Fun for the geeks!

[slg47]

Thanks slg47 and merilenda, but I still don't get it. Arggghhhhh.

Username: So, is it Mandelbrot (capitalized)?
Password: Does this have to do with Snoopy and Peanuts? Or does it mean the hippie Woodstock?

I tried Mandelbrot and Peanuts, and Mandelbrot and Snoopy, together; they didn't work.
I have a feeling this is just the beginning of the end of my sanity.

that's not the username...you have to enter it like you would a normal clue and it will take you to a new page. you're on the right track but none are capitalized.

You guys are good!

 

[slg47]

WHAT THE HELL IS TOO MODERN????????????????????????????

dragonfly-look at the address bar!

 

[jaysonsmom]

I thought I was a geek, but feel totally defeated by this puzzle!
Being a Jeopardy buff but with complete computer illiteracy does not help at all.

 

[zoebartlett]

I thought I was a geek, but feel totally defeated by this puzzle!
Being a Jeopardy buff but with complete computer illiteracy does not help at all.

That's how I feel too. We need an easier puzzle.

 

[Porridge]

I'm back! I was too busy yesterday, I had to force myself to step awaaaaaay from the puzzle. Anyone get anywhere on 27b? I CANNOT find a decoder for it. Maybe there was one back when he wrote the puzzle but not now! I'm dangerously close to trying to do it with pen and paper. That would be way too sad...wouldn't it?...

 

[elrohwen]

I'm back! I was too busy yesterday, I had to force myself to step awaaaaaay from the puzzle. Anyone get anywhere on 27b? I CANNOT find a decoder for it. Maybe there was one back when he wrote the puzzle but not now! I'm dangerously close to trying to do it with pen and paper. That would be way too sad...wouldn't it?...

I can't find a translator - I just did it by hand. It wasn't hard, but I also didn't get anything more than a jumble of letters

And I did put those jumble of letters into the address bar and they didn't work.

 

[dragonfly411]

WHAT THE HELL IS TOO MODERN????????????????????????????

dragonfly-look at the address bar!

Thanks, will do when I get home

 

[mayerling]

OK, I'm back trying to do this, but I'm not a native speaker of English and have no idea what kids usually say when you tell them to look at a blank screen. Any hints?

 

[slg47]

I'm back! I was too busy yesterday, I had to force myself to step awaaaaaay from the puzzle. Anyone get anywhere on 27b? I CANNOT find a decoder for it. Maybe there was one back when he wrote the puzzle but not now! I'm dangerously close to trying to do it with pen and paper. That would be way too sad...wouldn't it?...

I can't find a translator - I just did it by hand. It wasn't hard, but I also didn't get anything more than a jumble of letters

And I did put those jumble of letters into the address bar and they didn't work.

I also did it by hand...well the first few, anyway, then I realized it was gibberish!

Do you think there's a clue in the "one man's trash is another man's treasure"?

also did you guys get 26a?

 

[slg47]

OK, I'm back trying to do this, but I'm not a native speaker of English and have no idea what kids usually say when you tell them to look at a blank screen. Any hints?

it's not something kids would say, it's how they would feel (adults, too!)

when you figure that out, you need to find a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently

 

[mayerling]

OK, I'm back trying to do this, but I'm not a native speaker of English and have no idea what kids usually say when you tell them to look at a blank screen. Any hints?

it's not something kids would say, it's how they would feel (adults, too!)

when you figure that out, you need to find a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently

Still no idea...

 

[slg47]

OK, I'm back trying to do this, but I'm not a native speaker of English and have no idea what kids usually say when you tell them to look at a blank screen. Any hints?

it's not something kids would say, it's how they would feel (adults, too!)

when you figure that out, you need to find a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently

Still no idea...

hmm...ok...I'll try with some hints then. think of a chalk _____ (this is the one that is spelled differently!)

 

[mayerling]

OK, I'm back trying to do this, but I'm not a native speaker of English and have no idea what kids usually say when you tell them to look at a blank screen. Any hints?

it's not something kids would say, it's how they would feel (adults, too!)

when you figure that out, you need to find a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently

Still no idea...

hmm...ok...I'll try with some hints then. think of a chalk _____ (this is the one that is spelled differently!)

I'd actually thought of that one, but when I tried the two spellings I could think of it didn't work. Is the other spelling also a real word? Or maybe I'm just getting the username wrong instead of the password...

Edit: Yup, the username was incorrect

 

[elrohwen]

I'm back! I was too busy yesterday, I had to force myself to step awaaaaaay from the puzzle. Anyone get anywhere on 27b? I CANNOT find a decoder for it. Maybe there was one back when he wrote the puzzle but not now! I'm dangerously close to trying to do it with pen and paper. That would be way too sad...wouldn't it?...

I can't find a translator - I just did it by hand. It wasn't hard, but I also didn't get anything more than a jumble of letters

And I did put those jumble of letters into the address bar and they didn't work.

I also did it by hand...well the first few, anyway, then I realized it was gibberish!

Do you think there's a clue in the "one man's trash is another man's treasure"?

also did you guys get 26a?

I do think there might be something to that clue, but I can't think of what the heck it would be.

I'm also completely stuck on 26a.

eta: I did read online that some of the stuff you translate will be gibberish, but to keep going and you'll get the answer - I kept going and didn't get anything, unless it's an anagram and I'm not seeing it (I'm terrible at anagrams)

 

[Porridge]

I'm back! I was too busy yesterday, I had to force myself to step awaaaaaay from the puzzle. Anyone get anywhere on 27b? I CANNOT find a decoder for it. Maybe there was one back when he wrote the puzzle but not now! I'm dangerously close to trying to do it with pen and paper. That would be way too sad...wouldn't it?...

I can't find a translator - I just did it by hand. It wasn't hard, but I also didn't get anything more than a jumble of letters

And I did put those jumble of letters into the address bar and they didn't work.

I also did it by hand...well the first few, anyway, then I realized it was gibberish!

Do you think there's a clue in the "one man's trash is another man's treasure"?

also did you guys get 26a?

I do think there might be something to that clue, but I can't think of what the heck it would be.

I'm also completely stuck on 26a.

eta: I did read online that some of the stuff you translate will be gibberish, but to keep going and you'll get the answer - I kept going and didn't get anything, unless it's an anagram and I'm not seeing it (I'm terrible at anagrams)

I am so not getting this either aaaarrrgggggghhhhhhh

 

[slg47]

the title more codes anagrams to morse code? El, what decoder are you using to get the gibberish? (can you paste a link?) Maybe it is an anagram, or something similar...ugh so stuck on this and 26a!

 

[GingerP]

Maybe we can collaborate and try to tackle it together by throwing out our ideas. A lot of times I'd be on the right track but not there, and the extra nudge you all gave me would be the trick.

26a: The source code asks if we are seeing a pattern, so I think this must have to follow the logic of the previous Mandelbrot fractal. It says to think big. In what sense is the Mandelbrot "big" that could be analogous to the keys.jpg clue of "go long"? I was looking into the history of the keyboard and stumbled through to teletype and telegraphy. I tried some of the originators of those topics, to parallel with Mandelbrot as an inventor, but that didn't work. Through those searches Wikipedia linked me to ticker tape, which I thought could parallel the "go long" clue, but I couldn't find a connection. I have NO idea if I'm totally off, but that was the logic in my head.

27b: I put the binary provided through the first time and got the "zero"s and "one"s. I converted those to numeric digits and tried to run the *new binary through again. I had the same issue that the binary was not divisible by 8, so I took out the last 5 digits to run it through. I got the ITA2 ^gibberish. With the "one man's trash" quote, I took the 5 leftover binary digits (10010) and found it in the Baudot table in Wikipedia, which is "D" (I believe). I saved this in case it was some kind of alpha key or something. Then, I took the *new binary, split those into 5-bits and tried to translate them using the Baudot table. I got gibberish as well: LHR <space> <return> IZ <null> <shift> SOOABTTI <shift> <shift> SEUD. I also tried to take the ^gibberish and convert it into zeroes and ones, but that didn't work either, as some of the letters and symbols in it are not in the table. Do you all think that there is another cipher we have to use?

Additionally, I tried some of the inventors of these ciphers for 26a, but that didn't work either. My brain is mushier than it's ever been.

Keep in mind, I was up until 2 a.m., so if I'm completely off, it was probably because I was out of my mind tired at that point. Thoughts?

 

[elrohwen]

Maybe we can collaborate and try to tackle it together by throwing out our ideas. A lot of times I'd be on the right track but not there, and the extra nudge you all gave me would be the trick.

26a: The source code asks if we are seeing a pattern, so I think this must have to follow the logic of the previous Mandelbrot fractal. It says to think big. In what sense is the Mandelbrot "big" that could be analogous to the keys.jpg clue of "go long"? I was looking into the history of the keyboard and stumbled through to teletype and telegraphy. I tried some of the originators of those topics, to parallel with Mandelbrot as an inventor, but that didn't work. Through those searches Wikipedia linked me to ticker tape, which I thought could parallel the "go long" clue, but I couldn't find a connection. I have NO idea if I'm totally off, but that was the logic in my head.

27b: I put the binary provided through the first time and got the "zero"s and "one"s. I converted those to numeric digits and tried to run the *new binary through again. I had the same issue that the binary was not divisible by 8, so I took out the last 5 digits to run it through. I got the ITA2 ^gibberish. With the "one man's trash" quote, I took the 5 leftover binary digits (10010) and found it in the Baudot table in Wikipedia, which is "D" (I believe). I saved this in case it was some kind of alpha key or something. Then, I took the *new binary, split those into 5-bits and tried to translate them using the Baudot table. I got gibberish as well: LHR <space> <return> IZ <null> <shift> SOOABTTI <shift> <shift> SEUD. I also tried to take the ^gibberish and convert it into zeroes and ones, but that didn't work either, as some of the letters and symbols in it are not in the table. Do you all think that there is another cipher we have to use?

Additionally, I tried some of the inventors of these ciphers for 26a, but that didn't work either. My brain is mushier than it's ever been.

Keep in mind, I was up until 2 a.m., so if I'm completely off, it was probably because I was out of my mind tired at that point. Thoughts?

Your thinking is exactly the same as mine! I did all of those things. I feel like we're on the right track with the binary, but I can't figure out what to do next. Is there some other step before using the ITA2 code? The fact that ITA2 is coded into the second set of binary can't be a coincidence, right?

Slg, I used the Baudot conversion in wiki and got the same gibberish as Ginger. Strangely, someone online said they converted to ITA2 and got something starting with a "B" - I'll have to back and find the forum I saw that on. The person who knew the answer said they were right and to keep going with it. No matter what I do I cannot get a "B" using ITA2 - doing it backwards, forwards, only using some of the binary, etc. But the person who had it right said it was absolutely a telegraph code. Grrr. So frustrated.

For the keyboard, I keep thinking the answer has something to do with it being blurry, but I haven't come up with anything related to that either. I feel like this one must be so easy once you get it, because there isn't much to go on, but I just cannot figure out what it could be.

These two levels have me completely stumped.

 

[GingerP]

26a: I forgot to mention I tried looking into nearsightedness and farsightedness, and the scientific names. I was thinking maybe it would start and end with an "e" or "d." I didn't explore it much beyond that. I also briefly tried to find the longest words in the English language, hoping to find an "e" or "d" as well, but I don't think that's it, since I guess the guy who created this is in Switzerland?

27b: Hmmm...aside from just thinking about the logic of it all, I haven't actively tried to look at the clues again. When I get in the right mind to do it, I'll see if I can turn out a B somewhere. Did you try to see if the original binary can be split into 5-bit?

 

[elrohwen]

26a: I forgot to mention I tried looking into nearsightedness and farsightedness, and the scientific names. I was thinking maybe it would start and end with an "e" or "d." I didn't explore it much beyond that. I also briefly tried to find the longest words in the English language, hoping to find an "e" or "d" as well, but I don't think that's it, since I guess the guy who created this is in Switzerland?

27b: Hmmm...aside from just thinking about the logic of it all, I haven't actively tried to look at the clues again. When I get in the right mind to do it, I'll see if I can turn out a B somewhere. Did you try to see if the original binary can be split into 5-bit?

I did try splitting the original binary, but that didn't work either. Since it says zero and one, there are a limited number of repeating sequences - even if you split it into fives instead of eights you end up repeating the same letters frequently (and none of them were vowels, if I remember)

 

[princesss]

I'm stuck on level 5. "A Winters Day" that stupid white screen. HELP!

 

[Porridge]

I'm stuck on level 5. "A Winters Day" that stupid white screen. HELP!

Try tilting your screen, looking at it from a different angle

 

[slg47]

I'm stuck on level 5. "A Winters Day" that stupid white screen. HELP!

tilt your screen!

 

[princesss]

Love you ladies! Thank you!

 

[slg47]

26a: I forgot to mention I tried looking into nearsightedness and farsightedness, and the scientific names. I was thinking maybe it would start and end with an "e" or "d." I didn't explore it much beyond that. I also briefly tried to find the longest words in the English language, hoping to find an "e" or "d" as well, but I don't think that's it, since I guess the guy who created this is in Switzerland?

27b: Hmmm...aside from just thinking about the logic of it all, I haven't actively tried to look at the clues again. When I get in the right mind to do it, I'll see if I can turn out a B somewhere. Did you try to see if the original binary can be split into 5-bit?

I did try splitting the original binary, but that didn't work either. Since it says zero and one, there are a limited number of repeating sequences - even if you split it into fives instead of eights you end up repeating the same letters frequently (and none of them were vowels, if I remember)

some searches led me to vernam cipher...I'll see if that turns up anything

27b...tried to make sense of the gibberish when using ITA...unfortunately there were a lot of things like 'return carriage' and 'null'...what I did get though was LHRIZSODDABTTI7SEUD (taking out stuff like null)...telegraph code definitely seems right since the title anagrams to morse code, morse invented telegraph...you can take the word 'BAUDOT' out of this gibberish...other than that I am really not sure...will keep trying with the vernam cipher angle, haven't been able to find a decoder

 

[jstarfireb]

I made it to 28a (out of sheer luck with 26a and stubborn persistence with 27a) but can't get past the 24 password path (the cipher one). I figured out the keyword but can't find a decoder that gives me anything more than gibberish.

For those of you looking for help with 26a, you're looking for the longest word you can make with those 2 letters, D and E. I started with "deed" and added some to the end...miraculously, it was right!

 

[slg47]

I made it to 28a (out of sheer luck with 26a and stubborn persistence with 27a) but can't get past the 24 password path (the cipher one). I figured out the keyword but can't find a decoder that gives me anything more than gibberish.

For those of you looking for help with 26a, you're looking for the longest word you can make with those 2 letters, D and E. I started with "deed" and added some to the end...miraculously, it was right!

I was thinking to do this for 26a but googling did not help! what is the keyword for 27b???

OH, sorry, youre on 26b, not 27b I think thats the ADFGX cipher. for 27a, did you like cut up the things and try to paste together, or just eyeball it?

 

[jstarfireb]

I made it to 28a (out of sheer luck with 26a and stubborn persistence with 27a) but can't get past the 24 password path (the cipher one). I figured out the keyword but can't find a decoder that gives me anything more than gibberish.

For those of you looking for help with 26a, you're looking for the longest word you can make with those 2 letters, D and E. I started with "deed" and added some to the end...miraculously, it was right!

I was thinking to do this for 26a but googling did not help! what is the keyword for 27b???

Don't know - didn't get there yet! I'm talking about the first keyword for the b pathway, the one with the ADFGX Cipher.

 

[GingerP]

I JUST got 26a. It's so dumb! Or maybe I am.

The longest word is the clue, then look at the picture and the information it gives away. 6 letters.

ETA: You all beat me to it. On to the next!

 

[slg47]

I also had trouble finding a decoder, make sure it is ADFGX and not ADFGVX, and it uses the standard alphabet (grid has the alphabet in order...some googling should take you to a site where you can have a randomized alphabet grid, and just put it in a, b, c, d, order)