Off-Topic Questions Thread - closed. Open new threads for specific questions please.

[John Matrix]

Hi guys,

A question for any maths/excel gurus on the board.  I need a calculation or formula in order to work out the percentage change in TIME between two figures.

So for example, if test A took 1min 15 seconds to complete and test B took 28 seconds, what is the time difference expressed as a percentage.

By a country mile the most boring fucking thing i've ever posted, but one of the most important.  Any help greatly appreciated.

[BomberPat]

This - https://exceljet.net/formula/time-difference-in-hours-as-decimal-value - explains what formula to use to express time difference as a decimal value, from there you should be able to just use Format Cell and change it to display as a percentage.

[Onyx2]

Format cells A1:A2 as time, enter values. Format A3 as percentage.

...gives you that A2 is 63% less than A1.

[Accident Prone]

Is there a website or app that lets you know which artists are/aren't available on Spotify in certain countries? I ask as Spotify have recently removed a few of my favorite albums (most notably 'Someday This Could All Be Yours' by The Paper Chase') , but they are shaded grey which means they are geo-blocked. I have a VPN and can easily switch to whatever country I need, but I tried the obvious ones and had no luck. I'd rather not go through the rigmarole of checking every single connection, so is there a site/app where I can just type in the name of the band/artist and it'll tell me which region I have to be in?

Cheers!

[SpursRiot2012]

This is probably one for @Dead Mike who is quite savvy when it comes to the comedy industry, but anyone can chime in.

As many of you know, and some of you have attended, I run a weekly open-mic level (though the comedians are booked) comedy show. It's had good weeks and bad weeks and, in general, I enjoy it. It can be stressful (drumming up an audience in summer, prima donna comedians who seem to think they're somehow above the whole thing, issues with communications with the venue, other stuff) but usually, by the end of the show, I'm happy. We're on hiatus now until July 5th as the space we use is being used to screen World Cup group games on a Thursday.

I've been thinking about the lack of what might be termed 'proper' comedy clubs in London. There is, of course, The Comedy Store and then, probably a level below, the likes of Top Secret Comedy and Angel Comedy. But there isn't, I don't think, anything like in NY or LA and the comedy clubs that do exist here operate, it seems, in a much different way to those clubs. 

I have been considering the feasibility of a new venue, completely dedicated to comedy. This isn't something that I'd have the resources to look at doing any time soon, but it's nice to have dreams, right? I'd like to open and run a comedy venue that operates similarly to the Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard in LA. It would be open most, if not every day, and would run, say, from 4pm to 1am or similar. I'd probably have to have significant capital behind me even putting aside buying/renting a venue (which would have to be relatively central, in terms of footfall), turning it into a dedicated comedy venue and all the promotion that would come with that as I'd need to be able to attract 'name' comedians to come and do the late night shows. But a big part of it would be helping to develop new or lesser known, talented comedians. It would include themed nights (things like roast battles, live podcasts, that sort of thing.) It would also have to include a bar and food service.

I don't know if it's just a pipe dream (it probably is) that will never come to fruition but it would be nice to hear any input from comedy fans on here - both those who simply enjoy it and those who've been involved in it in some way. It would be nice if we could have a positive discussion about it, even if it is just a complete non-starter. I'd also be really interested in hearing about previous attempts at something like this, if there is anything anyone can link me to?

Cheers.

[mim731]

3 hours ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

This is probably one for @Dead Mike who is quite savvy when it comes to the comedy industry, but anyone can chime in.

As many of you know, and some of you have attended, I run a weekly open-mic level (though the comedians are booked) comedy show. It's had good weeks and bad weeks and, in general, I enjoy it. It can be stressful (drumming up an audience in summer, prima donna comedians who seem to think they're somehow above the whole thing, issues with communications with the venue, other stuff) but usually, by the end of the show, I'm happy. We're on hiatus now until July 5th as the space we use is being used to screen World Cup group games on a Thursday.

I've been thinking about the lack of what might be termed 'proper' comedy clubs in London. There is, of course, The Comedy Store and then, probably a level below, the likes of Top Secret Comedy and Angel Comedy. But there isn't, I don't think, anything like in NY or LA and the comedy clubs that do exist here operate, it seems, in a much different way to those clubs. 

I have been considering the feasibility of a new venue, completely dedicated to comedy. This isn't something that I'd have the resources to look at doing any time soon, but it's nice to have dreams, right? I'd like to open and run a comedy venue that operates similarly to the Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard in LA. It would be open most, if not every day, and would run, say, from 4pm to 1am or similar. I'd probably have to have significant capital behind me even putting aside buying/renting a venue (which would have to be relatively central, in terms of footfall), turning it into a dedicated comedy venue and all the promotion that would come with that as I'd need to be able to attract 'name' comedians to come and do the late night shows. But a big part of it would be helping to develop new or lesser known, talented comedians. It would include themed nights (things like roast battles, live podcasts, that sort of thing.) It would also have to include a bar and food service.

I don't know if it's just a pipe dream (it probably is) that will never come to fruition but it would be nice to hear any input from comedy fans on here - both those who simply enjoy it and those who've been involved in it in some way. It would be nice if we could have a positive discussion about it, even if it is just a complete non-starter. I'd also be really interested in hearing about previous attempts at something like this, if there is anything anyone can link me to?

Cheers.

Not sure if it helps, but this place in Islington opened a couple of years back with a similar ambition, so might be worth checking that out to see how they've gone about it.

https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/

I've never been, but that's because it took over what was one of my favourite pubs, The Mucky Pup, and it would break my heart to go back in there. 

[SpursRiot2012]

Yeah, Angel Comedy are probably the best example of a comedy night above a pub that became a comedy club in its own right. I performed there a few times (not in their new venue). But even Angel Comedy isn't the exact sort of vibe I'd like to have, though they do well there.

[Dead Mike]

It’s all about timing & IMO now isn’t the right time to be pumping the amount of capital that would require. The comedy circuit (in the traditional sense) is in a bit of a transition period right now. Dedicated venues like The Comedy Store, Glee Clubs & Frog & Bucket are currently enjoying varying levels of attendance whilst Jongleurs went bump.

The Store continue to do well but they’ve put their prices up & have made cuts elsewhere in recent years (downgrading the hotels the acts stay in & not offering hotels to acts who double). Their brand & name value is super strong & so they’ll always get tourist/stag hen trade which means they’re busy but it can be a tortuous experience as a comedy fan attending as you’ve got a disinterested audience who aren’t necessarily there for the comedy.

The most recent example of a new, bespoke comedy club opening would be ‘The Laugh Inn’ in Chester. A couple/few investors put the cash up (inc Jason Manford). The venue was great, in a good location (nr the train station). They attracted the best of the circuit with Manford & other TV names appearing to drum up attention but it still ended up closing. It’s just really hard to get people to go out on weeknights.

The way people spend money on comedy has also changed in the past 5-10 years. There were far less touring acts & the time between acts making the leap from the circuit to theatres was much shorter. Now people tour quickly & sometimes almost bypass ‘the circuit’ entirely, there are still some who do both but it’s massively reduced. This equates to customers choosing between seeing 4 comedians they may not be familiar with or seeing 1 act they know they like on tour & there’s only so much cash to go around.

The most successful regular comedy ‘nights’ are the ones who have built an audience who trust the organisers. Rarely will people buy a ticket for any specific act but they’ve the faith that out of the 4 or 5 acts that are on that night they know there’ll be at least 2 or 3 they’ll like & that means they’ll get their money’s worth. I still get spikes in ticket sales when we have a ‘big’ name appearing but banking on booking these acts regularly isn’t a sustainable model.

When we first made the jump from a 100 seater room on a Thurs to a 200 seater on a Friday (we’re now in a 300 seater) an act told me to sell 200 tickets you need an audience of 600. Some will come to each show, some will come once a year & others at various points in between. Even if you’re selling out keep pushing it like you haven’t. This proved to be spot on & was amongst the best advice I’ve been given.

 

EDIT - Actually (can't believe I forget these)....The most recent example of a dedicated venue that's been a massive success is Hot Water Comedy in Liverpool. They spent a shitload & worked their socks off & it's now a real success. I believe they were the first 100% dedicated room for comedy (it only holds about 150) & they've really embraced social media and are now reportedly raking it in. They've understood what their audience wants & delivered on it. These guys are the massive exception to the rule though but they deserve all the success they've got.

----

TL;DR -  Probs best to build up a regular audience & when you can sell 300 tickets every fortnight you might be a position to move into a dedicated venue but it’s still a massive risk & IMO the return on investment wouldn’t be worth it.

[SpursRiot2012]

Excellent stuff, Mike. Thanks for that. Yeah, a lot of comics have been telling me it's hard all over, even at a place like the Store. As I said, this isn't something that I'm thinking of putting into motion any time soon - our free night has only had two nights that you could consider "sold out" and that's only by virtue of the fact that it's a tiny room. The other weeks have been really hard going. Even the We Are Funny Project guys who are probably the closest example of a series of nights at our level, who have been running for five years, three days a week, are attracting tiny crowds (apart from their recent anniversary show), although these summer months are always hard.

But it's something I'd like to keep in mind for down the road. You're right that it probably wouldn't show the return on investment needed to run a dedicated comedy venue. But venues that run comedy nights as an afterthought to whatever else they host have always been a bit off putting to me. I had to tell our venue that I didn't want the bar that's in the upstairs room we use open during our shows. Yeah, it might attract more people up as they can more easily get another round in, but the idea of clattering glasses and bar orders stamping all over a comedians punchlines is not one I'm interested in!

[Lorne Malvo]

I've been Googling this the past few days and haven't yet found an answer so hopefully somebody here can help me;

Around 3 weeks ago, I realised when browsing Youtube on my laptop that the video screen is small. Around 2/3rds of how big it usually is. However, it's only this size when I'm signed in - when I sign out, it reverts back to the usual size. Any idea what's gone wrong and how to fix it?

[Surf Digby]

Anybody able to help with my Excel query?

I have a table, and at present it just adds up what's in the column and sticks the sum at the bottom.

What I want it to do is basically change each box in the column to (aX5) where "a" is what I'm only inputting , so that whatever number I type in the box it multiplies by five, and then the bottom box is the sum of everything above it as before.

Does that make sense?

[Chest Rockwell]

It does, but you'll need to use more than one column, I think. I'm no excel whizz but I would do it like this:

Column a.     Column b

y.                   (A1*5)

z.                    (A2*5)

 

 

And then put the sum at the bottom of column B. If you want it to look like one column, then hide column B, but put a formula at the bottom of column A to sum the values in column B.

 

It'll only take a second to do, as you can drag the formula down in B, so you don't need to type it manually

[Onyx2]

Could you not just multiply the total by 5?

[SpursRiot2012]

A little update on my academic situation, along with a question.

As a lot of you will know, I got an extension on my final year project. Unfortunately, my various health issues meant that I was unlikely to meet that deadline either. So, my uni has offered to allow me to defer my final year project to the next academic year, meaning my deadline would be May 2019. They would allow all my other final year module grades from this year to stand, and putting me forward into the 2018/19 academic year as exam only, meaning there are no fee implications. Also, the grades of the submission of my final year project in the next academic year will not be capped due to late submission.

I could still, potentially, make my original final deadline, but because of the health issues I'm having, I think this is the best option for me to take and, frankly, it's a really good offer of them to make, I feel. Plus, I'm 99% sure the MA course I was due to start this September will allow me to defer to next year. Yeah, I'll be putting my progress on hold a year, but if I use that year to put my health in check and perhaps grab a whole load more journalistic work experience, I could actually end up in a better position overall.

One question I did have. I know that, if I had to retake the whole year properly, I would have had to pay the tuition fees but that SFE allows for an extra year of tuition fee loans. My question is, do they also allow for an extra year's maintenance loan and grants, or is that me being far too optimistic?

[mim731]

It sounds like a really sensible option. I think the thing to remember is, that you're not losing a year's progress necessarily if you do the work experience in the meantime you'll be better placed once you graduate anyway. It's not delaying progress, simply moving things around a bit. Also, if your health is suffering you're unlikely to be able to give your best for your final project anyway, or the MA, so taking a break to get yourself right, especially as it's not going to add any additional cost to your fees, seems like a no-brainer to me and a very logical way to approach your situation. 

As for the loans, I'm not sure, but I'd be surprised if they let you have an extra year of maintenance loan at the same level, but I imagine you'd be entitled to something as you're still an enrolled student. There should be a fees advisor at your university who can talk you through all of the ins and outs of that, so it might be worth putting a call in to get some more info.