The Sphinx's Lair

Deusovi

12:09 PM

Can we handle that "infinitely long loaf of bread" thing? It's definitely too broad.

n_palum

I ~~will~~ can't help with that :P

Deusovi

You're only 230 rep away.

@Wen1now? @Sp3000?

10

Q: Infinitely long loaf of Bread

You are visiting your old friend Mike at Infinitely's Baking Shop. Just as you arrived, he was taking out a fresh, infinitely long loaf of bread. Both of its ends extend infinitely long in a straight line. The smell of the breads displayed on the infinitely long shelves feels so good. ...

Sp3000

What's the plan? VTC too broad?

Wen1now

Yeah?

What are we doing?

Deusovi

VTC if you think it deserves to be closed for whatever reason.

Ankoganit

12:19 PM

VTCed

Deusovi

(And this is why I don't like HNQ.)

Mithrandir

A lot of sites don't like HNQ.

Sp3000

I remember reading this and not getting the question at all

Deusovi

Yeah, the question makes no sense.

"Unclear what you're asking" would also work.

Wen1now

Just a question, do people get notified if somebody edits an answer to one of their questions

Sp3000

12:20 PM

> Both of its ends extend infinitely long in a straight line.

> If you grab one of the loaves of bread from the display, you can grab it by one of its ends and thus cut a single crust piece, but Jesse needs two, or he'll stay hungry.

Deusovi

Don't think so, no.

Mithrandir

But if it wasn't for HNQ, I wouldn't be here, so...

@Wen1now nope.

Sp3000

(those two sentences were the source of my confusion)

Deusovi

The question is insufficiently defined. That could be either "too broad" or "unclear what you're asking".

Ankoganit

At least there isn't any "infinite mass of bread would create a black hole"-kinda answer yet.

n_palum

12:22 PM

unclearly too broad

Deusovi

@Ankoganit Reminds me of that rope question from a while ago.

Mithrandir

@Deusovi off topic as well.

It could be TB, Unclear, OT, or POB. Quite an achievement.

Sp3000

I too immediately thought Anko was referring to rope :P

Ankoganit

@Deusovi yeah, I remember Rand linking that. Can't wait to get to 10k :P

Deusovi

I can screenshot it for you.

n_palum

12:25 PM

ew

Sid

Why was that deleted?

Sp3000

(I just realised the comments under cyberconte's answer to the bread question was basically my qualms)

Ankoganit

And that gets 81 votes. Sigh...

Deusovi

The joys of HNQ.

Jan Dvorak

I want to know what the intended solution was

Sp3000

12:27 PM

Give up. Votes will never be proportional to quality :P

Jan Dvorak

@Sp3000 R > 0.5 would be fine with me :P

Sp3000

(even without HNQ they wouldn't be, since people like voting on appearances quite often)

Deusovi

answers include coiling the rope into something thick enough to be used as a bridge, selling it to a rope manufacturer to buy a helicopter, throwing the rope into the water to soak it all up, lassoing the tree and walking around the globe to keep it tied, melting the rope and turningit into a plastic boat (since modern ropes are made from petrochemicals), the infinite rope forming a black hole and bringing the island to you, waiting for the seasons to change and walking across the frozen lake...

Jan Dvorak

What's wrong with making a rope bridge by circling the lake?

Sid

Which idiot will buy a rope while giving away a helicopter?!!

Jan Dvorak

12:30 PM

It's an infinite rope, Sid

Deusovi

A rope manufacturer would have a lot of use for infinite rope.

Jan Dvorak

You can crash the world economy with that kind of thing

Sid

Huh. Too much Lateral thinking

Jan Dvorak

You can even feed the world with it if it's flax

Deusovi

Exactly why it was deleted.

Ankoganit

12:33 PM

I wonder what answer the Google people intended... using Google Maps to get directions?

Sp3000

I don't think there's an intended answer, usually interview questions aren't about getting the "right" answer as they are seeing what you try to do in the face of a problem

Deusovi

^

Ankoganit

Hm

n_palum

It's all about the thought process, they wanna know how you think

Ankoganit

"I think your question is stupid"

Sp3000

12:37 PM

"Sure. I guess we can call this interview off early."

n_palum

Could be how you think, I'm not sure how they'd take it

Sid

I am not sure, people appreciate bold and honest approach.

Interviewers are weird people, though. You never know what to expect

Ankoganit

^

Sp3000

tbh if you can clearly explain why you think the question is stupid, you're probably fine :P (also I realised I read Anko's comment in a harsh negative tone, when it could also be delivered a lot nicer)

Sid

Just say the reasons why it wouldn't fit in Puzzling.

Rubio

12:43 PM

@Mithrandir Same. I leave it to the reader to decide if that is good thing or not.

Mithrandir

You still haven't banned yourself? Tsk.

Rubio

I'll again note for the record that i only ran on a "Ban Rubio" platform - not on a promise that I would take that action if elected. :)

Sid

How is "siren"=woman is dangerous?

Mithrandir

Greek mythology.

BmyGuest

Queston to mods: (@Deusovi and others) Is there a way to query which questions hit HNQ in the past?

Rubio

12:48 PM

That's a somewhat sloppy definition if that's from a cryptic, but a siren is a woman (ish) who lured men to their doom

M Oehm

A siren is a woman who lures sailors into danger with her song. It's a dd: "warning" and "that woman is dangerous", although a siren isn't a warning, just a warning device.

BmyGuest

@Ankoganit Yup. Defenitely took longer than creating the puzzle in the first place. (Although that also took quite a bit.) Hope it isn't solved in a matter of hours (minutes?) ;c)

Deusovi

@BmyGuest Views*votes/quality? :P (I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I don't work with queries.)

Rubio

@BmyGuest there's circumstantial evidence but, to my knowledge, there's no way to tell. It's been asked before. Perhaps employees have a way to query it, but neither mortals nor mods can.

Sid

I

Ankoganit

12:50 PM

II

Sid

I basically quit the guardian cryptic out of demotivation

BmyGuest

Hmm, thanks. It's a shame though. I think it would be useful (meta) info for many people looking at queries. Maybe something to bring up on MetaStackExchange... (probably there already)

Sconibulus

You could almost certainly find out what is a hot network question at a given time

Deusovi

@Sid Yeah, it's hard.

Rubio

Oh. Yeah, "that woman is dangerous" makes better sense.

Ankoganit

12:51 PM

@BmyGuest what software do you use for these?

Sconibulus

I think I remember the formula being posted here earlier

Rubio

@Sconibulus no need for the "almost". There is a userscript that will even put a "HOT" banner on a question if it is on the HNQ

Sconibulus

getting the change in that list over time might be a query SEDE would ban you for though :)

BmyGuest

@Ankoganit I do a lot of pre-work with CorelDraw, the 3D work is done with Fusion360. As is the rendering, but it's a bit tricky (and I'm still learning)

M Oehm

My gripe with that clue is more with the siren=warning part.

Ankoganit

12:53 PM

@BmyGuest Cool, thanks

Sconibulus

@Rubio I meant at a non-present time

Rubio

Oh. At a non-present time I don't think there's a way to know. Unless you had cached it yourself.

Sp3000

pens in SIREN as a clue that was not gotten yet

Deusovi

@MOehm Really? I don't see a problem with that. The siren can be the actual sound.

Rubio

20

Q: How to see if a question was a "hot network question"?

I've had at least one question featured as a "hot network question" and during that time it got 1,000's of views in the course of a few days. But if you look at that question now you wouldn't have any way of knowing that that's where the bulk of it's view count came from. Is there a way to find ...

support hot-questions

Sconibulus

12:55 PM

I'm imagining votes are timestamped in SEDE, but I'm not certain that's correct, Answers certainly are

Views are most questionable, but I don't remember if Views factored into Arbitrary Hotness Points

Sid

I still dislike the fact that they use Scottish language, British private schools in clues.

M Oehm

@Deusovi Well, maybe. No-one else seems to bothered, not even on 15², so it's probably just me. But to me, the siren is the signal; the warning would be the message.

Sconibulus

There are frequently different sirens for different messages

M Oehm

(But I wouln't have anything against Red flag for warning, so I'm not very consistent.)

Sconibulus

e.g. if the Air Raid siren goes, you know there's an Air Raid, if the Fire Alarm goes, you know you're being tested

Deusovi

12:59 PM

Well, that's the Guardian - it's meant for British readers. I don't particularly like it either, which is why I don't do many British cryptics.

Sconibulus

if the TV beeps, the National Weather Service has something to say

Sp3000

@Sid Gotta cater your puzzles to your audience :P (although the Guardian does love their initialisms, which is one thing I feel weirdly about...)

Deusovi

(I try to write my cryptics to be accessible to everyone. They're usually fairly easy, but I don't mind.)

Sp3000

Having said that I've been trying the NYT and it's... an amusing change

Deusovi

What, the quick crossword? I'm sure it is.

Sconibulus

1:00 PM

NYT isn't cryptic at all, just uses really obscure words

M Oehm

@Sp3000 That was my last one in, after I had to cheat and reveal 6d.

Sconibulus

and... oblique definitions at times

Sp3000

(I only have most of the top half atm :P)

Sid

What clue was 6d again?

Sp3000

Yeah the NYT quick I mean, since I'm used to the alternate rows/columns grids in Oz/UK

Ankoganit

1:01 PM

@Sid you can try something Indian: I heard the Hindu had some decent cryptic.

Sp3000

I learnt very quickly that some clues are reused a lot

M Oehm

@Sid "Conductor’s support for uplifting alternative string sound (7)"

n_palum

I just wanna throw this back out there

Jun 23 at 12:47, by n_palum

This endless astonishment starts replacing dullness (4) @dcfyj

Deusovi

Yup. They kinda have to be if you want a nice grid.

Sid

@Ankoganit I did try that once. Got a few clues. Then, something came up and I forgot

Sp3000

1:05 PM

It's also weird seeing almost anything be an answer in NYT

(I mean I get why, but it's still amusing :P)

Sid

Making crosswords is hard though. I found that out recently

Deusovi

Hm? Like what?

Sp3000

From today: "Alphabet chunk after D-E-F" (5) [to be fair, the theme was pretty constrained for this one], "Cat on ____ Tin Roof" (1, 3), "Comparative suffix" (3)

Sid

How is comparative suffix a (3)? Shouldn't it be ER?

Ankoganit

Google tells me the answer is IER :/

Deusovi

1:12 PM

Ah, yeah. Some of the fill isn't great.

BmyGuest

@Rubio Thanks. Also posted this now meta.stackexchange.com/questions/297655/…

Sp3000

I don't mind because, well, gridding is hard - it's just funny to me how it's a whole different cluing culture in a way :)

Rubio

@n_palum WO-w + R_ D_

n_palum

Thank you, finally someone got the joke

BmyGuest

@Rubio BTW, thanks for editing my puzzle's text portion. I very much approve ;c)

n_palum

1:16 PM

Jun 23 at 12:46, by dcfyj

The main thing is thinking of a word

M Oehm

@n_palum Shouldn't you somehow indicate the definition by example. (Niggle, niggle.)

n_palum

Meh details

Ankoganit

Maybe this: "Maybe this..."

M Oehm

^ Maybe this.

n_palum

This maybe

TheGreatEscaper

1:22 PM

Maybe she was born with it.

Maybe it's maybelline.

Mithrandir

Well. That's fun.

Rubio

@BmyGuest No worries. That looks like it's going to be fun, but not at all my forte

Mithrandir

I've never actually used the contact form before.

Rubio

@Mithrandir You're finally asking them to ban me? Cool :)

Mithrandir

Yep! Pretty soon we'll see a 1-rep Rubio running around with a diamond ;)

Rubio

1:26 PM

That would be ... interesting :)

Mithrandir

But sites that are stealing content is even more pressing, I'm afraid to say. Takes precedence over banning you.

M Oehm

Is that a current concern? I thought it was the other way round: People spam PSE with so-so content from other sites.

Mithrandir

Yep, I just reported two sites that had taken content from PSE.

Rubio

More of that nonsense huh. I mean, I suppose CC-SA gives a certain leeway there if they actually attribute in some meaningful way. I'm not sure if the content replicators bother, but - if they did what leg would we have to stand on then?

Gareth McCaughan

none, I think

which is OK

Mithrandir

1:31 PM

If they provide attribution, no problem. These didn't.

Rubio

(It was rhetorical, really). I think it's a little weird, but it is what we signed up for. Literally.

parvin

hi ! sorry if it's wrong chatroom.
can any one tell what this stack site is about?

Sid

@Mithrandir which sites?

@parvin puzzles!

Ankoganit

Mithrandir

@Sid Google 'freehand rebus'

parvin

1:32 PM

just puzzle ?any sort of algorithm or programming or math involved?!
what sort of puzzle? it sounds interesting !

M Oehm

@parvin What wuld be the right chatroom? In other words: What are you looking for?

Sid

@Mithrandir I see only one

Ankoganit

@parvin it sure is interesting! Have a look at our top-voted questions!

parvin

@MOehm i mean wrong chatroom for my question, u may be talking about sth specific

Sid

Oh, wait. Got the two

parvin

1:34 PM

@Ankoganit sure ! thanks

Rubio

@parvin Nope this is the general chat room for the Puzzling site.

parvin

@Rubio ok :)

Deusovi

@Rubio Yeah. I'm sure it makes more sense for other sites, but here it just feels... weird.

n_palum

@Mithrandir That "CollectGet" site doesn't look like it's taking PSE alone, it looks like it's just pulling any SE question and dumping it there

Rubio

@Ankoganit ooh. I broke the top 60. (Puzzling Times in at #56)

@n_palum heh. I just ran across a bunch of CollectGet stuff looking for answers in Meta. It wouldn't be so bad but they mangled what they took on top of it.

Ankoganit

1:39 PM

@Rubio That's also the top-voted cryptic-clues question.

Rubio

Lol. That's just wrong.

now I'm tempted to remove that tag.

n_palum

There's no attribution, it really seems to just be pulling and posting it in real time

Mithrandir

That's why I reported them.

So the SO team will take care of it. Although it may be a while because it can be a long process.

n_palum

thumbs up

Sid

1:57 PM

archive needs to be updated.

Rubio

Sid

also the nemesis column. It shows Rubio's to be 74 instead of 75..

Rubio

That's correct.

I've solved 75, set 74.

(according to what's in the archive.)

Sid

what happened to the missing one?

Rubio

It's not in the archive yet.

Sid

2:03 PM

Also, I think trojanByAccident and Saiid are one and the same. So, you could probably merge them..

Rubio

Nemesis sees I have solved 75, whichi is correct, and that 74 of mine have been solved, as my 75th submission in reality is not present in the archive and so thus has no solver yet, as far as the archive knows.

Sid

Right. It needs to be updated.

Rubio

@Sid are they?

Sid

Jan 10 at 5:50, by boboquack

Is that Saiid with a new name? I've been away recently.

Similarly, it says SP has solved 62 but set 61, Deusovi has apparently solved 50 but set 52..

Rubio

Those, too, are actually correct.

Either SP or Sid solved a recent one (who solved it is debatable; I credited SP with it)

and neither set a new one, so Deus did

And also Deus set the first clue, so will always have one more set than solved

(And now, two more.)

Sid

2:08 PM

Right. Got it.

Rubio

5

Q: To be, or not to be - What is the question?

I just wanted to test my encryption skills with this wonderful community that seems to be able to crack almost any code! I've made a few codes before, but almost always, they were encoded several times over, sometimes in several different languages, and not meant to be decoded by anyone but the r...

cipher english

confirms that Saiid is now trojanByAccident

Sphinx

2

Q: All In In Broken Test On Channel 4

When linked with a choice it may well make you whine And when builders have it, oh how they do pine. To some it's an art where deceit may abound Inside a location some suits lead around. It's practically perfect when headed by me It's leading the way for intoxicant free The answe...

riddle word wordplay rhyme

Rubio

2:31 PM

@Sphinx I don't get this title at all

Sid

Right. That's the one where I am stuck too.

I am thinking if there are any TV channels or something but that would be too regional?

Deusovi

Seems cryptic-ish to me.

TEST(ON?) anagram around "all in" synonym

Sid

Oh!

All in as Poker thing. Deal as in poker?

Rubio

hm, maybe

Deusovi

It's possible.

Rubio

2:37 PM

Speaking of cryptics, any ideas for TGE's?

Deusovi

Me?

It was spoiled for me to double-check its validity. I can't say anything.

Rubio

Anyone in general, you in particular ;)

ohh

well then my vague doubts about its validity are settled, at least.

Sid

Considering we had recent clues on fictional characters, Dynamic Duo seems to be a viable definition for our word

n_palum

-levon

Rubio

I'd more expect -evon or -evo

but any are possible

n_palum

2:41 PM

all three are possible

Rubio

I'm just hoping it's not knowledge about some novel known for its circular plot structure, because that would annoy me. :)

oh, btw. I stumbled across this bit of weirdness: "This partial clue about Bolton can be solved (7)"

the answer is SOLUBLE. I'd love to know how that works.

Deusovi

Where is it from?

Gareth McCaughan

@Rubio FWIW I know offhand of exactly one novel that's circular in that sort of sense, namely James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake". Which doesn't seem likely to be anything to do with the answer.

Deusovi

The clue is SO+LU(BL)E (BL is the Bolton postcode, apparently. SO is "this" - no idea why, which is why I asked you for the origin)

Sp3000

I guess "can be solved" is def... BL seems to be Bolton so I guess "This" needs to give SO for SO+[c]LU(BL)E

Rubio

2:45 PM

@Deusovi No clue. I ran across it in search results for something unrelated, but it looked broken to me

oh. BL for bolton. mutter. This is why those cryptic crosswords are frustrating to me :)

Gareth McCaughan

My feeling about TGE's is that it's unlikely that "dynamic duo" refers to any particular pair of people (I think the most canonical pair would be Batman & Robin). More likely "dynamic" is an anagrind and there's an anagram of DUO or DUOX involved.

Or else "dynamic" is the def

Sid

Cross about could also be anagram indicator

Sp3000

Thanks Gareth, now gimme a sec...

Rubio

I was looking at Dynamic for def for a while

Gareth McCaughan

it's an annoying clue because "dynamic" could be def or anagrind and so could "novel", and "dynamic duo" could just about be a def and so could "circular novel" :-).

Sp3000

2:47 PM

... I seem to be a letter short

n_palum

Dynamic Duo * = A muddy coin

Rubio

"developing" would be interesting, and has velo (endless and circular novel) AND elop (Poles endless and circular)

Gareth McCaughan

@Sp3000 If you're only one letter short, that sounds extremely promising...

dcfyj

As I recall there's a character that gets called pole in narnia, (silver chair If I remember right)

Sp3000

Pretty sure this is the answer, just piecing wordplay :P

Gareth McCaughan

2:48 PM

Jill Pole, I think @dcfyj

(AFK for a bit)

Sp3000

((DUO)* + X) around (NORTH[s] ("Pole's endless") + O ("circular")) = UNORTHODOX ("novel")

With thanks to Gareth (I think that's it)

TheGreatEscaper

Yup!

Sp3000

Felt a bit weird using "endless" to take off the 'S, but got there in the end

GentlePurpleRain

Nicely done.

TheGreatEscaper

Yeah that's the part of the clue I think is a bit clumsy

but oh well

Sp3000

2:49 PM

(nice NORTH though :P)

TheGreatEscaper

Yeah I just built the clue off NORTH, which makes it funny that NORTH ends up being the most awkward part of the clue!

Sp3000

CCCC: Help cut commercial for negative neophyte (6)

n_palum

Novice?

Sid

sounds plausible but I don't see how to get vice..

n_palum

Vice = negative

Sid

2:53 PM

I was thinking more like No=negative..

n_palum

but considering it's for negative neophyte, makes me think we're looking for a negative newcomer... like a newbie

Sid

@Rubio apparently that title was for a place called Deal in Kent

Rubio

lol

huh. Contact is going.

paramesis

AD + (NO) VICE = ADVICE?

somehow no gets removed from novice

Deusovi

negative novice - double negatives cancel, I guess

Sp3000

3:07 PM

"cut" should disambiguate which one's intended, hopefully

Deusovi

no, other way around

cut AD for NO, from ADVICE --> NOVICE

paramesis

AAAH

yeah that's it

Sp3000

Yeah that's the one

Sid

So, I was partially there.. good work Deus and Paramesis

Rubio

that's a weird clue :)

Sp3000

3:20 PM

I was thinking we don't see much substituting so... yeah

Rubio

I wouldn't have expected "cut A for B" to be a substitution

Sconibulus

It feels like it works :)

Sp3000

Parallel from a DA crossword: "Bit-of-everything pizza cut up for dad? That's enough (5, 2)

I do admit "cut ... for ..." is a bit weird though, but I felt it made the surface better

Rubio

I have no basis to say yes or no, just - it wasn't an intuitive reading to me.

There's plenty of valid ones that don't feel intuitive to me, so that's not much to go on :)

Sconibulus

spare me...

Sp3000

3:28 PM

Well let me put it this way - it's like using "without" in a clue for me. I'll try to avoid it where possible (personal preferences) but if I fail to think of better I may just sneak one or two in :P

(Nice Scon)

Rubio

yeah i got that too

paramesis

I think Francesco Roggia is too excited about swastikas.

(at least I think that's the same user who praised the one that showed up in one of Wen1now's puzzles in a now deleted comment.)

Rubio

there were a couple of those actually

paramesis

oh ok

That's probably the most annoying part of designing grid deduction puzzles.

all it takes is an L shape with rotational symmetry and you'll never hear the end of it.

Deusovi

An L shape with rotational symmetry?

paramesis

3:36 PM

to make an accidental swastika in a grid deduction puzzle

Deusovi

Ah, yep.

paramesis

Ran into that a lot when I was designing cage layouts for my Killer Sudoku book

Deusovi

You all are gonna hate me for this:

CCCC: 💑📥🚓🚮🅰️☘️ 6️⃣ [you should see 7 symbols there - if anything looks wrong, please see the screenshot (though particular details are unimportant)]

n_palum

What's new ;)

Mithrandir

@Deusovi is there anyone left? Look at your profile:P

Rubio

3:42 PM

oh dear god.

Sp3000

Well look who's having fun :P

Deusovi

:D

GentlePurpleRain

@Deusovi The fourth symbol is showing up for me as an empty box. Is that correct?

n_palum

@Mithrandir I love that there's a typo

^^

Beastly Gerbil

the fourth appears to me

its a man putting something i the bin

Deusovi

3:43 PM

No, it's not an empty box.

^^

n_palum

damn you Deus, you right clever b----d <- should have another -

Mithrandir

@Deusovi you'd better screenshot it

Deusovi

That's what I'm doing now

Beastly Gerbil

or search for a pic online?

Deusovi

that's what it looks like to me

dcfyj

3:44 PM

me too

Beastly Gerbil

same

GentlePurpleRain

Wow, that's really different.

Rubio

yeah that looks nothing like that for me

GentlePurpleRain

Same semantic meaning, probably, but different symbols.

Lukas Rotter

Is the variation selector only significant for the visual representation?

Beastly Gerbil

3:45 PM

love inbox car bin a clover (6)

Deusovi

(the details of the implementation are unimportant - it would work with, say, Apple's emoji designs too)

dcfyj

so couple in love, in box, cop car?, recycle bin, A in a box (I believe a symbol for textbox) a clover, and a 6 in a box

Mithrandir

M Oehm

I see a (c)LOVER(s) thing going on.

thecoder16

ah, @Deusovi, perhaps a imgur link would be better

GentlePurpleRain

3:46 PM

@Deusovi What OS/browser are you using? With chrome on Android it looks like your screenshot. Chrome on Windows 7 it looks like Mithrandir's screenshot:

thecoder16

with chrome on mac, obviously, it shows the correct symbols.

Deusovi

I'm using Chrome on Windows 8.

Mithrandir

I'm using Chrome on Android

dcfyj

chrome + win 10 looks like his screenshot

Beastly Gerbil

chrome on windows 10

GentlePurpleRain

3:47 PM