Search found 634 matches

by Golran
Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:11 pm
Forum: Single-Subject Events
Topic: Prometheus Science Bowl
Replies: 3
Views: 5676

Prometheus Science Bowl

I saw this come across the quizbowl subreddit, figured I'd post it over here as well. It looks like this group is doing a science bowl competition with some cash prizes and aiming to make the competition pretty similar to the National Science Bowl with a few rules slightly tweaked - https://promethe...
by Golran
Mon Apr 05, 2021 3:10 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Where Are You Going Next Year? (Collegiate 2021)
Replies: 51
Views: 49019

Re: Where Are You Going Next Year? (Collegiate 2021)

I'm moving to the Austin, TX area and will be available to staff stuff around there or the Houston area starting around late October.
by Golran
Sat Aug 01, 2020 4:18 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Wolfie Bowl Online Tournament (August 1, 2020) [EXPANSION]
Replies: 28
Views: 9887

Re: Wolfie Bowl Online Tournament (August 1, 2020) [EXPANSION]

I just got done reading for this, and it was a very enjoyable set. Packets were really well balanced and of appropriate difficulty for the field and for the most part were very well constructed. Almost all questions had good pyramidality with just a few questions having misplaced early clues leading...
by Golran
Sun Jun 16, 2019 3:52 pm
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: So You Want to Buy a Buzzer System
Replies: 9
Views: 28526

Re: So You Want to Buy a Buzzer System

These buzzer systems on Amazon are possibly the cheapest and smallest full-featured system available, with one of the sets available through Amazon Prime. However, they do make a pretty annoying sound while buzzing. I purchased this set and brought it with me to HSNCT. It fits in my backpack, and w...
by Golran
Mon May 13, 2019 2:43 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: California Summer Weekend o' Quizbowl (8/10-11)
Replies: 25
Views: 9368

Re: California Summer Weekend o' Quizbowl at Cal State, Long Beach (8/10)

It would depend on where you're staying. LGB and LAX are both reasonable, and even SNA or BUR could potentially make sense, but LGB or LAX are definitely your best options.
by Golran
Thu May 02, 2019 10:25 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: California Summer Weekend o' Quizbowl (8/10-11)
Replies: 25
Views: 9368

Re: California Summer Weekend o' Quizbowl at Cal State, Long Beach (Date TBD)

You've fallen into the pitfall of view only on the spreadsheet! Putting it out there, I have a reasonably sized apartment that has a sectional couch that can fit 2 and a pair of full size air mattresses, plus enough floor space for comfortably around 4 more people. I'm willing to drive people, pick ...
by Golran
Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:57 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: California Summer Open(s)?
Replies: 15
Views: 9645

Re: California Summer Open(s)?

I'd drive up to NorCal/down to San Diego to play in Super ACRONYM (and staff other events in the weekend), other obligations permitting.
by Golran
Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:41 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Let's tell the kids stories about CBI
Replies: 33
Views: 38592

Re: Let's tell the kids stories about CBI

Somehow, despite never attending a single CBI tournament, I have in my possession a College Bowl hat and two 2nd place medals. I think they came from a box of old paper questions from the UCLA club. If anyone wants them, they're yours. I did try to play a College Bowl intramurals when I was dual enr...
by Golran
Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:04 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Secret Mount Vinokurov - HSQB's Secret Santa - Last Day to Sign Up!
Replies: 24
Views: 2588

Re: Secret Mount Vinokurov - HSQB's Secret Santa - Last Day to Sign Up!

Thank you to a mystery sender for French Literature: A Very Short Introduction!
by Golran
Mon Dec 17, 2018 2:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Secret Mount Vinokurov - HSQB's Secret Santa - Last Day to Sign Up!
Replies: 24
Views: 2588

Re: Secret Mount Vinokurov - HSQB's Secret Santa - Last Day to Sign Up!

Amazon says my gift was delivered about a week ago, but I'm guessing my recipient gave me their home address and hasn't gotten home for winter break yet.
by Golran
Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:56 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Power Matching
Replies: 14
Views: 8436

Re: Power Matching

I made this crude R program to create a card system that maximizes the number of like vs like records and prevents immediate and 2 round apart re-matches (when possible). Improvements to it are certainly welcome. Notably, it does not enforce teams coming off a win playing against teams coming off a ...
by Golran
Thu Apr 05, 2018 3:23 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Contesting Statistics After a Tournament
Replies: 11
Views: 8557

Re: Contesting Statistics After a Tournament

For me, if stats are available in one spot but not another, I'd want there to be some reason that you're asking beyond "I just want to see them in the other spot". If no stats are being posted at all, or this issue is affecting nationals qualifications, funding, writeups in the local paper...
by Golran
Fri Mar 30, 2018 3:59 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Seders
Replies: 6
Views: 658

Re: Seders

I'm going to a family friend's house for Passover tonight, they have some very different traditions in their family, including giving every child (roughly 10 and younger) a towel to carry around during the night and whip anybody with if they are just sitting around. I'll list off some of the other o...
by Golran
Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:31 am
Forum: Databases and Quizbowl Software
Topic: Maintaining packet confidentiality?
Replies: 1
Views: 5587

Re: Maintaining packet confidentiality?

In what sense are you talking about? For within your tournament to ensure nobody reads the wrong packet, there are 2 commonly used options: Password protect the packets and send out the password for the next round to each of your moderators with their scoresheets or some other way. Adobe and Word bo...
by Golran
Thu Dec 21, 2017 10:44 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Secret Mount Vinokurov #11: Sign Up Here
Replies: 65
Views: 5258

Re: Secret Mount Vinokurov #11: Sign Up Here

Thank you to a mystery sender for a map of Los Angeles puzzle, I'm excited to get it put together! Thanks also to Dylan for forwarding it when it was delivered to him.
by Golran
Tue Dec 19, 2017 8:20 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Secret Mount Vinokurov #11: Sign Up Here
Replies: 65
Views: 5258

Re: Secret Mount Vinokurov #11: Sign Up Here

Well that's unfortunate timing. Either way, enjoy the games!
by Golran
Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:34 pm
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: North Hollywood Invitational (Los Angeles, CA) - 2/17/2018
Replies: 2
Views: 6920

Re: North Hollywood Invitational (Los Angeles, CA) - 2/17/20

The most up to date field can be viewed at https://www.naqt.com/registration/field ... nt_id=9161 .

Field as of 1/20/2018:

Carmel Valley A
Carmel Valley B
City School
Rolling Hills Country Day
Bernardo Heights
by Golran
Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:33 pm
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: North Hollywood Invitational (Los Angeles, CA) - 2/17/2018
Replies: 2
Views: 6920

Re: North Hollywood Invitational (Los Angeles, CA) - 2/17/20

Just sent to teams: Hello to all! Thank you for registering for North Hollywood’s Middle School Quiz Bowl tournament to be held on Saturday, February 17th. We’re looking forward to seeing you in about a month! In this e-mail you will find some basic logistical information. Location: The tournament w...
by Golran
Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:33 pm
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: North Hollywood Invitational (Los Angeles, CA) - 2/17/2018
Replies: 2
Views: 6920

North Hollywood Invitational (Los Angeles, CA) - 2/17/2018

It is my pleasure to announce the North Hollywood’s Middle School Invitational Tournament to be held on Saturday, February 17th to be held at North Hollywood High School. This tournament is intended as an introduction to quiz bowl for Los Angeles area middle school and junior high school students. T...
by Golran
Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:32 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Random Question
Replies: 1
Views: 405

Re: Random Question

Typically, no. The decision is ultimately up to the tournament director, who should be consulting with the group they purchased the questions from, but the answer is usually no. Almost all tournaments will let you play as a team of 1, so you'll still be able to participate without teammates. Part of...
by Golran
Fri Nov 24, 2017 12:35 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Secret Mount Vinokurov #11: Sign Up Here
Replies: 65
Views: 5258

Re: Secret Mount Vinokurov ##: Sign Up Here

Name: Ian Drayer E-mail: Golran@g.ucla.edu Gift Requests: I'll do this again! Recently I've gotten really into jigsaw puzzles (1000+ pieces, moving towards 2000+), and I could use a tchotchke for my desk (the drinking bird from a few years ago has sadly dried up and stopped drinking, prefer one that...
by Golran
Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:38 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: I Need Serious Help With Bad Questions
Replies: 39
Views: 15438

Re: I Need Serious Help With Bad Questions

Perhaps using the line of logic that their questions being an outlier from national standards hinders the performance of teams from your area at national tournaments, and if they were more aligned, then you could more strongly represent your region on the National scene. The network could use your t...
by Golran
Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:11 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Your Worst Moment In Quizbowl
Replies: 16
Views: 11662

Re: Your Worst Moment In Quizbowl

Not as a player but as a TD, my worst moment was the SoCal States I directed where pretty much everything went wrong. I had slightly put our field cap too high at 24, thinking I should have no problem getting enough staff. Week of the tournament I had 5 people drop out, and was barely able to scrape...
by Golran
Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:41 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Where are You Going Next Year (Collegiate 2017)
Replies: 32
Views: 20070

Re: Where are You Going Next Year (Collegiate 2017)

Just got a new job in Los Angeles, so I'm moving out that way. I'd be happy to staff things in SoCal when UCLA doesn't have a home game in football or basketball.
by Golran
Thu Jun 29, 2017 12:29 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Gauging Interest in New England NASAT Mirror
Replies: 8
Views: 4074

Re: Gauging Interest in New England NASAT Mirror

I'm interested as well before I leave the North East.
by Golran
Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:53 am
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: Coaching strategies
Replies: 2
Views: 6815

Re: Coaching strategies

I'm going to suggest something that might be against the grain here - no matter what strategy your team decides to adopt, make sure to keep the game fun for them. You don't need to win a national, state, or local tournament for the students' time on the team to be worthwhile, you just need to instil...
by Golran
Fri Jun 16, 2017 10:45 am
Forum: Databases and Quizbowl Software
Topic: Packet archive copyright
Replies: 2
Views: 4014

Re: Packet archive copyright

You should be fine under fair use as long as you're not deriving any profit from the questions (advertising revenue in your app may get fuzzy, ask an actual lawyer about this). That said, from what I can tell people in the community are fine with their questions being used in study materials once th...
by Golran
Sat Apr 29, 2017 2:56 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Activities Outside of Quiz Bowl
Replies: 28
Views: 3038

Re: Activities Outside of Quiz Bowl

No longer in school so my job & studying for actuarial exams takes up a good majority of my time. In my free time, I bowl (around a 180 average buoyed by a huge spare conversion percentage (75%+ including splits) and cut down by a strike rate around 25%) and referee a lot of high school football...
by Golran
Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:55 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Flight deals for HSNCT and MSNCT
Replies: 1
Views: 2831

Re: Flight deals for HSNCT and MSNCT

One thing to note with Frontier is their long list of added fees (https://www.flyfrontier.com/optional-services/) including $30 or $35 for a carry-on bag with additional charges beyond that if you don't declare it when buying the ticket, so while this may work in some situations, it's not perfect fo...
by Golran
Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:59 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Outreach for schools that play "bad" formats
Replies: 10
Views: 5247

Re: Outreach for schools that play "bad" formats

One thing I would aim to avoid, like others have said, is calling the game they play "bad" because it's not necessarily bad, it's just a different game. If the team already plays format X, suggest to them, you like playing X, you'll love Quiz Bowl - it's another way to test similar skills ...
by Golran
Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:33 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACRONYM At UConn, March 25th, 2017
Replies: 10
Views: 5174

Re: ACRONYM At UConn, March 25th, 2017

From my experience, it's going to be the lot off of Horsebarn Hill Road, https://goo.gl/maps/mt1dPjTihAn. Parking in "Area 2" lots is free on weekends. To get there, take I-84 to exit 68, then go south on 195 for around 8 miles. When you get to the campus, you'll pass the Dairy Bar on your...
by Golran
Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:36 pm
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: Questions from a rookie
Replies: 4
Views: 3310

Re: Questions from a rookie

Welcome to the forums! One provider you may want to look at is NAQT ; while their questions are not typically posted on-line, they do have a sample packet . One benefit of running your league on NAQT questions is that your league becomes a qualifier for the Middle School National Championship Tourna...
by Golran
Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:32 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Your Travel Disaster Stories
Replies: 51
Views: 72584

Re: Your Travel Disaster Stories

After averting a near travel disaster that would have had me missing work tomorrow, I've got the following pieces of advice that you may or may not be familiar with: When your flight is delayed such that you'll miss a connection (causing you like a 12+ hour delay), ask the airline to put you on anot...
by Golran
Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:03 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: "Let's Remember Some Guys"
Replies: 44
Views: 25290

Re: "Let's Remember Some Guys"

Are descriptive answers acceptable? I'll also try to put together a "description acceptable" packet where the answer lines aren't players but individual plays or games where something notable or interesting happened. Stuff like "the play" having the answer line "the footbal...
by Golran
Tue Feb 28, 2017 9:38 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: "Let's Remember Some Guys"
Replies: 44
Views: 25290

Re: "Let's Remember Some Guys"

I'll contribute a packet or 2 to this.
by Golran
Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:42 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2017 ICT bids
Replies: 157
Views: 80917

Re: 2017 ICT bids

For preventing team splitting at SCTs, would an eligibility rule as follows make sense: No player from a team that qualifies for and registers for ICT based upon play at SCT may play on the same team as another player who also qualified for ICT based upon their play at SCT provided they were not on ...
by Golran
Tue Dec 20, 2016 6:42 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: SMV 2016: HSQB's Secret Santa - Send Those Gifts!
Replies: 79
Views: 6948

Re: SMV 2016: HSQB's Secret Santa - Send Those Gifts!

Just got home to a wonderful calendar of the 365 Smartest Things Ever Said from Rebecca Rosenthal! Many thanks, it looks really interesting!
by Golran
Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:39 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: SMV 2016: HSQB's Secret Santa - Send Those Gifts!
Replies: 79
Views: 6948

Re: SMV 2016: HSQB's Secret Santa - Send Those Gifts!

Just ordered, should get there by Saturday!
by Golran
Sun Dec 11, 2016 8:48 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: SMV 2016: HSQB's Secret Santa - Send Those Gifts!
Replies: 79
Views: 6948

Re: SMV 2016: HSQB's Secret Santa - Register now! (12/11/16)

I've done this before and enjoyed it, so why not? Name: Ian Drayer Email: Golran -at- g.ucla.edu Present Requests: 1) A cool/fun board game for 2-6 players. At this point I've got very few beyond Scrabble, Monopoly, Sorry!, Trouble etc., and would like to get a more mature collection. 2) A book that...
by Golran
Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:34 pm
Forum: New Collegiate Teams
Topic: North East Quizbowl Scene
Replies: 2
Views: 10424

Re: North East Quizbowl Scene

Welcome to the forums! There are a number of active New England teams including quite a few in the Boston area. A tournament that may be of interest is the Novice tournament at UConn on 10/22, which should be a great friendly intro for your team. You can also look through the announcements on this b...
by Golran
Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:06 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Changes to NAQT SSNCT eligibility
Replies: 32
Views: 14826

Re: Changes to NAQT SSNCT eligibility

I like Joe's proposal since it keeps the entire field intact competing within all the teams present. An alternative (I realize that it's too late for this year, but maybe to consider for next year) is to consider for these charter schools total number of students who have taken & received grades...
by Golran
Sat Sep 03, 2016 11:15 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion
Replies: 57
Views: 29187

Re: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion

Since you'll all be paying me by Venmo for the tournament I know I have no real horse in this since this is CO, but whatever happened to "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE"? Not a lawyer, but my guess is the same thing that happened that lets food on airplanes be...
by Golran
Mon Aug 01, 2016 5:11 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Would You Recommend Working for NAQT?
Replies: 22
Views: 9527

Re: Would You Recommend Working for NAQT?

I worked as a contract writer for NAQT for around a year and a half and I really enjoyed my time working there. As numerous others have said, the writer experience for NAQT is, in my opinion, everything that a writer could want. There is extensive feedback available through the new writer mentorship...
by Golran
Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:45 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The base fee for college qb tournaments should be higher
Replies: 14
Views: 6118

Re: The base fee for college qb tournaments should be higher

Quite honestly, I'm a bit surprised how low tournament fees have been for quite some time, even for regular mid-season events, in comparison to other comparable activities. To put things in perspective, I recently officiated a number of local youth lacrosse tournament where teams (capped at around 2...
by Golran
Tue May 03, 2016 5:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Magic Draft @ MSNCT Saturday Night (after stats entry[8pm])
Replies: 3
Views: 500

Magic Draft @ MSNCT Saturday Night (after stats entry[8pm])

Hey staffers @ MSNCT! Any interest in doing a Magic: The Gathering draft Friday night after scrimmages? I'm purchasing a box of Shadows over Innistrad so all you need to bring is some sleeves! Looking for $9/person so I can recoup my costs, or you bring your own 3 pack.s. If you want to insert some ...
by Golran
Wed May 13, 2015 10:04 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Your Travel Disaster Stories
Replies: 51
Views: 72584

Re: Your Travel Disaster Stories

I would have had an absolute travel disaster, but my Mom came through big time for me, driving 5 hours to pick me up at the Boston airport (she was willing to pick me up anywhere from Philadelphia to Boston, so that opened up a lot of airport options so I could get home after American cancelled my f...
by Golran
Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:21 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Science Bowl Moderating
Replies: 5
Views: 4122

Science Bowl Moderating

A week from Saturday I'm going to be moderating at a regional science bowl tournament, and as a part of the training they told us not to give the correct answer if neither team buzzes in during the question, just move on to the next tossup without giving the answer to the question that just went dea...
by Golran
Thu Dec 18, 2014 7:33 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: SMV 2014: DEADLINE EXTENDED
Replies: 93
Views: 6674

Re: SMV 2014: DEADLINE EXTENDED

Thanks to Dylan Minarik for this incredible piece of engineering!

http://imgur.com/01bhYPA
by Golran
Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:09 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: SMV 2014: DEADLINE EXTENDED
Replies: 93
Views: 6674

Re: SMV 2014: DEADLINE EXTENDED

My gift was just ordered through Amazon with 2 day shipping, so I'd expect it to get to its recipient by Tuesday.