"what's 'amped' mean then?"
― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:39 (nineteen years ago) link
― the bellefox, Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:39 (nineteen years ago) link
I found it strange that they didn't know what COBOL or SQL were yet got the (IMO) more obscure Ada question right.
University Challenge makes me realise how much stuff there is that I don't know. I'm usually chuffed to bits if I get a run of Starter + 3 Bonuses correct.
Discovered a fairly good quiz show called Eggheads yesterday while I was off work. A team of "boffins" (I think most of them are former champions of 15-to-1 or similar) is challenged by a different team of plebs every episode. Plebs can win £20000, boffins just get to be smug about being clever. Plebs won yesterday for the first time in umpteen episodes.
― Onimo (GerryNemo), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:43 (nineteen years ago) link
UC was good, I knew more answers than usual (ie, about 5). The Greil Marcus question reminded me of RJG. I liked the set of questions where they had to say who ruled in a X-ocracy, and one of the words sounded very much like phallocracy, and they dithered and snickered and then it was something not rude at all.
I like Eggheads too.
― Cathy (Cathy), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― Brigadier Rainham Steele, Mrs (blueski), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:56 (nineteen years ago) link
That was because it's named after Ada Lovelace innit. I didn't know the others but I know who the daughter of George Gordon, Lord Byron was. Hung out with Babbage, nice one.
― Liz :x (Liz :x), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 15:01 (nineteen years ago) link
― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 16:09 (nineteen years ago) link
― koogs (koogs), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 16:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 16:18 (nineteen years ago) link
(still, not as bad as the cow-orker who pronounces "spamhaus" "spamhorse")
― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 16:25 (nineteen years ago) link
My old drama teacher got to the semis on MM in '86 or so.
― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 17:31 (nineteen years ago) link
― Cathy (Cathy), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:01 (nineteen years ago) link
Didn't he get a wee bit more time than the others - Humphrys explained something by way of explanation about the lipreading thing but I was in the other room so missed most of what he was saying.
I wondered about the cane too.
Was the other interesting thing the karaoke backing tracks of cheesy ballads (all of which I recognised, much to the amusement of my husband and parents)? Wasn't there a Smiths lyrics question too, or was that last week?
― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:08 (nineteen years ago) link
― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:18 (nineteen years ago) link
Ah, I was appalled to see tetris in there. It was written in 1985-86! And not really commercially available until a while after that. It's hardly retro!
― JimD (JimD), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:48 (nineteen years ago) link
― the bellefox, Monday, 8 November 2004 15:37 (nineteen years ago) link
― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 November 2004 15:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― robster (robster), Monday, 8 November 2004 15:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 November 2004 15:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Cathy (Cathy), Monday, 8 November 2004 16:16 (nineteen years ago) link
― Liz :x (Liz :x), Monday, 8 November 2004 16:31 (nineteen years ago) link
― the bluefox, Monday, 8 November 2004 16:36 (nineteen years ago) link
― Liz :x (Liz :x), Monday, 8 November 2004 16:42 (nineteen years ago) link
― robster (robster), Monday, 8 November 2004 16:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 November 2004 21:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:07 (nineteen years ago) link
― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:10 (nineteen years ago) link
― Liz :x (Liz :x), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:11 (nineteen years ago) link
not a patch on "frottage" though :)
― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:35 (nineteen years ago) link
I bet Paxo LOVED this.
― robster (robster), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 12:06 (nineteen years ago) link
(not that i disagree necessarily ;))
― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 12:09 (nineteen years ago) link
― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 12:16 (nineteen years ago) link
― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 12:26 (nineteen years ago) link
― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 12:40 (nineteen years ago) link
One of the posh girls seemed awkward and silly. Yet she knew things that I don't.
It was hard: I scored only about 60 points.
― the bellefox, Tuesday, 9 November 2004 13:42 (nineteen years ago) link
― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 13:46 (nineteen years ago) link
I like the thought that we are the only ones who take it seriously enough to have this technical discussion.
― the bellefox, Tuesday, 9 November 2004 13:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 13:56 (nineteen years ago) link
*I must say the answer aloud, otherwise it doesn't count - do you have this rule too?
― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 13:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 14:01 (nineteen years ago) link
― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 14:05 (nineteen years ago) link
― beanz (beanz), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 14:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― Shabazz (hello chickens), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 14:47 (nineteen years ago) link
Madchen, it is an interesting question -- need one say the answer aloud? I think it does help. Also I have wee Isobel to say the answers to.
― the bellefox, Tuesday, 9 November 2004 14:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 14:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 14:59 (nineteen years ago) link
what you're saying is "youngsters these days, cuh? bunch of thickies" isn't it?
I say this about half a dozen times a week. They are though.
― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 17:42 (nineteen years ago) link
I've never seen a grand final where the presenter was like "well, here this is yours I guess..."
― Mark G, Tuesday, 9 April 2024 16:29 (two weeks ago) link
venice, urea, parker, ai wei wei, spline, thailand, aspiration, fric(a)tive, psyche, proton, frank lloyd wright, keep the aspidistra flying, bildungsroman
couple of guesses included there and there were a couple more that i might've got given time (son of odysseus...) or a second attempt. i think i'd've gotten away with the mispronunciation of ɸ
but, yes, quite a drubbing for something so late in the competition
― koogs, Tuesday, 9 April 2024 17:32 (two weeks ago) link
Not sure I have warmed to Amol Rajan…he always has a ‘too cool for school’ air…much preferred the detached schoolmasterly distain of Paxman…maybe I’ll be proved wrong
― X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Tuesday, 9 April 2024 19:48 (two weeks ago) link
I think it's good that he's on the contestants' side. Social media too often treats contestants horrifically, I think a host who isn't sneering at them really helps to humanise the whole thing.
(Yours observantly, someone trolled on social media for going on telly to do a quiz)
― ailsa, Tuesday, 9 April 2024 21:38 (two weeks ago) link
Thinking that paxman is any good just feels like a kind of Stockholm syndrome for forelock wankers tbh
― subpost master (wins), Tuesday, 9 April 2024 21:49 (two weeks ago) link
I also like the idea that Rajan doesn't think it's beneath him to ask questions about video games or knitting.
― trishyb, Wednesday, 10 April 2024 07:59 (two weeks ago) link
and doesn't berate people for not knowing obscure classical composers
― koogs, Wednesday, 10 April 2024 08:05 (two weeks ago) link
Ailsa it was a real delight to watch you on OC (and then to read back up this thread and see you gradually saying "hey, maybe I should try and go on OC")
I for one have kinda enjoyed the UC shift from affronted schoolmasterly "good lord how could you be so dreadfully wrong" to a coolly dismissive "nah, bro, that's kinda embarrassing" response. I hope to live long enough to see lots of different modes of shaming contestants applied
― ን (nabisco), Wednesday, 10 April 2024 15:14 (two weeks ago) link
There was a round about 80s rap which concluded with Amol gently berating the team for not listening to enough hip-hop. I think that sealed the deal for my fandom of him - IMAGINE Paxo saying that.
― chap, Wednesday, 10 April 2024 16:36 (two weeks ago) link
On a bit of a tangent, it was funny to see Only Connect alumnus Michael Joel Bartellein the first episode of The Regime.
― trishyb, Wednesday, 10 April 2024 16:41 (two weeks ago) link
Yeah, I went into this season expecting AR to be a bit crap, but he’s turned out to be adorable and I like what UC has evolved into under his stewardship. And of the contestants, I particularly liked ailsa’s mate, the Open University captain who knew her female punk singers and rocked some fierce looks.
― mike t-diva, Wednesday, 10 April 2024 21:09 (two weeks ago) link
She popped up on BBC London news recently on the panel auditioning buskers for the Tube.
― chap, Wednesday, 10 April 2024 22:38 (two weeks ago) link
Yeah, she works for TfL and is just an all-round fantastic person. I was so happy she got the questions on female punk singers!
Also, thanks Nabisco!
― ailsa, Thursday, 11 April 2024 14:30 (one week ago) link
She looked so pleased and confident about that one! (As opposed to the relatable share of people who, getting a topic they're familiar with, immediately panic at the prospect of still being stumped, which is almost certainly what I would do)
― ን (nabisco), Thursday, 11 April 2024 17:26 (one week ago) link