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12:07 AM
This is my tier list for life and stuff
 
I don't see Tracer or Hanzo on this chart. It's clearly faulty.
 
12:49 AM
@Rubio its puzzling instead of puzzles
:)
 
1:15 AM
What's puzzling is how someone that puts the site below their own personal safety managed to get a diamond! I expect my mods to put their lives on the line and stand (and fall if necessary) in the face of the inevitable PPCG stack uprising.
 
1:36 AM
@OmegaKrypton lol. that'll teach me to type while someone else is talking to me
 
1:54 AM
Yep this is just how i remembered puzzling chat
 
2:25 AM
0
Q: Tiling a square with rectangles

Bernardo Recamán SantosTile completely this 47 x 47 square with rectangles. Each rectangle must contain precisely one numbered cell, and that number must be the area or perimeter of the rectangle it finds itself in.

 
 
2 hours later…
4:31 AM
 
 
4 hours later…
8:35 AM
0
Q: Deduce the Missing Terms in the Sequence

Uvc$NINE$ + $5$ $EIGHT$ + $3$ $SEVEN$ + $2$ $???$ + $?$ $FIVE$ + $1$ $????$ + $?$ $?????$ -$?$ $???$ - $?$

 
 
1 hour later…
9:59 AM
i keep trying to justify "AG = pet" somehow so that the cccc could be DAM(AG)E+_D
admittedly, having an Attorney General for a pet is not as common as having a dog or cat
 
10:57 AM
1
Q: Badminton in vacation

Crazy JimmyDuring their holidays Martina, Karl and Jim played badminton every day. The winner of each match continues to play in the next match against the one who just had a break, while the loser of this match pauses. At the end of their holidays, it turned out that Martina played 18 matches, and ...

 
 
1 hour later…
11:58 AM
0
Q: Help me solve this question from a culture fair IQ test?

Hari Paremal Cannot wrap my head around these 2, please also tell me what the logic is? For the 2nd one I think it might be a water droplet shape? But not sure about the logic. Thank you

 
 
1 hour later…
1:14 PM
1
Q: Most objective online linkable sudoku grader?

agcA Sudoku's difficulty level is often the first thing readers notice about a puzzle. For questions and answers showing a puzzle it would be nice to have a relatively objective linkable tester. I've used Thonky.com's Sudoku Difficulty Estimator for this purpose, but according to user21820 it seem...

 
1
Q: Out Of Bounds Puzzle [Level !]

Enqrypted - DeviniledUnlock the lock with the key. You might want to put this next to a certain website's url. You know, the website where they post images and stuff? I think it was named after images or something. . . /a/8QemVeM Is enough said already? Complete the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hClK7Sn ...

0
Q: Is there a Sudoku answer that has only a single minimal clue set?

agcUser Abigail comments on the titling of "Do sudoku answers always have a single minimal clue set?" : I'd be surprised if there were a Sudoku which doesn't have at least 2 disjoint clue-sets. Well then, is there a Sudoku answer that has only a single minimal clue set?

 
2:00 PM
1
Q: Step into the Octagram

SlowMagicThe diagram below shows a partially-filled "octagram". Step into it, if you dare! At every vertex in a long word. Flowing into every vertex are two short words. Anagrammed together, these two short words yield the long word. Flowing out of every vertex are two more short words. Anagrammed...

 
2:20 PM
3
Q: Fill 5 x 5 grid

user60999 In each cell of a 5 × 5 square there is a token that is black on one side and white on the other. Initially all tokens are placed with the white side facing up. On each move three tokens in consecutive cells in a row or in a column are flipped over. What is the smallest number of moves...

 
2:55 PM
@jafe The real question: if I’m a dog, what do I consider a pet?
 
 
That’s ... surprisingly creepy looking
 
I am very confused in all of the wrong ways
 
3:21 PM
0
Q: The Mathematical Puzzle That Is So Mathematical It Will Blow Mathematical Minds Of Mathematics Away!

XDVV Here is a short sequence that I made when brainstorming puzzles: 19 101 920 20009 701 104 403 311 3000000000000000004 ... You need to figure the next one out. Just so you know, this is an actual series that I made, and although the jump to 3,000,000,000,000,000,004 is ridicul...

 
 
2 hours later…
5:00 PM
Again and again, for what it's worth . . .
. . . still making a "cross(boundaries)word" puzzle.
The first test case went well on local talent, but here is what's likely to be the solved example, unsolved and unclued:
 
Ooh, I'm excited!
 
@Deusovi , it gets better!
And here is the test case:
And here is the template for what's likely to be the posed puzzle:
 
TIL that "colonisation" is an anagram of "social notion". How unfitting.
2
 
Intriguing!
 
I think there's a special word for anagrams whose meanings clash badly (Santa and Satan is another such pair). Don't remember the word though.
 
5:08 PM
also, huh, that's a neat anagram! reminds me of FUNERAL / REAL FUN
 
Hi humn, Deus, and lurkers!
 
I can't believe we math/word freaks are also word/math freaks. (@Deusovi, @Randal'Thor, . . .)
 
humn \o/
 
@humn Cast a glim on this puzzle. Graph theory with anagrams!
I learned a lot of fun anagrams today.
Who'd have thought "semitropical" is an anagram of "polite racism" and "apricot limes".
 
@Rand al'most nerD, longagrams at that.
 
5:12 PM
In other news, I've suddenly acquired a craving for atomic pliers.
 
Why was it not in other words
 
@Randal'Thor Just checked -- seems like they're called "antigrams".
 
@Deusovi And that's a nice word in itself!
Was it coined by Anu Garg by any chance?
 
Al'del'n Agram
(By the way, i'm using a new used computer that seems to crap out at random moments, in random ways. Usually that's my job but this time . . .)
@Deusovi , While I look up "antigram" here's one or two others: "autological" and "heterological."
 
"Rand al'Thor and humn" = "nth hard annular mod"
 
5:21 PM
Oh yeah, those are fun! I remember reading those in a puzzle book in grade school -- I think that was my first introduction to Russell's paradox.
 
Deus, are you annular?
:-P
 
Not as far as I know?
 
Crepuscular? (A favo[u]red word, morning or evening)
@Quintec . !
 
! .
 
Ah, timeout:
 
5:26 PM
!
 
ha!
 
Oh, by the way, for the example "cross(boundaries)words" puzzles above, the basic rule is that every answer literally crosses the boundary of a standard crossword.
Within the main square every cell is "checked," as in part of both of an Across and Down.
 
Makes sense. Looks like fun!
 
Outside of that, the answers overflow without regard.
@Deusovi , It is! And so much easier to contrive than an enclosed crossword.
 
Reminds me of "gryptic" puzzles:
 
5:31 PM
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I assumed that someone had already thought of this but couldn't find it.
 
@Deusovi 1 and 3 across are easy, so is 1 down and that makes 5 across easy too ...
You should post this on the site :-)
 
Oh, this one's not mine!
 
ah, there was a question on pse a while back where someone asked what those are called
 
@Deusovi As long as you cite your source ... ;-)
 
And they aren't generally too difficult -- though I believe I've seen some (at the Mystery Hunt, maybe?) where there were no internal given letters.
 
5:35 PM
I just love crosswords.
 
Especially when you're angry?
 
@Randal'Thor , if you don't make the reference, i will . . . .
 
So do I! I've been playing around with more cryptic gimmicks, but a few of my recent puzzles were birthday presents (and it would feel wrong to "profit" off of them, even if that profit is just imaginary internet points).
 
 
i wonder what the clue can be for 1 down
 
5:40 PM
@Deusovi , you "profit" all of us continually with cryptics..
 
@Randal'Thor , it just means "cross." It was a clue.
 
That's the crux of the puzzle, apparently.
 
... also meant to imply crucifiction, an insult if ever.
 
If they really do crucify you, it's called crucifact.
 
5:45 PM
Don't make me look that up!
. . . did . . .
 
(As opposed to crucifiction.)
 
Two drums and a cymbal fall off of a cliff
 
! Rand al'ternate!
 
@Adam Ba dum tish.
 
I would add "crrrassssh"
 
thump thump tsh YES
 
ah, a classic from Tom Scott
 
@Randal'Thor , by the way, i "grew up" on The Two Ronnies a decade later, as if weren't obvious. Thank you.
. . .
. . . as if it matters, i was solving a crossword and the clue was "Where saunas are found"
The answer began with S
 
Suomi?
 
Yes!
But there were only 4 cells.
("SPAS") But i wrote in "SUOMI" and crossed the edge.
 
5:53 PM
I thought the punchline was going to be that they meant Sweden.
 
That starts with S too, which is all i had at the time.
 
Followed by the literal punchline where you punch the crossword writer.
@humn Stool starts with S too.
 
@Rand al'traveler, you said more than i'd like to swallow.
Saunas Suomella are most often next to an outhouse.
(Saunas in Finland are …)
Ever been there?
 
Suomella would be a good name for a female fantasy character.
I already used Venaya as a name in one of my stories :-)
(anglicised that j)
 
Don't make me look up "Vena_a" . . .
 
5:57 PM
@humn Tornio, Rovaniemi, Salla, Kilpisjarvi, Kittila. Sure I've been there.
@humn You don't need to.
 
@Rand al'Liipuri! I did. Nice Suomalais reference. And those other places you just mentioned are train stops along the Helsinki to Punkaharju line.
(My grandparents lived in Punkaharju.) You bad!
 
@humn That's a looker-upper.
@humn Were they punks?
 
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
 
Ha! Helsinki to Punkaharju is hundreds of miles south of anywhere I've been in Finland.
 
@Rand al'over! You've been to the land of the ice and snow (and you know the Led Zeppelin song).
And i thought that any place in the old country is miles and miles north of anywhere.
I didn't even know there was a sun or the moon, other than in class, until i was relocated to California, USA.
 
6:04 PM
0
Q: Missing informations for the architect

MattiAn architect wants to plan the creation of a house, but he has only two perspectives, one from the left and one from the front. The house consists of concrete cubes. All concrete cubes must be connected. How many cubes does the architect need to build the house at most? Perspectives, the l...

 
Philofinnia?
 
N'yuk n'yuk n'yuk, @Rand al'yuk. You can convolve every term until it's almost understood.
 
I understand less and less as you lapse into Finnish :-P
 
that's thor's battle song in one of the films
(you know, the other thor)
 
6:17 PM
'smatter of fact, convolutions are a lot like anagrams.
 
They made some films about Norse mythology?
 
@jafe , "Rand al'ternative"
 
not sure how much those are about norse mythology
pretty sure the old legends have slightly less beating of alien monsters with a hammer
 
@Randal'Thor , stop encouraging me to go Finno(Suomi)-Saami (different from Norse)
Language (and its accoutrements) is (are) surely puzzling.
I try to stick with noncultural references when making a crossword, but one or another insider word pries its nose under the tent.
 
6:36 PM
I pry to click with noncultural defences when aping a cross word, but one or a mother's sinister word tries to lose under the fence.
@humn, stop encouraging me to talk utter nonsense :-D
 
@Randal'Thor , pure poetry!!!! !!! ! !!!
 
lol
 
Here's more nonsense on the way, mostly blanked out:
 
@Randal'Thor Says the mod of Sci Fi & Fantasy...
 
in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Jun 11 at 11:42, by Rand al'Thor
@AnkitSharma I'm here for the fantasy novels.
 
6:40 PM
 
@humn Is there Morse code in your exclamation marks?
 
@Randal'Thor , once upon a time.
 
Last night I was in another chatroom and spent a few minutes assuming the top starred message was a cryptic clue. Clearly I spend too long in here.
 
0
Q: Can White Castle? #3

shoopiSince it seems at least some people are enjoying these I'm continuing the series. This one is not quite as elegant, but still interesting. Can White Castle?

 
@Randal'Thor , I don't know where you get your energy to spend time everywhere. To almost quote Alice (haven't yet found it, about being in both places at once):
(must have a word wrong, any help?)
It's about not being at two places at once while being nowhere at all.
 
@GentlePurpleRain , oh wow, thank you! My misquote.
 
> “But it’s no use now,” thought poor Alice, “to pretend to be two people! Why, there’s hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!”
For those who are too lazy to follow the link...
 
I wasn't too lazy, but I was going to say, it's nicer to put the actual quote here.
Flagged as link-only answer :-P
 
I am in the lap of the gods.
 
Better than being in the gap of the lods.
 
7:01 PM
@Randal'Thor , one of these days your typolingual misposition will be cured. And the world will be lesser for it.
In the meanwhile, i'll get beyond compulsive editing. See you there.
 
^ correct me if I'm wrong, @humn, but I think this'll be further up your street than the guy in the penthouse at no. 117
 
@Randal'Thor , ! (Impertinent personal reflex attenuated) !
@Randal'Thor , Haven't (yet?) figured out what "penthouse 117" means but did wake my visiting father with loud cackles.
 
@humn Was trying a little indirect wordplay with some wild inventions about your neighbourhood.
 
@Randal'Thor , i'm trying to obfuscate your footprints in this n'hood before the authorities arrive. They'd (ambiguity intended) implicate both.
 
n'hood is an abbreviation I often use in topology.
 
7:16 PM
?! we can go beyond hum'r. Signed, math curious
 
That's a humdinger.
 
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffffffffff, the episode of Exit 57 (look it up, other episodes are worth it) has been erased.
Backup plan:
 
0
Q: I make billions

JS1I make billions, I never spend less than $1000, I'm a man in black, I'm a force of nature, I'm the original, Audiences of all ages have seen me. Who / what am I?

 
@humn Wtf ... that was surprisingly hilarious.
 
@Randal'Thor , yah! But i must revert to chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/info/39978/the-troll
 
7:31 PM
:-D
I wondered why we're here and not there.
Not that it matters - this room is also friendly to us crazies.
 
@Randal'Thor , thank you, mistreated leader. I had puzzles to share so, here. See you here and/or there.
 
 
3 hours later…
10:09 PM
@Sphinx Umm too broad or just bad? Maybe it's a clever riddle disguised as bad?
Am I just being an immature jerk?
 
@North The poster just added a new comment
 
yeah i saw
hence i removed the downvote to see if the answer is good
I mean he's got a pretty good rep (higher than me) but it's also his first question
 
Ah, first question
 
Yeah all of his reps are from answers
Which is why I don't know what to make of it
 
Yeah, the first question is normally rocky for everyone
 
10:19 PM
The thing that raised an eyebrow was "I never spend less than $1000" bc that's pretty specific
I can't see much wordplay through there
We can also infer this person is most likely American
 
"I'm a force of nature" and "Audiences of all ages have seen me" is really abstract
 
yea
but perhaps wordplay can be seen here
idk what
but seems potentially poetic(?) but I'm not sure how $1000 has to do with anything
 
@North I have suspicions that $1000 is a red herring. If you never spend money then you have never spent less than $1000
 
Hmm
good point, but still seems awkward
 
There's a Codenames game going on, BTW
 
10:34 PM
ugh i wish but i'm doing "can white castle #3" rn
 
11:06 PM
The question was "Can white castle?". For the avoidance of doubt, there's nothing wrong with your answer -- it makes the answer to that question perfectly clear. I just think there's something ever so slightly off about asking that question when it's not actually answerable. I would hope there was either a proof that W can castle or (much more plausibly, of course) a proof that W can't castle. In this case apparently there's neither. — Gareth McCaughan ♦ 12 mins ago
 
I did indeed say that, but why are you quoting me?
 
@GarethMcCaughan I would agree with you... but
Umm
I'm trying to figure out the right words
I feel like this is in a way similar to open-ended questions?
One would respond automatically with a "no"
But you don't know if it's solvable or not, and there always lingers the thought that the position is possible even if someone has deduced that it isn't possible
Am I making sense?
If the question has a solvable solution, well, then the answer is pretty straightforward
But if the answer is "no", there's no positive way to prove that
 
I think the right thing is to do what the poster actually did do in the first such puzzle they posted
 
I guess my point is: You can disprove the "no", but you can't disprove the "yes" which is what I see is iffy, now that you point it out
 
which is to say explicitly "is it possible, given this position, that W can castle?".
and then everything's fine
 
11:12 PM
?
Elaborate
 
because then the question has a definite answer. Either there is a sequence leading up to that position, at the end of which W can castle; then the answer is yes -- and you should be able to find such a sequence and post it. Or there isn't, in which case the answer is no, and hopefully you can find a proof less painful than enumerating all possible chess games :-).
So my quibble is really just with the wording of the question and its title.
 
Please elaborate on how your wording makes #2 any easier
 
Isn't the wording the same for #1, #2, and #3?
 

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