Stowdashay

IQ Puzzle #16 - Medium

2011-07-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

So apparently the last puzzle was a little bit too easy, here is one that should take a while to wrap your head around!

Good luck to you all, this one is tough :)

Ann Coulter vs. Al Franken - Racial Profiling

2011-07-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I have been a little bit sick recently, hence the lack of daily updates. I am just breaking the cusp of my flu now so I should be back to the races shortly. For now I have a question to you all:

What is your view on Racial Profiling?

I watched the video below recently and was shocked to hear what Ann Coulter had to say nearing the end. Skip to around 6:50 you can hear her rant.

I was sickened by this as she is demonstrating a severe lack of understanding. In my opinion it seems as though she does not have the slightest inclination of how airport security functions, let alone that it is not the liberal left who is keeping racial profiling from occuring. Racial profiling is occuring, and it is a very unfortunate thing. One of my friends who I go to university with is just about to finish his degree in engineering here in Canada, and yet every time he goes to the U.S. he gets hastled to the point where he has to exit his car and go have his fingerprints matched. This means any border crossing takes around an extra hour to hour and a half. What is the reason for this? He is Arab looking.

This is very unforunate because it not only affects him but anyone he is friends with as well. We were planning to all go down to the states for a day trip until he pointed out that if we were to do so our car would undoubtedly be pulled aside and the border crossing would take around 4 hours (including traffic). In my opinion that is completely unnaceptable. So what do you think?

IQ Puzzle #15 - Explanation

2011-07-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

So the answer is H. You are all correct :p.

I actually made a mistake when I labelled it Medium haha, I see you guys felt this was far too easy so the next one I post will be a throwback to when I first started and Medium's were virtually impossible.

In case anyone did not understand the answer to this it was basically a series called the fibonacci series in which the previous two numbers are added together to generate the next in the series. For example 1, 1, 2, 3, 5 shows how 1+1=2, 1+2=3 and 2+3=5.

Hence all you had to do for this really was add together the last to numbers, 13 and 21, and you would realize you are looking for H, which had 34 in it. The orientation of the dots was simply a rotation around the central axis based off of the next number to be completed. This is most easily seen between 5 and 8 where 8 ends up in the same orientation (left side) as 5 because 8 is two full rotations of 4.

I am sorry it was so easy, I am working on one right now to blow your minds.

Shout out to linus who beat out convictus for the top spot. Welcome to the Leaderboard!

IQ Puzzle #15 - Easy

2011-07-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Alright guys here is the latest puzzle - I think that by using numbers instead of dots I have made this puzzle easier, however I hope you guys figure it out!

Good luck :)

TF2 - Screenshots, K/D Ratio

2011-07-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Just a super quick update from a match I played recently where I absolutely dominated. I started off as Scout, my worst class and ended up dominating so I decided to switch to my worst class, Heavy and here are the results:

I ended up getting 20 kills in one life when I switched to Heavy, skyrocketing my K/D ratio to over 7.0!

I felt so invincible in this game and I attribute my play being so much better to a tip I heard where you turn on "dings" so that you can hear when you hit your enemys. This has improved my game durastically. Any of you have tips for TF2?

IQ Puzzle #14 - Explanation

2011-07-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

The answer to this puzzle was very close to a few of my previous puzzles. If you take each number and convert it to a letter based off of A=1, B=2 etc. you are left with this:

Where the hint about the leaderboard was referencing the current leader, Convictus. The puzzle spelled out his name in numbers rather than letters. I figured I would bring up the idea of one of you doing a guest puzzle again, is there any interest?

IQ Puzzle #14 - Easy

2011-07-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

This one here is really easy so I hope to have someone new get a point! Try your best :)

I will be back with the answer tomorrow, until then have a great day!

TF2 - Screenshots

2011-07-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

So I have been playing TF2 a lot lately and have been doing pretty well. I thought I would share some screenshots of my progress thus far:

Here I start off as a Demo and take an early 2.4 K/D Ratio.

Continuing as Demo I end up with almost a 3.0 K/D Ratio (2.75 to be exact) with 14 assists.

After playing demo for a while I switched off to Spy and managed to maintain an exact 2.0 K/D Ratio until the end of the game with 5 Dominations.

All in all I feel pretty good about my performance thus far and hope to continue learning tips and tricks to get even better.

Do any of you guys play TF2?

Vancouver Music - Mother Mother/The New Pornographers

2011-07-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would feature two awesome bands from my hometown, Mother Mother and The New Pornographers.

Both of these bands are unbelievable to me in the sense that they do not put out any songs that I dislike. I am amazed at the quality and dedication put into crafting each piece, something you don't see often in the music industry anymore.

As for The New Pornographers I am absolutely in love with their sound. They sound so fresh and so new that I can't help but have them on in the background. Seriously, listen to the song I posted. Unreal.

Both of these bands performed at Vancouver's 125th Anniversary Concert Series held at Stanley Park. It was absolutely beautiful at night and the crowd was super into all the songs. Such a great time.

Here is a link to a song by Mother Mother

Here is a link to a song by The New Pornographers

As well here are two videos I took at the Concert, you can hear how good The New Pornographers sound live and you can see the glowing balls that were designed by my University's Engineering Department:

It was really cool when they came down over top of you:

Anyway I will have another puzzle up soon, best of luck to you all and have a great day :)

IQ Puzzle #13 - Explanation

2011-07-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

This one here was another classic addition/subtraction puzzle. The number of edges of each of the figures had to be subtracted from left to right to garner the correct answer. Congratulations to Convictus who somehow continues to get the answer right the first time, every time. Shout out to badscribbler and Shaw who also got it right!

I will have a post up tomorrow all about Vancouver's local bands! Hope you will enjoy :)

IQ Puzzle #13 - Easy

2011-07-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Another easy puzzle to warm you guys up, I will be trying to return to the once a day puzzles, I have been exceptionally busy with midterms this week but after Monday will be all done. I think you should all be able to figure this one out pretty quick, it is quite similair to a previous puzzle I made.

Good luck to you all, results will be up later tomorrow.

Drinking/Andre the Giant

2011-07-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

I for one love enjoying a glass or two of wine over dinner, it is relaxing and I love the feeling of the warmth that comes from my stomach. I was stumbling around the internet and came across a hilarious site devoted to drunkards. What surprised me the most however was who the focus of the article I found was upon. Andre the Giant.

You see, recently we had been learning in my Biopsych course about Andre as he was an excellent case study of acromegaly, a glandular disorder which causes some people to grow to be remarkably large. What was NOT mentioned in my Biospych class was that Andre was a massive drinker. When I say massive, I mean after reading this article I learned he had to drink 2 litres of vodka just to feel "warm inside".

For those interested, here is the article. It is quite long but picks up in the middle and becomes hilarious as it describes carriages in New York being stolen, piano covers being used to cover Andre when he was passed out, and keeping bars open until 5am by ordering drink after drink. Definitely worth a read.

So what do you guys and gals like to drink? My favourites are Rum and Coke, Sangria, Whiskey Sour's and White Russians. Post below!

Zombie Ball - Video Update/BioPsych Low Calorie

2011-07-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

I am currently in the process of getting another zombie ball game organized and have decided I will for sure sit out a round and video tape the proceedings. Hopefully the video will explain the basics so that you all can try it out some time. It is honestly a ton of fun to play.

In other news I have been learning about something exciting in my Biopsych course about low calorie diets and their effect on aging. Basically a low calorie diet that is still balanced in nutrients has been shown time and time again since the 80's to extend the life of rats dramatically. Flashback to post WWII and you have the island of Okinawa in Japan already practicing this sort of diet. So by the time the researchers had done the rat studies they were able to study this island's inhabitants as well.

Turns out, the low calorie diet seems to have a dramatic effect in humans as well! The researchers involved found that the level of centenarians (those of age 100 or older) was in some cases 40 times higher on the island of Okinawa than the rest of Japan. It is notable that the Japanese already have a calorie reduced diet in comparison to the rest of the world so the Okinawans are eating less than less than normal. Along with the longevity comes other perks as well. It was found that there was absolutely no daibetes or other insulin diseases, cardiovascular health was improved significantly and levels of disease were lower than normal as well.

So what do you guys think? Is it worth sacrificing calories for a longer healthier life? Is it worth it to live your life this way without adequate research done to prove this is the cause of the Okinawan's health? Post in the comments.

Gaming - Mann Co Store/TF2

2011-07-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

So I am struck with a dilemma and need some opinions. I have recently started playing tf2 after it was released free to play. For those of you who do not know tf2 is "team fortress two" a game put out by valve that originally cost money but has been made free to play. You might say "Well how do they make money then?" The answer is quite simple hats and other items are available for purchase in the store for real money and these micro transactions fuel the addition of new content and upkeep.

So my problem is this: I feel like I should give some money back to the game as I have already played for over 10 hours for free. I would like to gain something at the same time and so have been looking at buying these keys they have to open crates for an item. The only thing is #1 a key costs $2.49, and #2 the item you get is not set, it is randomly chosen from a list and can in around 20% of cases give you the weapon you start with which in my opinion is a waste of money.

So I ask you bloggers, what should I do? Does anyone know if it is worth it to buy keys? Apparently after even one purchase your chances of finding items randomly, (what I have been doing up until now), increases. Does anyone know if it is a substantial increase? Post your opinions below!

IQ Puzzle #12 - Explanation

2011-07-04T23:43:00.000-07:00

This one here I messed up on a little bit. There were two possible answers, C and G. C is the more "simple" of the two, although G would technically still work.

As you can see above when the dots are inside the circle they count as (+1) and when they are outside the circle they count as (-1). The column on the left is always added to the middle column to produce the column on the right. In this respect the equation to solve this puzzle is (2-3) or (-1). This is represented as a dot outside the circle, or as some posters pointed out a circle inside and two outside.

Great job and the scoreboard on the right has been updated!

IQ Puzzle #12 - Easy

2011-07-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

Alright so comment moderation is back on for the duration of this puzzle. I will have the answer out tomorrow. I figured I have been making the puzzle too hard lately so here is a nice and easy one:

Good luck to you all and on a side note going out now to play some zombie ball, I will try to take a video/pictures and make a post showing you all how it is done.

Frisbee Tips - Common Mistakes

2011-07-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

I figured I would put together a little set of tips for new Frisbee players out there. I will cover the three largest mistakes I see.

#1 Not enough spin.

A lot of people when they first start learning how to throw have discs that wobble a lot. The wobble can be avoided by providing enough spin on the disc.

Solution: Spin comes from the wrist and is a snapping motion that follows the arc of your arm. One way to practice getting enough spin on the disc is to hold your bicep against your ribs with your non-throwing hand and then try to throw. Because your arm is strapped against your body, both the force to make the throw go forward and the spin needed to keep it flat must be provided by your wrist.

#2 Too much spin/Late Release.

The too much spin problem usually comes hand in hand with a late release. As players try to put more spin on the disc they often hold on for too long and the trajectory of the disc ends up going to the right on a backhand and to the left on a forehand.

Solution: This late release can be avoided by reminding the player to always release the disc as soon as the wrist is in line with the forearm. If it is later than this, often times the disc will end up going in a direction you don't want it to.

#3 Stepping forward.

The last problem that is often seen is that people try to step forward while throwing. When you have no mark on you this is no problem, however as soon as someone is defending your throws they will be in front of you and you will have nowhere to step.

Solution: Always step outwards, from your plant you should be making a step directly in line or even backwards a little bit to allow you to throw unimpeded by your marks defense. This one is an easy fix in terms of helping the person correct it, but unfortunately can take a long time to get into muscle memory so that it is done immediately.

Those are my tips for now, also comment moderation is off thanks to the suggestion by icey.

Until next time, get out there and enjoy the weather!

Free Game to Play - Fault Line

2011-07-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this little gem today and it has a super easy yet rewarding premise, you can fold the lines of the world you are in. I really enjoy puzzle games (as most of you know), and so games like this are awesome. I think that so long as an element of fun is added to puzzles, the repetitve nature can be avoided. Portal did this well in Portal by having intriguing dialogue, and Portal 2 added the co-op play which is hard to resist. What do you guys think, are puzzle games fun?

IQ Puzzle #11 - Explanation

2011-06-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

This one here was an addition problem. The grid was the usual 1-9 in a series moving from left to right as in:

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

The numbers were represented in this fashion:

A dot in the quadrant counts for the number it is beside. To explain this further when a dot is in the top quadrant it counts as 1, when the dot is on the right hand side it is worth 2, when the dot is on the bottom it is worth 4, and when the dot is on the left it is worth 8. When a number other than 1, 2, 4 or 8 is to be represented you use dots in multiple locations. When dots are placed in more than one position they are connected by a line. In this way the last panel is meant to be worth 9 so you would place two dots at 8 and 1 and draw a line to connect them. As such the answer would be (G).

Congrats to convictus for another point!

Housing Success/Some Local Tunes

2011-06-30T00:06:00.000-07:00

Just a minor update to let you all know the housing situation went through! I am super excited as we almost lost the deal but last minute managed to scoop it back up. The landlord seems like a super nice guy and so I am quite excited about moving in. I will have the puzzle explanation up for tomorrow, I will tease you by letting you know at least one of you got the right answer! As well since I don't want to bore you all, here is an awesome song by a local artist that I think deserves some more views:

She has a smooth, rhythmic style I hope you will all enjoy.

IQ Puzzle #11 - Medium

2011-06-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the next puzzle all, this one is not too hard once you figure out what is going on, but it is not like the keyboard one where it is a trick to figure it out. Also now that the comments are moderated I can hold off on posting them until it is over.

Post your best guess in the comments as always!

Housing/Zombie Ball

2011-06-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

So I recieved notice today that the first place my friend and I were looking at panned out! We somehow managed to beat out those rotten girls even though they wanted to rent a month ahead of us. YES! I am supremely excited because like a lot of you mentioned, finding a place to rent can be difficult. August 1st here I come!

In other news here is the first draft of the rules for Zombie Ball. Let me know if you think any changes should be made for clarity.

Zombie Ball Offical Rules

# of Players: 4 or more
Length: 30 minutes to 3 hours
Objective: Be the last player "alive".
Equipment: Ball
Playing Field: An area no larger than half a soccer field, and no smaller than a six yard box with clear boundaries on all sides. Adjust to fit the # of Players.

Beginning of the Game:

All players begin the game with 3 lives. Whenever a player has lives remaining they are deemed "alive". When all lives have been depleted the player "dies" and for the rest of the game is a mindless zombie.

Zombification and Losing Lives:

Players lose lives by having a ball hit their bodies and immediately after hit the ground with no contact made on any other players. In the case of ricochets of multiple players, the last player that was hit before the ball touched the ground loses a life. When all lives are depleted a player becomes a zombie for the player that threw the eliminating strike. Becoming someones zombie means that you are now owned by whoever killed you. Your goal from then on is to be loyal to your master and try to kill other players so they can join your zombie empire.

In the case of ricochets this would mean it would be the initial thrower who would take control of a zombie and not the player that ricocheted the ball. In the case of a zombie killing off a player, the player who owns the zombie assumes control of the new zombie. Zombies can be killed as well, however when a zombie is killed they simply transfer to be controlled by the player that hit them.

Initialization of the Throwing Procedure:

Gameplay begins by juggling the ball in the center of the group until the number of juggles reaches a count of five. Juggles may be performed using any part of the body save the hands and arms. If at any point during the count a juggle is made off of a hand or arm, the offender lets it be known and the juggle starts again. Juggles cannnot be accumulated by a single player juggling the ball multiple times. The first player to begin juggling gives one juggle to the count, to add more juggles to the count the ball must first be played off of another player. Essentially only the first touch counts, then the ball must be played to another player before more touches can be added. Another way to think of it is that a minimum of 4 passes must be made for the ball to reach a count of five. After the fifth count the ball may be grabbed with the hands and then thrown at an opposing player to eliminate their lives. If the player the ball is thrown at catches the throw, play continues as normal and the throw is considered a pass.

Strategy:

Players all begin on seperate teams and as such it can be difficult to eliminate other players without passing the ball during the throwing phase. Being in possesion of the ball, throwing the ball to an enemy player in the begining poses very little risk to you as if they drop the ball you have eliminated a life of theirs, and there is no penalty for them catching the ball.

Summation:

There are two phases, the counting phase and the throwing phase. The counting phase consists of juggling the ball until a count of five is achieved at which point the ball may be grabbed with the hands. This initiates the throwing phase.

The throwing phase is how players lose lives and eventually turn into zombies. For a life to be lost the throw must hit a player and then the ground without anything in between. When all lives are lost, a player becomes a zombie and must mindlessly help their owner in hunting down other players.

New Game - Zombie Ball/Looking for Housing

2011-06-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day but in the end something amazing was formed. I was down at the beach with my ultimate team and a few other people for a barbecue/party thing. In any case, we had a volleyball and started juggling it around when an old game I used to play with my soccer team came into my head.

The premise was simple, everyone stands in a circle and takes turns juggling the ball, once the juggle count gets to five you are allowed to grab the ball with your hands. At this point in the game the object is to throw the ball and hit someone to get them out. If they catch the ball it is considered a pass and they get the chance to hit someone. From this basic set of rules more were added and eventually Zombie Ball was created. I will be posting the full rules on here tomorrow, the game is great for 5 or more players. All you need is a ball and some open space and you are set.

In other news me and my friend went looking for some housing today for the upcoming school year and found some nice places. The first place we looked at was very utilitarian, two bedrooms, a washer and dryer, a bathroom with a shower and a kitchen with a fridge, sink, dishwasher and electric stove. The guy renting it was super nice but we are pretty sure this pair of girls will get it because A. They are girls and B. In the eyes of renters all adolescent men are partying drunkards who will play loud music and break stuff.

In any case we have our fingers crossed for that one but it does not look too bright. The second property was much the same but had a larger dining area as a plus, but a washer and dryer in the middle of the kitchen as a minus. We will be checking out a few more places but for a first try at renting a house we are pretty pleased with ourselves.

Zombie Ball rules will be up soon, along with a new puzzle :)

IQ Puzzle #10 - Explanation

2011-06-25T02:20:00.000-07:00

So as a few of you guessed the answer to this one was multiple choice (F) or in letter form M. The pattern to this can be seen by looking down at your keyboard (the hint was supposed to be a key and a board, hard to draw a board haha). Looking at your keyboard you will see that the pattern looks like this:

So anyway user IWannaBeAnon mentioned I should change my comments section to moderated so that I can release all your guesses after I put up the solution, thereby not spoiling the answer for others. The winner this time is convictus who receives one point for the correct answer the fastest, and an additional point to icey for giving the logic for a second possible solution (even though it was not technically a multiple choice). Good job all and I can't wait to make the next puzzle! Also does anyone want to do a guest puzzle? I know I got no response last time I asked but figured I might as well try again.

IQ Puzzle #10 - Medium

2011-06-24T00:09:00.000-07:00

Now that I have reached 10 puzzles I thought it would be neat to have a guest puzzle every once and a while. If you think this is a good idea let me know in the comments (I know you are all super creative). In any case, here is the puzzle, since it is #10 I included a hint.

The hint is meant to be difficult to understand, but if you can get it it should help you to solve this. Good luck!