Ten Thousand Eights and other musings.
Illness kept me from Rockford. For the best, I guess. Using my time (somewhat) wisely.
I often make notes in my ISC profile of stuff that's come up (edited for order of prepositional phrases :). Here's more of the same:
PIEHOLE + N = PINHOLE + E = ENOPHILE + O/X = (O/X)ENOPHILE
TALEGGIO is a lonely word. I can see where knowing these would be useful.
I have no idea how I guessed GALOPADE. Is there a similar word that'd've led me to it?
LABROID + F = FORBIDAL -- another guess.
FRICANDO magically came to me only 'cause I've seen it before. Gotta pay attention to the hooks.
A + GRENADE = (GAD)(ARENE) (apt definition), ABRIDGE + A = (BIG)ARADE, CABINED + A = ABI(DANCE).
I struggle with double As when I really shouldn't.
LONESOME OENOMELS, but... SIMOLEON OINOMELS. (When Bugs said it, I never envisioned it spelled that way.)
The ANTISLIP ALPINIST employed PINTAILS to avoid a TAILSPIN. :)
I play the game, I guess, 'cause words are cool? Oh yeah, and it's kinda fun to play 'em. Which is why I'll get all giggly when I play something unlikely. There's joy there for me. There are some people at higher levels who don't quite understand a fascination with words. Different strokes, that's fine. But for me, words have personality, character. nigelbo dropped PRERADIO on me in like three seconds. I always have such trouble with that one. In that case I try to break it down to a 7 plus 1, like Gibson does in some cases. It's hard, though, when you have double letters, as is the case with PRERADIO. It doesn't break down into a single. EARDROP is another that gives me trouble, so I'll go EARDROP + I and hopefully get a twofer. There are still words in the top 1k I've never played and have such trouble finding. It's always something.
I was at IMDb the other day and looked at the Word Wars page. Someone was insulting the players in the flick as per usual. "No lives." "Anyone can do this." No, anyone can't do this, which is why drbing is so dominant.
I was very impressed with most of Bradley Robbins play at the NSSC. Nice kid, too. Talked to him for a bit at Dayton, and he's gonna be at BAT. He plays speed on ISC every so often, too. It's still disheartening that kids rake in the big bucks, and well -- we DON'T.
My hot water was out one day here a couple weeks ago so I had to go to work with a -- what is it called -- dutch bath? Bathe yourself in the sink (tried to wash my hair, too -- no fun). With cold water. Ugh. I threw some deodorant on, a hat over my head -- Scrabble hat from Orlando. Lucky, too, 'cause I usually don't like to flaunt Scrabble stuff. But it drew the attention of one guy at the table across from me. He asked what my rating was -- "1747". WOW he said. He seemed to have an inkling of what that meant because he plays a lot with his computer, the Hasbro version of Scrabble which seems to have like-rated computer players. So I told him a bit about my competitive play, national rank, regional and national tourneys. It's nice to be able to talk to someone who can appreciate it who isn't directly involved in it.
Back to Word Wars and the kids. The impression that "anyone can" and there isn't any value in what we do is troublesome. Don't get me wrong -- what we do is not important. It's good for fostering relationships and facilitating education -- which is why what the words MEAN *IS* important. As are the problem solving and endgame skills that make experts. But there's the neverending debate. Neither is golf, or bowling, or any other "sport" or "game" "IMPORTANT." Which is why I wake up every few months and wonder why I bother. I'm glad I took six months off, but have found myself sucked right back in. Cross 1700? Okay. Now do 1800. ...but you could be finishing one of 17 scripts festering on your hard drive, realizing less tangible but more fruitful dreams. ipecac_icecap had it right, I think, and I hope his novel's going well.
I think what hurts is the subtraction of intellect from the equation. That most players don't KNOW what the words mean hurts the image of the game. It's not English, though, it's math. Still, the whole proper noun fiasco hurts, especially when Zen* isn't good. "You're so zen," she said. Someday maybe? "Mowed 'em over with an Uzi*, they did." I've seen a newcomer try Zulu*, too. Great future ulu hook. It's a tribe, yeah, but it's also a mythological bird (I think -- no, check that, that only appears in Final Fantasy, and isn't even a blip on the radar of a Google search)).
There is something noble and romantic about competitive play. Not noble or romantic in the traditional senses, but something much more abstract. It's a competitive pursuit that anyone can excel at if they put the work in, but some are naturally more suited for than others. Abstractions are hard to put into words, but they're personifications of the feelings I get when competing, and when finding myself in a place where I can win. You come down from it, though, and "oh," it's just a board game. The world is huge, and this subculture is oh so small.
I often make notes in my ISC profile of stuff that's come up (edited for order of prepositional phrases :). Here's more of the same:
PIEHOLE + N = PINHOLE + E = ENOPHILE + O/X = (O/X)ENOPHILE
TALEGGIO is a lonely word. I can see where knowing these would be useful.
I have no idea how I guessed GALOPADE. Is there a similar word that'd've led me to it?
LABROID + F = FORBIDAL -- another guess.
FRICANDO magically came to me only 'cause I've seen it before. Gotta pay attention to the hooks.
A + GRENADE = (GAD)(ARENE) (apt definition), ABRIDGE + A = (BIG)ARADE, CABINED + A = ABI(DANCE).
I struggle with double As when I really shouldn't.
LONESOME OENOMELS, but... SIMOLEON OINOMELS. (When Bugs said it, I never envisioned it spelled that way.)
The ANTISLIP ALPINIST employed PINTAILS to avoid a TAILSPIN. :)
I play the game, I guess, 'cause words are cool? Oh yeah, and it's kinda fun to play 'em. Which is why I'll get all giggly when I play something unlikely. There's joy there for me. There are some people at higher levels who don't quite understand a fascination with words. Different strokes, that's fine. But for me, words have personality, character. nigelbo dropped PRERADIO on me in like three seconds. I always have such trouble with that one. In that case I try to break it down to a 7 plus 1, like Gibson does in some cases. It's hard, though, when you have double letters, as is the case with PRERADIO. It doesn't break down into a single. EARDROP is another that gives me trouble, so I'll go EARDROP + I and hopefully get a twofer. There are still words in the top 1k I've never played and have such trouble finding. It's always something.
I was at IMDb the other day and looked at the Word Wars page. Someone was insulting the players in the flick as per usual. "No lives." "Anyone can do this." No, anyone can't do this, which is why drbing is so dominant.
I was very impressed with most of Bradley Robbins play at the NSSC. Nice kid, too. Talked to him for a bit at Dayton, and he's gonna be at BAT. He plays speed on ISC every so often, too. It's still disheartening that kids rake in the big bucks, and well -- we DON'T.
My hot water was out one day here a couple weeks ago so I had to go to work with a -- what is it called -- dutch bath? Bathe yourself in the sink (tried to wash my hair, too -- no fun). With cold water. Ugh. I threw some deodorant on, a hat over my head -- Scrabble hat from Orlando. Lucky, too, 'cause I usually don't like to flaunt Scrabble stuff. But it drew the attention of one guy at the table across from me. He asked what my rating was -- "1747". WOW he said. He seemed to have an inkling of what that meant because he plays a lot with his computer, the Hasbro version of Scrabble which seems to have like-rated computer players. So I told him a bit about my competitive play, national rank, regional and national tourneys. It's nice to be able to talk to someone who can appreciate it who isn't directly involved in it.
Back to Word Wars and the kids. The impression that "anyone can" and there isn't any value in what we do is troublesome. Don't get me wrong -- what we do is not important. It's good for fostering relationships and facilitating education -- which is why what the words MEAN *IS* important. As are the problem solving and endgame skills that make experts. But there's the neverending debate. Neither is golf, or bowling, or any other "sport" or "game" "IMPORTANT." Which is why I wake up every few months and wonder why I bother. I'm glad I took six months off, but have found myself sucked right back in. Cross 1700? Okay. Now do 1800. ...but you could be finishing one of 17 scripts festering on your hard drive, realizing less tangible but more fruitful dreams. ipecac_icecap had it right, I think, and I hope his novel's going well.
I think what hurts is the subtraction of intellect from the equation. That most players don't KNOW what the words mean hurts the image of the game. It's not English, though, it's math. Still, the whole proper noun fiasco hurts, especially when Zen* isn't good. "You're so zen," she said. Someday maybe? "Mowed 'em over with an Uzi*, they did." I've seen a newcomer try Zulu*, too. Great future ulu hook. It's a tribe, yeah, but it's also a mythological bird (I think -- no, check that, that only appears in Final Fantasy, and isn't even a blip on the radar of a Google search)).
There is something noble and romantic about competitive play. Not noble or romantic in the traditional senses, but something much more abstract. It's a competitive pursuit that anyone can excel at if they put the work in, but some are naturally more suited for than others. Abstractions are hard to put into words, but they're personifications of the feelings I get when competing, and when finding myself in a place where I can win. You come down from it, though, and "oh," it's just a board game. The world is huge, and this subculture is oh so small.