Earlier this week, Barsham posted an idea in the project zone suggesting that live streaming coverage of rolls would be a good project for the BAA.  Well, you say it, we do it!  We’re trying it out for the first time tomorrow (Sunday 11/13) from 7-9am.  If you’re by a computer, check it out and let us know what you think.  Please forgive any technical difficulties on our first run.

http://cmubuggy.org/live

Live streaming is currently broadcast through USTREAM.tv. Join the cmubuggy Buzz chat room if you’re watching and share your comments. Are the ads super annoying? It would cost about $500 to remove them (and broadcast in HD) for the year. Let us know if you think that would be worthwhile (or any other ideas/improvements) in the Project Zone discussion on live broadcasts.

An unexpected dose of rain/snow hit Pittsburgh Saturday morning and put the kibosh on most of our fun Céilidh plans, but not all was lost.  We were still in the mix of events in the UC with our table full of info and popular “Future Buggy Pusher” shirts for the kids.  Tom Wood’s fall 2011 edition of the History of Buggy was well attended and featured the 2011 winning buggy, Bonsai next to PiKA’s T-2 from 1968.  Thanks to everyone who came out for the talk or to chat with us at the table.

We were very sorry to miss out on rolls because we had donuts and coffee ordered and quite a few folks were planning on coming out, but also because we were excited to find out who took home the $250 prize for Fantasy Buggy.  Don’t worry, we’ll get a winner no matter how many times the weather screws with us.  Here are some new details:

• Times for Fantasy Buggy will now be taken this Sunday, Nov 6th.
• Sunday was picked instead of Saturday because daylight savings ends Sunday morning, meaning rolls on Sunday will be 1 hour longer, starting around 7am.
• New entries will continue to be accepted until 11:59pm this Friday, Nov 4th.
• If you entered previously and something about the change of date/start time/weather/moon phase affects your meticulously calculated predictions (or if you’ve just changed your mind), you may submit a new entry.  Make sure you use the same name and e-mail as your original entry.  Submitting a second entry completely replaces your first entry.  No take-backs.

http://cmubuggy.org/fantasy 

Also, FYI aspiring journalists on the buggy beat, I’ll be missing rolls one last time this semester, so leave a comment or send an e-mail if you would like to help put together the rolls report and I’ll hook you up with the google doc on which you can collaborate.

numberFire is a CMU-style, stats-driven fantasy football oracle founded by buggy alum and cmubuggy.org regular Nik Bonaddio. nF is sponsoring the prize in our first ever fantasy buggy game. Check them out, the numbers are good.

Buggy is the best.  Fantasy sports are fun.  Why did we not think of this earlier?  The Buggy Alumni Association brings you for the first time ever, Fantasy Buggy.  Even better, this is for the big time.  Make better picks than anyone else, and you’ll walk away with $250, enough for a ticket to carnival (or almost enough, depending on where you live and how good you are at shopping for tickets).

You can get the full details here  http://cmubuggy.org/fantasy

The basic idea is that you are trying to pick the fastest team you can from the rolls that happen next weekend during the Céilidh festivities, Oct 29th.  To do so, you must pick 4 freerolls and 4 backhills.  The sum of those times is your score (see the detailed rules).  The tough part?  You can only make one pick from each organization.  Every entry will need to pick one element from each org on the course.  You’re rooting for everyone this homecoming!

Here are some more details on the rules, but hit up the fantasy buggy page for the full details and to make your picks.  One entry per person, so choose wisely.  All picks must be in by Friday Oct 28, 11:59pm.

Basics

• Pick 4 freerolls and 4 back hills
• Each pick specifies Org-Roll-Buggy-Segment (e.g. SigEp-Roll2-Barracuda-Freeroll)
• Must make 1 and only 1 pick from each org
• 1 entry per person

Scoring

• Score = total of 4 freeroll times + 4 back hill times
• Segments that don’t happen (the buggy isn’t out or doesn’t roll the specified roll) are given that org’s worst time +1 second
• Spins or stops are given the overall worst time + 2 seconds
• Women’s freerolls are given their time – 3 seconds
• Women’s backhills are given their time – 6 seconds
• Tie-breaker: closest guess on winning men’s hill 2->finish time

Get it?  If not, leave a comment and we’ll sort things out.  Tell your friends!

> CMU has decided “homecoming” is way too mainstream for a campus that spends more time pushing small women down hills than we do watching our football team. Get ready for some Céilidh. I still can’t pronounce it, but it does seem to be drawing some extra energy into what was once a pretty dull event on campus. It’s still about the alumni, and we are the Buggy Alumni Association, so we’re stepping up our game…

Without further ado, the lineup of exciting events for the very first Céilidh weekend, Saturday October 29th (that’s next weekend, not this weekend)

• Fantasy Buggy.  That’s right, the NFL’s got it, the MLB’s got it, (I think the NHL must have it, but I’m not sure anyone plays), and now we’ve brought it to buggy.  Whether you’re going to be in town or following along from home, fantasy buggy is your chance to get rich off buggy for the first time.  We’ve got a cash prize on the table and if you can pick the fastest rolls of the day, it’s all yours.  Details coming out first thing tomorrow.   Make your picks between tomorrow and Friday the 28th, times collected on Céilidh.
• Mini-mini-Raceday.  Sweepstakes is also putting up some TBA prizes for the teams that can put down the fastest times on Sept 29th.  This year’s committee has decided to up the ante by offering prizes for men’s and women’s times, but also for the best downhill and backhills times.  Should make things interesting.
• Free BAA Coffee and donuts.  Come out for rolls on Céilidh Saturday and find the BAA alumni table at the top of hill 2.  If you’re in town and you’re going to come out to rolls once this semester, make it Céilidh.  We’ll hook you up with some snacks and good fantasy buggy trash talk.
• Actual breakfast at rolls.  The Exchange (formerly Ginger’s Deli (formerly The Fluted Mushroom)) will be open during rolls in anticipation of the larger than normal crowds.  Stop by and get some egg-and-cheese sammiches, etc.
• History of Buggy.  Tom Wood will be giving his critically acclaimed account of the history of buggy.  Come on by Rangos I & II, University Center from 2:00p – 3:30p to get yourself educated.
• BAA Membership & Info table.  This probably isn’t too exciting if you’re already reading the website, but we’ll be out tabling from 11:30-3:30 in the UC.  Stop by and say hi!