The most recent Excel Esports challenge, titled "The Simple Case" was a brilliant piece of creativity. You had to do sums with fifty-digit numbers (too long for Excel to calculate exactly) using Excel. That's exactly the kind of thing I would like to think I could do well, but actually, I was completely rubbish at figuring out the best way to do it within the time limit. I blame the early-morning start, or possibly just the fact that I'm generally completely rubbish. But I do appreciate the cleverness of thinking the task up!
Another early start tomorrow will be followed by another exercise in computerised simplicity. I'm going to Newcastle for the British Othello Championship, and have been volunteered to run the pairing program at short notice. Another thing I'm rubbish at is saying no, which should have been easy since two other competitors had already explained that they're too scared of apps to do something like this. But as everyone knows, I'm entirely incapable of turning people down, despite my own all-conquering fear of apps and technology in general.
But in all fairness, the "app" in question (which can be run on a laptop like normal things and doesn't require a mobile phone at all) is supremely simple and requires no more brainpower than typing in names and numbers and clicking a button to say you've done it. I'm almost not scared of it at all! And it looks possible that we'll have ten competitors for the nine-round competition, which is the kind of arrangement that can be done on old-fashioned pen and paper with no apps or anything anyway. It probably won't be a spectacular disaster in any way, except in the sense that I'll probably lose all my games and then a big weight will fall on me. I'm prepared for the worst, you see.
