There are other, more important projects I've been focusing on, and this blog has mostly been a vanity kept updated on occasion without any particular reason for doing so. In short, this will probably be the last post I make here. There has been a major change in my life recently, so this seems like the right time for the axe to fall.

Riddle for April

There are exactly seven of my kind
Always punctual, never behind
Though we each go by a different name
Logically, we are all the same
They say the moment of our birth
Began with the creation of the Earth
We always travel single file
In the same sequence all the while

Who are we?

Answer (highlight to read): the days of the week

Secret Message Subterfuge

A straightforward one-to-one substitution cipher, such as a common cryptogram, is the most easily broken. If you plan on sending messages this way, you may want to try using some tricks to prevent your message from being intercepted by an outside source. Here are a few ways to combat unauthorized decoding.


Re-spacing: One of the most popular methods of thwarting a would-be decoder is to eliminate the normal spacing of words. As "I" and "A" are the only common one-letter English words, their presence makes it far too easy to begin decoding a message. Writing down letters in groups of five will keep word lengths a mystery until after the letters have been decoded.


Spell words incorrectly: By recognizing repeating sequences of letters, decoders can get a foothold sniffing out common words such as "the", "in", "and", etc. Misspelling words can not only alter words' lengths, but also erase these patterns. Instead of writing "the", the message writer can spell it a different way ("de", "teh", "ze", "da", "thuh") each time. A decoder also searches for double-letters, which can be eliminated this way.


Employ a null cipher: Chances are good you weren't going to use every last letter in the alphabet in your message. Probably Q is unnecessary, or could just be replaced with C or K instead. Use the coded symbol for Q throughout your message to confuse: place in between double-letter sequences, turn a one-letter word into a three-letter word, and so on. It's best not to use it for every word, though. Try to limit it to every second or third word.


Start with nonsense: Make up four or five nonsense words to begin a message with. This way, if an interceptor thinks they've figured out the code, they'll go to the beginning and find themselves disappointed to find their solution makes no sense. It's best not to just use strings of "QXXQ ZQXQZ XXZX QQ" or the like, otherwise the ruse will be quickly spotted.

Riddle for March

All of my socks are white except for two. All of my socks are black except for two. All of my socks are gray except for two.

How can this be?

Answer (highlight to read): I have exactly three socks. One is white, one is black, and one is gray.

Allocation: a Word Game

for 2 players

materials:

• graph paper
• pens / pencils
• a mutually agreed-upon dictionary (just in case)

setup:
On the graph paper, use a pen to outline 25 boxes in a 5x5 array. Boxes in the same row or column must each be separated by two other boxes, as shown in this illustration:


play:
The gameplay is very similar to Paddocks (Dots and Boxes): players take turns filling segments of the grid, and when a player adds the fourth segment to a square, they initial it and continue their turn. This can lead to a player completing and claiming several squares on one turn.

But rather than drawing lines between dots, players in this game write four-letter words reaching from one square to the next. Words always read left-to-right or top-to-bottom. The game is called "Allocation" because each outlined box must contain a different letter of the alphabet. Players may also want to write the alphabet on the paper and cross out each letter as it is used in an outlined box.

Here is an example of a completed game:



As you can see, the grid is incomplete at the end of the game as neither player could find words to fit certain segments. The upper-left outlined box is empty for the same reason (the only unused letters are F and U).

Player 1 wins with a score of 5 to 2. Though Player 2 has only 1 box filled, one point is added to his score, as he was able to add a word to the grid after Player 1 passed his turn. If both players pass on consecutive turns, the game ends and the current score is final.

Proper nouns, acronyms, and abbreviations are forbidden.

alternate versions:

• Make a larger grid to accommodate five- or six-letter words.
• Space rows and columns unevenly for a mixture of word lengths.
• Forbid plurals formed by adding an S.
  

Riddle for February

In the Pacific Ocean is an island about 100 by 100 meters in size. A scientific research team visits the island and places two insects there, each containing a dosage of an experimental drug. The scientists then leave, but the insects do quite well for themselves, as they have remarkable reproductive prowess thanks to the drug they have consumed. On the second day, they have already doubled and there are now four insects. On the third day, there are eight insects present, and so forth in this manner.

Later, the research team returns to their experiment, but cannot land the helicopter, as the island now has far too many insects for them to do so. They're able to deduct from their bird's eye view that just about half of the island is now covered with insects. As a matter of deciding whether or not to continue the experiment, they need to figure out how long it will be before the entire island is covered completely with the insects. If the scientists returned on the thirtieth day, how many more days will it take before the island is completely overrun by insects?

Answer (highlight to read): One. If the insects double each day, then a half-full island would be full the next day.

Why Taco Bell Is Being So Smug

There's been a sort of uproar recently about research finding that the beef used in Taco Bell's product is only about one-third real beef, when the advertising claims their product is made with 100% beef. Thus, we seem to have a clear-cut case of false advertising, and you'd assume Taco Bell and Yum! Brands corporation would want to sweep this incident under the rug, and hope nobody notices. Rather, when the lawsuit was filed, they replied by taking out a full-page ad in newspapers with the snotty heading of "Thank you for suing us" in huge type at the top. Was it just P.R. spin to make it seem like they've already won the suit? Well, in fact, they pretty much have.

This is a trick that companies have long used, and they're actually telling the truth when they claim to use "100% beef". But the meat they use isn't "100% beef", it just contains "100% beef". So, yes, by exploiting this loophole, Taco Bell's product does have 100% beef inside of it. It's "made with" it. Those two words are all they need to fully comply with the law and lie to the consumer.

Juicy Juice does the same thing. Have you ever noticed how it says "Made with 100% juice" on the label? It wouldn't be any different if M&Ms candies came with a sticker that read "Contains 100% red and green M&Ms" for Christmas, but then was just a normal bag when you opened it. Well, yeah, there's blue and orange and brown and yellow in there, sure, but there's no denying the rest of it is 100% red and green!

So, Taco Bell's strategy is to use the loophole in the law to win the case, then walk away pretending the victory validates them, when it actually condemns them, and hope the public is too stupid to know the difference. In the end, it all comes down to whether or not you trust marketing. Good luck, if you do.