The Chatroom

[Balin]

With a year's chat archived, hopefully we can get some more chatter going.

[Balin]

(additionally, can a mod with pinning powers pin this to the top, please?)

[peter365]

Thanks for archiving Balin , as you can see I've pinned it to the top of the page. The chatroom is dying a slow death on this forum for some reason.

[WiZ]

A strange and unexplained death, you say? Sounds about right for a forums devoted to Lateral Thinking Puzzles.

[peter365]

The music stopped the chatroom died.

[Admin]

Here is the up to date list of all time most posts by members of the forum:

GalFisk
9053
Sweden

Balin
7475
Connecticut, USA

RedWine
4180
Poland

WiZ
2914
Wellington, New Zealand

Earnest
2493

Grip
2358
Central Florida, USA

irishelk
2020
Washington DC-ish

peter365
1950
Dublin, Ireland

JenBurdoo
1727
Florida, USA

invisiblemimsy
1677
Scotland

Acridian9
1479
Pisa, Italy

Doriana
1424
Göttingen, Germany

CoffeeBean
1318

Solong
1297

wolfier
1128

Zanreo
1074
Norway

LemonCurry
959
Worms, Germany

jumpingjacks
948
London, UK

trebor
889
Canada

Hobbsicle
839
Texas, United States

Westing1992
787
United States

[WiZ]

What a multicultural bunch we are! The top 5 alone covers 5 countries, 3 continents, and 5 official languages (although Te Reo Maori is kind of on life support, practically speaking)

[Earnest]

*.* it's an honour to be in the top 5

[peter365]

Interesting list Paul.

Despite my longevity on both versions of the forum i've never been a prolific poster which is probably due to the fact that I don't host that many puzzles. I really need to be a bit more proactive in coming up with puzzle ideas.

Anyway it's lovely to see such an amazing geographical spread.

keep it up folks.

[Zanreo]

Hey, I'm in the top 20, cool! And I should also try coming up with some more puzzles now that I'm back...

[Hobbsicle]

I barely made it on this list. I should...

[Hobbsicle]

...post more often.

[GalFisk]

I should post more seldom
But I enjoy the LTPF, though I always seem to cycle between binging and having a break.

[Balin]

I've been very lax in posting lately. Should probably get back on here a bit more.

[WiZ]

It would be one heck of a party if everyone on that list managed to be here at the same time.

[trebor]

I’m quite pleased to have cracked the list, given my relatively recent joining. (Not as recent as some more frequent posters though!) For me it’s often the case that I’ll log in, read any new developments, and then not post if I don’t have the brain space. I also haven’t hosted the one or two puzzles I’ve thought of, for the same reason.

[Earnest]

I guess it's something subjective. I post a lot every time I can since for me it's a relaxing activity (quite like smoking suring the pause for someone else). Sometimes it is also a way to free the brain from any other tedious problem. I must admit that it could end up in asking boring or useless questions but at least it contributes to the forum I hope!

[WiZ]

Hi, everyone.

So, when I'm not devising Lateral Thinking Puzzles or writing bad opening sentences to novels, I'm also a songwriter, and I've just released my 5th compilation of tracks I've worked with artists across the world on. Here is the press release:

---------------------------

It's back, and better than ever! Now! That's What I Call Wordsmith, the 5th compilation album by Stephen Wordsmith and the artists of FAWM and 50/90!

18 Massive* hits, featuring artists from New Zealand, Australia, The US, UK, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Finland.

Featuring genres such as acoustic rock, alt-folk, celtic rock, schoolhouse rap, spoken-word space opera, lateral-thinking-puzzle African chant and help-a-ghost-is-dragging-me-into-a-closet ethereal piano capella.

Discover how much evil can be packed into a teaspoon. See the connections between a sunless planet and a drunken country driver. Find out why it's the kitten who gets the lion's share out of humans. Dive into the internal monologue of a suicide prevention hotline worker when he fields a call from his mother. Sneak a peek at the log of the captain of a ship in a bottle.

It's all here, and all from the mind of Stephen Wordsmith, Wellington's fourth-most eminent Shower Philosopher*. Listen, and enjoy!

*Citation needed

https://stephenwordsmith.bandcamp.com/a ... -wordsmith

[peter365]

You certainly sell it well.

[irishelk]

It would be one heck of a party if everyone on that list managed to be here at the same time.

Pick a time, I'll be here!

[WiZ]

Check out the webathon threads in the chatroom archives to see just how compatible my time zone is with everyone else's!

[trebor]

Does anyone else have an issue with messages languishing in their outbox instead of being sent? Am I doing something wrong sometimes?

[Balin]

I've seen some of mine in the outbox but I always assumed they were sent too. Hadn't thought about it much... hmm.

[WiZ]

I have noticed that some of my messages are sent to the outbox after I click send, but I have nonetheless had the person I was writing to reply while it was there.

It may be more of an issue of the sent message being routed strangely at the sender's end than never actually leaving at all.

[trebor]

I've noticed now that the two messages in my outbox are intended for recipients who haven't logged in since I've sent them. I'm thinking that has something to do with it.

[WiZ]

I suppose I'll uphold the LTPF tradition and announce my birthday in the Chatroom. I am now 34, which means I have all of one year left to tick the 25-34 box on survey forms, or apply for any sort of workshop or programme with 'Young' in the title.

It's strange for me to think back on being 18, seeing events open to people aged 18-35, and thinking that 35 couldn't possibly be considered 'young' - that age belonged to people with cushy jobs, nice houses and two kids starting primary school and generally well on the way to mastering the universe.

Looking at that now, it seems I have a lot to accomplish in the next 12 months.

[peter365]

Belated happy birthday WiZ , even more belated given that you live in the future. Enjoy these years while you can!

[trebor]

Happy belated! I am only marginally older and find consolation in the fact that, even if I have less than nothing in my bank account and certainly no kids/mortgage payments/etc. in my visible future, at the very least I can say that once in a while I’m able to solve a LTP, and participate in a number of others.

[trebor]

Does anybody else listen to the Futility Closet podcast?

[peter365]

No but having read the wiki page about it I might check it out as it sounds very interesting. I suscribe to about 15 different podcasts that keep me company on the long commute to and from work.

[trebor]

I love the podcast, and somewhere around episode twenty or thirty they started doing a lateral thinking puzzle at the end of each one. Of course, some will already be known to people on here because they're from books, but many aren't. I keep meaning to start listening to other podcasts but I keep wanting to get caught up on this one instead.

[Admin]

Futility closet sounds futile and hidden so just up my street. If you are on facebook please join my new group, Rocket Fuel for the Brain. And post any interesting stuff there relating to thinking, memory, problem solving or ideas. Thanks. Paul

[WiZ]

I've just signed up, and told my manager about this, too - She lives and breathes learning theory, and is forever sending me links to innovative ideas to try with my learners. Perhaps I can contribute an article or two...