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01:00 - 15:0015:00 - 23:00

01:29
@Rubio Yes. That's right.
01:42
Jumping in with an opinion out of the blue, during a quiescent half hour here:
Is politics really necessary here? — Deusovi ♦ Jun 12 at 2:04
Great point! Our site is generally a welcome refuge from ugliness.
It is also an attractive gallery for anyone who can sublimate their expressive desire into a puzzle.
(Speaking as one 1 with 6 7 still in the works and 3 many diverted, some political)
o/ humn
thank o/, n_p
The best one in the works relates to shopping, Captain Hook and knitting, but the graphics are two magnitudes more complicated than the statement. The solution is at that magnitude between.
Should just try it here. My favorite test subject solved it with that doesn't count.
Suppose you're carrying a shopping bag (loop) in each hook/hand (knitting needle).
How many steps does it take to swap those bags (loops)?
(In a posted puzzle, "steps" would be rigorously defined but, here, I'll dicker.)
(A couple of lines back, you're not allowed to use separate fingers. If nobody answers here this'll still become a posted puzzle but I'm getting lazy.)
02:12
I mean, you could do it in two "steps" if you could fit one bag through the handles of the other.
Doesn't count. You know why it's easier to pose one here than there.
My setup was going to be how to pass a single bag from one hand/hook/needle to another.
The graphics got too realistic. Thank you for following mere words, D!
How about this then? Three steps: Place one bag inside the other, move the outer bag to your other hand, and then take the inner bag out.
Though that wouldn't work with the "loops" formulation unless the loops were actually, say, a pair of those rings used in magic tricks.
(There are all sorts of even sillier solutions, like throwing one bag up in the air while you move the other one.)
I'm so happy that you stepped in with both hands!
(My solution has 6 arguable steps)
Well, the puzzle would be a lot harder to formulate if I (or the hypothetical hopeful bag-swapper) only had one!
Only one shopper/swapper!
Only two bags.
How many knitters?
Knitting is a fantastic puzzle, stitch after another.
It turns 1-D to 2-D to 3-D.
02:20
I've thought about learning about knitting. It seems really interesting, and there are actually several puzzles based around it!
But the closest I've come is knot theory (which is interesting enough on its own!).
I can't even keep up with someone tying their shoes.
At the moment, I'd ponder if knot theory = number theory.
Hullo @humn !
TheGr! I have pixel-mania saved for you.
It involves a spray-paint pattern that works at any angle. (Or did I already spew those letters a while ago?)
o/
All hands onboard!
Hm, it may be.
Maybe it would be a good idea to have a quick-reference list of all of the Word™ puzzles and their solutions in a spreadsheet or something?
Categorize them by "type" - geometric, pronunciation, anagram, letter selection - for easier dupe-finding.
Sorry to say it, I still use web searchers/archivers to find entries anywhere at stack*.
And glad to share it:
How can searchers/comparators really work?
I think it's all about finding differences and similarities
and I've formalized a multi-tier struture
level 0 differences are strict byte-by-byte differences
level n+1 differences are differences between level n differences ...
9
Q: What is a Lovely Word™?

greenturtle3141This is in the spirit of the What is a Word/Phrase™ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles. If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it a Lovely Word™. Use the following examples below to find the rule. And, if you want to analyze, here is a CSV version:...

might be what I was thinking of - but i thought there was a closer match. i'll look later
Ah, the dilemma between posting a solution and noting duplication.
(more about difference/similarity theory when I can't help it)
I guess I owe us a new C4
02:36
Someone does.
kibbitz: once and again (2)
CCCC: Carts turn into the links. (8)
btw, Techidiot used "not" to give N. never seen that one
is that valid?
I've never seen it
I suppose you could make an argument for it (A NOR B in logic stands for "not (A or B)")
so ... why is it that before we always saw new CCCC pins appear under the explanation, whereas now they always appear above it?
I dunno. Magic.
02:40
I think Mod pins are higher pin-weight, so if you ever pinned the explanatory text it would win over RO pins. now that all the ROs are Mods, time-order wins for weight.
"golferss"?
"caddiess"?
Rubio most likely has something more clever than just golf going on.
"ratcutss"?
"stratocas(ters)?" (Can't believe I've been treated to a lecture series on cryptics and still haven't caught on.)
I'd love to give an actual lecture on cryptics.
(But hey, I haven't solved that clue either.)
I'd like to attend that lecture. I learn in person. In words, though, what a challenge.
( ! ! ! injected after the 1/2-second limit)
Last two sentences are comperhensible only to those who comprehend.
signed -- compulsive editor who tries to let loose online
"starcross"?
"crossstar"?
Too many S'es for comfort. Time for some minusS's. Aaaaa.
03:03
I looked at the CCCC and thought 'cool, anagram *carts and then insert it into 'the' to get an 8 letter word meaning links'
Anagram solver:
CHATTERS
RATCHETS
me: hmm.
03:40
If you can handle it, TheGrE and others:
It's quite pleasant, in an American Horror Story background music sort of pleasant :)
You got it.
You beat to the half rhythm, TheGrE. (That's a compliment and a half.)
Meet you at Music SE ?
 
3 hours later…
06:31
Is anybody willing to play any game in one of the game rooms?
07:13
0
Q: When words are brothers

Soha Farhin Pine A direction opposite wrongness Double Vee at front, wings are made Ghoul minus toul--- add what comes of it, paper is used Remove Vee one by one, the passage is a ceremony. Whatever may be the case, we all sound the same. What on earth is the point of origin?

Sid
Sid
07:33
@Deusovi @Gareth I am sorry I didn't post the clue. Power was out for the last 36 hours.
What clue was this?
Sid
Sid
Oehm's Harry Potter clue..
Well, you just missed out on posting one yourself. I'm sorry to hear about the power outage.
Sid
Sid
Well, yeah, 2017 became 1720 for me..
Are you guys up for a game?
Contact perhaps?
07:41
yay
No, not me, thanks. (I've never played Contact and I have an inkling that I may be a bit too slow for it, so it wouldn't be much fun to play with me.)
08:05
you certainly have the making hard clues part down
Sid
Sid
08:29
CC question: Can "the" be used as "d"?
seems fine
Because it looks like ĐE? No, I don't think so.
Sid
Sid
Sounds like "d"?
Also in Message language, it tends to be quite common
Okay, didn't know the usage in text message language.
Sid
Sid
Is that allowed or not?
08:38
It's always up to the setter, at least to a certain extent. I don't think it's an established use and I wouldn't want to use it in my own clues.
(I think Rubio wouldn't use it either. Abbreviations can be tricky. For example I think that Techidiot gets away with "less than or equal" = LE in a community where the use of MathJax (\le) is widespread, but it wouldn't do for a more general audience.)
All that waffle above is of course just a convoluted way of saying no, it's not allowed.
Sid
Sid
Hmm. Okay. Sounds fair to me.
Anyway, one can never be sure with @Rubio's clues, but I think it is: TROLLIES (carts) = ROLL (turn) in TIES (links)
Apparently, trollies is an alterative spelling for trolleys.
trollies o_O
that looks so ugly
Sid
Sid
I had only heard of trolleys. Trollies is new for me.
That looks more akin to "troll" than "trolley"
08:50
-2
Q: A Classic Puzzle For gpuzzles.com

chicharitoCan you Decode it? Source: Source Of Cipher

Sid
Sid
^ Advertisement!
@MOehm It is indeed. Not sure if "one can never be sure with @Rubio's clues" is a good thing or a bad thing.
Yes, I had to look it up to confirm it. It also seems to be an American thing. In British dictionaries, trollies leads me to some underwear.
BTW that answer looks copy-pasta from here (although it's possible that JMP got it themselves, but the formatting matches too perfectly)
@Rubio I just said this to cover my back. For the time being, consider it a good thing ...
08:53
:)
CCCC: Pistol's gone off without remorse, not right about disturbing apparition (11)
Everything about that puzzle and solution is bad. I'm actually disappointed JMP answered it at all, let alone by amping the fail up to 11 by copypastaing the answer from the same site as the puzzle.
1
Q: Daily Riddle By dailybrainteaser.blogspot.com

StackOverFlow India1Maria enters a small room. The Door Closes. When the door open, Maria is in a larger room. Explain? Source : Click

Dammit where are these coming from :O
09:13
Wth
Sid
Sid
WTF are all these questions?
Exactly
Renamed that last one and took the clickable link out. This is getting silly though.
Nice edit summary @Rubio :P
Hehe
09:25
0
Q: The swap puzzle

PuzzlerThe swap puzzle Place small coins heads up on the squares marked H and tails up on the squares marked T. Swap the positions of the Heads for the Tails in as few moves as possible. There are two ways to move a piece: Move left or right to an adjacent empty square Jump over a single adjacent pi...

@Sphinx That should be a dupe
Hey does sphinx understand that
Sid
Sid
"Ambassador has a very English fling" (5)
Apparently answer is HEAVE. Someone explain?
(Yesterday's Guardian Cryptic Crossword)
HE(ambassador)+A+V(ery)+E(nglish)
Fling=def
Ambassador for HE feels sloppy.
09:32
HE as an abbr. for His/Her Excellency probably
Ah. That might be. They use some abbreviations I am unfamiliar with
Ah, people at 15^2 agree
Ankoganit has it. I think it's pretty common, in British crosswords at least.
Hey what's the difference between Too broad and Primarily opinion based?
09:48
Too broad is there are many possible answers that fit the question, so it effectively has no single correct answer.
And primarily opinion based?
Opinion based is asking for answers that aren't even provably correct, they're asking for answerers opinions on a subject.
seems similar in the context of puzz.se
Opinion-based questions are often about recommendations of ressources.
too broad would be "I am big and I tell the time. What am I?"
09:53
Umm, a clock tower?
(I know it's not actually a question)
Could be a grandfather clock, or Big Ben, or any of a number of other good alternatives. All fit, none so much better that the others are clearly inferior.
Could be sun
Could be my big brother who has the only watch in our family
Opinion based is "Which method should I learn first for solving Rubiks Cube?"
No answer to that is demonstrably "correct" - it's just the opinion of the answerer
Sid
Sid
Umm.. @Deus I may be wrong but looks like your shadow crept onto the picture of your cat..
Which picture is this?
09:59
16 hours ago, by Deusovi
user image
Awww, that cat is adorable
I love cats
Sid
Sid
You would have loved mine.
Except she is dead. Maybe, if I rummage through my phone, I will find a picture of her..
10:21
Okay, my program for matching that shadow to real people finished running
Matches: 1 272 901 502 people have this silhouette
10:33
lol
"Magnify and enhance!"
Now try.
[i for i in matches if len(i.cats())==1 and i.cats()[0].legs()=3]
Now try.
Sid
Sid
Isn't and=&& or is that only in Java?
dunno... python list comprehension makes almost anything work
Yeah, python is the best
10:44
well... to write semi-readable code perhaps...
but... someone tell me what this means:
int(''.join(sorted(str(x+int(''.join(reversed(list(str(x)))))))))
(yes, I wrote that; yes, I am ashamed of it)
anyone?
this looks like a very convoluted and inefficient way to sort all characters of x twice
(input x is an integer)
I could probably make it nicer, but it works, so meh
there's no reason to reverse the second x if you're going to sort it anyway
oh, wait
ah, I actually get what it's doing now
What is it doing?
What does list(x) do
takes x + reverse(x) and sorts the digits
10:49
What does reverse(x) do?
so 423 turns into 423 + 324 = 747 -> 477
Is there a nicer way of doing that?
(it was a convoluted programming question)
Oh, right
I get what's happening now
not for the sorting part
for the reversing part you could get by with int(str(x)[::-1])
ah, yes, that would work
10:53
What does ::-1 do?
reverse splice
Why am I so lost?
Sid
Sid
So... This code is sorting the number x?
import random as r;print(['N','NE','E','SE','S','SW','W','NW'][r.randint(0,7)])
@Wen1now ^
does that help?
Okay, I think I get that
Oh
Okay, no, that doesn't help
How about a compass program?
10:57
while True:print('You are facing',input('Which direction are you facing? ')+'.')
There you go
I've written worse
print '\n\n'.join(map(lambda a:(lambda F,E: "\n".join(map(lambda e:(lambda k: ("".join(map(lambda t: t[1][0] if t[1] in E else t[1][0].upper(), filter(lambda t: t[0] or t[1] not in E, enumerate(map(str.lower, filter(None, __import__('re').split("[ :-]+", k)))))))))(raw_input()), range(F))))(map(int,raw_input().split())[1], map(str.lower,raw_input().split())),range(int(raw_input()))))
is that a codegolf submission?
Sid
Sid
What.The.Hell is that?
(can you code-format it?)
no, but for some reason I wanted to code that in one line
10:58
Hi @humn, got any code quips?
how do you code-format it?
@Sid what.the.hell is not a valid location. Did you mean chat.then.tell?
this was a code golf submission
import pygame as p,random
q=p.display
T=16
b=q.set_mode([256]*2).fill
l=[]
d=a=x=1
c=p.event.get
while not(x&528or x in l):
 l=l[a!=x:]+[x]
 while a&528or a in l:a=random.randrange(512)
 b(0);[b(99,(o%T*T,o/32*T,T,T))for o in l+[a]];q.flip();p.time.wait(99);D=d
 for e in c(2):
  v=e.key-272;n=((v&2)-1)*[1,32][v<3]
  if-n-D and 0<v<5:d=n
 c();x+=d
snake game in pygame
I tried to get some semblance of formatting into that line of code but I got lost in the middle of it
but what it does is it takes a list of articles (like "the a an of") and a movie name (like "lord of the rings") and produces an abbreviation "LotR"
... and why is that a snake game?
oh, what I explained is the single line of code from earlier
the pygame snippet is a snake game
11:10
@boboquack , f(~4u)!
(~=! in modern code, and ! = optional ; at the end, where it no longer counts)
(damn, should wake up fully before and after waking up enough to type; you get my fingertips dancing ahead of their knuckles, boboquack)
... snippet turned out to refer (after half a century of pretending to never heard of Harrison) to:
11:47
@Wen1now , I have scars to show what a certain alley cat used to think of me. Now the little lion curls up under my nose when I try to sleep. (Guess that's more related to resolutions than solutions or puzzles.)
I still think cats are cool
That can be cured. Don't see a doctor.
I used to think humans were cool too. Then what happened? (Just the best that could!)
Hmmm...
I can think of lots of potentials
Think my alley cat has used up most of the allotted lives. Every day the dinger-danger comes in the back door to mark/scratch/name-it on the way out the front door to wake everyone up with another howling fight.
I've just gotta give up and stop fighting cats in the front yard one of these days!
(Purposely ambiguous. Signed -- cat lover not fighter)
I call my favorite "Butter," but not because he looks delicious.
18 hours ago, by Deusovi
user image
^ looks like a dead ringer!
Also call my favorite "Header." Put those words together and you have a cat who thinks (?) they can get out of anything via their brow and a veterinarian.
(For anyone with a doubt, yes cats think. I've followed a kitten from outsmarting me to knowing more than me. They just don't know how to explain what they know.)
12:44
(That's why every cat needs -- an editor)
Ooh, @Ankoganit are you on AoPS?
13:08
0
Q: Puzzle [Puzzle]

VepirPuzzle - A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge.

@Sphinx I can tell imgur must not be too thrilled about this puzzle :P
@MOehm You should try it! Sure, it's possible that you wouldn't like it, but there's no harm in trying once, right? (Of course, you don't have to if you don't want - nothing wrong with that.)
@Sid No, that's the bed - look at the table's shadow. There's only one light in that room.
Sid
Sid
13:24
Oops. Sorry for disturbing you and sending Wen on a wild goose chase.
Although, that really looked like a guy's shadow
13:56
@Wen1now Yep!
14:08
@Sid No need to apologize! You're not disturbing me at all. And yeah, it does look like a person's shadow now that I look at it again.
@ffao At first glance there's only 9, so it's not too bad? :P (although 1's on i.imgur not i.stack.imgur for some reason)
Yeah, I just went through them
(innermost)
https://i.sstatic.net/JcQe1.png
https://i.sstatic.net/hb5G5.png
https://i.sstatic.net/JoJxF.png
https://i.sstatic.net/El9Cs.png
https://i.sstatic.net/RRRVf.png
http://i.imgur.com/7NjuX9S.png
https://i.sstatic.net/im2ss.png
https://i.sstatic.net/JVQtD.png
https://i.sstatic.net/geZEC.png
(actual post)
they're... exactly what you'd expect
Sid
Sid
Meh, I got bored after the first few, I think
it was tedious
There's some suspicious thing in the image description
14:13
Really? What?
> //recovered a part of code, but method names are missing almost all chars STRING = c____(DRAFT) + "" + IMAGE[0]; c______(f___("\ɯoɔ˙ןɹnʎuıʇ")+STRING);
In edit mode
@Ankoganit Yup, looks like pseudocode. f___ is probably flip.
Something at tinyurl?
Yeah. IMAGE[0] seems like the first letter of the image URLs, but I've tried all those and had no luck.
14:15
DRAFT is probably Puzzle
Can tinyurls contain space?
Don't think so.
STRING is supposed to contain a space
So whatever c______ is, it must be removing spaces
Or turning them into something else, like rot47
0
Q: MetaMurderMystery

blehOh no. Another murder. More work for you, the famous Dr. M. Helos, in the summer, no less. The story: A man by the name of Nat Sow was found dead on a bench. When the police found him, they were unable to move him, as if he was a stone stuck to the seat. They uprooted the whole bench, and on c...

Best I'm seeing for c?????? verbs is comment or compute
Wow, another
14:21
Possibly caption
Did you find something else, Anko?
I think Ank's referring to the latest puzzle that sphinx just mentioned
Sid
Sid
I have a weird feeling that new puzzle is going to be a rickroll
14:24
Hm.
This does not seem like fun.
(The first step involves reading the source.)
Sid
Sid
Yeah.
Youtube links could be just about anything
My parent(s) blocked that site
You're fast
Overdone puzzle mechanics: +1 :/
Yyyyep.
14:25
If we really have to find a youtube url, it's most likely rickroll
Sid
Sid
137 and 89 are zZ respectively. Gaping hole is O..
Oh, wait, yY, sorry
Or o, or 0.
Or 58 and 32 C
Imgur mazes are not fun because there's no confirmation of your answers. One mistake can't be corrected (like it could if, say, your answer was a word) - you just have to guess at which one was wrong.
... yep :/
14:28
I think I've gone on this rant before.
Stop thinking and rant some more.
Yeah we have, at least twice
Sid
Sid
I liked Anko's idea in that puzzle of his in which we basically had to solve a riddle to get the imgur links
Was that the e^iπ one? That one was nice.
Sid
Sid
Yeah, that one, right.
14:29
:)
I think that table system is the best way to implement Imgur mazes if you have to for some reason.
If that one was the one with a lookup table, yeah that was a nice way to go about it
(as far as imgur mazes go at least)
Anything can be accomplished with a matrix ... mazetrix? ... are for kids.
Sid
Sid
@humn Your parent(s) blocked Youtube? :o
After I was conceived they blocked everything! Who'd've thought.
For Rub(io)-a-dub-a-dub:
14:35
My Ludicrous Loop is almost done!!!
Sid
Sid
Hey @The !
I have advertised your game amongst my friends.:P
(Or rather, linked it to them)
Spread the word!
... but also:
"Real orange, lemon and cherry flavors"
What could be more real than a flavor?
... could be the makings of a riddle ...
What could be less tangible that reality?
What could be left of Zen?
Right of wrong?
Behind an ass?
Apart, a letter, and a cart.
Poetry! (The answers don't even need to match the stanzas)
@Sid ahaha cool :) I hope they enjoy it!
link?
("that" = "than" up there, and other edits beyond the picosecond limit)
Bwahaha picosecond indeed
TSL is harsh on moments of attention lapse
Link to the game?
one sec
14:47
:38343092 Don't.
much apprecieated, TheGrE
@Deusovi , you are the most interesting combination of do and don't I've encountered. Sometimes you allow, sometimes you don't, sometimes you will, sometimes you won't. Wish I could see what you just didn't.
Ouch, okay. Point taken. I don't know all the history.
@MikeQ , you are just plain interesting! Don't let that go to your head or weigh your fingers.
Thanks, I think?
@Mike these days ', I think' is just a standard and unspoken appendix to anything directed at @humn (, I think...)
14:54
Long overdue dues to you, @Mike Q, you're on my list.
@Deusovi Thanks for the encouragement. Maybe I'll bite some day, but not today.
Oh no. I'm on humn's list. My days are numbered.
And to make matters worse, I won't even understand the numbering system...
@MikeQ , alphabetically and you're at number MQ
(now that I think about it it wouldn't be that hard to combine 5+ Nikoli grid deductions - it just wouldn't be very nice and it's hard to beat The Witness in the "grid deductions with lots of mechanics" category)
That pinnacle also sparked my favorite answer. I'm still catching my breath.
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