Search found 918 matches

by Alec Rivers
Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:24 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Bienvenue! Le Topic de la Francais!
Replies: 29
Views: 2801

Re: Bienvenue! Le Topic de la Francais!

Le singe est sur la branche.
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 26, 2010 7:37 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Define the largest finite number you can in 1000 characters
Replies: 39
Views: 5522

Re: Define the largest finite number you can in 1000 characters

Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons. Yeah, that's a good one, too. That was amongst dozens from which I picked the Bill Gates one, including "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" – Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Chairman of the Board of IBM. There's anoth...
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:30 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Define the largest finite number you can in 1000 characters
Replies: 39
Views: 5522

Re: Define the largest finite number you can in 1000 characters

Charlie Reams wrote:No one will ever need more than 640.
Bill Gates [although possibly an urban myth] wrote:640K ought to be enough for anybody.
Heinrich Hertz wrote:[Electromagnetic waves are] ... of no use whatsoever.
Decca Recording Co. (rejecting the Beatles, 1962) wrote:We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.
Image
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 26, 2010 2:10 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Pictures of pencils
Replies: 8
Views: 1900

Re: Pictures of pencils

Image
by Alec Rivers
Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:16 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: End of S4C repeats?
Replies: 9
Views: 2509

Re: End of S4C repeats?

Kirk Bevins wrote:
Alec Rivers wrote:4oD
WTF? Howard has stated there is 4oD so I don't see the point of this post.
Oh yeah, so he did. :oops:
by Alec Rivers
Wed Mar 24, 2010 2:26 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: The Evil of Video Games
Replies: 5
Views: 2165

Re: The Evil of Video Games

Anagram of ALAN TITCHMARSH = THAT ANAL SMIRCH
by Alec Rivers
Wed Mar 24, 2010 2:18 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: End of S4C repeats?
Replies: 9
Views: 2509

Re: End of S4C repeats?

4oD
by Alec Rivers
Tue Mar 23, 2010 5:37 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Define the largest finite number you can in 1000 characters
Replies: 39
Views: 5522

Re: Define the largest finite number you can in 1000 characters

Gavin Chipper wrote:... I haven't heard of any numbers in any non-numerical form.
Marc Meakin wrote:... infinity ...
Sorry. :P

And anyway, that would still be infinity — a strange beast.
by Alec Rivers
Tue Mar 23, 2010 3:15 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Bug reports
Replies: 2157
Views: 435799

Re: Bug reports

Maybe the nominate button simply sends the server a request for the current page, with the nomination data added to the URL. There's no doubt about it. I was too lazy to find a game to nominate and thus test the theory. :cry: (Yes, I could also have viewed the page source and hunted around for the ...
by Alec Rivers
Tue Mar 23, 2010 2:07 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Bug reports
Replies: 2157
Views: 435799

Re: Bug reports

See this Ryan-Kirk game which has two real GOTW nominations, but three additional phantom nominations recorded on the homepage. And maybe even two emails? I've received 2 emails saying "Innis Carson has voted your game for game of the week" and then another one exactly the same. Clicking ...
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:52 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Who Would You Like To See Back In DC?
Replies: 9
Views: 2400

Re: Who Would You Like To See Back In DC?

James Robinson wrote:... there were more options then votes.
'Than', dear fellow, 'than'.
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:05 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: NEW HIGH SCORE!
Replies: 5
Views: 1779

Re: NEW HIGH SCORE!

Awesome. A-lol.
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:59 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: The C4C Football Thread
Replies: 1265
Views: 194665

Re: The C4C Football Thread

Jon Corby wrote:Christ almighty, well done Fulham. Stunning result.
This.
by Alec Rivers
Wed Mar 17, 2010 3:30 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: c4countdown: Quick Survey
Replies: 12
Views: 3050

Re: c4countdown: Quick Survey

Ryan Taylor wrote:I say c-four countdown because that is what it says.
This.
by Alec Rivers
Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:31 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Pass the time?
Replies: 153
Views: 16255

Re: Pass the time?

Matt Morrison wrote:
Alec Rivers wrote:
Matt Morrison wrote:New one: SEE BUMS EVICT
BESSIE CUMVET?
Haha, no. She some kind of porn star?
Probably, lol. It's all I could find. (Well, that and STEVIE SECUMB or McBEUS or some other scramble.)

EDIT: Ah, Marc has already answered.
by Alec Rivers
Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:17 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Pass the time?
Replies: 153
Views: 16255

Re: Pass the time?

Matt Morrison wrote:New one: SEE BUMS EVICT
BESSIE CUMVET?
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:05 pm
Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
Topic: Monday 15th March 2010 (Special episode S26)
Replies: 13
Views: 3330

Re: Monday 15th March 2010 (Special episode S26)

James Robinson wrote:Did Kirk say GREED, becuase the subtitles gave it as FREED. :? :?:
He clearly says FREED.
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:03 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: British pronunciation
Replies: 23
Views: 3029

Re: British pronunciation

I say VAL-ay, but I have no idea what the most common pronunciation is.
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 7:09 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Monday 15th March 2010
Replies: 67
Views: 8841

Re: Spoilers for Monday 15th March 2010

Alt first numbers, FWIW:

(6 x 4 + 37 + 12) x (8 + 5)

= 73 x 13

= 949
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:08 pm
Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
Topic: Monday 15th March 2010 (Special episode S26)
Replies: 13
Views: 3330

Re: Monday 15th March 2010 (Special episode S26)

Good recap, but Chris buzzed in with TENUBRACY on 24.5 secs.
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:59 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Bevins vs Davies
Replies: 27
Views: 4107

Re: Bevins vs Davies

Marc Meakin wrote:Or have a random selection between 1 and 49 and call it Lotterydown.
That's a good idea. (Alt name Lottodown)
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:21 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Bevins vs Davies
Replies: 27
Views: 4107

Re: Bevins vs Davies

Marc Meakin wrote:
D Eadie wrote:The twist is not that twisty really. It's more of a slight curvature.
Could make a good variant on Apterous.
Maybe have a choice of 1, 2 or 3 digit numbers.
Was thinking the same, but with numbers between, say, 20 and 100 generated randomly for each round.
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:34 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10
Replies: 28
Views: 4024

Re: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10

lol. I scanned down the topic, but must have missed Ian's post. Simple as that. Sorry, Ian.
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:37 am
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10
Replies: 28
Views: 4024

Re: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10

Ha-ha. You twist and you turn, ignoring your abusive exclamation "Bullshit". That in itself is offensive. Add that to the first sarcastic response and anyone can see why I was offended. If you can't see that, then you have a problem. Maybe you're just jealous because I came up with a relat...
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:48 am
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10
Replies: 28
Views: 4024

Re: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10

Bullshit: don't try and shit a shitter! OK, firstly, I don't understand why you needed to attack me with a sarcastic comment in response to my initial post. All I did was throw a word into the mix which may or may not get considered – I'm not fussed either way. Secondly, I genuinely felt it was all...
by Alec Rivers
Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:06 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10
Replies: 28
Views: 4024

Re: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10

If it's just points you're after, CODGER at D1a scores 44. Perhaps you should try reading the thread. I did, thank you. And I distinctly remember a very recent comment regarding playing for pride now that the game is lost. In my opinion, that means closing the gap as far as possible to minimize the...
by Alec Rivers
Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:03 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: C4C Link Dump
Replies: 329
Views: 60373

Re: C4C Link Dump

Andy Wilson wrote:Saw this and just thought i should circulate it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Excellent video. I've seen it before (having seen almost all of TED's offerings) but it was good to watch again. I think it should be compulsory viewing for all policy makers in education.
by Alec Rivers
Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:36 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Countdown specials: The Secret's Out
Replies: 80
Views: 11859

Re: Countdown specials: The Secret's Out

Helen Andrews wrote:... even if I'm probably going to feel really stupid by the end of it :P
Don't worry, you wouldn't be the only one.
by Alec Rivers
Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:33 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10
Replies: 28
Views: 4024

Re: Scrabble consensus game - Move 10

If it's just points you're after, CODGER at D1a scores 44.
by Alec Rivers
Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:33 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: The Official Finals "jizz in your pants" excitement thread
Replies: 44
Views: 3706

Re: The Official Finals "jizz in your pants" excitement thread

Charlie Reams wrote:... here's Mitchell & Webb on the subject.
lol
by Alec Rivers
Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:36 am
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Scrabble Consensus Game - Move 8
Replies: 6
Views: 1779

Re: Scrabble Consensus Game - Move 8

Michael Wallace wrote:6F VAW gives us 23 leaves us BLUG. Not great, but it's a start. Maybe.
Placing VAW at C7a scores 28.
by Alec Rivers
Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:22 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Tuesday March 9th 2010
Replies: 33
Views: 4917

Re: Spoilers For Tuesday March 9th 2010

Haha, excellent.
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:28 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Words You Would Have Thought...
Replies: 479
Views: 160754

Re: Words You Would Have Thought...

Jennifer Bett wrote:(I don't know how to make the URLs look pretty)
There is a simple guide here.
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:56 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Friday March 12th 2010
Replies: 6
Views: 1666

Re: Spoilers For Friday March 12th 2010

Simpler numbers (2nd, I think) within time:

(50 - 100 / 25) x 9 = 414
by Alec Rivers
Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:17 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Exam results
Replies: 151
Views: 17833

Re: Exam results

Telephone jokes are boring. Dave was a frequent user of a payphone at a petrol station, and was greatly inconvenienced when it developed a fault. Repeated requests for repair brought only promises. After several days, he again contacted BT and told them not to worry. The phone was working again, ex...
by Alec Rivers
Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:44 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Is ALMOST the longest word in alphabetical order?
Replies: 14
Views: 2624

Re: Is ALMOST the longest word in alphabetical order?

FWIW, the Countdown-valid word with the most consonants in alphabetical order is CHAMPERTY.
by Alec Rivers
Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:55 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Thursday March 11th 2010
Replies: 31
Views: 3850

Re: Spoilers For Thursday March 11th 2010

James Robinson wrote:Another rubbish spoiler starter ...
You still make the effort, though, which is a good thing. :)
by Alec Rivers
Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:05 am
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Is ALMOST the longest word in alphabetical order?
Replies: 14
Views: 2624

Re: Is ALMOST the longest word in alphabetical order?

ODE word list 30/10/09

With repeated letters:
  • BEEFILY
    BILLOWY
    DIKKOPS
Without:
  • ABHORS
    ALMOST
    BEGINS
    BIJOUX
    BIOPSY
    CHIMPS
    CHINOS
    CHINTZ
    DEHORS
    DHIKRS

CSW Word list

With repeats:
  • ADDEEMS
    BEEFILY
    BILLOWY
    DIKKOPS
    GIMMORS
Without:
  • CHIKORS
by Alec Rivers
Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:06 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Wednesday March 10th 2010
Replies: 9
Views: 1949

Re: Spoilers For Wednesday March 10th 2010

Simpler 2nd numbers:

(75 x 2 + 1) x 2 = 302
by Alec Rivers
Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:07 am
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Bug reports
Replies: 2157
Views: 435799

Re: Bug reports

Just a tiny error on the site: the reversed ordering of the Chat Archive entries is great but the heading still reads "... arranged in date order (newest at the bottom)."
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:40 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Foreign dictionary Apterous
Replies: 43
Views: 7312

Re: Foreign dictionary Apterous

Can we challenge foreign lexicons? In Dutch, I was very surprised to have BLAFJES disallowed. BLAF is bark (of a dog, etc.) and is both a verb and a noun. The diminutive of the noun is, naturally, BLAFJE. The plural is formed with -S as expected. Plenty of hits on google.nl and there's even a websit...
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:49 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Friday March 5th 2010
Replies: 27
Views: 3589

Re: Spoilers For Friday March 5th 2010

Jon Corby wrote:...ly
adverb
Dinos Sfyris wrote:...ty
noun [/pedantry]
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:44 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Bug reports
Replies: 2157
Views: 435799

Re: Bug reports

lol
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:43 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Feature requests
Replies: 1956
Views: 432350

Re: Feature requests

Marcus Hares wrote:Our Irish/American/etc... friends may agree with me!
Except that the lexicon is English, not Irish/American/etc. ;)
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:02 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Birthdays
Replies: 1252
Views: 129578

Re: Birthdays

Kevin Davis wrote:
Dinos Sfyris wrote:Happy 40th birthday, Rich. Time to set sail on the H.M.S.OLDGIT
They should use that as a Conundrum...
Wow, goldsmith.
by Alec Rivers
Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:00 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Feature requests
Replies: 1956
Views: 432350

Re: Feature requests

Why the addition of the flag? It is really off-putting. Staring at the letters, my eyes see a colourful flag and aren't focussing as much as they used to. Maybe I'll get used to it but I suggest only putting the flags as backgrounds when the language ISN'T English. If it is English, keep it white. ...
by Alec Rivers
Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:42 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Foreign dictionary Apterous
Replies: 43
Views: 7312

Re: Foreign dictionary Apterous

Charlie Reams wrote:It's 148x136.
I've sent two sets - normal and faded. Info in email.
by Alec Rivers
Sat Mar 06, 2010 4:21 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Foreign dictionary Apterous
Replies: 43
Views: 7312

Re: Foreign dictionary Apterous

Alternatively: Much nicer. If you email me (charliereams3@gmail.com) the flag images for the 8 languages we currently support, I'll make sure this gets into the next version. I have them as vector drawings so I can render them perfectly at any size. To avoid bitmap resizing artefacts, just let me k...
by Alec Rivers
Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:55 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Foreign dictionary Apterous
Replies: 43
Views: 7312

Re: Foreign dictionary Apterous

Alternatively:

Image

Image

Image
by Alec Rivers
Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:27 am
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Foreign dictionary Apterous
Replies: 43
Views: 7312

Re: Foreign dictionary Apterous

Maybe make the background a faded image of the appropriate national flag. Background of the chat box, you mean? That could work. It could, although I was thinking along the lines of: http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu203/SpiritmanProductions/flag_on_window_NL.png http://i648.photobucket.com/albu...
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:23 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: POLL: CV PR fail on QT?
Replies: 42
Views: 4131

POLL: CV PR fail on QT?

If you haven't seen it yet, it's available on BBC iPlayer until 11:34pm Friday 4th March 2011.
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 05, 2010 8:57 pm
Forum: apterous.org
Topic: Foreign dictionary Apterous
Replies: 43
Views: 7312

Re: Foreign dictionary Apterous

You know things are going badly when you find yourself looking across after a few rounds to see which language dictionary is installed. Heehee. I occasionally fail to notice non-standard variants until the end of the round, and I imagine the problem is even worse if you regularly dictionary-surf. M...
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 05, 2010 4:30 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Friday March 5th 2010
Replies: 27
Views: 3589

Re: Spoilers For Friday March 5th 2010

Stewart Gordon wrote:Somebody ought to have made at least some attempt to make that numbers game interesting!

(8 × 7 - 3 × 2) × 10

Did anyone think up a more interesting way?
Well, I had (50 / 10) x (7 + 3) x (8 + 2), omelette-style.
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:31 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Question Time...................
Replies: 30
Views: 4374

Re: Question Time...................

There are lots of unfavourable comments about Carol on the BBCs Points of View website. She seems to have made a bad impression. I thought she did fine to start with. Then, during the Venables discussion, she climbed up on a very high horse and, like some swivel-eyed lunatic, started spouting all s...
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:13 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Question Time...................
Replies: 30
Views: 4374

Re: Question Time...................

Just watching it on iPlayer and absolutely A-lolled at Shirley Williams, who apparently can't count: (quote) "He appears not to have asked at any point, A. what he is going to do, B. what his intentions are and, secondly, why he doesn't fulfil the pledge ...". WTF? :shock:
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:50 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Smilie League Table
Replies: 25
Views: 2386

Re: Smilie League Table

Not bad coming 2nd after just less than a year on here. ;) :) :D lol. Sorry, James, but I must point out the glaring statistical error you've made there. The average (arithmetic mean) is the total number of smilies divided by the number of posts. Therefore if you had only ever posted once (assuming...
by Alec Rivers
Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:05 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Wednesday March 3rd 2010
Replies: 23
Views: 4038

Re: Spoilers For Wednesday March 3rd 2010

Alec - in that we had one of those youngsters. The way I see it they have to pass an audition like anyone else, so must be good to start with. Not often one of them gets beaten first time and I think the lad was unlucky, just happened to be up against someone who's doing a good run. I was sitting i...
by Alec Rivers
Thu Mar 04, 2010 8:03 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Wednesday March 3rd 2010
Replies: 23
Views: 4038

Re: Spoilers For Wednesday March 3rd 2010

Jim Treloar wrote:For those of you who don't know, an interesting game coming up today - Thursday.
Erm, in what way? As I watched it, all I could imagine was an amazing comeback, but that never quite materialised.
by Alec Rivers
Thu Mar 04, 2010 2:43 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: C4C Link Dump
Replies: 329
Views: 60373

Re: C4C Link Dump

In a similar vein, but apparently less contrived/fabricated etc., is Computer Stupidities. A lot of it is from the earlier days of computing, so a fair amount of the humour might be lost on anyone who doesn't know what a 286 is, for instance.