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12:28 AM
@PrinceNorthLæraðr, are you okay/safe? Are the fires moving away or getting smaller?
@Sciborg, I remind you that you have promised to take a picture of the bobblie.
 
12:59 AM
@bobble I'm okay, and I'm getting conflicted information whether to evacuate or not
 
Part one: that's good. Part two: not very helpful
 
@bobble I think the fire is moving away
We are literally a block away from the mandatory evacuation area though
 
OH, I mean not very helpful for you
@PrinceNorthLæraðr oof. does saying "oof" more times make it less oofy?
 
@bobble Eh
It brings empathy ig (shrugs)
sigh
I can't believe this is happeningf
Some of my friends said they could literally see the fires from their backyards
 
1:32 AM
ahh
 
1:49 AM
:(((
 
0
Q: How to find the right box to be opened to match the exterior labels if only one extraction is allowed?

Chris Steinbeck BellI found this riddle in a collection of problems from my Reason and Logic's book from 2003. From the looks of it seems to be adapted from Martin Gardner's 70s book. The problem is as follows: Mike has 3 equal carton boxes. In one of them he places candies, then in the other one he puts chocolates...

 
@PrinceNorthLæraðr bobble: "can trees shrug?" /s
 
2:42 AM
0
Q: The children's conversation: How many marbles do they have?

risky mysteriesTim: "Wow, marbles! Lets share!" Ava: "Yeah! We found them together, we should share equally. One for your pile, one for my pile, another for your pile, another... There! We're equal!" Tim: "No, I saw them first, I'll have two more than you! I'll take this, and this!" Ava: "That's not fair!" Jack: "

 
3:39 AM
'borg, ping me if you come in
 
They might be sleeping?
 
perhaps, but I think they're on sometimes 'round now
@Deusovi, this question starts "My name is Anonymus25. My account has been deleted because I am too young"
 
thanks
 
(plus, it was another "I made up this super-complicated situation with no known solution, you try to solve it")
 
4:04 AM
I finished the hexomino statue park!
 
so Deus's mod hammer is whacking the moles again
@bobble nice :)
 
Hello @bobble! :D
 
hello!
 
yay it's mick!
 
As promised here is bobblie with eyes and mouth:
user image
2
 
4:08 AM
It's so cute!
 
Still have to do points but he's almost done!
 
@Sciborg You're awake?!
 
I took a giant nap after work, sorry :p
 
the lil' button eyes and tiny mouth are -chef kiss- perfect
 
4:10 AM
It took me a while to get the look right, I ended up sewing on lil fabric bits but I think it looks super cute <3
 
New Things Bobble Does: chef kisses, apparently
 
How does a crown chef kiss?
 
I type with mannerisms I pick up from books - in this case, cheesy YA novels
@PrinceNorthLæraðr very well, thank you
Plus, crowns are hats, and chefs have hats.
 
crowns are hats?!!
 
The deep lore thickens!
 
4:11 AM
you wear them on your head
while they suck your puzzling ability
 
This bobblie did keep trying to jump on my head while I was napping...
 
oh no
 
Did you see my bobblie statue park?
 
You posted a bobblie statue park???
 
14
Q: Bobblie Statue Park

bobbleThis is a Statue Park puzzle. Rules of Statue Park: (shamelessly stolen from an earlier puzzle by @Deusovi) Shade some cells of the grid to form the given set of pieces. Pieces may be rotated or reflected. Pieces cannot be orthogonally adjacent (though they can touch at a corner). All unshaded ...

 
4:13 AM
It's so cute!!
I love it!!
 
It's also fairly hard, so I don't recommend attempting unless you're good at Statue Parks
and make sure to upvotes Deus's answer!
 
It's a crime not to upvote a Deus answer :D
He did a great job on it
 
any pse bosh rush game idea updates?
 
I have actually been kinda goofing around with a half-serious Boss Rush prototype, I wanted to practice making 2D platformers and one thing led to another :p
At the moment all you can do is jump around platforms and solve a couple puzzles, but still
 
hell yeah that sounds awesome
 
4:18 AM
What kinds of puzzles?
 
I've been playing The Witness so I made a couple of really basic Witness-style maze puzzles
 
nice
 
the final level should be a deus honeypot
 
Also, I submitted my first college app today. It made me feel very weird. Sorta grown up, and also completely terrified.
 
Congratulations!!! :D
That's amazing!
 
4:19 AM
good for you! <3
 
thanks!
 
Nice!
Also yes, realizing high school is over feels real weird
 
Did you do the Common App or did the school have their own custom application?
 
This was Common App, but I have 1 non-Common App application
hehe got the number wrong the first time
 
Ah, nice! I remember there were schools I applied to that required both the Common App and a custom application and it was super annoying :p
 
4:22 AM
@bobble Congrats!
 
I picture a bunch of bobblies cheering in the stands at your graduation ceremony
 
It's a reach school, so I probably won't get in... and even if I do, I need scholarships to afford it... but I can hope!
 
@sciborg and trees and green patterny square things
 
You never know, always good to apply just in case :D
 
There is a nonzero chance I will have a small drawing of a bobblie taped to my graduation cap.
 
4:25 AM
Please do
 
and take a picture for us :)
 
There is also a nonzero chance of my high school graduation being canceled due to COVID.
 
That's true :(
But hey, you'll have the bobblies by your side and that's all that matters
 
Do you have any puzzle genres you'd like me to make? I need ideas.
 
Hmm
Slitherlinks are fun
 
4:28 AM
ooh yes they are
Plus, I've solved a bunch when I really should've been paying attention in school
I shall try to make a slitherlink!
 
@bobble Linguistics!
 
Awesome :D
 
There is an implied "only grid-deduction or crossword" part to my request.
 
I figured that tended to be your genre :p
 
Speaking of Slitherlinks, there's something I've wondered for while
 
4:30 AM
@bobble awww
 
Is it possible to have a slitherlink with a number in each square but non-unique solution?
 
Yep!
 
I remember making examples for upto 5x5
 
8
A: Why you shouldn't buy cheap puzzle books

ChristophThe final grind and its two solutions: From here Now

 
never got beyond that
@bobble that's mine lol
 
4:31 AM
oh
I never really bother looking at the authors when archive-diving
 
I have tried the general case nxn for some time without some success
@bobble I get it, dw about it
 
This reminds me of a post I saw where a software developer was asked "do you have 3+ years of experience in this library" and he was like "of course i do, i built it"
 
this probably counts as an interesting math problem, and open to my knowledge
@Sciborg heh
 
heh
I also started watching Perfect Blue by the way, I think you were the one who recommended that. It is wild
 
nice!
lemme know what you think once you finish
 
4:36 AM
There is... more gore than I expected
 
my attempt at drawing a bobble:
 
@Sciborg ah sorry, should have warned you
there's also some nudity
 
@matt this is a very good attempt
 
That bobble is ADORABLE
 
thanks :) just made some triangles and drew over them
 
4:37 AM
I would draw one too but the bobbleplush might get jealous
It sits on my dining table... watching me
 
Have you heard it calling to its fellows in the walls?
 
Sometimes at night we hear skittering...
ba-boow ba-boow
 
Random aside: for this night at least, my brain is very firmly informing me that I am male. It'll probably be gone by morning. is confused by own gender
 
hm
user image
3
^ because why not
 
yes yes this is accurate
 
4:42 AM
lol
 
Usually when I ask my brain if I'm a guy or a girl today it just says "yes"
 
and then there are us binary folks
 
Those boring binary genders, who needs 'em :p
 
(speaking of number bases, my conlang has some more ridiculous things)
 
You're also non-binary like Mick?
 
4:44 AM
me? nope
Ahh
 
yesterday, by bobble
Sorta. Still trying to figure out my gender/sexuality & if I'm aro/ace. So, all the identities are up in the air for me.
 
Figuring yourself out is 200% valid and we stan it.
 
gender is weird
 
@bobble Well, my best friend is pan-romantic but asexual
 
Yuppers, some people draw a distinction between romantic orientation and sexuality. So you can be like, biromantic heterosexual, for example.
 
4:46 AM
@Sciborg nope, haven't thought of one yet
 
According to my college apps I'm a cis female, because I didn't want to try to explain me to impersonal review committees when I can't explain me to me.
 
Yeah, that's fair
 
Yeah, paperwork is always a nightmare with stuff like that
 
and the doctors offices things with only binary options ...
I bet you two hate those
 
Isn't it grand?
 
4:47 AM
I did check the "gay/lesbian" box because for some reason there wasn't a straight "queer" option
5
I honestly did not notice that pun until I sent the message
 
A straight queer option
 
ah yes, straight queer
 
Pinning that forever
 
apparently Apple gives you topic suggestions after viewing a webpage
this page pops up "gray asexuality"
 
It was always funny to walk into a college class and raise my hand for roll call to an extremely opposite-sounding name from how I look, and have the professor look at me like "this... this is not right"
 
4:51 AM
funny in a good way or a bad way?
 
I mean I always thought it was funny in a good way, I try to find humor in being like "yeah, just call me Mick"
 
professor be like "alright but that is weird by our binary standards"
 
My genderfluid friend managed to get a few teachers to switch names/pronouns based on the day. (They chose separate names for their nonbinary, female, and male selves)
 
whoa
stonks
 
That is high stonks energy
 
4:53 AM
teachers were probably like "confused stonks" though
will be back tomorrow
 
Usually people are chill about it, but there's always somebody who is like "this is the name on your legal paperwork so that's what I'm gonna call you" and it was like... okay, weird flex, but fine
 
see you!
 
See ya Matt :)
 
'borg, you got any puzzle ideas soaking in them juices?
 
I finished my crossword so I am hoping to post that when I get around to it!
 
4:55 AM
yessss
 
It's probably on the easy side since it's my first one, but I hope people like the theme
 
I never themed mine. You're ahead on that count.
 
I never said I wouldn't be back today :P
 
come back to us matt
 
Well, I will be leaving now.
 
4:57 AM
nooooooo
 
Given that you guys are three hours behind me, it's probably hella late over there :p
Good night Bobble!
 
yeah it's 9:57 here
 
@Deusovi, Anon is at it again
(saw it as I was leaving)
going for realsies now
 
Seeya Bobble <3
Anon just does not give up, dang
 
thanks for pointing it out
also, see ya bobble!
 
4:58 AM
angry gurgling noises
 
@Sciborg excited for that crossword
 
Thanks! I hope people enjoy it :)
 
we definitely will :)
 
:)
I love coming here for my daily dose of wholesome energy
 
yep :) any other ridiculous conlang ideas? my conlang juice is dropping
 
5:02 AM
Hmm
We already did the crazy tenses thing
 
current version for reference: website.merrybot.repl.co/conlang.html
 
Reddit suggested: <'> /ɴ/ (Can't pronounce this without barfing from the sound or the uvula contact)
I don't know what it means but it looks like you have to swallow your uvula to pronounce it lol
2
 
um
I was thinking of more like general things :)
 
I'm not good at conlangs, you've drained all my terrible ideas :p
 
sorry bout that. :/
 
5:06 AM
How dare you
I'll send my bobblie after you
 
cries in being slightly annoying
 
You never annoy me Matt
No worries :)
What's wrong?
 
idk ... hits the "leave" button
 
Is it something I said?
@PrinceNorthLæraðr um is Matt okay?
I guess I will scoot, good night friends
 
night!
 
5:26 AM
English has evolved a lot since I moved from the States. In just the past hour in this chat room, I see "stonks", "stan", "juice is dropping", "weird flex", and "gray asexuality", all of which are new to me afair.
("Since I moved from the States" was a joke. I haven't been here that long, and I suspect all those words are in fact older.)
Now to look them up....
 
"stonks" is from a meme - it's a deliberate misspelling of "stocks", usually used to make fun of bad/unusual decision-making (but it seems to be the opposite here)
"stan" is a few years old - iirc it's a portmanteau of "stalker" and "fan", and originally refers to being an obsessive fan of a celebrity (but later took on semi-ironic use to refer to abstract concepts)
 
Yeah, thanks, I was just writing -- "stonks" = "a win!". "stan" = "a fanatic", here used as "to be a fan of".
"to drop the juice" = "to imbibe"; here it was "my conlang juice is dropping", seemingly "I'm conlang-imbibing"
 
"weird flex" is "that's a strange way to brag" (here, with connotation more towards "assert power over someone")
 
oh so "weird" is just "weird", and "flex" is what's new to me
 
yep, but "weird flex" is a unit
 
5:31 AM
thanks
 
you don't really hear "flex" by itself with that meaning
 
ah I see
 
and "gray asexuality" means "experiencing very limited sexual attraction (to any gender)"
i don't understand the "juice is dropping" thing either
 
and that concludes another episode of The Sphinx Teaches English
with thanks to our guest-host, Deusovi
 
thanks for having me on the show!
 
5:35 AM
That was actually very informative
 
glad i could help! because of the way my social circles intersect, i have had to be a "translator" for modern slang far too often. plus i'm interested in linguistics so i've (over)analysed a lot of these constructions
so feel free to ask if you have any other questions about something like that - can't promise anything but i'll give it a shot
 
@msh210 heh
(the third and fifth are new to me as well)
also love how only white-and-black-profile-picture people have dominated the chat for the past ~40 minutes
 
5:56 AM
yours has a gray border, time for a ban
 
oopsie
 
6:48 AM
^ oopsie from me too v
Sorry, cleanup requested at:
8
Q: Martin Gardner - Persistence

James Lynch A number's persistence is : The number of steps required to reduce it to a single digit by multiplying all its digits to obtain a second number Then multiplying all the digits of that number to obtain a third number, and so on until a one-digit number is obtained. For example : 77 has a per...

I just now approved the suggested edit from "77-49-36-18-8" to "77,49,36,18,8" with the intention of further editing it to be "77→49→36→18→8" but didn't know that can't be done until someone else also approves the suggested edit.
1) Could someone please second the suggested-edit approval so i can complete my intended edit?
2) Does "improve this suggested edit" give credit to the original suggester? That was what i really wanted because i do agree with the suggester's intent.
Sorry and thanks for 1) help and/or 2) answer and/or 3) telling me i should've just done nothing
 
@humn Yes, it does, in the revision history.
I've approved the edit, you can edit it further now if you want
but yeah, "improve edit" would have been what you wanted
 
Yet another thank you, @Mithical. A lesson i will remember.
 
7:05 AM
:)
@Ankoganit poggers
 
7:17 AM
...yet another thing to Google
learnt a lot today
 
7:41 AM
POGGERS
 
(can't help you there, sorry - still don't understand that one)
 
8:04 AM
I can barely understand the meaning ("nice"/"epic"/"so cool"/showing positivity, which may be due to hype(???)) but the etymology is a tougher nut to crack. I searched just now and there's an explanation on reddit, but I don't want to rely on that source alone
 
 
1 hour later…
9:31 AM
to be honest, i've been interested in making a constructed language for a while now but I do not know where to start (well, aside from making the phonology/alphabet). much appreciated if y'all know of any helpful resources/guides for conlanging
 
10:31 AM
1
Q: Kings' Chess Harem

JKHAPursueing these two related puzzles, Chess Bloodshed and Devouring Nobility I create for you Kings' Chess Harem where you have to find, with the minimum number of moves, a legal game where all pawns get promoted to a Queen.

 
11:01 AM
@oAlt biblaridion on youtube has a pretty good series!
 
11:27 AM
:O
 
11:54 AM
oh yeah that one too
 
12:11 PM
@Deusovi Hi. Thanks for the edit, but don't we need logical deduction in order the convert the conversation into mathematical steps?
 
That's not "logical deduction". We sometimes informally say that thinking like that is "thinking logically", but there is no deduction happening there.
Converting people talking into math is not formal logical deduction, as you might use in a "liars and truthtellers" puzzle or a Sudoku puzzle. The "logical deduction" tag is often misunderstood, but it's specifically meant for deductions rather than any puzzle that requires you to think 'logically' (which would be almost all of them!).
 
Oh, okay.
I didn't don't think that it was pure math as some of the children's logic is illogical.
oops, typo
Thank you!
 
12:27 PM
no problem!
 
12:59 PM
1
Q: What's the Combination?

Anthony Ingram-WestoverHacker Harry really wants to get into the server room at a local dot com company, so he dressed up as a phone repairman and planted some bugs in the break room to listen in on the workers. Sure enough, against all security common sense, he hears two employees discussing the entry codes! "So the ...

 
1:57 PM
Some updates on the fire if anyone is curious: nearly 12,000 acres burnt, but 5% contained. It also seems to be moving away from us
The winds have kicked up again though, albeit not as strongly as yesterday
 
what's "5% contained" mean?
 
"The status of a wildfire suppression action signifying that a control line has been completed around the fire, and any associated spot fires, which can reasonably be expected to stop the fire's spread."
 
so if the whole forest is burning, it's 100% contained?
 
No, it's zero percent contained
The more something is burning "out of control" the less it is contained
Though, hypothetically, if the whole forest was burning but somehow the fire couldn't travel outside the boundaries of the forest, it would oddly be 100% contained because the fire can't spread
 
Two other people approved an edit changing "Taken From" to "Source" (I was the only rejecter). Seriously? How does that improve the post?
 
2:09 PM
Can I see?
 
I'm not sure if it's acceptable to link here? Don't want to shame anyone.
 
Well, looks like Stiv accepted it
Honestly, it's not that big of a deal
Welp, no school today, at least
 
Last day to work on my two final projects is today.
(I don't have finals, just final projects)
 
@bobble Actually, there was one other slight change to the post, in that the link was also updated to https rather than just http. While of course that would usually be handled by the browser anyway I figured it's good practice to include https in all links by default so I approved it. With just the other change I would likely have rejected it.
I figured "Let them have their +2 rep this time" but if they start truffle-hunting round the site and making this kind of change repeatedly then I'd start rejecting :)
 
2:19 PM
makes sense
 
hi
halllooooo?
anyonneee?
 
"Nobody's here"
 
hello!
 
...o!
 
Deus, should I have used a custom mod flag instead of pinging you in chat over Anon's posts?
(I had honestly forgotten that custom flags existed)
 
2:33 PM
Kinda got confused for a second cuz there's a user named "Anon" as well
CMON stop typoing oAlt
 
There is? Clarification that I was being too lazy to type "Anonymous25"
 
pinging is fine
 
Yes there's such a user (shame only a few of their puzzles so far (which are always great) got answered)
 
0
Q: Jewel Cave: Long Reach

Jeremy DoverAs in a previous puzzle, the goal of this Jewel Cave is to place the given shapes (in this case, the standard pentomino set) into the grid, subject to the following rules: All unshaded squares must form a single orthogonally (on a side) connected region. Two shapes cannot be orthogonally adjacen...

 
I'm curious - did they try to post their "puzzle" again after the two I found?
 
2:40 PM
just the two
@Sphinx oh boy, time to play another game of "can I solve this puzzle without one of the rules in the set"
guessing the answer might finally be 'no' given the setup
 
2:55 PM
hm, this is a tough puzzle so far. partially because it actually seems difficult, partially because it involves one of my biggest weaknesses - counting
 
Counting! The horror!
(counting is definitely not hard for me, what are you talking about?)
 
second only to "basic arithmetic on single-digit numbers" and "remembering to actually read the puzzle text"
2
 
* furiously takes notes for future Deus honeypots *
9
 
I feel your pain so much
 
I don't like pain :(:(
hi mattttt
 
3:00 PM
hey voldyyyyy
 
hows it goingggggggg
 
good, you?
 
eh im bored
hi jafeeeeeeee
 
hey jafe!
 
hey
 
3:02 PM
If you make a cryptic that requires "counting", "basic arithmetic on single-digit numbers", or "remembering to actually read the puzzle text", then maybe Deus won't solve it as fast :)
 
hmmm duly noted
 
for #3 - like the fluff isnt really fluff or something?
 
i'm reading an xkcd in math class
 
which xkcd?
 
today's none b/c im in math class
 
3:05 PM
lol :P
 
debating a title for a puzzle format: is "carcass walking" better than "night of the living carcass"?
 
oh boy, another xkcd phone
 
i'm leaning yes
 
I vote for "carcass walking"
 
hm, the latter seems slightly better to me, but i just don't get the reference for the former
 
3:06 PM
because the carcasses are walking
 
"dead man walking" is a thing i believe
 
carcass is a fun word
that's my contribution
 
heh
 
ah of course
didn't consider that it would be two words, but it makes sense
 
plus it sounds a bit like it could be a noun phrase like nordic walking :P
 
3:10 PM
my conlang juice hath recharged
 
(this might not be the most appropriate place to talk about your conlang, especially when a different conversation is going on)
 
aight aight
 
well, everything is off-topic here
 
unfortunately the conlangs SE chat is not very active
 
yea are there really rules for what you can/can't talk about in a specific chat?
 
3:15 PM
idktbh
 
nah, not in particular, but if a different conversation is going on then you should usually not interrupt with something entirely different
and niche topics that won't be of interest to most of the users of the site will sometimes be moved into a separate room
 
s-sorry
 
interruption with something entirely different: when should a puzzle be tagged with both "logical-deduction" and "grid-deduction"?
 
isn't every grid deduction based on logic?
 
for those little "who did what, when" grid things
i guess
 
3:19 PM
[grid-deduction] is a subtag of [logical-deduction] in most cases
 
Should both be used?
 
sure, why not? nothing wrong with using multiple tags
 
I'll keep that in mind for the future
 
the only time i'd use [grid-deduction] without [logical-deduction] is in a question about puzzles rather than a puzzle itself
 
The other option would be to change logical-deduction to logical-deduction-without-grids and then do a massive retag :P
 
3:22 PM
or make [noitcuded-dirg]
@Deusovi reference to batteries
 
ahh
 
0
Q: Where is the pilot flying to? (Fourth destination)

Anthony Ingram-WestoverThis is the fourth in a series of puzzles where the answer will always be an international airport. Previous puzzles can be found first, second, and third. The puzzles are all independent, but follow the same general format and story. Barry was enjoying his time relaxing after the last job, but ...

 
not used very often either
anyway ... will try not to mention useless conlang from now on
or else the bobblies will attack me
 
hm, just hit a contradiction on that Jewel Cave
ah found the problem with my logic
 
3:52 PM
0
Q: Guess the hat colors - Riddle 6

Guess HatAnd for today, a new original hat guessing puzzle! CHALLENGE: Guess the hats of the 4 prisoners. SPECIAL RULE: One of the prisoners is lying DESCRIPTION: Each one can see the hats that are in front of them, and not their own. They give some tips about what they see (remember one of them is lying...

 
@Deusovi which makes it third
i mean technically speaking...
ok how did that happen
somehow it added like a bajillion spaces
 
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