Search found 1665 matches

by Cody
Tue Apr 24, 2018 7:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Nationals discussion
Replies: 121
Views: 62677

Re: ACF Nationals discussion

No. You do not have to explain the entire context of every scientific theorem in order to have a clue that isn't "outright wrong". The mere fact that Birkhoff's theorem only applies to spherically symmetric vacuum solutions means it need NOT be specified for the clue to be correct. (And in...
by Cody
Tue Apr 24, 2018 5:27 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Nationals discussion
Replies: 121
Views: 62677

Re: ACF Nationals discussion

2. If you spotted any additional factual errors, or (as a moderator) any egregious typographical errors, please let me know. You may consider adding something about spherical symmetry to the Birkhoff's theorem clue in that tossup on flatness, because as it stands that clue is ambiguous or outright ...
by Cody
Sat Feb 03, 2018 12:34 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread
Replies: 53
Views: 33852

Re: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread

UVa will be hosting the NAQT Virginia State Qualifier using SCT-18 on 31 March, per the NAQT.com schedule. This is not a good date because it's during FCPS spring break and many of our team members have college visits. Is there any chance the date could be changed? Indeed, it is at the start or end...
by Cody
Thu Jan 25, 2018 8:59 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2018 ACF Regs Specific Questions and Errors
Replies: 63
Views: 18963

Re: Specific Questions and Errors

"this group of instruments" is a completely fine (I would go so far as to say ideal) descriptor for the answerline of "two violins", which is itself a good idea for a tossup. There is no reason to include "description acceptable" because there is no proper name for an a...
by Cody
Wed Jan 24, 2018 6:13 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2018 ACF Regs Specific Questions and Errors
Replies: 63
Views: 18963

Re: Specific Questions and Errors

"Modern-day country" does not have the specific definition you have decided should be binding, Will. I find John's reading of "modern-day country" more plausible as a common usage of the term in quizbowl questions. The Netherlands as we know it was formed over a century after des...
by Cody
Wed Jan 24, 2018 1:02 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread
Replies: 53
Views: 33852

Re: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread

VCU Season Finale has been rescheduled for April 28.
by Cody
Tue Jan 23, 2018 11:19 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 6
Views: 5450

Re: VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)

I have posted stats (and sent them to NAQT & the results to PACE). The links are as follows: Prelim stats, indicating eventual playoff bracket Playoff stats, indicating the final and final standings Combined prelim and playoff stats, with teams not in order of final finish My apologies for not f...
by Cody
Thu Jan 18, 2018 9:02 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Cal's Mid-Spring Tournament—March 2018
Replies: 66
Views: 34623

Re: Cal's Mid-Spring Tournament—March 2018

Having sites in College Park and NYC is a bad idea. It was a bad idea for George Oppen. It was a bad idea for SCT 2015. College Park and NYC will never make a good pair of sites for mirrors. Stop doing it!

(And doubly stop doing it without consulting an existing mirror first!)
by Cody
Thu Dec 14, 2017 10:39 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: How far should we tolerate hate speech in quizbowl?
Replies: 49
Views: 22845

Re: How far should we tolerate hate speech in quizbowl?

Tl;dr Teams can deal with their players how they want outside of a tournament, but TDs can deal with their attendees as they want within their tournament (i.e. TDs don't/shouldn't have the power of the preemptive ban, only coaches or schools, since that's who'd be represented at comps). This is ult...
by Cody
Thu Dec 14, 2017 9:59 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: How far should we tolerate hate speech in quizbowl?
Replies: 49
Views: 22845

Re: How far should we tolerate hate speech in quizbowl?

Everyone in this thread supporting bans for behavior that doesn't directly affect tournaments (including participants at tournaments) is wrong. Full stop. Since Mike Cheyne is fully correct (per usual) and has done all of the sensible talking, let's focus on something else. Who exactly do you think ...
by Cody
Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:44 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 6
Views: 5450

Re: VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)

The tournament concluded with Maggie Walker A defeating Riverbend A in a one-game final. Douglas Freeman, Norfolk Academic Guild A, and Norfolk Academic Guild B all tied for 3rd. Prelim stats have been uploaded. (Link pending.) Playoff stats and final placement should be up by tomorrow night (they n...
by Cody
Mon Nov 20, 2017 12:34 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WAO II Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 88
Views: 22139

Re: WAO II Specific Question Discussion

8. One technique in the nonlinear branch of this field uses a so-called sliding-mode. Solving the algebraic Riccati equation is tantamount to solving the infinite horizon LQR problem in this field. That solution arises from solving the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation with linear dynamics, and aris...
by Cody
Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:42 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WAO II Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 88
Views: 22139

Re: WAO II Specific Question Discussion

I am surprised to hear there was a tossup on control theory, and would be interested in seeing the tossup.
by Cody
Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:38 pm
Forum: Databases and Quizbowl Software
Topic: Suggestions for using SQBS better
Replies: 3
Views: 6327

Re: Suggestions for using SQBS better

The best way to label games is by round and room number. Any string is valid, so things like 1-219A or 10-2117 are perfectly kosher for game IDs. The advantage is you always get a unique ID without having to keep track of anything but what's already on the scoresheet. This is very useful if you eve...
by Cody
Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:30 pm
Forum: Databases and Quizbowl Software
Topic: Suggestions for using SQBS better
Replies: 3
Views: 6327

Re: Suggestions for using SQBS better

The best way to label games is by round and room number. Any string is valid, so things like 1-219A or 10-2117 are perfectly kosher for game IDs. The advantage is you always get a unique ID without having to keep track of anything but what's already on the scoresheet. This is very useful if you ever...
by Cody
Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:02 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Open high school teams playing collegiate tournaments
Replies: 35
Views: 14678

Re: Open high school teams playing collegiate tournaments

I'll go on record as supporting everything the select group of Marylanders has said so far. Every post by them has been totally on point. I have put off writing a response to this, but I do feel that it is warranted, especially considering my role in the formation of the team as it came to be. While...
by Cody
Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:38 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Battle of the Brains Style Tournament (10/28/17)
Replies: 6
Views: 4630

Re: VCU Battle of the Brains Style Tournament (10/28/17)

cat wrote:Is there a field update available for this tournament?
Yes; it is posted above.
by Cody
Fri Oct 13, 2017 7:10 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PSA - Don't be a Luddite
Replies: 62
Views: 30603

Re: PSA - Don't be a Luddite

As you yourself indicate in your post, you're the most experienced tournament director (and arguably moderator?) in this thread, so while you are correct in the abstract sense of this system entails and the ease of using it, I don't think you have a good sense of the apprehensions people have regar...
by Cody
Fri Oct 13, 2017 6:14 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PSA - Don't be a Luddite
Replies: 62
Views: 30603

Re: PSA - Don't be a Luddite

As an addendum, many of you do not know Ophir, but not only is he an awesome dude, he is extremely good at creating useful and functional systems for quizbowl (and in general). I take personal affront at the idea that Ophir could create the dystopian hellscape of a system that some people in this th...
by Cody
Fri Oct 13, 2017 5:57 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PSA - Don't be a Luddite
Replies: 62
Views: 30603

Re: PSA - Don't be a Luddite

One thing to bear in mind is that the ease at which software is learned doesn't translate into being able to use it quickly and efficiently (which is of course paramount to running an on-time, successful tournament). I'd like to think I understand both R syntax and regular expressions pretty well; ...
by Cody
Fri Oct 13, 2017 5:48 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PSA - Don't be a Luddite
Replies: 62
Views: 30603

Re: PSA - Don't be a Luddite

Let us consider the usual moderating flow: open a packet (PDF, DOCX) from a file browser, then open a second window so you can seamlessly switch between tossups and bonuses. To scorekeep, you...scorekeep. Let us consider the usual moderating flow with Ophir's system: open a packet (HTML) from your w...
by Cody
Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:22 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PSA - Don't be a Luddite
Replies: 62
Views: 30603

Re: PSA - Don't be a Luddite

Other people have already said this system sucks to use, but any complaint or concern whatsoever is met with over the top insults. Paired with being ordered to do learn a brand new system on absurdly short notice, it’s clear that people who are very technologically capable have no capacity for cons...
by Cody
Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:00 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PSA - Don't be a Luddite
Replies: 62
Views: 30603

Re: PSA - Don't be a Luddite

I was informed a few hours ago that I was required to use this system tomorrow while staffing an EFT mirror by order of the head editor. I had never heard of it before this week and don’t have the time to really learn anything about it before tomorrow morning during the tournament. I believe others...
by Cody
Wed Oct 11, 2017 4:18 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PSA - Don't be a Luddite
Replies: 62
Views: 30603

Re: PSA - Don't be a Luddite

Actually, games do take much longer solo because you have to switch between 3 screens instead of 2. You can no longer fit tossups and bonues side-by-side (so the ideal workflow winds up being tossup tab, scoresheet, bonus tab -- not great). Even without the screen complication, it is faster to keep ...
by Cody
Sun Sep 24, 2017 8:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SCT and ICT policies for 2018
Replies: 43
Views: 21971

Re: SCT and ICT policies for 2018

A secure electronic hosting system run by NAQT is absolutely do-able, and obviates most of the cons. There's no need for DRM, as such, when you host the content in such a way that it is very hard to figure out how to download / copy / etc. Yes, it requires an Internet connection, but it's way better...
by Cody
Sun Sep 24, 2017 5:48 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SCT and ICT policies for 2018
Replies: 43
Views: 21971

Re: SCT and ICT policies for 2018

The problem of secure electronic distribution (or hosting) of PDFs has been solved for a long time (all the online code books, for instance). Sure, they can always be defeated on some level, but it's ridiculously easy to make an online system that's harder to defeat than scanning a set or taking a p...
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:13 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Season Finale XI (04/28/2018; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 3
Views: 4564

Re: VCU Season Finale XI (04/21/2018; Richmond, VA)

Field (9/24):
1 Clover Hill
2 Collegiate
1 Douglas Freeman
2 Mountain Vista
3 Norfolk Academic Guild

Waitlist (0):
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:10 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Season Finale XI (04/28/2018; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 3
Views: 4564

VCU Season Finale XI (04/28/2018; Richmond, VA)

This is the general announcement for the 2018 Virginia Commonwealth University Season Finale Tournament, which is a high school academic quizbowl tournament, to be hosted at VCU in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 8:00 AM to about 5:00 PM. Registration will run from 8:00 AM to 8:...
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:03 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WAO II & Delta Burke @ VCU (02/17/2018; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 23
Views: 11746

Re: WAO II & Delta Burke @ VCU (11/18/2017; Richmond, VA)

Field (4/23):

Division 1 (3):
1 Duke
1 Virginia
1 William & Mary

Division 2 (1):
1 Virginia

Waitlist (0):
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:02 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WAO II & Delta Burke @ VCU (02/17/2018; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 23
Views: 11746

WAO II & Delta Burke @ VCU (02/17/2018; Richmond, VA)

This is the general announcement for the 2017 Virginia Commonwealth University Fall College Tournament (WAO II & Delta Burke mirror), which is a college level academic quizbowl tournament, to be hosted at VCU in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, November 18 from 8:00 AM to about 6:00 PM. Registra...
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:49 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Battle of the Brains Style Tournament (10/28/17)
Replies: 6
Views: 4630

Re: VCU Battle of the Brains Style Tournament (10/28/17)

Field (14/33):

National (3)
1 Kettle Run
1 Maggie Walker
1 Norfolk Academic Guild

Varsity (6)
1 Collegiate
2 Cosby
2 Kettle Run
1 Maggie Walker

Junior Varsity (5)
1 Kettle Run
3 Maggie Walker
1 Norfolk Academic Guild

Waitlist (0):
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:48 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Battle of the Brains Style Tournament (10/28/17)
Replies: 6
Views: 4630

VCU Battle of the Brains Style Tournament (10/28/17)

This is the general announcement for the 2017 Virginia Commonwealth University Fall "Battle of the Brains"-style tournament, which is a high school level academic quizbowl tournament, to be hosted at VCU in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, October 28 from 8:00 AM to about 3:30 PM. Registra...
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:32 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 6
Views: 5450

Re: VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)

Field (26/26):
1 Collegiate
3 Dinwiddie
1 Douglas Freeman
1 Hanover
5 Maggie Walker
1 Matoaca
1 Menchville
2 Nandua
2 New Kent
2 NKA Homeschool Collective
3 Norfolk Academic Guild
2 Riverbend
1 Virginia Episcopal
1 Warwick

Waitlist (0):
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:31 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)
Replies: 6
Views: 5450

VCU Winter X at VCU (12/02/17; Richmond, VA)

This is the general announcement for the 2017 Virginia Commonwealth University Winter Tournament, which is a high school academic quizbowl tournament, to be hosted at VCU in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, December 2 from 8:00 AM to about 5:00 PM. Registration will run from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM, so t...
by Cody
Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:10 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread
Replies: 53
Views: 33852

Re: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread

VCU will be moving our annual Battle of the Brains-style tournament from early in the spring semester to the fall semester; we will be hosting it on October 28. ( Announcement here. ) VCU Winter X is announced here. We'll be hosting VCU Season Finale XI on the BHSAT on April 21 (pending dates for th...
by Cody
Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:41 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread
Replies: 53
Views: 33852

Re: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread

I misstated the date of VCU Winter when contacting NAQT; it will be December 2, not December 9.
by Cody
Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:34 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: VCU Side Event Weekend - 8/5/2017
Replies: 31
Views: 17498

Re: VCU Side Event Weekend - 8/5/2017

Also, this mirror fee is stupid, because you're making people pay for events they don't play! This pretense of "saving time for people collecting for each event" - just collect via Venmo before/after or something. This isn't Canada where there's no Venmo! Consider this from the perspectiv...
by Cody
Mon Jun 26, 2017 4:32 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: What tournaments are "must-attend" events, and why?
Replies: 16
Views: 11019

Re: What tournaments are "must-attend" events, and why?

Flying to a tournament (or driving some insane number of hours [more than ~8 - 10]) + lodging has never represented an efficient use of resources outside of attending nationals. If this thread is about the "best bang for your buck", then those options are non-starters.
by Cody
Fri Jun 23, 2017 9:03 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2017 NASAT: June 24-25 at the University of Kentucky
Replies: 68
Views: 61141

Re: 2017 NASAT: June 24-25 at the University of Kentucky

The schedule for NASAT can be viewed at the following links: prelims schedule / playoffs schedule.
by Cody
Wed Jun 21, 2017 6:08 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2017 NASAT: June 24-25 at the University of Kentucky
Replies: 68
Views: 61141

Re: 2017 NASAT: June 24-25 at the University of Kentucky

I may be just overlooking it, but I can't seem to find the actual rules of the NASAT tournament anywhere. Does it follow the PACE NSC format and rules? Is there anywhere where the rules are posted so that I can familiarize myself with them? Thanks. NASAT uses ACF rules. The ACF rules can be found h...
by Cody
Sun Jun 18, 2017 3:52 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread
Replies: 53
Views: 33852

Re: DC Metro 2017-2018 Date Claim Thread

Virginia Tech would also like to claim Oct. 7 for our VT Collegiate Novice tournament and Dec. 2 for our Virginia Tech Winter. I'll be updating you on the question sets we'll be using. Thank you so much! The first weekend in December is the canonical date for VCU Winter, and the second weekend is t...
by Cody
Wed Jun 14, 2017 10:10 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2017 NSC set discussion
Replies: 85
Views: 53895

Re: 2017 NSC set discussion

Could we see the tossup on Lisbon? My teammate buzzed on the leadin and said "Portugal", and complained about the use of the pronoun "this port" because apparently Portugal means port or something. The name of Portugal may have its roots in "port", but surely you aren'...
by Cody
Tue Jun 13, 2017 3:14 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2017 PACE NSC: June 10-11, Chicago
Replies: 50
Views: 46455

Re: 2017 PACE NSC: June 10-11, Chicago

I would like to know: what is PACE going to commit to doing to resolve the delays that happened during the Saturday rounds this year for future NSCs? There can be no firm answer at this point because PACE has not had a meeting to discuss these issues. Rest assured, though, scheduling & the dela...
by Cody
Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:04 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Math Monstrosity at NSC
Replies: 16
Views: 10058

Re: Math Monstrosity at NSC

Why do people not keep individual score at side events? HoW dOeS qUiZbOwL wOrK?
by Cody
Sat Jun 03, 2017 3:01 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Parts of the Lit Canon worth the time to read
Replies: 37
Views: 26065

Re: Parts of the Lit Canon worth the time to read

Borel hierarchy wrote:this one's p solid
there was even a tossup on it in ACF Nationals 2017!
by Cody
Wed May 31, 2017 11:23 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Math Monstrosity - General Discussion
Replies: 40
Views: 10739

Re: Math Monstrosity - General Discussion

Argand diagrams come up plenty at low difficulty levels (whether they should or not); MSNCT was not an aberration. https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=013554591666431475375%3Ahbzauvug_fq&ie=UTF-8&q="argand"&sa=Search&siteurl=hsquizbowl.org%2Fpacketsearch.html&ref=&ss=3069...
by Cody
Wed May 31, 2017 12:31 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Math Monstrosity - General Discussion
Replies: 40
Views: 10739

Re: Math Monstrosity - General Discussion

I did not play Math Monstrosity expecting it to be a sterling set, but I was rather aggrieved that it violated several fundamental tenets of quizbowl that one would expect of a set . To wit: repeats, extremely variable difficulty, and moderator clarity. From my understanding, the entirety of this se...
by Cody
Mon May 29, 2017 11:38 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2017 HSNCT discussion
Replies: 105
Views: 59566

Re: 2017 HSNCT discussion

Get Out has been in theaters for 3 months -- hardly "four days before the tournament". It's not like Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 or something. I don't see how you can have a reasonable expectation of spoiler-free questions at that point.
by Cody
Tue May 02, 2017 6:11 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The Barbarism of Monetization
Replies: 128
Views: 57390

Re: The Barbarism of Monetization

It seems more likely that other organizations have decided that it's not feasible or worthwhile or otherwise desirable to capture packet costs, and have given up on accounting for them at all, rather than pricing them into their tournament fees. For instance, Cody said upstream that VCU charges the...
by Cody
Tue May 02, 2017 3:57 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The Barbarism of Monetization
Replies: 128
Views: 57390

Re: The Barbarism of Monetization

High school tournament fees have remained constant between $60 and ~$70 for most regions since at least 2006 (which is as far as I cared to go back). VCU has raised their tournament fees from $60 to $70 in that timespan. (For all tournaments, not just NAQT ones.) (Even as the costs borne by hosts ha...