December's Daily Duels

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:55 am

Frank Rodolf wrote:It worked for me... Every sane part of my mind (no need for comments ) wished it would break down though.

It would've been nice to complete it, because after 22 rounds I had a score of 15, so I wasn't doing too bad.

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:00 am

Just looking at yesterdays duel, Frank and I were the only ones to get EMPATHISE

(R30) and well done also to Jono and Kirk who both got GRAPESHOT (R27).

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:11 pm

Joseph Bolas wrote:Just looking at yesterdays duel, Frank and I were the only ones to get EMPATHISE (R30) and well done also to Jono and Kirk who both got GRAPESHOT (R27).

I thought my guess of TIMEPHASE^ wasn't too shabby.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:43 pm

Paul Howe wrote:If it's any consolation Jim I buggered today's up royally.

I suppose Charlie's at the CofC, but was just wondering what happens if it's impossible to get within 10 on the numbers in a max only game. Would you always get a point? I'm sure Gevin's had several sleepless nights tormenting himself with this.

Hadn't really considered it. Don't suppose it makes any difference though. I haven't done the duel for the last couple of days - I haven't been able motivate myself to do that many rounds!

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:00 pm

Kirk Bevins wrote:
Joseph Bolas wrote:Just looking at yesterdays duel, Frank and I were the only ones to get EMPATHISE (R30) and well done also to Jono and Kirk who both got GRAPESHOT (R27).
I thought my guess of TIMEPHASE^ wasn't too shabby.

It was a good guess. Looking at the other conundrums I missed, I can't say I have come across POULTICED before, so that also was a tricky one.

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:43 pm

Oh ffs. My duellist decided to f*** up on round 42 where I could only see blank rounds. No problem, I just scored 0 for rounds 43 and 44. Come the last round, round 45, again it was blank and I heard the sound of the timer finishing ticking but there was no end game and apterous had frozen. I had to close it. Turns out my duel wasn't recorded and I can't do it again. What a waste of bloody time.

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:20 am

Kirk Bevins wrote:Oh ffs. My duellist decided to f*** up on round 42 where I could only see blank rounds. No problem, I just scored 0 for rounds 43 and 44. Come the last round, round 45, again it was blank and I heard the sound of the timer finishing ticking but there was no end game and apterous had frozen. I had to close it. Turns out my duel wasn't recorded and I can't do it again. What a waste of bloody time.

That's got to be annoying.

I tried today's duel to see how far I could get and this time I only got to round 31

. I don't understand why the duel freezes up for me after so many rounds.

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:39 am

Glad it's not just me. I had to quit Monday's Duel for the same reason and so had no score recorded.

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:14 am

...and it's just happened again, on Round 52 of 55. Luckily I was able to limp to the end of the game, without scoring any more points, just by closing each blank window that opened, so at least I should have registered a score for today even if it's a few points short of what it could have been. (I was doing crap anyway so a few more missed points won't make much difference.) I tried opening the Java console in case it offered some clues for Charlie, but that came up as a blank window too.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:59 am

There was a Java update the other day, maybe it's something to do with that?

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:51 pm

I've had no problems.

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:28 pm

Ian Volante wrote:There was a Java update the other day, maybe it's something to do with that?

It could be Ian. I've just checked and there was a Version 6 Update 11 for XP (I was still on Version 6 Update 7), so I have downloaded the update and will try it on the duel tomorrow

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:17 pm

Ian Volante wrote:There was a Java update the other day, maybe it's something to do with that?

Mine's been a bit funny since about then. Like the edges of windows flashing in a sort of yellow or brown colour and lots of exclamation marks in triangles.

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:46 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:There was a Java update the other day, maybe it's something to do with that?
Mine's been a bit funny since about then. Like the edges of windows flashing in a sort of yellow or brown colour and lots of exclamation marks in triangles.

Yes that's happened to me since but the real problem is it seems to slow down and my computer seems to whirr more as if it's processing more data. Indeed, yet again today, got to about round 42 and it started going slow and by round 45 I couldn't see the rounds at all - it was just a blank screen or indeed a screen where you can see the webpage behind it through the window - it's as if everything is running slowly. I click on the normal apterous window and it pops up with nothing inside. I've had it before the java update but not as frequently but it did mean I'd have to close the game down.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:08 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:There was a Java update the other day, maybe it's something to do with that?
Mine's been a bit funny since about then. Like the edges of windows flashing in a sort of yellow or brown colour and lots of exclamation marks in triangles.

That's happened to me since the Java update, but I've had no freezing/slowdown problems, possibly because I play exclusively using firefox.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:39 pm

Ben Wilson wrote:
Gavin Chipper wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:There was a Java update the other day, maybe it's something to do with that?
Mine's been a bit funny since about then. Like the edges of windows flashing in a sort of yellow or brown colour and lots of exclamation marks in triangles.
That's happened to me since the Java update, but I've had no freezing/slowdown problems, possibly because I play exclusively using firefox.

I get the impression that the colours are to highlight the active window. Like it got dropped in curry or diarrhoea. No problems for me since the update, I'm on Firefox too.

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:12 pm

So is there anyone here then who uses Internet Explorer that has the same problem as myself?

I have also had to do quite a few Windows Updates as well today, but I don't think they will have any effect on the outcome.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:17 pm

I spoke too soon, it died on me today after about twelve rounds, but it appeared that the whole site glitched at that point. It disappeared annoyingly however.

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:43 pm

9 rounds for me. I got them all, as well.

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:13 pm

I use Firefox too and it still breaks.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:47 am

Today's (Thursday's) duel was friggin' awesome. More like that in future please.

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:24 am

Ben Wilson wrote:Today's (Thursday's) duel was friggin' awesome. More like that in future please.

I will give today's duel a shot later on today, but when it comes to speed rounds, I myself prefer rounds of at least 10-15 seconds per round. I am probably the only one here, but I ain't that quick yet to be able find all the maxes in word rounds, or solve a tough numbers in my head in under 5 seconds

.

Frank Rodolf · Post by **Frank Rodolf** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:14 am

Joseph Bolas wrote:
Ben Wilson wrote:Today's (Thursday's) duel was friggin' awesome. More like that in future please.
I will give today's duel a shot later on today, but when it comes to speed rounds, I myself prefer rounds of at least 10-15 seconds per round. I am probably the only one here, but I ain't that quick yet to be able find all the maxes in word rounds, or solve a tough numbers in my head in under 5 seconds .

Nah, you're not the only one - I find 5 seconds just that bit too short too.

Still, it's a shame my internet connection went down for a bit, after just three or four rounds of the duel - I would have liked to see how many points I could still score.

Debbi Flack · Post by **Debbi Flack** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:48 am

Frank Rodolf wrote:
Joseph Bolas wrote:
Ben Wilson wrote:Today's (Thursday's) duel was friggin' awesome. More like that in future please.
I will give today's duel a shot later on today, but when it comes to speed rounds, I myself prefer rounds of at least 10-15 seconds per round. I am probably the only one here, but I ain't that quick yet to be able find all the maxes in word rounds, or solve a tough numbers in my head in under 5 seconds .
Nah, you're not the only one - I find 5 seconds just that bit too short too.

Still, it's a shame my internet connection went down for a bit, after just three or four rounds of the duel - I would have liked to see how many points I could still score.

Same here - that's the second time in the last few days mine has crashed after a few rounds. I think I'll probably wait now until January when the duels return to normal (or normal-ish!)

Paul Howe · Post by **Paul Howe** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:13 pm

Mine didn't crash, but it ended on rd 64 instead of the expected 66.

Still debating if I should get up at 5:30 tomorrow to do the last one

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:16 pm

Paul Howe wrote:Mine didn't crash, but it ended on rd 64 instead of the expected 66.

Still debating if I should get up at 5:30 tomorrow to do the last one

Just so I have an idea of the latest I can leave it, how long did it take you to complete Paul?

Paul Howe · Post by **Paul Howe** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:20 pm

Joseph Bolas wrote:
Just so I have an idea of the latest I can leave it, how long did it take you to complete Paul?

I'd say about 15 mins, but I did have a little break half way through to refresh myself.

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:04 pm

Ben Wilson wrote:
Gavin Chipper wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:There was a Java update the other day, maybe it's something to do with that?
Mine's been a bit funny since about then. Like the edges of windows flashing in a sort of yellow or brown colour and lots of exclamation marks in triangles.
That's happened to me since the Java update, but I've had no freezing/slowdown problems, possibly because I play exclusively using firefox.

Now that I have updated to Update 11 on IE, I am getting these flashing edges and exclamation marks in triangles. Is there any way to remove them? I actually seel a bit sick playing it.

Frank Rodolf · Post by **Frank Rodolf** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:36 pm

Playing today's (Friday's) duel. If anyone apart from me gets the maximum in round 35, I will be seriously impressed!

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:09 pm

If it's this Java update that's causing a lot of weirdness, then they might release another update to get rid of it, assuming it's not something that just affects Apterous.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 11:25 pm

I've not got through it for a few days now.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 12:10 am

I hereby claim the title of 12 days of Christmas duel champion. :p Though admittedly this is only because Paul (Howe) didn't play the 12th's.

...And yes, COASTWISE was a total guess.

Pissed off about GAITED^ and ANTIHERO^ getting KOed by DC though.

Frank Rodolf · Post by **Frank Rodolf** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 12:33 am

Nice job, Ben!

I am sure glad we are back to more "normal" duels now though!

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:56 am

Ben Wilson wrote:I hereby claim the title of 12 days of Christmas duel champion. :p Though admittedly this is only because Paul (Howe) didn't play the 12th's.

And also because the duel wouldn't work for most people

. Congratulations though Ben

It was a good idea by Charlie for the duel, I'm just disappointed I couldn't partake in it every day

. I do eagerly await though for any more themed duels that may be upcoming

Frank Rodolf wrote:I am sure glad we are back to more "normal" duels now though!

Seconded

Julie T · Post by **Julie T** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:32 am

Yesterday's daily duel demonstrated that I really can't do 10 second rounds.

I came second from bottom.
Particularly annoyed to get POUNDAGE, but not POUNDAGES. Wouldn't have happened with normal 30 second rounds.
Glad today's duel is more normal. I'll attempt it when I'm more awake.

Kai Laddiman · Post by **Kai Laddiman** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:00 am

Julie T wrote:I came second from bottom.

I was probably bottom.

Dan Vanniasingham · Post by **Dan Vanniasingham** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:18 am

After a trouncing from Jimmy Gough I may have lost my marbles, but I don't think the monthly standings (as of today) include my score of 19pts from yesterday. I know I've done all the duels this month, but unless I've offended apterous in some way I can't quite work out why my score hasn't been included.

Oh, in my "Games in Progress" tab, it has a load of games as "Postponed", and mine with the duellist at the bottom as "Waiting" - even though it had finished over an hour ago. Perhaps I need to join the "rollback Java" club to resolve that? Thanks

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:30 am

Dan Vanniasingham wrote:After a trouncing from Jimmy Gough I may have lost my marbles, but I don't think the monthly standings (as of today) include my score of 19pts from yesterday. I know I've done all the duels this month, but unless I've offended apterous in some way I can't quite work out why my score hasn't been included.

Oh, in my "Games in Progress" tab, it has a load of games as "Postponed", and mine with the duellist at the bottom as "Waiting" - even though it had finished over an hour ago. Perhaps I need to join the "rollback Java" club to resolve that? Thanks

By the sound of it, your games aren't finishing cleanly for one reason or another. Play me next time you're online and I'll try to diagnose the problem.

Dan Vanniasingham · Post by **Dan Vanniasingham** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:16 am

Charlie Reams wrote:By the sound of it, your games aren't finishing cleanly for one reason or another. Play me next time you're online and I'll try to diagnose the problem.

I've not had any of the "backlog" list since the server was rebooted. Played a few games and had the previously mentioned windows go blank, so I've now removed the java update too. All seems fine once again, thanks.

Any chance of my 19 points being added to the monthly total though?

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:16 am

Well done to Frank and Jon for topping yesterday's duel. Interestingly, Frank spotted some top words amongst his duel but took longer than average to get both conundrums - in fact taking the top 10 players from the duel, only Tony Warren and Frank spotted BUBBLEGUM the slowest.

Howard Somerset · Post by **Howard Somerset** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:22 am

Kirk Bevins wrote:... - in fact taking the top 10 players from the duel, only Tony Warren and Frank spotted BUBBLEGUM the slowest.

I think that's the first time on apterous that I've spotted a conundrum, and managed to enter it in time. Definitely an upward movement.

Then I find that absolutely everyone got it. Well, at least I wasn't the only person to miss it.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:40 am

Kirk Bevins wrote:Well done to Frank and Jon for topping yesterday's duel. Interestingly, Frank spotted some top words amongst his duel but took longer than average to get both conundrums - in fact taking the top 10 players from the duel, only Tony Warren and Frank spotted BUBBLEGUM the slowest.

That's not really that surprising, Frank is probably just being more sensible than the rest of us! It could actually be a little foolish to dive in with a 1 second spot when you know that you are guaranteed the full time to solve the conundrum at leisure. Why hurry?! I'm sure in an ordinary game, especially in a crucial setting, Frank would have solved it much quicker. Indeed he probably did, he was just wisely double-checking himself before pressing anything and risk losing the ten points.

Howard Somerset · Post by **Howard Somerset** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:16 am

Hadn't realised until very recently that we can see the conundrum times. So many thanks to the three players who decided to wait longer than 15.7 secs before declaring their results for that final one yesterday.

Frank Rodolf · Post by **Frank Rodolf** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:50 pm

Jon Corby wrote:
Kirk Bevins wrote:Well done to Frank and Jon for topping yesterday's duel. Interestingly, Frank spotted some top words amongst his duel but took longer than average to get both conundrums - in fact taking the top 10 players from the duel, only Tony Warren and Frank spotted BUBBLEGUM the slowest.
That's not really that surprising, Frank is probably just being more sensible than the rest of us! It could actually be a little foolish to dive in with a 1 second spot when you know that you are guaranteed the full time to solve the conundrum at leisure. Why hurry?! I'm sure in an ordinary game, especially in a crucial setting, Frank would have solved it much quicker. Indeed he probably did, he was just wisely double-checking himself before pressing anything and risk losing the ten points.

LOL - I wish that was the reason. In reality, it probably has more to do with my mind being a tad slower still in English than in Dutch.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:13 pm

I swear to FSM that today's pair of conundrums were a coincidence...

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:58 pm

Woah

I hadn't seen the improvement on the numbers game, until I did the duel and to be honest the redesign distracted me so I declared nothing on the numbers

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:00 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:I swear to FSM that today's pair of conundrums were a coincidence...

Yes, I was amused at their coincidence!

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:41 pm

Ian Volante wrote:
Charlie Reams wrote:I swear to FSM that today's pair of conundrums were a coincidence...
Yes, I was amused at their coincidence!

I knew what the first one began with, but I didn't get it

, but I did get the second one

.

Dan Vanniasingham · Post by **Dan Vanniasingham** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 11:35 pm

Frank Rodolf wrote:LOL - I wish that was the reason. In reality, it probably has more to do with my mind being a tad slower still in English than in Dutch.

If you don't mind me asking, are you relatively new to English then, or do you generally only speak Dutch? It's just your performances are continally astounding, and if this is a new(ish) language for you it's even more mindboggling. Do you have a literary background, play scrabble, or anything else which makes use of your obvious talent?

Howard Somerset · Post by **Howard Somerset** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:08 am

Just curious. The daily dual seems to have a cutoff at midnight. What happens if someone is part way through at the witching hour? Does the game get cut off, or is it allowed to finish. I think I finished yesterday's with only about a minute to spare, and rushed the end, as I had one eye on my screen clock.

I don't think that affected my performance though, as I was doing crap long before I realised the time.

Dan Vanniasingham · Post by **Dan Vanniasingham** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:13 am

As I discovered last month, the server will let you finish the duel, but it won't count the score. It's updated at a few minutes past midnight, so you're not doomed if the clock hits 00:00. Anything past 00:03 is pushing it!

Frank Rodolf · Post by **Frank Rodolf** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:47 am

Dan Vanniasingham wrote:
Frank Rodolf wrote:LOL - I wish that was the reason. In reality, it probably has more to do with my mind being a tad slower still in English than in Dutch.
If you don't mind me asking, are you relatively new to English then, or do you generally only speak Dutch? It's just your performances are continally astounding, and if this is a new(ish) language for you it's even more mindboggling. Do you have a literary background, play scrabble, or anything else which makes use of your obvious talent?

I'm not so much "new" to English but it is not my primary language, which would be Dutch (and the local dialect from my home town, Maastricht). I first started learning English in school, at the age of 12 (about 28 years ago).

From about the age of 14 though, 99% of the books (both fiction and non-fiction) I read has been in English. Part due to necessity - most good IT related texts are in English, for instance - but also part because I like the language and prefer to read novels in their original language whenever possible.

I have in the past played various word games in English (mostly US English though), but have never been very good at Scrabble - I miss most of the two and three letter words that are so important in that game, and am just not good at learning lists of words. I always want to expand my vocabulary though, which is where watching Countdown and playing Apterous help a lot.

Howard Somerset · Post by **Howard Somerset** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:15 am

I couldn't believe there were two below me yesterday. I saw enough to get 11 more points in a couple of rounds with just one second to go, but fingers weren't quick enough.

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 12:10 am

Nearly got a max game but bottled it on the last round. I missed DIPSHIT haha!

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=15961

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:17 am

Kirk Bevins wrote:Nearly got a max game but bottled it on the last round. I missed DIPSHIT haha!

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=15961

I want to say something like "HOW IRONIC LOL!" but mocking someone who just hit 126/127 seems a bit weak.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 9:59 am

Frank Rodolf wrote:I have in the past played various word games in English (mostly US English though)

You've done well to avoid using any American spellings in your games then, as I can't see any - other than the valid Americanisms (like RAINOUTS) which you have used.

Well done!

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 2:56 pm

http://www.apterous.org/duelresults.php?duel=169

Get in.

Shame I can't make it two in a row, I'm so screwed up with flu I can barely see the screen.

Kai Laddiman · Post by **Kai Laddiman** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:33 pm

Ben Wilson wrote:http://www.apterous.org/duelresults.php?duel=169

Get in. Shame I can't make it two in a row, I'm so screwed up with flu I can barely see the screen.

OMG. Look where I am.

Frank Rodolf · Post by **Frank Rodolf** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:35 pm

Jon Corby wrote:
Frank Rodolf wrote:I have in the past played various word games in English (mostly US English though)
You've done well to avoid using any American spellings in your games then, as I can't see any - other than the valid Americanisms (like RAINOUTS) which you have used.

Well done!

I have been tempted a few times, but (thankfully) we learned "the Queen's English" in school. I do sometimes use Americanisms, but prefer to spell words correctly. (I just can't stand words like "neighbors" or "caldron".)

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:23 am

Strange day for me, as I was in the minority in getting STINKWEED and UNEATABLE, but also in the minority in missing TACTICITY (

) and CARPETING (double

).

As far as I can remember, AUTOCLAVE is the first Duel conundrum to have evaded every single participant. (I notice several people, like me, guessed COVALUATE*.)