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Inspired by a programme on British Television, called Dave Gorman's Important Astrology Experiment, as well as by Chanak's comment, I too have entered the realm of science and experimentation over the last 3 months to come up with an answer for the following question…

Is it wise to follow the advice of Duff? Every day millions of people consult their Duff and yet the world of science has not been brave enough to answer this question. Until now.
For forty days and forty nights I have given up my normal life and have been submitted to the will of Duff. My task: to follow its advice. To ignore speculation, prediction and guesswork but at all times to follow instructions and pursue luck.

To be able to answer that question beyond a shadow of a doubt, we have had to select an independent jury that represented the different sexes, ages and beverage preferences equally. The task of this jury was to cast votes, awarding happiness points to myself * in the areas of Love/Friendship and Health, while an accountant calculated my relative ups and downs in Wealth.

[size=0]* nobody was found willing to be the control experiment and lay off booze for 40 days and 40 nights[/size]

Now, if you are all ready, bear with me as I reveal the conclusions of Duffman's Important Alcoholic Experiment

• Day One:
  the experiment started with a financial success when Chanak pointed out the 368 point swell in the US stock market.
  
  later that day, the celebrity match-up was a hit too. I was already very pleased at the way I was doing in the fields of Love and Wealth at that point.
  
  However, Fate disagreed with me doing ok in all fields on the first day and decided to play the stress-card, when my connection to GameBanshee started acting up. A few bruises from whacking the monitors and the risk of electrocution when filleting the extension cord were sure to cost me a few points in the area of Health.
  
  Even my mental health was challenged [size=0](not that there was much to challenge to begin with)[/size] when I started seeing CM alter ego's in the form of Pe Ell's. I was happy to end Day One, but not before several last-minute calls interfered with consuming more Duff.
• Day Two:
  I started the day drinking Duff at 7:34 AM and was able to tell Flibble I had filed for a holiday. With yesterday's events still fresh in mind, I felt I needed a few points in the field of Health. If I was going to prove that following the advice of Duff will make a person happy, than taking a holiday was perhaps not such a bad place to start.
  
  After a number of Duff's, I was able to lighten my mental anguish over (L)users, arriving at the Duffman philosopy.
  
  I became further convinced that I was doing well on Day Two of the experiment, when a situation occurred that demanded Duff reflexes. More than once, Beer-Spillage-Time has been a life-saver in the days following this event during the experiment. Furthermore, Duff also proved its worth as a cure for dehydration.
  
  The rest of the day was spent hanging around with friends and running up the beer tab.
• Day Three:
  I started the day pretty much the same as the day before by drinking Duff at 7:30 AM.
  
  I showed a healthy interest in the demise of (L)users and overall, I was doing good at being happy. I even managed to balance out my expenses ([size=0]read: the beer tab[/size]) by distributing baseball outfits to promote Duff.
• Day Four:
  I started Day Four in a good mood - *HUG* yeah - but found out later, I had missed an opportunity to celebrate BS's narrowing down his connection issues.
  
  But no worries (copyright@Beldin), to the trained partier, there's always reason to celebrate. Ode's temporary return for one .
  
  And as much as I hate (L)users, you can't deny they're good for a laugh too, as Flibble's post illustrates.
  
  A sudden party at the end of the day, ensured that I ended Day Four in a good mood as well.
• Day Five and Day Six:
  Two days of weekend - lots to drink, little to report. 'nuff said.

That is how the first week went. We asked the jury to cast their votes, and these are the points they awarded me (out of 100):

Love + Health + Wealth = Happiness.
50 + 25 + 75 = 150
In attachment you can see what the graph looks like.

Now, clearly, the chart is divided into three areas: the triangle of delight, the triangle of gloom and “the Grey Zone”. As time progresses, I’ll need to accumulate more and more happiness points to maintain the same level of happiness but should I succeed in accumulating enough happiness points to reach the area marked as “the triangle of delight” by the time the experiment has come to an end, it shall be scientific proof that following the advice of Duff will make you happier. However, the reverse goes for “the triangle of gloom”. In any case, for the experiment to succeed and to be able to draw any conclusions on the influence of Duff on people’s lives, it is imperative that I steer clear from “the Grey Zone”.

Unfortunately – as you can see on the chart for Week 1 - at 150, I’m stuck in the Grey Zone right in the middle between the triangle of delight and the triangle of gloom. But, as this is just the start of the experiment, everything is still possible…

Tune in tomorrow, for the next episode of Duffman's Important Alcoholic Experiment

Wow....I remember those posts. Hey! My tavern! Good to see it again.

I dont quite follow the attachment.


What will tomorrow's adventure bring?

So I see that work is slowing down or that your developing very strange hobbies. I should probably caution you in your experiments but you probably wouldn't listen.

Nice graph though

• Day Seven:
  Start of another Monday; luckily the bea-/meeting wasn't too bad.
  
  The surprise call from Mah was coolness .
  
  I also got to vent some more anger.
  
  At least, I hadn't crossed the line that seperates madness from total insanity yet.
  
  Although…
  
  Another private party ended Day Seven.
• Day Eight:
  Started the day drinking alone but luckily I was soon joined by Scayde and Flibble at the bar.
  
  Scayde's 2,000th post was another ground for celebration. I knew this was going to hurt the finances…
  
  But I didn't care, as long as I was having fun, the experiment was going well.
  
  Too bad my connection started acting up again.
  
  Tam paid a surprise visit that day.
• Day Nine:
  Started the day on a positive note from Mah.
  
  The link Ode posted the night before was good for another laugh.
  
  Another surprise visit for that day came from Brink.
  
  Brink's visit also brought up Jay and Silent Bob again.
  
  Which was going to cost me a few points in field of Health, since my Multiple Personality Disorder started acting up again.
  
  That same day, the Link Master started his listing frenzy.
  
  When Fas dropped by, McBane suggested another Fight of the Century and sparked a whole discussion on how it should be organized next time.
  
  Ty dropped by too when his class got cancelled… only to get involved in some sort of waxing incident.
  
  All in all, a good thing I left just in time, even if it was on a sadder note .
• Day Ten:
  Day Ten started good, posting a smart aleck smiley.
  
  Scayde rightfully pointed out how things were looking grim in the field of Health. I suddenly realized how thin the ice had become…
  
  When Beldin showed up too, there was no time to waste however.
  
  Preparations for a massage session were immediately made. Unfortunately, Scayde couldn't stay but we ended up practicing on the Duff cheerleaders anyway.
  
  After the massage session was over, Kam dropped by too.
  
  Fas also made a contribution and there was another Brink sighting
  
  Frogus seemed to be hinting at something, but what?
  
  There's a saying: the more, the merrier. So, in the interest of the Alcoholic Experiment, it was a good thing KidD01, Ty and McBane dropped by as well.
  
  Started and finished the day on a humoristic note.
• Day Eleven:
  The day started out regularly. It turned out it had been a busy night at SYM.
  
  Catching up on last night's events was fun, but work was a pain, so that kind of spoiled it.
  
  Luckily, Fas provided a welcome outlet for my frustration. However, Fas did not share this point of view, but like I said on Day Two, Beer-Spillage-Time was a life-saver once again when Fas threatened to spill the beer.
  
  After disposing of him, AC congratulated me on my win. Unfortunately, she also reported that one of the youngsters had come down with the flu.
  
  All in all, not a very good day when I signed off.
• Day Twelve and Thirteen:
  Two days of weekend - lots to drink, little to report. 'nuff said.

That is how the second week went. We asked the jury to cast their votes, and these are the points they awarded me:

Love + Health + Wealth = Happiness.
75 + 10 + 40 = 125

When we add the happiness points for Week One of the experiment and divide it by 2, we get the happiness points for Week Two: (150+125)/2 = 137.5 In attachment you can see what the graph looks like now.

For Ty and everyone else , I'll explain the chart again: on the red line I'm plotting the happiness points the jury has awarded me (see above). Once that line hits the zone marked as the "triangle of delight", we can safely assume that following Duff will, in fact, make a person happier. However, should that line hit the zone marked as the "triangle of gloom", we have to assume following Duff will make a person unhappier. For the experiment to be a success and to be able to draw conclusions on the influence of Duff on people's lives, the red line will have to get out of the area marked as the "Grey Zone", which would suggest drinking Duff has no discernable consequences for people's lives - Oooh no.

The good news is, that after Week 2 of the experiment I've moved away from my intermediary position. The bad news is, that I'm moving towards the "triangle of gloom". Could it be that Duff has ruined my life? Only time will tell…

Tune in again next time, for the next episode of Duffman's Important Alcoholic Experiment

Ground-breaking research is being conducted here in our midst, and I await the new findings with baited breath.

I have faith in Duff. No worries (copyright Beldin).

Thanks, Chanak (and Tam, Ty and Jae too ). I'll continue the experiment , so that [size=0](hopefully)[/size] all may benefit from Duff - Oooh yeah

ROFLMAO ! Good work, mate ! Keep it up !

I'm currently caught up in our annual Pre-Christmas working frenzy.....everyone and everything has to be ready for the Holidays....

After all this I'm taking some (well deserved) days off **whoopeee** .....I hope to be able to take up my posting on (or about) the 10th of January...

Have fun !

No worries,

Beldin

Will do and thanks again for the earlier feedback . Enjoy the holidays, mate: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance !

Thank's ! I knew I could count on your understanding ....

I'll drop in everytime I get the chance, but at the moment ....

See y'all around !

No worries, [voice=arnie]I'll be back[/voice], !

Beldin

Originally posted by Eerhardt

For Ty and everyone else , I'll explain the chart again: on the red line I'm plotting the happiness points the jury has awarded me (see above). Once that line hits the zone marked as the "triangle of delight", we can safely assume that following Duff will, in fact, make a person happier. However, should that line hit the zone marked as the "triangle of gloom", we have to assume following Duff will make a person unhappier. For the experiment to be a success and to be able to draw conclusions on the influence of Duff on people's lives, the red line will have to get out of the area marked as the "Grey Zone", which would suggest drinking Duff has no discernable consequences for people's lives - Oooh no.

Word! This is like Hypothesis testing in Statistics. Your Ho, or null hypothesis, must be the grey zone, but you are trying to prove that it is larger then Ho, so that would be your Ha, or alternative hypothesis. So now we need a bell curve and the data, along with a significance level, and then a few calculations (x bar X mu / standard deviation X the square root of the sample), and a bit of comparison, and Ill be able to tell you the difference. And the stastical proof that Duff makes a difference. Or you could just estimate.

Hope you have a good holiday season, Beldin. Take care. See you in 2003.

Hmm...interesting little(okay, so maybe little isn't appropriate here ) experiment you've got there, E-man .I look forward to the completion of it, and the conclusion that will be drawn from this

• Day Fourteen:
  Started the day at 7:24 AM with a keg of Duff.
  
  Regrettably, I found that the weekend had kept me from McBane's birthday party.
  
  Beldin's comment on seeing "Clerks" turned my mood around, though.
  
  Combined with Azzy's return, this was promising to be a good day after all.
  
  But alas, it was not meant to be. Both Beldin's and my day turned out to be more of those Hellish Mondays.
• Day Fifteen and Sixteen:
  Two days of holiday - lots to drink, little to report. 'nuff said.
• Day Seventeen:
  Still holiday, but the lure of a SYMian Halloween was too great.
  
  And since they say admission is the first step to getting cured from an addiction, I was doing ok in the field of Health.
  
  And my next post indicated I was pretty happy at the time.
  
  I was also pleased to find that BS's search had continued.
  
  As always, I portrayed a healthy interest in the demise of (L)users everywhere. However, some of them must have been on to me, hence the small interruption at the end of my post ([size=0]little did I know at that time, it was in fact a conspiracy but I'll get back to that later[/size])
  
  And to end the day, Beldin's thread also brought back memories of the Spam Album…
• Day Eighteen, Nineteen and Twenty:
  Three days of a long weekend - lots to drink, little to report. 'nuff said.

That is how the third week went. We asked the jury to cast their votes, and these are the points they awarded me:

Love + Health + Wealth = Happiness.
80 + 80 + 80 = 240

When we add the totals for Week One and Two and divide by three, that gives us the happiness points for Week Three: (150+125+240)/3=171.67. As always, you can find the graph in attachment.

After Week 3, things are looking up again: although I'm still in the "Grey Zone", I'm moving towards the "triangle of delight". But will it be enough, halfway through the experiment?

I hope you all tune in again to find out in the next episodes of Duffman's Important Alcoholic Experiment

@Brink: thanks, buddy . If all goes well, the experiment will be completed next Monday .
@Ty: uhm... yeah, that's it! ** points 2 index fingers at Ty and poses with the patented Duffman smile **

• Day Twenty-one:
  I started the twenty-first day of the experiment with my weekly beating. It would figure the long awaited Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back DVD would arrive in the mail that day, àfter I had my holiday.
  
  But hey, at least I got the chance to celebrate Ty's (belated) Birthday party.
  
  Not much time to party though, since work had accumulated during my holiday.
  
  And I was not the only one swamped in work.
  
  So, apart from a quick stop by Ty and Kam there was little else to report that day.
• Day Twenty-two:
  With all the stress from work, it was time for some contemplation.
  
  Soon, I was joined in solemn contemplation by Beldin, Osiris and McBane. Needless to say, most of day twenty-two was spent in contemplation.
  
  Again, the only thing keeping me from happily SLURRing away my Duff were (L)user issues.
  
  But at least I could say I had made an effort to score some points in the field of Health by contemlating so much by the end of the day.
• Day Twenty-three:
  Started the day with a mug of C.C.B. at 7:05 AM.
  
  I was joined at the bar by Tam 2 hours later.
  
  While I was stuck doing the monthly reports it turned out Tam's day hadn't exactly been more exhilarating either.
  
  But I did have plans to go to the movies that Friday, so we ended up discussing some movies.
  
  Thanks to (or should that be in spite of ) the IT Deparment, Beldin made it too later that day.
  
  As Beldin pointed out, the board was generally slow that day, so I started contemplating again. This time on HLD's abduction theories.
  
  Thanks to Osiris' and Beldin's input, it became clear to me that it was all a conspiracy by the time Ty showed up.
  
  By that same time, Osiris had also come up with a plan to unmask the imposters. Luckily for Ty, he was clueless, which cleared him of any suspicion I might have had as protector of the Duff.
  
  A while later, Kam put in an appearance as well, suggesting Fas might be in on the conspiracy. The plot thickened… but that was enough for me to call it a day.
• Day Twenty-four:
  Started the day after a restless night, due to WarCraft III.
  
  On top of that Jacky Brown didn't turn out to be quite what I had expected. But like Beldin said, at least I had liked Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. My View Askew collection was almost complete and I had a long weekend to look forward to.
  
  And while Beldin himself didn't exactly have a corporate holiday, he was looking forward to the boss being away too. Again, there was cause for contemplation.
  
  Joining us in contemplation, Osiris also brought up the matter of the Zorkians and the strange disappearance of some of GameBanshee's members again.
  
  For the second time, he came up with a plan to unmask the imposters.
  
  After a longer period of absence, BM finally showed up again at Ty's tavern too. Had he been abducted? Had he been put to work as a slave in RuptureFarms, had he been writing on a NWN module or did he just not feel like posting? We may never know… but as long as he was drinking his Duff, I knew everything was ok .
  
  And, on that note, I SLURRed my way to the bottom of a BS-sized pint.
• Day Twenty-five:
  The next day, I found that whoever was abducting the GameBanshee members was smart enough not to lay hands on the can of Fudd. I also found we had been joined by Gwendri, the Lead Editor.
  
  And then, something dawned on me: with back alley conspiracies, sinister plots, strange abductions and the appearance of a dame in a bar, which was filled with smoke and where the smell of booze was enough to get a man drunk upon merely entering it, my experiment had turned into… a film noir, which inspired me to post in the Movie Lines thread.
  
  This strange realization made me fear how the experiment would develop further, but with Beldin's no fear in mind, I decided to press on.
  
  Strangely enough, whenever I start questioning my own motives, my Nemesis always appears, so it was no surprise to me that Fas decided to show up.
  
  Even more strangely, our goals seemed to coincide for once, as Fas offered to help take care of the Shelbyvillians.
  
  To end the day with a laugh, I turned to some Garfield gags.
• Day Twenty-six, Twenty-seven en Twenty-eight:
  Three days of a long weekend - lots to drink, little to report. 'nuff said.

That is how the fourth week went. We asked the jury to cast their votes, and these are the points they awarded me:

Love + Health + Wealth = Happiness.
90 + 95 + 95 = 280

Adding the totals for Week One, Two and Three and dividing by four, we get the happiness points for Week 4: (125+150+240+280)/4 = 198.75. Again, you can find the graph in attachment.

Ooow, dang, so close ! At the end of Week Four, I am but (relatively speaking, as the red line represents an average) 4 happiness points away from reaching the "triangle of delight".

Tune in tomorrow, for the next episode of Duffman's Important Alcoholic Experiment

C'mon now, Don...

Originally posted by Tybaltus
Word! This is like Hypothesis testing in Statistics. Your Ho, or null hypothesis, must be the grey zone, but you are trying to prove that it is larger then Ho, so that would be your Ha, or alternative hypothesis. So now we need a bell curve and the data, along with a significance level, and then a few calculations (x bar X mu / standard deviation X the square root of the sample), and a bit of comparison, and Ill be able to tell you the difference. And the stastical proof that Duff makes a difference. Or you could just estimate.

...dont' start reminding me of standard deviations and minitab(tm). I just recently finished my final exam for Quantitative Analysis and my head is still reeling from it.

Hey Hermano, cool autobiography you got here.

Hope you're out of the grey area and on to be in the Light.

I'm getting there, bro' , I'm getting there . Thanks for the support !

De nada, hermano...

...de nada. (You're welcome. - Sp)

I must have missed this part where you and Fas had things going out inside the wrestling ring...

...all started as a bar brawl gotten out of control.

You know, you'd make a great Scribe.

The SLURR Chronicler --- I like the sound of that.

Re: De nada, hermano...

Originally posted by Maharlika
The SLURR Chronicler --- I like the sound of that.

So do I, does that make it official then

Originally posted by Maharlika
...de nada. (You're welcome. - Sp)

I must have missed this part where you and Fas had things going out inside the wrestling ring...

...all started as a bar brawl gotten out of control.

There's one episode in particular I had in mind, I'll see what I can find and post it here .

Originally posted by Maharlika
The SLURR Chronicler --- I like the sound of that.

Since that suggestion got 2 votes - done .