Post making contest 5.0

a, b, c,

a, b, c

a, b, c.

the ABCs.

It's the ASCENSION ISLANDS. Theygo upupup andint othecl oudsSS.

RRRRRR SSSSS TTTT UUU VV W

Thanksgiving Highlights:

• Three logicians walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Can I get you all a beer?"
  The first says, "I don't know."
  The second says, "I don't know."
  The third says, "Yes."
  
• Gobble ;)
  
• "I was talking to your sister, and she said she had planned on only making turkey dressing for Thanksgiving." Me: Like, turkey sauce ???
  
• Turns out "dressing" is "stuffing", which makes the above make more sense.
  
• ♪And we all worship our king. (our king) His name is Malcolm. (our king) We must feed him gravel.♫
  
• Pesky bee!
  
• My grandma gave me a huge plastic spider toy from when my mother was a child and told me to use it in pranks.
  
• Bulk barn candy left at our grandparents in 2014 that they found recently and saved for us! (hersey's cookies and cream chocolate and cola gummies)
  
• Hot Fuzz

ALL

• PRAISE
  

THE, GOBLINN
QQQUEEN

This is update #256.

Day one of mezzacotta complete:

• [11:12 AM] qwerx3: oh wow, why did i try to solve 1C without the second page...
  _
  
• [1:10 PM] Sruixan: WHY IS THE SPIDER SO HARD
  _
  
• [1:18 PM] Sruixan: I wouldn't believe it if they weren't australian
  _
  
• [1:55 PM] qwerx3: [are you serious a turnip is also called a swede]
  _
  
• [5:08 PM] Sruixan: OKAY SO THE AKADEMIA IS A THEATRE NOT A UNIVERSITY
  [5:08 PM] Sruixan: FOR SOME REASON
  _
  
• [5:28 PM] Sruixan: (I'd recognise a civ wonder anywhere)
  

Conclusion: we need to say more funny things and also maybe not solve all bar one of the puzzles before Fogel, Akumu and Kieros wake up.

End of message.

Passes rule 3.

Hey, it's just payback for us solving SUMS puzzles while you were asleep.

Passes rule 2.

a, b, c,

a, b, c

a, b, c.

the ABCs.

I mean I guess so. Passes rule 2.

It's the ASCENSION ISLANDS. Theygo upupup andint othecl oudsSS.

Due to unconventional wording, this is a little bit vague re rule 4 but I'll give it to you.
Passes rules 2 and 4.

RRRRRR SSSSS TTTT UUU VV W

Passes rule 2.

Thanksgiving Highlights:

• Three logicians walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Can I get you all a beer?"
  The first says, "I don't know."
  The second says, "I don't know."
  The third says, "Yes."
  
• Gobble ;)
  
• "I was talking to your sister, and she said she had planned on only making turkey dressing for Thanksgiving." Me: Like, turkey sauce ???
  
• Turns out "dressing" is "stuffing", which makes the above make more sense.
  
• ♪And we all worship our king. (our king) His name is Malcolm. (our king) We must feed him gravel.♫
  
• Pesky bee!
  
• My grandma gave me a huge plastic spider toy from when my mother was a child and told me to use it in pranks.
  
• Bulk barn candy left at our grandparents in 2014 that they found recently and saved for us! (hersey's cookies and cream chocolate and cola gummies)
  
• Hot Fuzz

Passes rule 3.

ALL

• PRAISE
  

THE, GOBLINN
QQQUEEN

Passes rule 2.

This is update #257.

Day two of mezzacotta incomplete - 2D remains unsolved:

• qwerx was the first person in the competition to solve 2B what the fuck
  _
  
• (just before starting extraction) [12:16 PM] Sruixan: I had scarcely even looked at the actual puzzle image tbh
  _
  
• [12:59 PM] qwerx3: the heck could the chicken be though
  _
  
• [1:22 PM] Sruixan: I am literally surrounded by mathematicians I could send out a distress call maybe
  _
  
• [2:05 PM] Sruixan: some of these have stopped looking like words
  [2:06 PM] Sruixan: by which I mean I spent too long staring at GIGGLE going "that is definitely a word yep and not just a sequence of squiggles"
  _
  
• [2:53 PM] Sruixan: OKAY I DON'T FEEL AS AGGRIEVED AS I THOUGHT I WOULD
  _
  
• [2:54 PM] Akumu: hooray
  [2:54 PM] Akumu: i helped
  _
  
• [2:56 PM] Sruixan: WAIT FUCK WE'RE FIFTH
  _
  
• we discover that the team in second contains Sean Gardiner and collectively flip our shits
  _
  
• [3:50 PM] Akumu: I can say with pretty high confidence that the answer will end with LE
  (the jury is still out on this one)
  _
  
• [6:52 PM] DragonFogel: Argh, this is the second most frustrating word ladder puzzle I've ever seen.
  _
  
• [7:37 PM] Sruixan: oh no please continue flaliling
  _
  
• [9:30 PM] Akumu: I am pretty sure there are no pins in football
  _
  
• *insert five minutes of atrocious cricket puns with Kieros here*
  _
  
• [10:59 PM] qwerx3: hello i'm back
  [10:59 PM] qwerx3: had a dream that it was solved
  [10:59 PM] qwerx3: oh well

End of message.

This is update #258.

Day three of mezzacotta sees both 3B and 3C incomplete, with 2D still lagging behind:

• [1:15 PM] Sruixan: GOT 3D
  [1:16 PM] qwerx3: that was sudden
  [1:16 PM] Sruixan: it was only sudden in so far as I have a visitor behind me who I have been screeching at for ten minutes
  (he was a jolly good sport about it bless)
  _
  
• [1:19 PM] qwerx3: ah
  [1:19 PM] qwerx3: ta means thank you
  [1:19 PM] qwerx3: not bye
  [1:20 PM] qwerx3: i need to understand british
  _
  
• [2:27 PM] qwerx3: the difference between a chihuahua and a dachshund is a peacock
  _
  
• [5:21 PM] qwerx3: looks like i can't distinguish africa and australia
  [5:21 PM] kotakun: I mean, they're both continents that start with A
  _
  
• [5:27 PM] Akumu: WHAT'S THE DEAL with this pyramid
  [5:28 PM] Sruixan: #justscraphthings
  _
  
• [5:30 PM] kotakun: Would you like a list of things that are wrong with that music?
  [5:31 PM] kotakun: Or the much shorter list of things that are right
  _
  
• [11:48 PM] DragonFogel: The answer is clearly BUCKLE UP MOTHER FUCKER.
  _
  
• [1:09 AM] kotakun: If I remove my glasses, that line looks sort of like a face.
  (it really kinda does)

End of message.

Approachrulefour

This is update #"Sruix went to bed so I'm giving you the great quotes".

We solved 3B just before the next day, 3C right after, and finally got 2D, which, when combined with getting all of today, peaked us at 7^th (until teams who had answered all questions earlier started beating us but oh well)

• [2:15 AM] qwerx3: for context
  [2:15 AM] qwerx3: day 4 is mindscrew day in cisra (the predecessor to the mezzacotta)
  [2:15 AM] qwerx3: so potential twists abound
  [2:15 AM] qwerx3: nvm, looks like a standard day
  _
  
• [8:50 AM] Sruixan: WE GOT A TRUMPET
  _
  
• [10:26 AM] Akumu: What is the other approach to finding words
  [10:26 AM] Akumu: Not finding words?
  [10:26 AM] Sruixan: losing words?
  _
  
• [11:22 AM] Sruixan: I'm just going to assume we've accidentally walked into someone else's puzzle
  _
  
• [11:37 AM] kotakun: I mean, it is Thursday
  _
  
• [12:21 PM] Sruixan: AM I GOOGLING THIS
  _
  
• [12:40 PM] Sruixan: (how luck I am)
  [12:43 PM] Akumu: 96% luck
  [12:43 PM] Akumu: 96.03975% luck
  [12:43 PM] Akumu: *96.09375%
  _
  
• [12:57 PM] Sruixan: how high would we jump if we got this [SPOILERS] malarkey?
  [12:57 PM] qwerx3: 10th
  [12:57 PM] Sruixan: WELL GUESS WHAT I'M DOING INSTEAD OF MY WASHING UP
  [12:57 PM] kotakun: This [SPOILERS] malarkey?
  _
  
• [1:37 PM] Sruixan: I'm distressed by how much that almost works
  [1:40 PM] Sruixan: WHY IS THIS WORKING
  [1:41 PM] Sruixan: I HATE THIS SO MUCH I'M GOING TO EAT DINNER IN PROTEST
  _
  
• [2:24 PM] Akumu: Or is that too much crossover
  [2:25 PM] kotakun: This is Thursday; there is no such thing as "too much" anything.
  _
  
• [2:41 PM] Sruixan: yeah so good luck figuring out where to submit the answer
  [2:42 PM] kotakun: Probably one of the two we haven't gotten yet
  [2:42 PM] Sruixan: you never know
  [2:42 PM] DragonFogel: It turns out to be the answer to 2D.
  _
  
• [2:53 PM] kotakun: It's just showing us that the technological singularity hasn't happened yet, and we're all safe from being subjugated by our evil robotic overlords at least until next Mezzacotta Thursday.
  [2:54 PM] qwerx3: that's what it wants us to think
  _
  
• [3:24 PM] Akumu: Team Eagle Time, Last Of The Completed
  [3:24 PM] Akumu: LAST AMONG EQUALS

End of message.

Let's not forget some important moments after we finally got 2D.

Sruixan - Today at 2:25 PM
I WENT TO THE LOO AND YOU SOLVED THE PUZZLE WHAT THE FUCK

Sruixan - Today at 2:32 PM
me, five minutes ago: "actually I don't feel like I want to spend the whole evening on puzzles"
me, now that there are no more puzzles: "I desperately want to spent the rest of the evening on puzzles"

WENT TO THE LOO.

• [11:22 AM] Sruixan: I'm just going to assume we've accidentally walked into someone else's puzzle
  

in all seriousness we legitimately did this and it's hard to explain without spoilers but qwerx and I spent about five minutes staring at a piece of an entirely different puzzle from something completely unrelated to mezzacotta due to a ridiculous coincidence

it was great

and yesterday itself was just fucking phenomenal

Professional.

This is update #"Sruix is busy screaming into a pillow".

Someone solved the metapuzzle in like 40 minutes, so we didn't win there. We still have 5d and 5e unsolved, but given that exactly one team as of this point has solved that last one, we're in good company.

• [1:20 AM] Dragon Fogel: "okay so this puzzle is that there are five rules for making posts"
  _
  
• [3:00 AM] Dragon Fogel: I hope it was at least solved by people in a sensible time zone for puzzling.
  _
  
• [6:30 AM] qwerx3: don't you wish there were a civ puzzle
  [6:30 AM] Sruixan: god yes
  _
  
• [7:52 AM] Akumu: I actually set an alarm for puzzle-release time, but then said "this is a terrible idea" and went back to sleep
  _
  
• [1:59 PM] kotakun: FUCKING BRISBANE
  _
  
• [2:23 PM] Sruixan: okay I need help
  [2:23 PM] Sruixan: and that is not a general statement
  _
  
• [3:01 PM] Sruixan: I definitely feel like I should be reading 5A in my ScreeTek voice
  [3:01 PM] Sruixan: "Lions reward offers also are posted! Aid for get leo captured will get max $$$$$$ reward."
  [3:01 PM] Sruixan: just imagine I'm saying those words with my mouth
  [3:09 PM] Dragon Fogel: How would you be pronouncing the dollar signs?
  [3:25 PM] Sruixan: Badly.
  _
  
• [3:25 PM] Sruixan: Anyway I am too frustrated with 5D to work on it for now so in an effort to remain helpful I pressed my Tab key 2,415 times instead.
  _
  
• [6:29 PM] qwerx3: NOOOOOO it's paris
  [6:37 PM] Sruixan: yeah I'm in Montreal at the moment and am scared of Paris existing at me
  _
  
• [7:17 PM] Sruixan: we know what we're doing at least
  [7:17 PM] Sruixan: (and that's pretending that Paris doesn't exist)
  _
  
• [7:53 PM] Sruixan: WHAT THE FUCK
  [7:53 PM] Sruixan: WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK
  [7:53 PM] Sruixan: WHAT THE TRIPLE FUCK
  [7:53 PM] Sruixan: WHAT THE FOURFOLD FUCK
  [7:53 PM] Sruixan: WHAT THE FUCK QUINTET
  [7:53 PM] Sruixan: WHAT THE HEXAGONAL FUCK
  [7:53 PM] Sruixan: WHAT THE FUCK RAINBOW
  _
  
• [7:58 PM] Sruixan: I can see the section in the write-up afterwards now "and there was that one team that just bullshat their way through Friday"
  _
  
• [8:21 PM] Sruixan: and on that note I am going to scream into a pillow
  

End of message.

Officially Good at Maths

This is update #259.

"Holy shit, what would happen if you got ambient noise and put it on top of itself and made it more ambient?" - Ix

End of message.

This is update #260.

Relax Meditate Sleep
Sounds of Nature White Noise for Mindfulness Meditation and Relaxation
Deep Sleep
Deep Sleep Specialists
Ambient Music Collective
Brainwaves Lab
Healing Music for Deep Sleep and Relaxation
Natura Sound Therapy
Nature Sounds for Sleep and Relaxation
Soothing White Noise for Infant Sleeping and Massage, Crying & Colic Relief
Soothing White Noise for Sleeping Babies
Baby Sleep Through the Night
Sea Nature Players
Nature Sound Collection
Soothing Piano Classics for Sleeping Babies
Sleeping Buddha Piano
Natural White Noise for Babies
Spa, Relaxation and Dreams
Nature Sounds Nature Music
Music For Dreaming
Healing Sleep Music
Zen Mindwaves
Ethereal Dreams
3D Ambient Sleep Atmospheres
Best Relaxation Music
Sweet Baby Sleep
Tranquil Music Sound of Nature
Renewing Vibrations
Binaural Beats Recordings
Music For Deep Sleep
Reiki Healing Music Ensemble
Underwater Sounds Specialists
Binaural Beats Isochronic Tones Lab
Sounds of Nature for Deep Sleep and Relaxation
Sleep Music for Dreaming and Sleeping
Being Ambient Music Therapy with Binaural Beats
Sleepy Sounds
Deep Sleep Music Delta Binaural 432 Hz
Sleeping Music
Sleep Aid App Rainforest Sounds Loop
Relaxation Sleepy Time Ensemble
9 Hour Sleep
Classical Sleep Music
Sounds of Nature White Noise for Mindfulness, Meditation and Relaxation
Sleep Music
Nature Ambience
Relaxation & Mediation With Music & Nature
Subliminal Mind Expansion
Sweet Baby Sleep Baby
Inner Splendor Sleep Music and Relaxation Project
Soft Instrumental Songs
Binaural Nature Sounds Relaxing
Binaural Beats Brainwave Entrainment
The Rainforest Spa Players
Biosphere: Nature Sounds & Music
Sleeping Music Masters
Ocean Sounds Collection
The Calming Sounds Of Nature
Newborn Babies Natural White Noise
The Ambient White Noise of Nature
Sounds of Nature White Noise for Baby Sleep
Deep Sleep Relaxation
Healing Soundscapes
Natural Theta Wave Sleep
Sleep Music Lullabies for Deep Sleep
Pillow Music Ensamble
Nature Sounds Sleep Solution for Tinnitus
Nature Sounds Artists
Ambient Music Therapy
Sleep Solution for Tinnitus
Relaxing With Sounds of Nature and Spa Music Natural White Noise Sound Therapy
Lucid Dreaming World-Collective Unconscious Mind
Ambient Nature Sounds
Music For Absolute Sleep
Sleep Sounds of Nature
Anahama: Music for Meditation, Relaxation, Sleep
Natural White Noise: Music for Meditation, Relaxation, Sleep, Massage Therapy
Sleep Music Academy
Sleep Music System
Sleep Baby Sleep
Soothing White Noise for Relaxation
Naptime Toddlers Music Collection
Relaxing Music Orchestra
Relaxation And Meditation
Soundscapes Relaxation Music
Sleeping Baby
Natural White Noise - Music for Meditation, Relaxation, Sleep
White Noise Meditation
Binaural Beats Entertainment
Binaural Beat Therapy
Sleep Songs with Nature Sounds
Binaural Beats Collective
White Noise for Babies
Nature Sound Series
Calm Music Ensemble
Sounds of Nature Relaxation
Mindfit Hypnosis
Sleep Aid App Relaxing Thunder Storm Sounds Loop
Sleep Music Sound
Natural Sounds
Relaxing Nature Music for Deep Sleep
Relax & Relax
Ambient Music Therapy (Deep Sleep, Meditation, Spa, Healing, Relaxation)
Ambient Ambient Music Therapy (Deep Sleep, Meditation, Spa, Healing, Relaxation)
Soothing Music for Sleep Academy
Relaxing Sounds of Nature White Noise for Mindfulness Meditation and Relaxation
Ambient Nature
Sleep Aid App Rain Storm Sounds Loop
Nature White Noise
Deep Sleep Music
Electric Dreams
White Noise Therapy
Long Sleeping Songs to Help You Relax All Night
White Noise Research
Binaural Beats
Sleepy Night Music
Absolute Sleep Music
Nature's Music
Sleep Aid App Soothing Thunder Storm Sounds Loop
Nature Sounds
Baby Sleep
Sounds of Nature White Noise Relaxation Meditation
Deep Sleep Systems
Baby Sweet Dream
Calming Baby Sleep Music Club
Raining White Noise Sleep Sound: Increase Focus, Concentration, Privacy - Heal Migraines, Headaches, Tinnitus with Raind
Natural White Noise for Sleep, Relaxation, Spa and Healing
Sounds of Nature White Noise Sound Effects
Binaural Institute
All Night Sleeping Songs to Help You Relax

End of message.

good luck.

This is update #261.

Never let Kaynato, Pumpkin, Ix and me form a barbershop quartet.

End of message.

This is update #262.

IF YOU TYPE "that one vaporwave song" INTO GOOGLE YOU GET THE RIGHT RESULT

AS IN, THE RESULT WE WERE ALL LOOKING FOR

THAT'S EITHER A STATEMENT ON VAPORWAVE OR A STATEMENT ON GOOGLE

End of message.

This is update #263.

Not-Actually-Weekly Civ Game Week #4 Winner: Nobody
List of civs who got nuked: everyone bar the Roman AI
Play of the game: Austria discovered that the world was round by researching Satellites
Viable endgame scenarios in order of plausibility:

• everyone being too nuked to stop the slowest possible science victory out of the rubble of Austria (he was trying bless)
  
• everyone being sufficiently nuked into inaction for my Brazillian tourism to gradually overcome the Russian (ex-player) culture pool without me being conquered (surprisingly possible due to the lay of the land)
  
• as above, but with me nuking Russia out of existence if I could ever find the time
  
• China or the Dutch bulbing to XCOMs or stealth and trying to get to all the capitals? Rome and Vienna would have been real pains...
  
• the host hadn't disabled time victory
  
• (what actually happened) Austria, China and the Dutch all accidentally vote the Russian AI to be the World Leader (the intent was to oust me from the controlling position) and nobody can be arsed to reload the autosave
  

End of message.

wait hang on why is ET 2 hours ahead now

did DST happen the other way