What Others Say

The Custom Quiz Show has been run since 1994 for both the USENIX Association and The SANS Institute, both conference running organizations for the computing community.

Hal Pomeranz, president of Deer Run Associations, a consulting firm on the west coast, competed in the SANS Quiz Show. Here's his observation:

"The SANS Quiz Show was great fun for all competitors (myself included), engaging and challenging all the way through the final round. Our inimitable host, Rob Kolstad, made it lively entertainment for audience and players alike - sometimes I couldn't answer, I was laughing so hard!"

Dalas Bines organizes all the conferences for The SANS Institute. She says:

"The quiz shows are so easy for us. Rob supplies everything and even interfaces directly with the conference A/V technicians. Our attendees have a blast and look forward to it every year."

The USENIX Association annual conference in Boston in 1994 was the site of the very first Custom Quiz Show. Ellie Young, the executive director who has seen over a dozen different Custom Quiz shows, notes:

"Rob has presented quiz shows for us for eight years. We use the Quiz Show for our closing session and always leave our attendees upbeat and ready to come back next year."

Walter Belgers was the winner of the InSANE Quiz SHOW at the Netherlands System Administration conference held in Holland:

The InSANE quiz was definately my highlight of the SANE'98 conference. The topics were appealing to both the nerds and the non-nerds. Thanks to the witty and very knowledgeable quiz master it was an enjoyable end of the conference, both for the participants as well as the audience."

Adam Moskowitz, a competitor in 2001 says:

"I had seen the quiz show several times, but competing was a blast! Rob did an excellent job as host, keeping everyone laughing pretty much non-stop while making the contestants feel like the stars of the show."

Fuat C. Baran, longtime LISA conference attendee and one time quiz show competitor exclaims:

"The high point of every LISA conference. I had a lot of fun, even as a contestant being ridiculed in front of my peers!"

Trey Harris, SAGE board member from New York City, writes:

"The Quiz Show is great. It's fun for the contestants and even more fun for the audience. Very professional production quality. Kolstad is hilarious, and has a talent for making even milquetoast contestants seem interesting."

Hal Burch, co-founder of Lumeta, shares:

"The Quiz Show was fun, exciting, and challenging. Rob Kolstad brings the right blend of encouragement, cajoling, and assistance to make people feel at ease and enjoy themselves while sitting in front of a large audience."