Rounds: Here.
Whew, it's another great game. It's decided just a touch earlier, but it could easily have gone all the way down to the wire. Sam gets what proves to be a decisive 14 point lead from the first two letters rounds, and thereafter the contestants match each other all the way to the conundrum. Along the way Sam amazes everyone as he finally gets to demonstrate some of the intricacies that the four large mix can provide, and Daniel shows some great strategic thinking in the other two numbers rounds. The last one very nearly paid off, but not quite, and Sam was safe going into the conundrum. Once again he blitzed it, for a solid 72 to 48 win that was much closer than the scoreline would suggest.
I was fortunate to find the full monty in this game, and that was the eventual difference. I traded some letters results along the way and at the final numbers game was safe as long as Sam did not solve it (unless I did as well, of course). It proved too difficult for everyone except the ever-dazzling Lily, and that was game to me. For the third time this series I was only barely beaten to the conundrum, having paused the video before the buzzer went off but after Sam's name lit up. A close one!
As usual, details after the jump.
Showing posts with label Daniel Chua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel Chua. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Monday, 5 March 2012
Ep 396: [QF3] Kerin White, Daniel Chua (March 5, 2012)
Rounds: Here.
Still nothing much to the pre-game chat. I can't decide if the contestants have exhausted their interesting facts about themselves, or if the producers think that it's better to just get straight into the show.
This final is certainly a contrast to the previous two, and ends up being a somewhat low-scoring but close-fought affair. Aside from one good eight-letter word the longest is six, and an early invalid choice by Daniel has him trailing. Kerin simply can't get into the numbers, though, and that gives Daniel just enough leeway to take the lead, helped along by an invalid word from Kerin. Once again it is anyone's match on the conundrum, but tonight it eludes them both; Daniel gets through, 32 to 26.
I was feeling much better about things today. Although I missed a word that I should have seen and was slow at the conundrum yet again, the rest I'm fairly happy with. I'd say this was the result of being better rested, but my sleeping problems of the last few weeks have persisted. Oh, well.
As usual, details after the jump.
Still nothing much to the pre-game chat. I can't decide if the contestants have exhausted their interesting facts about themselves, or if the producers think that it's better to just get straight into the show.
This final is certainly a contrast to the previous two, and ends up being a somewhat low-scoring but close-fought affair. Aside from one good eight-letter word the longest is six, and an early invalid choice by Daniel has him trailing. Kerin simply can't get into the numbers, though, and that gives Daniel just enough leeway to take the lead, helped along by an invalid word from Kerin. Once again it is anyone's match on the conundrum, but tonight it eludes them both; Daniel gets through, 32 to 26.
I was feeling much better about things today. Although I missed a word that I should have seen and was slow at the conundrum yet again, the rest I'm fairly happy with. I'd say this was the result of being better rested, but my sleeping problems of the last few weeks have persisted. Oh, well.
As usual, details after the jump.
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Ep 324: Daniel Chua, Karla Treves (November 24, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
Win or lose, this will be Daniel's last night (except for the finals series, which he seems likely to make). Richard asks about the highlights for him, and Daniel responds that it has been meeting the contestants, and that they've all been worthy opponents. Particularly Mitchell from last night, in that very close game.
Challenging Daniel is secondary school teacher Karla Treves. She is described as an animal lover, and if she had not become a teacher she might well have chosen zookeeping as a profession. She says that she "loves all creatures, great and small". Richard asks if this extends to both domestic and wild creatures; she remarks that her domestic Jack Russell is pretty wild.
My recollection of Karla is that she was fairly vivacious. She had just come back from France, where some of her schoolkids had been on a two-week (I think) excursion to various places there, although Lourdes is the only one I recall. Field trips have certainly changed since I was in school! She hadn't even had time to go home yet, which suggests that she might have been jetlagged but was bearing up pretty well.
It's yet another close game to finish things off. Daniel drops behind in the first letters round by missing a word he should have seen, but gets some back in the numbers to stay in touch. It's matching performances from each until the final numbers game, where Karla oddly misses and allows Daniel to get 9 points ahead. But she finds the conundrum quickly, and squeaks home with a victory, 53 to 52.
I was mostly on target here; I got thrown by one set of tricky letters in round 2, and beaten to the conundrum, but superior results in other rounds saw me comfortably home.
On another note, it looks like SBS has updated their video player; I hope this one manages to buffer data better, although to be fair I've had much less troubles recently than at times in the past.
As usual, details after the jump.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
Win or lose, this will be Daniel's last night (except for the finals series, which he seems likely to make). Richard asks about the highlights for him, and Daniel responds that it has been meeting the contestants, and that they've all been worthy opponents. Particularly Mitchell from last night, in that very close game.
Challenging Daniel is secondary school teacher Karla Treves. She is described as an animal lover, and if she had not become a teacher she might well have chosen zookeeping as a profession. She says that she "loves all creatures, great and small". Richard asks if this extends to both domestic and wild creatures; she remarks that her domestic Jack Russell is pretty wild.
My recollection of Karla is that she was fairly vivacious. She had just come back from France, where some of her schoolkids had been on a two-week (I think) excursion to various places there, although Lourdes is the only one I recall. Field trips have certainly changed since I was in school! She hadn't even had time to go home yet, which suggests that she might have been jetlagged but was bearing up pretty well.
It's yet another close game to finish things off. Daniel drops behind in the first letters round by missing a word he should have seen, but gets some back in the numbers to stay in touch. It's matching performances from each until the final numbers game, where Karla oddly misses and allows Daniel to get 9 points ahead. But she finds the conundrum quickly, and squeaks home with a victory, 53 to 52.
I was mostly on target here; I got thrown by one set of tricky letters in round 2, and beaten to the conundrum, but superior results in other rounds saw me comfortably home.
On another note, it looks like SBS has updated their video player; I hope this one manages to buffer data better, although to be fair I've had much less troubles recently than at times in the past.
As usual, details after the jump.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Ep 323: Daniel Chua, Mitchell Fly (November 23, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
I suspect Daniel was running short of things to talk about, as Richard asks him if he has picked up any techniques from his previous four appearances. Daniel responds that he hasn't in the letters rounds, but for the numbers rounds he's come to like the "classroom" mix because the five small numbers provide some intricacies, while the large number helps get to larger targets.
Mitchell Fly is today's challenger, a year 12 student who is also studying mathematics part time at university. He is asked how he balances that workload, and says that it was difficult at first because he was trying to keep up with all the work from school and university; then he learned just to do the assignments for university and that was much easier. I admit to being a bit bemused by this statement, as I'm not sure whether he is saying that he has avoided some schoolwork, or some non-assignment university work. It seems to be working out for him, anyway.
Mitchell was pleasantly engaging during the group conversations in the green room. My memory of conversational specifics is long gone, alas.
It's a fairly close game, although low-scoring. The lead switches back and forth, with Mitchell's superior performance in the numbers giving him an edge; Daniel proves slightly more adept at the letters, however, and manages to solve the conundrum for a narrow 36 to 33 victory.
I definitely had some strong memories of this episode, but nothing that is likely to have affected the scoreline (except possibly avoiding an eight not listed). It was another case of solving a conundrum more quickly than I did at the time, but my recollection again is of solving it ahead of Daniel during the filming. With perfect numbers rounds, and letters rounds going as well as they could, this was a very easy victory.
As usual, details after the jump.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
I suspect Daniel was running short of things to talk about, as Richard asks him if he has picked up any techniques from his previous four appearances. Daniel responds that he hasn't in the letters rounds, but for the numbers rounds he's come to like the "classroom" mix because the five small numbers provide some intricacies, while the large number helps get to larger targets.
Mitchell Fly is today's challenger, a year 12 student who is also studying mathematics part time at university. He is asked how he balances that workload, and says that it was difficult at first because he was trying to keep up with all the work from school and university; then he learned just to do the assignments for university and that was much easier. I admit to being a bit bemused by this statement, as I'm not sure whether he is saying that he has avoided some schoolwork, or some non-assignment university work. It seems to be working out for him, anyway.
Mitchell was pleasantly engaging during the group conversations in the green room. My memory of conversational specifics is long gone, alas.
It's a fairly close game, although low-scoring. The lead switches back and forth, with Mitchell's superior performance in the numbers giving him an edge; Daniel proves slightly more adept at the letters, however, and manages to solve the conundrum for a narrow 36 to 33 victory.
I definitely had some strong memories of this episode, but nothing that is likely to have affected the scoreline (except possibly avoiding an eight not listed). It was another case of solving a conundrum more quickly than I did at the time, but my recollection again is of solving it ahead of Daniel during the filming. With perfect numbers rounds, and letters rounds going as well as they could, this was a very easy victory.
As usual, details after the jump.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Ep 322: Daniel Chua, Sandy Clarke (November 22, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
Tonight we find out that Daniel is a twin, and when he and his twin were babies they were apparently able to communicate in their own babble that they understood. (Or, the cynical part of me says, they believed that they understood.)
The challenger for this episode is Sandy Clarke, a statistical consultant; this means that she helps to interpret data from various projects, determining what results are meaningful. She gives an example of a recent project on music therapy, where they were looking at physiological changes in response to musical stimulus and deciding if outcomes were likely to be more than just chance.
I got to interact with Sandy somewhat at the filming, too. My recollection is that she was personable and pleasant to chat with, and she certainly seemed to enjoy her work.
It's a very close game tonight; in fact only the first round separated the contestants. If Sandy had been a bit more familiar with the "retsina mix" then she would probably have tied that one up as well. There was another chance to get clear, in a numbers round that oddly neither contestant managed to get anything for, but the opportunity was lost and Daniel was ahead going into the conundrum. It was still anyone's game, but with the conundrum proving elusive Daniel lived to play another day, 53 to 45.
Obviously my performance is suspect here, but I think that only shows up in the conundrum. If memory serves me correctly I managed it relatively quickly back then, but not nearly as quickly as this time around. Aside from that, I'd managed to get ahead in enough rounds for a comfortable win, which again matches my recollections of performance on the day.
As usual, details after the jump.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
Tonight we find out that Daniel is a twin, and when he and his twin were babies they were apparently able to communicate in their own babble that they understood. (Or, the cynical part of me says, they believed that they understood.)
The challenger for this episode is Sandy Clarke, a statistical consultant; this means that she helps to interpret data from various projects, determining what results are meaningful. She gives an example of a recent project on music therapy, where they were looking at physiological changes in response to musical stimulus and deciding if outcomes were likely to be more than just chance.
I got to interact with Sandy somewhat at the filming, too. My recollection is that she was personable and pleasant to chat with, and she certainly seemed to enjoy her work.
It's a very close game tonight; in fact only the first round separated the contestants. If Sandy had been a bit more familiar with the "retsina mix" then she would probably have tied that one up as well. There was another chance to get clear, in a numbers round that oddly neither contestant managed to get anything for, but the opportunity was lost and Daniel was ahead going into the conundrum. It was still anyone's game, but with the conundrum proving elusive Daniel lived to play another day, 53 to 45.
Obviously my performance is suspect here, but I think that only shows up in the conundrum. If memory serves me correctly I managed it relatively quickly back then, but not nearly as quickly as this time around. Aside from that, I'd managed to get ahead in enough rounds for a comfortable win, which again matches my recollections of performance on the day.
As usual, details after the jump.
Monday, 21 November 2011
Ep 321: Daniel Chua, Philip McNally (November 21, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
Tonight we find out that Daniel is hoping to major in mathematics and Japanese. When asked why that combination, he responds that mathematics is close to his heart -- he really does like it a lot. That certainly meets with my approval! As for Japanese, Daniel talks about the difference in cultural perspective: Japan is a culture that really embraces maths, or as he puts it: Mathematicians are cool in Japan! He makes mention of TV shows about physicists solving crimes using mathematics, which he says is unique; that's not the most clear-cut claim given that NUMB3RS has a very similar synopsis, but I can certainly believe that the shows are vastly different.
Challenging Daniel is Philip McNally, a logistics manager who hopes to represent Australia in lawn bowls. He's been playing for three years now, and loves the team aspect in particular. He tried to qualify for the Australian Open last year and only just missed out. Richard brings up the perception that bowls is only for retirees, remarking that it's not actually the case. Philip agrees, saying that there are many young players nowadays, and it's a good game for them because they are fearless. Philip's son is very good at it, but won't take it up because he says it is social suicide -- Philip hopes to talk him around eventually.
As I mentioned in the post about becoming a contestant, I met both Daniel and Philip that day. I didn't get that much of a chance to chat with Daniel once the filming started, but he did a great job of putting us new contestants at our ease, displaying a wonderful attitude. I was able to have more of a chat with Philip, which I also enjoyed. Overall, what characterises the show for me is how pleasant everyone was; everyone hoped to do well, but I didn't perceive any aggressive competitive streaks.
Daniel manages to outdo Philip in early letters rounds, and an invalid word can't hold him back. With a perfect effort on the numbers Daniel is comfortably uncatchable by the time the conundrum rolls around; neither can solve it, and the final score is 56 to 30.
I have a suspicion that I might have actually done better when I was in the audience. There was definitely an eight that I missed this time that I found then, and a more obvious seven than the disputable one that I had for one round. Sadly, I didn't keep my jottings; I wish that I had, now. In any case, my recollection is that I won from the audience, and I did so again this time.
As usual, details after the jump.
Disclaimer: I attended the filming of this show some months back; obviously this may lead to me recollecting some solutions that eluded me at the time, and my scoreline is not necessarily a fair one.
Tonight we find out that Daniel is hoping to major in mathematics and Japanese. When asked why that combination, he responds that mathematics is close to his heart -- he really does like it a lot. That certainly meets with my approval! As for Japanese, Daniel talks about the difference in cultural perspective: Japan is a culture that really embraces maths, or as he puts it: Mathematicians are cool in Japan! He makes mention of TV shows about physicists solving crimes using mathematics, which he says is unique; that's not the most clear-cut claim given that NUMB3RS has a very similar synopsis, but I can certainly believe that the shows are vastly different.
Challenging Daniel is Philip McNally, a logistics manager who hopes to represent Australia in lawn bowls. He's been playing for three years now, and loves the team aspect in particular. He tried to qualify for the Australian Open last year and only just missed out. Richard brings up the perception that bowls is only for retirees, remarking that it's not actually the case. Philip agrees, saying that there are many young players nowadays, and it's a good game for them because they are fearless. Philip's son is very good at it, but won't take it up because he says it is social suicide -- Philip hopes to talk him around eventually.
As I mentioned in the post about becoming a contestant, I met both Daniel and Philip that day. I didn't get that much of a chance to chat with Daniel once the filming started, but he did a great job of putting us new contestants at our ease, displaying a wonderful attitude. I was able to have more of a chat with Philip, which I also enjoyed. Overall, what characterises the show for me is how pleasant everyone was; everyone hoped to do well, but I didn't perceive any aggressive competitive streaks.
Daniel manages to outdo Philip in early letters rounds, and an invalid word can't hold him back. With a perfect effort on the numbers Daniel is comfortably uncatchable by the time the conundrum rolls around; neither can solve it, and the final score is 56 to 30.
I have a suspicion that I might have actually done better when I was in the audience. There was definitely an eight that I missed this time that I found then, and a more obvious seven than the disputable one that I had for one round. Sadly, I didn't keep my jottings; I wish that I had, now. In any case, my recollection is that I won from the audience, and I did so again this time.
As usual, details after the jump.
Ep 320: Daniel Chua, Kane Gross (November 18, 2011)
OK, the SBS website fixed their bad links and I finally got to play through Friday's episode. Enjoy!
Rounds: Here.
Richard opens the contestant chat by asking what kind of magicians Daniel admires; Daniel responds that he likes magicians that don't try to outsmart the audience, but focus on entertainment, on keeping them happy and mystified. I'm not entirely sure about the distinction being drawn here between outsmarted and mystified, but certainly magic should be first and foremost about entertainment.
Daniel's challenger today is Kane Gross, a creative arts student who has recently founded a new literary and arts journal with his wife. It's currently online only, but they hope to move to a print version early next year.
Both contestants move in lockstep for the first five rounds, but then Kane fades and Daniel takes the remaining main rounds, ending up a 59 to 34 point victor. The numbers were a bit friendlier this time, but Daniel was able to use them more effectively. They both could have done more with the early letters rounds, but the latter ones (and the conundrum) were trickier than average.
I was mostly on target this game; I just missed out on one eight-letter word, and decided not to risk another, but aside from that I tracked well. I had a tough time with the conundrum, but unravelled it with three seconds left to cap off a comfortable win.
As usual, details after the jump.
Rounds: Here.
Richard opens the contestant chat by asking what kind of magicians Daniel admires; Daniel responds that he likes magicians that don't try to outsmart the audience, but focus on entertainment, on keeping them happy and mystified. I'm not entirely sure about the distinction being drawn here between outsmarted and mystified, but certainly magic should be first and foremost about entertainment.
Daniel's challenger today is Kane Gross, a creative arts student who has recently founded a new literary and arts journal with his wife. It's currently online only, but they hope to move to a print version early next year.
Both contestants move in lockstep for the first five rounds, but then Kane fades and Daniel takes the remaining main rounds, ending up a 59 to 34 point victor. The numbers were a bit friendlier this time, but Daniel was able to use them more effectively. They both could have done more with the early letters rounds, but the latter ones (and the conundrum) were trickier than average.
I was mostly on target this game; I just missed out on one eight-letter word, and decided not to risk another, but aside from that I tracked well. I had a tough time with the conundrum, but unravelled it with three seconds left to cap off a comfortable win.
As usual, details after the jump.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Ep 319: Sushma Garudadwajan, Daniel Chua (November 17, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
On Sushma's second night she tells us that she wants to visit Egypt, and in particular to see the pyramids. She's fascinated by the feat of engineering that they represent, having been constructed before the wheel was even invented. That's what she says, anyway, but if you can trust Wikipedia on this then wheeled vehicles pre-dated the Egyptian pyramids by 700 years or more. Not that I had any idea about that before looking it up, I should add.
Richard suggests that her engineering background might give her a better perspective on the magnitude of the work that the pyramids represent. Sushma points out that her background is that of an electrical engineer, so it seems unlikely that it will grant her any special insight. There is some amusement at this.
Challenging Sushma is Daniel Chua, another university student -- it feels like we've had a lot of those recently -- who loves magic shows and even performs some of his own tricks. Some card-work, some stage-work, although nothing at the level of sawing people in half, apparently.
Five- and six-letter words are all that the contestants find today, but Daniel's consistent sixes give him a lead. With the numbers not playing favourites, Daniel is uncatchable going into the conundrum but finds it quickly anyway for a 44 to 22 point victory.
I had an excellent game today, including only the second time I've outdone Lily on the numbers. With good letter performance too, and a faster conundrum solve, I cruised to a comprehensive victory. In fact, if I'd just seen an eight a little earlier I could have claimed to outscore the David/Lily combination, which is a target very much worth aiming at. Maybe another time...
As usual, details after the jump.
On Sushma's second night she tells us that she wants to visit Egypt, and in particular to see the pyramids. She's fascinated by the feat of engineering that they represent, having been constructed before the wheel was even invented. That's what she says, anyway, but if you can trust Wikipedia on this then wheeled vehicles pre-dated the Egyptian pyramids by 700 years or more. Not that I had any idea about that before looking it up, I should add.
Richard suggests that her engineering background might give her a better perspective on the magnitude of the work that the pyramids represent. Sushma points out that her background is that of an electrical engineer, so it seems unlikely that it will grant her any special insight. There is some amusement at this.
Challenging Sushma is Daniel Chua, another university student -- it feels like we've had a lot of those recently -- who loves magic shows and even performs some of his own tricks. Some card-work, some stage-work, although nothing at the level of sawing people in half, apparently.
Five- and six-letter words are all that the contestants find today, but Daniel's consistent sixes give him a lead. With the numbers not playing favourites, Daniel is uncatchable going into the conundrum but finds it quickly anyway for a 44 to 22 point victory.
I had an excellent game today, including only the second time I've outdone Lily on the numbers. With good letter performance too, and a faster conundrum solve, I cruised to a comprehensive victory. In fact, if I'd just seen an eight a little earlier I could have claimed to outscore the David/Lily combination, which is a target very much worth aiming at. Maybe another time...
As usual, details after the jump.
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