The Sphinx's Lair

n_palum

19:07

So @Rubio Linux? Why?

Rubio

Why not?

n_palum

Lol okay well the course is called "Software Development in Linux Systems".. do you think it is something worth knowing

Rubio

I suppose it depends on what you hope to get out of it.

n_palum

Useful languages I guess

Rubio

If you want to do games design, it's unlikely that software development on Linux is going to be particularly relevant - it's not exactly a high market-share game platform

n_palum

19:09

Make myself more unique as a potential employee

Rubio

If you want to learn how Linux works, though, (say) to be able to trace a program and have a clue what it means when a program is doing

14:10:28 mprotect(0x7f498ac35000, 8192, PROT_READ) = 0
14:10:28 munmap(0x7f498abd5000, 207134) = 0
14:10:28 rt_sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, [HUP USR1 USR2 PIPE ALRM CHLD TSTP URG VTALRM PROF WINCH IO], [], 8) = 0
14:10:28 socket(AF_NETLINK, SOCK_RAW|SOCK_CLOEXEC|SOCK_NONBLOCK, NETLINK_ROUTE) = 4
14:10:28 setsockopt(4, SOL_NETLINK, 3, [1], 4) = 0
14:10:28 bind(4, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=0, nl_groups=00000000}, 16) = 0
14:10:28 getsockname(4, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=21110, nl_groups=00000000}, [16->12]) = 0

^ ... that

n_palum

Are you trying to hack me

Rubio

then yes, taking a class on software development in Linux Systems is probably a good thing :)

Rand al'Thor

> 14:10:28 getsockname(4, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=21110, nl_groups=00000000}, [16->12]) = 0

@n_palum No, he's finding your sock.

n_palum

I can't imagine they'd suggest it as an Advanced Elective to my coursework if it wouldn't be helpful or relevant

Get off of my socks @Rubio

Rubio

19:12

That's how we find sockpuppets, actually. ;)

n_palum

I love socks, I have the best socks, you can't have them

Sid

@Rand Why did you need a sockpuppet in the first place?

Rubio

I mean - that trace up there, I actually just took off my desktop while running a command. It's a tiny piece of all it was doing, so understanding even what command I ran from just that isn't possible (it'd be like saying "What book did this come from? father's secret his whole")

but I can read what that trace says and know what was happening right there, without really having to try very hard to do so

and if I was trying to debug an issue, having that skill is pretty durned handy

n_palum

You can keep your traces and leave my socks be

Rubio

Also, spoilers the book was "The Lost Gate" by Orson Scott Card. I hope I didn't give anything away there. :)

Rand al'Thor

19:18

@Sid Me? I didn't. You might be getting me mixed up with some other user there ;-)

@Rubio VTC: too broad.

Sid

The voice inside your head never voted for you, though. I wondered why you even needed that.

Rubio

:)

Rand al'Thor

Oh, that sock!

Yeah, the only thing I've used it for is comic relief in chat.

n_palum

VTC(laim): Socks

Rand al'Thor

And occasionally checking what's actually visible to low-rep users.

Sid

19:22

So, you are using that akin to a king in fairy tales that goes out in disguise every night to find out the prevailing situation among the poor in his kingdom?

Rubio

cleaning up SFF questions from 2013, rand?

oh. late answer to old question, judging by the number. nvm, moving along

Rand al'Thor

@Sid Heh. Something like that.

@Rubio ?

Rubio

on Charcoal.

Rand al'Thor

If I had any computer-savviness whatsoever, I might consider setting up a chatbot on my sock account. But meh.

@Rubio Oh, you lurk in Charcoal? Yeah, new answer to old question. Spam doesn't usually last four years!

Rubio

I hop in there to report crap on PSE once in a while, especially when no mods are around

I don't have !! power though, alas

Rand al'Thor

19:28

I didn't even realise !! was a power for a long time - I thought it was something anyone could do.

Apparently all blues get the power automatically.

Rubio

nifty

I think if you hang around and contribute long enough you can earn it, but - well - I don't

@humn That was really for our intrepid answerer, not you, but it seems they didn't pick up what you were putting down

Wesley Situ

@Rubio have you ever done the Binary bomb lab? seems like something you might like if you like figuring out what programs do

Rubio

I've never even heard of it

Wesley Situ

Here's a link of some version of it: zpalexander.com/binary-bomb-lab-set-up

Rubio

Yeah looking at that now

Wesley Situ

19:33

That was one of my favorites to do while i was at college.

Rubio

It's a level lower than I usually go - I once had to do this sort of thing for my job, where the developers had some code doing something stupid but For Proprietary Reasons couldn't (or, well, wouldn't is more correct) share the code with me

Rand al'Thor

> Most idiotic, coming first in the class after sending mud back (7)

@Deusovi ^ because I kept thinking of this word when working on your clue

Rubio

I ended up reverse-engineering what their C code probably was based on the object code produced, but it took a hella long time to do. I did find their error, and gave some rough pseudo-code for what I thought their C code looked like and pointed out what was probably wrong

and apparently I was right about it

Wesley Situ

It's a pretty puzzly project if you want to do it in your free time. You have to figure out what each step does and provide input that won't make the bomb explode

Rubio

I'll have to look at this more when I have more time though, I think you're right that I'd enjoy it :) thanks

Wesley Situ

19:36

I don't know if this version has that extra something in it though :P

But if it does and you find it, it's nice

Rubio

@Randal'Thor That's seriously the dumbest cryptic I've ever seen. ;)

I agree, that was my almost immediate first thought too

Rand al'Thor

@Rubio I forget if you're one of our cryptic experts (if not, I'll ping Deus): would it have been acceptable to say e.g. "muck" instead of "mud", to obfuscate the clue a little more? Or is that the kind of indirect cluing that's considered a no-no?

Rubio

I'm no Deus. I'd think it was fine in principal, though muck isn't really mud

humn

(out of the blue)

Dear @Abusive Kangaroo, you gave me an idea.

Rand al'Thor

Hi @humn!

humn

19:40

Stackexchange is ezzentially all about puzzles that vexxx us.

Rand al'Thor

Oh, speak of the devil.

humn

(and yuuuuuu, dear Rand!)

(now the rest of my preprepared comments won't fit)

It's been told, @Rand y, that I write like an angel but speak like the devil

... and edit like a fiend

Deusovi

@Randal'Thor That's fine.

Rubio

anyway - i'm sure you can use a reversal indicator on a synonym of what you're going for...

well there ya go :)

Sid

@Rubio you reverse-engineered a program just on seeing the output? That's so cool..

Rubio

19:43

was going to reference one of Deus's TIMES< clues

Rand al'Thor

@humn My "speak of the devil" referred not to you but to someone else who came into the room just as they were mentioned.

Deusovi

@Rubio ?

Rubio

@Sid Er, not in that case. I had the trace output, and the object code. But no source.

Revolutionary paper: "A - B - C, perhaps?" (8)

Rand al'Thor

@Deusovi Oh good! (It's so hard to keep track of exactly what you pedants consider acceptable :-P )

Deusovi

The only "indirectness" issue is anagrams - typically, everything else is fair game as long as it's not ridiculously unfair

Oh right, that clue! SEMIT<+ONE

Rand al'Thor

19:46

Technically "mud" -> "dum" is an anagram.

Deusovi

I liked the "A-B-C" misdirection

Rubio

Yeah that was sneaky. :)

Deusovi

Sure, but it's not clued as an anagram. It's clued as a reversal.

Rand al'Thor

Which is a type of anagram.

Hey, I'm a pedant too! :-)

Deusovi

The reason for the directness rule about anagrams is to limit the options. Knowing how to anagram is much fairer than having to try all n! possibilities (or less, with repeated letters)

Rand al'Thor

19:48

Mm, fair point.

Deusovi

It's not anagrams being a different type of wordplay that sets them apart, it's the generality. :P

Techidiot

@Sid We were allowed to use calculators after high-school in exams (atleast the ones who are into engineering are allowed)

Sid

Yeah, Engineering students are allowed. They even have those scientific calculators where they can calculate logarithms, etc.

Techidiot

Yup. Basic ones wont help.

Sid

I dislike the idea that I have to find the cube of a decimal number and then multiply Avogadro's number(Or something similar) and then divide by some other number and find out an answer and we are expected to do that in less than 5 minutes.

humn

19:53

It's the only way to break the light barrier, @Sid, get used to it (zorry about more abuze, buit Z have something to zay bout it )

Sid

I don't quite understand what you meant. But okay. in any case, i am glad I finally got out of that mess which is called high school.

humn

(every utteranze is open to interpretation around a site called Puzzling)

Rubio

I fear humn may have taken a too-hard one to the head.

5

humn

Too reeeeeel.

Deusovi

You've only started fearing that now? :P

Rubio

19:58

@Deusovi Good point. My bad.

sigh ...

CCCC is Cryptic Clue Chat Chains - see this awesome guide for a cryptic clues primer, and join in!

4

Two weeks just isn't what it used to be

humn

Toooooo weaaaak.

Counting on the ability of this stream to follow more than one at a time....

Stackexchange is ezzentially all about puzzles that vexxx us.

And some of us neeeeed atttttention, goooood or baad.

So why not abusssstackexchange.com?

Might be a neeeeded releef valvvvvv.

Sid

@humn Which one was it? Vodka, Whiskey or Beer?

Rubio

Before ....

"Scanners" Head Explosion

►

Deusovi

Is this part of a puzzle, or just you being your usual self?

humn

'

Deusovi

20:02

...That's not an answer to the question. It's an apostrophe.

humn

no time like the prererereresent to establish self-rerereerefererererentialism

nooooooooooooooo, so many (re)thrererererrrrrrrrreads

Deusovi

I don't think an apostrophe is self-referential.

(...Seriously, are you okay? I'm a bit concerned.)

humn

Well perceived, D, I've been hanging on for (fill in the blanks, but please don't send the authorities, I mean well. Well, well, ...)

Deusovi

...Take care of yourself, okay? And let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

humn

(You Dinger. what a sensitive moment)

(That's also why I appeal for an ever-more-constructive approach for dealing with others' plies for attention)

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

n_palum

20:17

Haven't really talked to you much @humn but same as Deus said - Let us know if you need something or someone. :)

(I've been at the point of "hanging on" before... there is always an end to the cycle bud)

humn

Very much appreciated.

But not a ploy for such kindness, except for others.

n_palum

Everyone needs a little kindness in their life

humn

^ ! (It's not fair, some of us receive more kindness than deserved while others don't)

^ rant on! rant off.

n_palum

Everyone deserves some in their life, independent of other people.. taking care of yourself is more important than worrying about other people from time to time

Sid

When was life meant to be fair, anyway?

n_palum

20:25

Never was

humn

It said "fair" on the brochure.

Sid

On that note, I probably should try to get some sleep. Have a nice day/Good night(Whatever time of day, it is)

humn

Pleasant dreams, @Sid

n_palum

Cya Sid

humn

OK, time for namereveals? "Deusovi=Devious" "humn=not the rat I really am"... so many to decipher

n_palum

20:32

I'm not quite sure I follow.. we knew Deus?

humn

"Palum"? Sounds delicious.

"n"? Sounds predicative.

"humn"? sounding more interrogative than intended

(another conversation successfully stymied, unintentionally, apologiaevowelly)

n_palum

Your name just makes me think of humming

Mine is just parts of my name :)

humn

The best parts, no doubt.

n_palum

More like the first parts

humn

Ain't we got fun.

(Ps., @Deusovi, follow that sensitive nerve. Many close calls result in the future.)

(signed - lucky enough to tell the story)

'Think it over (had to reeem an errant keystroke).

stumped? me too.

Deusovi

20:54

A bit busy, but I've been reading over the conversation occasionally.

You're being more enigmatic than usual.

humn

can happen

n_palum

I wouldn't know

humn

dinger dagner diddly censored sometimes

and other times not.. what a play

n_palum

I'm gathering that you're slightly inebriated - which does not help the situation

humn

i am pixilated nonstop

sometimes with, sometimes not, care to elaborate? o wuyld.

Rand al'Thor

21:02

Wow. @humn certainly has an inimitable style.

humn

u!

Deusovi

"Inimitable" is very accurate.

Rand al'Thor

I've tried to imitate it.

It's just impossible.

humn

To quote: Ain't wegot but.

Rand al'Thor

I'd like to star some of these humnisms, but there are just too many to fill the star-board, and no one message that stands out.

humn

21:06

But, really, I have a proposilly serious.

Why not abusssstackexchange.com?

n_palum

I could imitate it.. would just have to drink a bit.. but it's only 1700 here

humn

In palum years

Rand al'Thor

Palum Sunday was last week!

humn

Andi gave up sensibility

n_palum

What I think he is trying to get at again is why is there no stackexchange for abusers? e.g an AA stackexchange of a sorts? Unless I am misinterpreting this

Rand al'Thor

21:08

I'm sure it's been proposed on Area 51.

humn

RRRRRRRRRRRRR!

(Fn-ing keyboard just sends whatever)

Rand al'Thor

Oh, is it the keyboard that turns ordinary speech into humnisms?

humn

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa&!

Rand al'Thor

humn and his mother, mumn

n_palum

I think he's just trying to say right

Rand al'Thor

21:12

humn is certainly not dumn

Gareth McCaughan

@humn Were you making a deliberate Garrick/Goldsmith reference, a bit earlier? I ask merely out of curiosity.

humn

@n_palum , worth a try!

Gareth McCaughan

As for the ... peculiar style, I'm trying to work out whether it's Finnegans Wake or Stanley Unwin he's been overdosing on.

But we should worry if his writing ever becomes entirely normal. That would just be inhumn.

humn

@GarethMcCaughan , you play under my (and others') mind(s) before I(we) even have a chance to get there

period.

"undermind," if you don't mind, that is.

Gareth McCaughan

o noes I've been undermind

humn

21:18

^ see what i min?

Rand al'Thor

mind
Gareth

^ that?

humn

^wat!

n_palum

Mind games

humn

evr sins eye lrn gnggngngngnslhsh

Gareth McCaughan

unfortunately chat doesn't permit the formatting that would enable me to reproduce the ancient puzzle/joke that, properly interpreted, reads "I understand you undertake to undermine my undertaking".

Rand al'Thor

21:20

Hey @humn, you should come over to Literature and see if anyone there can identify your writing style!

n_palum

Oh my

humn

dinger dnngers! I have m^s of Qs unposted for L.SE

Rand al'Thor

stand take mine taking
  I    you  to    my

@GarethMcCaughan ^ that?

Gareth McCaughan

oh, you can do that here?

Rand al'Thor

:-D

humn

21:21

flag

Rand al'Thor

@humn That's what I was hoping!

Gareth McCaughan

`# . # . # . # .
. # . # . # . #`

that didn't work

n_palum

He has his share of questions waiting to post of LSE

humn

Fmost, 'roman-a-clef'

Gareth McCaughan

so how does one do multiline code formatting here?

humn

21:23

(and i am not a "je")

@GarethMcCaughan , bunch (>3) of spaces on each line and Shift+Return (thanks, R) between them

n_palum

Coherency to help Gareth suddenly..

humn

zat a CCCC?

Rand al'Thor

@humn Shift+Return, you mean?

Gareth McCaughan

that works here?

Beastly Gerbil

Heh. Getting told off by Gamow for saying this is a dupe

Rand al'Thor

21:27

Sure
it
does

Gareth McCaughan

testing ... testing ... 0 ... 1 ... 0 ... 1 ...
now is the tick for all good meanders to coconut to the aim of the paradox

ooh, it does!

Rand al'Thor

@BeastlyGerbil Well, it is a dupe. Different number, same puzzle.

Gareth McCaughan

@Randal'Thor I knew about shift+return. I didn't know that leading-spaces code formatting works here.

Beastly Gerbil

@Rand thats exactly what I replied...

Anyway, night all

Rand al'Thor

It's like saying all those "number of holes within the digits" puzzles shouldn't be dupes because oh, they're different digits being considered.

@BeastlyGerbil Night!

humn

21:28

@Gareth McCaughan, sooner or later scientists will discover a way to disembiguate us.

Rand al'Thor

@GarethMcCaughan Hey, you speak humnish!

humnish? humnian? humnic?

Gareth McCaughan

humniac

Rand al'Thor

@BeastlyGerbil Still needs two more close votes. @humn, @Gareth, you want to do the honours?

humn

BBBBst?

Rand al'Thor

(Or do you also think it shouldn't be a dupe?)

Gareth McCaughan

21:33

@Randal'Thor I hesitated but did VTC-as-dupe. Hesitation because the mere fact that only the numbers have changed doesn't in itself mean that the puzzles are the same. (Puzzle 1: Prove that there are no nontrivial positive integer solutions of x^3+y^3=z^3. Puzzle 2: Prove that there are no nontrivial positive integer solutions of x^4+y^4=z^4. Both are soluble, but unless you choose to go via Wiles or something they're quite different because the method of solution is different.)

(For the avoidance of doubt, both are also totally inappropriate as puzzles here, of course.)

But I think in this case the method of solution is also similar enough to close as duplicate.

humn

(late correction "disambiguate")

Gareth McCaughan

oh, I thought it was deliberate

and was going to make a comment about it sounding painfully cromulent

humn

why do I even bother?

so ____________ that others know what was meant

(gotta be a word for that, but I overcycled too)

and, once again, does this font make my overcycled look like overcydled?

Gareth McCaughan

it would be overcyded not overcycled. but no, at least to me, it looks fine

humn

vvevv

Gareth, admit ith, we occupy the same th

Gareth McCaughan

21:42

"be vevvy vevvy quiet, I'm hunting vvabbits"

humn

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

n_palum

Always that it was vewwy vewwy

Gareth McCaughan

   <
   <
   <^^^^
vvvv>
    >
    >

Rand al'Thor

@humn As long as you don't use your mouse click too much.

Gareth McCaughan

@n_palum so did I but a bit of googling suggests that unfortunately the "w"s are canonically undoubled

when I started writing it I was hoping to put vevvvvy vevvvvy but authenticity is all

humn

21:45

nd t b sd? crwth?

Gareth McCaughan

@Randal'Thor There is an urban legend (perhaps it's even true) that at one time the so-called Comics Code told makers of comics not to use the word FLICK...

Rand al'Thor

The wet vet wove a view.

humn

U fkkkkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr(s)

Rubio

a view?

n_palum

no that's the view

Rand al'Thor

21:47

Vvomen vvith a vievv?

humn

If nobody z t n thr vW, worth it

Rubio

You're all barnny

humn

jst skip the lst 22 mms

Rand al'Thor

@Rubio Nnißion axonnplished.

Gareth McCaughan

I thought there were only 12 mms. (The last being l-Mhd.)

Rand al'Thor

21:49

@humn R w drppng vwls nw?

humn

Ayiyiyiy 'm still trying to ctch up with dz ago

Rand al'Thor

(I have no idea what Gareth and humn are on about at this point.)

Gareth McCaughan

f u cn rd ths, itn tyg h myxbl cd.

Rand al'Thor

@GarethMcCaughan I can only read the first half of that.

humn

ditititititiitititititititititititititittt O

Gareth McCaughan

21:51

@Randal'Thor That's the point. (There used to be advertisements that began "f u cn rd this" and continued with some nonsense about becoming a secretary. The version above was a piss-take of those.)

Rand al'Thor

Puzzling Chat Chronicles, Chapter XIV: "The Humnification"

humn

/////u sf = U sif = you sof/ = you dig ! = you dog!

Rand al'Thor

-rm rf

humn

every morning I partake an editablet

there@

Sphinx

22:14

0

Q: A themed poem. Can you guess the numbers?

Six numbers, which can be repeated, are selected from the set $\{0,..,9\}$, and form a sequence: $<* * * * * *>$. Each verse in the themed poem corresponds to a number. Can you find the numbers? $$$$ "Tick tock went the clock, her spell was as heavy as a cinder block." "Shrinking in a brown hou...

boboquack

22:39

One of you should pick up on Techidiot's lead in the Soapbox question

Gareth McCaughan

22:52

@boboquack ok, done

though I may have omitted some omissions (besides what I take to be the intendedly omitted omission, whose omission I have not omitted).

boboquack

@Gareth Good job!

Gareth McCaughan

It was pretty straightforward given that Techidiot had already done the actual work.

(and given that you'd drawn attention to the importance of errors)

I'm just fixing up the omitted omissions now.

Now fixed.

boboquack

23:24

@Gareth Followed your suggestion

Gareth McCaughan

23:39

OK. I shall do likewise, then.

(done)

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