Search found 69 matches

by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:34 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: 2023 Carper Award community discussion
Replies: 3
Views: 3930

Re: 2023 Carper Award community discussion

Sneaking in just before the deadline, I will re-up Edmund Dickinson for a Carper nomination. Everything the Brits said in the equivalent thread last year remains true - Edmund would be the most deserving winner of a Carper from this side of the Atlantic. For basically a decade his writing, editing a...
by Ewan MacAulay
Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:47 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: 2022 Carper Award community discussion
Replies: 16
Views: 8352

Re: 2022 Carper Award community discussion

Edmund Dickinson is the stand-out candidate for a UK Carper nominee. Alongside Kyle Haddad-Fonda, he's the most important person in the early-mid '10s revival in British quizbowl. His chief contribution is probably the many years he spent heading up the arduous Briticisation efforts needed to make ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Thu Mar 12, 2020 1:34 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 Terrapin Open: Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 50
Views: 8399

Re: 2020 Terrapin Open: Specific Question Discussion

What was up with the bonus that asked for "sigma g plus" ? I couldn't actually figure out what the hell the part wanted and gave A1g because that's what the totally symmetric representation would be on the character table and have never encountered and and having difficulty finding whatev...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Oct 28, 2019 4:53 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Lederberg 3: General Discussion
Replies: 19
Views: 1893

Re: Lederberg 3: General Discussion

Finally got to play this set (only six months late) and it was great fun - achieved the dream of powering a question from a clue about the same last name as me. Massive thanks to all who worked on it and kept it on ice for us oddly-timetabled Brits, and especially to Eric not just for organising but...
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Jan 23, 2019 5:49 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Spartan Housewrite: General Discussion
Replies: 19
Views: 1898

Re: Spartan Housewrite: General Discussion

This set was really fun (apart from the games we lost obvs) So I may have had a few before writing this but eh. It's really good to see a bunch of new-ish writers and editors produce a full regular-difficulty set. It's a bigger ask than anyone ever realises going into it, and I'll cop to having made...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Nov 26, 2018 4:12 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2018 Sun God Invitational General Discussion
Replies: 64
Views: 8052

Re: 2018 Sun God Invitational General Discussion

Thanks to all who worked on this set - was great fun to play and good to see some tossups trying to push the envelope. Science seemed solid - most of the stuff I negged was me being dumb rather than the questions, which I think is a good sign (for the set, not for my poor atrophied QB brain)
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Aug 01, 2018 4:40 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Fuck it, let's rank the sets
Replies: 28
Views: 25993

Re: Fuck it, let's rank the sets

I'll jump on the Terrapin 2016 train - a really solid regular-difficulty set which still managed to feel fresh. Penn Bowl 2015 was another fun set, although alas the last PB set that have remembered that time difference means that UK sites need packets earlier than American ones. On either side of r...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue May 22, 2018 6:15 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Mirroring British Tournaments
Replies: 6
Views: 4475

Re: Mirroring British Tournaments

Hi Paul, Very sorry to hear about Cambridge's lack of response - I think a few of our club officers are in the middle of their final exams right now so have been cutting back on the quiz. If you're still interested in hosting a mirror, do please drop me a line on at emacaulay106 [AT] google's e-mail...
by Ewan MacAulay
Sat Apr 07, 2018 3:13 pm
Forum: Scheduling reform
Topic: What Does an Ideal Season Look Like?
Replies: 16
Views: 17138

Re: What Does an Ideal Season Look Like?

I think a Spring tournament that tries to have a more "NAQT" distro should be a regular part of the schedule (I'm thinking of that one that Will did a few years ago and FICHTE [but don't be like FICHTE]). Cambridge would probs be interested in collaborating on this for the foreseeable fut...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:42 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: WAO II Difficulty and General Discussion
Replies: 40
Views: 10162

Re: WAO II Difficulty and General Discussion

Adam and Billy have said most of what I was going to mention, but I'll spiel on anyways. This set was pretty fun, and it seems that it benefitted from the week of work after the first mirror. That said bits of it did feel a bit off, and the chemistry could have used a bit more time and care. The car...
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Jul 26, 2017 6:49 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ANNOUNCEMENT: Penn Bowl 2017 (10/21/17)
Replies: 19
Views: 17713

Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Penn Bowl 2017 (10/21/17)

Any thoughts on running an open playtest mirror like EFT and EMT? This is a possibility; if it happens, it will likely be held a week before for a relatively small field. More details will be announced in the future. Would it be possible to make the UK mirror this early test mirror? Cambridge would...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:14 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Cambridge Open 2017 (CamO)
Replies: 9
Views: 7229

Re: Cambridge Open 2017 (CamO)

To my knowledge, all the planned mirrors of CamO have now been completed. If you were planning on holding another mirror, please drop me a line as soon as possible with details, otherwise we'll clear the set this week, set up a discussion thread, and properly get some handbags out. Thanks to everyon...
by Ewan MacAulay
Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:34 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Cambridge Open mirror in NYC (07/01/2017)
Replies: 35
Views: 18679

Re: Cambridge Open mirror in NYC (07/01/2017)

Hi all, Thanks for playing our set, and hope that at least some of it was enjoyable - sorry to hear that it didn't quite meet with the universal acclaim we'd hoped for. I've requested a private discussion forum, but in the meantime I'd be very grateful for any comments either in general or on the sc...
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed May 31, 2017 3:53 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Your Travel Disaster Stories
Replies: 51
Views: 72587

Re: Your Travel Disaster Stories

While trying to go to ACF Fall this year my train hit three cows on the line just outside Melton Mowbray. We then had to wait two hours for the fire brigade to come and cut the cows out from underneath the front carriage. Eventually made it to Warwick four hours late, and wasn't even compensated by ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Sun May 28, 2017 5:26 am
Forum: Scheduling reform
Topic: 2017-18 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.
Replies: 40
Views: 43124

Re: 2017-18 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.

Cambridge will write a regular difficulty mNAQT set in late February/early March slot. Drop me a line if you'd be interested in helping put it together/ adapt it for the Atlantically-challenged
by Ewan MacAulay
Thu May 25, 2017 1:18 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Theses on the Transitioning Quizbowl Community
Replies: 9
Views: 5766

Re: Theses on the Transitioning Quizbowl Community

- Optional packet-submission tournaments, with relaxed submission requirements (ala WAO) should be more of a thing. These allow people to write on areas that they prefer, without being slapped with having to write a subject they may possess no knowledge of whatsoever (particularly more difficult on...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue May 09, 2017 6:28 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: EMT at Cambridge (6th of May 2017)
Replies: 1
Views: 2159

Re: EMT at Cambridge (6th of May 2017)

This tournament happened. Oxford A went unbeaten through the round robin, with Cambridge A on one loss, forcing an advantaged final. Cambridge A won the first final by five points when Oxford were unable to get more than 10 on the last set of bonuses, taking it to a second final. Although Cambridge ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Thu Apr 27, 2017 5:46 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Nationalities of Title Winners
Replies: 8
Views: 16213

Re: Nationalities of Title Winners

Aaron Manby (ironmaster) wrote:
Aaron's Rod wrote:Will Nediger is Canadian.
Will Nediger is the only person to have won ICT, ACF Nationals, and Reach for the Top Nationals. Has anyone come close to winning all three of ICT, ACF Nationals, and University Challenge?
We're backing Jason Golfinos to do the triple next year
by Ewan MacAulay
Fri Apr 21, 2017 2:49 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Nationals Travel Liveblog- Featuring Max (and Kai)
Replies: 51
Views: 24559

Re: ACF Nationals Travel Liveblog- Featuring Max (and Kai)

heterodyne wrote:
Oo-kamakiri wrote:Alston spends 26 minutes jerking himself off about how good he is at philosophy.
hey man I just needed a break from hearing about the 2013 international linguistics olympiad
Cambridge feel your pain
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:29 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The Barbarism of Monetization
Replies: 128
Views: 57265

Re: The Barbarism of Monetization

CPiGuy wrote:
setht wrote:
CPiGuy wrote:However, it's important to note that there are tournaments that use the SCT and ICT sets after the SCT and ICT main events run. (Including a national championship!)
What national championship is this?
British nationals are run off SCT D1 in May
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Cambridge Open 2017 (CamO)
Replies: 9
Views: 7229

Cambridge Open 2017 (CamO)

I've already mentioned this in the "Scheduling Reform" part of the forums but posting here to improve visibility. Cambridge University Quiz Society have finished the 2017 Cambridge Open set. The set was generally well-received at the UK mirror ("Magnificently quirky" - Ben Salter...
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Mar 22, 2017 8:34 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: EMT at Cambridge (6th of May 2017)
Replies: 1
Views: 2159

EMT at Cambridge (6th of May 2017)

The Cambridge University Quiz Society is delighted to announce that it will be hosting the UK mirror of EMT on Saturday the 6th of May. The tournament will take place in the Chancellor's Center at Wolfson College, Cambridge (CB3 9LY). Registration will begin at 9:30 am with the aim of starting play ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Mar 21, 2017 2:51 pm
Forum: Scheduling reform
Topic: 2016-17 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.
Replies: 65
Views: 62227

Re: 2016-17 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.

Canada is interested in a mirror of Cambridge Open, possibly in the near future. What would the mirror fee be for Cambridge Open and whom could I contact to further discuss a mirror of it? Hi Isaac - great to hear you guys are interested. We're setting the mirror fee at £25 per team. If you'd like ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Mar 21, 2017 12:49 pm
Forum: Scheduling reform
Topic: 2016-17 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.
Replies: 65
Views: 62227

Re: 2016-17 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.

Cambridge are writing a 14-packet set for the 11th of March that is intended to land around college regular difficulty. We'd be happy to offer it up for transatlantic mirrors if there's interest. Caveat: some of the history and literature as currently written will probably not play well among Ameri...
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Mar 01, 2017 7:20 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2017 (This) Tournament is a Crime General Discussion
Replies: 53
Views: 13254

Re: 2017 (This) Tournament is a Crime General Discussion

Also yeah the whole of the Changi sentence in the Singapore TU seems a bit out of place. The entire theme of this geography tossup was about the Draconian measures / homogenous culture of Singapore. The clue might be a bit easy - indeed 50% of the rooms at the main site powered it, but I don't thin...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Feb 28, 2017 1:59 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2017 (This) Tournament is a Crime General Discussion
Replies: 53
Views: 13254

Re: 2017 (This) Tournament is a Crime General Discussion

The chemistry and physics in this tournament were very good - solid answerline and clue selection all through, with plenty of fresh stuff. Apart from all my negs, my greatest regret from the day was not being able to play the gold nanoparticles TU in the finals packet (though the sting is softened b...
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:43 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Gauging interest for late spring Oxbridge mirror in NYC
Replies: 16
Views: 6974

Re: Gauging interest for late spring Oxbridge mirror in NYC

As far as the current status of the Cambridge set goes: The British history and literature are essentially finished, in case there's a wish to start Americanising this set. It would also be mostly playable unamericanised - that's the approach we take with everything regular and above in the UK, and...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Jan 24, 2017 5:31 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2017 WAO: Science Feedback Thread
Replies: 7
Views: 2146

Re: Science Feedback Thread

I was going to post all the things I negged and complain that they were bad clues, though upon reading through the set I'm realising that I'm just bad at listening. This was a pretty solid set on the bits of science that I cared about - nice job finding fresh leadins for acetic acid and formaldehyde...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:29 pm
Forum: Scheduling reform
Topic: 2016-17 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.
Replies: 65
Views: 62227

Re: 2016-17 Tournament Schedule: Planning, Discussion, etc.

Cambridge are writing a 14-packet set for the 11th of March that is intended to land around college regular difficulty. We'd be happy to offer it up for transatlantic mirrors if there's interest. Caveat: some of the history and literature as currently written will probably not play well among Americ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Sun Nov 13, 2016 3:40 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2016 Terrapin General Discussion
Replies: 30
Views: 7512

Re: 2016 Terrapin General Discussion

I really enjoyed this set. It hit the difficulty target right on the nose and strikes me as a very good model of what regular should look like if the goal of easing it up marginally is carried forward. This set was very good. There seemed to be more South Asian content than normal, but deffos the m...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Oct 24, 2016 6:25 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PB 2016: Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 82
Views: 19438

Re: PB 2016: Specific Question Discussion

Our team negged the "decryption" tossup with "factorisation" on the clue about Shor's algorithm - could the clue made more specific? The first clue of the elimination tossup sounded a hell of a lot like catalytic Riley oxidation. Maybe could be rephrased as "In a reaction of...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:11 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ANNOUNCEMENT: Penn Bowl 2016 (10/22/16)
Replies: 54
Views: 36106

Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Penn Bowl 2016 (10/22/16)

I would like to apologize to the Oxford and Georgia mirrors, however, particularly the Oxford one, for not sending out the packets on time. We were working as quickly as we could Friday and Saturday morning, but we should have made preparations ahead of time to avoid having to send the packets out ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:31 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: I need a movie!
Replies: 15
Views: 7385

Re: I need a movie!

St Trinians features a buzzer quiz presented by Stephen Fry and is also just generally a great movie.
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:52 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: UK Player Poll 2016: We the East!
Replies: 26
Views: 14335

Re: UK Player Poll 2016: We the East!

Some results seemingly not yet up on the searchable tournament database thingy: BSQC 2016 , MUT Cambridge mirror , Varsity 2016 (I can't seem to find full results for this in any of the obvious places - will edit in link when one is available) Varsity results: Ox Committee 230-320 Cam Committee Ric...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon May 02, 2016 7:07 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: MUT UK Mirror @ Cambridge (30th of April 2016)
Replies: 1
Views: 2463

Re: MUT UK Mirror @ Cambridge (30th of April 2016)

So this happened. Cambridge A beat Cambridge B in the final to claim overall victory. Joey Goldman was top-scorer with 110.5 PPG, while Daoud Jackon and Ben Salter both put up impressive individual stats with over 50 PPG. Full stats here: http://www.hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/3700/stats/all_games...
by Ewan MacAulay
Sat Apr 09, 2016 2:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2016 NAQT ICT: Chicago, April 9
Replies: 24
Views: 17415

Re: 2016 NAQT ICT: Chicago, April 9

Is there any possibility that someone will be live streaming/blogging/tweeting the final like for HSNCT?
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:35 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: MUT UK Mirror @ Cambridge (30th of April 2016)
Replies: 1
Views: 2463

MUT UK Mirror @ Cambridge (30th of April 2016)

Cambridge University Quiz Society will be hosting a mirror of MUT on the West Cambridge Site of Cambridge University on the 30th of April. The entry fee will be £40 per team, with a £5 discount for bringing a working buzzer set, and a £10 discount for travelling more than 200 miles one-way. Further ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Thu Mar 03, 2016 7:46 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CO 2016 Editor Search/Discussion
Replies: 22
Views: 10173

Re: CO 2016 Editor Search/Discussion

I'm in the UK in July, so will be up to contribute questions for/edit CO chemistry, physics and chemistry-ish bits of bio if that'll help.
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Feb 10, 2016 7:53 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Regionals 2016 Corrections
Replies: 38
Views: 13720

Re: ACF Regionals 2016 Corrections

So yeah, all the mirrors of this are probably done, but I thought that in the question on the ideal gas constant, saying that the slope of the logK vs 1/T plot is "inversely proportional" to it doesn't really make sense since R is a constant. Might be better to say that it gives a plot whe...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Nov 30, 2015 2:47 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: (Missouri Open 2015) Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 51
Views: 15448

Re: (Missouri Open 2015) Specific Question Discussion

Gautam wrote:Packet 1 TU 13 on "Nitrogen": the leadin refers to a "compound". Please fix so that it does not say "compound", which nitrogen is not.
Sorry that's my bad - was meant to say "molecule".
by Ewan MacAulay
Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:30 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: (Missouri Open 2015) Thanks and General Discussion
Replies: 22
Views: 4793

Re: (Missouri Open 2015) Thanks and General Discussion

I think this set did a great job (better than any set I can think of since DRAGOON) of keeping middle parts almost uniformly within range, and most of the tossup answerlines were similar. (I did notice a lot of very hard parts in chemistry in particular, and the middle parts were often a bit harder...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:20 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: MKULTRA - Online Mirror?
Replies: 20
Views: 9967

MKULTRA - Online Mirror?

Hi all, A couple of weeks ago, Edmund Dickinson, Emma Laslett, George Corfield, David Knapp and I put together a question set called MKULTRA* for UK audiences. The set consists of questions of around MUT difficulty, 6-7 lines in length, and a quite heavily British focus. The distribution is a bit di...
by Ewan MacAulay
Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:43 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2015-16 Schedule, Discussion
Replies: 79
Views: 46561

Re: 2015-16 Schedule, Discussion

It's very possible that we'll be able to offer Oxford Open as a regular-minus set for the early December slot this year. The target difficulty is around that of WIT 2013/MUT 2015 if people would be interested in mirroring that.
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:06 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: MUT at Oxford (2/5/2015)
Replies: 1
Views: 2521

Re: MUT at Oxford (2/5/2015)

Field:
Oxford A
Oxford B
Oxford C
Warwick A
Warwick B
Warwick C
London
Southampton
Oxford Brookes
Sheffield
Cambridge

The field is now full at 11 teams
by Ewan MacAulay
Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:48 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2015-16 Schedule, Discussion
Replies: 79
Views: 46561

Re: 2015-16 Schedule, Discussion

Oxford Open will happen again next year, probably on the 30th of January. We hope to continue the upward trend of the past two years in question quality.
by Ewan MacAulay
Wed Apr 22, 2015 6:48 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Where Are You Going Next Year? (2015 College)
Replies: 47
Views: 29904

Re: Where Are You Going Next Year? (2015 College)

Next year I'll be heading to Cambridge to start a PhD in Nanotechnology. I'll hopefully be around to play/staff most UK events.
by Ewan MacAulay
Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:24 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Nationals 2015 Discussion
Replies: 227
Views: 110451

Re: ACF Nationals 2015 Discussion

I'd just like to say that I don't think there's been a set in existence with better chemistry than this one Yeah, the science (especially the chemistry) in this tournament was really well done. Tossups on the electrical double layer and water treatment were particular highlights. Thanks to all the ...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Apr 06, 2015 5:02 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: STIMPY Skype Mirror (4/11)
Replies: 33
Views: 17476

Re: STIMPY Skype Mirror (4/11)

If I'm running the UK mirror of this in late May but haven't received the packets yet then I'm still eligible for this right?
If so, I'd like to play. I can do chemistry and fraud other science and myth, and owing to time difference I'll be basically useless after round 7.
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:01 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: MUT at Oxford (2/5/2015)
Replies: 1
Views: 2521

MUT at Oxford (2/5/2015)

Oxford University Quiz Society will be hosting a mirror of MUT at Oxford University on the 2nd of May 2015. The entry fee will be £35 per team, with a £5 discount for bringing a working buzzer set, and a £10 discount for travelling more than 200 miles one-way. The editors have kindly allowed first-y...
by Ewan MacAulay
Mon Feb 02, 2015 12:47 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Oxford Open 2015
Replies: 5
Views: 4283

Re: Oxford Open 2015

So this finally happened. After 10 rounds of hard-fought quizzing, the UK's only home-grown tournament once again ended in a Chicago A vs Chicago B final. It was a classic. Going into the final tossup, Chicago B were 20 down. Chicago B's James Lasker got the final tossup, and they pulled the first a...