2018 Team Competition Tracker/Google Sheet Central

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I quietly made every Blood Eagles team name blood red that wasn't locked :)

[jess]

Iain wrote: "I quietly made every Blood Eagles team name blood red that wasn't locked :)"

#bloodeagled

[Siobhan]

Iain wrote: "I quietly made every Blood Eagles team name blood red that wasn't locked :)"

Hehe xD

Congrats on getting to 100 points!

Ahem, I mean, Boooo! Down with that sort of thing!

[Choko]

Siobhan wrote: "Iain wrote: "I quietly made every Blood Eagles team name blood red that wasn't locked :)"

Hehe xD

Congrats on getting to 100 points!

Ahem, I mean, Boooo! Down with that sort of thing!"

Hahahahahahaha!!!!!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I fixed the problem with the "Team minus Top Contributor" tally board the other day... and while I was at it I added the sum of those 4 top contributors so I could act like they're a 5th team... this is on the Team Scoreboard...

It's like this little side show I watch now... We (Me, Choko, Laura, and Diana at the moment, altho sometimes it's Bill/Veronica) are in 2nd place in this made up competition, and catching up to House of Chains, who are only ahead 20.5 points...

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Iain wrote: "I fixed the problem with the "Team minus Top Contributor" tally board the other day... and while I was at it I added the sum of those 4 top contributors so I could act like they're a 5th team... th..."

Catching up to House of Chains.... That's cute Iain. LOL!!!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Pretty impressive for a 4-man team, I think...

[jess]

Are all 4/5 of you doing audio? I dont do audio bc i just cant concentrate like that. But thinking ppl who do audio get an unfair advantage...

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Iain wrote: "Pretty impressive for a 4-man team, I think..."

True, true, but the rest of us are still trucking along, lol.
I'll do my best to make it hard for you.

[Siobhan]

Jess wrote: "Are all 4/5 of you doing audio? I dont do audio bc i just cant concentrate like that. But thinking ppl who do audio get an unfair advantage..."

I never find time for audio so they take me longer in the end.

I don't think Laura or Choko do much audio, they're just reading machines xD

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Jess wrote: "Are all 4/5 of you doing audio? I dont do audio bc i just cant concentrate like that. But thinking ppl who do audio get an unfair advantage..."

I think most of the top 10-11 listen to at least some audio in the car or at the gym... but I think I'm the only one that listens to 90-100% audiobooks... and structures my leisure activities around audiobooks...

I know Choko has insomnia, so that factors in to her reading time... and Yanique manages even faster audiobooks speeds than me (my iBooks app doesn't even go to 2.5x....)

[Miche]

Audio takes me twice as longer than reading it myself, so for me is a disadvantage. That's why I prefer to read the books. However the audio is a good companion on traffic and when I am crafting, so I always have one going on with that format for moments like these.

[Brian]

I usually do one audio and read one at the same time. I tried to up the speed to 1.5 but the narrators are so fast I couldn’t keep up 😂. I much prefer to read but audio makes my drive or the gym so much better.

[Rob]

Brian wrote: "I usually do one audio and read one at the same time. I tried to up the speed to 1.5 but the narrators are so fast I couldn’t keep up 😂. I much prefer to read but audio makes my drive or the gym so..."

I am usually in the same boat, though sometimes when I have multiple versions, I'll read print and listen on my commute. I've been trying to listen a little at work, but find it really isn't working for me. The next time I audio, I may try to go to 1.5 speed. Not sure that'll work for me though.

Of course, today is a snow day and I have all 3 kids around, so reading isn't really something I a chance to do. Maybe in a few years when the youngest doesn't need my attention..

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Miche wrote: "Audio takes me twice as longer than reading it myself, so for me is a disadvantage. That's why I prefer to read the books. However the audio is a good companion on traffic and when I am crafting, s..."

I can listen to simple books, re-reads, and books where I have a grasp of the characters at 2x speed (60+ pages per hour)

Examples: Dead Until Dark, The Warrior's Apprentice, Something from the Nightside, Menagerie

I can listen to most other books at 1.25-1.5x speed (40-50 pages per hour)...

The only book I've had to drop down to 1x speed (30 pages per hour) since changing my habits, is something dense and complex like Gardens of the Moon

My Kindle reading speed falls somewhere between 1.5x and 2x speed, depending on the material... altho I was probably around 1x when I read the prologue of Gardens of the Moon on my Kindle a few months ago, since I was re-reading a lot to try and grasp everything...

@Brian: some narrators are positively lethargic... those are the easiest to speed up... when a narrator is already kind of fast, speeding up approaches chipmunk-speech quickly...

[Rob]

Iain wrote: "Miche wrote: "Audio takes me twice as longer than reading it myself, so for me is a disadvantage. That's why I prefer to read the books. However the audio is a good companion on traffic and when I ..."

Gardens of the Moon, even at my third time, I think the 1.5 is a tad too fast. I could totally see listening to the Sookie Stackhouse books at highspeed though. Not going to really miss anything.

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Gardens of the Moon I read in physical form, but if I had done audio I would have had to slow down to 2x I think because it was dense. I'm listening to ASOIAF right now and those are definitely 2.5x reads.
So audiobooks usually go at the same pace as my physical reads.

[Bill]

I actually have an easier time focusing on a faster speed. At 1x it feels like listening to someone who was hit with a tranquilizer.

I noticed that the %Tm Total column for my team House of Chains totals up to 153.9%. Might need some tweaking on the formula.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Those formulas got screwed up when Rob sorted the team totals board... now House of Chains is being divided by Tome Raiders to come up with %s... I think the only one that's still correct is Blood Eagles, since we were in the lead when the sorting happened, so we're still at the top...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

And 1x doesn't sound like a tranquilized person until you try faster speeds... now I agree 100%

[Tammie]

The interesting thing I've noticed about listening to audio at a faster speed is that my brain adjusts to the speed after a minute and it doesn't sound that fast any more. Same for my daughters when we listen in the car together.

[Choko]

How do you guys listen to faster speeds? My ipod has 1.25 as the fastest... What do you listen your audios on?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Choko wrote: "How do you guys listen to faster speeds? My ipod has 1.25 as the fastest... What do you listen your audios on?"

I just use my iPhone's iBooks app... I think it was introduced in iOS 9 when they moved audiobooks out of the iTunes app...

It has 0.75x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x and 2x... I would have to find a new app in the store to go faster, since I don't jailbreak my phones...

Tammie wrote: "The interesting thing I've noticed about listening to audio at a faster speed is that my brain adjusts to the speed after a minute and it doesn't sound that fast any more. Same for my daughters whe..."

When I first started speeding up audiobooks I commented on the chipmunky-ness of it all... but you're right... now I find 1x speed slow... I only find 1.5x to 2x too fast, these days, when I'm being introduced to a new world/cast of characters...

[Yanique, Thread Master]

I use the audible app, I think it goes up to 3x.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yanique wrote: "I use the audible app, I think it goes up to 3x."

Is the audible app better than it was a few years ago?... back when I first got my audible subscription I used the app, but it was terrible about syncing my progress... I could listen to a book as long as I wanted as long as I never unlocked the screen, because when I returned to the app it would be back at the chapter I started on... which was really annoying...

So I downloaded the Audible Download Manager from their website to my computer and started downloading all my audiobooks to PC and loading them into iTunes and then my phone, and just listening with iBooks/iTunes or other 3rd party apps when iBooks acted up...

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Iain wrote: "Yanique wrote: "I use the audible app, I think it goes up to 3x."

Is the audible app better than it was a few years ago?... back when I first got my audible subscription I used the app, but it was..."

I haven't encountered any of these problems so it seems they've made some improvements. I only got the app in 2016.

[Bill]

I have an android phone and use Smart Audiobook player. It has two really great features. The first is that it adjust the time remaining depending on the speed. The second is that it shows percentage completion. Don’t know why audible which is a paid service doesn’t have this.

I also use overdrive, hoopla or audible depending on where I get the book. I always try to download them on my pc and transfer so I can use the smart player but occasionally when I’m out and can’t do that I’m stuck with these.

[Liam]

The audible app works great for me! I've used it on android and iPhone for the last two-three or so, so whatever bugs were on it I think were fixed.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Bill wrote: "I have an android phone and use Smart Audiobook player. It has two really great features. The first is that it adjust the time remaining depending on the speed. The second is that it shows percenta..."

That's what I use, too, the Smart Audiobook player. I just paid for the full version today since my free month expired, and I never buy apps. I love it.

[Rob]

Diana Stormblessed wrote: "Bill wrote: "I have an android phone and use Smart Audiobook player. It has two really great features. The first is that it adjust the time remaining depending on the speed. The second is that it s..."

My app of choice too. Weird though. I had bought it previously. It made me pay for it again as if google play never saw it before. Oh well, $1.99 for awesomeness is worth it.

[Bill]

Thats weird Rob. I bought it over a year ago and when I got a new phone it automatically unlocked. If it hadn’t I would have payed the $2 again because I love it.

[Diana Stormblessed]

That's so weird. They specifically say that when you log into your google account it should audio download again even on a new phone.

[Tammie]

Choko wrote: "How do you guys listen to faster speeds? My ipod has 1.25 as the fastest... What do you listen your audios on?"

I use Audible either on my android phone or on my Kindle. It works fine for me.

[Miche]

I can't go over 1.25 with audiobooks. My brain just shuts down after that speed. lol

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Iain, I remember that glitch - it was so annoying! Luckily they've since fixed it and there hasn't been any issues since.

Also, I complained about not playback speed change for the RB Digital my library uses, but they recently updated it so you can adjust it! I'm in audiobook heaven.

I do higher playback speed if it's a brainless book (ya) and I don't have to pay attention to every tiny detail at 2.0. My comfort zone is 1.5. There's definitely a learning curve to upping the speed, and I occasionally realize I've zoned out and have to back it up. I hate it when I back it up several times over the same part and then keep loosing focus lol.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Bill wrote: "I have an android phone and use Smart Audiobook player. It has two really great features. The first is that it adjust the time remaining depending on the speed. The second is that it shows percenta..."

iBooks shows regular time on the main screen, but if you click the chapter/file selector in the corner, it shows adjusted times... and is the place to go to see how long is left in the rest of the book anyway if it's multiple files...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "Iain, I remember that glitch - it was so annoying! Luckily they've since fixed it and there hasn't been any issues since.

Also, I complained about not playback speed change for the RB Digital my ..."

Good to know... iBooks has been growing more and more annoying for me (or maybe it's my phone)... I think it's because I use it so much...

[Choko]

Thank you guys for all the info 😀! I will see what I might figure out...

[Frank]

I do audiobooks in the car, 1.25 speed for something new and have to learn characters and setting, then crank up to 1.5, once settling in, or a brainless type book.
I stay on 1.25 if it is requires a good deal of attention.

[Anni]

Out of curiosity I take a look at some other sheets from time to time. Niki's and Yanique's are quite pink, but looking at Beste's sheet is like getting hit by a fluffy, pink sledgehammer 😂

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Thank then Lundos' is BLAAAACK... lol...

I incorporated a little black, but mine is more of a rainbow explosion that is leaning blue and yellow...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I don't think I'd looked at Beste's sheet in a long while... Siobhan and Anni have a nice pastel thing going...

[Beste]

Anni wrote: "Out of curiosity I take a look at some other sheets from time to time. Niki's and Yanique's are quite pink, but looking at Beste's sheet is like getting hit by a fluffy, pink sledgehammer 😂"

HAhahahha! Lets all be grateful that I couldn't find a way to put in Hello Kitty stickers.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Beste wrote: "Anni wrote: "Out of curiosity I take a look at some other sheets from time to time. Niki's and Yanique's are quite pink, but looking at Beste's sheet is like getting hit by a fluffy, pink sledgeham..."

Are you sure about that?... *walks away whistling*

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Insert -> Image... -> URL

[Rob]

Glad everyone's having fun doing some customization to their sheets. I like the original colors for some strange reason but did add a friend to my page.

[Beste]

Iain wrote: "Beste wrote: "Anni wrote: "Out of curiosity I take a look at some other sheets from time to time. Niki's and Yanique's are quite pink, but looking at Beste's sheet is like getting hit by a fluffy, ..."

Thank you! It just made me laugh :) :) :)

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Beste wrote: "Iain wrote: "Beste wrote: "Anni wrote: "Out of curiosity I take a look at some other sheets from time to time. Niki's and Yanique's are quite pink, but looking at Beste's sheet is like getting hit ..."

Now I NEED to see your page.....

Seen it and NOT disappointed!!! LOL

[Mayim]

Beste, I just checked it out, it's fantastic!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Hi Rob :) when you have a free moment, would you mind updating the sheet with a new tab for Virginie on team Tome Raiders?

Thank you!