From e8d3599771d290cfff7b3ddd874eecde123fa00f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Neale Pickett Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 15:02:06 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] curmudgeon blog post --- .../_index.md | 7 -- .../.gitignore | 2 + .../_index.md | 97 +++++++++++++++++++ .../awardPoints.mjs | 0 .../dataset.css | 0 .../dataset.mjs | 0 .../feisresults.mjs | 0 .../feisworx.mjs | 0 .../types.mjs | 0 .../wat.html | 0 content/blog/2022-10-28-curmudgeon.md | 37 +++++++ 11 files changed, 136 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md create mode 100644 content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/.gitignore create mode 100644 content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md rename content/blog/{2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis => 2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis}/awardPoints.mjs (100%) rename content/blog/{2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis => 2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis}/dataset.css (100%) rename content/blog/{2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis => 2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis}/dataset.mjs (100%) rename content/blog/{2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis => 2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis}/feisresults.mjs (100%) rename content/blog/{2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis => 2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis}/feisworx.mjs (100%) rename content/blog/{2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis => 2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis}/types.mjs (100%) rename content/blog/{2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis => 2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis}/wat.html (100%) create mode 100644 content/blog/2022-10-28-curmudgeon.md diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md b/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md deleted file mode 100644 index de873cf..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: CLRG Results Analysis -date: 2022-10-10T10:13:00-06:00 -draft: true ---- - -Hello there. diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/.gitignore b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/.gitignore new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2292010 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/.gitignore @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +# I don't have rights to copy any of the data :( +*.xml diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c6e1f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/_index.md @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +--- +title: CLRG Results Analysis +date: 2022-10-28T10:45:00-0600 +--- + +# Our Findings + +Here's a summary of what the team I've been working with has found: + +## It's clearly widespread throughout the organization + +It's more than 12 people. +It's more than 24 people. +It's probably more than 48 people. +Every data set we found had some pretty clear weirdness, +and that was before we looked at the judges we were finding weirdness with. +Once we tied names back in, +we were like, "oh, yeah, that's what we thought all along." + +So unless there are some *major* changes made, +we're still going to have corruption in CLRG. +That's just the world you're in. +I hope any new families getting involved understand this. +In order to get into the upper tiers, +the way you compete becomes more about politics than dancing. +And by "politics" I mean Machiavellian politics. + +# Why I'm Not Publishing Any More Tools + +I started writing a thing to highlight weirdness in CLRG rankings. +You'd give it a ranking sheet, +and it would highlight what weirdness it found, +with an explanation about why it looks weird and what it might mean. + +But I gave up after a day's work. +Here's why: + +## I don't have the right to copy data + +The results of competitions is owned by various companies. It seems to be a +different company depending on who gets the contract to provide the scoring +software for a particular event. In any case, none of them provide a license +that allows me to redistribute their data. That means I can't host any scores on +this web site: you have to get it from the company that owns it. + +## The data is distributed as PDF files + +Adobe Acrobat (or whatever they call it now) actually has an "export as XML" +function that does a good job turning PDF files back into something like a +spreadsheet. + +In order for any tool I make to be generally useful, I would also need to +provide instructions on doing that Acrobat export, probably with an accompanying +video and multiple screen shots. I don't even run Windows or Mac OS, to say +nothing of being notoriously bad at this sort of instructional page / video. + +## It's not clear anybody really cares + +Reading the "voy forums", it's clear that the main thing people are getting out +of this is righteous indignation. I don't think a post full of math would really +appeal to the people there. + +I'm in touch with a couple of reporters covering this story, but I don't think +the math angle is going to be very interesting to their readership either. + +That means I'd need to go and try to figure out who *does* care. I found a small +group of people who care, and this group has already loaded some data into a +spreadsheet and done a manual analysis. + +After finding mathematical evidence supporting what we already knew (this whole +process is corrupt), what then? I guess I just go on with my life. + +I can already just go on with my life, I don't have to put in a bunch of work first. + +# Do you care? + +Are you a regular reader of my blog? (HA HA HA) Do you care about mathematical +analysis of this stuff? Are you willing to jump through some technical hoops in +order to look at things without running afoul of copyright law? Get in touch +with me and let me know there's actually an audience! + +All of the code I wrote is checked in to git for this blog page. +So you don't even need to contact me, +you can just take the scraping code and go nuts. +It uses a standard API for scraped data from two different sources, +does some smarts to determine missing data, +and should be pretty simple to interface with. +If you need help getting the XML data into it, +I'd be glad to help you with that. + +Here are the files: + +* [feisworx.mjs](Feisworx report scraping code) +* [feisresults.mjs](Feis Results report scraping code) +* [awardpoints.mjs](Code to guess placing given award points, used by feisresults.mjs) +* [types.mjs](JSDoc documentation of some global data structures) +* [dataset.mjs](Some stub code to populate an HTML page with data) diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/awardPoints.mjs b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/awardPoints.mjs similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/awardPoints.mjs rename to content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/awardPoints.mjs diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.css b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.css similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.css rename to content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.css diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.mjs b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.mjs similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.mjs rename to content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/dataset.mjs diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisresults.mjs b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisresults.mjs similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisresults.mjs rename to content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisresults.mjs diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisworx.mjs b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisworx.mjs similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisworx.mjs rename to content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/feisworx.mjs diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/types.mjs b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/types.mjs similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/types.mjs rename to content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/types.mjs diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/wat.html b/content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/wat.html similarity index 100% rename from content/blog/2022-10-10-CLRG-Results-Analysis/wat.html rename to content/blog/2022-10-28-CLRG-Results-Analysis/wat.html diff --git a/content/blog/2022-10-28-curmudgeon.md b/content/blog/2022-10-28-curmudgeon.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ff9f9b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022-10-28-curmudgeon.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +--- +title: My technological flag in the sand +date: 2022-10-28T14:59:00-0600 +--- + +Elon Musk just bought Twitter. It got me thinking about Twitter, something that +comes up a lot, because a lot happens there in 2022, and some of that filters +through to me. + +I've long known that the day would come when I would just not be willing to +accept some sort of societal change, and this would be what defined me as an old +person. This isn't some unique thing I'd be doing: this is a time-honored human +trait. Previous generations have put their flags in the sand by rejecting polyphonic +sacred music, rejecting automobiles, rejecting email, and rejecting smartphones. + +Today I realized what my flag in the sand is going to be. I am not going to +become active on Twitter, or Instagram, or Facebook, or Myspace, or LiveJournal. +I see no personal benefit to adopting the newer technologies, and I see a lot of +personal benefits to avoiding them. + +I'm not doing this because I think it's just a fad that humanity will move past. +No: now that we have it, and are beginning to realize how it actually works, +we're having to figure out how to use it responsibly as a species. This is a +pretty familiar story for any new technology. I'm just deciding I'm not +interested in being a part of that process. + +At some point, some related technology will come along and sweep me up with it. +It will be awkward for me, and young people will recognize that I'm just no good +at it. They'll wonder how any human being could be so inept at something so +obvious. It will become a mental shortcut for the elderly that they are awkward +or near-inept at this technology, and people who can't get it will band together +and discuss how pointless it is and how they just can't understand why anyone +needs it. We'll watch with some degree of sadness as our way of life dies with +us. + +When you hear writers and philosophers talking about how limited lifespans are a +gift to humanity, they're talking about this sort of thing.