I lost the first 5 games on Word Biz that I played after getting my
new dictionary and notebook for my "Spell Every Word" project.
I
was extremely annoyed because in all 5 games I could not get any
letters. My opponents invariably got all the power letters, I invariably
got all vowels or all consonants, or if I got a mixture, they'd all be
1-pointers so couldn't ever get any points from them.
But it was okay because I was playing mostly to spell words, not win.
But I'm glad to say I've won 6 games in a row..
Yay.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Every SIngle Word Redux
Received the Official Scrabble dictionary today that I'd ordered. So
now I've begun my new quest to use every single word in the Scrabble
Dictionary today.
I'm doing it differently.
1) No more using an Anagrammer program or the Dictionary to look up words. It can only be words that I know.
2) Previously, I'd written down the words I'd used in a haphazard manner - when I wasn't in the mood to highlight the words in the Dictionary.
From now on, I'll write down each word as well as mark it in the Dictionary. In this way, I'll have some proof - when I seek to get Guiness World Record recognition, that I used each word when I said I did.
Wordbiz - the program I'm using for this, seems to only have history for the last 10 games, but perhaps they do have an archive where you can see past games.
So, I played my first game - unfortunately lost but not too badly. If I hadn't had four Is in my last three turns, things would have been different.
I spelled 32 words total (9 turns when I spelled either 2 or 3 words simultaneously).
The words:
WANE
GRAD
AHI/EH/PI
GOON
MO/ET/ME
GREET
JET
VET/ME/JOT
KINES/SAG
ROC/ON
TORE
LAIRS/STORE
TART
LA/AY/AY
CADI/IF
FE/EARL
AI
TI
ION
I'm doing it differently.
1) No more using an Anagrammer program or the Dictionary to look up words. It can only be words that I know.
2) Previously, I'd written down the words I'd used in a haphazard manner - when I wasn't in the mood to highlight the words in the Dictionary.
From now on, I'll write down each word as well as mark it in the Dictionary. In this way, I'll have some proof - when I seek to get Guiness World Record recognition, that I used each word when I said I did.
Wordbiz - the program I'm using for this, seems to only have history for the last 10 games, but perhaps they do have an archive where you can see past games.
So, I played my first game - unfortunately lost but not too badly. If I hadn't had four Is in my last three turns, things would have been different.
I spelled 32 words total (9 turns when I spelled either 2 or 3 words simultaneously).
The words:
WANE
GRAD
AHI/EH/PI
GOON
MO/ET/ME
GREET
JET
VET/ME/JOT
KINES/SAG
ROC/ON
TORE
LAIRS/STORE
TART
LA/AY/AY
CADI/IF
FE/EARL
AI
TI
ION
Monday, August 27, 2012
2012 AARP SPelling Bee Words, round 47
Since my Scrabble Quest has now become a Scrabble and Spelling Bee Quest.
Round 47
The winner won on RHIZOCTONIA
The loser lost on LAMELLIBRANCH.
Round 47
The winner won on RHIZOCTONIA
The loser lost on LAMELLIBRANCH.
rhi·zoc·to·ni·a [rahy-zok-toh-nee-uh]
la·mel·li·branch [luh-mel-uh-brangk]
a bivalve
Friday, August 24, 2012
The bane of obsessive-compulsiveness
I started keeping track of all the words I used in the Scrabble dictionary on November22, 2011. But there have been times I have not recorded in it - for example in the last two months as I was preparing for the spelling bee (in a sense), playing scrabble to clear my brain in between times and not keeping track of anything.
Also, the dictionary I was using was kind of beat up.
So I've ordered a new dictionary from Ebay, and when it arrives, I'll start all over again from the beginning. This time using a boots and braces approach - keeping track of the words in a notebook and simultaneously highlighting them in the dictionary.
(I'd used a notebook for a time a while ago... but I can't find it! Will have to get a brand new one to go with my brand new dictionary)
So, that's the plan.
Also, the dictionary I was using was kind of beat up.
So I've ordered a new dictionary from Ebay, and when it arrives, I'll start all over again from the beginning. This time using a boots and braces approach - keeping track of the words in a notebook and simultaneously highlighting them in the dictionary.
(I'd used a notebook for a time a while ago... but I can't find it! Will have to get a brand new one to go with my brand new dictionary)
So, that's the plan.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
2 games over .500, 570 rating
Word Biz is going well. I'm at 414-412, and rating of 570.
But in a way it's a swizz. For every game I win because me and my opponent are evenly matched and I make some good plays, there are other games where I get all the power letters, and my opponent is obviously getting nothing. And when I lose, it's typically because it's the other way about - my opponent gets all the good stuff and I either draw all vowels or all consonants, or if I get a mixture, they're all one pointers, and things like all Vs and all Us.
Nevertheless, I'm pleased.
But in a way it's a swizz. For every game I win because me and my opponent are evenly matched and I make some good plays, there are other games where I get all the power letters, and my opponent is obviously getting nothing. And when I lose, it's typically because it's the other way about - my opponent gets all the good stuff and I either draw all vowels or all consonants, or if I get a mixture, they're all one pointers, and things like all Vs and all Us.
Nevertheless, I'm pleased.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
How to massacre MASSACRE
I had occasion to spell massacring yesterday, and for the life of me I could not do it.
I pronounce massacre "mass-a-curr" so I was trying to spell it "mass-a-curr-ing" but that never worked. Finally I had to look it up, and it is MASSACRING.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Devanagari
Devanagari: An alphabet usually employed for Sanskrit and also used as a literary hand for several modern languages of India.
Devanagari.
Devanagari.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Scrabble player caught cheating at US event
I'd like to know how old this kid is, and if he's banned from all other Scrabble tournaments for life, which he should be.
Yahoo News: Scrabble player caught cheating at US event
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — One of the top young Scrabble players in the country has been kicked out of the game's national championship tournament in Florida after he was caught hiding blank letter tiles, organizers said Tuesday.
John D. Williams, Jr., executive director of the National Scrabble Association, said that a male player was ejected from the 350-player event in Round 24 of the 28-round event.
The cheating was spotted by a player at a nearby table, who noticed the ejected player conceal a pair of blank tiles, which can be used as wild card letters. When confronted by the tournament director, he admitted to it, organizers said.
Williams, who has served as executive director for 25 years and co-authored a book on the popular Hasbro board game in 1993, said this was the first incident of cheating at a national tournament. However, he said it's been known to occur at smaller, regional events.
"It does happen no matter what. People will try to do this," he said. "It's the first time it's happened in a venue this big though. It's unfortunate. The Scrabble world is abuzz. The Internet is abuzz."
Williams would not identify the player by name or age because he's a minor. There are four divisions and he was competing in Division 3.
He said Division 3 is equal to "any great living-room player out there."
In Scrabble matches, players accumulate points during one-on-one matches by pulling random letter tiles from a bag of 100 and trying to create words.
A total of 98 tiles have letters on them and two are blank. Blank tiles can be used as wild card letters to complete words.
The ejected player had concluded a previous game and never reinserted the blank tiles into his bag in an attempt to use them at his discretion in the next game, organizers said.
Players in the national tournament format play multiple matches over the five-day event. The winner is determined by a combination of their overall record against other players and the cumulative point spread over the entire tournament.
The ejected player forfeited all of his wins.
Williams said there is usually "good self-policing in the Scrabble world" as players try to protect the integrity of statistics on the competitive circuit.
That's because national events draw young players to seniors. The leader entering Wednesday's final day of competition is National and Scrabble All-Star Champion David Gibson, a 61-year-old math teacher from Spartanburg, S.C.
Jason Keller, 30, and nine-time Jeopardy champion from New Jersey, is in fourth place.
The winner receives the $10,000 top prize.
"It gets pretty deep. We're one step away from drug testing," Williams joked.
While Williams said this was the first time the national tournament has dealt with scandal, the incident could shine a brighter light on other advantages players have been known to employ.
Even before Tuesday's cheating ejection it was well-known that some players take minerals known as "alleged brain boosters."
"But no steroids so far," Williams quipped
Yahoo News: Scrabble player caught cheating at US event
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — One of the top young Scrabble players in the country has been kicked out of the game's national championship tournament in Florida after he was caught hiding blank letter tiles, organizers said Tuesday.
John D. Williams, Jr., executive director of the National Scrabble Association, said that a male player was ejected from the 350-player event in Round 24 of the 28-round event.
The cheating was spotted by a player at a nearby table, who noticed the ejected player conceal a pair of blank tiles, which can be used as wild card letters. When confronted by the tournament director, he admitted to it, organizers said.
Williams, who has served as executive director for 25 years and co-authored a book on the popular Hasbro board game in 1993, said this was the first incident of cheating at a national tournament. However, he said it's been known to occur at smaller, regional events.
"It does happen no matter what. People will try to do this," he said. "It's the first time it's happened in a venue this big though. It's unfortunate. The Scrabble world is abuzz. The Internet is abuzz."
Williams would not identify the player by name or age because he's a minor. There are four divisions and he was competing in Division 3.
He said Division 3 is equal to "any great living-room player out there."
In Scrabble matches, players accumulate points during one-on-one matches by pulling random letter tiles from a bag of 100 and trying to create words.
A total of 98 tiles have letters on them and two are blank. Blank tiles can be used as wild card letters to complete words.
The ejected player had concluded a previous game and never reinserted the blank tiles into his bag in an attempt to use them at his discretion in the next game, organizers said.
Players in the national tournament format play multiple matches over the five-day event. The winner is determined by a combination of their overall record against other players and the cumulative point spread over the entire tournament.
The ejected player forfeited all of his wins.
Williams said there is usually "good self-policing in the Scrabble world" as players try to protect the integrity of statistics on the competitive circuit.
That's because national events draw young players to seniors. The leader entering Wednesday's final day of competition is National and Scrabble All-Star Champion David Gibson, a 61-year-old math teacher from Spartanburg, S.C.
Jason Keller, 30, and nine-time Jeopardy champion from New Jersey, is in fourth place.
The winner receives the $10,000 top prize.
"It gets pretty deep. We're one step away from drug testing," Williams joked.
While Williams said this was the first time the national tournament has dealt with scandal, the incident could shine a brighter light on other advantages players have been known to employ.
Even before Tuesday's cheating ejection it was well-known that some players take minerals known as "alleged brain boosters."
"But no steroids so far," Williams quipped
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Sponsors of the AARP Spelling Bee
I had intended to share this a couple of days ago, and forgot.
The sponsors.
It's always important to thank the sponsors of these events (and support them if possible) because they're the ones who pony up the prize money and door prizes.
The sponsors for this year's AARP Spelling Bee held in Cheyenne (I repeat that for the search engines ; ) ) were Merriam-Webster Dictionaries, Bananagrams, and a few local Wyoming businesses whose names are escaping me.
After the end of the Written Rounds, everyone got a small Merriam-Webster pocket dictionary, and a yellow, banana-shaped bag of Bananagrams. I wish I liked the game. It's kind of like Scrabble, only you make words and connect words on the table or other hard surface, not constrained by a board, and that's too unstructured for me. Nevertheless, it's gone into my Scrabble Club Extras box, and I'll bring it to every club meeting and see if someone wants to play it.
So thank you, sponsors!
The sponsors.
It's always important to thank the sponsors of these events (and support them if possible) because they're the ones who pony up the prize money and door prizes.
The sponsors for this year's AARP Spelling Bee held in Cheyenne (I repeat that for the search engines ; ) ) were Merriam-Webster Dictionaries, Bananagrams, and a few local Wyoming businesses whose names are escaping me.
After the end of the Written Rounds, everyone got a small Merriam-Webster pocket dictionary, and a yellow, banana-shaped bag of Bananagrams. I wish I liked the game. It's kind of like Scrabble, only you make words and connect words on the table or other hard surface, not constrained by a board, and that's too unstructured for me. Nevertheless, it's gone into my Scrabble Club Extras box, and I'll bring it to every club meeting and see if someone wants to play it.
So thank you, sponsors!
Scrabble Dictionary doesn't match Websters!
I always assumed that Websters would have MORE words than the Scrabble Dictionary, not less.
I assumed it would have every word in the Scrabble dictionary, plus all the capitalized words, etc.
But it seems not so.
The last word in the Scrabble Dictionary is ZZZ, followed by ZYZZYVA, followed by ZYMURGY followed by ZYMOSIS.
None of them are in Websters.
Websters starts with ZYMOSAN - something to do with yeast. (The suffix "zymo" is Latin for leavening.)
Now, in the past, I have come across some words in the Scrabble Dictionary that are not in the Dictionary.com online Dictionary, and you have to search the web long and hard to find them, but ZYZZYVA, ZYMURGY and ZYMOSIS are all in there.
So I'm very surprised they're not in Websters!
ZYZZYVA is a weevil, by the way, not to be confused iwht ZYZZPHA, which is a whelk (and which is neither in the Dictionary.com online versin, or in Websters, but is in WIkipedia.
I assumed it would have every word in the Scrabble dictionary, plus all the capitalized words, etc.
But it seems not so.
The last word in the Scrabble Dictionary is ZZZ, followed by ZYZZYVA, followed by ZYMURGY followed by ZYMOSIS.
None of them are in Websters.
Websters starts with ZYMOSAN - something to do with yeast. (The suffix "zymo" is Latin for leavening.)
Now, in the past, I have come across some words in the Scrabble Dictionary that are not in the Dictionary.com online Dictionary, and you have to search the web long and hard to find them, but ZYZZYVA, ZYMURGY and ZYMOSIS are all in there.
So I'm very surprised they're not in Websters!
ZYZZYVA is a weevil, by the way, not to be confused iwht ZYZZPHA, which is a whelk (and which is neither in the Dictionary.com online versin, or in Websters, but is in WIkipedia.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Aug 11, 2012, AARP Cheyenne Spelling Bee
I had a good time at this event, for all that I scored 80 out of 100
in the written rounds, and missed the Oral Rounds by 2 points. But I
wasn't particularly heart-broken. I stayed for the Oral Rounds and I
didn't know how to spell any of the words.
1st written round consisted of 25 easy words just to settle everyone down and get rid of butterflies.
2nd written round was slightly harder but not much. I missed one word: MUGWUMP.
The 3rd round was slightly harder, I missed 6:
QUESTIONARY
INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE
The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:
FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE
1st written round consisted of 25 easy words just to settle everyone down and get rid of butterflies.
2nd written round was slightly harder but not much. I missed one word: MUGWUMP.
The 3rd round was slightly harder, I missed 6:
QUESTIONARY
INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE
The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:
FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE
Friday, August 10, 2012
Today's the day for the AARP Spelling Bee
I've got to get up in 6 hours to be at the venue and registered by 7. 30. This is very hard for me as I'm a night owl and normally don't get up until 9 am.
SO I am not sanguine over my chances. Brain won't be working.
SO I am not sanguine over my chances. Brain won't be working.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
I was bad, but I'll take it. I'm at .500!
I was 390-391 at Wordbiz Scrabble.
I challenged someone to a Scrabble Game. They were ranked 40 points higher than me - 550 to 510 (give or take a few points on either side.)
I challenged, one second went off their clock, then they "lost contact or quit."
I waited 4 minutes, then the game was adjudicated in my favor. I won the game - I'm now at 391-391, and I gained ten points.
So, on one hand I didn't really deserve the win since we didn't really play...on the other hand I wanted the win. So, what the heck.
Now that I"m at 391 and .500, I can stop playing until after the Scrabble Bee.
Then I cna look at it as if I'm starting from the beginning, and count my win-loss record anew. I intend to go undefeated from now on!
I challenged someone to a Scrabble Game. They were ranked 40 points higher than me - 550 to 510 (give or take a few points on either side.)
I challenged, one second went off their clock, then they "lost contact or quit."
I waited 4 minutes, then the game was adjudicated in my favor. I won the game - I'm now at 391-391, and I gained ten points.
So, on one hand I didn't really deserve the win since we didn't really play...on the other hand I wanted the win. So, what the heck.
Now that I"m at 391 and .500, I can stop playing until after the Scrabble Bee.
Then I cna look at it as if I'm starting from the beginning, and count my win-loss record anew. I intend to go undefeated from now on!
Polecat
I have read Westerns in which a cowboy calls a mean individual a "polecat." Looked it up today. I expected to find that it was a cat that liked sitting on a pole while waiting for its next meal - an opportunist.. but apparently "pol" comes from chicken (poule) and its called a polecat because it preys on chickens.
Not a word I expect to find it the Spelling Bee on Saturday, but as I was sitting here watching the Olympics instead of studying, it came to me.
Not a word I expect to find it the Spelling Bee on Saturday, but as I was sitting here watching the Olympics instead of studying, it came to me.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Sarsaparilla - who knew?
I'd never seen it spelled before, only heard it. And it's pronounced Sasparilla.
But it's spelled, Sarsaparilla.
What's up with that?
(Root beer drinkers will perhaps be familiar with it.)
But it's spelled, Sarsaparilla.
What's up with that?
(Root beer drinkers will perhaps be familiar with it.)
Saturday, August 4, 2012
7 Days to go...
I've become resigned to the fact that I won't do as well as I had
hoped in the AARP spelling bee. There's a facebook page for the bee.
There's now 52 competitors, and most have sent in a photo and a brief
bio. There's lots of folks who have participated in and won bees in
other cities - big cities.
Interestingly, there are only two people from Cheyenne taking place, me and one other women. All the other folks are coming from other states - lots from Colorado, but as far away as California and Virginia.
I simply have not studied near enough - I should have been studying at least a couple of hours a day for the last three months at least, but I have not done so. I've got the X, Ys and Zs memorized, and that's it!
So my goal is to go, have fun, and learn the ropes so that I won't choke when i go next year - when I will most definitely win!
Because I will study two hours every day for the next year!!!!!
Interestingly, there are only two people from Cheyenne taking place, me and one other women. All the other folks are coming from other states - lots from Colorado, but as far away as California and Virginia.
I simply have not studied near enough - I should have been studying at least a couple of hours a day for the last three months at least, but I have not done so. I've got the X, Ys and Zs memorized, and that's it!
So my goal is to go, have fun, and learn the ropes so that I won't choke when i go next year - when I will most definitely win!
Because I will study two hours every day for the next year!!!!!
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