Monday, October 30, 2017

RC2017/10 -- Final Stretch

We knew the time would come eventually -- the end of the month draws near, and with it the end of the latest RetroChallenge event. It's been a busy month for me, although once again I've been too distracted between real life and my RetroChallenge judging duties to actually do anything on my actual project... :-(

Uncoordinated Stopping Time

The "official" (such as it is) stopping time for the event is midnight on Halloween, 31 October 2017. Just as we allow people to fudge their start time to match midnight in their local timezone, we similarly will recognize that many people will prefer to use their local midnight for their stop time -- no problem, please take that time. Just be on the Honor System to not borrow too much from anyone else's timezone! In any case, time is ticking -- run hard for the finish line!

Here Comes The Judge

We recognize that good documentation is not done in a rush at midnight. So we will give everyone an extra day or so to finish-up your blogging, videography, or whatever. The judge probably won't take too critical of a look at least until this weekend. With all these great projects, it make take a little while to pick winners and announce prizes. Don't worry, the judge is slow but only somewhat unreliable...

Anyway, even before the end gets here I think I can safely say that this has been another great RetroChallenge event. Thanks to all the competitors for the entertainment they are providing to me and other geeks around the world! Now be strong, keep the faith, fight the good fight, check-back here for the judging results sometime in the next couple of weeks or so, and meet back here for RC2018/04 in April 2018.

Oh yeah, and stay tuned...

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

RC2017/10 -- Halftime Report

It is traditional for there to be some sort of half-time report during the RetroChallenge events, and nearly just as traditional for that report to be a bit late... Well, what did you expect this time??

Comments In Blue

Like last time, I have marked my half-time comments on the entrants page. This is convenient for me, as I don't have to retype names, project descriptions, etc. Plus, I think it helps in keeping the comments near the projects themselves. In other words, I hope you like it because I intend to keep doing it for each event. The final comments will be done similarly, but in another color... :-)

Fourth Quarter Rally

All in all, I'd say we have a nice group of projects and some great contenders this time around. Sure, we have the usual few that still haven't made it out of the gate, but we have some folks that have made great progress and even one or two that could hang-up their soldering iron today and still make a good finish. I'm not sure we have many projects that meet our usual level of absurdity, but there is still time for that too!

So, get out there, check my comments, peek in at the competition, and get to going for the final week of the competition. If you are only observing, then check out my comments, let us know if you agree or disagree, and then cheer your favorites on their path to victory and glory...or at least victory... :-)

And remember, to see what happens you will need to stay tuned!