Why Computers Drive Me Crazy, Part N

As I mentioned last night, I've been trying to get the replacement Inspiron to drive S-Video. One reason I would like to do this is so that I can watch downloaded rugby matches without tying up my own personal laptop PC for two hours.

( More neepery )

While this process is highly annoying, and took me several hours to troubleshoot, at least I'm narrowing down the field of problems. Something about that specific computer's S-Video connection is not seeing things in one particular cable configuration, even though the other computer sees the connection without a problem. I even have a workaround if needed. However, I don't want to have to root around the back of the television very often. The RCA ports are on the back of the machine, and difficult to access -- not something I want to do regularly. I may try some more experiments tonight.

More on the Match Game

I have five panelists for the game, and will have to recruit one more. Several people whom I'd like to have as panelists are already scheduled for something at 11:30 AM Sunday. I'd like Tom Galloway as a panelist, but he has not answered the e-mails I've sent him. (Tom, I know you sometimes read this journal -- write to me if you want on board!)

(Update, 11:30 May 22: Tom has responded and will now be on the panel. I've updated the list below.)

Someone from BayCon programming tech services contacted me and said they will provide a microphone and speakers -- the Gateway Foyer doesn't come with hotel-provided sound. That's good! I'd asked for it, but I didn't really expect it to happen, and could have managed without it. (I felt a bit guilty about the extra tech needs, but the con can use it for the Auctions that follow in the same place, so it's not exclusively me burdening the con with additional requirements.) If all goes well, we may be able to run the sound from the cassette deck into the small sound mixing board they will provide; otherwise, the boom box will suffice.

Why am I using cassette tapes rather than music-on-computer?

1. The "think" music is actually a 30-minute tape of a continuous loop of music. I don't have that loop on computer anymore or even the sound editing software I used to create it.

2. Lisa may be the person operating the sound. She's very comfortable with cassette tapes, but very uneasy around computers.

3. 1970s technology is more likely to work in a hit-and-miss situation than anything that requires a computer and doesn't have time for a lot of technical setup and testing.

This last is also why I use score indicators printed on index cards rather than some computers with fancy displays. It can be set up quickly and is less likely to fail during the show, which is important when you're doing a live performance.

I'm trying to think ahead, and have written up the "announcer intro" that Eric Larson will use to start the show while the theme music plays under. I can't use the exact words of the real game show, because we are not "big money," even though we will have prizes.

( Announcer Show Intro )

I think we'll have a second sponsor, with Emerald City providing copies of the magazine to all contestants. We can include something in the "Promotional consideration provided by" commerical like "Emerald City magazine: Winner of the 2004 Hugo Award, Banned from the Nova Awards, and placed on trial for treason at Eastercon! See what all the fuss is about at emcit.com"

Update, 21:20: Christian McGuire has signed on as a panelist. I have tentatively slotted him into seat 1 and made the appropriate corrections above.

Match Game Format: AM or PM?

We have a 75-minute program item slot for Match Game at BayCon, and we can't run too long because the auctions follow it. (When we've done it at night, we can go for two or more hours as long as my voice holds out and the audience continues to be interested.) Does anyone here have any thoughts about whether we should use the "AM" or "PM" formats?

The "AM" format is for the two contestants to play two rounds, with the winner staying on and facing the next challenger. The "PM" format is for the two contestants to play three rounds, with each game being two new contestants.

We don't have an "Audience Match" bonus round because I've never collected enough surveys to have a meaningful set of "most popular" answers. Besides, we never have any money to give away, only prizes.

I can see us playing between three and five AM-style rounds. An advantage of the AM format is that it turns games over faster. PM format gives more people a chance to play. A hybrid would be to use the AM format but have two new contestants each game, which combines both elements.

One other possibility would be a "tournament" format, but to do that, you'd need to be know you'd have time for seven games (four first round, two semi-finals, one final).

I understand the real show filmed five shows a day, with three before lunch and two after lunch. The cast tended to drink a lot during lunch, which meant that the Thursday and Friday shows were likely to have the funnier answers. We won't have that, but because we won't play the audience match or super match, we can play more games in the same amount of time.