The Sphinx's Lair

Prince North Læraðr

7:00 PM

None can out weird me

matt

try me

jafe

how about weird out

Prince North Læraðr

Oh I will beat ALL of you guys

Combined

matt

go ahead

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Hmm, depends on what type of weird we're getting into, but I'm pretty sure this chat isn't rated high enough for some of that. Also there was mention of homework, so I think there are some people too young in here for the truly, truly weird

Sciborg

7:01 PM

@bobble Didn't get a chance to reply to your earlier comment, but I love what you said about it being easier to talk to online people about this kind of thing. If you ever wanna talk about stuff let me know :)

bobble

yeah, there are currently 3 confirmed high schoolers in this chat

Quick question: is it normal to read solutions to your puzzles over and over? Does the answer change if those solutions are from Deus?

Sciborg

If the solution is from Deus, I like to read them a couple times because he throws jokes in there

Lukas Rotter

1) I do it as well 2) Can't say

matt

@bobble mhm, no

Sciborg

I love reading solutions mostly because it makes me happy when somebody understands everything I was shooting for, and we get to compliment each other on a good puzzle and a good answer.

matt

7:04 PM

@bobble what about the unconfirmed high schoolers? hmm

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Clearly if you don't admit it you're always assumed to be older on the internet

matt

right

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Many a website thought I was over 18 long before my 18th birthday. Of course I'm old so most of my time was spent on Neopets. AlbinoBlackSheep, and the like

matt

> of course I'm old

funny out of context

Sciborg

How old are you Anthony, out of curiosity?

Anthony Ingram-Westover

7:07 PM

Old enough to know better, but still so young to have no end in sight for my student loans

31

So not really that old

Sciborg

Ahh, that wonderful age of paying off student debt

bobble

my dad's one of those mythical people who graduated with a PhD and no student debt.

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Undergrad is paid off, but I had to go and get a Master's from a private school

Sciborg

Ooof

Deusovi

yeah, i'm currently in the middle of a master's and not looking forward to that part of it

Anthony Ingram-Westover

7:09 PM

I'm getting ready to start my second Masters program, but this one my job pays for entirely

Sciborg

I was lucky enough to have a good scholarship so I got out of my undergraduate debt free, but the majority of my friends are in the same boat of drowning in loan sharks.

Anthony Ingram-Westover

I had decent scholarships for undergrad. Came out just under $20K in student loans still, then Master's added another $70K because I didn't get any scholarships

All federal at least, so the interest isn't terrible

Voldemort's Wrath

Is it just me or has Deepthinker been deleting and reposting the same answer just because of a downvote.

Sciborg

Ah jeez, at least it is federal yeah. Private loans I hear are a nightmare.

Voldemort's Wrath

-1

A: Word Chain based on Codename

Partial answer:

bobble

7:11 PM

I'm filling out a FAFSA so I have to look at my parent's taxes, which make NO SENSE

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Yeah, they assume parents will be paying for your college, so they take their income into consideration

Sciborg

@Voldemort'sWrath You can point it out to Deus if you suspect that, it's against rules to delete and repost to get rid of downvotes.

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Very weird assumption imo

Deusovi

(will handle it)

Voldemort's Wrath

okay thx

Well, I'm pretty sure it's true, Anthony

Sciborg

7:12 PM

FAFSA is ridiculous and complicated solely because they want to try and deny as many people as possible, and it sucks.

Voldemort's Wrath

@Deusovi -- Was it true?

(I assume you'd know quickly 'cuz of being able to see deleted things)

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Not your comment Voldy, my remark about parents paying for their kids college

Voldemort's Wrath

ahh ok lol

Anthony Ingram-Westover

I'm fairly sure your comment is true

Voldemort's Wrath

voldy making some assumptions

assumptions make an a** of u and me!

Sciborg

7:13 PM

Most of my friends' parents didn't save up for them or use their income to help them at all, so yeah, the assumption that parents will help is pretty crappy

bobble

Topic shift: Does anyone have C4 ideas?

matt

nope

Sciborg

11 letters??? dang

Voldemort's Wrath

yeah use semtex instead

that was a jooookkeeee (darn NSA watching me at all times)

Sciborg

We're all on a watchlist already for constantly saying "C4"

matt

7:14 PM

@Voldemort'sWrath deus be usin' the mod hammer

Voldemort's Wrath

hehehe live mod hammer action

Sciborg

"Hey guys have you figured out the C4 yet?" looks REALLY bad out of context.

Voldemort's Wrath

lol yea

Sciborg

"How's the C4 going?"

matt

you people are worrying me

Voldemort's Wrath

7:15 PM

i have some more c4 for u

matt

runs away

Sciborg

Imagine some NSA watchman walks in here and is like "oh my god, what have we discovered"

Voldemort's Wrath

lol yea

I've always suspected deus of being an undercover nsa agent

matt

are you, @deus?

Sciborg

It would explain why he's so smart, maybe it's a secret NSA experiment to increase the human IQ.

Voldemort's Wrath

7:16 PM

hmmm

Deusovi

no, but i suspect that answer wouldn't be very convincing

Voldemort's Wrath

I concur with mick's conclusion

A-ha!

matt

iq is not a great intelligence test

Sciborg

That's exactly what you would say if you were an NSA experiment

Voldemort's Wrath

mmhmmm thats right

Sciborg

7:17 PM

By the power of that logical fallacy, I conclude you're lying

Prince North Læraðr

I step away from the chat for 5 minutes and now we're on NSA

Voldemort's Wrath

i concur with mick's conclusion once again

lol hiiiiiii noooooorrrrttttththhhhhh

matt

@PrinceNorthLæraðr that happens sometimes

Prince North Læraðr

Uh-oh is this a new scandal on Deusovi?

bobble

@PrinceNorthLæraðr it's the Lair

Sciborg

7:17 PM

Poor North, they leave us for a second and we devolved into conspiracy theories

matt

@PrinceNorthLæraðr yes

Voldemort's Wrath

not theories, my friend

simply conspiracies

Prince North Læraðr

Poor Deus

Voldemort's Wrath

poor deus? I bet they're slurping their NSA protein powder as we speak!

Prince North Læraðr

Always the butt-end of this Lair for being too talented

matt

7:18 PM

he's probably preparing a giant mod hammer to squish us all at this very moment

Prince North Læraðr

Why don't we pick on like Gareth more often :P

bobble

He's not here as often, for one

Voldemort's Wrath

Gareth is Deus's boss

Sciborg

Gareth isn't around as much, so I can't make fun of him

Voldemort's Wrath

their thing is known as "The Geezer Project"

together they will rule the world... unless we stop them!

matt

7:19 PM

tbh im fine with deus being World Leader

sounds quite nice, actually

Voldemort's Wrath

hmmm it sounds nice until it happens

Sciborg

All I'm hearing is a Boss Rush DLC idea

Voldemort's Wrath

then... BOOM mod hammer

Deusovi

@matt that sounds absolutely awful

matt

@Deusovi don't you want to be World Leader??

Voldemort's Wrath

7:20 PM

okay well I have homework... as I do everyday D: so... I must go eat... then work... at home... on my own... by myself... ;_;

jk but byeeee

Deusovi

that's a lot of responsibility (and danger)

Sciborg

You're not alone, you have us

Deusovi

see ya!

bobble

The bobblies will watch over you

Voldemort's Wrath

@Sciborg awww bye

matt

7:21 PM

@bobble in a good way, i hope?

Sciborg

I'm barely capable of being responsible for watering the plants, being World Leader would be horrible

Voldemort's Wrath

@bobble no youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc

bobble

I refuse to click on any youtube link

Sciborg

I approve of Office memes whenever they appear

matt

@bobble why not

Anthony Ingram-Westover

7:22 PM

Youtube is blocked at work :(

So are cell phones, smart watches, cameras, microphones, CDs, USBs...

Sciborg

Where on earth do you work? Sounds like 1984

Anthony Ingram-Westover

Secure government building, no playing around after Chelsea Manning and all those fun times

Sciborg

Ahh

I had a one-month research position at NASA Goddard in Maryland and the attitude was pretty similar

Anthony Ingram-Westover

We work with the DEA, FBI, and Coast Guard on stopping drug trafficking, so not super sensitive most of the time, but it's those few and far in between special projects that require the security

Sciborg

Yeah, government contractors are not allowed to mess around

A friend of mine works for Thermotron and they do some military/DoD contracts, he complains constantly about the excessive oversight

matt

7:27 PM

hmm

bobble

where do you look on a jointly filed tax form to find individual incomes?

matt

why do you ask?

(just wondering)

Sciborg

@bobble Forms W-2 I think?

bobble

FAFSA wants my parent's incomes

Sciborg

Each person should submit their own W-2 IIRC, so you can find individual incomes there.

Anthony Ingram-Westover

7:28 PM

I don't think it's split by individual income on a joint return, not sure though. I use Tax Act online so not super familiar with the actual long form

But yeah, the W2s will have it

But it's not listed on the 1040

Sciborg

FAFSA is for financial aid @matt

matt

right i forgot that facepalm

bobble

I can't find W-2 in the corner of any page of this 27-page doc my mom sent me -cries-

Sciborg

If you can't find individual income on the joint return, it would also be on any pay stubs

Do they want Gross or Net Income?

matt

@bobble bobble crying? that's a new one

bobble

7:31 PM

"How much did your Parent 1 (father/mother/stepparent) earn from working (wages, salaries, tips, etc.) in 2019? This amount is your Parent 1 (father's/mother's/stepparent's) portion of IRS Form 1040-line 1 + Schedule 1 lines 3 + 6 + Box 14 (Code A) of IRS Schedule K-1 (Form 1065)."

I found what line they're referring to, but it just has joint income

Sciborg

Okay yeah, they should have an individual portion of their Form 1040. Check those number boxes.

W-2 is a big rectangle form with giant black bold "W-2" on the bottom left corner.

Looks like this

You'll want box #1, since that is their total wages.

bobble

it's not in the doc. I have

welp, will wait for mom's work to finish. she's the tax parent

Sciborg

Might have to ask your mom if she can provide, that's the only way I can think of to get individual income off joint forms

bobble

On related note: I got a college email congratulating me for "starting" my senior year. I think they need to change out the email...

Sciborg

Lol. Probably a template email somebody forgot to change

I remember when I applied for my apartment and had to submit a whole bunch of stupid salary paperwork and tax crap like this stuff. I almost didn't get it anyway because I fell under their "three-month-rent" income threshold. Blah.

bobble

7:38 PM

spam email subject line: "unsbscribe from adult dating please respond". Seriously, use proper spelling & capitalization!

It also appears I've been getting a daily email that it's my last day to submit a claim.

Sciborg

Oh God, I get those all the time lmao. "It's your very last day to submit a claim on your 2002 Toyota Corolla"

bobble

AGGH THE SAME PERSON USED MATHJAX TO MAKE A NUMBERED LIST

Sciborg

Now I'm remembering the phone call with my landlord like "do you... do you have any more pay stubs to submit on your application or..??" and I was like "yeah, thanks for rubbing in how poor I am"

matt

@bobble angry

hey avi!

Avi

hi

bobble

7:45 PM

They keep using the phrase "Does it exist a way". That's NOT grammatically correct.

Avi

apparently * is multiplication and ∗ is convolution :(

I guess this is why we use a dot in the center to mean multiplication

Sciborg

The more you know

bobble

what does this mean: "if I were to use that combination maybe it would yield an absurd", and how can I edit it to make it more clear?

Sciborg

"an absurd result" would probably make more sense there.

Deusovi

"it would lead to a contradiction", I'm guessing

bobble

7:47 PM

ahh makes sense

Sphinx

0

Q: How to tell the weight which correspond to a set of different pairs of weighs?

The problem is as follows: A kid has five marbles. These marbles have different weights and the child weighs them in pairs in all possible ways. He records the weights in his notebook. These are the results: 10g, 11g, 12g, 13g, 14g, 15g, 16g, 17g, 18g, 19g, 20g and 21g. Using this information. W...

0

Q: How to tell the weight of a certain set of weights made of different metals or alloys?

The problem is as follows: Vincent has 19 different callibrated weights whose weights are 1g, 2g, 3g, and so on up to 19g. Nine of them are made from steel, the other nine are made from brass and the remaining last one is made from gold. Vincent knows that the total weight of all the steel weigh...

arithmetic weighing

Sciborg

Huh? Two at once?

bobble

I'm editing the bottom one, and I'll do the top too one unless someone else cleans it up

Sciborg

The editing stage is yours

bobble

Yeah, this user basically posts A LOT of problems from their puzzle books, with poor English, and then recently I've been trying to help clean up...

Sciborg

7:50 PM

Probably ESL

bobble

I'm guessing that, yeah.

Lukas Rotter

Their profile says "Im a freelance scientist" - Holy Shit. How do you even survive by being that? Unless it's some kind of joke meaning "a (computer) scientist"

Sciborg

Calling myself a "freelance scientist" would be like saying I'm an "unemployed programmer"

Avi

I'm an unemployed programmer

;)

Sciborg

That's valid, it's just weird to put on a profile is what we mean

Avi

7:51 PM

fair

bobble

@PrinceNorthLæraðr, my friend's suggestions: Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, and Santa Fe

Sciborg

It does surprise me how many Puzzling SE users are programmers by trade, but then again we tend to be problem solving types.

matt

right

Sciborg

I want to write a book called I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face

The sequel would be I've Grown to Hate Her Face and then you get to wonder, ooh, what happened in between

matt

@bobble ?

bobble

7:54 PM

4 hours ago, by Prince North Læraðr

I need to do a virtual Winter showcase for choir, and I'm trying to find a broadway song. Any suggestions?

matt

hm

Sciborg

Oh, I didn't realize those were songs - I thought you were brainstorming book titles :p

Avi

No no, we already have those:
"Escape Artistry", a book by Ron A. Way
"The Art of Uncertainty", a book by Kood B. Wright
"Finding the Unfindable", a book by Still C. King
"On Religion", a book by D. Vout
"The Nature of Fate", a book by Dustin E.
"Pure Productivity", a book by F. E. Shent
"Avoiding War", a book by Rev. Hugh G.
"Growing a Nest Egg", a book by H. E. Ken
"Atlantis", a book by Sunk I. Land
"Small-Time Fines", a book by J. Walker
"How (not) to House Your Dragon", a book by K. Jess
"Back in my Day", a book by L. Derr

bobble

I still think that "The Most Important Part of College" by Parr T. is better than the one in that list

matt

mmm idk

also P

Avi

7:58 PM

I'm still stuck on H

matt

it's "a chicken"

Prince North Læraðr

"Saving Money" by Ben Kerr