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4:00 AM
A good balance, for me, is 2 obvious ones, one that you have to look a little deeper for, and one that is just REALLY COOL TRIVIA and all right, I wanted to include it
 
I'm very lost on this one so I'm going to head back to my Statue Parks :p
 
Statue Parks promise that if you just stare long enough, there will be a deduction!
(actually all grid-deductions, but then there)
 
if i stare long enough and dig deep enough, i will find a way
 
This is the Way
currently watching Mando
 
4:04 AM
Lucky
I wish I had Disney+
 
I'm so hype for Season 2, my mom gave me her Disney+ password for it
 
My dad managed to snag himself a family-pack deal where we pay for 3 years, but each year is cheap. So we got it for a while!
 
Nice!
 
Another thing to remember for connect-walls is the groups will always be more obvious to you than they are to your solvers
 
@bobble Very true. Ugggghhh :((((((((
 
4:10 AM
very true
 
very true
I always forget that with any puzzle I make
 
The two Very Obvious groups for my other connect-wall were "place with MAN in it" and "flag with black stripe", since you don't have to look deep at all for those
 
Well... I have one very obvious group... a semi obvious group... and two niche groups
Kind of niche
And then very niche
 
that's... not the best balance
 
I must have completely missed the obvious group
 
4:13 AM
True. But, the very niche may not be very niche?
 
@Sciborg i agree with this and that's why if i ever make a connect wall i won't usually use that-- connect walls should be unambiguous
 
or unless it has been extremely verified by the OP that there is really only one way to group them
wait no north it's finee
 
Oh, there's definitely I think only one way to categorize each one
I've double-checked this one to make sure there isn't overlap between the selected categories
 
hm
 
4:16 AM
Well, there's one that's like ehhh, but Sciborg seems like they've already got it
 
yeah that's kinda also a not-so-easy but crucial step in making connect walls
anyway i need to stop getting distracted ;_;
 
I will say, all 3/4 groups can be found on the first page of Wikipedia pages
Like, you don't have to scroll far down and be reading into economics
With that being said, it may require multiple Wikipedia pages, but it'll be on the top first page area
 
University of Chicago?
 
no, no
I was trying to draw something
^That's what I mean by "first page
 
ah
 
4:22 AM
All relevant information will be in that top area, either on the side or the intro block
 
i hope somebody gets it, i had no clue besides randomly stumbling on that one connection
 
I am halfway through an unnecessarily detailed answer to that Loopy help question
 
Quick hint, to get people started: this country (the answer) was inspired by one of my pets :P — Prince North Læraðr 1 min ago
Wrong comment
(the one that was initially deleted)
 
Hey all
What are we talking about?
 
4:25 AM
North's flag puzzle
 
Ooh
 
I hope no one actually flagged it
 
Heh the blurb is neat
 
I know the "spam" puzzle from a while back got some spam flags :(
 
It's the best part!
@bobble Oh, yeah. But that looked like a spam
 
4:35 AM
i'm on statue park #12 now, Deus's favorite :p
 
I'm sure he'd be happy to help if you get stuck
not that you will :P
 
#11 wasn't too bad! i'm getting better for sure
listening to nice music and doing these is so relaxing on the brain
 
@Sciborg i just like listening to nice music :P
 
I get to vibing and peacefully coloring boxes and then i look up and an hour has passed
 
2 hours ago, by bobble
and there is no hope for you now
 
4:43 AM
brain most of the time: oh god why, what's happening, anxiety, help
brain with puzzles: *jenny, darling, you're my best frienddddd* 🎵
 
solving grid-deductions = new brain stim
 
...literally, that, actually
i think you found me a new brain stim
 
yay!
 
i'm so calm
 
this is the same reason I have a box of logic-puzzle magazines under my desk - in case the world gets too much and I need a nice, no-screen no-book break
 
4:45 AM
i might have to add a grid-deduction-a-day to my routine
 
A grid-deduction a day keeps the anxiety away!
 
genuinely had no idea these would be so calming and nice to do once i got the hang of them
 
there's a significant hump to get over at the start, but from here you'll just keep learning new, fun deductions
 
yeah! :D
 
You can now see my overly complicated, way too long answer to the question asking for help with a Loopy (slitherlink)
 
4:51 AM
Oh my goodness
 
Do you think I sufficiently answered their question?
 
Yes
 
Wait, did you read the whole thing?
 
I mean, given the fact that you solved the entire puzzle, you definitely answered their question :p
 
10 minutes to solve the puzzle, 90 minutes to type up the answer
 
4:59 AM
Dang
 
I felt they were nice and deserved an answer, and I wanted some rep I knew how to solve the puzzle
 
There should be a badge for "Overachiever: Wrote the most detailed and feature-complete answer" :p
 
5:26 AM
one fun thing about brain stims is you can do them while you do other stims
for example, I twirl my hair and jiggle my feet while looking for the next deduction
 
heck yeah, i've been riding vibes over here
 
@Deusovi? I am stuck on Raindrops
 
what's your progress so far?
 
not much
I had gotten further, but I ran into a contradiction
 
take a look at the 5 at the bottom, and think about it in conjunction with what the 9 does
 
5:32 AM
ocean has to flow through/under the 5
 
so...?
 
oh wait it has to have one shaded on the left
and it can't have just one
so it must be entirely left?
 
yep!
 
yay!
solved!
 
hooray!
good luck with the last one
 
5:42 AM
It looks HARD
 
Congrats! :D
 
it is!
 
Statue View is Statue Park + Minesweeper, except numbers mean a slightly different thing
um is the 7 clue a 7 or a question mark?
it looks like a 7 but I'm not sure
 
try zooming in
 
5:59 AM
'night, all
 
Good night :)
 
0
Q: Lasers: Cross through the bridges (Level $3$)

AnonymousPrevious Level:- Lasers: The Reflection (Level $2$) Rules : There will be lasers which are shaped like an arrow. The arrows pointing in the respective direction shows where the laser goes and the colour shows the colour which it gives out. There will be boxes which are respectively coloured and ...

 
@bobble it's a 7
night!
 
 
4 hours later…
9:42 AM
0
Q: The Case of the Poisoned Poet

ExalI was in my office, trying to officiate a disagreement between Misters Jack Daniels and Jim Beam, when the dame walked in. She wore a slinky dress and glasses so dark all I could see in them was the reflection of my five o'clock shadow, which had arrived early. Dames were trouble--I'd rather so...

 
 
4 hours later…
2:04 PM
oh boy don't you love it when you have requirement backlogs >_<
gotta leave again :o
 
0
Q: Paying bills in Alphagonia

Bernardo Recamán SantosIn the Kingdom of Alphagonia, where the national currency is the Alpha, banknotes are available in all whole-number denominations of alphas: 1, 2, 3,... a) What is the least number of such notes a citizen of Alphagonia needs top carry in her wallet if she wishes to be certain that she will be abl...

 
 
2 hours later…
3:52 PM
@jafe Not my intention, I'm afraid. Hint: It's along the same lines, but (IMO) better.
(And I haven't caught up on chat here and don't plan to, so if there's anything for me that didn't ping me then I didn't see it.)
 
don't worry, no important C4 solving (or really any at all)
By the way, my solution path after those 3 deductions is almost identical to yours. So it is really only those 3 that seem hard to me. — user21820 8 hours ago
turns out I did not, in fact, answer their question
 
4:25 PM
(and of course my response to this was to take another series of pictures that will explain how to solve without their guessed-deductions)
 
4:36 PM
you've put a lot of work into answering that question - i'm sure it'll be really helpful for them
 
I have to do life stuff right now, but later on they will get a full solve.
also - Deusovi, it meant a lot when you immediately defended me over the tic jokes yesterday
 
i'm glad - i'd like to keep this community as welcoming as possible. that seemed like the bare minimum i could do
 
4:57 PM
@Deusovi I always try to do that.
 
5:09 PM
yo @Deusovi a small part of the formatting stuff in your sergeant sequence answer went wrong
 
@msh210, the tag wiki for : "A puzzle that heavily depends on linguistic features; for instance it may concern foreign languages, or only work in some particular language, or be built around a peculiarity of the English language."
It's been used on cryptic crosswords that are at least partially in foreign languages
 
@bobble Yeah I saw. I guess so, then.
Feel free to edit, natch.
 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr, I added your flag connect-wall to the FTC answer
 
5:32 PM
1
Q: What do "(מ)" and "(ש)" mean in an Israeli cryptic?

msh210I was looking at the Hebrew cryptic crosswords in a recent copy of the Israel newspaper ידיעות אחרונות, and I noticed that some of the clues had "(מ)" or "(ש)" — or sometimes both — appended at the end, before the letter count. They seem to be information about the clue or perhaps about the answe...

 
5:43 PM
@oAlt thanks for letting me know!
 
6:31 PM
added all of the new deductions - this answer is surely my longest ever!
 
7:16 PM
North - I am exactly 3 upvotes behind you. I'M CATCHING UP.
 
 
1 hour later…
8:22 PM
Aww, I just missed bobble
I'll get you next time
 
1
Q: 7-QWERTY-shortest words

JKHAMy previous puzzle The QWERTY-shortest word was solved nearly instantly by the effective puzzling community. I also believe it is because the main parameter of the puzzle 4.7 was not perferectly set. So I propose you the same puzzle with the parameter 7, length of word "puzzles". The following is...

 
'borg! I am here!
 
Hello! :D
I popped in right as you left and was like "darnit"
 
I'm finalizing a college app, and one of the lines is "What do you consider yourself to be?" with answer "Not sure"
(for a question on sexual orientation)
 
Lol
I would just put "who knows, dude"
Why do they even want to know?
 
8:31 PM
It's in the "Demographics" section along with ethnicity & gender identity
as for why they need my demographics, I am unsure
 
Bubble in "other" and put "none of your damn business"
 
That seems a teensy bit confrontational
 
True, true
How about "gender identity: yes"
 
gender identity is currently "female", though I am considering switching it to "genderqueer/nonbinary" after I have my parents review the app
 
Definitely
The ol' switcheroo
 
8:36 PM
I'm just not quite ready to come out, and a college app seems like a not-good way to do it anyhow
 
For sure
 
also: how far are you in the pack now?
 
I remember when I went to get one of my COVID tests and the guy was like "what is your gender" and I was like "why does that matter for whether or not I have a viral infection?" and he was like "i dunno, it's just on the form"
 
they probably want it for case-report breakdowns
 
Probably
 
8:37 PM
did you scroll down to gape in awe at the hexomino Statue Park yet?
 
Not yet, I'm trying not to spoil future puzzles :P
 
has there been window-smashing?
 
Still on #12 in the pack, I was out all day today so didn't get to work on it
There has been window-smashing
 
I can help with pulling your little beak out of the window
it has to be done very carefully, lest it break off
 
Of course :p lemme pull it up, hang on
We also watched the pilot episode of Agents of Shield!
 
8:39 PM
did you like fitzsimmons?
 
I don't ship them yet, but they're really funny together
I loved the Agent Coulson moment
 
There's an episode (5? I think) that deals a lot with their relationship, that's when I really started rooting for them
and then they get a dramatic scene in the finale which sent me completely overboard
@Sciborg welcome to Level 7
 
When Coulson stepped out and was like "That corner was really dark, sorry" we died
 
I mean, I would've totally done the same thing
 
It's a really good show so far, I like it
The writing is great
okay, here's #12:
i tried a few things that didn't work, so i've started over
 
8:46 PM
I think Deus helped me with this one back in the chatroom
Okay, I remember
first, count the dots (ignore R5C3)
 
Ignoring that one, there's 16
 
how many pieces do you have?
 
and obviously I have 10 tetrominoes
 
so how many pieces must cover 2 dots?
 
3?
wait, no
 
8:48 PM
if 3 cover 2 dots, that leave 10 dots for 7 pieces
 
ok
 
so how many pieces?
 
0
Q: Combinations on superimposed latin squares

Vassilis ParassidisLet's have two latin squares. When we superimpose them we obtain a 6x6 superimposed square as shown in the diagram. By visual inspection we see this contains 15 combinations and their repetitions which are the following. combinations number of repetitions 1,2 2 ...

 
5?
 
this requires math
if 5 pieces cover 2 dots, that leaves 6 dots for 5 pieces
each piece that covers 2 dots reduces (dots - pieces) by 1
 
8:51 PM
okay
 
so... how many pieces?
(this is not supposed to be a hard question)
'borg? are you still there?
 
four
 
6 mins ago, by bobble
if 5 pieces cover 2 dots, that leaves 6 dots for 5 pieces
 
you're gonna have to just tell me this one
 
the answer is 6
because if 6 pieces cover 2 dots, there are 4 dots for 4 pieces
16 - 6 x 2 = 16 - 12 = 4
 
8:57 PM
ah
 
Okay, so which pieces can cover 2 dots?
(we're still ignoring R5C3)
 
T, S and I
and L
wait, not L
 
yes L
no S
they have to have a segment at least 3 long
 
right
i'm trying to make my brain work after socializing all day, sorry
 
okay, so given all that, which dots must the 2 Ts and the 2 Ls use?
@Sciborg completely understand
 
9:00 PM
the 2 Ts and the 2 Ls, okay
so they have to cover 2 dots each
 
It may help to draw on your picture with circles or something to indicate groupings
 
and we're still ignoring that one spot
 
yes
because the dot analysis ignored it
 
okay
huh, this doesn't make sense
there's 3 spots the 2 Ts can go
 
there's 4?
one for each corner grouping
 
9:03 PM
4, yeah
brain
 
brain is good brain
 
brain has been talking all day, brain is tired
so okay, there are 4 spots the 2 Ts can go
 
how about the Ls?
 
it looks like there are 4 spots the 2 Ls can go?
 
do you notice anything about the dots used for Ls and for Ts?
 
9:04 PM
they're the saaame
i getcha
 
okay, that means none of those dots can be used by any other pieces, yes?
 
yes
 
now... where can you put the Is?
they have to cover 2 dots each
and can't use any of the L or T dots
 
hmm
3 spots
wait, no
only 2 spots
 
yes!
so now place the Is
 
9:06 PM
nice
can i go from here do you think?
 
there's another global deduction to make
do you want a poke?
 
always another global deduction
 
this one is really big on global deductions
 
hmm
i feel like global deductions are where i usually get stuck, the rest is fine after i get those
 
small hint: we've considered the Is, Ls, and Ts
nothing further for them as of right now
 
9:10 PM
so now i have to place the Os and Ss
 
yes
 
got it
i think i have it
 
picture? words?
 
words are hard
 
pictures, then
 
9:12 PM
word attempt: given that we know where the Ls and Ts go, and i just placed the Is, the places where i put the Ts and Ls now don't matter which one it is - it blocks off the placement of the Ss so that i know where the cubes have to be
 
that's exactly it
 
1/2 isn't bad
 
though I don't think reasoning about the Ss is required to place the Os
 
i placed the Os, now i'm placing the Ss
 
are you feeling Very Smart?
 
9:15 PM
i feel Tired But Smart
 
good enough
 
wait a minute, i goofed up. hang on
oops
there we go
i accidentally plopped a cube into the complete wrong spot
 
that no good
 
the cube has been un-plopped
and aha, now i can narrow down T and L placement
maybe? wait, gahh
 
pictures if you get stuck
 
9:19 PM
no, this is fine, i just did a really weird deduction and i wasn't sure
i think we're okay
this is definitely the weirdest Statue Park so far
 
can you see why Deus likes it?
 
yes
 
oh I forgot to thank you for defending me over tic jokes
I already thanked Deus
Thank you, anyhow
 
i couldn't type for a second when it happened because i was so angry and had to calm down for a sec.
mocking people over that stuff is 100% not okay
i was just worried if you were okay
 
I am, I just wasn't expecting it
My friends at school got to see it slowly go from leg twitches to throwing markers at people/falling down/being unable to write a test, they do not make fun of me
 
9:24 PM
i get the feeling we both know the feeling of being made fun of for things we can't control.
it made me glad that you are comfortable enough to talk about it though, i hope you feel welcome here.
 
1) yes 2) yes 3) yes
 
 
I find it mildly weird that I sorta-know y'all, but you've never seen me tic
Even random fellow students at my school know I tic, mostly because of several very loud, big ones that occurred during school time
 
it is weird and nice in a sense to talk to internet people who don't see my stimmy tic stuff
most of the time when i'm doing puzzles with you guys, i'm vibing to music and doing little happy stims
 
If you want to imagine me stimming, my main one is pulling a lock of hair from the left side of my head and twirling it very tight around my finger
(same lock every time, obviously)
there's a complex little ritual involving the other fingers helping the hair twirl that I find calming
 
9:32 PM
my happy stim is usually rocking, i never do it in front of people but that's my number one thing i do when i'm relaxed and vibing out to puzzles/music. i feel embarrassed doing it when people are watching but sometimes it comes out unconsciously while i'm focusing on other stuff.
i think there's a misconception about why we do stims, they're nice and calming. like it's not a stressful thing like tics are.
 
I also stim because I can literally not concentrate on only one thing (unless it's a real good book, which is a brain stim by itself), so I twitch and twirl and jiggle to pay attention
 
That too for sure
 
but: did you finish #12?
 
Almost! I am thinking a bit on the last part
There is some ocean placement logic I am pondering on
 
ello bobble, mick
 
9:36 PM
do you want a poke, or are you going to try and figure it out yourself?
'ey, matt!
 
I've got it from here, I'm just thinking deeply
goofed up several times so trying not to goof up again
 
@bobble 'att just looks weird imo
you mind sticking to matt?
 
okay
 
:)
 
This is a really well-designed puzzle, I can see why Deus loves it.
Lots of little cool "aha" moments
 
9:41 PM
looks legal to me!
 
Yay! On to #13 :D
 
though I'm not sure you can say the leftmost S is horizontal instead of vertical that early
 
It had to be to make the oceans connect, that was the "weird deduction" mentioned earlier I wasn't sure about.
it felt like a big jump
 
oh yeah I see
cool
 
It's a super cool puzzle
 
9:43 PM
do you think you're getting better at thinking globablly?
 
Slowly, but yes
I'm also realizing how important counting dots is becoming as I go further
 
Oct 27 at 14:55, by Deusovi
hm, this is a tough puzzle so far. partially because it actually seems difficult, partially because it involves one of my biggest weaknesses - counting
 
I don't know why, but counting in spatial puzzles makes my brain short-circuit sometimes
like, these are easy math problems
 
make a copy of the picture and put numbers on it
 
@bobble counting? ok @deusovi count to 742
:p
 
9:46 PM
is totally not what I did to solve that one
 
This time it looks like I have 10 pieces and 17 dots
so 6 pieces have to cover 2 dots?
 
that's a heck'in lot-o-dots, young'un
@Sciborg 7
 
that's a lot of apostrophes
 
7, ah, oops
 
unless some can cover 3?
 
9:48 PM
some could also cover 3, from the looks of it
this is gonna be... hard
 
will you be wanting help?
 
ah, but wait, the straight pieces are the key here
tired brain has slowly regained its puzzle juice
i got this
 
dramatic background music?
 
I'm having a quiet music day so i've got some Hollow Knight soundtrack in the background
dramatic puzzle music recommendations?
 
??
I don't know many music things
I like the Awesome Mixes
and MCU themes
 
9:57 PM
What are the Awesome Mixes?
 
Guardians of the Galaxy
 
Ohh, yeah! I love those!
#2 is my favorite
 
both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 released the soundtracks as Awesome Mixes
I also like Hamilton and The Sound of Music (just ignore the sexism in "16 going on 17")
 
Edelweiss is amazing
 

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