The Sphinx's Lair

Sid

2:01 PM

IF that is the answer to Hugh Meyers' puzzle, I don't see how the Steganography- tag comes in there.

Gareth McCaughan

yeah, I think it's likely something subtler is afoot.

n_palum

If what is the answer?

M Oehm

I think the steganography was how the missing words, which are revealed now, were supposed to be found.

n_palum

If someone figured out Hugh's thing I'd very much like to know... It's been killing me

Gareth McCaughan

the partial answer David Starkey posted recently

and no, I don't think he's worked it out as yet

n_palum

2:03 PM

I hope it's not just that..

Gareth McCaughan

My experience of Hugh's puzzles is that when you have the right answer you know you have the right answer.

And that "I found something historical that matches some bits" generally equates to "this is not in any way the intended answer to the puzzle".

Deusovi

Yep.

n_palum

@GarethMcCaughan Which is why that answer feels like a stretch

Sid

Exactly.

n_palum

I hope there's a way to find Indian Springs naturally

Deusovi

2:06 PM

Knowing Hugh, there is one.

Sid

and the answer doesn't make any sense with the hint as well.

humn

Completely random thought: There is a place called Indian Wells.

Gareth McCaughan

I assume others have already looked for anagrams of "couldhobbsbaita" and had no more success than I have.

Sid

I do like Rand's thought about the UK election given words like May, Ownership, Rage.

Deusovi

Yup. I've seen a few anagram-indicator-ish words in there, but had no luck.

n_palum

2:09 PM

@GarethMcCaughan I tried that, tried making them into fuller words, tried other anagrams, but nada

Gareth McCaughan

Not at all convinced by the election theory, I have to say.

There are some other things in the US called Indian Springs, but nothing seems more promising than the one in Nevada. I had a vague feeling there was a chess opening with that name but I was mixing up various things with "Indian" in their names and the Cambridge Springs Defence. (Thinking about chess because SALO FLOHR is nearly a substring of the first line.) I'm pretty sure all this chess stuff is coincidental irrelevant distraction.

Sid

I can say I have never heard of a Chess opening named Indian Springs.

Gareth McCaughan

(But that bit of the first line really looks like there should be something hidden in it. Likewise the ghanta's clangor, for that matter.)

@Sid yeah, that's because there isn't one.

Deusovi

@GarethMcCaughan That "ghanta's clangor" line reminds me of his flower poem.

M Oehm

Salo Flohr? No wonder the puzzle has the knowldege tag.

Gareth McCaughan

2:14 PM

@MOehm nah, I think he's irrelevant really.

Avantgarde

Did you know there's an ocean called Indian Ocean

Gareth McCaughan

@Avantgarde wow, you're right

M Oehm

I know, but not being a chess man, I had to look him up.

Avantgarde

ikr

Deusovi

wow! and apparently there's a country called India too! amazing

Gareth McCaughan

2:15 PM

blimey

n_palum

Nah that's just a myth

Sid

He he he

humn

ditto

Avantgarde

Also the people from India are called Indians. woahhhhh

Gareth McCaughan

Seriously, I do think some connection with Indian Springs (whether the town in Nevada or something else of that name) is plausible.

humn

2:17 PM

There's also a place called Indiana

n_palum

Anything related to Switzerland?

Gareth McCaughan

why Switzerland?

Sid

Meyers is Swiss

M Oehm

I think he is British, but lives in Neuchâtel.

humn

I'm moving away from Americana to a faraway place called ~~Earthyanna~~ Pollyanna.

thecoder16

2:23 PM

Jun 9 at 12:25, by Deusovi

Yep. I'm always happy to see @humn here, even when I don't quite understand the things they're saying. (They're the regular kind of cryptic, not the crossword kind.)

humn

I'm gonna hovel with the good doctor Pangloss and my sister Cassandra.

Between the three of us nobody will understand, even if they dare get that close.

Gareth McCaughan

"Ah, but why suffer pangs of loss? Surely all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds."

humn

..... ooooooooohhh: on a good day!

and even on the worst! That's what that means.

thecoder16

The course of true love never did run smooth.

2

Avantgarde

†_†

humn

2:31 PM

True love at half the price:

Fred Frith - True Love

►

Calypso!

manshu

Wassup? @humn awake yet?

humn

At all the wrong times.

thecoder16

@manshu have you met humn yet?

humn

We orbit the same sun

manshu

Oh...no one introduced me...so i thought that i could introduce myself.

thecoder16

2:34 PM

no i mean, do you know what hes like lol

manshu

Hi humn. I am John Cena

humn

Greased to meet you!

manshu

I know that ffao's schedule is even better than humn's

Aah...now you can run smoothly

humn

I will be manshu before it's over. Run for cover.

thecoder16

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

humn

2:38 PM

Shame on what you made me think. Shame on me for thinking it. Shame on you for what you think i'm talking about.

Mithrandir

@humn *runs* THE SKY IS FALLING!

manshu

It won't be over until the next multiverse collision

n_palum

@humn Humner humny humnio humniest humney

Avantgarde

If you read something on the internet, then it must be true - Shakespeare

thecoder16

Life ... is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

manshu

2:40 PM

(gtg)

humn

The night life is for you -- Dracula

Avantgarde

skyfall - Adele

humn

@manshu tyfcb = thank you for coming by

thecoder16

thank you for coming by

ah stniped

humn

yfto?

thecoder16

2:42 PM

i seem to have

n_palum

@Avantgarde crashes in DID SOMEONE SAY SKYFALL?

thecoder16

lmao

humn

@thecoder#, if you get any further in my mind yu'll be the next manshu

thecoder16

step one achieved

n_palum

@humn But Humn. We are one mind. This is the hivemind.

humn

2:45 PM

I

thecoder16

but i, am the resident evil.

humn

(pirate alphabet)

By now, thecoderN, if you're not who I think I am or who I'll be when manshu, you seem to have been welcomed back as an attractive nuisance.

I wish for as much.

n_palum

thehumnshuplum

thecoder16

but love conquers, except when pirates take your grapes

Deusovi

@humn I have no idea what this is supposed to mean.

If you're trying to suggest that they may be a suspended user - if they were, we would have taken care of it.

thecoder16

2:48 PM

little old me?

humn

Many times over.

thecoder16

we really need a humn interpreter.

n_palum

@thecoder16 I usually understand them, Rand seems to as well.

thecoder16

i seem to be learning in the ways of humn

humn

Keep it up and you'll know nothing.

Deusovi

2:51 PM

I feel like I can always understand just enough to catch a glimpse of what's going on inside their head, but not enough to comprehend what I see.

thecoder16

@humn genius

humn

@Deusovi Ohhhhhh, that wasn't a challenge. I've enjoyed spotting and ratting but always with the hope for more.

Sid

I only know that humn loves music.

humn

To a fault.

n_palum

humn loves random music from all over

humn

2:54 PM

Hit me with music!

thecoder16

rickroll

humn

Thank you for not making that a click.

thecoder16

yviw

humn

yonder view icarus wiggle-waggle?

Mithrandir

The Yeshiva Boys Choir - "Daddy Come Home"

►

humn

2:57 PM

oooooo! political

Mithrandir

I can do that one pretty well in F#m.

@humn why is it political?

humn

From me that's meant as a compliment.

I love music that makes a statement. (And other music too.)

Nice singing too!

Do you sing or play or both?

Mithrandir

Both

I've actually got two and a half cousins in that choir ;)

humn

Right on! Now I'm replaying it and listening to other voices.

Mithrandir

:)

n_palum

3:05 PM

@GarethMcCaughan Hugh updated the puzzle more but I'm still lost

Sid

So.. that's not the answer to the puzzle.

Along expected lines.

humn

(Mithrandir, thank you again for that piece. The third play revealed many more instruments.)

Mithrandir

You're welcome. :)

humn

Also enjoying the play on "2 1/2 cousins." I have a 2nd cousin or 2. How does that add up?

Deusovi

Clearly "2 1/2 cousins" means you have one cousin who got in an unfortunate accident involving industrial equipment.

humn

3:16 PM

snick snick snick

n_palum

A professional football (America) player is my half cousin :P

humn

You're right, n_palum, if you can halve a 1/4 back almost anything can be relative.

(but I believe you literally as well)

Here's one that isn't as deep as Mithrandir's, but it's longer and has grunting in the middle:

Sound Chaser by Yes in 1080p HD

►

What a picture. Yucko! The music is gorgeous, though, and if you can find its beat you're yards ahead of me.

...........................................^sumptuous, not necessarily gorgeous^

.............................. okay, almost tedious, guess I like it more each time and almost didn't hear it the first time

........ around 6:25 it really begins to cook .... one tempo after another ....

Mithrandir

3:41 PM

I mean, he's around the hight of my belly button, so only half

humn

Are you sure he's a player and not the ball?

Rubio

From this day forth, the random ruminations, rambling writings, radical realizations and rambunctious recordings repertoire of @humn shall be known - to me anyway - as "humnsh". And it shall be hated, underrated, tolerated, contemplated, appreciated, celebrated, imitated, intoxicated, exhilarated, anticipated, constipated and venerated from sea to shining sea, for some appropriate listener-localized values of seas.

4

n_palum

What if my sea don't shine?

humn

Rub(io) it until it does.

You just might be granted a wish.

Rubio

indeed. or three.

Gareth McCaughan

3:47 PM

Hugh did indicate that "the town is a good start", which accords with my feeling that "Indian springs" was too much of a coincidence to be coincidence.

humn

3:58 PM

(Just for record, I want to learn Garethsh. I haven't seen "accords" like that since I got pulled over for driving two cars.)

n_palum

Garethsh is just being an all around genius.

humn

It can happen. In this world, one of the best possible.

That compliment about learning Garethsh is true! It just wound up looking silly.

n_palum

@humn Honda Accord?

humn

A truly indestructible car.

Gareth McCaughan

I did wonder whether the "triumph" in Hugh's riddle is a car...

humn

4:03 PM

Oh?!? Good one.

Sid

There is SALAM in the first line which is a form of greeting. Not sure if that is relevant. Just pointing it out.

Gareth McCaughan

True. There are lots of curious features. Deusovi already mentioned that there are lots of things that seem like they might be anagram indicators: amalgam, wreck, etc. There are lots of curious word choices (lo!, ghanta, fichu) which might be there to fit something in. Some of them seem to share a lot of letters with other nearby words, which if not coincidence would be interesting.

humn

(late follow-up, the most destructible model I've driven is a Triumph S[consonant]itfire. Also the most fun!)

Gareth McCaughan

ha!

"His chariot" -> Iscariot??

suburb, ankle... -> Burbank??

maximum bail -> mumbai??

hmm, that one is actually quite provocative

Sid

Oh, wow..

Techidiot

4:08 PM

Ghanta is completely Indian thing and I was surprised to see that being used :D

Deusovi

yeah, I like that last one

Gareth McCaughan

that "salam" might actually be assalam, no?

georgetown!!!

Deusovi

georgetown???

Gareth McCaughan

rage or get ownership

Deusovi

oooh

okay, so these are definitely locations

Gareth McCaughan

4:10 PM

rouen

n_palum

:O

Gareth McCaughan

so far the only other convincing one I've found is El Paso. There's ANGORA in the "ghanta's clamor" line but "Angora" is obsolete as a place name; it's the place now called Ankara in Turkey.

Techidiot

assalam looks good too.

Gareth McCaughan

though there are places called Angora in the US

Sid

Well, Hugh does use archaic stuff in their puzzles.

Gareth McCaughan

4:20 PM

there's an Assalam in Morocco

Techidiot

But, not sure what are they doing there :-/

Gareth McCaughan

Google Maps doesn't find any Salams or Assalams in the US

Techidiot

But, how can we be sure which one is the intended one? Like, there is a Gambell in Alaska

Gareth McCaughan

yeah, I saw that

Rubio

Take a gambell. Live a little.

Gareth McCaughan

4:22 PM

I imagine there's some link between the place names, or between them and some other feature we haven't spotted yet

Also in Alaska: ILIAMNA ("I wail, I am naught") but it's a bit of a middle-of-nowhere pseudo-place :-).

Deusovi

Well, that seems plausible to me. There must be some reason for it to have been chosen over other places.

Gareth McCaughan

indeed

some of the other places are (or seem to be) state capitals and the like, so I wondered whether they might denote the places they're capitals of, but Iliamna isn't (anything like) the capital of anything.

Deusovi

Zip codes, perhaps? Iliamna's codes start with 99, which is suspicious.

Gareth McCaughan

Maybe, but some lines seem to lead to non-US places only

e.g., surely the vassal line must be leading to SALAM or ASSALAM (so I'd have thought, anyway) .... oh wait no. ALAMO, perhaps

but ugh, almost everything that's a US place name is several US place names

Rubio

puzzles within puzzles within puzzles

Gareth McCaughan

4:29 PM

and I'm not sure there's a Mumbai anywhere in the US (and surely surely that must be the thing we're meant to get out of that line)

Mike Q

There's a Bombay in upstate New York.... I doubt that counts

Gareth McCaughan

yeah, I think we need exact name matches

n_palum

@_@ This puzzle hurts

Gareth McCaughan

and if the last line of the last thing is giving us Burbank, CA, it's a city with lots of zip codes so I'm pretty skeptical about the zipcode theory.

Sid

the first line is almost FLORIDA with I replaced by O.

Gareth McCaughan

4:35 PM

almost

There's a Floro in Norway (except that the last letter is actually an o-with-diagonal-thingy)

n_palum

Ø

Ø (or minuscule: ø) is a vowel and a letter used in the Danish, Norwegian, Faroese, and Southern Sami languages. It is mostly used as a representation of mid front rounded vowels, such as [ø] and [œ], except for Southern Sami where it is used as an [oe] diphthong. The name of this letter is the same as the sound it represents (see usage). Though not its native name, among English-speaking typographers the symbol may be called a "slashed o" or "o with stroke". Although these names suggest it is a ligature or a diacritical variant of the letter o, it is considered a separate letter in Norwegian and...

Gareth McCaughan

yup

exactly one of those

Sconibulus

I need to take a month and learn how to read pronunciation guides

Techidiot

Also, Title - > Tadif, Syria.

Gareth McCaughan

could be, but we are still in want of an explanation for "Hobbs" of course

Techidiot

4:39 PM

Oh, no. It's tadef..

Gareth McCaughan

There are plenty of places called Hobbs but I doubt it's as simple as that

Mike Q

Hugh's profile says that they live in Switzerland. Possibly (but probably not) relevant if we're dealing with geography.

Gareth McCaughan

I think probably not relevant

HOBBS BAIT A is an anagram of SABBATH BIO, which is obviously the name of a new range of kosher organic foods.

Mike Q

Maybe it means that an E is missing somewhere, or that there is an extra E somewhere

Sconibulus

I think it's a biography of fictional economist Sloane Sabbath

Gareth McCaughan

4:42 PM

@Sconibulus ah yes, that's exactly as likely as my proposal.

(but if anyone spots anagrams of other Newsroom characters, let me know)

Somehow, the first three lines of the original piece have to suffice to tell us what the fourth had to be, which is quite surprising. (Or at least to tell us given that the last word was obviously going to be "springs", I guess.)

Rubio

If you squint funny, the title anagrams Shibboleth.

Gareth McCaughan

LITHE HOBBS actually is an anagram of SHIBBOLETH, which would be useful if making a cryptic crossword for cricketers.

Rubio

Rubio	Sp3000  (12 of 72)	Sp3000  (16 of 72)
Sp3000	Rubio  (16 of 58)	Rubio  (12 of 58)   ....
... arch-nemesis, confirmed

Gareth McCaughan

wait, are there two of you?

Rubio

there that's better

Gareth McCaughan

4:49 PM

I think I still don't understand

these are showing how many C4 clues or puzzles or something posed by one person have been solved by another, right?

Rubio

Oh. It's Name, Biggest Nemesis, and Most Powerful Against.

Gareth McCaughan

ah!

Deusovi

ah, alright

Rubio

(new Nemesis tab in the Archive)

Gareth McCaughan

@Deusovi does that mean "oh, now I understand what Rubio's saying" or "aha, now I have completely solved Hugh's riddle while the rest of you were blabbering about it"? :-)

Rubio

4:50 PM

probably both ;)

n_palum

@Rubio How you do dat

Gareth McCaughan

assuming not the latter, I'm inclined to make a partial answer reporting progress so far.

Rubio

How do you do what?

n_palum

Find that

Deusovi

@GarethMcCaughan The former.

Rubio

4:51 PM

Pivot table and a handful of ugly formulas.

Gareth McCaughan

5:03 PM

ok, partial posted; please feel free to supplant it with cleverer things as you think of them :-). (I'm AFK for a bit now.)

n_palum

@GarethMcCaughan Idk what these names actually do for us though.. like towards finding a solution

Sphinx

0

Q: Camera film negative

A niece of mine showed me a roll of film negative with various snap shots of rectangles . She said that there is a hidden information or message in that film which could be seen if it is developed with special liquid but I can figure them out. What could it be?

Beastly Gerbil

5:57 PM

Seriously. No one solved my puzzle and it was asked 11 hours ago

n_palum

@BeastlyGerbil It looks hard

Beastly Gerbil

its easy. trust me

adding really explicit hint right now

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