lat-puzz.com

by **Balin** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:13 pm

To answer JP's question, when to lock and reboot the chatroom is really up to the mods' discretion. Since it was getting pretty long, I've done so.

by **Zanreo** » Fri Jul 15, 2016 12:05 pm

During the past days I've gotten "error 500" messages now and then for this forum. Usually goes away after a minute or so, or after refreshing, but it keeps happening... in addition, I've gotten the message "this page has been reserved for future use" a few times today. (Not sure who specifically to ask for this, and the admin doesn't seem to have been here for a long time...)

by **irishelk** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 3:59 pm

Mine's been acting normally, for what it's worth.

by **irishelk** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 4:07 pm

Friends and fellow puzzlers, I've built a website. I think it's one that some of you might enjoy, so I'll do just a little bit of free advertising here if you don't mind. It's called

BuildWorlds.org

and it's a forum for writers and other artistic folk to post their work. The twist is, once you post an original piece of fiction, other people can come along and add to your universe by posting prequels, sequels, adjacent stories in the same world, art based on the characters and story, etc. The reason I think some puzzlers might enjoy it is because it takes some cleverness to figure out how to branch out from other people's ideas, and work yours in to make a cohesive universe. Awe-inspiring literary talent is not a pre-requisite, believe me--I've already posted something, so you definitely can too.

There's also some boards for chatting with other creative-types, and promoting your own work. I'd love to see the other talents of the LTPFers.

Thanks!

P.S. The forum itself is built with the same basic software as the LTPF, so it should feel cozy and familiar.

by **jumpingjacks** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:45 am

I've been having the same problem as Zanreo. "Error 500", "internal server error" and so on, which then requires a refresh. It's only happening on this site, so I don't think it's a problem on my end...

by **WiZ** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:28 pm

Happy birthday to our beloved moderator, Peter365! I found this on the intertubes, which you may find appropriate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3JhkKLP8WE

by **peter365** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:15 am

Hi there puzzles pals , I'm back after a short break to recharge the batteries.

Thank you so much for the kind birthday wish WiZ (I can certainly live with beloved). I was 46 years young last week and was a bit depressed watching the golf at the weekend to hear the commentator state that fellow 46 year old Phil Mickelson is running out of time in his pursuit of more major titles. My mood wasn't helped by my (also 46 year old) wife declaring that she's always fancied the aforementioned Mr Mickelson.

Anyway it's great to be back, I've missed this place.

by **WiZ** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:13 am

Happy birthday to Westing1992! I added the age you claim to be to the number in your username and came out with 2016, which is totally spooky.

by **Jpgamer31** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 7:47 pm

Not that I want to, but how do you change your username? Under the user control panel-> account settings, there is no box to change my username, it only tells me what it is. How does one change their username?

by **WiZ** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 4:28 am

JPGamer: To the best of my knowledge, this isn't possible, but the best of someone else's knowledge might disagree

A few hours ago, New Zealand saw 1:02 PM, 04/08/16, or 2⁰ : 2¹, 2² / 2³ / 2⁴. Isn't that something?

by **peter365** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 8:24 am

I don't think there is a way to change your username without having to set up a new account.

I like that WiZ , love it when time and date throw up those quirky little things. Lynne ran a great puzzle once when at exactly 1:23 on 4/5/06 she and 6 of her friends gathered together and consumed indian bread, just so they could record for posterity that at 1:23 04/05/06 7 ate Naan.

by **Jpgamer31** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 2:58 pm

That's pretty cool WiZ.

I asked about user names because under the control panel it says something along the lines of "Before anyone can change their username, password or email, they must..."

The coolest date thing I remember was 12/12/12 or the pi day thing. On pi day, we got to throw pie at our teachers.

by **WiZ** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 10:24 pm

Peter (and Lynne, if you're watching): What a brilliant idea, and one that tickles my fancy as a fancier of tickly puzzles. If one of her/your friends were French, they could have expressed their delight and surprise at this set of circumstances conspiring, resulting in the exclamation 'at 1:23 04/05/06 7 ate Naan. Tiens!'

JPGamer: Although Kiwis cling resolutely to the dd/mm/yy format of date and time notation, we tend to make an exception for Pi Day, celebrating it on 3.14 instead of 22/7, which is a bit less accurate (and this sort of thing is important to mathematicians). Your teacher's method of celebrating Pi Day is the best I've heard of.

by **Magpie** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 7:13 pm

Just wanted to vent my LTP pet peeve: logic puzzles mislabeled as lateral thinking puzzles. You know, the kind where 5 men live in 5 houses and each has a different favorite beverage, and you use the clues tp work out which is which. Not only is that not what i'm looking for, its not even REMOTELY lateral!! It's pure, linear logic. Why do people do this??

not this forum, of course. Other websites seeking to thwart my google-fu

by **Balin** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:49 pm

I think (hope) it's a misunderstanding as to what actually constitutes a lateral thinking puzzle – assuming that all logic must be lateral thinking, that sort of thing.

A couple times on the old forum, someone posted a non-LTP as a puzzle, and solvers would give the solution along with "this isn't an LTP."

by **Jpgamer31** » Thu Aug 11, 2016 4:28 pm

Lateral puzzles are all about thinking outside the box. Linear "logic" puzzles is just learning to figure out clues regarding certain things. This has always been my interpretation of the two.

Personally, I rather dislike logic puzzles because many of them are repetitive and boring. It feels as the puzzles are the same, just with different categories. I do however, like crossword puzzles. You know, the ones that require knowledge about the world or a synonym for some word.

by **Balin** » Tue Aug 23, 2016 10:26 pm

Thanks for all the kind words about my poem that was the solution to "There's wordplay in this one."

For anyone else interested in the Style Invitational and humor poetry, you might enjoy this week's contest: http://bit.ly/invite-1189

by **WiZ** » Sun Aug 28, 2016 10:40 pm

You may have to fill Nimue's shoes as the resident weightless poet, Balin.

by **WiZ** » Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:36 am

Loath as I am to post twice in a row (and impossible as it is with you all being such insufferable chatterboxes), I would like to wish a very happy birthday to Irishelk, and extend my congratulations on not joining the 27 club.

by **peter365** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:10 am

Hi WiZ , do you get alerts about forum member's birthdays? Is this a feature that one can turn on?

There's alway been a bit of tradition of announcing one's own birthday on this forum.

by **WiZ** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 8:53 pm

It should do it by default - it will appear at the bottom of the 'Board Index' page.

We may once have had a tradition of announcing one's own birthday in the Chatroom, but it appears the new paradigm is to announce nothing at all.

by **jumpingjacks** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:52 pm

Happy birthday Irishelk!

And I will certainly be announcing my birthday, which will be in two weeks! Poems, dances, and puzzles in my honour are all welcome :lol:

by **peter365** » Thu Sep 15, 2016 12:43 pm

WiZ you're right the quiet chatroom is one of the characteristics of the new forum (is it still new? I wonder) that I don't like. We used to have fantastic discussions about everything and nothing. I blame whatsapp groups, people are all chatted out by the time they get here.

by **Balin** » Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:43 pm

I wonder if one of the reasons for the quiet chatroom is that when you go to lateralpuzzles.com and click on "Current Puzzles," it takes you directly to the list of active puzzles, which unlike the old forum does not have a link to the chatroom.

But to call back to that Washington Post contest from a few weeks ago: I got fourth place. Wasn't written so much as an attempt at weightlessness, but:

I committed a social monstrosity
When toasting my host’s generosity.
“Thanks for sharing your house,
Your fine liquor, your spouse . . .”
Cue my exit at rapid velocity.

(Full results: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/style-invitational-week-1193-poedtry-ii-plus-winning-limericks/2016/09/15/f603c6c4-795f-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html)

by **WiZ** » Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:44 pm

Looking back at the Chatroom archives from 2004, people clearly relished the opportunity to connect with others on the internet for the sake of arguing passionately (and not necessarily well). The first few archives are devoted to that old creation vs. evolution chestnut. Fast-forward to today, and we see that with people's lives moving increasingly online, coupled with the advent of Facebook et al, these sorts of skirmishes are nigh-unavoidable. Fora such as these, I surmise, are moving from a vehicle to get into these fights to an oasis by which to avoid them (I've noted a similar thing with a songwriting community I'm part of - discussions over the past 9 years are increasingly on-topic and non-confrontational).

It's a shame, as, given our shared interest, I'm sure we all have enough interesting thoughts to provide stimulating conversation in the forum. Unfortunately, it's in our best interest not to express these plainly, but turn them into puzzles and have others guess them. And, given the choice between the two, I'd go for the puzzles.

by **WiZ** » Thu Sep 15, 2016 11:05 pm

Really enjoyed the Limerick, Balin. I had a read of the others, too. A very high standard was set, so a feather in your cap for coming fourth. I had to look up the Gecko reference, though.

by **peter365** » Fri Sep 16, 2016 9:51 am

Great Limerick Balin and in truth I thought it much better than the winner who rhymed ate with ate.

We should run a limerick competition on here sometime.

by **Balin** » Fri Sep 16, 2016 1:28 pm

I liked the winning one a lot. The rhyme in it isn't "ate" (which is unstressed), but "-est ate," since the "-est" is the last stressed syllable in the line.

by **peter365** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:45 pm

Oh I see , I misread it so. Still think yours was pretty awesome.

by **peter365** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:31 am

Hi there, has anyone else started to receive post notifications by e-mail recently? Is this a setting I can turn off?

by **WiZ** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 9:03 am

Hasn't happened to me, but I have two suggestions:

1) Control Panel > Board Preferences > Edit Posting Defaults > ensure that the radio button for 'Notify me on replies by default' is set to 'no'

2) Control Panel > Overview > Manage Subscriptions > mark any forum/topic subscribed to and click 'unwatch marked'

by **peter365** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 12:27 pm

WiZ wrote:Hasn't happened to me, but I have two suggestions:

1) Control Panel > Board Preferences > Edit Posting Defaults > ensure that the radio button for 'Notify me on replies by default' is set to 'no'

2) Control Panel > Overview > Manage Subscriptions > mark any forum/topic subscribed to and click 'unwatch marked'

Thanks a million WiZ the 2nd option worked. I must have checked that box but can't remember doing. I thought maybe it was happening because of my lofty moderator status :roll:

by **peter365** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 2:30 pm

Of course on the flip side people who want to get e-mail notifications know where to go now.

by **peter365** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 7:41 am

How about the activity on the forum at the moment. Long may it continue.

by **WiZ** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:38 pm

Yes, even though nobody's saying anything in the Chatroom, the activity on the puzzles section (and some affable post-spoiler pillow talk) suggests that we're all happy and healthy.

This forum does have a curious sort of brand loyalty. Our current band of regulars contains about half a dozen users who were active in the past, disappeared for months or years at a time, and have come back with no less of a vengeance. I hope we all stick around, sporadically or otherwise.

by **WiZ** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:39 pm

To that end, a pre-emptive big welcome back to Redwine, Doriana and Psydkik. *Jedi mind trick*

by **peter365** » Fri Sep 23, 2016 12:53 pm

The person I'd most like to see back from the old days is Woodworm, he and I liked a lot of the same things. He was pretty darn clever too.

by **WiZ** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 2:38 am

Happy birthday, Jumpingjacks! I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we appreciate the life your bring to the forum!

by **jumpingjacks** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 12:10 pm

Thanks WiZ!!

by **peter365** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 2:44 pm

Many happy returns JumpingJacks .

by **Balin** » Tue Sep 27, 2016 2:30 pm

Belated happy birthday, Jackie. It's been great having you back here.

by **jumpingjacks** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:53 pm

Thanks Peter, and Matt! It's lovely to be back and I've had a wonderful birthday. =)

by **WiZ** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 6:49 am

48 Solved puzzles in September. Great effort, team.

by **rcb** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 9:03 am

We're looking forward for new challenges from you, WiZ.

by **peter365** » Mon Oct 03, 2016 7:37 am

48 is terrific , there was quite a lot of quality amongst the quantity. Very high standard of puzzles recently .

by **Zanreo** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:56 am

Hey, great work, everyone!

by **Tiger** » Wed Oct 05, 2016 2:08 pm

Hello all. Hope you've been well.

I've been off of the forum for about 18 months (traveling, moving, learning) & at I'm at a point where things are stable enough for me to resume some of my favorite hobbies - this forum and my modly duties included!

I'm happy to see so many familiar names still posting here!

by **Balin** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:49 pm

Glad to see you back around!

by **WiZ** » Tue Oct 11, 2016 11:36 pm

What happens to Mary Poppins if she doesn't get enough vitamin D?

Supercalifragilisticosteoporosis.

OK I'll see myself out

by **peter365** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 9:55 am

I like it WiZ

Who's the most unpopular fan at Borussia Monchengladbach ?

'Give us a B.........'

by **LemonCurry** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 1:02 pm

There's a reason we have the Humba Dance.
That's just five letters and one optional "[rival club] sucks!"...

by **peter365** » Fri Oct 14, 2016 8:17 am

That makes sense. Gladbach are a decent side.

by **hackum** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:38 pm

Hi all,

I used to frequent this site circa 2001, when it looked quite differently.
Is there any archive of the puzzles going back as far as 2001?

It is nice to be back.

by **Tiger** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:43 pm

Glad you're back! Everyone makes their way back to the LTPF...

A link to the previous forum can be found here though I only see puzzles as far back as 2005.

by **Balin** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:43 pm

Welcome, hackum!

As far as I know the archives ("Archived Puzzles," right side of the page) only go to the start of 2005, unfortunately. More veteran members of the forum may know more info about the archiving.

by **Tiger** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:55 pm

Balin wrote:("Archived Puzzles," right side of the page) only go to the start of 2005, unfortunately.

I KNEW there was link to that somewhere on this forum!
As it turns out, that link is only there for those on the Metro Teal (default) forum theme. The link isn't there on prosilver, which is why I wasn't able to find it.

by **hackum** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 3:09 pm

I see. Thank you very much.

by **WiZ** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:41 pm

The wayback machine takes us back to an archive from May 2000, but most of the linked pages have not been archived at the same point in time, leading to dead URLs galore.

So, you can admire the formatting of old and see which names you recognise, but accessing the puzzles themselves will be extremely haphazard at best.

https://web.archive.org/web/20000817211 ... om/discus/

by **WiZ** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:56 pm

And welcome back, Hackum. Nice to see someone else who was around in 2001. Lynne still pops in intermittently. Nimue was a regular here before she took the forum's general level of inaction during a quiet period as a personal affront and quit the forum, never to return.

Was Hackum your original name? If not, who are you? You're not Veggietrunks, by any chance? If so, we have some long unfinished business... :twisted:

by **Tiger** » Wed Oct 19, 2016 2:01 pm

I've been experimenting with how I format my answers to questions on the forum. I want them to be easy to read, and I'm curious to know everyone's thoughts on this.

As puzzle SOLVERS:
Do you prefer the answer next to the corresponding question? Below it?
Do you prefer different colors for answers/yes/no?
Do you prefer bold and/or underlined answers?
Do you prefer ALL CAPS for answers?

by **WiZ** » Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:42 pm

The opinions espoused in the following post are those of WiZ and do not necessarily reflect those of the LTPF community as a whole:

Do you prefer the answer next to the corresponding question? Below it? Next to. Provided the answers have been formatted in such a way as to be distinct from the questions, it's easy to read, there's less scrolling, and it's easier to follow if there is a series of questions for which the answers might build on previous responses.

Do you prefer different colors for answers/yes/no? I find it useful, myself. You can verbally extrapolate on an answer while still conveying the general sense clearly. And you can have a bit of fun with that, too - giving answers that fit the nature of the question (answering 'nein' to 'is the language German?', 'nay' to 'does it involve horses?', 'heck no', to 'was there any relevant profanity?' etc.) while still immediately conveying the sense of the answer without ambiguity. Colours are also easier to see than either bold or italicised text, although one homogeneous colour would suffice to achieve this.

Do you prefer bold and/or underlined answers? I prefer bold to underlining. Underlining is more distracting than anything, and if the writing isn't bolded as well, doesn't even do much to distinguish the text at a glance.

Consider the following:

Was the dead man a one-legged dwarf? No, but he did have some physical abnormality.
Was the dead man a one-legged dwarf? No, but he did have some physical abnormality.
Was the dead man a one-legged dwarf? No, but he did have some physical abnormality.

We're progressing from clear and sharp to messy and indistinct.

Do you prefer ALL CAPS for answers? No, it's very shouty. I don't even use it for strong yes/no answers any more, preferring to use exclamation marks or the word 'strong'.

by **Tiger** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 1:51 am

Thanks for your insight, WiZ. Appreciate the examples.

by **peter365** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:50 am

I find myself in agreement with all of WiZ's feedback Tiger.

I'm very much against underlining text as it's distracting to the eye, and' don't get me started on answers in all upper case. I use the simple 'red for no, green for yes and amber for yope' system of colouring my answers.

I'd like people's view on something I do in my puzzles. If i get more than one set of questions from different members I tend to post a response to each one individually rather than one bulk post with all of the answers. I find it makes each set of answers more distinct.

It does inflate the number of posts it takes to solve my (increasingly rare) puzzles so maybe there's a subconscious ego thing going on. What do you think? does this bother anyone? I'd say most people on here answer multiple sets of q's with one big post.

by **WiZ** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:59 pm

I don't mind. The only issue for me is the half-second of knee-jerking outrage when I think you've missed my questions, but that's always resolved just as quickly.

by **peter365** » Fri Oct 21, 2016 7:31 am

I love a bit of knee jerk outrage so definitely going to continue to do this. :lol:

by **Balin** » Fri Oct 21, 2016 2:22 pm

I pretty much also agree with everything WiZ said. The reason I don't color my bold answers because I use Quick Reply to ensure I don't forget any of the questions.

by **WiZ** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:24 pm

A silly half-joke, half-puzzle for you:

Jay-Z is sitting in his time-share apartment in London, eating a Flake. Suddenly, the structural integrity of the bar gives way, and he finds himself with flakes of Flake all over the flakin' floor. He is irritated at this turn of events, but says a silent prayer of thanks that his dog, Meredith, is at the vets, and is not around to ingest any of the shards of chocolaty dog poison.

He then makes a remark to nobody in particular. What does he say?

by **Jenny** » Tue Oct 25, 2016 3:50 pm

I am wondering if anyone can solve this riddle:

I possess great knowledge. I have brought good and bad times. You have seen many of me, and your opinion of me has changed through the years.

by **jumpingjacks** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 2:58 pm

Completely missed all this chat in the chatroom!!

Wiz:
Did he say, "I've got 99 problems but a ***** ain't one??"

And to answer the formatting questions, bold is the way to go for me. I loathe ALL CAPS with a passion, I can't distinguish the answers at all and so refuse to attempt any puzzles formatted this way. Underlining is annoying but marginally better; bold and underlined is acceptable but not as clean as simple bold. Colours can be kinda cute I guess, especially if colour-coded so that red is no, green is yes, and orange is yope/ish type answers.

by **JenBurdoo** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 5:17 pm

I struggle to distinguish simple bold from regular print (it doesn't stand out enough for my taste), so I've taken to bold and underlined. I find colors distracting, especially when different colors are used for different answers. The exception is in those unique puzzles where multiple answers to the same question might be necessary.

In regards to Peter's question I prefer everything in a single post because I find it neater, easier and quicker to read. Less scrolling in particular.

by **WiZ** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 8:36 pm

Jumpingjacks: You are correct!

by **peter365** » Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:34 am

I'm happy to report that wrapped up in my middle age blanket the Jay-Z thing went sailing high over my head?

by **peter365** » Thu Nov 03, 2016 8:50 am

Go Cubs !!!

by **WiZ** » Thu Nov 03, 2016 11:29 pm

36 puzzles have had new posts in the last 2 days. I'm enjoying this current level of activity.

by **Balin** » Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:16 am

Pete – how much of the Series did you watch?
Last night I was only able to start watching in the fifth inning because I was working beforehand. Turned out to be one of the best Game 7s ever. Amazing.

by **peter365** » Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:17 pm

Unfortunately I was only able to watch highlights of the series as none of my sports channels carried it live. Game 7 was mindblowing but unfortunately due to the internet exploding with news of the ending of the curse. I was aware of the result. Love it when a long losing streak is put to bed. Did feel for the Indians though.

WiZ , lovin the activity but as a GMT guy i'm experiencing a lot of incidences recently where I ask a good question that advances a puzzle but when I wake up to check the response the puzzle is spoiled. But I'm a team player and always happy to help.

by **peter365** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 3:49 pm

Happy election day to all our American puzzlers. Not my place to tell you to whom I think you should give your vote but either way be sure and exercise your democratic duty.

I'd describe the whole campaign as 'interesting' in the Chinese curse sense of the word.

by **Balin** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 6:05 pm

This is the first presidential election where I've been able to vote in person (in 2012 I was in college and voted via absentee ballot). It was not the one I'd have liked to have been my first, to say the least.

by **WiZ** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 8:05 pm

How exciting for you, my U.S. American friends. In a few hours, you're going to find out whether it's a BOY or a GIRL.

New Zealand, sadly, shows no sign of being in Labour any time soon.

by **jumpingjacks** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 10:10 pm

Oh, America!! I'm actually feeling pretty nervous...

by **Balin** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 5:56 am

Jackie, you posted this two months ago:

America and Britain are having a competition on who can f*** themselves up the most. Britain is in the lead, but America has a Trump card.

Well, I guess Americans decided that anything the Brits can do, WE can do better.

Admittedly, I'd been terrified about this result for a good chunk of the day, and I don't like it at all, but if this is the country we choose for the next four years, I've decided I can't face it afraid. (It's very hard not to be afraid.)

by **jumpingjacks** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 6:16 am

I know. It's a really horrible time. Hope you're doing alright (or as alright as you can be, under the circumstances) <3

by **peter365** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 10:51 am

You know behind all of the rhetoric I think at the end of the day things will largely continue as they are. The whole building a wall thing will be shown to be pre-election BS and won't even come close to happening. Politicians promise all sorts and rarely deliver so I wouldn't be too afraid if I were you.

What depresses me is how divisive politics has become globally. In the old days if you disagreed with someone you had a good debate over a drink or a meal and accepted your differences. But nowadays it seems you have to hate anyone who has the temerity to hold a different political view than you do.

Take hate out and put debate back in would be my motto.

by **Balin** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 12:18 pm

I saw a chart yesterday that showed how nowadays, 90% of Democrats are more liberal than the median Republican and 90% of Republicans are more conservative than the median Democrat, when in the 1970s that proportion was much lower.

The problem (OK, one of the problems) with politics now, especially American politics, is there is no compromise. That's a big problem when the only reason we have a Constitution in the first place is because people compromised.

by **WiZ** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 10:18 pm

I'm disappointed in the decision, but I'm not viewing it with quite the same apocalyptic eye as some of my contemporaries (Youngish middle class liberals here in South Scandinavia).

Like most political systems, the American system has been designed with checks and balances, and the office of the president has a way of annexing its occupant. I agree with Peter's assessment that he will sober up and be quite different from the rabid Trump of the primaries. I would also speculate that President Trump will nonetheless usher in a comedic Golden Age.

There is also scope for opportunity: The American Political establishment has ground to a halt on a variety of foreign policy, economic and social problems; it is clear that the existing political consensus had no answer for some of these issues. What lies ahead is a new one that is so disruptive it might be able to either progress or reforge the progressive movement in response into something that can make the change required. I am also not convinced that the Establishment could have adjusted to the changing nature of Europe; in the end, Trump might be better for a post-Brexit Britain than Hillary would have been.

Or, he could fuck everything up monumentally with a single ill-placed gibe.

I remain open-minded but wary.

by **Twilightseeker** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 1:43 am

Hey guys. As an American (who did not vote for the elected individual), I just wanna say...sorry, world. I'm just going to try to weather the next few years as best I can and try not to panic.

by **rcb** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 8:32 am

My two cents. I think it's very interesting the huge amount of attention that the election in the US receives, which of course is normal given the fact that nowadays we live in a world largely dominated by America. And by dissecting the news and commentaries coming over from overseas, over a drink or a meal, as Peter so aptly put it, I feel a little like a Roman middle-class in the time of Caligula, living maybe in Egypt or in north of Gallia, arguing how stupid it was for the emperor to even think to name Incitatus as consul in Rome.

Of course I wouldn't know for sure that he intended to do just that, and even if this be so, it would be just something anecdotic, with little relevance to how the Empire will go in the long run.

This, it seems, will be the story with the big wall paid by the Mexicans, and with other BS from the campaign. I wouldn't be surprised to see a very dull President Trump.

by **Balin** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 2:17 pm

When I met Doriana and her boyfriend back in February, they told me that Germans were paying a lot of attention to the US presidential election, and a lot of people over there had enough Trump exposure to form strong opinions about him.

by **rcb** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 6:49 pm

Over here, although many people would have been pro Trump (we have our own fair share of buffoons), the fact that he was perceived as an admirer of Mr. Putin was enough to make many people wary of him. The least that one wants to know in Eastern Europe is that the American president is a friend of the Russians. But maybe it's just the media.

by **peter365** » Wed Nov 16, 2016 11:48 am

I failed my Classical Studies exam due to a lack of knowledge of Greek Mythology which has always been my Achilles elbow. :lol:

Thought I'd take us away from the election fallout with a bad joke.

by **WiZ** » Wed Nov 16, 2016 7:41 pm

You thought you were bad? You odyssey the marks that I got!

by **kalira** » Wed Nov 16, 2016 9:16 pm

WiZ wrote:This forum does have a curious sort of brand loyalty. Our current band of regulars contains about half a dozen users who were active in the past, disappeared for months or years at a time, and have come back with no less of a vengeance. I hope we all stick around, sporadically or otherwise.

Sometimes, even the mods, apparently... Hello again, all. I was reminded again of our existence here by a visit to another forum I frequent by our resident skydiving Swede. Can we kiss and make up?

*goes off to resume figuring out how to word puzzles she's had brewing in her head for years*

by **Balin** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 8:48 pm

Welcome back Kalira! Always glad to see a new, old, or new old face (fine, username) around.

And regarding mythology puns: they darken the mood so much they bring Apollo-ver the room. And besides, if I've seen one, Athena-m all.

(Those were really stretches, I know.)

by **WiZ** » Thu Nov 17, 2016 9:13 pm

I just e-mailed my convivial 46-year-old Irish boss a series of questions about overtime on Saturday. He responded by sending my back my questions as I had written them, and inserting yes/no answers in colours at the end of each question.

The evidence that my boss and Peter are the same person is starting to become incontrovertible.

by **peter365** » Fri Nov 18, 2016 9:53 am

Get back to work !

by **kalira** » Mon Nov 21, 2016 7:04 pm

peter365 wrote:Get back to work !

The best part about that is that he could be talking to either of us, WiZ.

by **peter365** » Tue Nov 22, 2016 10:21 am

I had the honour and privilege of meeting our lord and master Mr Sloane (admin) for a cup of coffee on Sunday. He's got a very interesting idea which he's going to share soon so watch this space.

by **Admin** » Thu Nov 24, 2016 11:12 am

Hi,

We are planning a first - a live interactive puzzle fest for members of this forum.

The date is Tuesday Dec 6th and the time is 6 pm UK time = 1 pm EST I believe.

What do you think is the best format for this?

Skype
Google Hangouts
Facebook Live
Go to Meeting
Any other suggestion

We want something that can handle potentially 10 to 20 simultaneous webcam feeds and is fast and free.

One person will pose a good puzzle and the group will put questions to rapidly solve it - maybe.

Will you join in and what method do you recommend?

I have posted this in the current puzzles section too.

Paul Sloane

by **Admin** » Thu Dec 08, 2016 1:49 pm

The Live session went pretty well on Skype. We will try another next year.

by **Admin** » Thu Dec 08, 2016 1:52 pm

Now is the time for you to nominate your puzzle of the year 2016.

Which puzzle did you like best? Most clever, intriguing, surprising or whatever.

Please post a link to it in the Solved Puzzles board.

by **Balin** » Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:27 pm

As is the LTPF tradition, this announcement informs that today is my 25th birthday.

by **Admin** » Sun Dec 11, 2016 11:12 am

Balin

HB 2U

by **peter365** » Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:24 am

Hope you had a 'whopper' of a birthday Balin. I remember being 25 as if it were 21 years ago

by **peter365** » Tue Dec 13, 2016 9:04 am

Hi all , I've created a thread in the active puzzles section for Paul's puzzle of the year idea.

Please cast your vote for your favourite there.

by **jumpingjacks** » Wed Dec 14, 2016 4:48 am

Happy belated birthday Matt!! Totally missed it! Hope you had fun.

by **WiZ** » Wed Dec 14, 2016 6:21 am

Happy birthday Balin! If my knowledge of Middle Earth serves me correctly, next year is the year you go off to reclaim Moria from Smaug. Good luck!

by **LemonCurry** » Wed Dec 14, 2016 9:35 am

Just found out that today is the 115th anniversary of Amundsen reaching the South Pole.
It would be a particularly appropriate day to solve my Antarctic puzzle, I suppose

by **WiZ** » Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:18 pm

Was in the supermarket this morning buying plonk for the office Christmas party, when the ceiling speakers burst into a rousing rendition of 'Stop the Cavalry'. Peter, had a laugh and thought of you. Better than the other way around.

by **peter365** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:33 pm

Once that song gets into my head it takes ages to get it out again. It's one of my favourite Christmas songs.

by **WiZ** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 8:51 pm

This is probably the last day this year I'm going to be active on this forum, so I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a safe and merry Christmas. I hope you get the opportunity to relax and spend some time with the people who matter most to you. And that Santa brings you something nice.

I'll be spending a week in the Bay of Plenty, and a week in the Bay of Islands. I'm looking forward to breaking out my shorts, short-sleeved shirts, and floppy sunhat - an opportunity that rarely presents itself to this dour Wellingtonian bureaucrat.

2016 hasn't been a bad year for the forum - we've had 343 puzzles set and solved (50 in November being our best month), with a week and a bit remaining. This is up from last year's 306 - more than a 12% increase - one-eight extra free!

Still, we have some ground to go if we want to relive the heyday of the LTPF empire - 2010 and 2011 had 666 and 637 solved puzzles, respectively. 2010 saw 218 puzzles solved within a 2-month period alone!

by **peter365** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 8:30 am

The very same to you and yours WiZ . Not much call for sunhats in Ireland at this time of year . In fact I've only ever experienced Christmas in the cold as I've never went abroad for it.

I'm not sure I'd enjoy a Christmas in the sun to be honest , not enough chestnuts roasting etc.

Loving the stats.

Long live the forum!!

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 8:41 am

Hello all, your truly Kaylee kitteh has returned with Donut. I can't say for sure how consistent of a return it will be (and I haven't thought up a puzzle yet), but here I am, seeing in Christmas morning on the LTPF.

Just letting you all know I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I've just been under a lot of RL strain these past few months. First I had to deal with what passes for the American legal system in the case of restraining order renewal, and then the holidays popped up and decided to drive me insane. Argh. Well, Christmas being here made me think of our woubit and his Christmas puzzles, so I wandered back in to see if he had done one this year.

And NORAD Santa has just left San Francisco en route to Nevada, so I think it's really time I was in bed. Night all, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and happy holidays in any case, since I don't know all of them celebrated by our LTPFers. In any case, even if you don't celebrate anything, I wish you all the best day and happy puzzling.

Kaylee Tonks-Lupin/Arafinwiel/yours truly kaylee kitteh, and Donut the Seagull

by **Balin** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 4:13 pm

Merry Christmas everyone, and glad to see you again Kaylee!

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 6:47 pm

Balin wrote:Merry Christmas everyone, and glad to see you again Kaylee!

Glad to see you and everyone again, Balin! And I finally do have a puzzle again. A Christmas puzzle, even, in a manner of speaking....

by **KayleeArafinwiel** » Tue Dec 27, 2016 6:10 pm

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news ... 60-w457713

*burrows under blankets and cries*

Can we end 2016 early, please?

by **Balin** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 10:50 pm

It's almost over...

(I heard the Carrie Fisher news during the credits of a screening of Rogue One. A woman a couple rows back had just noticed it on her phone and mentioned it.)