My Dilemma

[BobF]

I'm in the contestant pool and in graduate school.

Of course, Jeopardy! tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

My next class I have my eye on meets for 11 consecutive Tuesdays from October to December.

I'm thinking that blocking out 11 Tuesdays will kill what already miniscule chances I have of being on the show. So I think I might just block out 12/11-12 and 12/18-19 plus the midterm week around 11/6-7. Or just hope I get a really understanding professor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[legendneverdies]

I'm in the contestant pool and in graduate school.

Of course, Jeopardy! tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

My next class I have my eye on meets for 11 consecutive Tuesdays from October to December.

I'm thinking that blocking out 11 Tuesdays will kill what already miniscule chances I have of being on the show. So I think I might just block out 12/11-12 and 12/18-19 plus the midterm week around 11/6-7. Or just hope I get a really understanding professor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I don't know if J! tapes the week before Xmas. And they only tape 46 days a year, so some of those Tue. and Wed. dates won't be taping dates. Not sure if they've set the tape dates for the new season or not. The November tourney(s), whichever one(s) they do in November, will tape in October. I think the champ on this week had to miss some law school classes to tape his shows.

[Paucle]

IMO, whenever anything to do with appearing on Jeopardy! is one of the two choices, NWIH there's a dilemma involved! (assuming the literal definition, of course)

[bpmod]

I'm in the contestant pool and in graduate school.

Of course, Jeopardy! tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

My next class I have my eye on meets for 11 consecutive Tuesdays from October to December.

I'm thinking that blocking out 11 Tuesdays will kill what already miniscule chances I have of being on the show. So I think I might just block out 12/11-12 and 12/18-19 plus the midterm week around 11/6-7. Or just hope I get a really understanding professor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'd say, put that horse right over there... yes, there. Then take the cart and put it behind the horse... yes, over there like that.

But seriously, from what I've heard, if/when you get the call, the Jeopardy! people, seeing as they want you to be on the show, will show great flexibility and work with you to make that happen.

Brian

[the_phil]

But seriously, from what I've heard, if/when you get the call, the Jeopardy! people, seeing as they want you to be on the show, will show great flexibility and work with you to make that happen.

I would think that a reasonable professor will think to themself, "Self, I think I should be ok with this. BobF is clearly a bright individual with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. An opportunity that not only could bring him wads of cash, but also another nugget of acclaim to our department at Somewhere U."

Plus, it would only be a singleton miss (unless you *really* roll, in which case it's 2).

[alietr]

a) Deliberately scheduling around Jeopardy will definitely jinx it.
b) It's been estimated that your chances of getting on in general are 10-20% once you're in the pool. Adjust that percentage by how good a contestant/demographics-beater you think you are.
c) It's not worth scheduling your life around. You'll figure it out if and when the time comes.

[MarkBarrett]

My response on the form for listing unavailable dates was, "You call me, I'm there."

[BobF]

I'm in the contestant pool and in graduate school.

Of course, Jeopardy! tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

My next class I have my eye on meets for 11 consecutive Tuesdays from October to December.

I'm thinking that blocking out 11 Tuesdays will kill what already miniscule chances I have of being on the show. So I think I might just block out 12/11-12 and 12/18-19 plus the midterm week around 11/6-7. Or just hope I get a really understanding professor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'd say, put that horse right over there... yes, there. Then take the cart and put it behind the horse... yes, over there like that.

But seriously, from what I've heard, if/when you get the call, the Jeopardy! people, seeing as they want you to be on the show, will show great flexibility and work with you to make that happen.

Brian

Yeah, I get that I'm putting the cart before the horse, but I like to plan things out. Thanks to you and the other folks for your advice - I also e-mailed one of the office personnel asking that on the off chance I got the call if I could switch midstream to an online session. Online classes < real-life classes at this school, though.

[Bamaman]

Win enough money so you can drop the class and take it next semester if you have to. Or win a whole bunch of money so you can forget grad school altogether and retire.

[zakharov]

Why stop there? Win millions and start your own game show.

[Bob78164]

What's your field? Attendance is much more importance in some fields than in others.

[BobF]

What's your field? Attendance is much more importance in some fields than in others.

My degree would be a Masters in Information Science. The course is Financial Accounting. I just completed an Econ course, and majoring in Econ/Accounting in college, I found the course to largely be a review of concepts I learned as an undergrad (albeit parts of a few courses rolled into one).

[davey]

I'm in the contestant pool and in graduate school.

Of course, Jeopardy! tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

My next class I have my eye on meets for 11 consecutive Tuesdays from October to December.

I'm thinking that blocking out 11 Tuesdays will kill what already miniscule chances I have of being on the show. So I think I might just block out 12/11-12 and 12/18-19 plus the midterm week around 11/6-7. Or just hope I get a really understanding professor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

If I were your professor, I'd forgive you sooner for missing my class for Jeopardy! than I would for misspelling minuscule...

[Johnblue]

a) Deliberately scheduling around Jeopardy will definitely jinx it.
b) It's been estimated that your chances of getting on in general are 10-20% once you're in the pool. Adjust that percentage by how good a contestant/demographics-beater you think you are.
c) It's not worth scheduling your life around. You'll figure it out if and when the time comes.

I hate that "demographics" is a factor.

[CAPS LOCK]

I'm in the contestant pool and in graduate school.

Of course, Jeopardy! tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

My next class I have my eye on meets for 11 consecutive Tuesdays from October to December.

I'm thinking that blocking out 11 Tuesdays will kill what already miniscule chances I have of being on the show. So I think I might just block out 12/11-12 and 12/18-19 plus the midterm week around 11/6-7. Or just hope I get a really understanding professor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

If I were your professor, I'd forgive you sooner for missing my class for Jeopardy! than I would for misspelling minuscule...

Miniscule is an accepted alternate spelling of minuscule in (generally) every dictionary. In my anecdotal-observation view, I see the i-version much more often.

[jeff6286]

You could always just make a cardboard cutout of yourself, or maybe a wax dummy, to sit in your seat so that it appears you are in class while you're busy taping Jeopardy! Or maybe hire someone to take your place, perhaps wearing a hoodie and sunglasses. You could offer them some set percentage of whatever you happen to win as a fee. I don't think Ferris Bueller or Zack Morris would have ever had any trouble working a Jeopardy! taping into their schedules.

[jpahk]

Miniscule is an accepted alternate spelling of minuscule in (generally) every dictionary. In my anecdotal-observation view, I see the i-version much more often.

i see miniscule a lot more, too, but my dictionary (the new oxford american) lists it as a "nonstandard spelling", rather than a variant. it definitely carries that whiff of disapprobation. and here's the usage note from m-w:

The adjective minuscule is etymologically related to minus, but associations with mini- have produced the spelling variant miniscule. This variant dates to the end of the 19th century, and it now occurs commonly in published writing, but it continues to be widely regarded as an error.

[davey]

I'm in the contestant pool and in graduate school.

Of course, Jeopardy! tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

My next class I have my eye on meets for 11 consecutive Tuesdays from October to December.

I'm thinking that blocking out 11 Tuesdays will kill what already miniscule chances I have of being on the show. So I think I might just block out 12/11-12 and 12/18-19 plus the midterm week around 11/6-7. Or just hope I get a really understanding professor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

If I were your professor, I'd forgive you sooner for missing my class for Jeopardy! than I would for misspelling minuscule...

board

Miniscule is an accepted alternate spelling of minuscule in (generally) every dictionary. In my anecdotal-observation view, I see the i-version much more often.

Not in my class...Do you also see the usage, "Two minis two equals zero..."? Only from careless spellers who don't know the origin of the word, I think...Forgivable on a chatboard, of course, not so much in a paper or published source.

[BobF]

If I were your professor, I'd forgive you sooner for missing my class for Jeopardy! than I would for misspelling minuscule...

board

Miniscule is an accepted alternate spelling of minuscule in (generally) every dictionary. In my anecdotal-observation view, I see the i-version much more often.

Not in my class...Do you also see the usage, "Two minis two equals zero..."? Only from careless spellers who don't know the origin of the word, I think...Forgivable on a chatboard, of course, not so much in a paper or published source.

Hey, I'm a math/science/finance guy, cut me a break. Thanks again to all. I've started looking into being able to swap out the in person class (my preference) for an online section should I get the call.

[bpmod]

... should I get The Call.

Fixed that for you.

Brian