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Jafe
Jafe
2:03 AM
i keep thinking about re: a ding for the c4 but that doesn't mean "text", does it?
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
sure, "reading" can be a noun
 
bobble
bobble
@Jafe that's correct, as Deus said "reading" is a noun here - "passage from the reading", "passage from the text"
 
Jafe
Jafe
aha, i see!
CCCC: An English city is Britain's capital? That's correct (8)
 
bobble
bobble
2:19 AM
But IS IT correct???
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
2:32 AM
B_ + RIGHT-ON
 
oAlt
oAlt
ah dangit
 
Jafe
Jafe
@Deusovi that's correct :P
 
Deusovi
Deusovi
oh no i don't have anything at the moment
 
bobble
bobble
gasp but you're the resident Cryptic King! those loyal subjects clues can't desert you!
 
MikeQ
MikeQ
As an extra challenge, try making the longest possible clue for the shortest possible word
 
Jafe
Jafe
2:58 AM
the opposite is more of a challenge imo
 
 
2 hours later…
Sphinx
Sphinx
5:10 AM
0
Q: Survive the infinite zombie attack II

EricZombies are back again. Same as last time, You're at the origin, and zombies occupy the points $(100š¯‘–,100š¯‘—)$ for all integers $š¯‘–,š¯‘—$ except the origin, as shown below: The ratio of your speed to that of a zombie is 100. You and the zombies move simultaneously and continuously. There's no rest...

mathematics geometry strategy game
 
 
2 hours later…
msh210
msh210
6:51 AM
@bobble I'd think that that title is @Jafe 's
 
msh210
msh210
7:09 AM
@MikeQ Story's beginning is "[the complete text of John Updike's novel S.]"
 
 
6 hours later…
oAlt
oAlt
12:58 PM
ooh, i see a gerbil (long time no see(?) i haven't kept track hehe)
 
AncientSwordRage
AncientSwordRage
@Deusovi I have one ready if you need time?
 
Anonymus 25
Anonymus 25
@oAlt Gerbil? I see no gerbil, BG isn't here
 
Jafe
Jafe
looks active on the sidebar
 
oAlt
oAlt
@Anonymus25 earlier, not this moment anymore lol
also on my sidebar but more transparent
 
Anonymus 25
Anonymus 25
1:21 PM
Not on my sidebar
 
Puzzling Meta
Puzzling Meta
0
Q: Is Puzzling SE the place for pub quizzes?

martsI frequently host pub quizzes and I sometimes wish to get some help on certain issues. It's not about "please give me questions on topic X" but rather good structures, alternative interpretations of common topics, how to set up particular categories and how to support them with tools. I am aware ...

discussion asking-questions on-topic
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
1:34 PM
1
Q: IQ test question assistance

wickywillsI recently downloaded an IOS app "IQ test", and surprisingly found most of the questions pretty straightforward, but this particular one had me stumped. Can anyone help me understand the pattern here?

pattern sequence
 
 
3 hours later…
msh210
msh210
4:14 PM
 
 
1 hour later…
Sphinx
Sphinx
5:34 PM
0
Q: "Multiplication" Problems

WoomyRogueThis was originally going to be featured in a puzzle compilation I'm planning, but it was swapped out for a different idea I had. The answer is an English word. Are you able to solve the equations below? Solved Equations: 2x2 = 1 1x1 + 3x5 = 6 1x7 = 8 1x4 + 6x2 = 9 Unsolved Equations: 1x1 + 5x3 =...

word enigmatic-puzzle
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
6:23 PM
2
Q: What is an ABC Wordā„¢?

Kabir Kanha AroraThis is in the spirit of the What is a Word/Phraseā„¢ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phraseā„¢ and Wordā„¢ puzzles. If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it an ABC Wordā„¢. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to find the rule that decides whether a word is an ABC Wordā„¢ o...

pattern word-property
 
 
2 hours later…
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
7:54 PM
howdy folks :)
 
bobble
bobble
8:13 PM
howdy folk!
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
howdy kiwi :)
how have your days been?
this week at work i'm being trained in how to interact with one of the fulfillment/client databases since i haven't done much SQL/PHP before, and was emphatically warned multiple times to always open a transaction before doing anything so i can roll it back if i screw up and to NEVER mess around on the live copy. i'm guessing from the constant reminders that somebody did not do that at one point.
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
8:38 PM
hey you two :) busy here, currently set up to work remotely from our motel in Rotorua, my wife is at a GP conference this week, and I'm keeping her company :)
haha 'borg I think everyone has at least one bad SQL story to tell, it's par for the course :P transactions tend to be a little over-rated, most validation is handled server-side before requests are sent to the database. The key thing I've found, if you're working directly in a client like SSMS is to ALWAYS WRITE THE WHERE CLAUSE FIRST
nothing worse than UPDATE [Table] SET [ColA] = 'Value'
hit enter... oh crap, I forgot the WHERE clause, now the whole table has been updated
in general, if I need to UPDATE/DELETE, I write it as a SELECT statement first, to confirm that the rows I'm getting back are indeed the rows I'm intending to change/remove
#SQLlessonswithkiwi
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
haha, yeah, i'm guessing there are SQL horror stories there :p thankfully i get to practice first. those are good tips, thank you!
we never covered SQL more than briefly in my college courses and my previous job was just Firebase stuff that didn't require writing raw requests, so it's still pretty new to me.
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
I love working in SQL databases, they are fairly easy to initially get your head around, but then there's some amazing nuances which let you really fine-tune things like performance and stability
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
i'm sure i will get the hang of it, a lot of the stuff i'm learning feels like being thrown face-first into the deep end. my previous team and the stuff i worked in college had a lot of streamlined tools and modern tech and i didn't have to interact with older or low-level stuff much, so it's been a big learning curve.
i took a lot of things for granted, it seems :p
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
I'm more than happy to jump into a call/screen-share session if there's ever things you want to cover :)
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
appreciated :) i should be fine hopefully, trying my best to keep up
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
8:52 PM
good on you :) sometimes it's just little key pieces of knowledge, that once you cover them, you're like "ohhhhh, this makes so much more sense now"
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
yeah. i'm essentially going through the typical young-person process of learning that there is a lot of stuff my degree didn't cover, i'm sure i will get better.
 
bobble
bobble
what you mean life isn't all standardized tests
I have been lied to
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
it's shocking, i know
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
that's sadly all-too-common, but a willingness to learn and being open to new ideas takes you so far in this industry. Even people who have been doing it 20+ years frequently admit they learn new stuff almost every day
bobble, isn't that a relief to discover? or have you got some weird fixation on standardised testing? :P
 
Sid
Sid
is there no active C4?
 
bobble
bobble
8:57 PM
@Dmihawk I am naturally good at standardized tests and naturally bad at life-ing
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
ah, well then I'm afraid I have some bad news for you... :'( (coming from someone also naturally bad at life-ing)
 
bobble
bobble
@Sid I believe you are correct
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
but sometimes, there's nothing more satisfying than closing all the curtains, and making the outside world disappear for a while :)
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
as long as you're open to learning new things and not afraid to occasionally look a bit silly when you ask questions, you will be fine :p
 
bobble
bobble
don't smiling crowns always look silly?
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
9:02 PM
smiling crowns look silly, but it's a facade for the bobblie world takeover plan
they smile. they plan.
it also gratifies me that a person older than me is still bad at life-ing, that means i have more time to practice not sucking at it
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
oh, we're all in this together 'borg, learning to life has taken me a long time of unlearning bad habits and figuring out that people are just people
 
bobble
bobble
*except when they're robots
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
I'd rather interact with robots
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
robots are predictable and easier to talk to on the phone, all things considered :p
 
bobble
bobble
Mack (the guy with the shotgun-axe from my chat profile) got a special life insurance policy for "death by robot"
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
9:15 PM
the main thing i struggle with in life-ing is the sheer amount of things that have to be in my brain at any given time, i've resorted to sticking giant post-it notes on my fridge like "1ST OF THE MONTH: PAY ELECTRIC" because i'm a dumbass who will forget otherwise
and if i don't keep track of my bank account constantly i'll forget and overdraw at the grocery store and cause a whole mess, and if i don't fill up the car soon it'll yell at me, and it's just like.... 1,000 tiny things
how do you manage it
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
it becomes routine I guess - our bills are on automatic payment, so I don't have to worry about them going out. Our finances are done every Friday morning, I track everything week-to-week in a Google Doc spreadsheet, mostly to see how we're doing at paying off our house. Budgeting for groceries can make life easier, that way you know you've only got a set amount to spend each time you go
but honestly, mostly dealing with the stress of things going wrong is good motivation for not letting them go wrong for me :P
but then something will happen which forces me to make a phone call to book for something, and all that goes out the window lol
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
i posit that there is nothing worse than having to unexpectedly make a phone call :p
2
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
those are the moments when I get most of the household chores done, there a very few things I wouldn't do to delay a phonecall
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
i have to call my utility companies to tell them my lease ends on the 30th, and i've been successfully cleaning the shower and bathrooms, scrubbing the appliances and just generally not doing it for multiple days now
phone call? oh look at all these cupboards that need organizing
 
bobble
bobble
if you do it I'll send a new bunny picture here o-o motivation?
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
9:27 PM
that sounds suspiciously familiar!
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
@bobble it would have to be an extremely cute bunny picture
 
bobble
bobble
@Sciborg it involves two bunnies in two boxes facing each other
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
gahhh, indecision
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
you can do it 'borg!
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
i'll need about 2 hours to gather the willpower
my blankets need washing
 
bobble
bobble
9:29 PM
the offer expires at the end of the day
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
;-;
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
I have no idea if it'll work for you, but a phrase my therapist recently taught me is "Now I'm having the thought..." as a prefix to anxiety-provoking thoughts, as a way of de-escalating their intensity and adding the perspective that they're just thoughts
so in your case, tell your "Now I'm having the thought that this phonecall will go horribly wrong", and that's all it is, it's just a thought
 
bobble
bobble
make your voice really gruff so you sound like a tough guy
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
it seems from the website like their customer service closed at 5:00, so if i promise to do it tomorrow will i still get the bunny picture?
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
it's only 9.30am 'borg :P
 
bobble
bobble
9:36 PM
only after the call
but yes, I shall extend the limited-time offer to tomorrow
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
you are a wonderful crown and kiwi <3
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
<3
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
My therapist's version of that anxiety phrase is "this is an irrational thought just like the other irrational thoughts I have all the time," to kind of kick me out of the tunnel vision headspace and remind myself it's an anxiety figment my brain is using to try and scare me. It has been surprisingly effective after practicing it because it sort of knocks me out of that fixation mindset.
I like those kinds of phrases because it helps train you to trigger that necessary moment of reining yourself in.
 
bobble
bobble
I build careful walls around memories I can't bear to touch
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
9:51 PM
sounds like we have therapists operating on very similar wavelengths
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
@bobble that seems like a good therapy thing to cover
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
@bobble I'm most definitely not a licensed mental health practitioner, but an anecdotal word of caution about memory avoiding and repression - I did the same regarding trauma I suffered when I was younger, and recently, had it all uncontrollably resurface, which did a lot of emotional damage to me, and is the reason I'm back in therapy now
 
bobble
bobble
It's most definitely always a temporary solution, but when merely touching the memory leads to falling and saying "no no no", and my parents respond by saying the embarrassment (what the memories are about) is stupid... temporary solutions for the win
yes i have problems
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
i hope that bobble gets help with the problems
Hopefully you're doing better now too, kiwi, a bubbling-up of some really old stuff a few months ago due to stress was what put me back into therapy too. I've done a lot better these past few months and have had to go less, but it's been good to get some help and I'm glad you are getting some too.
 
matt
matt
@bobble *virtual hugs*?
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
10:02 PM
it hurt deeply, but as I've worked through it, it has answered a few key questions about aspects of my personality and why I am the way I am. It also led (finally!) to a conclusive diagnosis of what I have, rather than being repeatedly told it's just depression + anxiety
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
Having a conclusive name and a solid treatment is a big help, it's a good reminder that you're never alone with the stuff that you're going through.
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
for anyone curious but hesitant to ask: I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), coupled with C-PTSD (complex post traumatic stress disorder)
oh yeah, having it finally identified took such a huge mental load off
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
BPD is a notoriously tricky diagnosis, I know a few people who were initially diagnosed with manic depression/bipolar but later figured out they responded much better to BPD treatment. I think there's a tendency to just assume depression when somebody is talking about feeling empty/having bad self-image and mood swings.
It's much easier to rest once you've got it figured out and have a treatment plan.
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
he was reluctant to identify it, because there's a lot of stigma in the mental health industry around treating it (apparently we're notoriously difficult to treat lol), but I've been largely at peace since the diagnosis, and found some amazing communities where people are very like-minded
anyway, I'm mindful that we might be getting a little heavy for a PSE chat room... :o
ooooh that reminds me, I had this in my cryptic crossword book yesterday...
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
bah, we do therapy in the Grove all the time :p
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
10:12 PM
The Spanish get into name I used for two of the Spice Girls (7)
I figured out it was Melanie, but where on Earth does the Spanish part come from???
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
No clue o-o
 
bobble
bobble
Googling "the in Spanish", apparently "la" is the feminine version?
(or "el" is the masculine - just noticed both are in there)
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
Me(la)nie, then? That doesn't seem right
Hm
I mean, I'm guessing the def is "two of the Spice Girls", so that leaves "The Spanish get into name I used for" as the wordplay
Which is.... weird
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
yeah, the whole crossword had some really.... questionable... clues
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
OH WAIT, i got it. "en" is "into" in spanish, so it's M(e(la)n)ie
with "Mie" being questionable for "me", i guess?
that still seems iffy
 
msh210
msh210
10:17 PM
"el" in "name I" used (i.e. anagrammed)
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
.....huh??
 
bobble
bobble
Jan 4 at 15:11, by msh210
@LukasRotter Leur's rule: For every word, there's at least one person who considers it an anagram indicator.
 
msh210
msh210
I think "used" here means anagrammed. So you get "el" (the, Spanish) in "name I"*
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
so "The Spanish" = "el" + "name I" as an anagram = "Melanie"
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
ahhhhh......
that's definitely, er, creative
isn't that an indirect anagram?
 
msh210
msh210
10:20 PM
No, they're not anagramming el, there's just sticking it into ("get into") an anagram
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
true. it still seems a bit questionable
but i suppose strictly speaking, it's allowed
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
cryptic crossword books are surprisingly hard to find, so I have to make do with what I've got
we need a PSE cryptic crossword book (for varying skill levels)
 
bobble
bobble
Why does this have a "needs attribution" close vote? The asker might not know where the puzzle is from; indeed the question is asking us to identify the puzzle. We're not being asked to solve, just identify. This kind of question (identify puzzle off pictures) is acceptable here - see other mechanical puzzle identification requests. — bobble 17 secs ago
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
Honestly that's a really good idea, that should be a community project sometime :) there are a lot of talented cryptic-writers in here
 
bobble
bobble
I could marginally understand Needs Details Or Clarity. I would disagree, but I would understand. But Needs Attribution for an identification request??
 
msh210
msh210
10:25 PM
Mi Yodeya has put out curated, edited collections of its content in print.
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
0
Q: Six-piece mechanical puzzle with multiply-pointed pieces which fit into a concave polyhedron

Isaac Mammel I need help identifying this mechanical puzzle that consists of 6 pieces (see image) which I have to fit together into a sort of concave polyhedron.

puzzle-identification mechanical-puzzles
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
Remind me to whip up a "PSE Cryptic Crossword Collection" book cover sometime :p
 
bobble
bobble
half would be jafe hehe
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
"please provide attribution for the puzzle you can't identify" seems a bit er... oxymoronic?
 
msh210
msh210
57
Q: Mi Yodeya Publications

Isaac MosesWelcome to Mi Yodeya Publications where you can download free, printable compilations of hand-picked questions and answers from Mi Yodeya, the online Jewish Q&A community. Hagada - Mi Yodeya? - Real questions and answers that spring from the Passover Seder Our companion to the Passover Hagada, f...

discussion publications
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
10:31 PM
@Sciborg ooooh that'd be cool!
 
bobble
bobble
resident kiwi, how often do you eat kiwi?
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
:O
we don't eat kiwi :'(
they're an endangered species, and outside of zoos, very few Kiwis (the people) will have actually seen a Kiwi (the bird)
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
Kiwis are adorable little squishballs, it's a shame they are endangered :(
 
bobble
bobble
I meant the fruit :) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwifruit
@Sciborg how long is your list of "things which are adorable little squishballs"?
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
ah "commonly shortened to kiwi in North America" - we call them Kiwifruit here, but I am relieved to know you don't think we eat our national symbol!
I like Kiwifruit, but wouldn't specifically buy it for myself, so not that often I guess
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
10:41 PM
@bobble it contains anything that is round, fuzzy, feathery, fluffy, and/or squishy in any variety
kiwis are three of those
 
bobble
bobble
@Sciborg by this logic it contains oobleck
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
did i stutter
 
bobble
bobble
and moldy cheese
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
clarification: anything that is alive and round, fuzzy, feathery, fluffy or squishy
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
'borg, do you include ducks?
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
10:43 PM
ducklings, yes, adult ducks, only if they honk and make cute noises
 
bobble
bobble
Do you include round animals who are pointy on the outside?
e.g pufferfish
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
absolutely
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
@Sciborg whew, we can remain friends :)
 
bobble
bobble
here you go
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
PRECIOUS SPIKY BABY
;-; <3
lookit the lil squishy boi
 
bobble
bobble
10:48 PM
*do not actually try to squish pufferfish
*it may hurt
*due to spikies
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
but he is a lil squishy friend
 
bobble
bobble
you're like my sister when she tried to pick up a ball cactus with her bare hands
THIS LEADS TO GETTING POKED
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
spiky things need love too
 
bobble
bobble
give them love with food or whatever
spare your poor hands
 
Sphinx
Sphinx
0
Q: This word chain will come back to me

DrDI am a four letter word. My anagram's antonym's Rot(13)'s synonym's homophone is a portion of me. What word am I? Note: There are six separate words in this chain. Please list them all with explanation. I used popular sites like Thesaurus.com or Wordhippo.com.

word word-ladder
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
10:51 PM
but what if i'm at the zoo and they have the urchin and starfish tide pool and the stingray pond
and you can pet the lil stingray babies
 
Dmihawk
Dmihawk
then it's a petting zoo!
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
conclusion: pokey things are still deserving of love
 
bobble
bobble
look at what a porcupine did to this pupper
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
okay, but porcupines are still cute
 
bobble
bobble
but was the porcupine cute while hurting the pupper
answer: no
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
10:55 PM
how dare you challenge my thesis of cuteness
this is established scientific literature
 
bobble
bobble
no
 
Sciborg
Sciborg
i'm deeply offended
i will come up with counterarguments while i cook
 
bobble
bobble
distraction!
 

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