Search found 116 matches

by samus149
Sun Mar 25, 2018 10:47 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Where are You Going Next Year (Collegiate 2018)
Replies: 27
Views: 20009

Re: Where are You Going Next Year (Collegiate 2018)

I'll be starting a Ph.D. in physics at UCSB in the fall, which barring some unforeseen circumstances (or a sudden desire to finish my Star Wars set) effectively marks the end of my quizbowl career. It's been fun.
by samus149
Sun Oct 23, 2016 7:03 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: PB 2016: Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 82
Views: 19438

Re: PB 2016: Specific Question Discussion

In the tossup on absinthe in literature, the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" is clued. While the story's characters do, in fact, drink Anis del Toro (identifiable as absinthe based on the fact that it's drunk with water and tastes like licorice, and further by the fact that the w...
by samus149
Thu Sep 01, 2016 10:22 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT Collegiate Novice at Cornell (10/1/2016) (IS-158C)
Replies: 0
Views: 2170

NAQT Collegiate Novice at Cornell (10/1/2016) (IS-158C)

The Cornell University quizbowl team is pleased to announce our mirror of the NAQT collegiate novice tournament, which will take place on October 1, 2015. The tournament will (most likely) take place in Rockefeller Hall (231 East Ave, Ithaca NY). Further information about starting time, etc. will be...
by samus149
Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:20 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NY/NJ Date Claims '16-'17
Replies: 45
Views: 31124

Re: NY/NJ Date Claims '16-'17

Cornell University is hosting a mirror of Harvard Fall Tournament XI on October 15, 2016.
by samus149
Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:17 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HFT XI at Cornell (10/15/2016)
Replies: 3
Views: 3310

Re: HFT XI at Cornell (10/15/2016)

Field update:
Ithaca (4,1,0)
Oneonta (2,0,0-2)
Amherst Central (2,0,1)

Total: 8,1,1-3
by samus149
Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:17 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HFT XI at Cornell (10/15/2016)
Replies: 3
Views: 3310

HFT XI at Cornell (10/15/2016)

The Cornell University quizbowl team is pleased to announce our mirror of Harvard Fall Tournament XI, which will take place on October 15, 2015. The tournament will (most likely) take place in Rockefeller Hall (231 East Ave, Ithaca NY). Further information about starting time, etc. will be posted cl...
by samus149
Wed Oct 14, 2015 1:33 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)
Replies: 6
Views: 4228

Re: BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)

Stats have been posted here.

Thanks to everybody for attending!
by samus149
Sun Sep 20, 2015 12:18 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)
Replies: 6
Views: 4228

Re: BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)

This tournament is still happening. The field's been updated.
by samus149
Sat Aug 22, 2015 3:26 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Chicago Open thanks and discussion
Replies: 34
Views: 19944

Re: Chicago Open thanks and discussion

Has the set been posted yet?
by samus149
Sun Aug 09, 2015 6:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: VCU Novice at Cornell (9/19/2015)
Replies: 0
Views: 2381

VCU Novice at Cornell (9/19/2015)

The Cornell University quizbowl team is pleased to announce our mirror of VCU Novice, which will take place on September 19, 2015. The tournament will take place in Rockefeller Hall (231 East Ave, Ithaca NY). Further information about starting time, etc. will be posted closer to the tournament. Regi...
by samus149
Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:16 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)
Replies: 6
Views: 4228

Re: BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)

Field (Teams/Buzzers/Moderators):
Ithaca (3/1/1)
Wellsboro (1/0/0)
Bishop Guertin (1/0/0)
Geneva (2/0/1)
Southern Cayuga (1/0/0)

Total: 8/1/2
by samus149
Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:14 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)
Replies: 6
Views: 4228

BASK at Cornell (10/10/2015)

The Cornell University quizbowl team is pleased to announce our mirror of BASK, which will take place on October 10, 2015. The tournament will take place in Rockefeller Hall (231 East Ave, Ithaca NY). Further information about starting time, etc. will be posted closer to the tournament. We have a fi...
by samus149
Sat Aug 08, 2015 12:12 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NY / NJ Date Claims, 2015-16
Replies: 65
Views: 37199

Re: NY / NJ Date Claims, 2015-16

Cornell University will be hosting a mirror of BASK on October 10, 2015.
by samus149
Fri Jul 03, 2015 6:20 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: History Player
Replies: 20
Views: 12713

Re: History Player

The Quest for the Historical Mukherjesus wrote:
Amethyst wrote:Hi! I was a science specialist in high school
Keep doing that.
As your captain next year, overruled, learn history.
by samus149
Thu Jun 18, 2015 9:07 am
Forum: Trash
Topic: Clearinghouse for Random Packet Announcements
Replies: 577
Views: 455153

Re: Clearinghouse for Random Packet Announcements

Vissi d'arte wrote:samus was Colin
samus was I.
by samus149
Mon May 18, 2015 7:27 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament
Replies: 17
Views: 9407

Re: SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament

Status report: this set is halfway done, and has been that way since I had to stop working on it in March, but I'm gonna keep on writing this and have it ready for play sometime next year (next ICT, if possible).
by samus149
Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:56 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Literary Phrasing
Replies: 20
Views: 8968

Re: Literary Phrasing

While we're on the subject of verbal tics to avoid, for the love of god, think long and hard before you use the word "titular". And then don't use it. For clarification's case, here's the prompt/first part: An eye operation serves as a turning point in this story, in which the patient end...
by samus149
Thu Feb 19, 2015 6:15 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament
Replies: 17
Views: 9407

Re: SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament

This set is currently 33.5% done, but most of that was done in the last few weeks after I took a sabbatical to watch all 6 seasons of the Clone Wars cartoon. I'm reasonably confident I can get it done before the two high school nationals, but I'm not sure which one, if any, I'll be attending.
by samus149
Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:14 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF eligibility rule changes for 2015-2016
Replies: 74
Views: 36982

Re: ACF eligibility rule changes for 2015-2016

High school players: You don't have an issue with NAQT preventing you from playing D2 SCT against college teams and are perfectly fine using the D2 SCT set for a high school tournament, but when ACF wants to implement a similar policy with ACF Fall, it's a huge issue. You don't have a problem that ...
by samus149
Sun Jan 25, 2015 7:36 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2015 Regionals: thread for all things science
Replies: 13
Views: 6258

Re: 2015 Regionals: thread for all things science

Aaaaaaaaaaas yoooooooooou wiiiiiiiiiiiiish.... 10. In the oxymercuration-demercuration reaction, this phenomenon accelerates the reaction by stabilizing the mercurinium intermediate which is reduced in subsequent steps. This phenomenon is the most widely-accepted explanation for a higher-than-expec...
by samus149
Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:54 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2015 Regionals: thread for all things science
Replies: 13
Views: 6258

Re: 2015 Regionals: thread for all things science

Could I see that tossup on hyperconjugation? That first line about oxymercuration seems really obvious, and I and someone on the other team were staring at each other in incredulity when that came up first line. Other than that, and the generally unforgiving nature of the chemistry bonuses, this sci...
by samus149
Wed Nov 19, 2014 8:33 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament
Replies: 17
Views: 9407

Re: SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament

Is this set written for teams or will people be playing this SOLO? Does trash/pop culture refer to things outside the SW universe that refer to the SW universe (like Robot Chicken or Spaceballs)? And lastly, will you translate this set to common non-Galactic Basic sentient languages like Shyriiwook...
by samus149
Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:21 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament
Replies: 17
Views: 9407

SOLO: A Star Wars Tournament

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… This is the announcement for Sean’s Opulent Lucasian Open, or SOLO, a Star Wars tournament written by, you guessed it, me. I’m hoping to finish 10 packets of 20 tossups each, with the following distribution: 2 Movies (Roughly 1/3 Prequels, 1/3 Originals, 1...
by samus149
Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:17 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Fall 2014 - General Discussion
Replies: 51
Views: 25883

Re: ACF Fall 2014 - General Discussion

I don't know if it was me, but this tournament seemed to have a lot more Graeco-Roman myth and film questions than usual. Were those subdistributions increased?
by samus149
Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:34 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Is culinary art a fine art?
Replies: 21
Views: 12405

Re: Is culinary art a fine art?

The only questions I can remember on food are that one common link tossup at the 2014 NSC on peaches that used clues about Peach Melba and Bellinis for the first half, and a tossup I played a few years back in practice on avocados. If you're planning on writing culinary arts questions...don't. A cul...
by samus149
Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:55 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: What are the easiest categories to learn?
Replies: 8
Views: 5140

Re: What are the easiest categories to learn?

Skepticism and Animal Feed wrote:Short answer: not science
Blasphemy.
by samus149
Tue Oct 21, 2014 1:15 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2014 Penn Bowl Discussion forum
Replies: 43
Views: 17845

Re: Welcome to the 2014 Penn Bowl Discussion forum

This strikes me as incorrect. To turn this into a learning experience, I was under the impression that Cronenberg was known for his "body horror" style and Naked Lunch, but was declining in relevancy and "artistic merit" (however you want to define it) recently; I'd genuinely ap...
by samus149
Sun Oct 19, 2014 3:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Specific Questions Discussion (2014 Penn Bowl)
Replies: 32
Views: 11606

Re: Specific Questions Discussion

Could I see that tossup on Tahiti? I think the first clue was pretty transparent, seeing how it's one of the most famous features of Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, which is definitely the most famous of his Tahitian paintings.
by samus149
Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:08 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ICCS: Discussion of Specific Questions
Replies: 7
Views: 2439

Re: ICCS: Discussion of Specific Questions

I don't have the set right in front of me, but what I do remember is that some of the chemistry got pretty hard and sometimes borderline unanswerable (like those tossups on the partition function and Clausius-Clapeyron equation). I also don't remember a lot of tossups on elements and compounds, whic...
by samus149
Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:11 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2014-15 High School Pre-Season Poll
Replies: 22
Views: 13155

Re: 2014-15 High School Pre-Season Poll

In case anyone's interested, I redid the poll removing those two ballots: 1. LASA A (9 first place votes) 249 2. Western Albemarle A (1 first place vote) 239 3. Rockford Auburn A 222 4. Northmont A 211 5. DCC A 210 6. Farragut A 184 7. (tie) Centennial A 164 7. (tie) Richard Montgomery A 164 8. Magg...
by samus149
Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:19 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: We Trivia Now
Replies: 2
Views: 620

We Trivia Now

by samus149
Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:36 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2013-14 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion
Replies: 34
Views: 13131

Re: 2013-14 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion

My only big complaints about questions this year are the two IS sets (I think 130 and 132) that had a tossup on angular momentum which started by asking about Clebsch-Gordon coefficients, and the extremely difficult coin collecting bonus from IS-136.
by samus149
Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:05 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2014 NASAT: June 14-15 at Ohio State
Replies: 46
Views: 65158

Re: 2014 NASAT: June 14-15 at Ohio State

Smuttynose Island wrote: New Jersey
Jack Mehr
Shravan Bialaji
Rohan Kodialam
Sean McBride
Shristi Srivastava
Stephen Badger
In the interest of correctness, it's Shravan Balaji and Srishti Srivastava.
by samus149
Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:05 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2014 HSNCT discussion
Replies: 135
Views: 75166

Re: 2014 HSNCT discussion

The science this year I thought was an especially weak point. Some examples: - Cauchy's generalization of Hooke's Law in the first line. Hooke's Law was determined a long time ago to be a terrible tossup idea, and this is a stock clue that was determined to be a terrible leadin. - Complete metric sp...
by samus149
Sun May 25, 2014 11:46 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2014 PACE NSC Questions Discussion
Replies: 69
Views: 42150

Re: 2014 PACE NSC Questions Discussion

This was definitely my favorite NSC of the past 3 years. Great answer selection, especially on the science, keeping with some standard answers (benzene, colloids, glycolysis) while mixing in an incredible variety of new answers (rocket fuel, reducing agents, mass-energy equivalence, blood sugar). My...
by samus149
Mon May 19, 2014 12:48 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NJ/NY 2013-2014
Replies: 94
Views: 42198

Re: NJ/NY 2013-2014

What High Tech chooses to so with its team breakdowns is also going to be relevant: do they revert to the 2012-2013 method of creating multiple balanced, extremely skilled teams, or will it consolidate its players like it did this year to essentially form a superteam? Just to be clear, cause I thin...
by samus149
Tue May 13, 2014 10:04 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HSQBRank 2013-2014: Witty Subtitle
Replies: 203
Views: 107573

Re: HSQBRank 2013-2014: Witty Subtitle

Dr. Loki Skylizard, Thoracic Surgeon wrote: China - 8
Who are these guys and what tournament(s) did they play?
by samus149
Fri May 02, 2014 12:36 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2014 NAQT Small School NCT: Congratulations Hallsville!
Replies: 46
Views: 19244

Re: 2014 NAQT Small School NCT: May 3-4, Minneapolis

vinteuil wrote:
Mewto55555 wrote:I have a packet of (somewhat hard) Star Wars mashup tossups if you're looking to bundle together a bunch of unused packets into some kind of event.
I demand to be able to hear these at some later time if this happens.
I second this motion.
by samus149
Fri Apr 25, 2014 1:51 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Where Will You Be Going To College Next Year? 2013-14
Replies: 45
Views: 20767

Re: Where Will You Be Going To College Next Year? 2013-14

I'll be at Cornell University, playing quizbowl.
by samus149
Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:32 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Lederberg 2: Daughter Cell (3/29/14)
Replies: 155
Views: 91441

Re: Lederberg 2: Daughter Cell (3/29/14)

Habitat_Against_Humanity wrote:I like that this is basically the quiz bowl version of "Slumdog Millionaire" without you know, the not cheating part.
My mother was killed by a gamma ray burst mapping the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall.
by samus149
Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:49 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Lederberg 2: Daughter Cell (3/29/14)
Replies: 155
Views: 91441

Re: Lederberg 2: Daughter Cell (3/29/14)

I would like to (incompetently) play this too.
by samus149
Sun Mar 30, 2014 10:57 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Neg Prizes
Replies: 16
Views: 6029

Re: Neg Prizes

Eh, I've always thought neg prizes were fun, a way to keep the games from getting too serious. It's true that top scorers usually win them, but the people who are in contention for a neg prize are usually as excited for them as they are for a PPG award. If you want to avoid someone negging out their...
by samus149
Mon Mar 24, 2014 8:38 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Question-specific requests and discussion
Replies: 29
Views: 5268

Re: Question-specific requests and discussion

- Not straight up accepting "integer" seems a little cruel to me I don't understand how this is cruel. The difference between a primitive type (eg int) and an object (eg Integer) is fundamental to Java, and indeed, one of the very first concepts taught in AP Computer Science. The third pa...
by samus149
Sun Mar 23, 2014 4:03 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Question-specific requests and discussion
Replies: 29
Views: 5268

Re: Question-specific requests and discussion

My comments: Round 1: - Not straight up accepting "integer" seems a little cruel to me Round 2: - Whenever there's a force that acts on lights and stars in space, it pretty much has to be gravity - My translation of Crime and Punishment used "ubermensch" instead of "superman...
by samus149
Sat Mar 22, 2014 11:43 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: General set discussion
Replies: 5
Views: 1650

Re: General set discussion

Some general comments before I go to sleep: 1) Two of my teammates complained that the visual art was not so great. They mainly bemoaned the lack of Renaissance era artists and a large amount of common link questions on "this country", "this object", "this person", etc....
by samus149
Tue Mar 11, 2014 3:10 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2014 NAQT HSNCT: Congratulations LASA!
Replies: 68
Views: 40340

Re: 2014 NAQT HSNCT: May 31-June 1, Chicago

Will there be a recording service like iHigh at this year's HSNCT?
by samus149
Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:55 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Question-specific Discussion
Replies: 26
Views: 4331

Re: Question-specific Discussion

11. Several months before this event, a tablet predicting its occurrence was excavated from the tomb of the founder of Capua. The Sacred Way and a bridge over the Field of Mars were considered as possible settings for this event, whose key figure was given a warning note that went unread just prior...
by samus149
Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:21 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: New Jersey NASAT Try-Outs April 12th
Replies: 14
Views: 4399

Re: New Jersey NASAT Try-Outs April 12th

I would like to sign up for the science tryout, and Srishti Srivastava would like to sign up for literature and humanities.

Also, if someone wins two categories, would we only bring 5 people or would we pick a second place winner from one of the categories?
by samus149
Sun Mar 02, 2014 7:02 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Good ways to improve literature knowledge?
Replies: 15
Views: 7909

Re: Good ways to improve literature knowledge?

At the end of last year, our team wanted to get better at covering our biggest weakness (literature), so I made a spreadsheet of 50 or so authors and their novels/short stories to read, along with other nerd statistics (color coding, how important 1-5, if there was a movie adaptation for yours truly...
by samus149
Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:08 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: High School Quizbowl Podcast
Replies: 48
Views: 18337

Re: High School Quizbowl Podcast

I would like to see discussions on each specialty (how to study them and some common problems and topics), starting with the big 3 and moving towards the smaller specialities.