Search found 476 matches

by Conor
Sat Apr 18, 2020 6:12 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1615
Views: 630809

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

Why are some football transfer fees undisclosed? What's the big secret? Do you reckon it's because the fee was less than or more than you'd expect, or could it be either depending on the player? What could possibly be the harm in disclosing any fee other than the disgust at the obscenity of transfe...
by Conor
Sat Apr 18, 2020 5:55 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1615
Views: 630809

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

Why isn't wearing helmets in cars a thing like it is on bikes (pedal and motor)? The risk of head injury might not be as high, and it would be annoying, but the risk still exists. Literally no-one ever talks about this. Rally drivers wear helmets. But presumably the marginal benefit is so low that ...
by Conor
Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:43 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Weird maze/puzzle thing on BBC Micro emulator
Replies: 19
Views: 19747

Re: Weird maze/puzzle thing on BBC Micro emulator

Just solved it. Also felt a bit 'meh' about the solution, but might also be annoyance at myself seeing what was happening quite quickly but not following it up til I'd spent a lot of time trying some methods that led nowhere.
by Conor
Fri Apr 17, 2020 12:37 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: What TV programmes have you been watching lately?
Replies: 758
Views: 565553

Re: What TV programmes have you been watching lately?

Was it just one phone call? I was sure someone said something about several phone calls at one point, but I might have got the wrong end of the stick. The article above hints at it being just one phone call, but I do recall something about several phone calls. Was that to Adrian Pollock's pagers ma...
by Conor
Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:59 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: What TV programmes have you been watching lately?
Replies: 758
Views: 565553

Re: What TV programmes have you been watching lately?

Quiz has now finished, and if I thought Ep2 was a little loose with the truth, Ep3 was flat out lying at points. - The suggestion that Celador added the coughs to the tapes is unfounded and ridiculous. The coughs were turned up for the trial , not as the original cut. Isn't the tape used at the tri...
by Conor
Sat Apr 11, 2020 12:21 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: When Countdown episodes run out
Replies: 80
Views: 28989

Re: When Countdown episodes run out

I like this.
by Conor
Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:49 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: C4C/apto/Countdown Dreams
Replies: 758
Views: 400213

Re: C4C/apto/Countdown Dreams

From about a week ago. I'm walking on the street, and then remember I'm expecting a call so go into a public phone box, where Damian Eadie calls and tells me there's going to be a special series of Countdown filmed and do I want in. Of course I say yes, but Damian is a bit rushed and I don't hear an...
by Conor
Wed Mar 04, 2020 11:56 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Is COUNTDOWN worthy of respect as a game?
Replies: 21
Views: 10184

Re: Is COUNTDOWN worthy of respect as a game?

First: I'm genuinely hurt you didn't consider my performances to be works of art! When it comes to classing certain games or sports as more artful than others, there seems to be a relationship between 'level of artistry' and 'ability of humans over computers', tying in with definition of art as 'the...
by Conor
Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:04 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 147329

Re: You Are The Ref

With a pen, I might be concerned about dropping it or missing the table. You just need an easy, not-too-rigid stance. Being more relaxed will help your reaction speed.
by Conor
Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:36 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: You Are The Ref
Replies: 345
Views: 147329

Re: You Are The Ref

1. (c) they've given a valid answer, plus there's some precedent for this 2. (b) 3. This is a tough one. I first thought (b), but now I am leaning more towards (c), provided that (i) I've been giving 5 sec warnings in previous rounds, so it's reasonable to expect I'd do the same for the conundrum an...
by Conor
Tue Feb 18, 2020 2:02 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Monday 3rd February 2020 (Series 82, Prelim 22)
Replies: 6
Views: 3785

Re: Spoilers for Monday 3rd February 2020 (Series 82, Prelim 22)

Susie managed to misread the definition of POUNDAL . "A unit of force equal to that required to give a mass of one pound an acceleration of one foot per second." Which is of course nonsense. A foot per second is a unit of speed, not acceleration. Maybe she saw the end of the definition wh...
by Conor
Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:51 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Poll: The strongest series? [S01-S81]
Replies: 18
Views: 7441

Re: Poll: The strongest series? [S01-S81]

S69 is clearly the strongest by some distance. S61 is, imo, the second strongest, having 3 exceptional players. And I'd make the claim that my own (S54)
is the strongest pre-Apterous, but would now barely make the top 10.
by Conor
Tue Jan 14, 2020 5:37 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1615
Views: 630809

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

Also quizmasters. On Pointless Richard Osman says things like "teams in the 2018-19 Champions League" and I have no idea what that means. I know the names of some football teams, so I could have a wild guess, but I have no idea whether I'm meant to be guessing local or national teams or w...
by Conor
Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:57 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: How many countries have you been to?
Replies: 172
Views: 81991

Re: How many countries have you been to?

I did do Iceland and Japan, and also India and China. Including just airports, you can add Qatar, UAE and South Korea.
by Conor
Wed Dec 18, 2019 3:36 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Who would you like to lead the labour Party
Replies: 30
Views: 13353

Re: Who would you like to lead the labour Party

Yes. On a superficial level. But there is still the question of why Tory remainers were less likely to change their voting habits than Labour leavers. It's not enough to say it's just because. And I do think that must come partly down to how Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party were seen generally. N...
by Conor
Wed Dec 18, 2019 12:00 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Who would you like to lead the labour Party
Replies: 30
Views: 13353

Re: Who would you like to lead the labour Party

Equally, given that a majority of Labour's 2017 vote base (and a bigger majority of their MPs and members) were Remain voters, it takes a lot of faith to imagine that the leadership could have fobbed off all calls for a second referendum without an unmanageable backlash. Of course, with perfect pol...
by Conor
Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:59 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 12th December 2019 (Series 81, QF1)
Replies: 5
Views: 3095

Re: Spoilers for Thursday 12th December 2019 (Series 81, QF1)

There was also MONACTINE in one round.
by Conor
Wed Dec 11, 2019 3:25 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Wednesday 11th December (Series 81, Prelim 117)
Replies: 6
Views: 4002

Re: Spoilers for Wednesday 11th December (Series 81, Prelim 117)

His best performance so far IMO, getting a 'letters max' (I think) with an instant conundrum, and only two tricky numbers games eluding him.
by Conor
Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:23 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Alex Rivers
Replies: 21
Views: 8363

Re: Alex Rivers

Marc Meakin wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 7:43 pm Is this the same guy ?
Almost certainly. His c4c profile shows his age to be 50 matching the 49 when the article was written, and Cheriton is a suburb of Folkestone.
by Conor
Tue Dec 10, 2019 1:04 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Alex Rivers
Replies: 21
Views: 8363

Re: Alex Rivers

Unfortunately, not far from the truth:
Matthew Green wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2010 5:44 pm I exposed him as a paedophile and he fucked off back to his bedsit.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone ... rs-205130/

This disappearance in 2010 likely coincides with his first jail term.
by Conor
Tue Dec 03, 2019 11:01 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Politics in General
Replies: 1604
Views: 1652499

Re: Politics in General

I don't think 75% is such a crazy marginal tax rate, but 50k is too early for it to kick in - in some places it's barely above the median income. The £20,000 threshold from the 70s translates into around £150k today. And while people do respond to more than financial incentive, they are disproportio...
by Conor
Wed Nov 13, 2019 2:39 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Yahoo groups are closing soon
Replies: 7
Views: 4399

Re: Yahoo groups are closing soon

That's a bit shit. How would you archive a Yahoo group anyway other than by saving each post individually? I used https://www.httrack.com/ to download everything from gevincountdown (it just does it page by page). I don't have my old Yahoo account so someone else would need to do that. You did mana...
by Conor
Wed Nov 13, 2019 1:04 pm
Forum: Countdown - Events
Topic: FOCAL Finals -- Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, 23 November 2019
Replies: 37
Views: 25322

Re: FOCAL Finals -- Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, 23 November 2019

FOCAL Countdown wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:56 am Conor - What data would be of most interest in a bitesize table?
Just name, position, total points and number of events played would do.
by Conor
Tue Nov 12, 2019 5:23 pm
Forum: Countdown - Events
Topic: FOCAL Finals -- Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, 23 November 2019
Replies: 37
Views: 25322

Re: FOCAL Finals -- Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, 23 November 2019

All of the Top 8 have accepted our invitation to take part in the Finals, and confirmed that they will be joining us. What's the easiest way to see the current standings? I usually find it as an excel file linked to from the recap of the latest event, but it would be nice to have it more accessible...
by Conor
Thu Oct 31, 2019 12:40 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers For Wednesday 30th October 2019
Replies: 13
Views: 7001

Re: Spoilers for 30th October 2019

Toby McDonald wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:06 pm WANTIES in R12
Was INTWINES in that round iirc.
by Conor
Tue Oct 22, 2019 1:12 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Yahoo groups are closing soon
Replies: 7
Views: 4399

Re: Yahoo groups are closing soon

Gavin Chipper wrote: Sun Oct 20, 2019 8:46 pm That's a bit shit. How would you archive a Yahoo group anyway other than by saving each post individually?
I used https://www.httrack.com/ to download everything from gevincountdown (it just does it page by page). I don't have my old Yahoo account so someone else would need to do that.
by Conor
Tue Aug 27, 2019 6:34 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Questions you've always wanted answered
Replies: 1615
Views: 630809

Re: Questions you've always wanted answered

Obviously I haven't always wanted this question answered but: I'm no cricket fan anyway, but how do people (both players and fans) motivate themselves to really give a shit about the Ashes almost immediately after winning the World Cup? Aside from the history and rivalry, the difference between the...
by Conor
Thu Jul 11, 2019 7:51 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: How many countries have you been to?
Replies: 172
Views: 81991

Re: How many countries have you been to?

UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Czech Rep, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, America, Croatia, Bosnia, Brazil, Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Russia now. Iceland shortly and at least Japan later in the year. US states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania...
by Conor
Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:42 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: What TV programmes have you been watching lately?
Replies: 758
Views: 565553

Re: What TV programmes have you been watching lately?

Black Mirror (series 5) - always good, though nothing really groundbreaking this series

White Gold (series 2) - fun watch, good characters

The Sopranos - exceptional show. Been waiting years to properly watch this.

I am also re-watching Bojack Horseman. Such a relatable show.
by Conor
Tue May 28, 2019 12:43 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: So, who will be the founding member of Countdown's "1000 CLUB"?
Replies: 129
Views: 82780

Re: So, who will be the founding member of Countdown's "1000 CLUB"?

Conor wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:18 amwon't happen
:)
by Conor
Sun May 26, 2019 11:52 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Ask Graeme?
Replies: 1740
Views: 683931

Re: Ask Graeme?

Found a couple recorded as 30s ( http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_4419 and this wonderfully ironic entry http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_761 ) Also a couple of 29.75s ( http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5293 and http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5326 ) and a 29.9 after an incorrect 29s buzz ( http:/...
by Conor
Fri May 24, 2019 5:30 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Ask Graeme?
Replies: 1740
Views: 683931

Re: Ask Graeme?

What’s the latest (correct) conundrum solve there’s ever been on the show? The latest I can recall is Mark Tournoff’s PARTRIDGE on 27 seconds in the S52 final, but surely there have been even later ones. I’d also sub-categorize this into solves where the opponent buzzed in already (and so someone ma...
by Conor
Fri May 24, 2019 10:14 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)
Replies: 24
Views: 10191

Re: Spoilers for Thursday 23rd May 2019 (Series 80, Prelim 87)

My memory is a bit hazy of it, but from what I recall both of our buzzers did something and there was a bit of confusion as to who got there first (though me and the crew seemed to generally agree it was her)...she answered incorrectly and they decided to redo the entire conundrum for some reason t...
by Conor
Wed May 22, 2019 1:39 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Negative picking
Replies: 20
Views: 13226

Re: Negative picking

Well, I'd say you've got to question why someone would not be picking in order to win. Though at Co-Events, aggregate points also make a difference, so in a Lincoln-style game I can understand a bit of the frustration towards negative picking: you might spot all the words and still have your chances...
by Conor
Fri May 03, 2019 6:03 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: People you shouldn't trust
Replies: 921
Views: 394491

Re: People you shouldn't trust

Jeanne Calment?
by Conor
Fri May 03, 2019 6:00 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?
Replies: 70
Views: 24935

Re: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?

Using statistics can help with your own probabilistic acceptance of Calment's case (e.g. maybe based on the evidence you'd be 95% sure she's genuine but you think she's enough of an outlier that you'd revise it down to 80%) but will not provide a conclusive answer on its own. There are too few data ...
by Conor
Thu May 02, 2019 12:30 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?
Replies: 70
Views: 24935

Re: Was Jeanne Calment a fraud?

I don't think the argument that she was a fraud amounts to much. Statistically it's of course very unlikely that any individual person will reach 122, but we're looking for the probability of one person out the several billion candidates making it to 122, and that's much harder to answer. It's often...
by Conor
Sun Apr 14, 2019 3:03 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: What films have you watched lately?
Replies: 428
Views: 241018

Re: What films have you watched lately?

Point Break - about time I’d watched it, and good to watch on a plane to California. Scratched an itch; oh to be young and free again. The Conjuring - trope-heavy but well made and just a bit scary at times The Nun - the above’s prequel or sequel or something. Complete garbage. Can you ever forgive ...
by Conor
Wed Dec 19, 2018 3:28 pm
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Wednesday 19th December 2018 (Series 79, SF 1)
Replies: 5
Views: 2996

Re: Spoilers for Wednesday 19th December 2018 (Series 79, SF 1)

Grandame in r1 and Padanda in a later round. Good contest today!
by Conor
Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:42 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: How much do you weigh?
Replies: 70
Views: 47670

Re: How much do you weigh?

Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 7:54 am
Conor wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 10:19 pm I weigh 11st. Trying to get it down to 10 by COLIN.
Is that why you didn't come this year?
Yes. But now I weigh 10st again, so looking better for next year.
by Conor
Fri Jul 06, 2018 12:55 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Change one letter of a film title to make a funny one
Replies: 63
Views: 41509

Re: Change one letter of a film title to make a funny one

Jews II
American Pig
Schindler’s Lust
Fappy Gilmore
by Conor
Thu Mar 29, 2018 9:46 pm
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: So, who will be the founding member of Countdown's "1000 CLUB"?
Replies: 129
Views: 82780

Re: So, who will be the founding member of Countdown's "1000 CLUB"?

won't happen If you wanna put your money where your mouth is, €10 says it happens before S80, and €100 says it happens before the end of the year 2020. :) It is interesting reading back over this thread more than 7 months later... here are a few things that stand out:- 1. Of the known Apterites we ...
by Conor
Tue Mar 20, 2018 10:19 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: How much do you weigh?
Replies: 70
Views: 47670

Re: How much do you weigh?

Mark Deeks wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 9:46 pm Actually, at the top there, can I see that it's got two USB ports? Maybe it truly is multipurose after all.
Aren't they just buttons?

I weigh 11st. Trying to get it down to 10 by COLIN.
by Conor
Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:22 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: What films have you watched lately?
Replies: 428
Views: 241018

Re: What films have you watched lately?

Watched "Ted" earlier on Channel 4 (actually Channel 4+1, I got in too late to catch the start on normal C4). Now, I've seen it before and remember enjoying it a lot (of which more later), but I was never sure how much of that was because it was any good, or funny, or whatever. I'm pretty...
by Conor
Sun Oct 29, 2017 6:57 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: How many countries have you been to?
Replies: 172
Views: 81991

Re: How many countries have you been to?

Conor wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2016 10:18 pm UK*, Ireland*, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands*, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Czech Rep, Poland, Serbia, Hungary*, Slovakia, America. I have lived in the countries marked *
I can now add Croatia, Bosnia, Brazil, Italy and Greece to the above.
by Conor
Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:57 pm
Forum: Other game shows
Topic: The New Crystal Maze
Replies: 11
Views: 15358

Re: The New Crystal Maze

Good essay. They've made those games harder as well - you have to get two out of three, when Mumsie would have been happy with just one (content warning: wrong aspect ratio). For the new maths game, the Jailer puzzle in the Medieval zone, it looks like they're still tinkering with the format. In mos...
by Conor
Mon Sep 25, 2017 11:08 pm
Forum: Games and Puzzles
Topic: Do you know what you know?
Replies: 13
Views: 12839

Re: Do you know what you know?

Mean confidence: 75.60% Actual percent correct: 70.00% Mean confidence on correct answers: 78.57% Mean confidence on incorrect answers: 68.67% 35 correct out of 50 questions answered (70.00%) 8 correct out of 15 questions answered with low (50 or 60%) confidence (53.33%) 14 correct out of 20 questi...
by Conor
Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:36 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Best 9 of all time
Replies: 17
Views: 14615

Re: Best 9 of all time

Would also go for MYOGLOBIN. Also impressed by POTBOILER (http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_3792) and DESPERADO (http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_4030).
by Conor
Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:45 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Football grounds you've been to
Replies: 57
Views: 42870

Re: Football grounds you've been to

Kenilworth Road (Luton - many times) Stamford Bridge (Chelsea vs Southampton) Old Trafford (Man Utd vs Everton) Estádio António Coimbra da Mota (Estoril Praia vs Sporting da Covilhã) Stade de France (France vs Iceland) Amsterdam ArenA (Netherlands vs France) Maracanã (Flamengo vs Coritiba) San Siro ...
by Conor
Fri Mar 31, 2017 10:50 am
Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
Topic: Spoilers for Thursday 30 March 2017 (Series 76, Prelim 58)
Replies: 1
Views: 3463

Re: Spoilers for Thursday 30 March 2017 (Series 76, Prelim 58)

Johnny Canuck wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 3:43 pm MINIATED as a beater in the DEVIANT/INVITED round. Also PICADOR and BLEATER as alternates to PARODIC and REVALUE.
Bateleur for 8.
by Conor
Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:50 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: People you shouldn't trust
Replies: 921
Views: 394491

Re: People you shouldn't trust

Language needn't prioritize concision over clarity (IMHO). Being sometimes tautological is just how we naturally communicate, and you are not clever for pointing out potential redundancies in people's writing.
by Conor
Mon Dec 26, 2016 10:00 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Who would be the biggest deaths?
Replies: 236
Views: 50684

Re: Who would be the biggest deaths?

I guess if we was talking about musician deaths of the last forty years on impact and shock then IMHO 1. John Lennon 2. Elvis 3. Michael Jackson 4. David Bowie 5 George Harrison 6. Marvin Gaye 7. Prince 8 Frank Sinatra 9. Freddie Mercury 10. George Michael Kurt Cobain the big omission there. I woul...
by Conor
Sat Dec 24, 2016 2:48 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: How would you rank the celebratory days of the year?
Replies: 17
Views: 7888

Re: How would you rank the celebratory days of the year?

New Year : one of the few events to be more fun as an adult, certainly because it's socially acceptable to get totally hammered. The calling relatives and friends thing after midnight can be annoying when you're already quite drunk. The expection of 'Omg what are your new years plans?!?!?!' is also...
by Conor
Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:21 am
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Who would be the biggest deaths?
Replies: 236
Views: 50684

Re: Who would be the biggest deaths?

Leonard Cohen is another one who wasn't mentioned here.
by Conor
Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:41 am
Forum: Countdown - General
Topic: Is this the oldest ever Countdown related forum topic?
Replies: 9
Views: 4611

Re: Is this the oldest ever Countdown related forum topic?

Was thinking a website downloader tool such as https://www.httrack.com/ could be used.
by Conor
Sat Nov 26, 2016 5:40 pm
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Who would be the biggest deaths?
Replies: 236
Views: 50684

Re: Who would be the biggest deaths?

As it's the second half of the year, Castro is perhaps the first octochamp of a new series. And he's looking like the favourite in a much weaker series. I'd also have Alan Rickman comfortably ahead of Victoria Wood. He might even only be behind Ali, Bowie and Prince. He was much more famous internat...