The First Timers are now Grizzled (and Gristled) Veterans

If you’ve never run a tournament where half of the people are from one school, you’ve got something to look forward to. Obviously you have to pair same-school couples (which, as far as I know, is only legal in Massachusetts), and you try to give them neutral judging, while all their judges, whom they number in the dozens, are about as useful as photographs of schematics from some tournament you’re not at, if you get my drift, and I think you do. But we made it happen pretty well on Saturday at our Mid-Hudson League First Timers’ MHL. No debaters were harmed—much—in the making of this event. We did have the usual casualties of the Battle of Mind vs. Intestines, with the intestines winning in mid-round, and I gather there were some Polician shenanigans that should not go unremarked, but mostly everybody debated and got judged, and the Sailors did fine and one even took tin, so all in all, a good day. 80 or so LDers, when all was said and done, the biggest inaugural since I’ve been doing it. Bigger than some invitationals with TOC bids! LD lives.

Yesterday I intended to do all sorts of forensics stuff, but aside from sorting out post-MHL issues and reading mail where my colleagues keep telling me not to pull the NFL pluf, I didn’t get far. I think I finally understand how best to debate Nov-Dec, which makes me thankful that I don’t have to, and I will focus on that for Plebe purposes. And tomorrow night is the Trial of the Century about just that, which should help concentrate the young mind. Since next Tuesday is Halloween, which would set up a conflict I can only lose, I think I’ll schedule the first novice Chez Moi for that Monday, concentrating on topic brainstorming. The week after that is Election Day, and I haven’t decided about that one yet, but I’ll probably have to have something on Monday or Wednesday just to get last licks at Bump planning. We’ll see.

I did manage yesterday to get the speakers working on my relocated TV. I had set everything up ass backwards originally, and yesterday I finally realized what was wrong and set them up ass forwards, and now they’re fine. Once again I can savor the sound of helicopters landing behind me during tonight’s film presentation. Apparently, since the invention of SurroundSound, Hollywood mandates at least one helicopter landing behind you scene in every film released by a major studio. I don’t know if they actually have helicopters, or just the helicopter sound effect. The result is the same, either way.

Other than that, the big news in the world at large is that This American Life is now a free podcast. It’s about time! It has been instantly added to the recommended list.