User talk:Ryan Schmidt/blab


 * Note: I sometimes go through and clean this page out to only include this week's and last week's puzzle discussions. Please check the page history if you wish to see older discussions.

May 30
Stean, a small village and in the Harrogate borough of North Yorkshire, England. Foppe 16:08, 30 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Nope, mine's longer :) (you'll have to wait until next Wednesday to find out what mine is). --SkizzerzTalk - Contribs 16:12, 30 May 2007 (CDT)

I thought satin at first, but guess not, since the one above isn't longer than yours. Baejung92 19:03, 30 May 2007 (CDT)

June 6
Going clockwise from the $50: $50 -> $5 -> $10 -> $2 -> $100 -> $1 -> $25 -- Prod (Talk) 20:25, 6 June 2007 (CDT)
 * Gee, so much for THAT puzzle. Lasted a whole 20 minutes. --SkizzerzTalk - Contribs 20:35, 6 June 2007 (CDT)
 * Heh, the straightforward logic puzzles are easy :P Now, that previous puzzle was just evil >_> -- Prod (Talk) 20:56, 6 June 2007 (CDT)
 * Glad you liked it! I try my hardest to make them (or get them from such random sources that there is no way one can simply get the answer via a google search) :P --SkizzerzTalk - Contribs 21:07, 6 June 2007 (CDT)

June 13
2 and a half numbers in each square, is this right?--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 14:09, 13 June 2007 (CDT)
 * Disregard that.

Rocky kept posting while I was trying to! Hehe, anway, cut the 18 into two 10's horizontally. Then cut vertically to seperate the 1's and 0's to create a total of 7 in each section.-- Duke Ruckley  14:12, 13 June 2007 (CDT)


 * However, Rocky's is dated first on the sig time, so better luck next time :P Oh, and Rocky, don't delete that image, I need it for my archive. -- 15:03, 13 June 2007 (CDT)
 * Actually, take that back, Dukeruckley got the right answer. The total should be "7", not "21/2". -- 15:04, 13 June 2007 (CDT)
 * Yeah, I realised that as I had to get away :(--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 00:36, 14 June 2007 (CDT)

August 9
Well, I'm assuming you'd just fill the 2/3s cup one either by filling and pouring the 1/3 cup twice, or filling the 1/3 cup and dumping it into the 1 cup, and then filling the 1/3 cup again, dumping it into the 1 cup, and pouring the 2/3s of water from the 1 cup. For the 1/2, you fill the 1 cup up, then pour the 1 cup into the 3/4 cup until you fill it up, leaving 1/4 cup in the 1 cup. You can pour the remaining 1/4 cup into the 1/3 cup for temporary storage (assuming you properly mallocated the 1/3 cup), then you dump the 3/4 cup and fill up the 1 cup again, and pour it into the 3/4 cup until it's full. Then you have 1/4 in the 1/3 cup, and 1/4 in the 1 cup, totalling 1/2. :P Procyon (Talk) 14:05, 9 August 2007 (CDT)

Too late I guess, stupid 5 minutes.

For the 2/3 cup, just full the 1/3 cup twice and pour it in.

For the 1/2 cup, fill the 1 cup, then pour 3/4 of it into the 3/4 cup. Pour the remaining 1/4 into the 1/3 cup for storage. Empty the 3/4 cup and then again, full up the 1 cup, pour 3/4 into the 3/4 cup and then pour the 1/4 that was in the 1/3 cup back into the 1 cup so you have 1/2. Empty it into the oatmeal bowl for the 1/2. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 14:10, 9 August 2007 (CDT)
 * Yep, both right ^_^. I got the idea from a person that I was chatting with on IRC, who just had that dilemma about 20 minutes ago. Unfortunately for you, Notmyhandle, Procyon beat you to it. Better luck next time. -- 14:17, 9 August 2007 (CDT)
 * w00t! Procyon (Talk) 14:43, 9 August 2007 (CDT)

You people are a bunch of water wasters, here's a more efficient method. For the 1/2 cup, fill the 1 cup, empty into the 3/4 so that 1/4 is left. Pour that into the 1/3 cup for storage. Pour 3/4 cup back into 1 cup and top off the 1 cup with more water. Empty another 3/4 into the 3/4 cup so that 1/4 still remains in the 1 cup. Use whatever is in the 1 cup and the 1/3 cup since that adds up to 1/2. Empty the 3/4 cup back into the 1 cup and top off the 1 cup again. Fill up the 1/3 cup and you will have 2/3 still left in the 1 cup. Net wasted water: 1/3 of a cup. It saves at least 1 pouring if you don't worry about storage or saving water as well. -- Prod (Talk) 15:22, 11 August 2007 (CDT)

11th August
Do you mean every day that the servants didn't keep it properly? I'm having a bit of trouble understanding, sorry.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 15:56, 11 August 2007 (CDT)


 * None--the servants would have kept the accounts, not the master. Baejung92 16:41, 11 August 2007 (CDT)

It's 14. They owe 30, which means they did it properly once and failed once. Then the master did it the rest. -- 19:22, 11 August 2007 (CDT)

Sorry for the delayed response. Anyway, Baejung92 is correct. The servants kept the accounts, not the master (as it says in the first sentence). -- 15:08, 13 August 2007 (CDT)

25th April
OK, I'm really not sure about the alternate but I got ^_^ Procyon (Talk) 17:05, 25 April 2008 (CDT)
 * 1) 8 + 2 = 13 - 3
 * 2) 8 X 2 = 13 + 3
 * 3) 1 8 / 2 = 13 - 3 - 1
 * 4) 8/2 -1 = 13 + 3
 * Uh, wow... o.0. nice work. You got the alternate correct, too, so I'd say that makes you teh winner. -- 17:52, 25 April 2008 (CDT)

April 25 (number 2)
Saw the update and thought I'd give it a crack. Is the answer "rted"?-- Duke Ruckley Talk 18:47, 25 April 2008 (CDT)
 * yeah... it is... *wanders off to think of a harder puzzle* Come back next week or something, I only do max of 2 per week anyway -- 21:45, 25 April 2008 (CDT)

May 7
Ok, this is my first try at the puzzle of the week:

They share the characteristic that there is a repeating pattern of: vowel - consonant - vowel - consonant .... etc. They also share the characteristic that they both don't use the letter 'U', but I'm pretty sure that is not important :)

--Bmuig 03:16, 7 May 2008 (CDT)
 * Yep, now get ready for another stumper :D -- 15:10, 7 May 2008 (CDT)

May 26, 2008
First of all thanks for showing me how to upload.

Second, is the answer to the puzzle "detour"?

Thank you.

2nd August 2008
I'm not sure if this is right, but it looks like footsyool isn't a whatever you called it (i've forgotten now) because it begins with F, and Lootstoof begins with L, but if you take the bottom line from the f and add it to the L and turn it upside down... Ok, I'm just confusing myself now --Melon247 (Dog&#39;s Life&#39;s No. 1 fan) 03:03, 3 August 2008 (CDT)

Actually, just swap the f and the l and you get lootstoof, or turn it 180 degrees and flip the s around, flip the first and last letters over and move the line from the F to the L, and flip over the s. Wait, is that the same as what i said before?Melon247 (Dog&#39;s Life&#39;s No. 1 fan)
 * Uh... no. -- 11:38, 3 August 2008 (CDT)

It's a palindrome when written in Morse code :)-- Duke Ruckley Talk 17:23, 4 August 2008 (CDT)
 * :) -- 17:25, 4 August 2008 (CDT)

21st August 2008
First thing I found was "equals" so I figured that the S was the end point. Then I got stuck with "five", "added" and "two" which didn't connect. Until I realized that there was a "four" in there! "Five add four minus two equals?"-- Duke Ruckley Talk 12:27, 21 August 2008 (CDT)
 * Damn... but good job though. -- 19:56, 21 August 2008 (CDT)

April 10, 2009
Claire was probably in trouble because the questions on the quiz were all ambiguous. I imagine people were arguing their various answers: Updated - najzere T 21:52, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) "Engine" is ambiguous, as it could be argued that it means what we call engines today, although there were steam powered mechanisms predating James Watts that could be considered engines under the strictest definition. Also the invention process was continuous with different people adding to and refining previous advances. It makes it hard to say where in that process the steam engine, however you define it, came into existence.
 * 2) Einstein did earn a Nobel Prize. It was for the year 1921, but he was awarded it in 1922, so another argument could break out here. Also it wasn't titled as "the theory of relativity" as the quiz states.
 * 3) "Popularized" is a vague description open to subjective criticism. Both terms had been used before Darwin, but it could be argued that he had made them popular.
 * 4) Cinderella's slipper could be argued to have been made from glass or magic...both answers could literally be correct.
 * 5) Once again the question uses a subjective term - "signature." It's too hard to define what someone's signature tune is, since it comes down to an opinion.
 * 6) Lagos isn't currently the capital of Nigeria, but it once was, so perhaps this is the controversy?
 * 7) I think King John used a seal to "sign" the Magna Carta, so whether that counts as a signature could be disputed.
 * Right... For example, the steam engine had already been invented, Watt just improved it tremendously.  Einstein didn't win the Nobel for his theory of relativity, it was for the law of photoelectric effect.  I think the Magna Carta wasn't actually signed at Runnymede, though thats where the museum is.  I'll leave the rest for others if they wish to try them :).  Thanks for the puzzle!-- Duke  Ruckley Talk 19:25, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

You two are on the right track, but you need to get them all if you want credit ;) (kinda like Pokémon). -- 20:57, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

17 May 2009

 * 1) Retail 18:13, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) Retail 18:13, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) Retail 18:13, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) Retail 18:13, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Could only work out one. I assume I was supposed to make thissection of the page rather than wait for you to do it? 18:13, 17 May 2009 (UTC)


 * 1) Lesson
 * 2) Curtail (this one took me the longest)
 * 3) Understand
 * 4) Retail
 * 5) Confirm

-- Duke Ruckley Talk 22:58, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Good job Duke, I'll get a new one up perhaps tomorrow or by the weekend or next month :) -- 02:18, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

19 May 2009
OK, it's a little late now and no one answered it so I'm gonna have a go anyway. This is probably wrong, but is it something to do with numbers? Something like...


 * 19, 11, 1, 12, 14, 20

Not entirely sure where the numbers would be from but I know how I got them ;). 08:25, 20 June 2009 (UTC)


 * This one's actually dependent on how you speak, not on anything like numbers. ;p -- 11:21, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah, what Viz said. I should probably archive it :P -- 18:32, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

23 September 2009
All of the words have contradicting meanings. -- 17:37, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Strike: This one actually has several contradicting meanings, you can strike a ball with a bat, but if you miss it in baseball it's a strike. You can imprint a word on something with a strike, or you can strike the word out. It can also mean working hard, or refusing to go to work.
 * Fast: moving or able to move quickly, or not easily moved (as in held fast)
 * Refrain: to hold back from saying something, or to say something repeatedly (often in music or poetry)
 * Transparent: easy to see through, recognize or detect, vs. (in computing especially) done in a matter so as not to be noticed (seen or detected) by the user
 * Citation: The military gives you a citation for doing something good, while the police give you a citation for doing something wrong. On one hand a commendation, on the other a notice of offense.

28 September 2009
I seem to remember this one from one of my high school math classes (my Algebra/Geometry/Calc teacher liked these sorts of things). OK, if the box looks like this: _ _ _
 * _|_|_|
 * _|_|_|
 * _|_|_|

Then you remove 4 sticks: _ _  |_|_| Leaving 6 small squares, and 2 larger squares, each made up of 4 of the small squares, for a total of 8 squares. -- 23:48, 28 September 2009 (UTC)
 * _|_|_
 * _|_|_|
 * I count 9 squares there. -- 02:24, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

_|_|_| Loophole abuse allows keeping sticks that do not form a square. 6 small squares and 2 medium ones. --Sigma 7 04:19, 29 September 2009 (UTC)
 * _|_|_|
 * _|_|_|
 * I have an idea then just realised Sigma did it :P. Wish I was in the right timezone. 06:47, 29 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Sigma, whoever said that was loophole abuse? The only way to do this puzzle successfully is to have extraneous sticks. -- 22:38, 29 September 2009 (UTC)