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5:08 PM
... note to Jonathan: I won't interrupt with an @ding in case you're enjoying making timer A run timer C ...
... but thank you for getting me to delete that spurious claim!
I was incorrectly third-guessing my intended solution and thought we'd have to settle for a less nifty solution, probably incorrect too, as you and PaulEvans unmasked.
Pretty sure, again, about the more nifty solution though . . .
(talking about:)
6
Q: Third timer's a charm

humn Three motorized 24-hour light timers are arranged between a power outlet and a light bulb, with timer A parallel to a daisy chain of timers B and  C. For these timers, devise schedules that produce the following repeated lighting pattern, with the largest possible number D, beginning when the ...

 
 
2 hours later…
7:04 PM
^^^ ARGGGGGH, looks like the initial claim was true after all and this puzzle remains a medium-nifty warm-up puzzle for the one that really requires a gymnastic feat, with fewer moving parts as well, that has never gotten much interest:
2
Q: Day and night of the two timers

humn   Make a non-24-hour day$/$night cycle   with the most daylight and the fewest pieces Specifically, devise schedules and an arrangement for two electromechanical 24-hour light timers to control the flow of power from an outlet to a light bulb. The challenge is to obtain the following repeated...

 
7:53 PM
never saw it!
@humn I'm not sure one should limit the timers to switching with a period either.
 
tell me more (if you see this) . . .
 
uh I'm not sure I understand the setup now
 
rats, been trying to make it clearer... ???
 
I just meant for example C [0,0,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,1,...]
not just a periodic cycle
 
except for a period of 24?
but you're right, my solution looks more like what you just showed
 
8:06 PM
well for C it may not be, due to it's power, but yes except for it's major period
 
it has a periodic stretch and then breaks step
 
but now the situation is, if I understand it correctly... power goes on, A and B start running, if either is ON B is powered?
but B must be on when it comes time for C to transition??
 
yes! sorry misread first
 
why the second caveat?
 
which? (thought that was the 2nd)
 
8:10 PM
why does B have to be on when C comes to a transition?
is the power from A not good enough?
 
right, it's undeterministic
because the switch that allows power to the motor is being turned off (or on) by the motor
 
what switch?
C's switch?
 
the internal switch of the timer C
when that switch is off, A's power doesn't reach C's motor
 
so power from A comes through C's internal switch?
 
right, but only when C is ON
this is such a cool part of the other puzzle, but i'm pretty sure it doesn't come into play here after all
would love to see a solution where it does though!
 
8:14 PM
sounds like C would run backwards when only A is ON, forwards when only B is ON and not at all when both are ON :p
 
depending on the circuitry, yes
but i actually looked it up online and found that the usual circuitry is okay, what a weakness in this puzzle
turned out that A/C circuitry isn't fooled
 
ah yes true
an ac motor is mechanically different to a dc one
or you must rectify
 
that's what i gathered
 
I did EE
:p
 
right on! back in the days of less-digital circuitry like these timers?
digital timers would probably just put up a smoke signal in this configuration
 
8:17 PM
well, I basically did mathematics :p
but there was electronics :)
97-01
 
best mathematics courses i ever took were in EE
(not the only good ones, of course)
 
yeah we kicked out one of the Mathematics dept lecturers for being c**p
 
gotta get em while they're grad studs
 
so true
 
best time to learn from someone is while they still want to show off what they just learned
can't resist prying for a guardrail with the logically linked list:
is ternary involved?
saw your post about trits, and you just seem so ensconced in them
loved that you figured that one out too, so visual!
 
8:21 PM
what post?
 
where the loops in the numbers represented trits
 
(looking, or do you remember?)
 
I recall
 
good.. you've been on such an answering tear for weeks now it's hard to find a specific one
i put up the ternary representations of your linke list after looking at many different bases
 
8:23 PM
oh my logically linked numbers. I thought someone would have that by now
 
the only that showed patterns were bases 2 and 3
no doubt that every time you see that list, the rule screams out
and no doubt it'll turn out to be clean
be patient
 
yeah cant really give hints... have been trying to think of how to hint on A Strange Correspondence; and realised just how hard that puzzle actually is.
 
then again, of course, looking at anything enough ways inevitably reveals coincidental patterns
 
well if there is a different, simplistic solution I will love it :)
 
(going for a refresher on Strange Correspondence)
oh yeah! still think question_answerer will get that one
i see some patterns in which alphabets are used in which sentences but that's about it
 
8:27 PM
I used random numbers to generate the list but picked so both sides would be ascending, which must bring through some other patterns
 
i also see that the english sentences are ripe with clues, but they're not registering
 
yeah my biggest hint so far was in my comment to (Anna?)
 
hey, recent activity! missed that
oho, now we're talking positional information . . . very intriguing
 
yeah I pointed out that searching for "e" and "е" would have different results
same goes for other Cryllic
 
actual spy agencies could learn a lot at this site
very subtle
 
8:32 PM
hmm I got no idea how to approach your third timer's a charm.
 
i've wound up using a monospace editor on things like it
because it makes the patterns easy to chop up and line up
guess it doesn't really harken other kinds of puzzles
came from real life
 
does it work for the Korean and Georgian characters?
 
my monospace editor? let's see
looks like they all came through! here's the result of a round trip:
**Destiny: Can Asphalt respond to this?**
yuddaдaauthrасveώrnlkaэtnrngjчвingbuoawмáúceaúеarinoğjjх를lhebjьрerαaduarэ나sthaaттéaρy

**Apache: What is the bug here?**
ňtddebяumавrdcშშuneynejmлorрgienეუgdgeghëсceаatsiბდnžerëdjіsdчdméfნziýeutënпooеsahიაud

**Destiny: Invalid connection string?**
iinamoaouragikrugarizoèa스дш-nկerthakęmdvaonltiptidtdtzr바모ніsaսdenowignrhisuaėemæmesirsp크еіaukիen

**Apache: Is this code wrong?**
objondp예ecgkıαიიöквkiwипxanoecya다usenmçνნtkстezzкeeqʁnmųvr하ćaiioaίიúйрasnЪшnwɑamiea약uedrkιεსrоеsgaнуah
 
but they don't look monospaced
 
didn't even know that there are Korean letters here.
 
8:36 PM
Korean looks wider, is that just an illusion?
 
right you are, not an illusion,
 
on first message one symbol looks kind of like LI
or Lt
that is one symbol
 
right, and it looks like two symbols on my screen
 
I can't seem to get a Windows cmd line to work with them all, which is annoying cos I'd like to try crunching stuff through Python
I can switch to a working cmd line but then Python wont run
 
(making a screenshot)
 
8:40 PM
interesting that it made the Georgian monospace though :)
Korean looks like 1.5 width
 
That Korean char is recognized as:
Char: 나 (45208, #o130230, #xb098, file ...)
guess only straight ascii is guaranteed to come out in a predictable width
 
well I guess it's fine if you only write in one script per document
 
yup,,
search didn't find any more copies of that particular character
(looking for e)
 
mmm papaya, mint, eucalyptus and hazel
sounds like shampoo
guess what it is
 
hmmmm
a new three four things with something in common puzzle?
 
8:45 PM
looking for Cryllic "е"?
there should be
 
wasn't yet sure which line is Cyrillic
 
all of last line is Cryllic
 
got it...
suspiciously similarly placed near the ends of three other sentences
 
should be one near middle of first one too
 
almost smack dab, and near both ends of the cyrillic sentence
now looking at н
 
8:49 PM
no not four things with something in common
I am enjoying something that contains those things, what is it?
 
cool or hot?
 
very hot
 
papya's throwing me off because the others made me think of tea
some kind of aromatic?
 
kind of I guess
 
a balm? (don't see how that would be very hot)
 
8:51 PM
nope
 
mint and eucalyptus are so similar
would a bay leaf fit in?
 
maybe I should post it as a puzzle with the science tag ^^
I am very hot
I contain papaya
...
 
are you taking a bath in a witch's cauldron?
 
heh, sounds like shampoo
 
champaigne? naw cold
 
8:54 PM
Champagne?
 
sounds like shampoo but harder to spell
 
think that's grapes too
 
true
 
well I'm finished now :)
 
were you a word?
 
8:55 PM
no
 
are you being silly? making me feel silly (not a long journey from usual)
 
no I am being real
I read the ingredient list of something I was using that was very hot
 
is it denser than water? making me feel dense
 
I don't think it's obvious :)
um
its it denser than water...
um I guess
or, it was
not by much though, if it is
 
did you have to hold your breath while typing?
 
8:57 PM
no I didn't have to
 
there goes my vaporizer guess
 
what are you thinking of?
oh
warm
 
also guessing a steamer for stuffy nose
 
yeah mint and eucalyptus sounds about right ,but no
 
(looking up hazel, not sure )
are you a nut? or just seem like one sometimes?
i mean, hazel as in nut?
 
9:00 PM
hazel is a tree
 
(looking to see if it has aromatic properties)
 
hazelnut is it's nut
 
"hazelnuts gave one wisdom and inspiration" wikipedia
 
hehe cool
 
just cannot come up with a connection between any of those ingredients except the green leafy ones
have you heard the catch all? four things that have never been in my kitchen
but some of those have, so i'm stumped
 
9:03 PM
egg timer?
 
are you guessing at your own answer now? i still am
 
I was guessing something that had never been in your kitchen
The Harlem Globetrotters?
 
now, that's a safe bet!
i'm wondering if the people who lived here before might have had an egg to time
 
Jupiter?
 
heh heh, there's been a light timer in my kitchen
jupter? let me check, might be around the corner
. . . . no signs of it, but a suspicously crumpled plastic bag
 
9:06 PM
did you check down the back of the fridge?
plastic bags are everywhere after all
 
hah, diving there now
got me there, the space between the fridge and wall is where i keep my bags
some of them are paper so i have no idea what's inside, hopefully nobody trying to nap
whatever your mystery object is, it sounded like something you have for pleasure
or had
 
don't stick your kin down there!
especially not face first
 
i'll leave my fingers sticking out
 
so you given up on my ingredients?
 
hot toddy?
 
9:09 PM
I may use some more
nope
I can post a link to it when you say
 
by the way, if you saw my taunting you as a "trit-loving brit" it was only because it rhymed
 
I missed that
 
i'm not even sure if you're in england
it was here a couple of days ago a couple of minutes after you left a message
 
I <3 <del>tits</del> trits
no strikethrough?
 
i was trying to poke you about the linked list puzzle but concluded that you had turned in for the day
like tits this
 
9:12 PM
oh I may have or I could have been playing poker or watching something
 
here the magic formula is - - - 3 dashes - - - (joined though)
 
strikethoug
h
 
love good editing!
 
^^
Ic rant' trye to dsve my lifw
 
gonna have to put that in google fdanslae
okay, no hints necessary for the puzzles, but another for yoiur mystery concoction of the moment?
 
9:15 PM
well I am goiing to use some more of it
I prepare it myself from the product
 
can't reuse what you already used... sounds like
 
it's not hot yet
no once it's used it's not good for much
 
(mulling)
are you on an airplane and about to land?
one of those face wipes?
 
like one recieves in an Indian restaurant at the end of a meal (do you have that over there?)
 
right
 
9:17 PM
nope
 
so far all i can tell is that you're at cruising altitude in a non-indian restaurant
 
yes no microwave involved
 
does it heat up by itself?
 
you keep using "use"
so i gather you're not ingesting it
 
9:20 PM
yes to avoid any specific word, like "bathe in", "drink", "eat", or anything that may be specific to what it is
 
okay
washing ... dishes? if so, you're slow
shaving?
 
I have "zesty lemon"
I use clippers
 
decorating a cake?
 
mmmmmm good idea.
no
I do have some carrot cake mmmm
 
i'll bet even its ingredients could be made to sound mysterious
any more ingredients in the mystery substance?
wish i had something mysterious to stump you with, but everything in reach is obvious
 
9:23 PM
I don't think it does, no
 
(going to google with the complete list)
 
well I can tell you if you want I have a link
 
you'll never believe what showed up, or will you?
 
maybe
 
it was an early guess but i didn't want to type it
nice if true, gotta say
 
9:25 PM
lube? :p
 
that was an early guess too
just remember to give your agent 10%
 
that would be warm not very hot
wait, what?
what did you put in Google?
 
hazel papaya mint eucalyptus
 
ohhh, haha - yes right thing but none of the other
I ran out of tobacco and it's my backup
 
that's what came up but also hash
looks tasty all right
 
9:28 PM
No I'm keeping it pure :p
 
very ascetic of you
 
it's relatively nice, just no nicotine hit
 
ah, relaxing?
 
and wisdom generating
 
those words speak for themselves
think i went through the looking glass here the other day
made an off-the-cuff answer to a math puzzle just to relax before going to sleep
still not sure i woke up after that
 
9:31 PM
which?
 
that answer got more votes than any serious answer ive made
f(0)=0, f(1,2,3,...)=1
 
oh like gotify
 
so i thought that the votes were coming from cross (pun intented) traffic from workforce.stackexchange
and went to investigate..
just to see how they like using our new logo so far
(know what i;m talking about? there's only a little more to this story)
found myself in a parallel world of favicon disfavor
 
they are not happy?
they dont look that similar :p
 
not at all
not at all happy
not at all not at all similar
 
9:34 PM
I'm r-g colour blind and can see the diff at a glance
 
they have a Meta post going just like ours, about how our logo should be changed
 
you've got good resolution in your vision
so there i was, at Twilight Zone SE
and what did i see in their meta post, but my own comment at our meta post being quoted
as justification by SE gods for disregarding iconflation
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
 
iconflation?
 
icon conflation, been waiting a lifetime for a chance to use that
 
9:37 PM
not icon inflation then
 
none of that
 
it's kind of missing the necessary part
 
but, really, there were posts at Workforce SE saying how they've been marking our questions as off topic
when they thought they were at their own site
 
i conflation or icon flation... hmm
cornflaktion?
 
well all conflation don't we
could you spell that slowly with spaces ?
 
9:39 PM
lol
corn flake conflation
 
now in a low voice
 
actually i still can't tell a cornball joke from a comball joke in this font
 
what's a conrball
 
hrnrnrnrnrnrn
 
9:41 PM
hrrrrrrrrrrrn
 
put that in google pronouncer
aha:
h r r r r r r r r r r r n
 
Ad suggestions: Lover's Guide, Audio Book
 
do say. . .(i don't get it)
here's your border checkpoint test
to tell if you're math, EE, or French
what is/are j?
 
you get ad suggestions from the searches you make, so you search for pronunciation of hrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrn and it thinks you may be interested in other things that make that sound
 
ohhh, haven't tried that, thanks!
 
9:45 PM
j is srt(-1) :p
 
you may pass
 
still tickles me
 
although I would generally use a v with two dots ;p
just to be more different
 
jerk!
 
9:46 PM
^^
 
(was that what you were alluding to?)
(i'd never call you that)
 
or keep j for factorial and use an exclamation point for sqrt(-1)
 
!!flip/!
 
oh God what would we use for falling factorial?
sideways i :)
(whew)
 
hoho, i'm trying to remember what falling factorial is, just saw something like that recently
was it the half of binomial coefficient like 10!/5!?
floortorial: ._
 
9:50 PM
x*(x-1)*...(x-n)
 
that's the ticket, maybe it was in a post by you
 
mayyyybe
 
found out about "primorials" recently too
along false leads for the "relevant primes" puzzle
for which you cracked how it related to primes. i was lost
 
I remember thinking naively as a young boy that I would work out the most compressed form of arithmetic using primes...
 
i'll buy it for multiplication
turns things into addition, like logs
 
9:54 PM
like "we don't really need composite numbers"
 
how are you working out the most compressed form now?
 
I'm not :p
 
huffman code?
modern algebra was a perfect example of a professor ruining a topic that i've wound up using everywhere
 
no I mean I would think we could just do away with composites if we expressed things "properly" and thought I'd work that out
how annoying
 
if only we had 2 fingers on one hand we would be using base 7
 
9:57 PM
I only watched online course for algebras (Group theory) and dont think the guy was a good lecturer
hehe
 
maybe nobody likes to teach it
almost speaking of information theory, ...
here's another probe on the logically linked list puzzle
 
imagine where we might be today if Galois had lived past 22
 
we'd be playing with Galois's Cubes
 
(not 10pm)
^^
 
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