2 Cool

I haven't really remained true to my promise to post more regularly, but that's because work in general hasn't become significantly less busy in the last few weeks, with further question-writing projects as well as a fair few quizzes, ranging from a fairly huge, fairly tricky but enjoyable quiz for Barclays for 'Cultural Awareness' to a small quiz for some design firm in Shoreditch House which was, being honest, a long way too cool for school.
If there's anything I find vexing when running quizzes its not being shouted out, or people not doing well, or people not paying attention (well, ok, i do find all those things a little annoying, but let me continue), it's people who persist in some kind of phoney embarrassment at the very idea of knowing anything. You ask a question - partly there's a response of 'how are we supposed to know that' but then quite a few people do it and they know it in a kind of 'god, i can't believe i know that, it's so beneath me to know that' way. O well.
As far as I'm concerned it's all just knowledge, whether it's about Beats International featuring Lindy Layton or Pi Appreciation Day.
Furthermore, at one quiz, I got the 'How are we supposed to know that?' reaction when I asked 'Who was third in the US presidential election in 2000?', where the answer, Ralph Nader, and his very candidacy, has arguably had a more significant effect on the world than almost anyone in the last 20 years. That's how your supposed to know. I understand not knowing exactly where you would fing Cell Number IV65536, but come on, knowledge, like ridicule (they often go hand in hand) is nothing to be scared of.

20000 Down

There are two reasons why it's been a couple of months since I've written anything here.
1 And very much the main reason is that i've been holed up in my quiz bunker writing and preparing 20000 questions for quiz machines which is, you know, a lot of questions. I mean, 100 questions is a lot of questions....20000, i don't know how we did it. I'd say it's about the equivalent of a 5/6/7oo page book, and that has to be 20000 discrete faultlessly factual, faultlessly laid out entinties.
I'm quite impressed with myself, frankly. I've also gone more than a little mental.
2 I was pondering, blogwise, whether to get a bit more general - there's only so many crazy corporate quiz stories one can tell, i suppose. Should i use this as a platform for political rants which no one will read or flights of whimsy which no one will read or encomiums to Ryan Giggs which no one will read? The choices are endless.
And yet, I feel i should keep this within its remit as the diary of a quizmaster, so you won't hear be getting my views on this exciting mayoral election and quite how half of London has persuaded itself it would be a hilarious jape to vote for a r...... f .....ph......l...us....c..-f...T....w..., but, no, i'll keep those thoughts to myself, and stick to the quizzes. But first, I need to sleep. for a few years.