Writing. Swamped.

Deadline bearing down on me like a train.

For you amusement, try this.

Then, for MY amusement, tell me how it works. (If you think it didn’t work, check your math.)

My daughter sent me this link while I was working. Bad girl!

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16 responses to “Writing. Swamped.”

  1. Linda Avatar

    Well, Paul and I had fun with this one. Figuring out the pattern wasn’t all that hard. Gave us a little brain workout for the day. Brain workouts are as important as body workouts, IMO. Thanks!!

  2. MarFisk Avatar

    Thanks Holly,

    I appreciate the suggestion :p. Now my eyes are dry from not blinking and I haven’t typed a word because my hands are clutched around my tea mug!

    Boy am I glad I don’t have a good reason to be paranoid. I’d be good at it ;).

    Cheers,
    Margaret.

  3. kapush Avatar
    kapush

    It’s simple.

    97=9+7=16. 97-16=81
    96=9+6=15. 96-15=81
    95=9+5=14. 95-14=81

    and so on. There are a handful of key numbers so put the same symbol next to all the key numbers and you’ve got a neat trick on your hand.

    Moreover, they change the symbol every time you refresh the page. I tried the same number 89 (8+9=17; 89-17=72) several times in a row and always got different symbols, but that was because the symbol referring to 72 would change every time. This creates an illusion that the crystal can read your mind and show the right symbol.

  4. Holly Avatar
    Holly

    … oddly I’ve had herbal tea for the last couple days rather than my normal green …

    Paranoia can save your life. {g}

    Or just make you miss out on really good stuff. Just don’t turn your back on it while you make it, and you’ll be fine. Contrary to popular belief, even watched pots do eventually boil.

  5. MarFisk Avatar

    Sigh. I know how it works, but I’m one of those weird people who hit the slim statistical chance where it fails.

    I did 49 4+9=13 – 49=36 and got the sun character

    Then I did 55 5+5=10 – 55 = 45 Then I got the yin yang that would have been right for the first one.

    Guess I’m too scattered to do this. Glad you’re getting work done BTW.

    Oh, and I haven’t written up the review yet for my blog, but I finally read Midnight Rain. I really liked it…but oddly I’ve had herbal tea for the last couple days rather than my normal green ;).

    Margaret

  6. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    Incidentally, Jerry Pournelle is big on “Talk like a Pirate Day,” and directed to this site, http://www.mediocreminds.com/content.php?articleID=160, which will pull up any URL you enter into the box (loosley) translated into Pirate.

  7. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    Any two digit number = 10N + M.

    Thus, if N = 7 and M = 9, you get 79.

    Add the digits together: N + M

    7 + 9 = 16.

    Subtract: (10N + M) – (N + M) = 9 N

    79 – 16 = 63 = 9 x 7

    All of the multiples of 9 have the same symbol.

  8. Gabriele Avatar

    I knew there was a reason why I studied History, not Maths. 🙂

  9. PJ Avatar

    Ahoy, holly, I”e seen this before. Aye. We look forward to your merry yarn!

  10. Holly Avatar
    Holly

    No no. I didn’t let it interfere with my writing. My best day so far on the Hawkspar type-in, I’ve only managed to clear sixty pages. With red scenes piled one on top of the next, this isn’t going to be my best day.

    So I looked at this, looked at the mountain of manuscript to my right and the paltry stack to my left, tried it four times, and though — cute. But no. Someone out there will already know the trick, and I can’t afford to take the time to figure this one out.

    Thanks, everyone.

    I’m plugging along, and have already written to cool, brand-new scenes today. Of course, to hit the deadline, I need to also clear almost 150 pages a day of existing manuscript every day from here on out, and I don’t see how that can happen. Still fighting for it, though.

  11. tambo Avatar

    Yep. It’s just a pattern.

    Go write!!

  12. Ahdie Avatar
    Ahdie

    It’s even simpler than that: no matter what 2 digit number you choose, the answer will always be 0 or a multiple of 9: => 0,9,18,27,36, etc. All of these have the same symbol. Tricky though: every time you click the ball, the symbol for those numbers change to another symbol. I counted 9 sets of symbols.

  13. JM Avatar

    Now try this. Multiply 9 by any number. Add the digits of the results and the digits of the results of that and when you have only one digit left, it’ll be 9.

    For example:

    9 X 648 = 5832
    5 + 8 + 3 + 2 = 18
    1 + 8 = 9

    Wanna make it worse, it works for any base (Hex, Oct, Base 13…). Take the highest single digit of that base, multiply it by any number, add the results until you’re down to a single digit and it’s that highest single digit.

  14. JM Avatar

    It’s simple.

    97=9+7=16. 97-16=81
    96=9+6=15. 96-15=81
    95=9+5=14. 95-14=81

    and so on. There are a handful of key numbers so put the same symbol next to all the key numbers and you’ve got a neat trick on your hand (whichever one you didn’t cut off *~).

  15. MotherNox713 Avatar
    MotherNox713

    Another time-waster: Today is Talk Like a Pirate day. Try getting your co-workers or kids to understand what you’re saying… in pirate speak. 🙂

  16. skirkeby Avatar
    skirkeby

    Not sure about how the math works, but I do know how the trick works.

    Choose the same 2 digit number twice, for instance the number 12. This resolves to 9, and notice that the symbol has changed each time you refresh the crystal ball. This symbol will be the same for any 2 digit number you run through their calculation, it just appears different because they switch up the symbols.

    Hope you can get back to writing now 🙂

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