Bkd Reader

3 hours ago, lightninglad said:

99 was my initial thought, but the phrase "Some of them are honest SHIELD agents" would seem to imply that there is more than 1 honest SHIELD agent in the group.  Is that how the original riddle is phrased?   Not trying to be negative, I'm genuinely curious.  Thanks!

From Fivethiryeight: 'In a legislature, there are 100 politicians. Each is either honest or crooked; some of the legislature is honest, and some of it is crooked. However, if you choose any two politicians at random, at least one is crooked. How many honest politicians are there?' --

You are correct, should have phrased it 'each' instead of 'some'. For being correct, and because it seems as though

I will hook you up with the IP prize. I should probably stop trying to juggle this and Zoom meetings at the same time.

For me:

For @comicginger1789

Question 3: So I enjoy both playing and DMing D&D (5e). My niece was very little when she started ‘playing’ (I use the word very loosely since she was about 1). But she played as my sister’s 3^rd level Druid’s familiar. The same type of creature appeared in a volume of short stories from 1928. What creature did my niece play as? Prize: Lets stay fantasy and do some LOTR stuff, a coloring changing glass and a nice Frodo Mini-Epic figure (IP: $10) (Pic incoming, added). Won by Max Carnage.

Drama! Sorry, I just like doing that. Anyway, even though the message appeared second in my board messages, it is marked as 6:29PM ET in both my email and, oddly, the board PM, a full 12 minutes before  @valiantman. We have a new Winner @comicginger1789! However, since the error occurred and we have no losers here, except, ya know, the people that don't play, I will absolutely be hooking @valiantman with Warrior Nun 1-3 10th anniversary editions (my backup set). Now for question 3....

Actually, Stand By! A message just arrived in my box, but it is marked as before Valiantman's! Drama!!! Or, most likely, a delay in either the board or my internet. I am going to check the time on each, confirm it with my email (which automatically gets my messages and marks the times) and make sure we have the correct winner. Immediately after that, I will post the next question.

Two questions in and @valiantman is taking it all. Another question coming within the hour if anyone else wants to get in and prove they are smarter than the resident statistician who is hogging all the prizes.

And @valiantman with the quick victory at 6:41PM ET. The answer is 99 hydra agents, I will let Valiantman explain:  'If there are 98 (or fewer) Hydra agents, there is a chance, however small, that you could select two agents at random and have zero Hydra agents'. I would love to take credit for this question but it actually comes from the wonderful statistics based website Fivethirtyeight.com (their version involved 100 crooked politicians). Well done Sir!

And since that was answered so quickly, I will post another question within the hour.

Ack, sorry, work meeting ran way over time. Anyway, your question:

Question 2 – In your local SHIELD office, there are 100 agents. Some of them are honest SHIELD agents and some of them are secretly Hydra agents. If you choose any two agents at random, at least one will be Hydra agent. How many Hydra agents are there in the office? (Looking for the answer and why it is that answer, need both). Prize: Warrior Nun 1 (1994) and Warrior Nun 1-3 10^th Anniversary Edition (Netlix show coming soon) (International Prize: $25) (Won by Comicginger1789)

Question 2 coming around 4:30PM ET, maybe a bit before, maybe a bit after. The Prize will be Warrior Nun #1 (1994) comic and Warrior Nun 1, 2, and 3 10th anniversary edition comics (Netflix show coming soon!)(WIll post pic of the comics with the question). See ya in a bit.

And we have a winner for Question 1! Congrats to @valiantman  for submitting the winning answer at 12:13PM ET: Lev Grossman wrote the Magicians series, one of my favorites, which spun into a TV show and comic series of the same name. The graphic novel he co-wrote was called The Magician's: Alice's Story. And it is true he interviewed Neil Gaiman along with tons of other huge names in the Tech and Literature fields. Congrats on the win! Question 2 coming soon.

No correct answer yet, but I'm out for the evening. Hopefully, I'm talking to myself less tomorrow.

Question 1: This former columnist wrote for Wired, Time, and the NY Times, among others, before pivoting to write novels. His first book series was turned into a TV show and a comic book series, and he helped co-write a graphic novel starring one of his characters. During his time as a columnist, he even interviewed another columnist turned author turned comic creator, Neil Gaiman. Please message me with the name of the author and the name of the graphic novel he co-wrote. Prize: The Untamed Graphic Novel by Jones, Bergting,  and May (Or international prize $15) (won by Valiantman)

Or maybe you can't. No worries, I have faith you will do better once the questions start. I am heading out to play makeshift tennis. While I try to get some exercise, I will leave you with Question 1. I fully expect someone to have the correct answer PMed me by the time I am through, if so, I will post the winner at 9PM ET, and may or may not post question 2, depending on how much I want to discriminate against East Coast folks and how many responses I get. So...

One more, then we will start.

2 minutes ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

 

Thanks for that!

I started a contest in Modern with prizes if anyone is interested in playing.

Welcome to the Covid Quarantine Contest (CQC)

Greetings fellow boardies!

                  I wanted to spread a little cheer in this rough time, so let us play a game! First an explainer, then the rules, then we play.

 Some of you may have seen my posts around, though I mostly lurk. I have been a bad boardie recently and have been largely absent these last few months, mostly because of stuff and things. But I figured if I was going to start lurking on the boards again, might as well do this, too. (I swear boosting my paltry post count has nothing to do with it...)

So, the worldwide lockdown, huh? Currently, myself and everyone in my sphere are healthy and maintaining; I hope the same is true for you. If not, I hope you find some semblance of solace or normalcy here. Since most of us are, hopefully, home or social distancing as much as possible, a game seemed appropriate. Just so you know, I will pack all items while wearing gloves and a mask, and I’m not sick so far as I know, however, it is probably a good idea to quarantine the package for a few days before opening.

Why did you put it in the Modern section? Well, first, because the General section is intimidating. Second, because most the prizes will be modern stuff. Third, because I want to.

Okay, boring, what about the game? At its most basic, I am going to post a question, and the first person to message me with the answer wins. I will post the correct answer, the winner’s name, and the time of the message in the thread once the winner is established (or as soon as possible since sleep, work, hours immersed in VR or gaming, etc., may prevent me from posting the winner immediately). I chose to do the answer via messages over just posting the answer in the thread since it may give an advantage to those who post later by process of elimination. Please know that while I have bought things off boardies and participated in contests and Xmas stuff, I have no reason to play favorites. That being said, every now and then a question may pop up in which I may have provided an answer via PM to a boardie, either through something like Xmas preferences or just general chatter, that individual will be unable to participate for that particular question, apologies in advance to those select few folks. This thread will run until at least the start of May and probably longer, or until I run out of stuff since the LCSs here are currently closed.

 Sorry, no one on the board’s naughty lists will be allowed to participate. (There is an exception - I think I can get away with this as I have seen other exceptions on the boards, if not, let me know - because we are in times of crisis where a large number of people around the world are in need, if you send me a pic of you holding your phone or next to your computer monitor with a digital receipt, donated under your board name, dated from today onward, for $200 US (or equivalent in another currency), and donated to one of the United Way Worldwide, Heart to Heart International, or Crisis Aid International, I will post the pic in this thread and you can play even if you are on one of the lists. Seems fair. If you want to do this and are not on one of the lists, I will post the pic in the thread, sing your praises throughout the contest, and probably throw in a thank you goody).

Can you tell us more about the questions? The questions will be posted randomly. Some days may be 2 or more questions a day, sometimes it may be every other day. Just depends on my mood and how long it takes a question to be answered correctly. I will rarely give hints and any I do give will be on this thread; most people on here are quite resourceful and it is unlikely a hint will be required. Please do not message me for hints, anyone that does will be banned for that question. You get ONE guess per question, make it count.

**Please start a new PM for each question and label it ‘CQC Question 1’ or whichever question we are on, it will help me keep track of the exact time of the message without having to go through old messages.

More about the questions; they will be either comic or nerd related. This includes but is not limited to comics, comic authors, sci-fi or fantasy authors/books/TV shows/Movies, STEM questions, board game or role-playing questions such as D&D, Settlers of Catan, etc., basically anything you might find at a Con. Some questions may involve the message boards here, I may ask you to hunt down a specific quote or thread. Scavenger hunts are also fair game.  I will specify what I am looking for in the answer such as comic book issue #, author and thread title, name of character, etc.

What about prizes? Along with each question I will post a prize. Most prizes will be in the $5-$15 value range, a few may be in the $20-$50 value range, probably none higher than that. I will ship anywhere in the US or Canada. Since I would rather not pay $50 or more to ship a $5 item internationally, I will also post a dollar amount near the prize that I will PayPal to anyone outside of the US or Canada that should win, that way everyone gets to play (though again, it will typically be between $5-$15). If anyone would like to donate a prize, hit me up on PM and I’ll work it in. Prizes may be comics/graphic novels, Funkos or statues, random nerd stuff, maybe some autographed books, basically whatever I think people on here might enjoy, though most will be modern age stuff.

 I will ship the prizes or transfer the PayPal when I can. It may take a few days or a week or two (I might wait until a few winners build up then do ‘em at the same time to avoid multiple trips out). Either way, patience is a virtue. I will email the winner after the win to get any pertinent information.

If you have questions or issues PM me.  

Please refrain from talking about the answer until after it is posted!

Lastly, have fun! I expect lots of fun memes, some friendly trash talk, and the usual banter

I will start once at least 5 people have posted a nerdy meme here, just so I know we have enough people to make the first question competitive (yes I know this might take a bit since it is the modern section).

LET’S PLAY!

Top 20 two years in a row. You rock, Elves!

14 hours ago, shiverbones said:

I will jump in, offering a sandman 4 Cgc 8.5 and a few surprise extras, us and Canada for shipping

 

Love Gaiman.

My prize: $40 PayPal from me to you, plus if you live in the US or Canada, a small mystery mix of random copper and/or modern raw books (if outside of the US/Canada I'll make it $60 PayPal instead of the books). (Shipped/PayPal'd around Jan. 3rd when I get back in town).

$914.20

My secret Santa package arrived safe! Thank you Santa! Its currently under the tree and will remain there, calling out to me, until the 25th.

I'm shipping mine out tomorrow. Would've been today if not for me forgetting to add the card, but should hopefully still arrive well ahead of the holidays.

I had a blast shopping, and it's very cool knowing I have at least 1 comic related present waiting. Big thanks to @HollyJollyOnefor putting this whole thing on. Your effort is greatly appreciated and you make the holiday season a bit brighter, thank you.

PM sent. Thanks, looking forward to shopping!

Ack, three of my top 5 are still left and they are all wonderful. Choices! #67 please, the baseball will go nicely in my nerd room. Thanks to all!

2 minutes ago, obiedagod said:

Great choice, I was really hoping that one would drop a bit further.