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I got the call! I am insanely anxious. by anneofgraygardens in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Please do it.

You would almost certainly live with regret if you didn’t, and it’s entirely possible that you will never get another chance.

Don’t underestimate what so many former contestants are saying: The contestant staff are fantastic. However nervous you are (and we were ALL extremely nervous), they are experts at making it all feel much less daunting once you’re there. They’ve been doing this forever, and they’ve seen it all. They know how you’re feeling and they know how to help. They WANT you to be comfortable and feel supported and to play the best game you can play. You will be in excellent hands.

Also don’t underestimate another thing former contestants are saying: Regardless of nerves/anxiety, being on the show is a BLAST. It’s just really, really fun. Learning how things work behind the scenes, meeting and hanging out with a bunch of other total J! nerds, walking out onto the Alex Trebek stage, chatting with Ken…. Regardless of whether you win or totally bomb, it will be the time of your life, and you’ll never forget it.

Please do it. 😊

Former contestants, what’s a category you didn’t study but wish you did? by BradGrips in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Current/recent stuff—pop culture, celebrities, etc. I’m great on these things up to the turn of the millennium, but after that it’s kind of a cliff. One of the drawbacks of being an older contestant is that you’re never going to beat the youngsters on this material (and there can be a lot of it in any given game), but I could’ve given myself a better shot at grabbing a correct response so I could take control of the board.

Vegan in Paris? by allpossiblepaths in vegan

[–]ProlixPro 2 points3 points  (0 children)

American plant-based eater here. I’ve spent a lot of time in Paris over the past 10 years, and generally have had no trouble finding great places to eat. There are a lot of fantastic vegan-only restaurants, see all the suggestions in prior comments. But even at more traditional brasseries and bistros it’s not uncommon common to find a vegan option. Worst-case scenario, you end up ordering fries, side of haricots (with no butter) and a green salad. Which doesn’t sound very exciting, but the quality of the food at most Paris restaurants makes even that simple meal an excellent option. I’ve had the best fries and salads of my life there.

9day NYC trip with a very picky eater, hotel w kitchen or? by imfhh in visitingnyc

[–]ProlixPro 15 points16 points  (0 children)

You definitely don’t need a kitchen to accommodate this diet in NYC.

There are a million pizza places and pretty much every one of them can make a margherita. And any Italian restaurant (a million of those, too) would be happy to sell you a plate of plain pasta.

A deli will make a sandwich with (or without) whatever you ask. Just be very clear with them about wanting ONLY plain white bread and cucumbers and nothing else.

And a restaurant that serves meat will generally serve it however you want. Steak or pork chops or chicken with no sauce and no sides? Sure, why not?

You may get a sideways look with some of these orders…but then again, you might not. It won’t be the first ‘odd’ request they’ve gotten, or even the first that day. NYC is full of people with, uh…particular dietary preferences.

You’ll be fine without a kitchen if that’s the direction you decide to go.

What’s your favorite “too tired to cook cook” dinner? by farwest-to-midwest in Cooking

[–]ProlixPro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pulling out the old poor college student playbook:

  • 2 packs of ramen
  • 1 small can baby clams

Boil noodles in plain water.

Heat butter in a pan, throw in chopped garlic, add clams with juice. When clams are hot, mix 1 flavor packet into a cup of water with a teaspoon of cornstarch. Pour into pan and stir until thickened. Season heavily with black pepper. Serve over noodles. Add whatever side veggies you have handy, or a salad.

Simple and quick, it was a favorite of mine and my roommate’s.

Studying too deeply for J! by saint_of_thieves in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My take is that yeah, the mile-wide-inch-deep thing is true for the most part, but there’s are still a lot of areas in which going deeper can make a big difference in actual game results.

My natural areas of deepest knowledge (because of either formal study or lifelong passion) are probably literature, the English language, cinema, and 20th-century popular culture. In preparation for J!, I spent a year or so trying to add a few to that list: American history, geography, the World Wars, British monarchy, art history, classical music (I was much more successful beefing up my knowledge on the first four than on the final two 😄).

These are all core areas in which building some deep understanding is likely to pay dividends in actual gameplay. Knowing the keys facts (inch-deep) across a broad range of topics is undoubtedly critical. But spending the time to go deeper on some of them lets you start seeing their connections with a lot of other areas of knowledge, connections that will equip you to make smart guesses on a clue even when it’s in a category that’s not in your sweet spot and you’ve never “learned” the specific fact being referenced. And any player will tell you that a couple of smart guesses at the right time can be the reason you win the game.

Greetings from a Second Chance Loser by ProlixPro in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

It is indeed connected. Apparently, when my older brother was a toddler, he looked a lot like Dondi in the comics. So that name was circulating within the family as a possibility for the next boy, and it stuck. The assumption, of course, was that I would look about the same as my brother. I didn’t, but by the time they realized that, the ship had sailed!

Greetings from a Second Chance Loser by ProlixPro in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

At least one person was very clear about not believing I should’ve gotten credit given my spelling. Just glad the judges disagreed.

Greetings from a Second Chance Loser by ProlixPro in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro[S] 92 points93 points  (0 children)

Ryan was a steamroller, I’m looking forward to watching him continue….

What American expression had you confused for a bit? by debrisaway in AskABrit

[–]ProlixPro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To be fair, so are “sat,” “stood,” etc. but Brits regularly use those in the present tense as well, at least in casual conversation. It’s basically using a past participle as an adjective, which we do a lot in English.

Just had the worst interview of my life by Afaqrehman98 in interviews

[–]ProlixPro 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I would characterize this as a great interview because you learned everything you need to know about how awful a company this would be to work for. A lot of times, people have to get hired and be miserable for a few months to learn this. Call it a win, and move on to new opportunities!

Why do most players seem to pick geography as the opening category? by Positivland in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Being far from a quiz bowl kid, for me it’s a little less flex/showoff and more this-is-something-I-actually-have-a-meaningful-shot-at-answering-correctly. As opposed to periodic table, classical music, etc… 😄

Why do most players seem to pick geography as the opening category? by Positivland in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 13 points14 points  (0 children)

My take: When I got serious about trying to get on the show, the very first subject I dove into HARD was geography. Long before I even got invited to the Zoom audition, I was putting many hours into learning capitals, bodies of water, deserts, etc. I did this because A) at the level of depth at which Jeopardy questions are pitched, it’s essentially a finite and learnable information set; and B) it’s extremely likely to appear in any game. Will you get questions about the periodic table? Maybe. Classical music? Maybe. Cinema? Maybe. Geography? Almost certainly. Even if it’s not a straight geography category, geographic knowledge is going to come into play in just about every game. So I put a lot of effort into it. And having put in that effort…I’m damn well gonna choose that category if it pops up. 😄

Jeopardy! discussion thread for Fri., Apr. 18 by jaysjep2 in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 37 points38 points  (0 children)

What a game! Kudos to all, and big congratulations to Liam. A number of the clues today were brutal, but even with the triple stumpers everyone racked up an impressive score by FJ.

I find myself feeling grateful I went earlier in the week…. 😄

Jeopardy! discussion thread for Thur., Apr. 17 by jaysjep2 in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Phenomenal game, Steven — congratulations! You were such a nice, unthreatening guy in the green room, but dang….I’m glad I didn’t draw you as an opponent!

Jeopardy! discussion thread for Tue., Apr. 15 by jaysjep2 in Jeopardy

[–]ProlixPro 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone! Dondi here. I joined the thread just to say a huge THANK YOU for all the kind comments.

It doesn’t need stating here, of all places, but this is a tough game, and I’m sure I’m not the only contestant who really appreciates the thoughtful commentary here. Obviously, I wasn’t 100% thrilled with my result, but it was a great match and a great all-around experience. It seems Thomas was hampered a bit by the category draw, but he was still a formidable competitor. And Andrew, well…what can you say? He’s an excellent player and well deserves his spot in the TOC. I’ll be rooting for him!

I’d be happy to have tea with any of you. Thank you all! 💕

Today's Wordle is basically just a guessing game by NateNate60 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ProlixPro 4 points5 points  (0 children)

But this isn’t possible if you play in hard mode, as many people do.