made it up completely.

I do find that the way the duel works, tends to make me more cautious about risking a word. If you've got a safe 6, but a risky 7, you only gain an extra point if the 7 is allowed, but know you'll get the 6 otherwise, since you're not playing against anyone. It is an entirely different game to a one on one. Interesting variation though.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 3:26 pm

Julie T wrote: I do find that the way the duel works, tends to make me more cautious about risking a word. If you've got a safe 6, but a risky 7, you only gain an extra point if the 7 is allowed, but know you'll get the 6 otherwise, since you're not playing against anyone. It is an entirely different game to a one on one. Interesting variation though.

That's why I try to throw in some "maxes only" games, since they generally don't reward super-cautious play.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:27 am

CRAP! If I hadn't misread the first conundrum I'd have joint won that one.

Eexpect another supersize profanity tomorrow, too...

Lee Simmonds · Post by **Lee Simmonds** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:33 pm

OMG, Just got my first ever max game and it was on the duel which also means my first win on the duel (ok it might be a joint win but I'll settle for that!!!)

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:30 am

Lee Simmonds wrote:OMG, Just got my first ever max game and it was on the duel which also means my first win on the duel (ok it might be a joint win but I'll settle for that!!!)

Yeah, surely the flattest duel ever. ENCHANTER was difficult, as were the conundrums, but the other letters games were really flat. Three people maxed and Neil Zussman had a five disallowed but maxed the other 11 rounds. I'm a little surprised that nobody got 99 or 98, though.

Neil Zussman · Post by **Neil Zussman** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:47 am

Martin Gardner wrote:
Lee Simmonds wrote:OMG, Just got my first ever max game and it was on the duel which also means my first win on the duel (ok it might be a joint win but I'll settle for that!!!)

Yeah, surely the flattest duel ever. ENCHANTER was difficult, as were the conundrums, but the other letters games were really flat. Three people maxed and Neil Zussman had a five disallowed but maxed the other 11 rounds. I'm a little surprised that nobody got 99 or 98, though.

Infuriatingly, the word I had disallowed was 'Pavid' which is definitely a word

(at least, there are loads of dictionary websites which define it, and I've also read the word in a book by David J. Bodycombe, no less!)
(I should've just gone for 'Vapid' anyway, but since pavid is a word, it shouldn't've mattered

)

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:19 pm

Neil Zussman wrote:
Martin Gardner wrote:
Lee Simmonds wrote:OMG, Just got my first ever max game and it was on the duel which also means my first win on the duel (ok it might be a joint win but I'll settle for that!!!)

Yeah, surely the flattest duel ever. ENCHANTER was difficult, as were the conundrums, but the other letters games were really flat. Three people maxed and Neil Zussman had a five disallowed but maxed the other 11 rounds. I'm a little surprised that nobody got 99 or 98, though.
Infuriatingly, the word I had disallowed was 'Pavid' which is definitely a word
(at least, there are loads of dictionary websites which define it, and I've also read the word in a book by David J. Bodycombe, no less!)
(I should've just gone for 'Vapid' anyway, but since pavid is a word, it shouldn't've mattered )

Yeah I know PAVID, it is a word just not in the ODE (yet).

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:24 pm

Martin Gardner wrote:Yeah I know PAVID, it is a word just not in the ODE (yet).

I have been bitten by both PAVID and IMPAVID before. Just one of those random ODE omissions (or is that ommissions?)

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:01 pm

Without giving anything away, today's 5 second rounds felt long. More like 10 seconds.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:31 am

Get in!

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:45 pm

Remind me not to do the duels at 7am before having any coffee or anything to eat, geez.

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:15 pm

Man I hate computers so much. I typed in a good word in today's duel satisfied, then I saw a longer word and quickly went to type it in but the focus wasnt in the box and me pressing S did nothing. I panicked, then realised I needed to click in the box with the mouse. In the rush (and 10 second duel) I didn't type it in in time.

Then, to make matters worse, I mistyped a word and went to delete it and just at that point another window decided to load and put that to the forefront, meaning apterous was in the background. I quickly found the apterous tab and by which time it was too late, it had accepted my invalid word.

Grrrr

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:20 pm

And did the other duel and typed a bogus word and then misclicked the numbers. I also sucked at 10 second rounds. I hate working - means I don't get the practice in that I need. I feel angry now.

tomrowell · Post by **tomrowell** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:37 pm

getting the excuses in early kirky?

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:59 pm

tomrowell wrote:getting the excuses in early kirky?

Yes.

D Eadie · Post by **D Eadie** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:44 am

Blimey - i won yesterday even though i gamble wit ITRIUM and got no points.
You guys must be shite

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:54 pm

Ha, I was the only person to get the max in round 9 yesterday. My biggest triumph, ever?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:33 pm

Ian Volante wrote:Ha, I was the only person to get the max in round 9 yesterday. My biggest triumph, ever?

At some point there will be bonus points for being the only person to get a certain max. But I CBA just yet.

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 11:28 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:Ha, I was the only person to get the max in round 9 yesterday. My biggest triumph, ever?
At some point there will be bonus points for being the only person to get a certain max. But I CBA just yet.

You know this is called a "solo" in duplicate Scrabble? I bet you do. Basically if there are at least 16 players and only one person gets the max, they get 10 extra points - hence Christian Pierre doing +5 at the World Championship last year in the last game. The best ever "negative" at the World Championships.

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 2:19 pm

How the fluck did I win yesteday whilst missing so much? Cheers anyway.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 12:32 pm

So how come Andrew Clouston has two accounts, and still managed not to beat anyone else on yesterday's duel?!

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 4:46 pm

Ian Volante wrote:So how come Andrew Clouston has two accounts, and still managed not to beat anyone else on yesterday's duel?!

I would normally ban people who do something dumb like that but it was so amusing that I couldn't bring myself to.

Kevin Davis · Post by **Kevin Davis** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:10 am

COCK! I loused that conundrum something terrible...

(apologies for stealing your idea, Ben)

Dinos Sfyris · Post by **Dinos Sfyris** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:08 am

How come people did one of 2 different duels yesterday?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:24 am

Dinos Sfyris wrote:How come people did one of 2 different duels yesterday?

Haha. Umm...

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:40 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Dinos Sfyris wrote:How come people did one of 2 different duels yesterday?
Haha. Umm...

Cool, this means I can claim a moral victory...erm, sort of.

Julie T · Post by **Julie T** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 5:07 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Dinos Sfyris wrote:How come people did one of 2 different duels yesterday?
Haha. Umm...

And how come it (they? LOL!) wasn't rolled over as apterous was down for 16 hours yesterday, grrrr!

Would it be possible, Charlie, for DDs to automatically roll over if it's down for more than 4 hours, say, or whatever you think is sensible, so you don't have to be about to set it?
Apologies if too tricky, pleading ignorance on this sort of programming.

tomrowell · Post by **tomrowell** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:07 pm

i came 3rd???? what happened yesterday guys??????????????

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:51 pm

tomrowell wrote:i came 3rd???? what happened yesterday guys??????????????

http://www.apterous.org/duel_results.php?duel=262 reveals all - you played pretty solidly throughout, and you and I were the only people to nail the numbers game, so that gave us quite a boost. Oh and Kirk didn't play.

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:03 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:Oh and Kirk didn't play.

I did - I was like 10th as I'm shit at numbers.

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:36 am

I annoyingly only dropped one point on the letters and numbers, but failed to get any of the conundrums. OMBUDSMEN was really hard, PARALYTIC was also hard but at least it's a common word. And STRONGISH, yeah I should have got that but with only two vowels so the -ING ending looked unavoidable.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:05 am

Respect to Corby for maxing that very difficult duel.

Allan Harmer · Post by **Allan Harmer** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:10 am

Charlie Reams wrote:Respect to Corby for maxing that very difficult duel.

Hear Hear! Brilliant work Jon.

Those anagrams were so difficult. I thought it was just me being thick but apparently not!

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:16 am

Charlie Reams wrote:Respect to Corby for maxing that very difficult duel.

Cheers mate. Conundrums aside though I didn't that it was that tricky tbf

Kevin Davis · Post by **Kevin Davis** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 6:57 pm

My DD from yesterday appears to be in with todays.

This may well be because it passed midnight when I was playing it.

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:36 pm

Jon Corby wrote:
Charlie Reams wrote:Respect to Corby for maxing that very difficult duel.
Cheers mate. Conundrums aside though I didn't that it was that tricky tbf

I agree. I maxed everything apart from the last round, STRONGISH. It seemed OK to me but well done for maxing it mate.