For the panel...

[colzo]

SHOES!! lol i need a pair of shoes...
i think hats can b included if possible !
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[bob]

I've had an idea I need to put to the panel. how about we each get maybe one or two challenges included just because we know we are going to do them? basically because lots of times we do quite funny things by accident and they have nothing to do with the 500. So basically you can include 'when in rome do what the romans do' because its a pity to waste such a big trip. but of course we need to limit it, maybe two per person, and we'll collectively decide on the points. what do you think?

[colzo]

thats a gd idea ... sounds like a gd1 der bob!

[bob]

Actually I need the panel's opinion.

[Jonny Kirk]

i think it is a good idea. how about having a points limit, rather than the number of challenges. it would be a bit unfair if someone did two funny things worth 90 points, and someone else did two things only worth 10 points. if we say have a limit of 180 points (or some other total), then when we do some funny things, we can put it to the panel to see how many points it would be worth. then we can add it in to whatever category we see fit. what do you think?

[colzo]

sorry bob! was jus gna give an opinion - u don't need 2 act upon it!
sorry 4 speaking

[teamak]

the title is "for the panel" the panel being the founding members, but yeah thats sounds grand i say 100 points its enough to be worth it but not too much to make a huge difference to the points total, lets not forget its all about the banter

[Jonny Kirk]

for "smash a melon with a big mallet", will a smaller mallet do? i've been struggling to actually find a large mallet, but found several smaller ones that would do just as well.

[bob]

Sounds ok to me, I have come across the same mallety problem.

[robster]

How are you defining mallet? Generally, mallets by definition aren't that big. Do you want to emphasise the bigness or the malletieness? I've got a 24lb sledge hammer, but it's not a mallet...

[Jonny Kirk]

my dad managed to hoak out some mallets for me, but although not massive, will be big enough to make sure a watermelon will explode on impact. which is in fact what we are trying to do. we could get a big mallet and smash it, but it could end up looking rubbish. comedy is the key here - perhaps we are too strict sometimes on the rules.

i have a few questions to put to the panel, with regards a possible point allocation change. and its not just cos i did them and want more points (nor was i the first to do them), but its the effort to required to do some of them were much greater than the rest of the ones in the same category. let me explain.

yesterday, i found father ted's house (which bob has already done). on paper, this is quite a fun challenge. in reality, this equates to a 14 hour round trip of constant driving and about 2 breaks (starting at carrickfergus and ending in belfast), through some of the most badly sign posted places ever, just to take a picture of some guys house which is near impossible to find (i did not find one single signpost to the town that the house is near). it was a relief to actually find the house, and satisfying once we got there, but after we found it, we pretty much had to go and start our 6 hour drive back again. although its worth big points, i managed to accumulate the same number of points by walking 20 metres outside my house and standing under a tree during a thunderstorm. if you take into account that AK will probably do the father ted challenge on his own, driving down on his bike through the back end of nowhere with noone to tell him which to direction to go in (meaning he'll have to get off his bike at several points and look at a map making the journey time even longer) and all under the speed limit (until he passes his test);this is surely worth more than 40 points.

a couple of other ones that should maybe be worth more points: complete the place name challenge. it currently stands at 40, but to find (and complete it) you need to do flippin loads of travelling. so far this has taken me to Rome (to roam), and to Limerick (to say a limerick).

be a long way from Tipperary - this is worth 20 points, and you can do it from anywhere really. however, due to the horrendous road signs in Ireland (no offence, but it does take a while to get used to, and isn't very informative), to get to a sign that tells you how far it is to Tipperary, you have to be within 40 Km of the place. which isn't really that far, but i felt i needed a road sign (or at least be in america or somewhere) to be worthy of the points. 600 miles round-trip for 20 points? doesnt seem right somehow.

now i am not moaning just to get more points, dont get me wrong. but i think there are some challenges that are worthy of more points, when you take into account the time and money it takes to do it. eg the jump off silent valley dam was changed category once we realised how big the jump was, and also the time taken to get there. i'm sure bob can tell you how hard it was to find ted's house (the map he used i think was wrong in places, nor did he have the information that i had which gave fairly precise directions to the house (albeit with wrong spelling of town names) once you worked out where on earth you were).

there are probably a lot of other challenges that people have done that are worth a category change (eg eat a chilli - 5 points?). these are just some i have come across. opinions please oh scumbag panel.

one final thing - would complete a trading card collection count as "complete a sticker album"?

[bob]

Ok I think you're right about a category change for some of the challenges, but it also seems that it will be a long and complicated process. Probably best to wait until I am home and then the panel can get together and decide on them collectively.

And the trading card thing is a no in my book, sorry.

[Jonny Kirk]

by the way - using a sledgehammer works far better than using a mallet for the watermelon. my parents can testify to this, as they witnessed as i built a "melon smashing table" out my back garden. my dad video-taped the attempt, and you can hear my mum laughing in the background.

[cecilwinthorpe]

I know Im not a panel member so I dont have a say but no way can you use a trading card collection as a sticker album! but nice try jonny

[Jonny Kirk]

i asked cos they are quite similar, and card collections are more expensive. plus i was given a completed card collection as a present.

which brings me to my next question. would a complete sticker collection count if someone gave it to you, or you bought one that was already completed?