What is Jeopardy!?

Posted on November 9, 2020 by vanbraman

Yesterday was a sad day as I heard of the passing of Alex Trebek.

Jeopardy, alex trebek, game showI have watched Jeopardy! on and off for many years, but in recent years have been a regular viewer. Especially since I have not been traveling.

Watching Jeopardy! brings back so many memories, and also helps me fill in the many gaps in my knowledge. It is often the inspiration for blog posts as sometimes the questions get my mind wandering.

Alex Trebek has been hosting the show for a very long time. In fact, I was still in High School when he started hosting his over 8,000 episodes. At that time there was a resurgence in trivia and academic contests across the nation and that even involved me.

I really enjoyed the 20/20 special last night about Alex Trebek, it was a fitting tribute to him.

There are still episodes to be aired that will take the show through most of December and I look forward to watching many of them. Especially the last episode, I imagine that it will be one of the most watched episodes once it airs.

There was also a small tribute to him before the show tonight.

ken jennings, jeopardy, alex trebek, game shows, trivia, academicsEarlier this year I read Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings. This was a great book that covered the history of trivia and also his run as Jeopardy! champion.

The book covered the resurgence of Trivia in the 80’s, and that resurgence brought new contests to our corner of Kansas.

I remember a call in quiz competition on our new Public Radio station. It was really cool to listen to the radio and see if I could answer the questions.

pratt kansas, academic olympics, academic competitionIn school I was able to compete in the Academic Olympics at Pratt Community College for three years. One year I even won a gold medal in the competition.

quiz bowl, ashland kansasa, dodge city Community collegeI also was on the Quiz Bowl team. It was great to compete against other schools, including some of the bigger schools in the region.

quiz bowl, ashland kansas, triviaI have some great memories of spending time with my teammates on our trips. This also brings back memories of Mr. Long who was our guidance counselor and also  my neighbor as he lived across the street from us.

Jeopardy! always makes my mind wander.

Thanks for the memories Alex!

Steven

 

 

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Hometown Prayers

Posted on November 8, 2020 by vanbraman

Tonight I am asking for prayers for the town where I went to High School.

Ashland High School, Ashland Kansas, 1963, School Dedication, Architectural DrawingOn Friday afternoon there was a tragic accident in Ashland, Kansas that ended the life of a young teenage girl. Details are under investigation and I will not share any here. I only ask that you keep the community in your prayers.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveThe school has also been managing a Covid-19 outbreak that has disrupted school schedules and community activities. The numbers may not seem too high, but for a limited population they are.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveThere is a great resource for finding out about the Covid-19 cases in locations where People You Love live or work.

The web-site was created by the son of one of my Sunday school teachers who was a good family friend.

The site allows you to select different locations and every time you open the page it updates the data so you can easily see what is going on in the places that are important to you. This helps you to know when prayers are need in your hometown, or the hometowns of people that you love.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveOf course the county where I live is on my list and I can easily see that we are having a bit of a resurgence.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveI also have Ford County, Kansas on my list. This is the county just north of Ashland, Kansas and is where Dodge City is. Dodge City has been hit very hard by the virus recently and now almost 12% of the population has contracted the virus.

Some of my cousins also live in Dodge City and they are always in my prayers because of the outbreak.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveMy family lived in Ottumwa, Iowa when I was young and we still have many friends who live there, so it is on my list. You can see that they also have a recent spike in cases and now over 5% of the population has contracted the virus.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveThe county in Iowa where I was born continues to have a steady number of cases and has also been trending higher. I still have very close family that lives there.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you lovecovid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveThe counties in Iowa where my Father was born and went to High School are also being hit by the virus. We have many family friends who still live there or friends who have ties to the area.

covid-19, county values, stats, cases, people you loveThe county in Iowa where my Mother was born and went to school is also seeing a spike in cases. Again, we still have family and family friends that still live there.

The page a great visual as it shows the most recent trends instead of only looking at total numbers. I have only posted the cases here, but the page also shows deaths in a similar format.

However, I not only pray for people in these communities. I also pray for our entire Country as there are not very many places that are not affected by this virus.

Steven

 

 

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