tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27971988410805924132024-03-13T07:30:19.614-05:00EclecticLeeSlices of life, random thoughts, the occasional photo, news about Rom the Spaceknight, and eclectic (and hopefully entertaining) stuff from an average, geeky guy.Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.comBlogger206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-26427494845076433322021-10-21T12:58:00.007-05:002021-10-21T12:58:50.858-05:00Something New: 52 Weeks of Pac-Man Fever<p>I've started a new project to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pac-Man Fever: 52 Weeks of PMF. Although it's primarily a Twitter project (<a href="https://twitter.com/52ofpmf" target="_blank">@52ofPMF</a>), I've also started a <a href="https://52ofpmf.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">separate blog</a> for it as well. I hope you'll consider joining me on this journey through all the Pac-Man Fever I can find.</p>Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-28916009962907434582020-02-02T14:53:00.000-06:002020-02-02T18:07:12.543-06:00I Own What Comic?So, it may not seem like it at first, but this post is about my appreciation for Rom, Spaceknight and one thing that fascination has led to in my life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY9sSbzh-IU0zw0prUlOkw52piqvmuMVsJh_llaBN_SIOiEkhkso_51P4mkJllG2tDssbzdbE8Nt8cMD3HC7Sdp9jVzWtpYXunJ7bevoyPdtbIdT62wwnPpK-r2Sqc9SB_C9AHqb2M8Qz/s1600/2020-01-06+PTOR%2527s+tweet.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY9sSbzh-IU0zw0prUlOkw52piqvmuMVsJh_llaBN_SIOiEkhkso_51P4mkJllG2tDssbzdbE8Nt8cMD3HC7Sdp9jVzWtpYXunJ7bevoyPdtbIdT62wwnPpK-r2Sqc9SB_C9AHqb2M8Qz/s320/2020-01-06+PTOR%2527s+tweet.PNG" width="283" /></a></div>
So it was recently <a href="https://twitter.com/SanctumBlog/status/1214345746285289474">pointed out on Twitter</a> by fellow Rom fan <a href="http://sanctumsanctorumcomix.blogspot.com/">PTOR</a>, that Rom has appeared anew in Marvel Comics. Sort of. In the wake of Stan Lee's death, Marvel has been rerunning some of his old Soapbox columns that are of more timeless topics. The one reprinted in Marvel's January 2020 comics was originally published in February 1980. (And I'm just going to insert PTOR's scan here.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq3HJiAkEqDkGDkV9eZ8g_xRsB_7n8jjfIuxYi70AVHk_vljjdfQ4V2ABG7Wudn30p7cLBW2REH8epzYiKHAgMyVKXVQG5F6meqDZz71AhPKMdRuDvgQxCkPw_53G8Cek4r2z-A0ccz6o/s1600/2020-01+Stan%2527s+Soapbox+with+Rom+ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1041" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq3HJiAkEqDkGDkV9eZ8g_xRsB_7n8jjfIuxYi70AVHk_vljjdfQ4V2ABG7Wudn30p7cLBW2REH8epzYiKHAgMyVKXVQG5F6meqDZz71AhPKMdRuDvgQxCkPw_53G8Cek4r2z-A0ccz6o/s640/2020-01+Stan%2527s+Soapbox+with+Rom+ad.jpg" width="416" /></a></div>
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Now, look right under Stan's Soapbox. If you're a Rom fan, you'll notice part of an ad that's familiar. It's the small house ad Marvel used to promote then new <i>Rom</i> comic book. (Scan also stolen from PTOR.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz_rc_gl-wvwVhyphenhyphenLjue8nJc6WR4LH4S-CEA6KZd3VuI7INeBBcE0FRdGThFWgyhgL9euzKB7NIif7h7iboyaOSZ4GSxZDxeOb4KrPQQy2MkqAmapayEwaMA6bwUPaIysqR-f9VuO2Eefn/s1600/Rom+house+ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1600" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz_rc_gl-wvwVhyphenhyphenLjue8nJc6WR4LH4S-CEA6KZd3VuI7INeBBcE0FRdGThFWgyhgL9euzKB7NIif7h7iboyaOSZ4GSxZDxeOb4KrPQQy2MkqAmapayEwaMA6bwUPaIysqR-f9VuO2Eefn/s320/Rom+house+ad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, after finding out about this, another fan known as A Rom Curator, started trying to identify every comic that the reprinted Stan's Soapbox column appeared in. He sent me a list and I attempted to help him out a bit the next few times I went to my local comic shop. Some of the comics he wondered about were part of Marvel's budget reprint line, <i>True Believers</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8Dcp0CEj9SF3o7kt9tF2aownDEhF94Wf3diksDgHf-XHx5mdfQX_TKP9nNpGXJf6dyudBdXlp_llfEhUhGyJpOJL0W0vWM5g8qS5zceribttQvwuz5FiZbKxgeHqWhfVQ0bByX-QiAWS/s1600/Daredevil_131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="519" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8Dcp0CEj9SF3o7kt9tF2aownDEhF94Wf3diksDgHf-XHx5mdfQX_TKP9nNpGXJf6dyudBdXlp_llfEhUhGyJpOJL0W0vWM5g8qS5zceribttQvwuz5FiZbKxgeHqWhfVQ0bByX-QiAWS/s320/Daredevil_131.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My copy of <i>Daredevil </i>#131</td></tr>
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When I went to one shop, they only had two of these titles left. One was <i>True Believers: Criminally Insane — Bullseye</i>, reprinting his first appearance and origin from <i>Daredevil</i> #131. I didn't recognize the cover, but when I opened it to the first page and saw Daredevil was fighting the Rocketeers, the foes of Rom's ally, the Torpedo. "Wait a second", I thought. I consulted the database of my comics collection on my phone. "I own an original copy of this issue! Is it worth something?" It turns out, yes, it is. a CGC graded 9.8 copy of it sold for $2,000! Lower quality examples had sold for substantially less, but still over $100.<br />
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So eventually I pulled out my copy. It's in very good shape, but not a 9.8. I've never been a believer in slabbing comics, but now I'm wondering if it might be worth it. I could use the money and now I've got a reprint of the issue. (Yes, I bought a copy of the <i>True Believers</i> reprint.) But there's still something about owning the original, not a reprint. I don't remember what I paid for it back in the day, but it was probably less than $10. Possibly less than $5.<br />
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So, what I'm trying to say is this. I bought the comic in which Bullseye debuted because the Rocketeers were in it. I cared because they were related to the Torpedo, who was in Rom. And I found out the comic was Bullseye's debut and worth something because I was trying to help out another Rom fan. Thanks, Rom!Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-47220420085653450822020-01-03T21:25:00.002-06:002020-01-03T21:28:06.656-06:00Suite 101 Bio[Poking around some files, I discovered the autobiography I wrote for my time as <a href="https://lkseitz.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-time-as-suite-101s-classic-home.html">an editor at Suite 101</a>. Apparently I never put it up here on my blog, so here you go. It was probably written in late 1996. I've tweaked it slightly.]<br />
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I was born in 1971. Later that same year, a new industry called "video games" was born with the release of Computer Space. Like me, it wasn't until 1972 that the industry took off. For them, it was with the release of the original Magnavox Odyssey and Pong. When we finally met, I knew we were destined to be together.<br />
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Actually, I no longer remember the first video game I saw. Perhaps it was <i>Space War</i> or some simplistic, black and white driving game. Regardless, I was attracted to them. Then a guy named Pac-Man came along and I was truly hooked. From the time <i>Pac-Man</i> was released to around the time I started high school, I just couldn't get enough. I would spend a good portion of my time and money in the local arcade. Then, when the money was gone, I'd go home and crank up the Atari 2600 and play some more. It was fun while it lasted.<br />
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It happens that my entering high school coincided with a crash in the video game market. This crash, coupled with the new distractions of high school, caused video games and me to lose touch with each other for awhile. It was video games, however, that led me into computers. I have come to make a career out of working with computers, as many other netizens have. There is no doubt in my mind that much of what led me down this path were the video games I played when I was younger.<br />
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Around the time I finished high school and began college to get a degree in Computer Science, I noticed that I could now get Atari 2600 cartridges much cheaper than before. The 2600 was on the way out and the Nintendo Entertainment System was in. Being a poor college student, I began to build my collection of 2600 cartridges. Then, it happened. I discovered Usenet newsgroups, particularly one called alt.games.video.classic. There I discovered that there were other people who actually collect old video game consoles and cartridges. Amazing!<br />
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Today, I strive to help preserve the old, classic video games. There is actually a sizable community of collectors and you can find us in rec.games.video.classic. For me, at least, it is a chance to preserve my youth and ensure it will be around for future generations to see how far we've come.Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-87918015030477052832018-06-30T00:39:00.001-05:002018-06-30T00:39:46.378-05:00More past findsWow, it's been a while since I did this. Probably because I figured I'd mined Google Groups as much as I could at this point. This is a quintet of posts about finds I made from 1997 to 2010.<br />
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It occurred to me the other day that I no longer remember how I acquired my Supercharger. Or is it Superchargers? I can't remember now whether I have just one or two. Anyway, I started searching old e-mail files to see if I could find mention of them. No luck so far, but I rediscovered two Usenet archives of the rec.games.video.classic newsgroup I had sitting on the desktop of one of our computers that I'd downloaded from the <a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=rec.games.video.classic" target="_blank">Internet Archive</a>.<br />
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So I loaded the first one up and searched for "Seitz". Then I searched for "Supercharger." Then I copied the results for each of those, pasted them into the same file, and sorted by the line number of the results. Unfortunately that didn't reveal much. (Or I wasn't diligent enough to finish the process. I forget already.) So then I substituted "brag" for "Supercharger" and started going through them.<br />
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That led me to these (plus some that were already on this blog).<br />
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<li>5 August 1997: <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/1997/08/supercharger-tapes-brag.html">Supercharger Tapes Brag</a></li>
<li>14 September 1998: <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/1998/09/atypical-brag.html">Atypical brag</a></li>
<li>29 December 1999: <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/1999/12/end-of-year-brag.html">End of Year Brag</a></li>
<li>21 August 2000: <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/2000/08/brag-spacemaster-x-7-and-cv-games.html">Brag: Spacemaster X-7 and CV games</a></li>
<li>13 October 2010: <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/2010/10/ebay-brag.html">eBay brag?</a></li>
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You'd think that first post from 1997 would answer the question, but no. I found several tapes, but only one was one I didn't have. In fact, I already had the <i>Stella Gets a New Brain</i> Supercharger compilation CD by then. I found an old e-mail saying I got some of those tapes for free from someone because I'd gotten a Supercharger but didn't have a way to test it.<br />
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So the search for how I got the Supercharger(s) continues, but it's looking like I may not find the answer. At least I know how I acquired the games now.</div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-26419553809286076612018-05-14T00:00:00.002-05:002021-01-31T13:14:28.787-06:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Grand Banquet<h2>
Monday, April 23, 2018</h2>
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Jumpman's Grand Banquet</h3>
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Tonight was our night for answers. Pints & Pixels was hosting a pizza night for all the Grand Puzzle's gunters. The bar was usually only available for private parties on Mondays anyway, so they simply scheduled their own. Pizza from Domino's (and mini-cupcakes from Sugar Belle) meant they didn't have to have kitchen staff, but the bar was open. Soft drinks were free; hard ones were not.</div>
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Our crew was me and my wife as my "+1" and Walter and his brother as his "+1". We were met at the door by Sherry Wallace, who is co-owner of the bar with Richard "Jumpman" Moss. It turned out she was the one who created most of the actual puzzles. So thanks to her for all her hard work. She had all the gunters sign a copy of a <i>Ready Player One</i> movie poster as a surprise for Richard. Walter also got a ticket for the door prize drawings. Because I'd finished in the High Five, I was getting something special instead.</div>
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The pizza arrived right after we did. I still had some tokens left from a previous trip, so the boys played a few games while they set up. Then everyone got their pizza and started eating. After a while, Richard began. First he introduced all his helpers. I didn't get all their names, but their was the lich who I think was also the Game Tech for the final Jumpman challenge, the <i>Princess Bride</i> reader and his helper who'd they recruited that night when so many people came through to do the lines, the guys that made the props, the Float Shop artist who'd also made plates for his puzzle, and, of course, Sherry. She wound up the thanks by presenting Richard with the poster.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A table full of prizes, door prizes, and thank you gifts.</td></tr>
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Next we were presented with the prizes. Shadow, in fifth place, got a "squashed Jumpman box" (the laminated copy of the box cover from the Huntsville Escape Rooms challenge), the Clue game from which the pieces were used for the clear box puzzle at Toy Box Bistro, and a $5 Pints & Pixels gift card. I believe Shadow was the person I saw doing the <i>Princess Bride</i> lines the Tuesday night I finished the final challenge, so he made kind of a mad dash at the end to be fifth.</div>
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I, Liberator, as fourth place, got a "squashed Jumpman box", a copy of the <i>Space Invaders Dice!</i> game, and a $15 P&P gift card. I'd never heard of the <i>Space Invaders Dice!</i> game, so that was very cool. None of us can remember exactly what third place got, but it may have been a set of keys based on the movie and a $25 P&P gift card. Second place got two of the Tiny Arcade games and a $50 P&P gift card. I found out at the end of the evening that the guys in second and third were hosts of <a href="https://rocketpunchgo.com/">Rocket Punch</a>, a locally produced podcast.</div>
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Then we got into the individual puzzles. In the first puzzle that lead to Lucky Dice Cafe, the "heroes spin" line did indeed refer to HeroClix, not comic book spinner racks. It seems the owner is a nationally ranked HeroClix player. They'd also originally planned to have the end of the first line, "you need to go" point gunters to the restrooms, which is where the posters would be. They thought Lucky Dice already had lots of posters in their restrooms, but it turned out they didn't have any in them, so they left them out in the main part of the store.</div>
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There wasn't much revealed about the next several puzzles that we hadn't already figured out. One detail many of us had missed was that the lich in the video (who was someone other than the lich we played against) was walking like an Egyptian as he went through the background. I also asked how many beat the lich without changing sides. Only one other gunter at the banquet raised her hand.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MCWmJN1-GsBZh16pHsKxs662vJSS3wNxkQPa8gvHfNMWXksTZIF3Oi7zV8ir8mlu8_IgoFRSpE5z8ExT-014WT_qzKgS3hjfXd5tuFHQdjPGEAi7m89tZXLHhRXpXlYHxf-KFS1cXoOg/s1600/2018-04-04+17.24.04.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MCWmJN1-GsBZh16pHsKxs662vJSS3wNxkQPa8gvHfNMWXksTZIF3Oi7zV8ir8mlu8_IgoFRSpE5z8ExT-014WT_qzKgS3hjfXd5tuFHQdjPGEAi7m89tZXLHhRXpXlYHxf-KFS1cXoOg/s200/2018-04-04+17.24.04.jpg" width="200" /></a>Then we got to that cursed box at Toy Box Bistro. It turns out the letters inside spelled out "Ulysses Grant", complete with a space for between the words. And the "U. G." in "U. G. White Mercantile" stands for Ulysses Grant, which I didn't know. When they beta tested the puzzle, there were only four tiles in the box: U, G, and two blanks. The beta testers declared that too easy, so we got more tiles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQbsObTDLbwtANbq57-wmnK7Vxco5HYJiZnlxML69pQaRFL_0mgX5K16U3FY1CTM8SCe9DlgQyXGZhDoyg-hAlmeECcfw99Et-OVboRBkCyOPTibCLby-wLUdg_4M7mGRtT983UYCPw64/s1600/2018-04-11+12.54.09-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQbsObTDLbwtANbq57-wmnK7Vxco5HYJiZnlxML69pQaRFL_0mgX5K16U3FY1CTM8SCe9DlgQyXGZhDoyg-hAlmeECcfw99Et-OVboRBkCyOPTibCLby-wLUdg_4M7mGRtT983UYCPw64/s200/2018-04-11+12.54.09-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Shortly thereafter, we discussed the damnable Ruby Key. It turns out the phrase on the key unscrambles to "IT's what we all do down here." This is in reference to a line in <i>IT</i> by Stephen King: "We all float down here." The Float Shop in Lowe Mill was where we had to go. What had been intended as a clue for those unfamiliar with the story, the capital I and T, had wound up messing us all up. We had been so close in correctly assuming each word was the length of the letters we got in the scramble. It also turned out the punctuation marks (apostrophe and period) were within the words they went with, even though the rest of the characters weren't already in those words. It turned out the grand prize winner, Mr. Tumnus, had figured it out eventually, but only after he'd stumbled upon the Steve at the Float Shop. He got a bonus prize of a Pints & Pixels cap for getting it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkAycNRbMI9e0c5H_VUbf_hT7LAV3P7z1hs5jw_93B9449NFgjmZ9Nqq1ivTa_exNgy9NOEBh3BlpvaW12vPZKJccBh_yCsuzsoYNJUSNNqrerfeSWAJ90OVJ4cGpORmFx7zhP4lY2zXM/s1600/2018-04-13+13.04.02-2+corrected.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkAycNRbMI9e0c5H_VUbf_hT7LAV3P7z1hs5jw_93B9449NFgjmZ9Nqq1ivTa_exNgy9NOEBh3BlpvaW12vPZKJccBh_yCsuzsoYNJUSNNqrerfeSWAJ90OVJ4cGpORmFx7zhP4lY2zXM/s200/2018-04-13+13.04.02-2+corrected.jpg" width="188" /></a></div>
The last puzzle of note was the word search at Haven. Walter pointed out I'd missed an uncircled letter: a J. I brought this up and Sherry handed me the word list to double-check my work. It seems I'd missed "Jem" (as in Jem and the Holograms) as one of the words.</div>
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I asked about the Jumpman level editor he used. It's called Jumpman Under Construction. The Jumpman link on the Facebook page linked to a page that then linked to the software. I'd not clicked on all the links in the Journal -- especially ones I'd already heard of -- so I'd missed that.<br />
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I asked if they'd considered changing the letters on the word search puzzle they had facing the outside of the window at Haven Comics. They said no. Later, during closing remarks on the contest, they pointed out that they didn't provide red herrings in the clues because we the players provided ourselves plenty of red herrings along the way. I hadn't thought of that, but it's absolutely correct.<br />
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After all questions had been answered, they drew tickets for door prizes. One person got a lot of the props, including three Rubik's Cubes, the map plates, <i>The Princess Bride</i> wedding poster, and I forget what else. Walter won a $20 gift certificate for Supper Heroes.<br />
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The final announcement of the night was to mark our calendars for September 10. Jumpman's Grand Puzzle II would start then. And it's going to be based on the '90s. I might be in trouble. I was an adult by the '90s, albeit a young one, and not as in touch with pop culture as I had been in the '80s. And my oldest child was born so late in the '90s he doesn't remember them, so we may be at a disadvantage all around.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9mAgmwGlfVWvdrDnvaaWb6fP9bSTCVsaPpRRiq9dLYTV564cPgK2cM8H9qi3oMm4iCx0UubwAHNzX2n-LN5DxNGpO9csE0spo8yIiEn8im3dutgGQq5UY9QnQ58w_mj_om-6BWIY8m88/s1600/2018-04-24+22.35.58.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9mAgmwGlfVWvdrDnvaaWb6fP9bSTCVsaPpRRiq9dLYTV564cPgK2cM8H9qi3oMm4iCx0UubwAHNzX2n-LN5DxNGpO9csE0spo8yIiEn8im3dutgGQq5UY9QnQ58w_mj_om-6BWIY8m88/s400/2018-04-24+22.35.58.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My loot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm happy to say that as we left, each player got a copy of the props from the game: a choice of Steve on a white or clear background, the three keys and the gold coin. I spoke to Richard about a couple of last things while the boys tried out <i>Fix-It Felix</i>. Then it was back home to our mundane life.<br />
<br />
I'm so thankful to Richard, Sherry, and the rest of their crew for putting this together. It's obvious a lot of time and a fair amount of money went into it. I mentioned the movie <i>Midnight Madness </i>way back in <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/2018/04/jumpmans-grand-puzzle-stage-1-level-1.html" target="">the first contest entry proper</a>. Since seeing that movie, I had dreamed of participating in a contest like that, but figured it would never actually happen. Now, not only has it, but I might get to do it again! The most appropriate word is obvious: Awesome!<br />
<br />
<i>For the previous entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>[Later update: The second puzzle was delayed due to a turn in health of one of the organizers. Then Pints & Pixels announced they were moving. Then the 2020 pandemic started, so it's unknown whether there will ever be a second quest or not.]</div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-2402864190078886142018-05-11T00:00:00.000-05:002018-05-11T00:00:00.929-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Lessons Learned<h2>
Lessons Learned</h2>
Since finishing the contest, I've been reflecting on what I've learned. Some of it useful in life; some just for the next time, should there be one.<br />
<h4>
Don't underestimate others</h4>
<div>
My family would probably disagree, but I did not take this contest as seriously as I could. Particularly the first night at Pints & Pixels. We hung around and played games instead of moving on. Meanwhile, several others hit both The Deep <i>and </i>Supper Heroes that night, letting them hit the First Gate at Honest Coffee first thing the next morning. In the grand scheme, I don't think this hurt us, but continuing like that would have put us further behind. There were natural breaks where we had downtime due to store schedules. Wait for those as a time to slow down.</div>
<h4>
Be observant</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaTkUOqI9BROtify_D8YN-8Ukunf6OHtZldEYybcH9yiEobbD9vtiBDoBigBe32qzMrnMfdCPXufvE9lEl5b4_LJk6tvNOtzxUSIBXhsFNSxvDJPOrr0b2ozGhlAZ75z55CTcu16VhWuoT/s1600/2018-03-30+21.03.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaTkUOqI9BROtify_D8YN-8Ukunf6OHtZldEYybcH9yiEobbD9vtiBDoBigBe32qzMrnMfdCPXufvE9lEl5b4_LJk6tvNOtzxUSIBXhsFNSxvDJPOrr0b2ozGhlAZ75z55CTcu16VhWuoT/s320/2018-03-30+21.03.08.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
I tend to think of myself as an observant person, but we all get caught up in our assumptions. My whole family missed the sugar cubes in the background of the first clue. We concentrated on the record and didn't stop to think, "Why did they choose Belle for this clue?" We almost derailed ourselves from the start!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Later, on the clue leading to Toy Box Bistro, I again concentrated in the foreground and not the background. I'll never know how long I would have spent figuring out the location because Walter got it so fast.</div>
<h4>
Two (or more) heads are better than one</h4>
<div>
I don't know how I would have done without what became my team, particularly my wife. She got several clues before the rest of us.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But it went beyond her. Would we have noticed the sugar cubes without Walter's coworker? Would I have figured out the clear plates that made a map without Walter? I don't know.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I know in the early entries I was irritated at bringing others in. I wanted to do it all myself. But along the way I eventually realized teamwork was the way to go.</div>
<h4>
Be patient</h4>
I was often in a hurry, particularly on weekdays when I had to get back to work. That could have cost me at the Second Gate with the map challenge. I was thinking "I'll take pictures and figure it out later." That would have been extremely difficult. Unlike most, that was a puzzle that had to be figured out there with it in front of you. Thank goodness Walter didn't have to be at work right away then and we stuck around.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5W5VMMGo3L5-ZW2betjEiMeXsOXX3_BNuxOnkWNlE2skdHeR1BDzcuwoR2tsBfd3A3traMiNAXxAPrjia5BAS9XqD50DVvSqdSW2-UZKefNgUwd8Td3mB37f40OCmdDAGG8gD5QKg0dMm/s1600/2018-04-11+13.12.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5W5VMMGo3L5-ZW2betjEiMeXsOXX3_BNuxOnkWNlE2skdHeR1BDzcuwoR2tsBfd3A3traMiNAXxAPrjia5BAS9XqD50DVvSqdSW2-UZKefNgUwd8Td3mB37f40OCmdDAGG8gD5QKg0dMm/s400/2018-04-11+13.12.42.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not this...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3f3FPW7T8CrV63qbHGPgSeP0I7vcYQPiXWUr3PGxoIHIqqwhk1cIfLaOiqu7eQ6bVGkhq269nm_dpm1zcg3jda1vF86MULu9y6kh79ZO02mTKL3iEuRaLeY-IpzUwqB_WMbS0cvuDaXKo/s1600/2018-04-11+13.18.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3f3FPW7T8CrV63qbHGPgSeP0I7vcYQPiXWUr3PGxoIHIqqwhk1cIfLaOiqu7eQ6bVGkhq269nm_dpm1zcg3jda1vF86MULu9y6kh79ZO02mTKL3iEuRaLeY-IpzUwqB_WMbS0cvuDaXKo/s400/2018-04-11+13.18.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...but this!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
Summary</h4>
<div>
The fiasco at U. G. White Mercantile, where I initially walked past the clue without seeing it, best exemplifies these points. I was not observant, so I missed the clue. And I was not observant because I was in a hurry and didn't practice patience. And it was only after consulting with another player ahead of me, who I might have initially underestimated, that we went back. And it was as a group that we finally found it. Lessons to keep in mind.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Final Scoreboard</h3>
<div>
On the last day of the contest, Thursday, April 19, 2018, one final gunter passed the third gate. I'm kind of hoping that since only five of us finished, they'll give a little something to us as prizes for fourth and fifth place, too.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE56xAe23_YCXdXDUQBMmxtNDlnbQq2uCG9r0ohwG3Pc4BnMz1_V9sFLFGsxr7E3QlRxvm0C3ARf2GQqQ-DS9v-W_AAaaiGkMXhjtI2eYDl0xGYi1BJdWCHtgRzJIJaHxcx7zpUmEwEHRp/s1600/Scoreboard+2018-04-19+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1200" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE56xAe23_YCXdXDUQBMmxtNDlnbQq2uCG9r0ohwG3Pc4BnMz1_V9sFLFGsxr7E3QlRxvm0C3ARf2GQqQ-DS9v-W_AAaaiGkMXhjtI2eYDl0xGYi1BJdWCHtgRzJIJaHxcx7zpUmEwEHRp/s400/Scoreboard+2018-04-19+FINAL.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those that finished</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
Stay tuned for a final entry on Monday about the Grand Banquet, where all will hopefully be revealed.<br />
<br />
<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-19124888323787663262018-05-08T00:00:00.002-05:002021-01-31T13:02:20.455-06:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 6, Level 3<h2>
Tuesday, April 17, 2018</h2>
<h3>
Stage 6, Level 3 (Third Gate)</h3>
<div>
As I mentioned in an earlier entry, we had a prior commitment Tuesday evening, so we showed up at Pints & Pixels a bit after 6:00 PM. I figured I'd have to put my name on the list and wait for a while to get my turn. However, when we got there, no one else had signed up. Apparently, since the prizes had been won, the other three people that had gotten to the final challenge on Friday weren't interested in completing it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Richard Moss was having some technical difficulties, so I wound up playing it directly on the laptop without using the CRT monitor he had. That was a shame, but it was okay. I still got to use the USB Atari joystick.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'd played an <a href="https://archive.org/details/Jumpman_1983_Epyx_US" target="_blank">emulated copy</a> of Jumpman a little bit after going home the night the winner was crowned, but that was it. I'd not had time to practice over the weekend. I did find some time to read <a href="https://archive.org/details/agm_jumpman" target="_blank">the original manual</a> and watch a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrsZ1bDy4Dg" target="_blank">YouTube walkthrough</a>. That was when I discovered where the name for the contest, Jumpman's Grand Puzzle, came from. In the original game the levels are divided between three buildings, each with a different difficulty level. The final level of each building was titled "Grand Puzzle" I through III.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It turned out Richard was actually using a level editor I hadn't heard of and now, sadly, can't remember the name of. (See the final entry for it.) That explained why some of the levels I'd seen the winner play weren't seen in the walkthrough video. One thing I quickly learned is that to walk off a ladder, you had to be aligned just right with the platform you wanted to walk on. I believe that was different than the original game, and a little frustrating, but I got used to it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I had to play the Grand Loop. In the original game, that would be 30 levels, but Richard wouldn't say how many levels I had to go through. The first time through I made it to the third screen before losing a life. Then I kept repeating the same mistake of jumping off the screen and dying. I think I finished that level, but didn't make it through to the end.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There was still no one else there to play Jumpman, just one guy trying to get through <i>The Princess Bride</i> lines, so I got to immediately try again. This time I did better. In fact, I eventually found myself on the final screen that said, "YOU WIN"! I think there were only about five levels to play through. And that was that. I was fourth. I started in the High Five and I ended in the High Five. In the meantime, I'd dropped down, but never left the top ten. So far, I'm the only original High Five contestant to end there as well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I talked to Richard a bit after winning. I told him the misdirection I got at Huntsville Escape Rooms about the lock combination. He said that maybe they should post the Journal page to ignore any such hints.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also asked how many people defeated the lich without switching sides. He said they hadn't kept track, but it would have been less than half. Apparently the lich had been instructed to play to win if on the Player 1 side. Regardless, however, he wasn't supposed to attack the other player until after the first level. If the player asked to switch, he was supposed to still play reasonably well, but not his top game. My takeaway was that I should be proud to beat him in the first set of three without changing sides.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also provided one piece of feedback, but was trying to save the rest of my questions for the Grand Banquet next week. Oh, did I not mention that? Coming Monday is Jumpman's Grand Bandquet at Pints & Pixels. They're going to provide pizza and soft drinks, plus have a cash bar available. It's only open to contestants and one guest each. So look for an epilogue entry on Monday.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Later that day they updated the scoreboard. Looks like I may be the only one still interested in finishing the challenge now that the announced prizes have been awarded.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1LMADcdgBWNuuLS2WDhWb8LOse0YIwBgUxCXtotBGLnWFgQaYHPOHjFyx7uYnIW08wlYS2jcdTbWD7InreZBDR3k-NZJYbVw6dcPRikSfqZnbad6bP2vZxdOLuX-gyA9Uy_2D_QJrHhf/s1600/Scoreboard+2018-04-17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1200" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1LMADcdgBWNuuLS2WDhWb8LOse0YIwBgUxCXtotBGLnWFgQaYHPOHjFyx7uYnIW08wlYS2jcdTbWD7InreZBDR3k-NZJYbVw6dcPRikSfqZnbad6bP2vZxdOLuX-gyA9Uy_2D_QJrHhf/s400/Scoreboard+2018-04-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-4398005700503849152018-05-06T00:00:00.002-05:002021-01-31T12:57:18.497-06:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 6, Level 2<h2>
Sunday, April 15, 2018</h2>
<h3>
Stage 6, Level 2</h3>
<div>
I realized over the weekend that Huntsville Escape Rooms was only open 3:00-6:00 PM Sunday and was closed Monday, so I needed to go by there on Sunday. We had an appointment Tuesday evening that was going to probably make me late to Pints & Pixels as it was, so a stopover at the escape rooms would have made me even later.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Walter was working and we had some shopping to do, so it was just me, my wife, and the two younger kids. We went in and I gave the pass phrase from the word search handout: "Oh my God, I'm such a geek." I think I showed the Emerald Key as well, but the employee at the counter didn't take it. He handed me a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordlock" target="_blank">Wordlock</a> with a laminated copy of the Jumpman box art locked on it. (Sadly, I forgot to take photos while the lock was still on it.) The back had the familiar days and times on it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy64mGB8Xx40Xj5GYWJl6ICewb-GEZTXSdoLzDx6NH88fAQieDIGFlR9pJAlsByP55aMMFpTfUVX3dzsyc8ljL4OOgxiJuDSTaXM0E9iiMzp-Y_5uNyG4pVYX1Iob4R4cyRxCMhSDOPCLY/s1600/2018-04-17+18.18.12.jpg" style="clear: left; margin: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy64mGB8Xx40Xj5GYWJl6ICewb-GEZTXSdoLzDx6NH88fAQieDIGFlR9pJAlsByP55aMMFpTfUVX3dzsyc8ljL4OOgxiJuDSTaXM0E9iiMzp-Y_5uNyG4pVYX1Iob4R4cyRxCMhSDOPCLY/s320/2018-04-17+18.18.12.jpg" width="180" /></a>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I asked if there were any instructions. He replied he couldn't give me a hint, but I should look at the Journal. Darn it, I'd left all my notes at home. I called my son at home and had him get my printout and look for entries that were four or five letters long. (The fifth wheel of the lock had a blank.) I tried all those that we I could and none worked. The fact that there was no R on the first wheel turned out to narrow things down.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My wife pulled up the Journal page and started handing out suggestions, as my son hadn't done a very good job of spotting possibilities. I also spent some time looking at the word search clue again, but was trying to think of what would go with "settle" in "Then the dials you'll turn and spin, / Until the answer settles in." Finally, after what had to be at least 30 minutes fooling with the thing, I figured it out. The word was "spin." I felt foolish, but the employee had given me a complete red herring about checking the Journal. I returned the lock and we were on our way. There was nothing left to do until Tuesday.</div>
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-1398009856671102022018-05-04T00:00:00.000-05:002018-05-04T00:00:04.365-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 6, Level 1<h2>
Friday, April 13, 2018</h2>
<h3>
Stage 6, Level 1</h3>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFfEdEpnBvyWY3eVx5WIl3Djg7Kx-aO4p95bp-hrFQsnwj4S3RXs29J2ioE8By-L3Oz9Jp3sCetnqdPJ1mz7AQX7lwdyqJ3c2nN6xChpPnyCLfvtGlY0C0EZPDuLpQ0B_j4sFnS2xxbsP/s1600/Haven+Word+Search.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1541" data-original-width="1055" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFfEdEpnBvyWY3eVx5WIl3Djg7Kx-aO4p95bp-hrFQsnwj4S3RXs29J2ioE8By-L3Oz9Jp3sCetnqdPJ1mz7AQX7lwdyqJ3c2nN6xChpPnyCLfvtGlY0C0EZPDuLpQ0B_j4sFnS2xxbsP/s320/Haven+Word+Search.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
Just before noon, I set out for Haven Comics. I happened to arrive the same time as the owner, Josh Olive, who I know from mutual friends back in college. I went inside as he was gathering things in his car. I was greeted by a familiar face and after exchanging greetings, I told the employee I needed a handout. As expected, it was a copy of the word search. But it turned out the first two lines on the poster were only one-third of the next riddle.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>When most are gone those that remain,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Will send you on your way again.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>But if you wish to solve you'll speak</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>“Oh my God I'm such a geek!”</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Then the dials you'll turn and spin,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Until the answer settles in.</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I had already solved the word search using the photo I'd taken a week before. The words were mostly from the links on the Jumpman's Journal Facebook page. The exceptions being "synthesizer" instead of "Yamaha DX7," and the partials "Atari" and "Commodore" from "Atari 2600" and "Commodore 64" (or "Commodore VIC-20"), respectively.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SVD5LM8xnoZdbcBZbT0ZiUic2-Eb7YLyNqxJTSFGBug_UIZaknskRYRebqEimKLSMJVsqqWAx4Sqbv3v6YXxc6MskeMKnDE2_HHrIWagO-l-PeunJhIrND5vyD_mudSgefhFVEs9TN-V/s1600/2018-04-13+13.04.02-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SVD5LM8xnoZdbcBZbT0ZiUic2-Eb7YLyNqxJTSFGBug_UIZaknskRYRebqEimKLSMJVsqqWAx4Sqbv3v6YXxc6MskeMKnDE2_HHrIWagO-l-PeunJhIrND5vyD_mudSgefhFVEs9TN-V/s320/2018-04-13+13.04.02-2.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
Even if you didn't figure out where the words came from, you could probably spot enough of them to figure out the pattern: horizontal words at the top and bottom, vertical along the left and right, and diagonals to take up the middle. "Those that remain" are the uncircled letters which, when read left to right, top to bottom, spell out H-U-N-T-S-V-I-L-L-E E-S-C-A-P-E R-O-O-M-S. Hardly a surprise since I'd already spotted the Steve there.<br />
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I spoke to Josh about the contest, as he said he hadn't been keeping up with it. I passed on my son's theory that the Pints & Pixels folks weren't happy with how bad the escape room folks were at keeping secrets. Which reminded me, I'd neglected to show the Emerald Key when I asked for the handout and they'd forgotten to ask, so I showed it then to prove I had it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OBMy1Uuftw2OvkFbkE9zbkaAY2_o897xAwhtyJ7O_Y2ySuPpaS0_DauV00K76XIJuMfywrldfNvqNJSqeT_wsV98Se5wtl-lqwLD8X9Cda9eiNPdj8FUDUiNrdnWpYE0cALd-gq50xYF/s1600/2018-04-13+12.16.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OBMy1Uuftw2OvkFbkE9zbkaAY2_o897xAwhtyJ7O_Y2ySuPpaS0_DauV00K76XIJuMfywrldfNvqNJSqeT_wsV98Se5wtl-lqwLD8X9Cda9eiNPdj8FUDUiNrdnWpYE0cALd-gq50xYF/s320/2018-04-13+12.16.02.jpg" width="180" /></a>Speaking of secrets, I'd noticed something about my photo of the word search during the past week. There was a second Steve behind the poster that didn't quite line up with the one facing the inside of the store. What, then, might be seen from the outside? I checked it out as I left. It turns out there was another word search poster behind the one inside. Except it was a mirror image so that it would <i>appear </i>to be the poster inside showing through. This poster, however, was missing any surrounding text, including the bit about "ask for a handout." Without the handout, a contestant might have the next location, but they wouldn't have the password they needed. That was rather evil. Although if they'd been totally evil, they could have changed the remaining letters in the word search and sent the contestant who tried to proceed without going inside -- presumably because Haven wasn't open when they came by -- to an entirely different location. But they weren't that evil.</div>
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By the time I started checking my photo of the outer poster I was back at work. I started thinking about too much about it and the word "<b>But</b> if you wish to solve you'll speak." Did the poster outside mean Huntsville Escape Rooms was a complete decoy? Was I supposed to say "Oh my God, I'm such a geek" at Haven? Although I wasn't Facebook friends with Josh, I messaged him to say I had suspicions and if they were correct, he deserved an acting award. He responded he already had some for performances in local theater. Figures.<br />
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I texted Walter my suspicions so he could check when he went by that afternoon. He did, and said no, there was nothing else to be done at Haven. I'd worked myself up over conspiracy theories for nothing. Well, that's a relief, I guess.<br />
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The next chance at the final challenge wouldn't be until Tuesday, so there was no rush to go by Huntsville Escape Rooms. Besides, we had other things to get done over the weekend. We'd get there.</div>
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-76661859955944814472018-05-03T00:00:00.000-05:002018-05-03T00:00:01.805-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 5, Level 2 concluded<h2>
Thursday, April 12, 2018</h2>
<h3>
Stage 5, Level 2 concluded</h3>
<div>
Since my younger children were feeling neglected, we all went to Pints & Pixels for dinner. We took two cars so they wouldn't have to stay if we went late. Walter hadn't gone through the final scene much, so I played the audio for him in the car. Then he fed my lines for the first and maybe second scenes.</div>
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Once we arrived, while the family got a table, Walter and I went and registered. They were back down to just the original Dread Pirate Roberts. Three of us rolled 20-sided dice to decide the order. The first guy rolled a 3. I rolled a 10, but Walter rolled a 12. Which wasn't exactly what he wanted as he wasn't confident on getting through the final scene yet.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhd5KjGqogh5wI87XHFC3sIqC2_vXKRDtESsIFylhaNNVb1HdFCMblAefDL6PECkECa9qb0QJRUaMLJYtEMGCzshzwGJ-EUTiaQRytS4RmJ3ymZn5OzZ7Uz_sdSLVHw_DQ6p8DYw7YQWY/s1600/2018-04-12+18.11.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhd5KjGqogh5wI87XHFC3sIqC2_vXKRDtESsIFylhaNNVb1HdFCMblAefDL6PECkECa9qb0QJRUaMLJYtEMGCzshzwGJ-EUTiaQRytS4RmJ3ymZn5OzZ7Uz_sdSLVHw_DQ6p8DYw7YQWY/s320/2018-04-12+18.11.10.jpg" width="180" /></a>Unfortunately, while Walter was doing his scenes, someone -- I think it was the first guy to play Jumpman that night -- won the game and the contest. He couldn't believe it, but Richard presented him the golden egg. I didn't catch everything at the time, but was able to watch the video later. The winner seems like a good guy, so I'm glad he won.</div>
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Meanwhile, Walter successfully completed all three scenes. Then I was up. I made it through the first scene fairly well. I had one screw up, but didn't actually have to burn a cue card. I think I may have had to use one during the second scene, but by now I'd at least memorized the order of "so clearly I cannot choose the wine in front of me/you." The third scene was a little tougher, but it turned out it ended as soon as I, as Miracle Max, presses on Westley's chest to make him say, "True love." So all the effort to learn the rest was for naught, but I was glad to have made it through.</div>
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I spoke briefly to the tester. It turns out they picked him for the job because he loves the movie so much. I asked if that was still the case after having to go through it so many times, but he said yes. I was then presented with my green key, which read "Safe -- Marvel -- And Others." Obviously, Haven Comics, Etc. was the next stop. (Safe = Haven; Marvel = Comics; And Others = Etc.) But they closed in 20 minutes, which is about how long it would have taken to get there. So we went ahead and ate. Walter and I had waited until after completing the challenge to order our food.</div>
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We stayed and played some games, including four-player <i>Pac-Man Battle Royale </i>with Walter, the two youngest kids, and me. Then we went home. I put the kids to bed and watched the video of the winner. The scoreboard was updated. It only contained the name of three winners. I'd heard that there were six people competing that night, so I asked for clarification and got it. Only three of the six completed the challenge. I might still yet manage to end in the High Five, as I had started, if I was very lucky.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbCI0sDMkards4hGeCGrz4Ze3GBrMY_9izZN8secFTQXBDOgRAAXpNY5Fv7N519VKKY70h3K_tWPFmlzKhRgB0f-UnzDWDDffbPoHFbctQC7HnBxxaSF55z_YVVyVJAhI2KJbJ81fshc7/s1600/Scoreboard+2018-04-12b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1200" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbCI0sDMkards4hGeCGrz4Ze3GBrMY_9izZN8secFTQXBDOgRAAXpNY5Fv7N519VKKY70h3K_tWPFmlzKhRgB0f-UnzDWDDffbPoHFbctQC7HnBxxaSF55z_YVVyVJAhI2KJbJ81fshc7/s400/Scoreboard+2018-04-12b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Although they limited the graphic to the top three, they updated all the scores in text. I was now #7 with 24,700 points. I'd scored 2,500 points for being the sixth or more person to get the Emerald Key. I was actually tied in points with Beck C137 at #6, but presumably they'd obtained the key before me.</div>
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They also announced that night that A) the challenges at Pints & Pixels would not be available on Sunday and B) the contest would end on Thursday, April 19.</div>
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
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Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-27734197223350687952018-05-02T00:00:00.001-05:002021-01-31T12:47:51.679-06:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 4, Level 1 concluded; Stage 5, Levels 1 & 2<h2>
Wednesday, April 11</h2>
<h3>
Stage 4, Level 1 concluded (Second Gate)</h3>
<div>
We had a work lunch out today for two coworkers getting married soon. I excused myself early to be at Lowe Mill when they opened at noon. I'd already found the best place to park and enter to get upstairs. After heading the wrong way and running into a former coworker, I finally found it. And it was closed until 1:00 PM. So back to work it was.</div>
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As I was debating whether to go back out at 1:00 PM, Walter called. The next location was the second gate, meaning we had to sign in and the order was important. I said I'd come now. He asked if I'd go by the house and grab his key, because he forgot it. So I did.<br />
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I got there and went upstairs. The artist was there, but no one else, including Walter. I handed over my key. The previous entry was for 12:46 PM, so apparently he'd opened early. I forgot to note my number, but there were about a dozen names ahead of me. I asked if Richard Moss had told him what had happened. He hadn't, so I filled him in on them posting a special clue.<br />
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While doing this, I texted Walter, who apparently I had missed downstairs. He came up as I was trying to figure out the clue. It was four clear plates with lines on them and Steves in the corner. I tried overlapping them along the lines a bit, but that didn't do anything useful. Then Walter had the bright idea of stacking them all on top of one another. That produced what was obviously a street map of downtown. There was a small dot showing the next location. Comparing to Google Maps, we eventually deduced it was a location around the corner from Pints & Pixels.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0xk0gUmpeO8X6AqjmiGJ3NLBDZWb3PEkx8hiJmwgeZRZoNiOiY0d32voGzuIMoh2A1D3huAzpSiyANujjwNhKrrH7CKlfN9Uvk2BJrak3xaHvHBhJK5rpLuMyu29AcVK-PfoSF7Oq9PW/s1600/2018-04-11+13.12.42.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0xk0gUmpeO8X6AqjmiGJ3NLBDZWb3PEkx8hiJmwgeZRZoNiOiY0d32voGzuIMoh2A1D3huAzpSiyANujjwNhKrrH7CKlfN9Uvk2BJrak3xaHvHBhJK5rpLuMyu29AcVK-PfoSF7Oq9PW/s400/2018-04-11+13.12.42.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not this...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnsHFwGmhmdbnnLdBjMEOgbaZ-KUCRl1-kQy0CQs3X6BP_W59iK_EHm6He4XJRV8Serpz1diJnzbH-Pv3zy8FfbKy2DOiJ7z_qMh9rFXkziBrqHtaU-JcniishgQcSmMkZqqB2FdCd15A/s1600/2018-04-11+13.18.09.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnsHFwGmhmdbnnLdBjMEOgbaZ-KUCRl1-kQy0CQs3X6BP_W59iK_EHm6He4XJRV8Serpz1diJnzbH-Pv3zy8FfbKy2DOiJ7z_qMh9rFXkziBrqHtaU-JcniishgQcSmMkZqqB2FdCd15A/s400/2018-04-11+13.18.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...but this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<br />Stage 5, Level 1</h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbFdLoYw9WHPxN58WmaiDGDOXVcH3Hu4vBvFj-YarGqBgjq_2RK41sHfScdtGxqhbziyebc1sCkLRQVgOPBNpZUF8o633f2sk76mNmrrmSmGKf3GqhMOt6jsq3gIB292y_4xn2Kt_6WL_/s1600/2018-04-11+13.33.34.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbFdLoYw9WHPxN58WmaiDGDOXVcH3Hu4vBvFj-YarGqBgjq_2RK41sHfScdtGxqhbziyebc1sCkLRQVgOPBNpZUF8o633f2sk76mNmrrmSmGKf3GqhMOt6jsq3gIB292y_4xn2Kt_6WL_/s320/2018-04-11+13.33.34.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Impossible to get a decent photo</td></tr>
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That was our next stop. It turned out to be a poster in the window saying we were invited to the wedding of Buttercup and Humperdink during the typical days and times for Pints & Pixels.<br />
<h3>
Stage 5, Level 2</h3>
Walter was working that evening, so I went alone. I'd been listening to clips from the three scenes the props seemed to indicate since Monday. And I found a copy of the script online, too. So would a couple days study of a movie I only just watched for the first time last year be enough? Spoiler: No, it would not.<br />
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Because so many cleared the red gate this day, they enlisted a second helper to go through the scenes with gunters. He was the one I got. I muddled my way through the first two scenes, using cue cards to get the next line far too often. Richard Moss sat in for a while and gave me some extra cue cards for my performance on the lines I did now. But I didn't know the third scene well enough, as I'd studied it the least, and I was quickly out.<br />
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I got a second chance, but I realized as I started my mouth was dry and I was getting a headache. I was probably getting dehydrated. I did even worse than before, despite the tester's encouragement. And that was it for the night for me.<br />
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Meanwhile, two gunters advanced to the final test. I saw one of the officials bring something appearing to be two blue badges on strings to Richard Moss. "No way!" he said. Unfortunately, yes way. The two of them alternated playing an emulated version of Jumpman in the corner for the final challenge. They actually had an Atari 2600 joystick hooked up to the computer, so it was either the Commodore 64 or Atari 8-bit version of the game. Not that I've played either. The most I've done is play the Jumpman Junior cartridge on the Colecovision a little bit a long time ago.<br />
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So I went home. It turned out they had streamed the final game, so I watched highlights of it after getting home. Neither finished. Now I just had to pray no one else could finish either before we completed the <i>Princess Bride </i>challenge and could get to the final one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBjzRWEIlrAkmHqfjZbxUcU2wNt8lZgTv5tjhiN6Idnxd_I6Q50C7GQ3ACR19hDFElC1IZDpS1j5rB8LoLMXzCCZv_RiqX3JGRpCqN1U6GdDnSxO-HfIFPKmqZRswE4IUR-EH0p2KKaD8/s1600/Scoreboard+2018-04-11c+corrected+mine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1200" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBjzRWEIlrAkmHqfjZbxUcU2wNt8lZgTv5tjhiN6Idnxd_I6Q50C7GQ3ACR19hDFElC1IZDpS1j5rB8LoLMXzCCZv_RiqX3JGRpCqN1U6GdDnSxO-HfIFPKmqZRswE4IUR-EH0p2KKaD8/s320/Scoreboard+2018-04-11c+corrected+mine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When the scoreboard was posted, they made a mistake. The scores were listed with the correct amounts, but they put Washburn ahead of me despite me having 200 more points. The above is a corrected version of the scoreboard I made myself. They never corrected the graphic, just the text posting. I take a little pride in never actually falling out of the top 10.<br />
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-61797378632195087372018-05-01T00:00:00.001-05:002021-01-31T12:43:34.809-06:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 4, Level 1 continued again<h2>
Tuesday, April 10, 2018</h2>
<div>
<h3>
Stage 4, Level 1 continued again</h3>
I was at Pints & Pixels just after their opening at 11:00 AM. I'd never been in on a weekday and had never seen them so empty. I wandered, mostly admiring the decorations on the walls. I spotted two other guys also looking, but they didn't seem to notice me.</div>
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Finally, half way through the restaurant I went into the hall that goes back to the restrooms and there was Steve. He was by the signature of the artist who painted the wall: Float. I looked back and managed to take a photo unobserved. Then I continued to the restroom and texted it to my family.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFG7sV3VtPFQQChYlt9vKOvqm6Nce_37okqu1Eo7NQiTOqU9-oTzDZ7dbKly1UiWvzMXMsYaRj2e7UtyZj_Xol8Fio2bnSEb37Qz54e900ZIr0zTMiyrfWgSKha_RXR0hrgdKmVCw9LPgn/s1600/2018-04-10+11.39.12.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFG7sV3VtPFQQChYlt9vKOvqm6Nce_37okqu1Eo7NQiTOqU9-oTzDZ7dbKly1UiWvzMXMsYaRj2e7UtyZj_Xol8Fio2bnSEb37Qz54e900ZIr0zTMiyrfWgSKha_RXR0hrgdKmVCw9LPgn/s320/2018-04-10+11.39.12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the problem photo, but a later one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
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<div>
Unfortunately, the flash had made it hard to read, and they told me so. I looked through the rest of the restaurant to make sure I didn't miss anything. Then I went back to take another photo. One of the gunters was standing there, making no secret of what he was doing. I played a game of <i>Robotron: 2084 </i>while I waited for him to move on. Once he did, I took some more photos, but my flash didn't go off. After ducking around the corner to turn it on, I found the other gunter was back. I gave up being covert and spoke to him briefly while I took more photos.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Meanwhile, Walter had found the artist's studio in Lowe Mill: Float Shop. Lowe Mill is closed until Wednesday, so there was nothing else to do this day except work on the Ruby Key clue some more. They'd announced a special price for whoever solved it, to be given at a post-contest dinner, date and time to be determined. Even though I now had the next location, it didn't help. I still couldn't solve it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYsrJrWT8w61qrizx0gkC-uQu3g0v0BKR0JukUDgIbpXqwv7JpDc1aqm7N3J1uRnqLxGWhuxl-UfB3LmCGVCjsuHo7okE417XDX5-QTzVspfYcv8ghyaWcELL1Su2_eTbsiy460A1C4z7/s1600/Scoreboard+2018-04-10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1200" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYsrJrWT8w61qrizx0gkC-uQu3g0v0BKR0JukUDgIbpXqwv7JpDc1aqm7N3J1uRnqLxGWhuxl-UfB3LmCGVCjsuHo7okE417XDX5-QTzVspfYcv8ghyaWcELL1Su2_eTbsiy460A1C4z7/s400/Scoreboard+2018-04-10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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That night, a scoreboard update was posted. The top two obtained the green key. The end game is here and I'm not sure I can catch up.<br />
<br />
<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-57140503151910803242018-04-30T00:00:00.000-05:002018-04-30T00:00:03.608-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 4, Level 1 continued<h2>
Monday, April 9, 2018</h2>
<h3>
Stage 4, Level 1 continued</h3>
There was an announcement posted to the Facebook page today. A player had accidentally overheard the staff talking about the location of the second gate on Sunday night. To his credit, he came forward. To level the playing field, there would be a new Steve posted at Pints & Pixels on Tuesday giving a clue to the location. (They're closed on Mondays.)<br />
<br />
I spent all my spare time this day unsuccessfully working on the Ruby Key clue. Except for the evening, when I went to Rocket City Arcade to be on the Collecting Dust podcast, but that's a story for another post.<br />
<br />
<div style="height: 0px;">
<i style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-51723655241393019262018-04-29T00:00:00.000-05:002018-04-29T00:00:55.165-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 3, Level 3 & Stage 4, Level 1<h2>
Sunday, April 8, 2018</h2>
<div>
<h3>
Stage 3, Level 3</h3>
Walter, my next oldest son, and I headed down to Pints & Pixels Sunday evening. The plan was to double check U. G. White Mercantile didn't need to punch our movie ticket, then grab some dinner there while we waited for the contest to start.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that's pretty much how it went. The cashiers at U. G. White said they didn't punch the tickets, so upstairs we went. We only had about half an hour, so we ordered chili because it was quick. And some onion rings. After ordering, we went back to have a look at the <i>Fix-It Felix</i> machine. And, it turns out, even though the event didn't start until 6:00 PM, they were already taking sign-ups. So lesson learned for next time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The lich was still available for those still in the early stages, although he didn't show up immediately. Then there was a few of us waiting to to play <i>Felix</i>. Lastly, there were several people there for the next challenge. For them, there was the man in black, the Dread Pirate Roberts. On the table he was seated at, the photo of the props had been replaced with the actual props.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As announced on Facebook, they rolled a 10-sided die to decide the order they would play in. We didn't catch the details, but they sat at the table with "Roberts," presumably reciting lines. They had cards which I think represented chances to get prompts. Roberts sometimes held up a light, which I think meant they had missed the line. Hopefully we'll get a chance to find out later.<br />
<br />
There was done discussion amongst the officials and they were alternating players between the tasks. Meanwhile, we were reviewing the Konami code. I'm a bit old to have internalized it in my youth, but a song about it by the Gothsicles, posted in the early years of the FuMP, had helped me memorize it. What I had forgotten is that you were supposed to hold both buttons while pressing start. I'm glad I reviewed it.<br />
<br />
Finally, I got my chance. I was told I had a few minutes, that no token was required, and that it would only work during the title and high score screens. So I tried it. It didn't work. I tried again. It still didn't work. I started trying slightly different combinations. Was it the player one or player two start button? Eventually the game went into demo mode and I had to take a break. It went back to the screens in question and after a few more tries, I finally got it to work! I couldn't tell you exactly what I did that made it work, but I no longer cared.<br />
<h3>
Stage 4, Level 1</h3>
They gave me the red key. I took a look while Walter waited for his turn.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eR_oyUuifrkd_IZo6y79mytus9yZYl8oQmC3dlO9stvlithKa5yhBIWGCz-AulMQPVd32CEhY-nwtgr5gXDVLW34VA4ABWKEb85WkHT9r9XXm2xzcCu9N_gXgAy-Ry0DaiO11fiWYwXJ/s1600/2018-04-11+12.54.09-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eR_oyUuifrkd_IZo6y79mytus9yZYl8oQmC3dlO9stvlithKa5yhBIWGCz-AulMQPVd32CEhY-nwtgr5gXDVLW34VA4ABWKEb85WkHT9r9XXm2xzcCu9N_gXgAy-Ry0DaiO11fiWYwXJ/s320/2018-04-11+12.54.09-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken in a hurry on the hood of my car.<br />That's the windshield washer keeping it from sliding off.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The text on the key was scrambled: 'aea wldh te TlI dh wwno eor.s<br />
<br />
From the talk in the Facebook group, everyone had gotten stuck on this. The players who were there for the next step tonight had stumbled on the right location without solving the puzzle. I had hoped maybe I had some knowledge they lacked due to my age that would help, but no.<br />
<br />
We went back to the car and pondered. We assumed the characters showed the word lengths. The two capital letters presumably were the first word of the sentence and a proper name or connection with I. I started writing a Perl script to give possibilities for the capitalized words. We spent the rest of the time allotted for the contest pondering to no avail. We drove by a couple locations looking for Steve's, but didn't find any.<br />
<br />
When they posted the scores later that night, I had moved up from 10th to 8th. None of those who had passed the second gate had advanced last night. Pints & Pixels was closed until Tuesday, so we had a day to catch up, if we could.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiar0hsrNnwKNiRUTmsRH-Bcio9_cdlRBwsJbRPJjq8RLgaj_B6YsAOKjjEo5jObExQTIM6GLzYV6plEUBt7c8uKwT_DUw0gPR7QstbOZItr4fERiPRT26RudZbusmHYhyEZAoMjtwLbG3v/s1600/Scoreboard+2018-04-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1200" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiar0hsrNnwKNiRUTmsRH-Bcio9_cdlRBwsJbRPJjq8RLgaj_B6YsAOKjjEo5jObExQTIM6GLzYV6plEUBt7c8uKwT_DUw0gPR7QstbOZItr4fERiPRT26RudZbusmHYhyEZAoMjtwLbG3v/s400/Scoreboard+2018-04-08.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Back at home, I spent the rest of the night, to the wee hours, writing Perl scripts to narrow it down. They didn't help much. Walter found a site today would help you unscramble anagrams, but it didn't differentiate case or handle contractions. I finally went to bed frustrated.<br />
<br />
<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-42761944097105169852018-04-26T00:00:00.001-05:002021-01-31T12:37:06.248-06:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 3, Level 2<h2>
Thursday, April 5, 2018</h2>
<h3>
Stage 3, Level 2</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyhq-zh03Je_rpNfNDIZiiiaJZySe-ht15KC7qXh6laL7yLIySST95i-ZvlaXXusmiH424wA47AYdfE4tdB-X7LEbL431UgWQxUaAo2wWn-yT_yj-kb-7Z0y9FFEsaN-XuCsV_NdUMn0e/s1600/2018-04-04+17.24.04.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyhq-zh03Je_rpNfNDIZiiiaJZySe-ht15KC7qXh6laL7yLIySST95i-ZvlaXXusmiH424wA47AYdfE4tdB-X7LEbL431UgWQxUaAo2wWn-yT_yj-kb-7Z0y9FFEsaN-XuCsV_NdUMn0e/s400/2018-04-04+17.24.04.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contents of the box</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
A pox upon the damned, unopenable box! We spent all of Wednesday evening trying to figure it out. My wife pulled out our Scrabble set and tried to unscramble the letters. There are plenty of words one can make, but you always have leftover letters you can't do anything with. Meanwhile, I was trying to find code to create a Perl script to spit out all the possible permutations of the letters. My plan was to then take that file and run it through spell to weed out all the lines that weren't words.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It took forever to find one and make it work, but I eventually did. But I was running it on my ISPs *nix server because I didn't have Perl installed locally on a Windows box. Once the output file crossed 100 Mb, I stopped the script. If I left it going, I would have exceeded my file space quota. So that was a dead end.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At some point either my wife or son unscrambled the letters to spell "gunter." I took the remaining letters and, using the blank as an M, spelled "asylum." Well, almost. I had used an extra U and was left with an extraneous S.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We figured the absence of Mrs. White was significant. Local businesses containing the name, other than attorneys and accountants with that surname, were in short supply, though. U. G. White Mercantile, which occupies the bottom two floors of the building that Pints & Pixels is in, seemed like an obvious choice. In fact, I realized there was a Steve sticker on their door and then another in the elevator to Pints & Pixels. So where we first thought Steve had been welcoming us outside on our first trip to battle the lich, now I wondered if that's not what it meant. Also, we had Scrabble <b>tiles</b> and it was Mercan<b>tile</b>. Was that a stretch?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We talked about it at church dinner Wednesday night. I went to bed thinking about it. I woke up thinking about it. I made a post in the morning on Facebook asking if anyone would help. One friend did. I gave him the info without sharing any of my theories. He went off on a tangent, and I reined him in a bit. Then he came up with another interesting theory: Mrs. White could be Vanna White and the tiles could be a <i>Wheel of Fortune</i> clue. That seemed brilliant, but didn't help us on where to go and neither Vanna nor <i>Wheel</i> were links on the Facebook page.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another possibility came to me. Mrs. White had <i>escaped</i> the box. Or did it represent a <i>room</i> full of people? An escape room. I pulled up the web site of Huntsville Escape Rooms. One of the rooms they offer is The Psych Ward. The backstory mentions Dr. Gunter! In the <i>Ready Player One</i> story, "gunter" is short for "egg hunter," which is short for "Easter egg hunter" because they're seeking "Easter egg" style clues hidden in documents by the contest creator. My "Gunter's asylum" guess didn't seem to far fetched any more, but once again, the letters weren't quite right.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I sent a message to the contest official asking whether maybe one of the letters in the box was wrong. He said no, they were correct. But I'm still convinced its not a coincidence. Maybe we'll pick up more Scrabble tiles in another clue later and spell a longer phrase including those words.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So at lunch, I have two targets: U. G. White Mercantile and Huntsville Escape Rooms. The latter doesn't open until 3:00 PM, so I opted to just drive by and see if there was a Steve sticker. There was! Then I went to White Mercantile and walked through the entire store. I saw nothing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Meanwhile, Walter was stuck babysitting and couldn't go out. His co-worker had nearly caught up to us, so we decided to meet him at Huntsville Escape Rooms after I got off work. Miscommunication had them show up early and be told that while they were a location in the puzzle, we didn't have the necessary piece to do their puzzle yet.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We met them back at Toy Bistro. They were already looking over the box. After stewing over it for 45 minutes or so, Walter's co-worker's wife called Haven Comics, Etc. for reasons I don't remember. Probably because we all figured if the Deep and Lucky Dice are participating, Haven would, too. Haven confirmed they were a participating location, so without other prospects, off we went. Steve was out front, but once again, we didn't have the piece needed to do that puzzle. The puzzle was a word search set up as a poster, so I went ahead and took a photo. However it also said "Ask for a handout!", so I figured there was probably more to it than just the poster. I planned to return.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One of the words we'd gotten out of the tiles was "Saturn," although once again there were letters left over. So we decided to try the U. S. Space and Rocket Center. Out in the parking lot were scale models of the solar system, also spaced to scale. Maybe Saturn held a clue. But it didn't.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Next stop, cuing off the cassette tape, was Vertical House Records in Lowe Mill. We got there only to discover there was no Steve. Beaten at this point, we decided to head to Pints & Pixels to see if maybe that's where we were supposed to be.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We arrived and spoke with the officials. They were still set up waiting for anyone that still needed to play the lich at Joust. They asked where we had been and said we weren't ready to be back there yet, offering no hints other than to examine our clue some more.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We started going through the letters again when a couple with a red key showed up. After they spoke to the officials and started to leave, Walter's co-worker asked if they would help us. They started off with the woman telling us the letters on tiles weren't important. She said that's all the help she would give, but we wound up sitting down with them and talking. Eventually I gave my theory about U. G. White Mercantile and said I'd already searched the place. (Although I still knew I might have missed it.) He asked, "Did you talk to the lady at the front?" I hadn't!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We thanked them and rushed downstairs. I told the cashier we were looking for Mrs. White. She told us to look around. We started to explore and it came to me. The cassette amongst the weapons. There was a case full of knives and axes. I rushed over to it, calling to what was now my gunter clan. There was a cassette player with a Steve sign sitting on it. How had I missed it??? We'd wasted hours because I'd overlooked it during my lunch trip.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We got an employee to come over and take it out of the case for us. We cued up some of our phones to record it and hit play. After what seemed like a long silence, it began playing the opening organ chords of "Faith" by George Michael. Just as the guitar part started, it stopped. After a brief silence, another song clip played: "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by R. E. M. There were more after that. I eventually went and retrieved my iPod from the car to try to help identify some of them. Here's the list we ended up with.</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>"Faith" by George Michael</li>
<li>"It's the End of the World as We Know It" by R. E. M.</li>
<li>(One we couldn't identify, but I mistakenly thought was ABBA.)</li>
<li>"In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins</li>
<li>"Thriller" by Michael Jackson</li>
<li>"Forever Young" by Rod Stewart</li>
<li>"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor</li>
<li>"La Isla Bonita" by Madonna</li>
<li>(Another we couldn't identify.)</li>
<li>(What sounded like another clip from the song #3.)</li>
</ol>
<div>
Walter wondered if there was anything on side 2. He took the cassette out and we discovered side 1 was labeled "Konami - Side 1." The back was labeled "Available Sun, Tues, Wed, Thur 6-8." The same times as the Joust, which we assumed meant it had to do with the Fix-It Felix machine that was next to it. We'd seen the sign on Tuesday saying both machines were unavailable at those times.</div>
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<div>
If you're particularly astute, you may have figured out something by now from the song titles. We were not particularly astute. We went back upstairs and tried to give Konami as the password, but that wasn't it. We went to the stairwell where it was quieter and tried to identify the last three songs.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I quickly went through all the ABBA songs. None of them matched. I thought song #9 might be "Invincible" by Pat Benatar, but Walter and I both listened and it didn't seem to match. We tried to make out what little lyrics there were. I should mention that none of the snippets were anywhere near long enough to use an app to identify. (Probably on purpose.) Walter's co-worker's wife searched YouTube.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Eventually the couple that had helped us came through on their way out. They didn't help us much more, saying we'd get it. We said we were trying to see if the songs spelled something. They were non-committal. We wondered how many Konami games were in the arcade. He said four, but that they didn't matter. Walter and I checked anyway and only found three. And eventually, 8 o'clock came and we were out of time. There was nothing to do but go home and puzzle over it there.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We got home and enlisted my wife. She thought maybe the song I thought was ABBA was Olivia Newton-John and started listening to her hits on YouTube. Finally, after another hour or two, we figured out that songs #3 and #10 were, in fact, the same song: "Xanadu" by Olivia Newton-John and ELO. Then, even though we'd ruled it out, I pulled up "Invincible." The version on YouTube matched what we'd recorded from the tape. Apparently the version on my iPod was a slightly different mix.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, for you non-astute readers who haven't figured it out, I'll tell you what my wife came up with first at this point. The first letter of each song spells out "Fix-It Felix." Like this:</div><div><ol><li><b>F</b>aith</li><li><b>I</b>t's the End of the World as We Know It</li><li><b>X</b>anadu</li><li><b>I</b>n the Air Tonight</li><li><b>T</b>hriller</li><li><b>F</b>orever Young</li><li><b>E</b>ye of the Tiger</li><li><b>L</b>a Isla Bonita</li><li><b>I</b>nvincible</li><li><b>X</b>anadu</li></ol></div><div>We also discovered that most of the songs on the playlist were featured in films, but possibly not all. This probably explains the movie ticket. [Later edit: Or, you know, because <i>Fix-It Felix</i> is based on the game in the movie <i>Wreck-It Ralph</i>?] So now we think we're stuck until 6:00 PM Sunday when we can play <i>Fix-It Felix</i>. Walter and I assume we need to enter the Konami code into the machine for the next clue. We'll see.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the meantime, the scoreboard was updated again. I'm now down to #9. The good news is only one of the people ahead of me has added anything to their score. It was two people behind me jumping ahead that pushed me down. I hope we can make up some ground in the next portions of the contest.</div>
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-84419121211780193172018-04-25T00:00:00.000-05:002018-04-25T00:00:06.437-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 2, levels 2 & 3; Stage 3, level 1<h2>
Wednesday, April 4, 2018</h2>
<h3>
Stage 2, Level 2</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUeos1KMT1fZSflvBdc2ZZEe3ncwCsXj7lnU3ln7SStEtOAj73sjlRp1NPkMP5v3VfzHCMrrpV4RKmXLC6GR4zhRcnzlEmflmHmYY9tcWRfN7SUWLKabtr7dVZjDmKEOUI-b5spNj9Dfm/s1600/2018-04-04+11.26.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUeos1KMT1fZSflvBdc2ZZEe3ncwCsXj7lnU3ln7SStEtOAj73sjlRp1NPkMP5v3VfzHCMrrpV4RKmXLC6GR4zhRcnzlEmflmHmYY9tcWRfN7SUWLKabtr7dVZjDmKEOUI-b5spNj9Dfm/s320/2018-04-04+11.26.17.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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So I joined my family for lunch at Supper Heroes this day. As expected, Steve was at the front greeting me. They'd already found the clue by the time I arrived and the two little ones couldn't help but point me to it before I even had a chance to look around. It was a laminated card with a clue printed on the back standing next to a small Doctor Strange figure. Doctor Strange's cloak of levitation is well known, particularly since the movie. The clue was printed in reverse so it could be read in the mirror behind the figures.</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i>
<i>The Sapphire key will fit the gate,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Where beany brews your palates sate.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>To spring the lock you'll need to know,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>What honestly with starfish go.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We figured beany brews meant coffee. A Google Maps search for coffee shops revealed many, but the one called Honest Coffee caught my wife's attention due to the word "honestly" in the clue. My son tried to argue for another shop, but I figured her reasoning was sound.<br />
<br />
So now we knew where, but it appeared we needed a password. While I was doing my own Google searches, my wife happened to do one for "starfish coffee." The first result was a <a href="https://youtu.be/TG4PqmShvHI" target="_blank">music video</a> of Prince singing "Starfish and Coffee" on <i>The Muppet Show</i>. I remembered the Muppets were one of the links on the Jumpman's Journal Facebook page, so I figured that was it. The chorus was:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Starfish and coffee</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Maple syrup and jam</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>And a side order of ham</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>If you set your mind free, baby</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Maybe you'd understand</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Starfish and coffee</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Maple syrup and jam</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So I figured "maple syrup and jam" was the password. Thank goodness that was online or I never would have gotten it. Before we left, I moved seats to let my six-year-old sit in my lap. Unfortunately, I had the sapphire key in my back pocket and I felt it break in two. I hoped that wouldn't be a problem.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Stage 2, Level 3 (First Gate)</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNObu-aJN7mkNwdp88jtYFowfOgA1Tq8fVDTVQBVFQ5h1IOS2rHa_mG-l3nOr5aj2kH-ZR8Pii9Oe8c_D7N7s1VNkd80OW85_Re2HPVWhpEy26dWPc0iaP8xtZYrYP_D0FGOzPFKiw-Abt/s1600/2018-04-04+12.24.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNObu-aJN7mkNwdp88jtYFowfOgA1Tq8fVDTVQBVFQ5h1IOS2rHa_mG-l3nOr5aj2kH-ZR8Pii9Oe8c_D7N7s1VNkd80OW85_Re2HPVWhpEy26dWPc0iaP8xtZYrYP_D0FGOzPFKiw-Abt/s320/2018-04-04+12.24.10.jpg" width="180" /></a>I left ahead of them to check out Honest Coffee, which was more or less on the way back to work. Steve greeted me once again, so I was in the right place. There were no more Steves inside, so I went to the cashier and told them I was looking for the gate. She accidentally asked me the wrong question, "What goes with coffee?" instead of "What goes with starfish?" Her fellow employee corrected her. My answer of "maple syrup and jam" was acceptable and I had to sign a log.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, there were six people ahead of me. Five of them had gotten there at 7:00 AM, which appeared to be when the shop opened, so they must have managed to make it to Supper Heroes last night. (The other had signed in less than an hour before me.) This was my wake-up call that it was time to get serious. I'd been rather casual about the contest, but now I saw others were not so casual.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I was handed a giant movie ticket and sent on my way. I had completed the first gate! This was also the first location where I didn't buy anything. In part because I was in a hurry and in part because I'm not a coffee drinker. However, I found out later my wife bought herself a cup of coffee while she was there, so our record of buying at least a little something at each place was intact so far.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Stage 3, Level 1</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTz0F0-_LjjhSxVMJ4dQg6vQbVs5vNiGwpwT-JLdObMebo4FxHcxdCjw84KDVEzOfUHLlqxgpTGQJeDP2ZqIxDX1GcV8cScmYKVD6Kzo51FOvkH3O4FT6xIf_H6I0-UzGEXSIFtPCL7iM2/s1600/ticket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1561" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTz0F0-_LjjhSxVMJ4dQg6vQbVs5vNiGwpwT-JLdObMebo4FxHcxdCjw84KDVEzOfUHLlqxgpTGQJeDP2ZqIxDX1GcV8cScmYKVD6Kzo51FOvkH3O4FT6xIf_H6I0-UzGEXSIFtPCL7iM2/s320/ticket.jpg" width="312" /></a></div>
I didn't look at the ticket closely until I got back to the car. One side had the same number on both ends and said "Cinema" and "Admit One" on it, with five crowns in between. The other side was a certificate for 10 free tokens at Pints & Pixels. But more importantly, at the bottom, it had a URL: <a href="http://www.curse.com/whatever">http://www.curse.com/whatever</a>. Curse is a local web site developer specializing in the video game community. Walter says they've been bought by Twitch lately.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There was also a QR code on the ticket. It turned out I didn't currently have a QR scanner on my phone, so I downloaded one later. All the code said was, "Keep this with you at all times!", so I was glad I didn't worry about it right away.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpZcVG5y7K1Dr5NMm7xDmNqs2XJ9yj6qpMLuJHBUpXnW3d0aVaKVci-nRR5yOMnv0niegRiItmzsJ27uqesuKVRLGcZrgDYTsjko7xyfpt81kMf8evsOJhEMXnAQJwfLcTdlLpW56Nrtx/s1600/whatever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="952" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpZcVG5y7K1Dr5NMm7xDmNqs2XJ9yj6qpMLuJHBUpXnW3d0aVaKVci-nRR5yOMnv0niegRiItmzsJ27uqesuKVRLGcZrgDYTsjko7xyfpt81kMf8evsOJhEMXnAQJwfLcTdlLpW56Nrtx/s320/whatever.jpg" width="247" /></a>So the URL led to a graphic. I didn't immediately decipher it, so went back to work. I saw my family's minivan in the mirror as I was about to pull out, so I skedaddled to let them have my parking place, as they were in short supply. My son made the connection to <a href="http://toyboxbistro.net/" target="_blank">Toybox Bistro</a> faster than I did. The background was the same as their web site, but the words on their logo were replaced with Egyptian hieroglyphics. That, combined with the Nike swoosh made me realize it was saying "Walk Like an Egyptian" (by the Bangles), which was a link on the Facebook page. My son had gone deeper and figured out the hieroglyphics were O-A-O. That sent him off on a virtual wild goose chase. (A wild Google chase?) It was only after I told him to watch the video that he realized those were some of the lyrics in the song. I knew that, but hadn't thought of it until he said it. So off he went to Toybox. I had to wait until after work.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23vFKtyaO8l3zzdmxdzV2_vAFXc7R4S5A7t9QvVmdQTlly8Rh584yLXk0ZB7x1JQx8mN9EjYsWGbvcD80VdxLBGyCNbnEWBfmEi73lnJGy9OZUyFx2jhogC6nO1eubqIcVGKZP7bwVLUy/s1600/2018-04-04+17.30.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23vFKtyaO8l3zzdmxdzV2_vAFXc7R4S5A7t9QvVmdQTlly8Rh584yLXk0ZB7x1JQx8mN9EjYsWGbvcD80VdxLBGyCNbnEWBfmEi73lnJGy9OZUyFx2jhogC6nO1eubqIcVGKZP7bwVLUy/s320/2018-04-04+17.30.27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After work I went straight there and danced like an Egyptian for the hostess. She led me to the box. Walter had already told me about having to dance and the box. The clear, plastic box contained five of the six player pieces from the Clue board game (all but Mrs. White), all the weapons from Clue, 13 Scrabble tiles (A, E, G, L, N, R, S, S, S, T, U, Y, & blank), and a small cassette tape charm. I was told I could not open the box or take it with me, but I could take photos. The box also had a transparent Steve decal on one side and a smaller Steve sticker on another. And a note reiterating what I had been told, "Do not open box." Walter had managed to miss one letter when he wrote them down, so I made sure I got photos of them all. He'd missed the third S.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhP_SocA9DTDDL6wZ6egZUXM6CSuu9t58s_3BHWyWtJ85xoWVUI1_RkW0iaNXNEhj1Rl6msekwyxtGBtOK3NinvTggLSE8NIiRahQ0fUgq-aOKhJrH2nejD9OpfsAa5TsgOow04Akw6Rc/s1600/2018-04-04+17.24.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhP_SocA9DTDDL6wZ6egZUXM6CSuu9t58s_3BHWyWtJ85xoWVUI1_RkW0iaNXNEhj1Rl6msekwyxtGBtOK3NinvTggLSE8NIiRahQ0fUgq-aOKhJrH2nejD9OpfsAa5TsgOow04Akw6Rc/s400/2018-04-04+17.24.04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This was another occasion where I didn't buy anything. We'd already had lunch at Supper Heroes and were having dinner at church. I told the hostess we'd eaten there before and were sure to be back.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, this cursed box caused it way too much trouble. We spent all evening trying to decipher it, but I'll save that story for the next entry. Also that evening, the scoreboard was updated on the Facebook page. We were already falling behind. I was down to 7th.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhdwczsxUU1hzskI2cHt0owsuigUePJGshdK1Kz_-Ig4txbucAkFoWnbH6WWhU63l7fGbC-mf_KzGZGA5-yzO-JAdQR9iWB7gu1-KYNO8xW7KViE0BJXRKSX5LOBa6az6LC1F5d5AXMCK/s1600/Scoreboard+2-+second+key+2018-04-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1200" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhdwczsxUU1hzskI2cHt0owsuigUePJGshdK1Kz_-Ig4txbucAkFoWnbH6WWhU63l7fGbC-mf_KzGZGA5-yzO-JAdQR9iWB7gu1-KYNO8xW7KViE0BJXRKSX5LOBa6az6LC1F5d5AXMCK/s400/Scoreboard+2-+second+key+2018-04-04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
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Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-84303632331978111152018-04-24T00:00:00.000-05:002018-04-24T00:40:16.946-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 1, Level 3 & Stage 2, Level 1<h2>
Tuesday, April 3, 2018</h2>
<div>
<h3>
Stage 1, Level 3</h3>
Today was the day to duel the lich! Eating dinner and dressing for the part put us a little late. I wore my <i>Liberator</i> T-shirt, as in the rather obscure Atari coin-op featuring Atari Force, and my original Sony Walkman. It didn't work any more, but I just wanted it for looks. Walter wore his vintage, leather Members Only jacket and my newer Walkman (from the 1990s).</div>
<div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeelWf3cI-heQ0WQANzjNd9wqLW1PqJaWcl9nUJE7v-RzWAoY6U1RZfTDTGj36TnpHWWM1xC5A3ZF91icInHgKfseA6HQ9Fd-KqvcU5-LnW29MvFYoOLu_brErZHYOQuMe03lsRQyWeRV/s1600/2018-04-03+18.33.42+adjusted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeelWf3cI-heQ0WQANzjNd9wqLW1PqJaWcl9nUJE7v-RzWAoY6U1RZfTDTGj36TnpHWWM1xC5A3ZF91icInHgKfseA6HQ9Fd-KqvcU5-LnW29MvFYoOLu_brErZHYOQuMe03lsRQyWeRV/s320/2018-04-03+18.33.42+adjusted.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter vs. Lich</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
My two older boys and I headed out just before 6:00 PM, when the lich challenge opened. When we showed up at Pints & Pixels, someone was already playing <i>Joust</i> against the lich and there were several more waiting. The lich was a man wearing a skeleton T-shirt and half-skull mask, covered by a brown robe and topped with a steel crown. We stepped over to the registration table, where Walter and I gave our real and gunter (egg hunter) names and contact info. Then we waited for our turns to play against the lich.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Just as in the book, we had to beat him two games out of three. I lost my first game against him. In the second game I barely came out ahead. In the third game I was victorious and claimed my prize, the blue key. Unlike the book, I didn't ask to trade sides with him to see if that gave me advantage. Walter was annoyed that I'm that good at <i>Joust</i>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Walter was next. He only won one game, and so had to go back to the end of the list for another chance. Thankfully we didn't have to go back to Sugar Belle to get the coin again. His brother and I played some games while we waited. On his second attempt, Walter did ask to switch sides, which apparently did make the "lich" essentially throw the game, and Walter won two games in a row and claimed his key.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d3DY19YPaPx5uXXVKrSPiUmlP30VMCaI5_zkOaRNmnUAZ1A88cXaKpQ6D1QiCMKeb97xQuglhobBn8qr6_DvEJvYm4WMAeZAh-Hcghj-UG4fMBRvwTwvzcK4d-MiLovEj7GukSYu_gf0/s1600/2018-04-03+18.30.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d3DY19YPaPx5uXXVKrSPiUmlP30VMCaI5_zkOaRNmnUAZ1A88cXaKpQ6D1QiCMKeb97xQuglhobBn8qr6_DvEJvYm4WMAeZAh-Hcghj-UG4fMBRvwTwvzcK4d-MiLovEj7GukSYu_gf0/s320/2018-04-03+18.30.19.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div>
On the registration table was a large photo. On the corner was a sign that said, "You may study this image but DO NOT REMOVE." So I asked to take a photo of it and they obliged. We later figured the photo had something to do with <i>The Princess Bride</i>. Two (poisoned) wine glasses, swords for Westley and Montoya, and the bellows used to somewhat revive Westley. We weren't sure where this was going yet, but I hoped we didn't have to repeat lines from the movie verbatim like Flicksynchs in the book. I didn't see <i>The Princess Bride</i> back in the day, so I was nowhere close to being able to repeat any but the most well-known lines. We watched it again when we got home and I noted that one of the T-shirts Richard Moss wore in the game's starting video was the quote about not going in against a Sicilian when death was on the line.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Next to the <i>Joust</i> at Pints & Pixels was a <i>Fix-It Felix Jr.</i> coin-op from the movie <i>Wreck-It Ralph</i>. And I couldn't help but notice the sign saying the games were available to play, except Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 6:00-8:00 PM. Those were the same days and times on the gold coin, so it appeared we'd be playing <i>Felix</i> in the future.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Stage 2, Level 1</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uT9Y6fct0_oT7AocMh-SfMudiJTWq9VlaeZdPhaBoDYwNkoOO-hY5ANqBtKbrx6JwP53ggCAUJ49rJkO4CS1I9VwL36dNBy4aW3eS7QzUCEHrHMuJGr5uLkleaSZgs8ifMAr6naYDqAZ/s1600/2018-04-03+21.23.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uT9Y6fct0_oT7AocMh-SfMudiJTWq9VlaeZdPhaBoDYwNkoOO-hY5ANqBtKbrx6JwP53ggCAUJ49rJkO4CS1I9VwL36dNBy4aW3eS7QzUCEHrHMuJGr5uLkleaSZgs8ifMAr6naYDqAZ/s320/2018-04-03+21.23.04.jpg" width="320" /></a>We played a few more games before getting in the car, originally planning to go home, but Walter and I both read the clue on the key and started thinking about it:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Unfathomable an object lies,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Its magic six to draw you nigh</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I searched Google for "unfathomable synonyms" and stopped near the end of the list when I saw "deep." The next clue was probably at The Deep, a local comic book store and the biggest one in town. I'd texted my wife the clue and she came up with the same answer on her own. We spent the trip there pondering what the "magic six" meant, but didn't come up with any good answers.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpeJEqkqON9h4BQRt8rZ8C02zdxi95tmGu0WXU9vV-R9qzkhMDKlkJ5_KgI46LHTxX_wKBsR4QlMTZ0qeSNaUABD4IiTnui8aEzW1tuC_GnkIziVhtRRTBRcBdMwJ6S-DwiR_PdtKu49s/s1600/2018-04-03+19.36.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpeJEqkqON9h4BQRt8rZ8C02zdxi95tmGu0WXU9vV-R9qzkhMDKlkJ5_KgI46LHTxX_wKBsR4QlMTZ0qeSNaUABD4IiTnui8aEzW1tuC_GnkIziVhtRRTBRcBdMwJ6S-DwiR_PdtKu49s/s200/2018-04-03+19.36.36.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We arrived at The Deep right behind a couple we'd seen at Pints & Pixels. And there was Steve the Space Invader waiting to greet us by the door. We started searching the store and eventually I came across a Rubik's Cube in one of the display cases with a Steve sign next to it. A cube has six sides and it was originally known as the Magic Cube, so mystery solved. Unfortunately, there were about five other players in the store and one of them thought to ask to see it before I did. We had to show our key(s) in order to do so.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
They spent a long time unscrambling it. Then another couple got it before we did, but they gave up after a little while. In the meantime, my wife texted me a link to a <a href="https://rubiks-cube-solver.com/" target="_blank">Rubik's Cube solving site</a>. That came in very handy once I got the Cube. I went ahead and solved one side without help before setting up the virtual cube on the site to match. It then took it a while to calculate the solution, but the interactive way it presented it, letting me step through one step at a time and showing me how it should look as I went, was immensely helpful.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN2UeL38ztVv8q7zoJFp4DEWQI5bne8V5X9KA-0-wH_WT9c8-GohCQAfudGSsrXamQuWZK-zm2tKwDoye1TXQnm9asUHDL4oXkavj37l0-_u8ZwbXhJTVuY2LglsGFTHLSuqqfwh-MTfJ/s1600/2018-04-03+20.47.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN2UeL38ztVv8q7zoJFp4DEWQI5bne8V5X9KA-0-wH_WT9c8-GohCQAfudGSsrXamQuWZK-zm2tKwDoye1TXQnm9asUHDL4oXkavj37l0-_u8ZwbXhJTVuY2LglsGFTHLSuqqfwh-MTfJ/s320/2018-04-03+20.47.42.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The actual P didn't quite live up<br />
to the planned P<br />
shown in the diagram below.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unfortunately, we'd already heard the employee tell the other players that the pictures drawn on the sides had faded off from being handled. Once I got it solved, we could make out the Superman logo, an outline of the USA, Batman's cape, a P or igloo shape, and a circle. The image that was supposed to be on the yellow side was completely gone. There were some other markings, but we didn't understand their significance at the time. I took photos and we left.</div>
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Once we got home, I sent a message to the Jumpman's Journey page stating the trouble, but got an auto-response, so I made a public post to the page giving little detail. That elicited a response, but it looked like we weren't going to get the photos of the Cube I was hoping for. But then later Mr. Moss sent me a diagram of the cube.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9GUGjnNFsOq6X1Q0JzgHC-n7jEk_GRaTE-ThhYydohrLuhn5O0-arrFsBpT6ZyA5fJWmj8sFHq9MMhe39Ok-fEHQRSbCVR6kfSko7yQI0uZoikxkoPXYhCJemcWiFD2zbTyvYi2_AVvE/s1600/Rubiks_Cube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9GUGjnNFsOq6X1Q0JzgHC-n7jEk_GRaTE-ThhYydohrLuhn5O0-arrFsBpT6ZyA5fJWmj8sFHq9MMhe39Ok-fEHQRSbCVR6kfSko7yQI0uZoikxkoPXYhCJemcWiFD2zbTyvYi2_AVvE/s320/Rubiks_Cube.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Using the dots to break the images into groups, we quickly came up with "super + P = supper." Then "Greatest American Hero - grate - America = hero" and "cape". So "Supper Heroes cape". Supper Heroes was a local, comic book-themed restaurant we eat at once a year or so. That's only because it's way over past the other side of town, about 13 miles away. (Over twice as far as Pints & Pixels from our home.) But the "cape" part had us confused. Well, I guess we knew where we were going for lunch the next day.</div>
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As promised, they updated the scoreboard that evening. I made the "High Five" at #4.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfyZBgS2RyiI4BCzWykDyN3cZXdXG6XAfS6LUSr0IIIMqagAkn3aKWNxmubbaxnIQJPL3LmZ-BfNPdsRAh9owBXQVeWGOlo4NYoYq0GnWcCTQfMAdb531_f5NgROQDQ-L6ipxlPfG_Kdy/s1600/Scoreboard+1-+first+key+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1100" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfyZBgS2RyiI4BCzWykDyN3cZXdXG6XAfS6LUSr0IIIMqagAkn3aKWNxmubbaxnIQJPL3LmZ-BfNPdsRAh9owBXQVeWGOlo4NYoYq0GnWcCTQfMAdb531_f5NgROQDQ-L6ipxlPfG_Kdy/s400/Scoreboard+1-+first+key+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-52843640608561613662018-04-21T00:00:00.000-05:002018-04-24T00:32:25.979-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 1, Level 2<h2>
Saturday, March 31, 2018</h2>
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<h3>
Stage 1, Level 2</h3>
We had a ton of stuff do to on Saturday, but we decided to check Vertical House first. I was convinced what record Belle was holding in the clue is irrelevant because they made it so small and hard to see. How wrong I was.</div>
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Unfortunately, we didn't get out of the house until almost lunch time, so we headed out planning to stop for lunch first. We ate at Local Taco, not too far from Lowe Mill, when I remembered they're doing Huntsville Comic Con there this weekend, so the place was going to be packed!</div>
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About this time, my oldest son, Walter, who was at work, texted me. "So I asked one of my co-workers for their ideas and the clue, and he just pointed out that the background is sugar cubes." I read this to my family.</div>
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My wife said, "Sugar and Belle. Sugar Belle Cupcakes?!?" Yeah, she was on to something. So after lunch, we headed back in the direction of home to Sugar Belle. We arrived and there was Steve by the door again to greet us.</div>
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We walked in and looked around. No clues were immediately obvious, although the Super NES Mini system set up in the corner seemed suspicious. It sat on top of a cardboard fireplace with "bricks" printed on it. The TV screen made up where the opening for the fire would be.</div>
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I finally approached the man behind the counter with the Super NES still in mind. "I'm looking for a place to put a record. Or maybe set a record?"</div>
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"No, nothing like that," he replied.</div>
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We went back to the corner and pondered and looked around some more. Then I ordered a cupcake for the two sons who were with me. Everyone else was still full from lunch. Out of ideas, I approached again, asking aloud if I needed to ask him where I should put a clue. He told me he needed a certain phrase. I went back to ponder some more.</div>
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Finally, I used Google to search "Simon and Garfunkel lyrics cupcakes." My big duh moment came when it showed me the lyrics of "Mrs. Robinson":</div>
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<i>Hide it in the hiding place where no one ever goes</i></div>
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<i>Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes</i></div>
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I knew that song. I should have thought of that!</div>
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The man had stepped out, so I asked one of the remaining employees, "Put it in your cupboard?" Yes, it turns out "cupboard" was the word they're looking for. They pulled a large, plastic, yellow "coin" from the cupboard, etched on one side:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpYzceAF9WBORMcjS_EhX6YKnML1DExlrnVEIpYOq1eWdJ9Lxwz5WCLaEXjTwoSgWE9zK6kgPilCVzgoK4n9b69QVBVnYJbgGovW07ur4bEcQ87I4SMSxkI4nxgJKACze2ZJIOgOfLDCp/s1600/2018-03-31+12.32.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpYzceAF9WBORMcjS_EhX6YKnML1DExlrnVEIpYOq1eWdJ9Lxwz5WCLaEXjTwoSgWE9zK6kgPilCVzgoK4n9b69QVBVnYJbgGovW07ur4bEcQ87I4SMSxkI4nxgJKACze2ZJIOgOfLDCp/s320/2018-03-31+12.32.14.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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In the <i>Ready Player One</i> novel, the first clue led to a virtual reality re-creation of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module, <i>Tomb of Horrors</i>. The tomb was home to a lich (an undead wizard). The hero was challenged to a game of <i>Joust</i>, the coin-op by Williams Electronics, by the lich.</div>
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So, it appeared I had to go to Pints & Pixels on Sunday or Tuesday through Thursday between 6:00 and 8:00 PM to be challenged to a game of <i>Joust</i>. At least, I hoped that was what it meant because while I was nowhere near world record level, but I wasn't too bad at the game. <b>But</b>, Sunday is Easter and Pints & Pixels was going to be closed, so I could relax the rest of the weekend. There was nothing to be done until Tuesday. For once, I was finally grateful this was starting Easter weekend.</div>
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Later, while we were driving, I realized the guy in the skeleton costume in the background of the initial video must be the "lich". I laughed out loud at this realization and then had to explain to my wife why I was laughing.</div>
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While we were at Sugar Belle, I remembered to ask the employees how many others had come through. They told me less than ten. I knew one person had already mentioned a yellow coin on Facebook. Later Walter's coworker came by and got a coin. Walter told me that the Sugar Belle employees told him he was the third person. I think what they told him must just be the number of people that day. There had have been more on Friday.</div>
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At the time, I wasn't too happy with Walter about this. His coworker was able to jumpstart his quest, skipping the first clue entirely. Although his coworker also pointed out the sugar cubes that got us there, so I supposed it was a wash. Walter said he'd already planned to not give his coworker any more clues. He also went to get his own coin. He was 18 or over, so he could compete. I didn't give him the password, but did tell him how to figure it out.</div>
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So when Walter got home, he drug out one of our old computers, got Joust running on it via MAME, and hooked up my X-Arcade joystick. I hadn't used the X-Arcade in years and I had to admit, it was better than playing <i>Williams Arcade Classics</i> on the PlayStation controller. By Sunday afternoon, I'd managed to get over 100,000 points in a couple games. I hoped that was enough.</div>
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-34722059991336877912018-04-20T00:00:00.000-05:002018-04-24T00:03:22.708-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle - Stage 1, Level 1<h2>
Friday, March 30, 2018</h2>
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<h3>
Stage 1, Level 1</h3>
Today was the day <i>Ready Player One</i> premiered in theaters. I had been catching up on Twitter at work while compiling code and saw <a href="https://twitter.com/Go2HuntsvilleAL/status/979813535843868672" target="_blank">this tweet</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmaKa19eKB4BpSUER9RE7miHQCpfOTfc1j81lqVRMXwVQhBfl7SvBWuL9qrNpw5lwUcACLMyaST64xvhkhxjRqsgIZG8dYjaQmeEPep11I7FARROJhAJjSQ3pxF80xqOJfpGuBC_5cVQT/s1600/VisitHuntsville_tweet.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="732" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmaKa19eKB4BpSUER9RE7miHQCpfOTfc1j81lqVRMXwVQhBfl7SvBWuL9qrNpw5lwUcACLMyaST64xvhkhxjRqsgIZG8dYjaQmeEPep11I7FARROJhAJjSQ3pxF80xqOJfpGuBC_5cVQT/s400/VisitHuntsville_tweet.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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So I watched <a href="https://youtu.be/HKJXCfTP_LM" target="_blank">the video</a>. Holy cow! This was awesome! I could win a cabaret Pac-Man coin-op, not to mention 10 tokens a day for a year and an autographed copy of the book. (But would I really have to go in each day to get my tokens?) It's like a combination of the book's story and the Great All-Nighter from the movie <i>Midnight Madness</i>, one of my guilty pleasures.</div>
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I'd read <i>Ready Player One</i>, the novel by Ernie Cline, years ago when it first came out and liked it a lot. I was of the right age -- having spent my teenagehood in the 1980s -- to get so many of the video game, movie, and music references. I wanted to see the movie, even though I understand many things have been changed. My oldest son, Walter, had read the book recently and wanted to see it, too, but this now would take priority!<br />
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So I texted my two older boys and wife and started mulling over the first clue:<br />
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<i>To start the quest you need to go,</i></div>
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<i>Where Fortuna's favors flow,</i></div>
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<i>On ivory bones and heroes spin,</i></div>
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<i>To battle hard and sometimes win.</i></div>
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"Fortuna's favors flow on ivory bones." I look up Fortuna and find out she's the Roman god of luck. Ivory bones makes me think of dice. Lucky dice. OMG, the first clue is at Lucky Dice Cafe!!! And maybe "heroes spin" refers to Asylum Comics, a comic book store which recently moved in there. Remember the old spinner racks comic books used to be sold from? Or maybe it refers to HeroClix.</div>
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I texted this to them. My wife suggested dinner there, but it's Good Friday, so we had church at 7:00 PM. Given that the Cafe was in the opposite direction from church and south Memorial Parkway was a construction nightmare, this was unfeasible. But the place was open until 11:00 PM, so I'd have to suffer through until after church. I silently cursed whoever decided to have the movie debut on Easter weekend.</div>
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So, after chuch, my two oldest boys and I headed to Lucky Dice Cafe. I'd learned of the place's existence in just the past couple months and had yet to actually go there. We arrived and there was "Steve the Space Invader" by the door. We were indeed at the right place.</div>
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We went in and there was an employee arranging a display. I told him I'd been wanting to come and the contest, indicating Steve, had given me good cause. He told us to look around and that he couldn't provide any hints. So we did. As I was looking at the racks of comics, I came to the end and saw this on the wall:</div>
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So we had Belle from Disney's <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> holding a record asking where she can put it. The Steve on her skirt confirmed this was the clue. My immediate thought was about where one would put a record. Vertical House Records in Lowe Mill seemed like the obvious answer. There was also Maxwell's Music, but it wasn't nearly as well known and had only recently reopened. (Another place I needed to visit.) Vertical House didn't open until noon tomorrow, so we were done for the night, we thought. We also noted the record was <i>The Concert in Central Park</i> by Simon and Garfunkel.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEFwNjBSNmjk3C_VEAj9rA4rhZLKPcaizRuveXcQXNePP2vFtqSuOOrb4q_790ngqPzn0LEYYTC63x9goAcR1O8ZT8t5N7ms1dMrmSh7Y9h7_B1_Ju_m0zoMEnf1ok2DPTdWS6oOJQPUL/s1600/2018-03-30+21.24.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEFwNjBSNmjk3C_VEAj9rA4rhZLKPcaizRuveXcQXNePP2vFtqSuOOrb4q_790ngqPzn0LEYYTC63x9goAcR1O8ZT8t5N7ms1dMrmSh7Y9h7_B1_Ju_m0zoMEnf1ok2DPTdWS6oOJQPUL/s320/2018-03-30+21.24.33.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Dire Wraith, Ikon, and another<br />
Spaceknight walk into a bar...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I looked around some more and discovered they sell individual Heroclix figures for a quarter. I'd been meaning to pick up the ones related to Rom, Spaceknight and discovered they had three of them: the Dire Wraith, Ikon, and a generic Spaceknight. I picked up those and a fifty cent copy of <i>Fish Police</i> #1, just because it was fairly well regarded back in the '80s and I wasn't sure I'd ever read an issue. Just as I was checking out, my boys decided to play a game of <i>Yu-Gi-Oh! </i>Really? My second oldest son had gotten the cards to complete his deck, thanks to Walter, in the mail today. Okay, so I ordered three cookies, too, while I waited, one for each of us. I forgot to ask the employee how many others had come by for the clue.</div>
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After finishing my cookie, I looked around in the other room, set up with tables for gaming. There I discovered another copy of the clue on the wall. But now I noticed, "What they say will lead the way." How had I missed that before? Okay, so it sounded like the clue might be in Simon and Garfunkel's lyrics.</div>
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I sat back down with the boys and pulled up the album's track list. They finished their game and we headed out. I used my iPod to start playing an album of Simon and Garfunkel's greatest hits, because I don't have the Central Park album. Walter started reviewing the track list himself and noted we have both "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "The 59th Street Bridge Song." Maybe the clue is at Bridge Street?</div>
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That's not far from our house and there was still some places open there, so why not? We walked Bridge Street. No Steves to be seen. We even checked Barnes & Noble since they sell records. Nope. So we called it a night.<br />
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<i>For additional entries, see the <a href="http://lkseitz.blogspot.com/search/label/Jumpman's%20Grand%20Puzzle">Jumpman's Grand Puzzle label</a>.</i></div>
</div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-32792650834177409062018-04-19T00:00:00.000-05:002018-04-19T14:26:51.682-05:00Jumpman's Grand Puzzle IntroductionStarting tomorrow, several entries will appear for Jumpman's Grand Puzzle. This was a contest done by local business <a href="http://www.pintsandpixels.pub/" target="_blank">Pints & Pixels</a>, a bar featuring primarily classic video games, in honor of the release of the film <i>Ready Player One</i>. The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Ernest Cline. Both feature many references to '80s pop culture, although the book more so than the film. The novel prominently features the video games, music, and films of the era. As the contest started the day the film premiered nationwide, it's based on the book and not the film.<br />
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The brief version of the contest is this. A starting clue was posted online. That clue gives contestants a hint at where to go for the next clue, which gives them a hint for the next, and so on. Sometimes contestants have to wait for a business to be open or a location to be available for the contest. The contest was originally scheduled to last up to a month, but (small spoiler) it didn't take that long.</div>
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I wrote these entries as the contest was happening. For obvious reasons, I didn't want to publish it while the contest was still going. But to maintain that flavor, I'm scheduling the entries to appear in the blog in roughly real time. That means the entry for the Friday the contest began appears tomorrow, a Friday. Then a new entry will appear on Saturday, and so on. New entries will not appear every day because sometimes steps were completed and I then had to wait a few days to be able to complete the next step. I believe the entries typically end with a a clue as to when the next one will be. For convenience, entries are appearing at midnight, which is the beginning of the day they're for, rather than in the evening when I would have written them. (Or possibly I didn't write them until a few days later.)<br />
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I've labeled these entries with stage and level numbers. These are my own notation. The Jumpman's Grand Puzzle didn't have any official designations or names for each puzzle. At least, none they shared with the players.<br />
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In my nomenclature, a "stage" is a set of puzzles ending with either receiving a key or signing in at a gate. There are three keys and three gates, therefore there are six stages. The stages do not have consistent numbers of levels.<br />
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A "level" is deciphering a clue, reaching the correct destination, and receiving or finding the next clue. Sometimes I might decipher a clue immediately upon receiving it, but have to wait until the location is open to check whether I'm right. In those cases, I usually won't label the entry as being that level until the actual travel takes place.</div>
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The first entry links to the video, but for your convenience, here's the transcript as taken from the <a href="https://www.pintsandpixels.pub/jumpman" target="_blank">Official Contest Rules</a>.</div>
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<div class="font_8" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #540700; font-family: Enriqueta, serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; pointer-events: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">
Hi, I’m Richard Moss, founder of Pints & Pixels -- a restaurant, bar and classic arcade in downtown Huntsville, Alabama.</div>
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In gaming circles I often go by the handle, “Jumpman”.</div>
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By now most of you have read or heard of the book Ready Player One.</div>
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The film adaptation premiers tonight and we really hope it does the book justice.</div>
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In Ready Player One, James Halliday aka Anorak, an eccentric billionaire, sends players on a quest to find an Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in his massive online game.</div>
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The owners of Pints & Pixels have decided to run a quest of our own. We call it, “Jumpman’s Grand Puzzle.”</div>
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Like Halliday, we too are obsessed with geeky things and 80s pop culture, therefore those themes are prevalent throughout our quest.</div>
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To win our prize you’ll need to solve riddles and puzzles, play some old-school video games, and do a bit of performing.</div>
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Just to be clear, completing this quest will be neither quick nor easy. You will have many tests to overcome. Sometimes you may have to wait for places to open and you will not be able to skip ahead.</div>
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It's a progression quest where one thing leads to another and sometimes you will need information from a previous step to solve the section you’re currently working.</div>
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A difficult quest deserves a worthy prize. The first person to complete our puzzle will receive a special badge good for 10 tokens per day for one year at Pints & Pixels, a cabaret size commercial Pac-Man arcade game and a copy of Ready Player One signed by the author, Earnest Cline.</div>
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As in The Highlander, there can be only one … winner.</div>
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To steal a line from Anorak in the book:</div>
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<br /></div>
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Three hidden keys open three secret gates<br />
Wherein the errant will be tested for worthy traits<br />
And those with the skill to survive these straits<br />
Will reach The End where the prize awaits</div>
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We wanted to give you a little help so we have set up <a href="https://facebook.com/jumpmansjournal/" target="_blank">Jumpman's Journal</a> on FaceBook.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It will serve the same function Anorak's Almanac did in the Ready Player One: a sampling of some of the geeky 80s things we love.</div>
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Plus, it will serve as your “gunter” message board in case anyone wants to discuss the quest, share information or ask for help.</div>
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<br /></div>
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You’re welcome to team up if you like but as we said before - there can be only one winner.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiELBzPVFvMf9Tkr2BcvHJEolvxuXtmFXBYX8yWgRGLXcL9mdSa2KXbvg17WswedGkm58J30FLmHpmutStnZcq91gW1qcvZtjS0Jsu0EVDzwLnvH1phwD1ZS_Hkj6qQ_rwcptYotTdIrs/s1600/Steve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="705" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiELBzPVFvMf9Tkr2BcvHJEolvxuXtmFXBYX8yWgRGLXcL9mdSa2KXbvg17WswedGkm58J30FLmHpmutStnZcq91gW1qcvZtjS0Jsu0EVDzwLnvH1phwD1ZS_Hkj6qQ_rwcptYotTdIrs/s200/Steve.jpg" width="200" /></a>Now I’d like you to meet Steve. You've probably noticed him hanging around Pints & Pixels. <i>[See blue Space Invader-looking figure at right.]</i></div>
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Steve will help guide you along your quest. Wherever the quest takes you, you’ll find Steve somewhere nearby.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If you find yourself in a location that has no Steve you probably need to re-think the previous clue.</div>
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Our quest will take you to some of our favorite spots all over Huntsville and the surrounding areas.</div>
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<br /></div>
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While questing, we ask that you please show respect for the property and employees of the places you visit.</div>
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And so without further ado, let's get this party started.</div>
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To start the quest you need to go,<br />
Where Fortuna's favors flow,<br />
On ivory bones and heroes spin,<br />
To battle hard and sometimes win.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Good luck.</div>
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Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-20523392714739448842016-08-10T22:46:00.000-05:002018-04-01T23:02:58.837-05:002016 Weird Al Huntsville Concert Report<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt028OicLlP6eVcNLmz3aPj9KCdbqKGkEPfsMFCK8w7rXt470X00YWTl9ELNN6Mg0c3908gWBOKlMJ0iFNfB9MuCsT9P_LxBt0lnvQuqvCGGMiW92mYGMiQ0gTbWdY88yLKRujCJVx1Us4/s1600/2016-06-17+3+Foil.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt028OicLlP6eVcNLmz3aPj9KCdbqKGkEPfsMFCK8w7rXt470X00YWTl9ELNN6Mg0c3908gWBOKlMJ0iFNfB9MuCsT9P_LxBt0lnvQuqvCGGMiW92mYGMiQ0gTbWdY88yLKRujCJVx1Us4/s400/2016-06-17+3+Foil.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The opening of "Foil"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was Friday, June 17, 2016. My older boys were on a church trip to Germany, leaving my wife and I with the younger two. We'd hoped to leave them and a pair of friends who were babysitting at home while we had time for a leisurely dinner before the concert. This was not to be, however, and we wound up grabbing food from a Taco Bell drive-through before heading to the Von Braun Center Concert Hall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJ7rrqAJaGedyZTLqaaYn3Km5OuZxc0f0whzEfI7l0pzZeIDTpQ_M1q8TE6ooaJmQ2igiKJPpR5OHF0LechQdwAhKNVYASYFUl2t7YKjLthhyf0ANIVTXfUXiucT_bXr_vUXpnRE8ns-8/s1600/2016-06-17+1+crowd+ahead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1600" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJ7rrqAJaGedyZTLqaaYn3Km5OuZxc0f0whzEfI7l0pzZeIDTpQ_M1q8TE6ooaJmQ2igiKJPpR5OHF0LechQdwAhKNVYASYFUl2t7YKjLthhyf0ANIVTXfUXiucT_bXr_vUXpnRE8ns-8/s200/2016-06-17+1+crowd+ahead.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The line ahead of us</td></tr>
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We walked down from the parking deck about 20 minutes to show time, only to find a line going all the way back from the door to the sidewalk. It quickly grew to go all the way down to the corner after we got in line and it was obvious the concert would not be starting on time. It turned out they were having everyone go through metal detectors and that was the slow down. Possibly the recent shooting at an Orlando gay night club was to blame. But eventually we got in with plenty more people still outside behind us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDRzk-CD0Ne-XnjtC11RHvuO96iUYvCAQyF5zx1FqFvwgA-CCTNRw3r_CD-anp3VqPzlE1hnHHE2czBp4hAqVVpaNuH9681Qn-0oYwlu3uokZXYf3Nc15yXsoeELd5CQCAv9RQd3swbyy/s1600/2016-06-17+2+crowd+behind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="1600" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDRzk-CD0Ne-XnjtC11RHvuO96iUYvCAQyF5zx1FqFvwgA-CCTNRw3r_CD-anp3VqPzlE1hnHHE2czBp4hAqVVpaNuH9681Qn-0oYwlu3uokZXYf3Nc15yXsoeELd5CQCAv9RQd3swbyy/s400/2016-06-17+2+crowd+behind.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The line behind us</td></tr>
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The concert started with "Tacky." Al was actually out back in a courtyard on the north side of the civic center. They had a video camera and screen set up so they could do a single shot of him walking/dancing/singing all the way into the venue. At one point he passed Jim West with his guitar in the hall. Also along the way were a couple of cheerleaders for the later "Smells Like Nirvana" performance and a guy that Al violently shoved down who then had to lay still until he was out of the shot. I'm curious whose job that is or if they select a fan from the VIP package for it. Seems too important to leave to that, though. Finally Al entered through a door on house right and went up on stage to finish the song to much applause.<br />
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At first many people remained standing. Ironically, I'd read a comment in the "Close Personal Friends of Al" Facebook group not many days before about how polite Al fans are, sitting down through most of his concerts. Some people had to stand back up because of those in front of them. Finally someone got the message through and everyone sat down.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4R6hUuMO57rFtbrVOQ9lQJ81Hvyt2Gfo_k4ZyC30qy_yG5A2aQiyvkraWzuhe440kL2q-omWuUvbOu3yjELnsXKDxnxazT6gQg_8K7oGMdFGHNa7I0zI9LPdLhU-YIHUzPJNtH4yke9M/s1600/2016-06-17+4+Word+Crimes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1600" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4R6hUuMO57rFtbrVOQ9lQJ81Hvyt2Gfo_k4ZyC30qy_yG5A2aQiyvkraWzuhe440kL2q-omWuUvbOu3yjELnsXKDxnxazT6gQg_8K7oGMdFGHNa7I0zI9LPdLhU-YIHUzPJNtH4yke9M/s200/2016-06-17+4+Word+Crimes.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Word Crimes"</td></tr>
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The concert went much as the previous ones I've been to have, but obviously with new songs from Mandatory Fun. The new part was an "unplugged" session where Al and the band sat down and sang some of his songs -- definitely parodies but I think some originals too -- to new tunes. I'd previously heard the new renditions of "Eat It" and "Gonna Buy Me a Condo" online, but the rest were new to me, so that was cool.<br />
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After the show, we went around back to see if Al would do an autograph session. I was a little dubious because of the new VIP packages that include a meet and greet before the concert. This concern turned out to be well-founded, as there was not a trace of Al or Bermuda near the band's buses the entire time we waited.<br />
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What we did get, however, was a lot of time with Rubén, Al's keyboard player. He regaled us with several tales. One was on how he got the job of being in Al's band. I forget the details, but apparently his audition was on a platform. Near the end, he fell off backwards, which was not supposed to be part of the act. Everyone went racing to check on him, only to discover he'd placed a lot of pillows to land on and had staged the whole thing. He's pretty sure this is why he was selected.<br />
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There were also lots of tales of concerts he'd attended in his youth that one could scarcely afford to attend today. (Even if all those artists were still alive and performing, although many are.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquBynNWL1BFd2qVqPOrQyzw2MMeIyfdMh2cclYGGL_cs8Mp_TlZADqFzKmCYfQTEiSzqr30ojNYRUWuIrJhN9SqHPshQd6GgDiAfmJnWXr_2nfctMAR_Clp0m13ywy_92pxa0jQJ5EFLn/s1600/2016-06-17+X+Ruben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquBynNWL1BFd2qVqPOrQyzw2MMeIyfdMh2cclYGGL_cs8Mp_TlZADqFzKmCYfQTEiSzqr30ojNYRUWuIrJhN9SqHPshQd6GgDiAfmJnWXr_2nfctMAR_Clp0m13ywy_92pxa0jQJ5EFLn/s400/2016-06-17+X+Ruben.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubén talking to fans</td></tr>
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At one point Rubén asked the small crowd who'd been to the oldest Weird Al concert. I quickly spoke up with "1987," Al's tour opening for the Monkees, which was the winner (even pre-dating Rubén as part of the band). He then spotted the shirt I was wearing from Al's 2000 tour. It featured the entire band with Rubén standing in the background holding a large janitor's broom. He explained that he'd come up with the idea for that shirt and that Al hadn't planned to include him in the shoot otherwise.<br />
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I used the opportunity to ask, "Do you miss the cone bra?" There was a period of time when Al and the band performed "Like a Surgeon" to the newer, middle-eastern arrangement of Madonna's "Like a Virgin," complete with Rubén wearing a fake boob top and messing around on a bed, although thankfully not as sexually as Madonna's 1990 tour. Rubén was selected because he was "the new guy" of the band.<br />
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He replied, "No. I had it put in my contract that I never have to do that again."<br />
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During our time with Rubén, Steve Jay did come by very briefly and thank us for coming. Jim West just waved to us as he was getting on the bus.<br />
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Finally, at I'm not sure what time, security came out and told us Al was already on his way to his next concert and both Al's management and the VBC would like us to leave. (One of the security people was actually a retired HPD officer I knew, but he didn't notice me.) I was skeptical of the statement Al had already left, but there was nothing to be gained by hanging around if they didn't want us to be there, so we went home. And in Al's defense, he did have a concert in North Carolina the next night. I'm 3 for 5 in seeing Al after his concerts now.<br />
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During the concert I'd come up with the question to ask Al if I saw him. Steve Goodie released a "Weird Al Country Medley" on the FuMP the previous month, saying he planned to present Al with a copy of it during his Nashville concert, which had been the night before. (A repeat of something Steve had managed to do the year before.) I was going to ask Al if he'd had a chance to listen and what he thought.<br />
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I messaged Steve this on Facebook the next day. It turned out he'd been unable to meet Al because the backstage guest list was restricted. I said that I was kind of glad I'd missed Al then, because I would have just looked stupid. Steve replied, "I know what you mean!"Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-24178955350499881772016-05-19T13:45:00.000-05:002016-05-19T13:46:54.528-05:00Hasbro applies for "Dire Wraiths" trademarkYou may have seen the recent news from <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/05/18/hasbro-trademarks-dire-wraiths-for-comics-will-marvel-comics-challenge-it/" target="_blank">Bleeding Cool</a> that Hasbro has trademarked the term "Dire Wraiths" for comic books. That's certainly an interesting turn of events and I am indeed curious if and how Marvel will respond. But they missed a big related item. Hasbro also filed an application for use of "Dire Wraiths" with action figures!<br />
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Yes, after all these years, we might finally get Dire Wraith toys for our Rom action figures to fight. But until such a thing actually comes to be, we'll just have to keep pretending our sister's Ken and Barbie dolls are shape-shifting scum.Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-89418413721069897782016-04-20T01:26:00.000-05:002016-04-20T01:26:43.718-05:00Find: Star Bird<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOSMPd8-VUazWSoL0SSgVxHOS3iIypwF8sNstFXELBZ-_I3tiLE4pXiU7JZRxcOKsuB8bCG95x0xHi84pTzla06o7Yl2IqyeCm6pwv_oDkWJv9_xa7R-FJsS4QcBbkED15w-nIJ8yOjUC/s1600/Star+Bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOSMPd8-VUazWSoL0SSgVxHOS3iIypwF8sNstFXELBZ-_I3tiLE4pXiU7JZRxcOKsuB8bCG95x0xHi84pTzla06o7Yl2IqyeCm6pwv_oDkWJv9_xa7R-FJsS4QcBbkED15w-nIJ8yOjUC/s320/Star+Bird.jpg" width="278" /></a>Looky what I found! It's a Star Bird! "What's a Star Bird?" Sigh. You young whippersnapper. You make me feel old.<br />
<h4>
What's a Star Bird</h4>
The Star Bird was a cool electronic toy from the late 1970s. It was a contemporary of Big Trak and Rom the Space Knight. (Perhaps you've heard of Rom? If not, pick approximately every other entry in this blog since I started it in 2008.) In fact, Bing McCoy – the man that created the Rom concept – was also the mind behind this toy.<br />
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Mounted on the front are twin "lasers" that one can fire by pressing a button. The true gimmick, however, is the engine sound. It responds to the angle you hold the ship. Point it down and you're coming in for a landing. Point it up and you're taking off. Hold it straight and, um, you maintain altitude.<br />
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The <a href="http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=04160339&IDKey=C079A9113299%0D%0A" target="_blank">patent</a> for the toy looks amazingly close to the final product, so perhaps McCoy and his partners also came up with the other cool feature. You can take pieces off and reconfigure it! Pop the front off and engine out, reconnect, and you've got a fighter. The two tail fins come off as drone fighters. Slide the outer hull off the front and you've got a sleeker cockpit underneath. Eject the laser turret and its an escape pod. Oh, just go look at the <a href="http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/StarBird.PDF" target="_blank">instructions</a>.<br />
<h4>
The Find</h4>
<div>
Sadly, one of the local comic book stores – in fact, the newest – was closing. Of course, Hit Comics opening less than half a mile from the biggest comic store in town, The Deep, probably wasn't a great idea to begin with. The owner had actually been doing collectible shows for a while before opening the shop and will continue to do so now that it's closed. He specializes in comic books and Star Wars toys and memorbilia, but has other collectibles, too. So when I saw on Facebook that the store was having a going out of business sale, I went to check it out.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I found a few comics to buy, but nothing I'd really been looking for. I had to talk myself out of buying a complete set of <i>7 Guys of Justice</i> because I'd have wound up with far more duplicates than I would have filled in missing issues. It wasn't until I was checking out I spotted the Star Bird box behind the counter. GASP!</div>
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Two things were at play in my mind. First, it was invented by the same team that invented Rom. Second, my best friend in elementary school had one and I never did. (You'll probably never read this, but hi, Cody!) So I ask if I can see it. I haven't held a Star Bird in decades.</div>
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As you can see, the box is not in great shape. It was once sealed in packing tape which has since been removed, leaving those lovely brown marks. And some of the corners have come apart.</div>
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Inside I'm surprised to find what looks like a complete Star Bird. It even has the little gun for the turret that everybody – including, if I recall correctly, my best friend – lost. Wow! No instructions, but that's no big deal. Okay, how much? Twenty bucks. Amazingly, I talk myself out of whipping out my debit card and buying it. It's just a hunk of plastic. It'll just sit on a shelf forever. That money is more wisely spent on necessities than this.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
That was Wednesday. Thursday I can see in my bank account the bonus from work pending as a deposit for Friday. Holy cow! It's a lot, lot, lot more than I expected. Guess where I'm going back to on Friday?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I do zero research on prices ahead of time. After years of dealing in classic video games of that era, I know a good deal when I see it. What I want to know is whether it's really complete or not, so I check on what pieces it's supposed to come with. When I go back on Friday, it's still there! I determine it is truly complete, so now it's mine!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I considered it, but didn't check the battery compartment before buying. There I failed because it turns out the 9-volt battery connector is torn up. I'm pretty confident I can replace it, though, I just haven't had time yet. I'm hoping that once that's done, I'll have a fully functional toy.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Post-purchase research on ebay confirms I got a great deal. I also discover that all the stickers are present and placed in the right spots, according to the instructions. The "Dock" sticker on the back of the ship's head is mauled and one sticker on the front has shifted at some point, but overall it's good. And my younger kids were impressed just looking at it when I brought it home. Can't wait to fix it and show them the electronics in action. But I want to keep from losing that little gun for the turret, so I'm afraid they're not going to get unrestricted access to it.</div>
Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-90891743170031507332014-10-29T07:19:00.001-05:002014-10-29T07:19:11.606-05:00Security and the Dalai LamaI happened to be in the right place at the right time to learn a few interesting things about security surrounding one stop on the Dalai Lama's recent visit to Birmingham, Alabama. Now that the visit is over, I thought I'd post them as matters of curiosity.<br />
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The 14th Dalai Lama visited Birmingham for Human Rights Week in October 2014. On the morning of the final day of his visit, Sunday, October 26, he was the featured guest at a moderated panel discussion entitled "Beyond Belief" at the Alabama Theatre. You might wonder why, when the city owns venues like Boutwell Auditorium, the event was hosted at the Alabama? The reason is exactly because the city owns Boutwell. The Alabama is a private venue, therefore anyone causing problems could be ejected without some of the messy legal issues of ejecting someone from a public venue. They did, in fact, escort one disruptive person out during the event.<br />
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Prior to the panel, everyone who would be working backstage at the Alabama Theatre had to pass a somewhat thorough background check. This was only a handful of people and I'm not aware of anyone who failed to pass.<br />
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Early on Sunday morning, the Secret Service -- or perhaps it was the Department of State security force, I'm unclear on that -- took control of access to the Alabama Theatre. They were followed a half our later by the FBI. Then, another half hour later, the Birmingham Police Department came in and swept the building using their K-9 units. If anything serious occurred, the route to get the Dalai Lama out using a back door was pre-determined.<br />
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Perhaps the most interesting effect, and one you wouldn't have thought of, was that on concessions. Only small drinks could be served, not large ones. This was so that a filled, thrown cup would not incur much damage. Also, bottled water could only be served if the concession stand workers removed and kept the bottle lids as they were served. Once again, this was so that a thrown bottle would lose most of its contents during flight and not be a serious risk.<br />
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And there you have it. Things the average person probably wouldn't think about when the Dalai Lama comes to visit. Remember this the next time you take possession of the dangerous weapon known as bottled water.Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797198841080592413.post-14040229733891298552014-07-08T22:47:00.001-05:002014-07-08T22:52:02.750-05:00Rom: Mighty MuggGods of Galador! Today <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/1862227/rom-the-space-knight-hasbro-sdcc-exclusive/" target="_blank">MTV News,</a> of all places, exclusively announced that Hasbro will be selling a Mighty Muggs version of Rom. Initially available only at <a href="http://www.comic-con.org/" target="_blank">Comic Con International</a> in San Diego in two-and-a-half weeks, it should be found at <a href="http://hasbrotoyshop.com/">HasbroToyShop.com</a> afterward. This version of Rom, with even less articulation points than the original, will sell for $22.99. Let's hope they don't grossly underestimate demand! (And I hope my wife won't kill me if I order one while I'm unemployed.) Thanks to Rich Raymer of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/141453282624884/468562879913921/" target="_blank">Rom's Spaceknights to Benefit Bill Mantlo</a> group on Facebook for the tip!<br />
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<br />Lee K. Seitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337976749549614454noreply@blogger.com1