Looking for practice material?

Find thousands of free archived packets for practice and study from the Quizbowl Packet Archive!

Search found 113 matches

by carpenoctem63141
Sun Oct 11, 2009 1:00 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: Missouri Fall Academic Tournament (10/10/09)
Replies: 25
Views: 25704

Missouri Fall Academic Tournament (10/10/09)

This tournament was amazing! I've never had such a great time, excepting the fact that by the end of the day, I felt like I'd run a marathon. XD Ladue has a crazy solid team. Between Zev, Zack, and Sam, they can get pretty much anything. And they're all in the same grade as me (junior), so they sti...
by carpenoctem63141
Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:49 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: 2009 End of Season Team Poll: Congratulations NKC
Replies: 33
Views: 4066

2009 End of Season Team Poll: Congratulations NKC

WillHack wrote:This is a bit premature, but for next year, I think the top teams will include PCH, Clayton, NKC, and Savannah.
Who are you guys returning next year?

Also, Charlie, will Adam Sperber be a senior next year? For some reason I thought he was graduating this year.
by carpenoctem63141
Sat Jun 06, 2009 12:26 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: MSHSAA bidding discussion
Replies: 77
Views: 11820

MSHSAA bidding discussion

scphilli wrote:And with that comparison of QB to D&D, we have hit a new level of nerdy as a message board. Wow.
I always loved getting Forbis as a moderator, because I would just make nerdy D&D jokes with him all the time.
by carpenoctem63141
Fri Jun 05, 2009 9:12 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: MSHSAA bidding discussion
Replies: 77
Views: 11820

MSHSAA bidding discussion

Charbroil wrote:with less probability like in NAQT and more actual important calculation, please
Sorry, this is kind of tangential, but why is probability not "actual important calculation?"
by carpenoctem63141
Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:22 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion
Replies: 113
Views: 25980

2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion

ashkenaziCD wrote:Last I checked, Wilmington Charter did not study quinces to win both national titles.
Maybe they could have studied purring, though? ;)
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 7:41 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

If the issue is that computation speed does not necessarily correlate with math knowledge, why not replace MSHSAA's current like 8/8 computation and 2/2 theory distribution with 10/5 theory, 0/5 computation? This at least solves the problem of buzzer races. However, how is the hypothetical proposed ...
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 3:12 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

How is it a non sequitur? You continue to call for MSHSAA to change how it handles quizbowl, and chastise Mr. Gibbs for not getting it done. If he happened to tell you to shut up because you clearly have no idea how to work with a bureaucracy, how is that not analogous to what you just tried to tell...
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 2:43 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

Charlie, how would you respond if somebody like Coach Gibbs told you that your opinion was essentially meaningless and not even worth arguing against because you had no "currency" built up in working with a bureaucracy like MSHSAA? You begin your post by saying you agree that experience is...
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 2:07 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

ashkenaziCD wrote:Yes I did. You should be able to figure out from that what it is I am bothered by from you.
Was it where I acknowledged you had more experience than we did, or where I said there was some merit to the importance of experience, but that it wasn't a trump card?
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 1:55 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

ashkenaziCD wrote:tl; dr
Did you even read what I wrote?
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 12:26 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

That we lack experience? That we neglect the importance of experience? That we're trying to ram our preferences down your throat? If it's that we don't have as much experience as you guys do, that's a given. If it's that we neglect the importance of experience, maybe so in your opinion, but I don't ...
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 12:13 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

ashkenaziCD wrote:
I think you also risk generalizing our views here.
Not really, I think my comment is relevant to everything the three of you have posted no matter what it is about.
What specifically is your comment?
by carpenoctem63141
Tue May 12, 2009 12:01 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

I'm not going to lie that I have some very real misgivings with how experience is not being factored into this equation. The people who keep arguing that computation has no place in good quizbowl by a pretty large majority are those of us that have the most experience with good quizbowl and are com...
by carpenoctem63141
Mon May 11, 2009 11:27 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

Yeah, I definitely understand how somebody could have been fooled there. That being said, I don't think there is any particular reason why one should assume that the next term is a constant. It's not as if the question said to "take the derivative of this polynomial," and thus it would be ...
by carpenoctem63141
Mon May 11, 2009 10:52 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

As you can see MUCH more information is being communicated in the theory question as opposed to the calculation question. And it is using the information in a way that rewards the person with the most in-depth knowledge in the first sentence, something the calculation question simply can't do. It r...
by carpenoctem63141
Mon May 11, 2009 10:01 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

To clarify my point: 1) Marc proposed a solution to make math q's less of a buzzer race and therefore justify math calc's existence in the distribution. 2) I stated that Marc's solvency had been attempted by some of the foremost experts on mathematics in quizbowl (NAQT) who are more eminently quali...
by carpenoctem63141
Mon May 11, 2009 9:57 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

Doing "research" to make questions take 10 seconds is precisely what NAQT tried to do this is nice, but doesn't actually say what the problem was. It does if you read the rest of the post, instead of cherry picking statements and quoting them out of context to try to prove a point. You se...
by carpenoctem63141
Mon May 11, 2009 9:35 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State
Replies: 83
Views: 26325

The computation discussion post-MSHSAA State

U. Lou Sthagaim wrote:
Questions Galore HOSE wrote:Calculate the derivative of 4x<sup>2</sup>-7x-ln(x)
I don't know how this question went down, but if it was a hose, that seems to be more based on a moderator ambiguously pausing than actually being written as a hose.
by carpenoctem63141
Mon May 11, 2009 4:48 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion
Replies: 113
Views: 25980

2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion

I'm pretty sure Clayton went to Wash U and Cuba my junior year, but I think ended up on the other end of both brackets from us or something so we never played them. Also, this is the first year for sectionals Josh, so Clayton would have had to lose districts. I do suspect that over the next 2 years...
by carpenoctem63141
Mon May 11, 2009 4:46 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous
Topic: things that suck...
Replies: 623
Views: 442191

things that suck...

Asdfjkl; AP Physics Mechanics.
by carpenoctem63141
Sun May 10, 2009 9:25 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion
Replies: 113
Views: 25980

2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion

Calm down, the reason that some people question your ability is simply because of the lack of quality tournaments on your resume. There's no real way to compare Ladue to the rest of the state. I think you guys would compare favorably, if. I'm pretty calm right now. Lack of quality tournaments playe...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun May 10, 2009 8:52 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion
Replies: 113
Views: 25980

2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion

PaxHispanica wrote:I don't know what you're talking about, jack, we go to QG tournaments all the time! :P
What, have you guys been going to QG tournaments without me? :o

Man, and I love beating my head into the desk because of bad questions!
by carpenoctem63141
Sun May 10, 2009 8:49 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion
Replies: 113
Views: 25980

2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion

scphilli wrote:I think he meant in practice.
Yeah, my statement still stands...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun May 10, 2009 8:34 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion
Replies: 113
Views: 25980

2009 MSHSAA State Tournament Discussion

As the Ben Stein moderator so correctly put: "At this point, there are no winners." Congratulations to Ladue, they clearly spent more time playing QG than we did. However, I believe the NAQT state qualifier holds far more legitimacy, and I hope more schools attend it next year, so there w...
by carpenoctem63141
Fri May 08, 2009 2:58 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA Sectional/State Predictions
Replies: 104
Views: 20642

2009 MSHSAA Sectional/State Predictions

To address one of the few things that has not already been covered, Mr. Gibbs, I don't understand why you used William Sun as an example. For the short time that William played, math wasn't even a major focus for him. Furthermore, he quit quizbowl because he didn't think it was worth his time. I do...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:55 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous
Topic: Missouri Top 100 Scholars
Replies: 14
Views: 6298

Missouri Top 100 Scholars

FishyFreshman wrote:Good stuff.
Spencer thinks he's so cool, getting his community service project quoted... ;)
by carpenoctem63141
Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:19 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA Sectionals Discussion
Replies: 56
Views: 17417

2009 MSHSAA Sectionals Discussion

That's Marc from Ladue.
by carpenoctem63141
Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:21 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA Sectionals/State RESULTS
Replies: 56
Views: 14906

2009 MSHSAA Sectionals/State RESULTS

Class 4, Section 3 (District 5 vs. District 6)

Ladue 350, Parkway Central 215
Ladue 390, Parkway Central 285
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Apr 19, 2009 12:31 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Epic Win thread
Replies: 19
Views: 2760

Epic Win thread

FishyFreshman wrote:I guessed Smith on the first two then Johnson for the one that was Smith. Epic fail.
Dang, I guessed Johnson for the Smith one too... creepy.
by carpenoctem63141
Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:41 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA Districts Results
Replies: 84
Views: 347031

2009 MSHSAA Districts Results

Class 4, District 16

<mib_4vqkax>: go someone can put up that district 14(?) was Savannah (1) Kearney(2) Platte County(3) Excelseor Springs(4) and the finals was Savannah 350 Kearney 215
by carpenoctem63141
Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:11 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Most important quetion
Replies: 8
Views: 1311

Most important quetion

richbob wrote:Question 4: The city of Gdansk is located in this country along the Baltic Sea. If 2/3 of its citizens are members of the Solidarity Labor Union, how many of the people in Latvia have children playing soccer?
Correction: Express your answer as a decimal. Make sure you multiply by pi and e.
by carpenoctem63141
Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:09 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: 2009 MSHSAA Districts Results
Replies: 84
Views: 347031

2009 MSHSAA Districts Results

Class 4, District 5 Round 1: Villa 220, DeSmet 200 Ladue 455, Viz 145 CBC 400, Chaminade 60 Round 2: Viz 230, Villa 195 Ladue 400, CBC 245 WCA 305, Chaminade 120 Round 3: DeSmet 280, Viz 200 Ladue 505, Chaminade 15 CBC 260, WCA 205 Semis: Ladue 500, Villa 145 DeSmet 355, CBC 145 Finals: Ladue 415, D...
by carpenoctem63141
Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:33 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: College destinations
Replies: 70
Views: 11732

College destinations

Seniors from Ladue:

Marc Prablek is going to Princeton, I'm going to Duke, Jason Bell is going to Columbia, Tim Pulisetty is going to UChicago (I think), and Caleb Ping is going to New England Conservatory.
by carpenoctem63141
Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:45 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: More math computation stuff
Replies: 37
Views: 6492

More math computation stuff

Charbroil wrote:If all math computation tossups were written like this, I would want to keep them in the Missouri distribution.
Man, but the moderator keeps saying boring stuff while I'm trying to do the math! Totally throws me off, every time. :(
by carpenoctem63141
Thu Feb 26, 2009 9:01 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Fantasy Quiz Bowl
Replies: 104
Views: 27177

Fantasy Quiz Bowl

Okay... -_- By the way, I'm not sure if 8 person teams are really such a good idea for this, since it's not exactly difficult to realize who the top 8 scorers at the tournament are going to be (with a variation of perhaps one or two names) because of previous results. In contrast, only picking 4 pl...
by carpenoctem63141
Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:10 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Fantasy Quiz Bowl
Replies: 104
Views: 27177

Fantasy Quiz Bowl

We should make it more interesting. Maybe pick 8 people instead of just 4?
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:02 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09
Replies: 106
Views: 12070

NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09

*shrug* It's the same process used in single-elimination playoffs. Take the example of DeSmet this year. After #8 FHC defeated #1 PCH in the first round of the playoffs, both teams were 3-1. PCH's PPG was, I believe, significantly higher than FHC's, but that made no difference; FHC advanced, PCH we...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:24 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09
Replies: 106
Views: 12070

NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09

Lol...if you did, what would your null hypothesis be? That Zach's distribution is the same as mine? :D Actually, that would be an interesting thing to consider--are you going to do that, Jeffrey? *Edit--never mind. And Jack, that actually isn't true for this tournament--Zach's PPG actually increase...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:50 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09
Replies: 106
Views: 12070

NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09

This confirms my original observation, though to clarify, that observation was "Charles against championship teams" isn't as strong as "Charles in general". I would guess that is true for anybody... The better your opponent, the more likely they are to get a tossup before you. I...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:36 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09
Replies: 106
Views: 12070

NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09

Nah--thanks for the support, Jack, but we played against FHC B too, so that's not really the reason. I did make an egregious number of mistakes--hence the 24 negs I got (more than those of every other entire team ...except yours. :D ) True, but I was more addressing the issue of consistency. Idk. P...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:20 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09
Replies: 106
Views: 12070

NAQT Missouri Qualifier at Missouri S&T - 2/21/09

One thing I immediately saw in the stats - when considering only intra-playoff bracket games, Zach from Savannah barely edged out Charles as top scorer; at a glance this implies that Zach is more consistent no matter the opponent, while Charles isn't quite as strong against teams of similar strengt...
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:06 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Fantasy Quiz Bowl
Replies: 104
Views: 27177

Fantasy Quiz Bowl

Fantasy Results:

Will: 106.43 + 78.57 + 33.33 + 19.17 = 237.5 PPG
Adam: 78.57 + 46.67 + 106.43 + 33.33 = 265 PPG
Me: 106.43 + 78.57 + 65.00 + 35.83 = 285.83 PPG

Yes! I win the fantasy pool. Suckas.
by carpenoctem63141
Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:31 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Fantasy Quiz Bowl
Replies: 104
Views: 27177

Fantasy Quiz Bowl

ashkenaziCD wrote:Science players are just as helped by this distribution as literature and history players, as their percentage in NAQT sets are all equal, so I'm unsure what that comment is about.
Yeah, but the math distribution goes down significantly. I should have just said math players I guess.
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 15, 2009 9:57 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Fantasy Quiz Bowl
Replies: 104
Views: 27177

Fantasy Quiz Bowl

Considering NAQT, not-MSHSAA, distribution, math and science players are probably not the best bet... although more-so than if this was like, PACE, I guess. Assuming we're just going for highest PPG and not actually trying to make a team, I'll take Charles, Zach, Jason, and Brandon.
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:31 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Fantasy Quiz Bowl
Replies: 104
Views: 27177

Fantasy Quiz Bowl

WillHack wrote:(and also, consider that I have no idea who Ladue will be sending).
Marc can't go to the NAQT Qualifier because he has an orchestra trip - it'll be me, Jason, and some other people.
by carpenoctem63141
Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:30 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Mid-season poll: Congratulations North Kansas City
Replies: 44
Views: 4289

Mid-season poll: Congratulations North Kansas City

What about Winnetonka? Did they graduate their best players or something? :P
by carpenoctem63141
Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:03 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: MSHSAA District Assignments Today
Replies: 102
Views: 35277

MSHSAA District Assignments Today

I agree with most of your predictions, Charles. I really want to see Ladue in action sometime this year, before I make any judgments. For D7/8, I say Francis Howell Central . For D13/14, I have no idea, but I certainly hope it isn't Lee's Summit West For D15/16, I say Savannah , although it's basic...
by carpenoctem63141
Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:04 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: Two Saints Conference
Replies: 220
Views: 24994

Two Saints Conference

I agree that, unfortunately, Two Saints is less indicative because of this year's questions. In our loss to Marquette, which you'll understand was quite a shock to our system, we missed out on most of the silliest questions. I felt confident that we had more knowledge than they did, but we were ver...
by carpenoctem63141
Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:19 am
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: Two Saints Conference
Replies: 220
Views: 24994

Two Saints Conference

Charbroil wrote:He's one of only 500 individuals who qualified to take the AMC USAMO (USA Math Olympiad) test last year, and one of only about 5 from Missouri. That isn't a perfect evaluation, but I think it's a realistic evaluation.
Understood. If he doesn't mind, could you ask him how he did on the USAMO?
by carpenoctem63141
Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:41 pm
Forum: Tournament Announcements and Discussion
Topic: Two Saints Conference
Replies: 220
Views: 24994

Two Saints Conference

Charbroil wrote:My math specialist is one of the top ten high school mathematicians (as officially ranked) in the State of Missouri
I'm kinda curious, what exactly does this mean?