Search found 180 matches

by Amizda Calyx
Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:24 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2016 MYSTERIUM Question-Specific Discussion
Replies: 31
Views: 9921

Re: 2016 MYSTERIUM Question-Specific Discussion

We did complain about the platelets question, just not as much as with the TK one and more offhand. I know there is debate regarding whether platelets are cells, but they're conventionally considered fragments and there are unambiguous cells that fit the early clues anyway, which makes it more confu...
by Amizda Calyx
Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:30 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2016 MYSTERIUM Question-Specific Discussion
Replies: 31
Views: 9921

Re: 2016 MYSTERIUM Question-Specific Discussion

I (and Ben Zhang) mentioned the serious issues with the tyrosine kinase question, in that saying "this functionality" is horrendous and the entire question should just be on "these proteins". Also "platelets" being referred to as "cells" was Bad. Hopefully the...
by Amizda Calyx
Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:51 pm
Forum: Trash
Topic: Clearinghouse for Random Packet Announcements
Replies: 577
Views: 455553

Re: Clearinghouse for Random Packet Announcements

I'll be reading our unused* Nats 2016 packet sometime soon, maybe tonight after Mike's PNW/Jefferson's primary packets are read if there's enough time. These questions are not great, especially the ones we wrote after we knew we weren't going to Nats, some of which were actually just random old Jere...
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Jun 04, 2016 12:41 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2016 HSNCT discussion
Replies: 133
Views: 76910

Re: 2016 HSNCT discussion

[quote="2016 HSNCT round 13" Henry Friesen discovered the human form of this 199-residue hormone. Its release is stimulated by thyrotropin-releasing hormone and vasoactive intestinal peptide. It is released at the time of the ovulatory LH surge and as a reaction to (*) suckling, while exc...
by Amizda Calyx
Thu Jun 02, 2016 12:36 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2016 HSNCT discussion
Replies: 133
Views: 76910

Re: 2016 HSNCT discussion

Bubalus Period wrote:who's the :capybara: ing idiot who let in a tossup on prolactin
There was a tossup on prolactin??? With what high school/early college clues? Dopamine, anterior pit, oxytocin and...? Please tell me metamorphosis and histology stuff weren't clues...
by Amizda Calyx
Thu Jun 02, 2016 12:22 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Where Are You Going to College Next Year (2015-2016)
Replies: 35
Views: 20667

Re: Where Are You Going to College Next Year (2015-2016)

Neggman wrote:Imma be playing at Rutgers. Not sure to what extent but definitely stuff like ACF Fall and SCTs.
David has been SO excited about this
by Amizda Calyx
Sun May 29, 2016 12:20 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Introducing new moderators to the game
Replies: 14
Views: 10195

Re: Introducing new moderators to the game

There's someone interested in waking up early on a Saturday to read questions to strangers for six+ hours for free who isn't even interested in quizbowl itself? Where can I find these people??
by Amizda Calyx
Sat May 28, 2016 8:15 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The Second Summer Open
Replies: 61
Views: 38018

Re: The Second Summer Open

CLEAR II has been written (except for the Chinese history packet...) for a couple months now; we would quite like it to be played in a physical location somewhere in addition to our scheduled June Skype tournament. There are 11+ 20/20 subject packets at Nats-minus Nats-ish difficulty; perhaps some o...
by Amizda Calyx
Fri May 13, 2016 12:51 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: SMART II: The SMARTening - 2016-2017
Replies: 22
Views: 10816

Re: SMART II: The SMARTening - 2016-2107

quizbowllee wrote:But, we will do our best to limit pop culture and trash clues in academic tossups.
This shouldn't be merely limited; academic tossups shouldn't have any non-academic clues.
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Apr 30, 2016 8:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The Second Summer Open
Replies: 61
Views: 38018

Re: The Second Summer Open

CLEAR II! Please, someone, mirror this!
by Amizda Calyx
Fri Apr 22, 2016 5:05 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Chicago Open Team Formation
Replies: 22
Views: 15839

Re: Chicago Open Team Formation

Sam Braunfeld and I are looking for teammates. I've already written math and bio tossups that are too hard for anything other than CO so our packet is already 1/24 finished!! We do not know history AT ALL.
by Amizda Calyx
Fri Feb 19, 2016 1:15 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2016 MLK: Specific Questions
Replies: 44
Views: 8033

Re: Specific Questions

I guess my issue with this question is that there don't seem to be enough unique clues that aren't far too difficult for this level -- it feels rather harsh to expect people to know the specific residue on the EPO receptor in order to distinguish among the cytokines that activate the JAK2/STAT5 path...
by Amizda Calyx
Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:14 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2016 MLK: Specific Questions
Replies: 44
Views: 8033

Re: Specific Questions

The tossup on EPO was pretty far above the difficulty of the rest of the bio. I guess if you learn a lot about the JAK/STAT pathway in some undergrad physio class I've never taken you could conceivably get it before it starts describing erythropoiesis, but it seemed fairly biased toward people who j...
by Amizda Calyx
Sun Jan 31, 2016 9:12 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Regionals 2016 Individual Question Discussion
Replies: 37
Views: 14291

Re: ACF Regionals 2016 Individual Question Discussion

Were there, like, any unique clues for the "transplant rejection" tossup? This was the most absurdly bad bio question I have ever seen in a tournament, including high school-edited ones and VETO. I don't understand how this got through even the most minimal of editing.
by Amizda Calyx
Sun Nov 22, 2015 4:08 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: On Dressing Well for Staffing High School Tournaments
Replies: 22
Views: 12758

Re: On Dressing Well for Staffing High School Tournaments

Going off what Charlie said, I think it's more damaging when guys wear poorly-fitting business casual dress than it is when they wear any variety of non-business casual clothes, provided they aren't sloppy. I don't really see why there's that much distinction between most of the outfit Charlie descr...
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:37 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Samuel L. Bronkowitz presents Chicago Open (07/18-19/15)
Replies: 117
Views: 62151

Re: Samuel L. Bronkowitz presents Chicago Open (07/18-19/15)

Mike, are you flying out of ORD? I have a hellish 6:30AM flight and am planning on just spending the night there, so if you also have an early flight you could join me in misery.
by Amizda Calyx
Sun Jun 28, 2015 6:20 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: How do you describe quizbowl to someone unfamiliar with it?
Replies: 12
Views: 6033

Re: How do you describe quizbowl to someone unfamiliar with

When I've had to explain my quizbowl "writing" "job" to people, I describe it as "composing paragraph-long questions that test depth of knowledge at academic tournaments". I give more details if they ask, but they're usually satisfied with that.
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Jun 24, 2015 4:41 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 52
Views: 4596

Re: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion

One of these two men gossiped that Michel Foucault had called the other's writing style "terrorist obscurantism", prompting the latter to add "Afterword: Toward An Ethic of Discussion" to his essay collection. For 10 points each: [10] Name these two philosophers whose disagreemen...
by Amizda Calyx
Sun Jun 21, 2015 10:18 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 52
Views: 4596

Re: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion

•Ol/Obatala/Nigeria This was nuts--easily one of the hardest bonuses in the set. Not even a particularly forgiving easy part, given the clues! Yeahhh it was like 3am and I forgot that the first two parts were actually both ideas for a hard part, and the last part was going to be medium, and then I ...
by Amizda Calyx
Sun Jun 21, 2015 12:22 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2015 NASAT: Errata
Replies: 6
Views: 1516

Re: 2015 NASAT: Errata

The bonus on "blastocyst" should also accept "blastula" and "embryoblast" (even though technically they're not *really* equivalent, enough HS books say they are that they should probably be acceptable). The tossup on "dark" should accept "day turning into...
by Amizda Calyx
Sun Jun 21, 2015 12:08 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 52
Views: 4596

Re: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion

That tossup on night was pretty coolio, though its intentional vagueness meant that there were a few negs with stuff like "day-night cycles"; I'd appreciate looking at the tossup and its acceptable answers. It was already pretty lenient with prompts and the like, but it was pretty hard to...
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:18 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion
Replies: 52
Views: 4596

Re: NASAT 2015 Specific Question Discussion

My questions (I've included some of the answerline for questions where it may have not been clear): Tossups Bio •pupillary dilation [or light-near dissociation until "Horner's" is read; or mydriasis until it is read] •age-related macular degeneration • dark ness [or absence of light , scot...
by Amizda Calyx
Tue Jun 09, 2015 5:53 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2015 PACE NSC: Question set discussion
Replies: 65
Views: 38347

Re: 2015 PACE NSC: Question set discussion

Of course, in lieu of available conversion statistics for all of these questions Is there any reason why we don't have conversion statistics? Not enough manpower? Not worth it for a tournament that is only held once a year? Too small a sample size to be meaningful for just this one tournament? I wo...
by Amizda Calyx
Fri May 01, 2015 11:57 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Feynman's BONGOS: A Side Event (for PACE and maybe HSNCT)
Replies: 65
Views: 45682

Re: Feynman's BONGOS: A Side Event (for PACE and maybe HSNCT

I might play at HSNCT, if that's still a thing.
by Amizda Calyx
Mon Apr 27, 2015 8:39 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACFNATIONALS - A JRPG tournament
Replies: 99
Views: 55849

Re: ACFNATIONALS - A JRPG tournament

I can read, hopefully.
by Amizda Calyx
Mon Apr 27, 2015 12:53 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Being a Good Scorekeeper
Replies: 13
Views: 7539

Re: Being a Good Scorekeeper

At Sectionals 2013, Jarret's scorekeeper literally fell asleep with his head on his hand around 3 tossups into the game and didn't wake up until halftime. Fortunately, I had been keeping score, but don't rely on this! At CO history 2014, I also literally passed out while scorekeeping for Cody, and ...
by Amizda Calyx
Tue Apr 21, 2015 3:30 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Tricon: The Next Generation
Replies: 50
Views: 30665

Re: Tricon: The Next Generation

I thought i had posted in here before, but i guess it didn't go through. I'd enjoy another one of these, if only to insert more Animorphs content into things. Also, if we're still suggesting categories, it would be fun to have a '90s to early '00s Nickelodeon distribution, with maybe a chronological...
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Apr 15, 2015 1:02 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2015 STIMPY: Question-Specific Discussion
Replies: 25
Views: 4947

Re: 2015 STIMPY: Question-Specific Discussion

This was actually a pretty fun tournament to play after not having played anything in almost a year. I especially enjoyed that somehow quite a few tossups aligned with aborted questions I've attempted in the past. Never thought writing a couple clues on "doors" or "grapes in poetry&qu...
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Apr 01, 2015 8:53 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: I wrote an article about kids who really like geography
Replies: 2
Views: 685

Re: I wrote an article about kids who really like geography

Excellent! Reminds me of the dozens of hours I spent in elementary school listing out every sea, gulf, bay, and desert I came across in my parents' atlas and memorizing the locations of all the capitals. More recently, I've taken to the quizzes on hugequiz.com to satisfy geo needs.
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:25 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ICT Predictions
Replies: 29
Views: 12081

Re: ICT Predictions

I don't bet either, but...UCSD and Stanford exist, so
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Mar 21, 2015 5:58 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: STIMPY Skype Mirror (4/11)
Replies: 33
Views: 17487

Re: STIMPY Skype Mirror (4/11?)

I'm interested, and i don't think i playtested any questions this time...
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Mar 21, 2015 7:19 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: San Diego Academic League
Replies: 19
Views: 12442

Re: San Diego Academic League

These remind me of Knowledge Bowl questions, such as the one at 2009 State that insisted that the current currency of Italy was the lira.
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:13 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2015 BHSAT: Specific Question Requests and Discussion
Replies: 52
Views: 2641

Re: 2015 BHSAT: General Discussion

This set really suffered from the issues Auroni outlined above. In particular, many, many bonuses were divorced from the topics actual, average high school players know and relied too heavily on college packet clues. The top teams will do well on this set because they are more familiar with college...
by Amizda Calyx
Tue Mar 17, 2015 5:09 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2015 BHSAT: Specific Question Requests and Discussion
Replies: 52
Views: 2641

Re: 2015 BHSAT: General Discussion

This set really suffered from the issues Auroni outlined above. In particular, many, many bonuses were divorced from the topics actual, average high school players know and relied too heavily on college packet clues. The top teams will do well on this set because they are more familiar with college-...
by Amizda Calyx
Thu Mar 12, 2015 7:57 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement
Replies: 66
Views: 42295

Re: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement

I didn't play COTTAGE Bowl, so I had to track down this much-maligned feminine hygiene bonus, and in terms of its structure as a quizbowl question, it seems okay. (There is an easy, middle, and hard part; who honestly has never heard of Tampax?) If this was the only female-oriented question in the ...
by Amizda Calyx
Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:28 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement
Replies: 66
Views: 42295

Re: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement

Speaking only for myself, not for my gender here: Having now looked through the question set, I think my main issue with the "female-friendly" content was less the idea that there should be a distribution of questions tendered to women and more the abysmal execution of those questions. I f...
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:21 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Literary Phrasing
Replies: 20
Views: 8973

Re: Literary Phrasing

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 ends up dying. [10] This tale sees Laurel Hand read Dickens to her father, Judge McKelva, when not feuding with her stepmother, Fay. ANSWER: The _Optimist's Daughte...
by Amizda Calyx
Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:21 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement
Replies: 66
Views: 42295

Re: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement

Ok, I might have been hasty in condemning the spoiler question -- however, I still think it's bad form to use clues that end up revealing key plot points of episodes aired within a year when those clues don't even make the question more gettable. Not everyone has access to cable TV or is willing to ...
by Amizda Calyx
Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:59 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement
Replies: 66
Views: 42295

Re: COTTAGE Bowl - Global Announcement

If there's ever a distinction to be made for something "too trashy even for trash", I would think personal hygiene products and horrible YouTube channels like the one hosted by that stupid highly-inappropriate-for-high-schoolers* manchild PewDiePie would be prime candidates. Aside from tha...
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:37 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Announcement: Oxford Open North America Online (03/01/2015)
Replies: 75
Views: 44719

Re: Announcement: Oxford Open North America Online (03/01/20

If there's any eleventh-hour need to fill out a team or anything, I'd be down to join. Email me at joellesmartATyahoo.com
by Amizda Calyx
Wed Feb 11, 2015 11:35 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The place of zoology in the bio distribution
Replies: 53
Views: 30944

Re: The place of zoology in the bio distribution

Any other biology majors feel like the distribution should be ~1.5 compared to Chem and Physics at 1? It seems like there are a ton of massive, undergrad-accessible fields for bio that are easily incorporated into Quizbowl. 1. Medical stuff (physiology, anatomy; we don't even have courses in these ...
by Amizda Calyx
Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:33 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: the future of regular difficulty
Replies: 14
Views: 8398

Re: the future of regular difficulty

I think a significant part of the problem is the fact that what we call "regular" difficulty is definitely not representative of what the average player should know. Not being able to even recognize a non-trivial proportion of the answers, let alone clues, at an event that purports to serv...
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Jan 31, 2015 5:47 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: THE OFFICIAL 2014 HSQBRANK ALL NAME TEAM
Replies: 23
Views: 14445

Re: THE OFFICIAL 2014 HSQBRANK ALL NAME TEAM

cwRsync wrote:What about Joelle Smart?
It was always fun to wear my "Captain Smart" t-shirt at Knowledge Bowl tournaments in high school...
by Amizda Calyx
Fri Jan 23, 2015 7:28 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Question-specific discussion (HFT 2014)
Replies: 53
Views: 8698

Re: Question-specific discussion (HFT 2014)

3. Examples of these include catalase and carbonic anhydrase. For 10 points each: [10] Name these biological catalysts whose three-dimensional conformation is the subject of major study. ANSWER: enzymes [10] Enzymes, like all catalysts, lower the activation energy of reactions. This equation from r...
by Amizda Calyx
Mon Dec 08, 2014 3:33 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: DEES Online: January 3rd, 2015
Replies: 23
Views: 13391

Re: DEES Online: January 3rd, 2015

I can also moderate, probably.
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Dec 06, 2014 6:41 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Nationals 2015: 4/18-19 at the University of Michigan
Replies: 54
Views: 46062

Re: ACF Nationals 2015: 4/18-19 at the University of Michiga

Hmm...I'd like to staff this. To whom do I talk about doing that?
by Amizda Calyx
Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:05 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: Tournaments/Being Competitive
Replies: 18
Views: 14789

Re: Tournaments/Being Competitive

A) "Discomfort" is relative, and anyway you should not infer some causal link between someone quitting the team and some "uncomfortable" situation you've observed because most of the time there are underlying issues beyond that. B) People in general are driven away by disagreeabl...
by Amizda Calyx
Sat Nov 22, 2014 2:44 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Southeast HFT mirror @ Marist School (GA) 11/15
Replies: 26
Views: 12442

Re: Southeast HFT mirror @ Marist School (GA) 11/15

I doubt that there's such a dearth of competent scorekeepers in Georgia that writing an extra number in the correct column each tossup would slow things down at all, considering the main site took those stats fine and that plenty of people are capable of simultaneously reading and scorekeeping in a ...
by Amizda Calyx
Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:07 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Southeast HFT mirror @ Marist School (GA) 11/15
Replies: 26
Views: 12442

Re: Southeast HFT mirror @ Marist School (GA) 11/15

Can't you just input the individual scores into SQBS after the tournament is over? That wouldn't delay things at all and individual players would still get to see how they improve from tournament to tournament.
by Amizda Calyx
Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:46 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HFT IX @ Harvard (11/15/14)
Replies: 105
Views: 67691

Re: HFT IX @ Harvard (11/15/14)

Were the pages in each packet, like, not stapled together? I am confused as to how the reader managed to mix up the bonuses if there weren't any loose papers--surely it would be anti-intuitive to tear open a new packet every 6 bonuses.