Archive for August 2024

NLP 101 Linear Models for Text Classification by Lisa A Chalaguine While some researchers have started to study the potential of including emojis in SMSA in recent years, it remains a niche approach and awaits further research. This project aims to examine the emoji-compatibility is sentiment analysis nlp of trending BERT encoders and explore different… [Read More]

Ah the Beer Mile.  Chug a beer, run a quarter mile, then repeat four times.  The Beer Mile World Champion, Lewis Kent  became the new Beer Mile World Champion on December 1, completing the feat in a mere 4 minutes and 17 seconds.  The current best women’s time is 6 minutes and 8 seconds.  To think… [Read More]

Outside Interactive has developed an exciting new application called Virtual Runner. Virtual Runner allows you to interact with race courses, popular running routes and scenic locations on any treadmill. Through High Definition videos, you control the pace either manually or through wearable technology, automatically on your iPad(R), Android Tablet(R), TV, or PC. It’s a mobile… [Read More]

Reporter Sam Borden covers Calcio Storico, a ruthless and rule-less, ancient competition in Florence Italy in this outstanding article in the New York Times.  The city is divided into four districts, each with its own team, who duke it out in the tradition of gladiators in this tournament that is a strange combination of football,… [Read More]

Quasi Modo has been crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog of 2015 at the annual contest held in Petaluma, California, as part of the Sonoma-Marin Fair, to decide which of the dogs entered in the contest is the ugliest. The contest, along with the rest of the fair, is typically scheduled for the fourth week of… [Read More]

In case you missed it a few years ago, James Brent “Tigermonkey” Isaacs was determined to be crowned the World Thumb Wrestling Champion at the annual tournament in Lowestoft, England in August.  He and his buddy, filmmaker Kali Baker Johnson, hosted a successful Kickstarter campaign to create a documentary of his training and adventure, “Thumbwarrior: A… [Read More]

Did you know that Valentine’s Day, though initially celebrating a Christian martyr, is likely a result of romance literature by Chaucer?  So if you hate this crappy, commercialized farce of love, blame the Canterbury Tales, then put the hostilities away and join in on one of these great Valentines day competitions. Run Naked…its for a great cause…. [Read More]

Rachel Lee Harris of the New York Times recently published the following article, calling 2015, the year of the “Niche Athlete”, the “Retroactive Sport” and the “Shirtless Uniform”.  What more can you ask for, 2015 will be a great year for all kinds of competitions.  Her article is re-printed below exactly as it ran in… [Read More]

Diane Van Deren has completed the Hardrock 100 at least 5 times as well as finishing the Yukon Arctic Ultra, a 430 mile foot race through the Yukon wilderness in the winter.  This race is considered to be the world’s coldest and toughest ultra-marathon.  As impressive as that is, it pails in comparison to Diane’s daily… [Read More]

Viral cat videos were all the rage last year.  2015 is shaping up to be the year of crazy cat competitions.  Whether you think you have the world’s smartest cat or fastest feline, we think 2015 will be the year of the Cat Competition.  Use your imagination.  Create your own cat competition here on Kompster… [Read More]

Competitive Eating is Huge these days, in large part thanks to MLE. But what exactly is the MLE? MLE is the Major League Eating Association. Here is the MLE Mission as appears directly on www.majorleagueeating.com MLE invites “amateur” competitive eaters to participate alongside veteran eating champions in most of its events. MLE’s online event application… [Read More]

As Halloween approaches why not consider the Worst Ways to die? The list below is not our own but they are pretty bad but not to be a downer we’ thought we’d also think about the funniest ways to die. What makes your list? Source: Term Life Insurance – Via: OnlyInfographic

  The leaves are starting to change and the days are getting shorter and with that comes a whole new season of great competitions.  Fall is a great time for competitions and something for everyone from Pumpkin Carving to Apple Bobbing and even Bavarian GoGo Dancing, but let’s start with the Ocean Beach Oktoberfest commencing at 4:20… [Read More]

Who’s gonna do it this year?  Is it possible to consume 10 pounds in 8 minutes? Mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual National Fried Mushroom Eating contest, September 6th in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  Molly Schuyler, a 125 pound mother of three, obliterated over 9 pounds of the fried fungus at the 2013 event, the… [Read More]

Kacy Catanzaro is making history in becoming the first woman to qualify for American Ninja Warrior’s ultimate challenge, Mount Midoriyama.  At 5 feet zero, and all of 100 pounds, Kacy absolutely tore up the qualifying course that proved too tough for some serious elite athletes at the top of their game. We love it when… [Read More]

Ever wonder what all those mall Santas do in the summertime?  They head to Key West, Florida for the Hemingway lookalike contest. From Florida Keys Newsroom: KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Whether composing novels in his Whitehead Street writing studio or fishing for big game in local waters, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway left a powerful legacy… [Read More]

STAMFORD, CONN. -July 14, 2014- NBC Sports Ventures, a division of NBC Sports Group, Spartan Race, the global leader in the sport of obstacle racing, and Reebok, today announced a multi-year strategic alliance that will provide unprecedented coverage of the Reebok Spartan Race series across NBC Sports Group platforms, and will see all groups cooperate… [Read More]

Worthing International Birdman 2014 – Summary Wow !!  What an amazing weekend at the 2014 Worthing International Birdman. Day 1 provided ideal flying conditions and after 31years of trying an aviator finally flew over 100m on the Jackpot line. Tony Hughes flew 117.1m and this guaranteed one of the competitors would walk away with £10,000… [Read More]

In the sport of Wife Carrying, if you’re over 40, your a considered a senior citizen.  This year’s Wife Carrying World Championship in Sonkajärvi, Finland takes place on July 4th and 5th and has added a Senior Class for couples over 40! The Wife Carrying Championship event has been organized in Sonkajärvi, Finland since 1992.  The… [Read More]

Jimmy Kimmel @jimmykimmel, really knows how to throw a party, especially a belly flop competition.  Let his 8th annual belly flop competition inspire you when it gets hot and humid this summer.  Think water slides, wet t-shirts, watermelon seed spitting competitions even hose fights.  Need contestants?  He got ’em off the street and Terry from… [Read More]