Transcript 10/23/09- Mike Bruno (Carryover)

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Mike Bruno (Carryover)
High School History Teacher
Waretown, NJ

Mike works two jobs so his wife can stay at home with their three kids. This results in him not being able to take summer vacations with them, so he sends them on vacation while he stays home and works his second job.

Categories

Pennsylvania Avenue
Word Origins
Diplomatic Relations
Social Security
Areas of Study
Psychology
Michigan
Presidential History
At the Bookstore
College Sports
Slang
Festivals
New Media
In Business
Richard Nixon

Mike still has all his lifelines, including expert Ken Jennings.

$10,000 (At the Bookstore)- Which best-selling novel features a character suffering from a fictional genetic disorder called “chrono displacement”?

A- The Time Traveler’s Wife B- The Kite Runner
C- The Lovely Bones D- The Red Tent

Spoiler

A- The Time Traveler’s Wife (18)

$12,500 (Presidential History)- What titanic figure was president when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912?

A- Willian Howard Taft B- Calvin Coolidge
C- William McKinley D- Grover Cleveland

Spoiler

A- William Howard Taft (22)

$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

[doitneatly]

$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

Poorly worded, yes. Incorrect, yes. (e.g., another U.S. island where automobiles are verboten: Ni'ihau.)

But I suspect it might nonetheless withstand a challenge as "good enough", given that none of the other answer choices happen to apply to Mackinac Island.

[Jeemie]

$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

Poorly worded, yes. Incorrect, yes. (e.g., another U.S. island where automobiles are verboten: Ni'ihau.)

But I suspect it might nonetheless withstand a challenge as "good enough", given that none of the other answer choices happen to apply to Mackinac Island.

This time, I'm note sure it matters that none of the other choices apply to Mackinac Island. One can make a case that they considered and then rejected "cars are forbidden" because they knew of other islands that forbade cars, and so therefore it wouldn't be "unique" to Mackinac Island.

[Appa23]

Interesting.

M-W lists the following as a definition of "unique":

3 : unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

Arguably, it is unusual for passenger cars to be banned from a place.

[Estonut]

Interesting.

M-W lists the following as a definition of "unique":

3 : unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

Arguably, it is unusual for passenger cars to be banned from a place.

The full definition at Merriam-Webster.com goes even further than that (see 2b and "usage"):

unique
One entry found.

Main Entry: unique
Pronunciation: \yu̇-ˈnēk\
Function: adjective
Etymology: French, from Latin unicus, from unus one — more at one
Date: 1602
1 : being the only one : sole <his unique concern was his own comfort> <I can't walk away with a unique copy. Suppose I lost it? — Kingsley Amis> <the unique factorization of a number into prime factors>
2 a : being without a like or equal : unequaled <could stare at the flames, each one new, violent, unique — Robert Coover> b : distinctively characteristic : peculiar 1 <this is not a condition unique to California — Ronald Reagan>
3 : unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

synonyms see strange
— unique·ly adverb
— unique·ness noun

usage Many commentators have objected to the comparison or modification (as by somewhat or very) of unique, often asserting that a thing is either unique or it is not. Objections are based chiefly on the assumption that unique has but a single absolute sense, an assumption contradicted by information readily available in a dictionary. Unique dates back to the 17th century but was little used until the end of the 18th when, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was reacquired from French. H. J. Todd entered it as a foreign word in his edition (1818) of Johnson's Dictionary, characterizing it as “affected and useless.” Around the middle of the 19th century it ceased to be considered foreign and came into considerable popular use. With popular use came a broadening of application beyond the original two meanings (here numbered 1 and 2a). In modern use both comparison and modification are widespread and standard but are confined to the extended senses 2b and 3. When sense 1 or sense 2a is intended, unique is used without qualifying modifiers.

[ghostjmf]

15K: OK, I knew the answer. We were there, by the way, as family when I was a kid. With our car. I had this discussion recently with someone who was wearing a T-Shirt that said something like "been to Macinaw"'; they weren't sure if the spelling was changed officially, or only on the shirt or something. For some reason "no cars" came up. Either the laws have changed, or we were so scary they were scared to arrest us? Unless I'm just remembering us going over the bridge at the straits, not onto the island. I was pretty little at the time.

[themanintheseersuckersuit]

Interesting.

M-W lists the following as a definition of "unique":

3 : unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

Arguably, it is unusual for passenger cars to be banned from a place.

Mr. Skoko, my high school English teacher would be appalled. Next they will be telling me that decimated is the same as devastated.

[ulysses5019]

From wiki:

"Motor vehicles were restricted at the end of the 19th century because of concerns for the health and safety of the island's residents and horses after local carriage drivers complained that automobiles startled their horses. This ban continues to the present with exceptions only for emergency and construction vehicles."

[Brit Canuck]

Mike Bruno (Carryover)
High School History Teacher
Waretown, NJ

...
$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

Another trick question designed to extend the current losing streak and save Disney some money (IMO, based on that summary).



I'm no math expert (who is?), but just for fun and just for this week, here's my go at an unprofessional analysis of this week's results, based on all of this week's Transcripts.
Perhaps the Transcript Team can come up with a similar way of rating each week's overall performance.


SydnieBaM Results
October 19th-23rd, 2009
by Brit Canuck

Total Amount of Money Won: $120,000
Total Amount of Money Lost on Wrong Answers: $35,000

Llama Penalties: none

Total Net Winnings This Week (Won minus Lost): $85,000
Total Money on the Table This Week (Won plus Lost): $155,000

This Week's Overall Performance Record (Net divided by Table, converted to nearest %): 85,000/155,000= 55 %


Most Money Won in a Single Game: $50,000
Walks: Two ($50,000 and $15,000)

Incorrect Free Guesses: Two (one on $50,000 question, one on $7,500 question)
Losses while attempting Safe Haven Questions: One ($25,000 question)


Ask the Expert (Ken Jennings)
Number of Times Used: Six
Correct: Five
Wrong: One (double penalty, see below)

Highest Question Expert Answered Correctly: $100,000 (contestant walked with $50K)

This Week's Expert Performance Record: 71 % - Five out of *Seven*
(Jennings gave two possible answers for a Double Dip attempt in the first game on Monday - both answers were wrong, so his original 83 % rating for 5 out of 6 was penalized. Sorry Ken.)


Number of Names Added to T-10 Leaderboard: One

This Week's Overall Performance Record: 55 % FAIR

0-49 - Poor
50-69 - Fair
70-89 - Good
90-100 - Excellent


Again, completely unprofessional and done just for fun.
Let me know what you thought about this week's gameplay.

[Phil Ken Sebbin]

Mike Bruno (Carryover)
High School History Teacher
Waretown, NJ

...
$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

Another trick question designed to extend the current losing streak and save Disney some money (IMO, based on that summary).



I'm no math expert (who is?), but just for fun and just for this week, here's my go at an unprofessional analysis of this week's results, based on all of this week's Transcripts.
Perhaps the Transcript Team can come up with a similar way of rating each week's overall performance.


SydnieBaM Results
October 19th-23rd, 2009
by Brit Canuck

Total Amount of Money Won: $120,000
Total Amount of Money Lost on Wrong Answers: $35,000

Llama Penalties: none

Total Net Winnings This Week (Won minus Lost): $85,000
Total Money on the Table This Week (Won plus Lost): $155,000

This Week's Overall Performance Record (Net divided by Table, converted to nearest %): 85,000/155,000= 55 %


Most Money Won in a Single Game: $50,000
Walks: Two ($50,000 and $15,000)

Incorrect Free Guesses: Two (one on $50,000 question, one on $7,500 question)
Losses while attempting Safe Haven Questions: One ($25,000 question)


Ask the Expert (Ken Jennings)
Number of Times Used: Six
Correct: Five
Wrong: One (double penalty, see below)

Highest Question Expert Answered Correctly: $100,000 (contestant walked with $50K)

This Week's Expert Performance Record: 71 % - Five out of *Seven*
(Jennings gave two possible answers for a Double Dip attempt in the first game on Monday - both answers were wrong, so his original 83 % rating for 5 out of 6 was penalized. Sorry Ken.)


Number of Names Added to T-10 Leaderboard: One

This Week's Overall Performance Record: 55 % FAIR

0-49 - Poor
50-69 - Fair
70-89 - Good
90-100 - Excellent


Again, completely unprofessional and done just for fun.
Let me know what you thought about this week's gameplay.

I thought this breakdown is great and I would love to see it more often, especially the week I'm on.

[NellyLunatic1980]

$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Despite this, I still picked the right answer.

Nihil obstat®

[MarleysGh0st]

$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

I'd have been tripped up by this question because I was remembering the Mackinaw Bridge and its annual Mackinac Bridge Walk, so I felt certain that cars were normally allowed to cross. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that the bridge connect the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan, not Mackinac Island.

[frogman042]

Interesting.

M-W lists the following as a definition of "unique":

3 : unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

Arguably, it is unusual for passenger cars to be banned from a place.

I guess they didn't use the 'traditional' sense of the word 'unique'.

[doitneatly]

Interesting.

M-W lists the following as a definition of "unique":

3 : unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

Arguably, it is unusual for passenger cars to be banned from a place.

Mr. Skoko, my high school English teacher would be appalled. Next they will be telling me that decimated is the same as devastated.

The blessing and curse of our democratic dictionary; if enough people use a word "wrong", then wrong becomes the new right. (or at least acceptable...)

UNIQUE stops meaning "one of a kind", and AIN'T and IRREGARDLESS are listed as they work their way up from the basement of "nonstandard" status.

This can only lead to... "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!"

[earendel]

Mike Bruno (Carryover)
High School History Teacher
Waretown, NJ

Mike works two jobs so his wife can stay at home with their three kids. This results in him not being able to take summer vacations with them, so he sends them on vacation while he stays home and works his second job.

I know teachers are poorly paid but I didn't know it was that bad. Let's hope Mike can bring home some big money.

Categories

$12,500 (Presidential History)- What titanic figure was president when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912?

A- Willian Howard Taft B- Calvin Coolidge
C- William McKinley D- Grover Cleveland

Spoiler

A- William Howard Taft (22)

I figured a history teacher would know this one. For me, once again attending William Howard Taft Junior High School pays dividends.

$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

What a shame, all those lifelines unused. But Mike thought he knew it, and the answer did make sense. Google pulls up the answer almost immediately just by searching for "Mackinac Island". A member of my Bible study class goes there every year for vacation, so I knew this one.

[earendel]

Interesting.

M-W lists the following as a definition of "unique":

3 : unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

Arguably, it is unusual for passenger cars to be banned from a place.

Mr. Skoko, my high school English teacher would be appalled. Next they will be telling me that decimated is the same as devastated.

Or "enormity" is the same as "enormous".

[Brit Canuck]

Mike Bruno (Carryover)
High School History Teacher
Waretown, NJ

...
$15,000 (Michigan)- What is unique about Michigan’s Mackinac Island?

A- It appears in over 50 feature films B- It snows year-round
C- Passenger cars are prohibited D- Bears outnumber people

At 19 seconds, Mike answers D and goes home with all his lifelines and $5,000. Now we will wait to see if a challenge occurs because this was a HORRIBLY-worded question. Many islands share this feature with Mackinac Island- it is NOT a unique trait of Mackinac Island.

Spoiler

C- Passenger cars are prohibited

Another trick question designed to extend the current losing streak and save Disney some money (IMO, based on that summary).



I'm no math expert (who is?), but just for fun and just for this week, here's my go at an unprofessional analysis of this week's results, based on all of this week's Transcripts.
Perhaps the Transcript Team can come up with a similar way of rating each week's overall performance.


SydnieBaM Results
October 19th-23rd, 2009
by Brit Canuck

Total Amount of Money Won: $120,000
Total Amount of Money Lost on Wrong Answers: $35,000

Llama Penalties: none

Total Net Winnings This Week (Won minus Lost): $85,000
Total Money on the Table This Week (Won plus Lost): $155,000

This Week's Overall Performance Record (Net divided by Table, converted to nearest %): 85,000/155,000= 55 %


Most Money Won in a Single Game: $50,000
Walks: Two ($50,000 and $15,000)

Incorrect Free Guesses: Two (one on $50,000 question, one on $7,500 question)
Losses while attempting Safe Haven Questions: One ($25,000 question)


Ask the Expert (Ken Jennings)
Number of Times Used: Six
Correct: Five
Wrong: One (double penalty, see below)

Highest Question Expert Answered Correctly: $100,000 (contestant walked with $50K)

This Week's Expert Performance Record: 71 % - Five out of *Seven*
(Jennings gave two possible answers for a Double Dip attempt in the first game on Monday - both answers were wrong, so his original 83 % rating for 5 out of 6 was penalized. Sorry Ken.)


Number of Names Added to T-10 Leaderboard: One

This Week's Overall Performance Record: 55 % FAIR

0-49 - Poor
50-69 - Fair
70-89 - Good
90-100 - Excellent


Again, completely unprofessional and done just for fun.
Let me know what you thought about this week's gameplay.

I thought this breakdown is great and I would love to see it more often, especially the week I'm on.

Let me know which week you're on and I'll do that.



Just as a comparison, I did another unofficial Results comparison for the previous week (October 12th - 16th).
This was the week that started with Jehan topping the Tournament of Ten leader board.
Of course, right afterwards, there was a $0 Llama Loss, so you can find out just how much of a setback one of my (non-binding) 'Llama Penalties' can be (final percentages with and without the Llama Penalty are included for you to compare).


SydnieBaM Results
October 12th-16th, 2009
by Brit Canuck
(unofficial comparison)


Total Amount of Money Won: $342,500
Total Amount of Money Lost on Wrong Answers: $15,500

Most Money Won in a Single Game: $ 250,000

$0 Llama Penalties: ONE
(the highest amount won this week - $250,000 - is eliminated from Total Net Winnings This Week)

Total Net Winnings This Week (Won minus Lost minus Llama Penalty): 342,500 - 15,500 - 250,000 = $ 77,000
Total Money on the Table This Week (Won plus Lost): 342,500 + 15,500 = $ 358,000

This Week's Overall Performance Record (Net divided by Table, converted to nearest %): 77,000/358,000= 22 % POOR
(That $0 win coming right after a $250K win proved very costly.
The final percentage without the Llama Penalty would have been 91 % - Excellent )


Walks: Five
Incorrect Free Guesses: Two
Losses while attempting Safe Haven Questions: None
Losses (leading to reduced winnings): Four, including one Llama Loss.


Ask the Audience
Number of Times Used: Nine
Correct: Eight
Wrong: One
Did Contestant Lose Money?: No, $7,500 freebie

This Week's Audience Performance Record: 8/9, 89 % GOOD


Ask the Expert (Mo Rocca)
Number of Times Used: Six
Correct: Three
Wrong: Three (admitted he did not know all three)

This Week's Expert Performance Record: 50 % FAIR - Three out of Six


Number of Names Added to T-10 Leaderboard: One (Go, Jehan!)


This Week's Overall Performance Record: 22 % Poor (not Jehan's fault - just bad timing)
Adjusted to omit Llama Penalty: 91 % Excellent

0-49 - Poor
50-69 - Fair
70-89 - Good
90-100 - Excellent


Why the Llama Penalty? It's just not fair when someone wins six digits, while another leaves with nothing at all. That just takes the fun right out of TV game shows. Not to mention that poor, luckless contestant has now been immortalized on YouTube. Ever notice how big losses and $0 wins are much more likely to end up on there than, say, a nice $50K win?
Anyway, both percentages are included, so gameplay was excellent this week, with that one nagging exception.
Once Meredith starts introducing consolation prizes for $0 winners on air, I'll get rid of the Llama Penalty.