spunky_munky_gal

Congrats to the winners :)

It was a lot of fun - I hope it's run again some day!

ok i did gymnastics for some time. at the international level you are not allowed to have judges that are from the same country as any of the gymnasts. so because all of the good gymnastic countries were present the judges came form countries that dont have a good gymnastic programs and there for are not the best. also the judges dont have to take off points and when they do they have the option of desciding how much they do.

That sounds a bit odd. So they predict who will perform well and choose judges based on a prediction? And if that's the case, then how would the chinese government 'fix' the results if none of the judges are from china? I think it's unlikely that any country would do that - too likely they would be found out and exposed to international scorn.

Whenever a judge or a referee is criticised, it is usually because someone's unhappy with their own result. Judges do a difficult job, with little or no thanks most of the time. But there are always people willing to criticise what they do. That's not to say judges are above criticism, but just that we weren't there, we don't know the reasoning that went into the decision. We also have the benefit of instant replays, slow motion etc. Judges don't - they have to make a decision based on what they see.

The little I know about gymnastics is enough to know I can't really comment on how it is judged - I simply don't have the knowledge to assess whether certain judgements are fair.

Having said that, the discussion I've seen (involving a former Olympic judge) gave the impression that the judging was pretty much in line with international standards. I guess problems arise when the public, most of whom aren't qualified to judge, see what they think is a good vault, but might be less difficult, or contain serious errors that we don't notice vs a vault with noticeable errors, but that is more difficult or otherwise technically very good.

I am a dressage rider, and often to outsiders (and sometimes insiders!) the judging doesn't seem fair. That's why they have so many judges in those more subjective disciplines.

The other issue is, while I'm sure it's heartbreaking to work so hard and just miss out on your goal, but true sportsmanship means copping the judgement sweet and assessing your own performance to see where improvements can be made. I also think it's a fantastic achievement for anyone to even be competing at that level, so they shouldn't be disappointed!

I am a member of the Stock Benefit Guild and it is great. Lots of stuff happening all the time, excellent tips for helping with the stock market and other NP making ventures, really active forums hosted on neodaq which itself has some great tools for tracking stock portfolios, shop sales etc.

I would like to add my thanks, it's been a lot of fun and I appreciate the hard work that went in. I can't see myself getting a prize as I still didn't manage to solve #4 despite all the hints (although I did manage to get #30 in the end, yay!) but the prize isn't the point, it's been great brain exercise :)

Thanks again Izzy!

THREE CHEERS FOR IZZY!

HIP!

HIP!

HIP...

I am totally stumped on clue 6. The funny thing is that I have found three more answers that I haven't yet used while I've been searching for #6. That's how much searching I've been doing!

lol

I have won a stamp in nearly all my games today, and only one codestone. Although training is still wayyy cheaper than it was a few days ago.

Bravo TNT!

PS sorry about the NP lost on stamp hoards :(

At least you might make it back again with codestones

I agree, never give up. Heaps of times I have been just about to wash my hands of a puzzle when I figure it out. And sometimes solving one seems to help your brain work better on others. That is except for number 4. I'm convinced that one is impossible unless you're a mindreader!

Wow, 27 was inspired Izzy. You are truly a mastermind of trickiness! I can't believe I actually figured it out. I still don't really know how... o_O

Wow, that maze one must have taken a lot of work...it was fun though :)

Still scratching my head over 27 :S , and I'm running out of time to figure it out!

Phew! On my third attempt it went through. I was ready to be devastated if it didn't work.

Still only #4 outstanding...

Hmm...I have solved today's puzzle, put in the answer (with no spaces) and it is telling me I'm wrong. I'm certain it's right because the answer makes sense. I've double checked, even pressing back on my browser to make sure I didn't make a typo. I have used 2/3 now....argh!

Welcome!

The site, the forums are great. The best part - no spam!

I'm sure you'll like it around here :)

Another one that seemed to suit the way I think :)

22/23

If only my thinking could change to suit #4 :S

I liked today's too - it was my kind of puzzle. I think it suits the way I think. #4 is still as evil as ever.

Is there still only ShadowChaos to be the only non-staff to solve it?

Yeah, that was neat! I was tying myself in knots for 10 minutes or so...and then, like a bolt of lightning, it just came to me :)

Good luck!

Don't forget, there are four prizes. You don't have to be on top to win one.

You never know how many people are out there doing the puzzles and keeping quiet, though

I can only hope...although it's not so much the prize. I hate that I can't figure it out! It's going to bug me until I know the answer...

That was a fun one! I nearly got very sidetracked...just overthinking it I guess.

Wow, I am impressed. I don't think I could've done it if I hadn't heard it before! :thumbsup:

Thank heavens for excel, that's all I can say! One I saw the pattern it was easy.

I did it. HA HA! Dats 19 of 19! Only 11 more and dat card is mine! Bring it on koolcat!

And here I was hoping you'd been thwarted at last. :whistle:

Oh well, I can only hope that #4 magically appears to me in a dream.

I think the fruit is worth around 50k.

The conversation I found was an old one and the person who posted the rumour gave the '*sigh* n00bs' feel to her words. Of course it is more expensive to train your pet that way, but if you happen to have an uber-pet whose on to the red codies, then landing on this MIGHT prove worthwhile, if it's actually true.

My curiosity will probably get the better of me - maybe I'll test the theory if I ever land on it!

Welcome :)

Well, you're very honest! Hopefully you'll stick around for more than just the ALP. There's the Puzzle comp, the awesome dailies list that I can't live without, the exclusive neo news and best of all, the scintillating conversation :D

:crying:

...when my first guess was wrong and I thought I would be up all night working this puzzle out

o_O

..when I started working on #19

^_^

...when I worked it out (without prior experience or a graphics calc!) and I was right! Yippee!

Thank you google :)

Space 8: "Something mysterious happens your NeoPets, but you don't know what it is." - Some people report items, some restored HP, but most people report nothing.

Perhaps results are circumstance dependant?

When you get "Something mysterious happens to your pets but you dont know what it is" You buy a muntando fruit and feed it to them and they gain 1-3 levels.

 

THAT'S what it was for. Definitely an old school way of leveling up your pet.

Problem is, people found out over time and muntando fruits are mad expensive.

I haven't heard this rumour before, perhaps someone with NP to burn can test the rumour?

Maybe they could combine neoschool, plot and map redraws. Like geography classes or something ^_^

Welcome :)

This is a great place to come for help and thoughtful discussion. And biting it would seem!

Welcome back :)

I am also one of those people who used to hang out here, but that was EONS ago when I first started playing neopets. Good luck saving up collateral!