A Random Pattern

I have made good progress tonight. I believe I’m at 28 now. It’s really hard to keep count! (At least for me – I can’t even keep count when playing something like racquetball or tennis ).

I’m surprised there haven’t been more questions. Let’s see… I got stuck on 7, then 13, then 17 was a bit of a challenge. From 19 on it’s been pretty good and challenging, though some were really easy as they followed on the same thought-path as the previous puzzle.

If you are thoroughly stuck, I recommend the following:
1. Don’t look up any spoilers. At least not yet!
2. Go away and try again tomorrow, or later on. When your brain’s had a rest, it’ll have a better chance.
3. No really, give it a break.
4. Ok, start over on this puzzle. Erase your previous guesses from your mind.
5. What clues are you given? If you don’t see a clue, go back to the previous page and compare it to this. What has changed?
6. The easiest way to compare is to view the source for the page. By the 20 puzzle, you ought to be pretty familiar with what the source for this puzzle looks like.
7. Did the clue not help too much? Try a little creative googling (but not for the spoiler! You can still figure this out!)
8. Once you figure out what direction the clue’s pointing in, you’re good to go.
9. Still stuck? Not even a vague idea? Alright, you can look up some hints. Ask here in the comments, read through my earlier posts, or follow the link to the digg conversation – but be very careful, it’s full of spoilers! You won’t be nearly as happy if you find something that gives it away. I like to start with gentle hints first. I’ll put out the gentle hint guide once I complete the puzzle.

Good luck!

Over the course of several days, I’ve now made it to 25 out of a reported 30. I generally try and do one or two in the evening, but the other night I had a breakthrough when I got through twenty-one, and flew straight through to 25!

It was fairly satisfying, though the puzzles were easy compared to some of the earlier ones. Still, 25’s puzzle looks promisingly challenging. We’ll see how it goes tonight…

Why does this stupid Blogger’s autosave malfunction so badly when I need it?

Completely worthless.

Don’t use Blogger unless you have no option – I’ll be migrating as soon as I can…

I just lost a 12 paragraph, very detailed, extensively hyperlinked post! Arghh!!

In one of many reports on Apple’s recent finance call, Bloomberg News reports on the closest a financial call gets to being exciting – unless Microsoft announces mass-layoffs during its next call, at least.

The news is that Apple, oh she of the supremely tight-lipped, the company that sues rumor sites*, actually tipped analysts off to product(s) coming in the Apple pipline. But did Apple really reveal what is spreading around the web? Or are they just taking advantage of the hysteria that accompanies every Apple announcement? Was this a calculated move to satiate Wall Street and the rabid Apple rumor press, while throwing competitors off their trail, even into a panic? Are they using this opportunity to checkmate some more media executives?

Whatever Apple’s up to, they’ve shown up till now several things:
1. A voracious aptitude for sharp business
2. A nose for cool
3. An intense desire – nay, need – for secrecy

Of course, everyone wants an Apple iPhone to appear, so it’s not a surprise that we’re all so willing to believe. After all, what other company could actually make a phone that would be a pleasure to use?

So what do you think? Bait, or a real whiff of what’s coming next year? Maybe some of both? I’m still holding out for a shiny new Apple PDA/Phone.

*IANAL, but from the fairly extensive reading I did, Apple should have won this case. The Judge’s opinion seems almost laughable – of course it is very difficult for many judges on the bench to even follow all the new technology that has emerged… (if anyone can find the excellent write-up by someone siding with Apple, quoting extensively from the Appeals Court ruling, please let me know. I can’t find the post anymore.)

I’ve made it to 21. There are a lot of spoilers on this digg discussion, but I’ve mostly only needed the hints so far.

I seem to enjoy only doing one or two a day (not to mention I’m really short on time this week!), so it may be a few days before I can give out a complete set of hints through 30. Still, if you’re stuck I can at least point you in the right direction. See my earlier posts, or ask for help in the comments.

Once I finish, it’s back to Blifaloo!

Ok, one more hint. Use Google, and try different approaches. The answers can take some guessing: the puzzles don’t always seem obvious (self-evident) even after you’ve solved them. Patience, grasshopper…

I’ve already written a blog entry thrice, but you may not get to read it.  That’s due to a few reasons.

1.  I’m using Beta software – Firefox 2.0b1 (because I have to have the latest and greatest)
2.  I was really missing Performancing now that I’m blogging regularly again. 
3.  Performancing kindly (?) have approved their plugin all the way through Firefox 3(!!), which won’t be released for probably a year (!!!).

Que spooky music as I near completion of a blog post.  Then….

Bam!!  Not once, but twice, but three times completely wiped out.  Crashed.  Dead. 

So I’m going to hurry up and post this before it dies, too.  Enjoy.  :-S

I’m going to make my tips hard to see. If you’re sure you want to read them, highlight the text with your mouse and you’ll be able to read it easily. Also, make sure you’ve really put in best effort before using my clues – you’ll just feel cheated otherwise (except perhaps on 13, where you’re going to feel cheated regardless). I’m also going to offer progressive tips, to hopefully help you walk the right path to a solution.

If you’re stuck on number/page 16, my first recommendation is to think back to number 7. For those stuck on 7, remember: different language. Ok, so if that isn’t enough for getting past 16, then use google and do some looking.

If you’re still stuck on 16 (it can be hard to find), try this page. That’s about all I can help you with.

Oh, if you’re stuck on another number, put it in the comments. I’m not finished yet, but I’ll help where I can.

I recently discovered another online puzzle, and in searching for help I found this pretty cool puzzle and game forum full of people who must have much more time on their hands than I do!

This may or may not been helpful when I was working on blifaloo (which I really need to get back to).

Anyways, I’ve noticed recently more incoming links related to puzzling, so I’m going to try to provide more puzzle content here. No promises, but hopefully at least weekly. I’ll also tweak the comments so they’re back to useful.

Where we go from here is anyone’s guess. Good luck, adventurers! (If you follow the last link, k-mail Random44).

A long tale, indeed. Yes, pun is intended. For those that don’t recognize the term long tail, check the link. Everyone else, march along to the article below – I’ve only quoted a bit, make sure to read the whole thing! The last two paragraphs wander a bit from the political topic, and get really interesting.

Politically Homeless: “I’m politically homeless — part of what Arnold Kling calls the long tail of politics. Although my political philosophy is generally libertarian or Jeffersonian (‘that government governs best which governs least’), I stopped supporting the Libertarian Party several years ago because it is a feckless, corrupt organization. Yet the issues that are important to me — reforming eminent domain, ending the War on Drugs, eliminating corporate welfare and trade barriers (especially with the so-called Third World), maintaining reasonably open immigration, encouraging greater cooperation within the Anglosphere (e.g., sojourner status for citizens of the English-speaking nations), freeing education by giving the schools to the teachers, ending occupational licensing and other restrictions on making a living, safeguarding the right to self-defense, pushing as much power as possible down to the local level, etc. — are not important to the Republicans or Democrats. These days I tend to follow Kling’s advice to vote against incumbents, though I doubt that does much good. Better, I think, to support organizations that are focused on particular issues (e.g., the Castle Coalition on eminent domain reform). Too many people associate politics with electoral politics, which is a hopeless arena because of gerrymandering and the sheer size of electoral districts. I hold out more hope for initiatives,”

A series of haunting, disturbing, and otherwise well done images. Juxtapositions of two disparate, but both common, images result in some weirdly unsettling stuff.

Two of the images, in particular, are likely to give me nightmares. Can you guess which two?

(hint: no, one of them is not the picture included with this post!)