if only i could do this for a living

just compiled all my bingo lists from '09 for Chris Sinacola's daughter's math project (announced on cgp). the three bingos (out of a total 340) i've played more than once this year are LAUGHER, LACIEST and NEUSTIC, the last of which i played twice at the same tournament. MADRONE is the only one played more than once against me.

the food and after hours was really great. congrats to bruce. that's about all i have to say about that.
( Read more... )

what do the words that belong to these 29 alphagrams have in common?

AELRSSY
EILMRSS
AEKNRSW
BEISSTU
AELMSST
ACEEHPR
BEFILSU
ELMOPSU
CINOOPS
AHILSST
AEIMSSV
GHIMNOS
ACORSSU
EGLNSSU
ACHISTT
ACERRSS
CEEFPRT
DHIOPTY
LLOOPRT
ABCCEIR
ALLOTWY
ADHIMPS
ACCIIST
BBEGILR
EFFLRTU
AALMPRY
BEKRRSU
AACKMNP
EEIPPPR

( answer: )

depart chicago union station on amtrak with etheridge2 on 12/29 at 9pm, play scrabble, sleep, wake up, play scrabble, arrive in albany at 3pm on 12/30. anyone else want to go on a train ride?

nothing much quackled yet, but here's the rundown. double round robin played two games at a time.

Jere 1: i have PETASOS turn 2, he answers with ANGLEPOD which gives me the letter i need for U(N)POLITE. both blanks for me while he struggles. w 483-284. ( Read more... )

i was reasonably satisfied with my play this weekend, though my head did explode in one game, and probably cost me second - i had many chances to not be dumb, and then was dumb in each of them (e.g., getting LANCIER* challenged off, not challenging URINATER*, and trying to hail mary bingo out with FLYGATES*). but, i felt more in control of what was going on, which was nice.

bingos for me - 27( Read more... )

i haz lots of bingos. 19. including AAGIUU? through a C. 3x3. woot!

and also indian food. pleasing.

and a good yarn store.

another mediocre result, but some exciting games. my highest games (459, 460) were losses. five games were spreads of 11 or fewer points. i hope to get into that later. for now, the mindless post:

me: 30 total, 3 to open, 13 sevens, 17 eights ( Read more... )

i shouldn't go to lake george, but i might anyway. does anyone have a bed for me?

i can feel my scrabble game deteriorating. here's what i'm going to do about it:

-- jumbletime more often
-- stop throwing away turns on fb scrabble
-- rewrite all fives, write definitions for the ones i've forgotten
-- rewrite questionable fours with definitions
-- keep up better with supermemo

i haven't fully explored it, but it has some fun games and an option to export cards to ipod/pda/phone: http://www.studystack.com

potential one-day tourney at UNH
december 5, 10am-finish
seven games, catered box lunches
train/bus accessible from boston

i'm not 100% sure i can get it together, but i'm going to try...

i just learned that i can use rooms at UNH for free. score. i could easily start hosting tournaments for up to 50ish on weekends, i think. this room looks big enough, right? if set up dinner style, it says it can fit up to 72, which is 6 each at 12 tables... so if we squeeze the space a bit, it should work. or we could get rooms next to each other and have more, maybe.

where are you people? sign up for essex! i went to the inn this summer just for lunch, and it was on the short list of places to go for my birthday festivities before dog surgery and other expenses meant that we stayed close to home. the location is peaceful and gorgeous, and the food! so good! i'd go back just for the fries and the italian soda.

excellent things to do within half hour or so driving distance:
-- magic hat brewery tour
-- dutch pancake restaurant
-- laughing moon chocolate (excellent truffles)
-- ben and jerry's tour
-- lake champlain and cabot creamery factory stores (and lake champlain factory tour in burlington)
-- burlington in general is a really cute town, and not far from essex

In short, I felt like I had no idea what was going on this weekend. I had complete lack of control of the board except for a few cases. I was leaving way too much to luck and chance, and doubting every word I've ever learned. I couldn't get through difficult racks. I never played an endgame well. In retrospect, it could have been because I was in enough pain that I couldn't sit down by the end of day two. I really didn't feel like it was affecting me during the games but I'm going to hope that it was, and that that's why I struggled so much. Oh well - I won't be so stubborn next time, I guess. ( Read more... )

i'm not horribly ill or anything, but my tailbone problem thingie has escalated such that now i'm on vicodin. thus, it has been decided that trying to play scrabble tomorrow would be a bad idea. i'm sorry to everyone who ends up with byes because of me. i will be following along assuming my conscious state can deal with the pain killers.

Wah - I have a bug bite on my tailbone and it's all swelly* and painful. I might have to sit on a pillow for games.

Also: I'm making a reservation for Food Factory Miyake for tomorrow night. Speak now if you want to be on the reservation. Right now it's: me, mthgeek, olaugh and wisemonkey and dianagram.

i am so average against the field. 43.5-44.

who is howard pistol?

if i lose to connie creed in the same way i did at hartford, i will shoot myself.

i'm tired from the start of school. i woke up and tried to do all the anagrams in ?AELIST (yeah, sometimes I wake up with anamonics in my head) and couldn't find ISOLATE. Fail.

last year my pre-tourney involved buffalo jerky. i don't remember this at all, but my journal tells me so.

ULTRAFICHES!

okay, now that my family has left, i can start thinking vaguely about Maine Event, and more importantly, meals around Maine Event.

Friday dinner with people staying at my house -- maybe lobsters on a pier? or clam hut?
Saturday dinner -- what say you, wisemonkey? Food Factory Miyake? It's open Saturday but not Sunday night.
Sunday dinner -- possibly back around Portsmouth... maybe throw stuff on the grill.
Monday after games -- Duckfat!

today, i am procrastinating productively by submitting an rfp to unh conference services to check on the cost of a tourney next summer. whee.

also - my dog is in ACL surgery right now. hope she's doing okay.