The Sphinx's Lair

Sphinx

01:36

0

The classic Orchard planting problem asks for the maximum number of 3-point straight lines attainable from a configuration of $n$ points drawn on a plane. Here we are interested in a variant of this problem. What is the maximum number of squares attainable from a configuration of 10 points drawn...

Ankoganit

03:11

@NorthLæraðr I think if it's "to be collected", the answer needs to be an adjective

@NorthLæraðr this sounds correct

@NorthLæraðr (or it could be the base form of a verb that means "to be collected")

msh210

03:44

@GarethMcCaughan I think this is COMELIEST ("most beautiful"). "art arriving" = COMEST, with "rest" = LIE to be inserted (collected within)

I must say, though, that you had a nice red herring there: I thought it likely "rest" would contribute the "-est".

jafe

no no, clearly art arriving is TRA (it arrives backwards), with REST that collects IS... if something is the most beautiful, 'TIS RAREST

msh210

@jafe :-)

(But I was being serious. I think that's the solution.)

jafe

i think you're right

msh210

Well, I'll await official word.

jafe

i like the misdirection with "art" there

msh210

04:01

Yeah, "art" and "rest" are both used in different senses in the surface than in the clue. It's nice.

oAlt

05:25

@jafe same ikr

I backread just now and it seems like i have found some opponents... well, semi-opponents. I'm neutral on eating pickle on its own, but in a very particular case, which is one of the burgers of McDonald's, pickles are a dang nice touch there.

(also, now that i'm here, i would like to say that i used to hate wasabi paste, but as time passed i have taken a liking to it)

go execute me now :P

Sphinx

08:10

0

Q: Methods to produce solvable deals in Klondike-solitaire?

About 20% of Klondike-solitaire deals are not solvable. My question is what are the best methods to produce only solvable deals? I thought about two options: Deal a random permutation, then try to solve it with a solver, if failed, re-deal. (requires a solver like ‘Solvitaire’) Go back from the ...

solvability

Gareth McCaughan

09:54

@msh210 Yup! Well done. I'd thought the "art" trick might cause more difficulty than it evidently did :-).

Lukas Rotter

If you have the same humor as me (very descriptive and clear, I know), you should read this before it gets taken down by a mod

I don't know if an answer thats meant to be a comment is a reason for deletion, though

oAlt

10:33

@LukasRotter oh boy that's just sad

Lukas Rotter

I have to admit that I simply couldn't resist.

oAlt

10:53

haha

oAlt

11:05

haha that post had been deleted @LukasRotter

Ankoganit

Yep

oAlt

anyway, it's not surprising that that guy took away a lot of my brain cells.

Ankoganit

It's rare that I feel divided about possible flag reason

oAlt

:o

Sphinx

11:30

0

Q: Squares related to circles

Fibonacci numbers, circles, squares; everything is connected in the digital world. Can you make two squares from a circle? Seven decimals should be accurate enough. Which two numbers am I seeking?

mathematics enigmatic-puzzle

2

Q: After the funeral

The mood was sombre in the lawyer’s office. Eight members of the Picodie family gathered together to hear the reading of their recently deceased father’s will. Around the table sat Eli, Ron, Agnes, Tim, Toni, Eric and Levi, while their oldest sister Julia prowled around the room, peering out of...

knowledge pattern story word-property number-property

msh210

12:18

@GarethMcCaughan thanks

CCCC: A tempest of excitement about a protein manufacturer (7)

Sphinx

13:10

0

Q: I am sick and tired of hearing this

A US state declares victory showing an important document in the last year of a wonderful 7 year period What is that?

riddle wordplay

Sphinx

14:00

0

Q: Can you get to the final message?

I am unsure of the difficulty of this puzzle, but feel free to give it a try My prefix is almost dissolved My infix is an array My suffix forms nouns of action I am the key t nwl i queyh v

riddle cipher

bobble

14:51

@oAlt Method of choice?

Lukas Rotter

@oAlt Do you get any dirty looks at all while you're eating that burger? Because you should :P

North Læraðr

@oAlt Disgusting

bobble

hey, gang!

North Læraðr

It's the "no pickle gang"

oAlt

>:((

@bobble guillotine

bobble

14:55

just put your head down, then. this will all be over soon

oAlt

:'(

Lukas Rotter

Captain. What should we do? He/She's not on the list.

bobble

Just toss 'em in with the others. I'm not paid enough for this

oAlt

(am part of the "he" gang :0 )

Lukas Rotter

Forget the list. He goes to the block.

^ was the intended answer :P

North Læraðr

14:58

@bobble Lmaooo

@bobble Long live France!!!!

bobble

someone come up with a theme song for the "no pickle gang"

preferably something objectively terrible

North Læraðr

@bobble Yo, I'm a composer

I can totally make one

John Dvorak

My patience is fickle
If you touch a pickle
I'll hurt you with a sickle

7

Lukas Rotter

I expect your magnum opus

@JohnDvorak straight up fire

North Læraðr

@LukasRotter Expect it by tomorrow

bobble

15:01

@JohnDvorak, you're in the gang?

oAlt

@JohnDvorak don't ever say no or else you'll be dead like m-- meets end of life

bobble

@oAlt, now we can display your head as a illustration of the consequences for crossing the "no pickle gang"

Would you prefer a gold or silver pike?

Lukas Rotter

We must be careful. There might be an enemy spy in our gang.

bobble

Offer each member pickles. If they do not immediately recoil at such terribleness, then they are a spy and must be executed

3

Lukas Rotter

Similar to the "who blew the bubble" test?

Sphinx

15:16

0

Q: Covert Conversation - A North Daniels' Puzzle

It's very important to keep your login details secure, which might entail not writing it down, encrypting them, or using a password manager. What you should not do is save them on some random USB and chuck it in your bag, because if you are, for example, a gang ringleader, someone might accidentl...

knowledge cipher story geography

oAlt

@bobble my soul: what an offer... go ahead (pun intended) with silver

bobble

Silver it is!

North Læraðr

15:29

@bobble Oh dear, wait until @Mithical sees this

bobble

hehehe

North Læraðr

This is going to be amusing

@bobble What sort of style would you like the theme song to be in

Generic four-chord pop song?

Generic four-chord pop song (but Taylor Swift style of break-up)

John Dvorak

Weird Al parody?

(of, not just in his style)

North Læraðr

@JohnDvorak So a parody of a parody?

John Dvorak

yes

North Læraðr

15:36

That would make it easier, since I don't have to write the music

@JohnDvorak I need a song

John Dvorak

Don't download this song.

North Læraðr

How about "Stop Forwarding that Crap to Me"

North Læraðr

15:56

@JohnDvorak Haha! I got it

Imma call it the NPG (No Pickle Gang) and I can make a parody of "Party in the CIA"

John Dvorak

When's the first release?

North Læraðr

I'm not sure

We'll have to see

North Læraðr

16:28

Okay members of the NPG I need some feedback

This should be heard with the music to "Party in the CIA" which is a parody of "Party in the USA"

John Dvorak

no personal attacks, please.

North Læraðr

Ah okay

Mithical

16:59

@bobble how DARE you

scarthelionkingimsurroundedbyidiots.gif

2

with NO TASTE BUDS

bobble

:)

North Læraðr

@Mithical I think you lost yours

Mithical

My taste buds are perfectly intact, with refined, sophisticated, tastes

unlike you heathens -_-

North Læraðr

O_O

John Dvorak

A possible cause for wanting pickles would be pregnancy. We might be willing give an exception in that case.

bobble

17:01

or if they were the only food available

North Læraðr

@JohnDvorak ?

John Dvorak

Pregnancy can give a person weird tastes. They subside after birth.

Not the case here, though

Jeremy Dover

Object of bobble's hatred constant, mostly reckless (7)

John Dvorak

anyways...

bobble

PI + CKLES?

Jeremy Dover

17:08

Correct @bobble. Your prize is that I will not send you any pickles :-)

bobble

thank goodness

North Læraðr

@Mithical You seem to be outnumbered

5-1

We executed @oAlt so

Mithical

17:20

*muttering* Incorrigible tasteless salt-deficient brutes

msh210

17:31

@NorthLæraðr 2

Though I only like certain types of pickles.

North Læraðr

@msh210 Hmmmmm

Lukas Rotter

The only good pickle is a non-existent pickle

or something like that

North Læraðr

Preach it

Gareth McCaughan

18:56

I'd have thought being salt-deficient would make someone more likely to like salty foods.

Avi

idk

isn't there a significant difference between pickles that are big

and cut into flat, thin pieces vs pickles that are small, uncut, and semi-crunchy

because I tried eating a whole pickled cucumber and it was gross, but baby pickles are ok

can you pickle a puzzle

Sphinx

0

Q: Always remember this one thing

After a particularly rough day, Ann went to her abuela for advice. Being rather cryptic, her grandmother provided her this picture and said, "The blocks are always happy, because they remember this one thing." If you don't believe me, check out the simple markup that makes up the table! <table>

cipher

0

Q: Cryptic Family Reunion: Down in a Hole

The answer to this puzzle is a list of ten thematically related words or proper names or phrases. Each of these is clued cryptically, and the theme is to be determined. Since the definition part of a cryptic clue would give away the theme, these cryptic clues use a family member (e.g., mom, siste...

cryptic-clues

bobble

we've learned that there are many ways to clue "PICKLES" in a CC

Avi

19:39

TICKLES -> PICKLES

is my favorite

bobble

19:53

my physics homework requires me to take selfies of myself and the computer screen

1) I hate selfies 2) I'm terrible at taking selfies 3) My screen is reflective

Mithical

That seems like a really weird requirement

presumably an anti-cheating measure?

bobble

I think so. I still hate it with the blackest fiery anger

John Dvorak

Of course I know how to close Wikipedia before taking a photo, miss

bobble

It even specifically says "selfie", so having someone else take a picture (which I would be more comfortable with) is out

John Dvorak

Did it specify which side the screen should be seen from?

msh210

19:59

@Mithical oh! I thought it was a practical lesson in optics.

bobble

We're supposed to solve (really easy) physics questions on a website, which will then display a trophy

msh210

@bobble if the person takes it form up close, your arm is in the right direction, and your hand is out of the frame, no one can tell

bobble

Then we take a selfie with the trophy to prove we solved the question

John Dvorak

How do they know it's you who solved the question, instead just grabbing a screenshot from a friend and displaying it fullscreen?

bobble

you're supposed to sign up with an account and have it display your name, but I can't figure out how to

Mithical

20:02

@msh210 I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic

bobble

oh wait i found the sign-up form. drat. now i have to do everything over again

John Dvorak

So, why doesn't their server record which students' accounts have accessed the respective URL?

bobble

Teacher is using a third-party site, I think?

There's supposed to be a class code but I can't find it anywhere

msh210

@Mithical no, it was the first thing that came to mind

John Dvorak

ooh, that makes perfect sense then

and it's completely unbreakable. /s

msh210

20:15

(@Mithical especially because bobble hadn't said that the homework was to be onscreen at the time)

Sphinx

1

Q: What does this program suffer from?

A program named Lxndr.exe along with a readme.txt suddenly appeared on my desktop. The readme reads I think I show some symptoms. Do you think I suffer from it? Well, while there's definitely something wrong with my computer, I have no idea what the executable is about. Just like the sensible p...

knowledge enigmatic-puzzle

bobble

sorry about that? I was mostly ranting

Lukas Rotter

20:27

Really unsure about the difficulty of this puzzle. I'm just not sure what percentage of enthusiast in a certain field have heard about certain terms... If it's solved within a few minutes then I know the terms are more common-knowledge than I thought :)

Tried to obscure the hell out of it

Sphinx

20:41

0

Q: With three I seep into notes, With two I don't want jokes

With five I'm not from bots. With four I connect the dots. With three I seep into notes. With two I don't want jokes. With one I have three eyes. The line above is where the answer lies.

riddle rhyme

Gareth McCaughan

@LukasRotter Well, some things about it seem obvious, but some others not so much.

Lukas Rotter

@GarethMcCaughan Would you call yourself an enthusiast in that field? There's also the possibility that I'm referring to something that's not even common-knowledge in that circle. (which might not necessarily be bad?)

(Although I think it is relatively well known)

Gareth McCaughan

It's not clear to me whether "that field" means X or computer X. I'm very much an amateur in either. The program's name seems like it might be derived from a name, but then whether it's X. X. O'X. ~ or ~ A. or ~ G. or someone else entirely isn't obvious. (Maybe computer X is the field and there's a pun on ~ G. Belle?!) But it would be very unsurprising to me if I were missing something obvious.

I mean, it seems clear what all the options are for, and what all the output means, though the final field of the output seems to presuppose something that doesn't seem to be being supplied in the input, but again I may be missing something obvious.

(I hope I've correctly calibrated my level of obscurity to be clear to Lukas without giving stuff away to anyone who doesn't want things given away.)

But clearly there's a pun or something around which the puzzle is based, and so far I haven't worked out what it is.

An obvious thing that one might worry about symptoms of, and might use a program with these sorts of parameters to explore, is the h.e., but if -p defaults to random then calling it lots of times without specifying -p isn't going to tell you anything useful.

(Also, no obvious connection between that and the executable's name.)

I should add that I am not super-up-to-date with the latest developments in that field, though I have some idea what's what.

Of course it's also possible that I am completely confused about what field we're talking about and all the above is garbage :-).

bobble

I just don't even try for any [enigmatic-puzzle] or [riddle] or [cipher]. My brain does not work that way :)

Lukas Rotter

20:56

The last statement is definitely not true, I think it's fair to say that.

Avi

your brain doesn't work that way yet

Mithical

Writing riddles is much easier than solving them for me... :P

bobble

I do try [grid-deduction] puzzles - there's just not as much of those

Avi

that's because we're a bunch of devious, circuitous, underhanded, hidden in plain sight, cryptic, indirect, breathlessly talented puzzlers

Lukas Rotter

@bobble So you're into math puzzles? those 3 tags are almost the top 3 on this site xD

bobble

20:58

[math] is hard for me often, but I glance to see if I'm familiar with the concepts requried

I like making crosswords. My current one is over a month in the making... it'll be epic once I wrestle it into submission

(pun intended)

Avi

D:

Arbitrary punishment

bobble

@Avi what is that referring to?

Lukas Rotter

@Avi I just had flashbacks of Arbitrary Kangaroo because of this. Anyone remember him? :)

bobble

no

Mithical

21:18

Oh god

Don't remind me

Gareth McCaughan

@LukasRotter It seems to me that I can give an entirely plausible account of everything in the question except for whatever allusion is involved in the executable's name in terms of the problem I mentioned above. (The final field would be explained, and the issue with random -p values dealt with, by supposing that it does its thing twice, once with the given parameters and once with more generous ones.) But that feels unsatisfactory as an answer -- not unique enough, as it were -- [... ctd]

... unless there's something in the executable name that points in that direction. Still thinking.

(I see Glorfindel has found the same things as I did and decided to post a partial answer with them rather than thinking further. I claim that the comments above establish priority, if that should turn out to matter :-).)

Sphinx

0

Q: My prefix is weird, My suffix is a friend

My prefix is weird. My suffix is a friend. My infix is a creature to be feared. My whole has a massive extend*. *Clarification (not needed, but may clear something up):

riddle rhyme

Lukas Rotter

21:36

Hmm your thinking does make me feel like I was a little bit to laid back with a certain part of the puzzle. While the intended answer still works of course, I might have made it myself a little bit too easy by assuming certain conditions to be true...

(and not clarifying that in the puzzle) -> might lead some people down the wrong path

but the low amount of test cases is my excuse for it not messing up the intended results :)

Gareth McCaughan

22:53

I take it that means my "entirely plausible account" isn't what you intended. (Which would not be a surprise.)

bobble

23:13

I see 6 messages on the starboard. Out of those, 1 is the current CCCC (expected), 1 is Gareth's "road to hell" comment, and 4 (FOUR!!) are related to the Great Pickle Debate

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