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12:00 AM
huh?
 
well, it says every file in the repo was updated a few minutes ago
and I'm guessing you didn't edit all of them
 
I added the two images, and updated the readme and the program
 
 
2 hours later…
2:21 AM
@Techidiot Certainly a stretch, but possibly AD(AG)IOS?
 
@Will greeting, not farewll.
 
I said it was a stretch :P
 
oh my.
i need one rep for 9999.
 
2:37 AM
Undownvote an answer?
 
I, um, haven't downvoted anything in a very very long time. I have to find one now :)
Muahahaa. Mischief managed.
 
2:55 AM
aaaannnnnnnndddd 10K. w00t!
 
Congrats. :)
 
Congrats Rubio!!!
 
3:47 AM
Yay, more obergruppenmodders
 
Premise 1: All mods are tyrants, Premise 2: 10ks are like junior mods, Premise 4: obergruppenmodder sounds vaguely like a high-ranking, but not top-level Nazi officer relating to moderation, Conclusion: Joke?
I should probably just be asleep, I say weird things in the middle of the night
 
what happened to premise 3
 
1
Q: Revenge rebus puzzles

Wen1nowEnjoyed these did you? Felt they were a bit too easy? The rebuses are feeling bitter about their loss, and they will only concede defeat if you break their puzzle: Wait a second... they've sent a note as well! It seems to be a kind of disjointed story. When the only place that's natural di...

 
4:03 AM
@Randal'Thor Nice thinking. :)
 
Ahhh. Finally posted the puzzle that's been on my mind all week. Hope you guys like it.
 
@Rubio `` for inverted commas
 
Eh?
 
It should be $``quote"$, not $"quote"$
 
Oh.
that looks .... entirely wrong
ugh. Yeah, that looks butt-ugly.
Ah. I have to play with tags. Fixing it.
er. \tags - whatever you call these in LaTeX
 
4:21 AM
2
Q: The Puzzling Times

Rubio$$\bbox[orange]{\begin{array}{rcl}\\\hline\huge\ \ \star\ \ \star\ \ The&\huge{Puzzling}&\huge{Times\ \ \star\ \ \star\ \ }\\\hline\\\end{array}}$$   Vol. 4, No. 1 $\raise 2pt \tt{\large{\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ MONDAY,\ JANUARY\ 9^{th},\ 2017\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ }}$ Price: On...

 
Ok more better.
 
When does the FTC end?
I have an idea for a I'd like to post
 
It like... just started
It runs the 9th of January to the 22nd of January.
 
@Rubio I'm well aware, but I take a long time to put things together
 
Ah. Nah, point well taken - I know the feeling. hehe
I just vastly stretched my MathJax knowledge on that puzzle I just posted
 
4:33 AM
lol
 
@Rubio I've got the cryptics solely from the definitions but that first one is still baffling me
 
It's maybe a bit of a stretch. hehe
 
Oh
ah
okay
 
Get it?
 
I was trying something completely different for "trade places"
 
4:39 AM
Oh lol, just got the answers from the enumerations :P
 
See, I knew I should have left the enumerations off. *mutter*
Those were just in there for grins, of course.
 
5:38 AM
0
Q: Some Rebuses for U

boboquackHere are some rebuses all about U! The first is very easy, the second is moderate (you may need to think a bit on this one) and the last is moderate-hard (it is taken much, much further than the rest, probably too far for some). All images constructed with U's, except for any rectangles.

 
5:48 AM
howdy @boboquack
 
Hello!
 
Is that Saiid with a new name? I've been away recently.
 
@boboquack Indeed
 
@Rubio How long did all that TEX take you?!?!
 
5:51 AM
"This is an idea I′ve had in my head for a while now and I was finally able to put all the pieces together the way I had envisioned." should be taken quite literally. :) It took a long time.
 
I want to read pages 3 and 4
 
hehee
After page 1, I'm done for a good long while
 
And whyever did you change your profile pic to a can of diet coke? I thought that would be just for the Winter Bash...
 
The Columns section leave off right when they get good, huh!
 
Does taking the site tour do anything except get you a badge, though?
 
5:54 AM
nah. it just gives you a very basic overview. Probably too basic.
 
The paper was a bit late talking in UTC terms...
 
True. Oh well.
It took longer to go to press than anticipated.
 
Your profile pic...
 
Dec 22 '16 at 19:45, by Rubio
I took that pic a while back. I drink DC like a fish, and favor the Lime variety when I can get it. Other things in the photo, though you can't tell at this size, are a theater ticket to Cats (the yellowish blob in the lower right corner), my work laptop (left edge), and reflected in the can itself, the Dr. Who TARDIS themed case on my iPhone; all reflecting various interests of mine (in one case, literally).
 
Hmmm... So it's not like Rotter's/Displayname's profile pic... Oh well...
 
6:02 AM
Rotter, alas, is no more
now all we have is his slave
 
Rotter died?
 
yesterday, by RottersSlave
@Randal'Thor He fortunately died a few days ago. But I decided to continue my work here because I'm very responsible.
 
I'm uh
Not entirely sure what's happened.
 
@TheGreatEscaper Nice to meet you, uh
 
Is there something more enlightening that that quote from RottersSlave?
 
6:10 AM
Not really. You can read around there for what context there was - it's not much.
 
@TheGreatEscaper The word enlightenment?
 
Ah okay.
I remember bumping into Rotter under the alias 'DisplayName' once or twice, I believe.
 
 
1 hour later…
7:18 AM
first Sheerluck's out! (My new series)
 
eugh walls-o-text D:
 
And don't worry, not all of them will have this much story text. Its just as this is the first one I want to set the scene for the rest of the series
Sorry about that
You can just scroll down if you just want the puzzle, the text isn't that important
 
1
Q: Sheerluck Helms and the STRIKE Assassin

Beastly GerbilWhatson rushed into the room to find Sheerluck waiting for him with. 'Sorry I'm late,' gasped Whatson. Sheerluck looked him up and down, and asked casually 'Why were you late?' Whatson looked down and mumbled 'The stations were packed.' Sheerluck gave him what seemed to be the beginning of a s...

 
7:32 AM
@BeastlyGerbil Hi
Can you clear up a doubt regarding Sheerluck
 
7:58 AM
Yeah sure
I've edited out the error too now
@uptoNoGood so what's the problem?
 
8:11 AM
@BeastlyGerbil I've only solved 8 of these sentences so far D:
How much do ambiguities matter (e.g., "twist" vs. "bunch")
 
@BeastlyGerbil I honestly upvoted just because of the story
your deductions are ingenius
 
They shouldn't matter as you should get a definitive answer for each sentence
@TrojanByAccident :P
 
@Will may I be nosy and ask for maybe a couple of your answers to see if you're on the right track?
Yep on the right track :P
(They are all similar to that)
 
@BeastlyGerbil I want to ask about some I believe to have multiple possible wordings but I don't want to put them in plaintext in chat. Do you have somewhere offsite I can send you some questions or possibly a PGP public key I could use in a gallery chat?
 
8:18 AM
@Will Just give the md5 sum or rot13 or such
 
A hash wouldn't be helpful unless he can guess what I'm thinking & ROT13 would still be out in the open for everyone to see
 
@Will Why wouldn't it be helpful?
And I assumed that you were doing it for no spoilers :P
 
Because he'd have to guess what I mean to say, and hash each of his guesses to check if it's right...
 
That only works for dictionary words, not phrases & there's still the problem that if it does happen to work for what I want to say, anyone can read it.
 
8:23 AM
@Will Not only dictionary words, but ehh
@Will And what's wrong with anyone reading it? Is the point to not reveal spoilers, or to hide your info from others?
@Volatility do you mind if I borrow your formatting for a new puzzle I devised? It's called 'Suripurru' (Number Ripple)
It's sorta like a mix between Sukobai and Ripple-Effect
I'll post an image of a board in a sec
 
8:41 AM
many seconds later
 
@TheGreatEscaper lol, I'm not good at making the thin lines
I'll just finish up a not-so-good-quality one rq
 
8:58 AM
I'm up to 23ish but a bunch are iffy :|
 
@TheGreatEscaper You edited the tag wiki for , did you mean "around the grid" instead of "about the grid"?
 
That was my initial thought
But some things have clues outside the grid
I suppose 'around' still works :)
 
Yes, I think around can be used for the clues outside :-)
 
@Will there's my email on my profile if you want
I'm going to be in and out the site for a while though so...
You should know when you've got them all right and ordered them properly
 
9:14 AM
Aghh. My computer lost power and lost all of my progress on CLue 23 >.<
The Literature proposal is now at 100% commitment.
2
 
user61230
@Mithrandir I so badly want to pin this
 
@Emrakul I have no objection. :P
 
Alright, here's the grid (finally)
 
Aloha @TheGreatEscaper, let me suggest a change to your suggested edit to
 
@Mithrandir I gave you a referral :P
 
9:22 AM
Konnichiwa! I'm all ears.
 
instead of "around" as a replacement for "about", how about "within"
 
The clues are not always within, though, that's the problem.
 
@humn hello!
 
Consider Skyscrapers, for example.
 
@TrojanByAccident Did you commit? If you don't actually commit, I don't get the referral...
 
9:22 AM
okay, but they're not always around it either
 
The clues are usually entirely outside of the grid.
 
hi @IAmInPLS!
 
@Mithrandir I did.
 
blames caching
 
@humn You posted some good puzzles recently :-)
 
9:23 AM
Hence my initial use of 'about', which is preposition-ambiguous,
But I was told that 'around' would be a better word.
 
@Rubio posted a puzzle that looks amazing.
Who is Satoshi Ishikawa? o_o Apparently I referred them.
 
thanks, @IAmInPLS, never really know ahead of time
 
@TrojanByAccident ^ that you?
 
Yeah
Don't worry, I didn't post your referral all over the internet
... maybe ;)
 
I wouldn't have minded :P
 
9:26 AM
:P
It's rather confusing, though, "Full Name" looks like it's asking for a name, not a username :P
 
Oof! 60 puzzles for the grid-deduction have now been completed!
I've not got far left to go.
 
You're making 60 grids, @TheGreatEscaper?!
 
More than.
 
60 posts?!
 
All one post.
 
9:29 AM
gonna be a wiki answer for the ages!
 
@TheGreatEscaper Is that even allowed?
 
I've checked with Deus, who has a bit of an idea of what I'm doing, and he says it's okay.
There'll be no image spamming or anything, they'll be image links in sets of 5 puzzles each.
 
I give up. I'm just going to post this riddle as-is. Blame my computer, it ditched my maze.
@TheGreatEscaper Sort of like my recent puzzle?
9
Q: The Word Web of horror - Clue Twenty Two

Mithrandir<<---First clue <---Previous clue As you say the word, the floor starts rising. You are now able to reach the trapdoor. You push it open and climb out. You blink in surprise. You appear to be in the same place you were for Clue Sixteen. When you take another glance, however, you notice that it...

 
@TheGreatEscaper Ah. Is this Witless, or something else?
 
Does anyone know how to see the full list of top reviewers for a review queue?
 
9:31 AM
Yup, this is Witless @TrojanByAccident
So unfortunately you're out of the solve.
 
@IAmInPLS /review/xxxx-xxxx/stats isn't good enough?
 
@Mithrandir The format of the entire post will be like your rebus group.
Except each link will be to a set of puzzles, not just one.
 
@Mithrandir It gives you only the 15 first top reviewers
 
just about , though, @TheGreatEscaper, I guess the clues can be all over the place, and "around" means that colloquially enough, but there still might be a word that doesn't also mean outside.
 
9:36 AM
Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to solve a sudoku-type puzzle backwards?
*by hand
 
@humn what do you think of my initial word choice, 'about'?
 
(quick quip: @TheGreatEscaper: and in high heels?)
 
@TheGreatEscaper 'around' is better
 
@IAmInPLS Best I can find is this, not much use, sorry.
 
I really like "about" TGE, but someone was right that it is ambiguous too
 
9:37 AM
How about
we clear it up
with 'within and/or around the grid'
:P
 
@Sphinx is a slowpoke.
 
i posted a crossword where the clue was behind the grid, but it got closed closed quickly
 
@Mithrandir Good enough!
 
@humn behind a grid?
 
9:40 AM
it was a Zen crossword puzzle
but also, @TrojanByAccident, my quip up there was aimed for you but autocomplete sent it to TheGreatEscaper:
3 mins ago, by humn
(quick quip: @TheGreatEscaper: and in high heels?)
 
it was about solving a Sudoku backwards, like dancers
 
Oh
that's not what I meant
I meant starting with no numbers, and having to solve it that way, then remove some numbers
 
0
Q: A reprieve from the brain-stretching - Clue Twenty Three

Mithrandir<<---First clue <--Previous clue You push the door open. You look around, expecting another hard puzzle like the previous one. You look at the floor. It says: In recognition of you work, we would like to award you a Nob... sorry, wrong speech. In recognition of your work, we are givi...

 
!
 
9:43 AM
@Sphinx I already saw that
 
TrojanByAccident, have you seen the blank Sudoku puzzle? (finding the link)
 
@humn ?
wow
 
14
Q: There is a reason sudoku uses squares

kaineThere exists a 9x9 grid with the cells in one single row numbered 1-9 in order. The cells in the other 8 rows are initially empty. Note: The cells initially containing numbers can be in any one row; not necessarily the first. Draw borders to divide the square into 9 non-intersecting continuo...

 
We have been joined by (An insubstantial pocketed Mammal (9, 8))
 
@Sphinx Well? WHy haven't you solved it yet?
There we go.
 
9:53 AM
About to start designing the final test in my grid-deduction challenge! Welp, wish me luck. First time straying out of the confines of 6x4.
 
@TheGreatEscaper nice
 
@Randal'Thor you're up.
 
So how many are there total?
 
@Deusovi depends on how you count.
It's hard to assign a number to how many there are... :P
Especially if what happens AFTER the mega puzzle goes according to plan.
 
Ooooooooh.
 
10:05 AM
You can have a look at the first puzzle. It's not exactly a spoiler, is it? :P
That's all you're gonna get from me before the actual post.
 
reminds me of a tromino only less so
 
Reminds me of dominoes
:-)
 
@TheGreatEscaper That barely showcases the puzzles :P
 
You also get this teaser. Which hopefully hints at very strange things.
 
10:07 AM
I think that's the point :P
 
@TrojanByAccident I don't want to showcase anything until I post :P
 
@TheGreatEscaper True :P
 
Seems like the main mechanic is region division to me, but I'm not 100% sure.
No need to confirm or deny.
 
shrugs
 
@Deusovi The main mechanic is figuring out the puzzle and solving it
 
10:08 AM
I'm really excited.
 
That makes both of us, then :D
 
Any estimates for release?
 
Hmm, all 12 sets are complete, verified unique. I still need to design the big one, which will take tonight and maybe a bit of tomorrow. And then I have one more job after that, which will take a day or two.
So, 48-72 hours :P
 
Cool, sounds good!
 
Although it depends, since my motivation has increased somewhat over the past few days
 
10:12 AM
@TheGreatEscaper Am I allowed to post a non-competing answer? :P
I haven't seen all of the sets
 
@TrojanByAccident You can start being involved once people have gone up to set 6, I think.
 
@TheGreatEscaper alright
 
@BeastlyGerbil Yes, the ambiguities are important (and regional!). For the underwear one, there are two (well, for the important part at least; it's actually more) things we say more in the US than what turns out to be correct!
 
I've done about half of the creation for my puzzle
 
Is it a Sudoku?
(still curious about what you meant by "taking away numbers" from a Sudoku, TrojanByAccident)
 
10:24 AM
@humn it's similar.
@humn ?
 
43 mins ago, by TrojanByAccident
I meant starting with no numbers, and having to solve it that way, then remove some numbers
 
@BeastlyGerbil How are we supposed to solve the cryptic clues without def or enumerations ? :p
 
@humn taking away numbers from the solved puzzle, so that the receivers of the puzzle can then solve it?
 
haha, i thought you were taking away numbers from a blank one
in which case you'd have to fill in numbers in order to make it blank again
 
lol
wait what?
 
10:30 AM
what would a receiver see that looks different from a Sudoku with most numbers missing?
(what i said about blank again was deliberate nonsense)
 
@TrojanByAccident Go ahead
 
Thanks :)
 
(sorry, was just out)
 
(np)
I'm almost done with my puzzle
it's hard to make e.e
 
10:45 AM
Well, it sounds intriguing
 
Did you make up Number Slope, Volatility? It looked so good I didn't peek at the solution before trying it fresh.
22
Q: Introducing: Number Slope™

VolatilityNumber Slope™1 is an original2 grid deduction puzzle similar to Sudoku. It is solved on an n-by-n grid, tiled with n n-ominoes. The rules are: Each number from 1 to n must occur once and only once in each row, column, and n-omino. Any row or column of adjacent cells within each n-omino must hav...

The s are coming out great for pen and paper.
 
@humn Well I came up with it without seeing it elsewhere; whether it existed already beforehand I cannot say, although I don't think it did.
 
Consider making a Making-of post for it? What made you think of it?
 
Mine is so annoying, I doubt anyone has created it; I certainly haven't seen it before
@humn Making-of?
 
11
Q: Sample commentaries on puzzle creation

KeyboardWielderUpdate: Wrap-up posts have been approved by the community and may be posted as answers at their puzzles. No need to first post them here anymore. Original post (with minor edits) follows This is was a temporary sandbox for posting sample commentaries on puzzle-creation, to whet the idea descri...

 
10:50 AM
I love this fortnightly so much.
I was the first answer on 2/3 grid deduction puzzles so far, and I simply wasn't around when the third one got posted.
I enjoy these sorts of puzzles soooooo much!
 
@humn It actually came out of a different (and worse) idea I was working on. I think I was trying to find ways to restrict the myriad of possibilities which my initial idea had even with plenty of clues, and the n-omino idea and the "slope" idea popped out.
 
it's so clean, Volatility, i can believe that it's a reduction of something more complex
 
@TheGreatEscaper If you manage to solve mine first and give a really good answer, there's 50 rep waiting for you :P
 
When should I expect it to be up?
 
@humn Trouble is, valid grids are hard to come by. My laptop gives me an 8x8 grid in about a minute after trying tens of thousands of n-omino tilings, and I haven't gotten an 9x9 grid after many hours and millions of tries.
 
10:55 AM
sure it's possible after all?
 
It's such a cool concept though.
 
...
and,TheGreatEscaper, why haven't you solved 2/3 of my knock-off self-portrait yet?
 
@humn I have a few ideas, but they're all so roughly formed and I find your 'in progress' pictures confusing!
Could the creature possibly be a dragon?
 
@Volatility still interested in a Clue?
 
But, TGE (shorter to type), it's exactly your monster coming back from the woods
 
10:57 AM
I say dragon because it's the first mythical creature to come to mind that has something to do with something that might have something to do with 'self-portraits'
 
@Mithrandir Sure, although I'm working on another Number Slope puzzle, and the MIT hunt is this weekend, so might not have time this week.
 
I'll ping you.
 
i thought you had done a paint-fill on the walls to come up with that guess, TGE
 
Which says that the guess may just be correct ;)
Although
Now you give me some ideas...
 
10:59 AM
your half-pixel system might be cooler than you realize
 

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