• Re: 'Guess the term' Halloween version (for pros only!)

    From QuantumFleaBazaar@[email protected] to comp.os.linux.advocacy on Mon Nov 3 11:58:49 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

    On 11/3/25 10:39 AM, Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-03, Steve Carroll <"Steve Carroll"@noone.none> wrote:
    Try this... your pag_v2 should match it (to some
    extent, due to how up to date your is):


    <https://limewire.com/d/z5WwI#f9vGUkcYhN>

    That is not truncated but it is 'frel free'. FTS5 implementation is as
    seen in my pag_v2.db and has all the same fields. You can tweak it to
    remove the unwanted ones, which I call, 'the SQLite Dance' (you'll see
    why if you bother ;) The usual 'free Limewire' restrictions apply.





    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From QuantumFleaBazaar@[email protected] to comp.os.linux.advocacy on Mon Nov 3 11:59:06 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

    On 11/3/25 9:39 AM, Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, Apd <[email protected]d> wrote:
    Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, David B. wrote:
    Nice riddle! The imagery of it being a ghost that checks everything and >>>> then "steps aside" is particularly apt for how the BIOS works.

    If you had put it up before Apd did, I'd have fallen out of my chair! ;)

    I suspect AI at work.

    Aside from the riddle, which may help some more than others, trying to
    use the numbers alone would prove frustrating to anyone. That's why I
    opted for a good riddle... but maybe it was too easy (he got it right
    away!). I probably should've altered the word "circuits". Anyone may get >>> this next one... but it may not be for the faint of heart. Muah ha ha!

    poster_name matching_posts
    ------------------------------------------- --------------
    Shadow <[email protected]> 3862
    Char Jackson <[email protected]d> 661
    Gremlin <[email protected]> 293

    I get 296 for Gremlin, whereas I'd expect fewer with this smaller DB.
    Some of the rest are also a little more than yours.

    Maybe due to minute differences in the queries used? I don't even know
    which I used to post it with so I can't help compare (I've been playing around with them). Try this... your pag_v2 should match it (to some
    extent, due to how up to date your is):

    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Name / Address | Count | +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 141 |
    | Gremlin <[email protected]> | 72 |
    | Apd <[email protected]d> | 66 |
    | Mike Easter <[email protected]d> | 30 |
    | "Steve Carroll <""Steve Carroll""@noSPAM.none>" | 30 |
    | T i m <[email protected]> | 27 |
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 23 |
    | Diesel <[email protected]> | 18 |
    | Shadow <[email protected]> | 14 |
    | Kelly Phillips <[email protected]> | 13 |
    | pothead <[email protected]> | 12 |
    | David <[email protected]d> | 12 |
    | David Brooks <[email protected]> | 10 | +-----------------------------------------------+-------+


    Under current’s hush they linger,
    Like tiny signposts, pale and spare.
    Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers,
    Wandering home through patterned air.




    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Wilson@[email protected] to alt.computer.workshop,comp.os.linux.advocacy,talk.politics.guns on Mon Nov 3 17:58:35 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

    In article <6908f00e$5$19$[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

    On Nov 3, 2025 at 10:39:32�AM MST, ""David B."" wrote <[email protected]>:

    On 03/11/2025 16:39, Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, Apd <[email protected]d> wrote:
    Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, David B. wrote:
    Nice riddle! The imagery of it being a ghost that checks everything and >>>>> then "steps aside" is particularly apt for how the BIOS works.

    If you had put it up before Apd did, I'd have fallen out of my chair! ;) >>>
    I suspect AI at work.

    Aside from the riddle, which may help some more than others, trying to >>>> use the numbers alone would prove frustrating to anyone. That's why I >>>> opted for a good riddle... but maybe it was too easy (he got it right >>>> away!). I probably should've altered the word "circuits". Anyone may get >>>> this next one... but it may not be for the faint of heart. Muah ha ha! >>>>
    poster_name matching_posts
    ------------------------------------------- --------------
    Shadow <[email protected]> 3862
    Char Jackson <[email protected]d> 661
    Gremlin <[email protected]> 293

    I get 296 for Gremlin, whereas I'd expect fewer with this smaller DB.
    Some of the rest are also a little more than yours.

    Maybe due to minute differences in the queries used? I don't even know
    which I used to post it with so I can't help compare (I've been playing
    around with them). Try this... your pag_v2 should match it (to some
    extent, due to how up to date your is):

    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Name / Address | Count |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 141 |
    | Gremlin <[email protected]> | 72 |
    | Apd <[email protected]d> | 66 |
    | Mike Easter <[email protected]d> | 30 |
    | "Steve Carroll <""Steve Carroll""@noSPAM.none>" | 30 |
    | T i m <[email protected]> | 27 |
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 23 |
    | Diesel <[email protected]> | 18 |
    | Shadow <[email protected]> | 14 |
    | Kelly Phillips <[email protected]> | 13 |
    | pothead <[email protected]> | 12 |
    | David <[email protected]d> | 12 |
    | David Brooks <[email protected]> | 10 |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+


    Under current?s hush they linger,
    Like tiny signposts, pale and spare.
    Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers,
    Wandering home through patterned air.


    *TRACES*

    I would guess CRT or tube or something along those lines.

    Hey stupid fucktard. A CRT IS A TUBE.
    CRT = Cathode Ray TUBE.
    How the fuck did you manage to earn an Information
    Technology master's degree when it's obvious that you
    don't know shit about technology?


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Brock McNuggets@[email protected] to alt.computer.workshop,comp.os.linux.advocacy,talk.politics.guns on Mon Nov 3 23:59:46 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

    On Nov 3, 2025 at 3:58:35 PM MST, "Wilson" wrote <[email protected]>:

    In article <6908f00e$5$19$[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

    On Nov 3, 2025 at 10:39:32 AM MST, ""David B."" wrote
    <[email protected]>:

    On 03/11/2025 16:39, Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, Apd <[email protected]d> wrote:
    Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, David B. wrote:
    Nice riddle! The imagery of it being a ghost that checks everything and >>>>>>> then "steps aside" is particularly apt for how the BIOS works.

    If you had put it up before Apd did, I'd have fallen out of my chair! ;) >>>>>
    I suspect AI at work.

    Aside from the riddle, which may help some more than others, trying to >>>>>> use the numbers alone would prove frustrating to anyone. That's why I >>>>>> opted for a good riddle... but maybe it was too easy (he got it right >>>>>> away!). I probably should've altered the word "circuits". Anyone may get >>>>>> this next one... but it may not be for the faint of heart. Muah ha ha! >>>>>>
    poster_name matching_posts
    ------------------------------------------- --------------
    Shadow <[email protected]> 3862
    Char Jackson <[email protected]d> 661
    Gremlin <[email protected]> 293

    I get 296 for Gremlin, whereas I'd expect fewer with this smaller DB. >>>>> Some of the rest are also a little more than yours.

    Maybe due to minute differences in the queries used? I don't even know >>>> which I used to post it with so I can't help compare (I've been playing >>>> around with them). Try this... your pag_v2 should match it (to some
    extent, due to how up to date your is):

    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Name / Address | Count |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 141 |
    | Gremlin <[email protected]> | 72 |
    | Apd <[email protected]d> | 66 |
    | Mike Easter <[email protected]d> | 30 |
    | "Steve Carroll <""Steve Carroll""@noSPAM.none>" | 30 |
    | T i m <[email protected]> | 27 |
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 23 |
    | Diesel <[email protected]> | 18 |
    | Shadow <[email protected]> | 14 |
    | Kelly Phillips <[email protected]> | 13 |
    | pothead <[email protected]> | 12 |
    | David <[email protected]d> | 12 |
    | David Brooks <[email protected]> | 10 |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+


    Under current?s hush they linger,
    Like tiny signposts, pale and spare.
    Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers,
    Wandering home through patterned air.


    *TRACES*

    I would guess CRT or tube or something along those lines.

    Hey stupid fucktard. A CRT IS A TUBE.

    Nobody said otherwise. But you do not get the game. Oh well.

    CRT = Cathode Ray TUBE.
    How the fuck did you manage to earn an Information
    Technology master's degree when it's obvious that you
    don't know shit about technology?
    --
    It's impossible for someone who is at war with themselves to be at peace with you.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Gremlin@[email protected] to alt.computer.workshop,comp.os.linux.advocacy,talk.politics.guns on Tue Nov 4 03:57:13 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

    Wilson <[email protected]> news:[email protected] Mon, 03 Nov 2025
    22:58:35 GMT in alt.computer.workshop, wrote:

    In article <6908f00e$5$19$[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

    On Nov 3, 2025 at 10:39:32 AM MST, ""David B."" wrote
    <[email protected]>:

    On 03/11/2025 16:39, Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, Apd <[email protected]d> wrote:
    Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, David B. wrote:
    Nice riddle! The imagery of it being a ghost that checks
    everything and then "steps aside" is particularly apt for how the
    BIOS works.

    If you had put it up before Apd did, I'd have fallen out of my
    chair! ;)

    I suspect AI at work.

    Aside from the riddle, which may help some more than others,
    trying to use the numbers alone would prove frustrating to anyone.
    That's why I opted for a good riddle... but maybe it was too easy
    (he got it right away!). I probably should've altered the word
    "circuits". Anyone may get this next one... but it may not be for
    the faint of heart. Muah ha ha!

    poster_name matching_posts
    ------------------------------------------- --------------
    Shadow <[email protected]> 3862
    Char Jackson <[email protected]d> 661
    Gremlin <[email protected]> 293

    I get 296 for Gremlin, whereas I'd expect fewer with this smaller
    DB. Some of the rest are also a little more than yours.

    Maybe due to minute differences in the queries used? I don't even
    know which I used to post it with so I can't help compare (I've been
    playing around with them). Try this... your pag_v2 should match it
    (to some extent, due to how up to date your is):

    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Name / Address | Count |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 141 |
    | Gremlin <[email protected]> | 72 |
    | Apd <[email protected]d> | 66 |
    | Mike Easter <[email protected]d> | 30 |
    | "Steve Carroll <""Steve Carroll""@noSPAM.none>" | 30 |
    | T i m <[email protected]> | 27 |
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 23 |
    | Diesel <[email protected]> | 18 |
    | Shadow <[email protected]> | 14 |
    | Kelly Phillips <[email protected]> | 13 |
    | pothead <[email protected]> | 12 |
    | David <[email protected]d> | 12 |
    | David Brooks <[email protected]> | 10 |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+


    Under current?s hush they linger,
    Like tiny signposts, pale and spare.
    Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers,
    Wandering home through patterned air.


    *TRACES*

    I would guess CRT or tube or something along those lines.

    Hey stupid fucktard. A CRT IS A TUBE.
    CRT = Cathode Ray TUBE.
    How the fuck did you manage to earn an Information
    Technology master's degree when it's obvious that you
    don't know shit about technology?

    A papermill college OR his wife did the course work online for him.
    --
    Liar, lawyer; mirror show me, what's the difference?
    Kangaroo done hung the guilty with the innocent
    Liar, lawyer; mirror for ya', what's the difference?
    Kangaroo be stoned. He's guilty as the government

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Brock McNuggets@[email protected] to alt.computer.workshop,comp.os.linux.advocacy,talk.politics.guns on Tue Nov 4 04:05:42 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

    On Nov 3, 2025 at 8:57:13 PM MST, "Gremlin" wrote <[email protected]>:

    Wilson <[email protected]> news:[email protected] Mon, 03 Nov 2025 22:58:35 GMT in alt.computer.workshop, wrote:

    In article <6908f00e$5$19$[email protected]>,
    [email protected] says...

    On Nov 3, 2025 at 10:39:32 AM MST, ""David B."" wrote
    <[email protected]>:

    On 03/11/2025 16:39, Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, Apd <[email protected]d> wrote:
    Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-02, David B. wrote:
    Nice riddle! The imagery of it being a ghost that checks
    everything and then "steps aside" is particularly apt for how the >>>>>>>> BIOS works.

    If you had put it up before Apd did, I'd have fallen out of my
    chair! ;)

    I suspect AI at work.

    Aside from the riddle, which may help some more than others,
    trying to use the numbers alone would prove frustrating to anyone. >>>>>>> That's why I opted for a good riddle... but maybe it was too easy >>>>>>> (he got it right away!). I probably should've altered the word
    "circuits". Anyone may get this next one... but it may not be for >>>>>>> the faint of heart. Muah ha ha!

    poster_name matching_posts
    ------------------------------------------- --------------
    Shadow <[email protected]> 3862
    Char Jackson <[email protected]d> 661
    Gremlin <[email protected]> 293

    I get 296 for Gremlin, whereas I'd expect fewer with this smaller
    DB. Some of the rest are also a little more than yours.

    Maybe due to minute differences in the queries used? I don't even
    know which I used to post it with so I can't help compare (I've been >>>>> playing around with them). Try this... your pag_v2 should match it
    (to some extent, due to how up to date your is):

    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Name / Address | Count |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 141 |
    | Gremlin <[email protected]> | 72 |
    | Apd <[email protected]d> | 66 |
    | Mike Easter <[email protected]d> | 30 |
    | "Steve Carroll <""Steve Carroll""@noSPAM.none>" | 30 |
    | T i m <[email protected]> | 27 |
    | Snit <[email protected]> | 23 |
    | Diesel <[email protected]> | 18 |
    | Shadow <[email protected]> | 14 |
    | Kelly Phillips <[email protected]> | 13 |
    | pothead <[email protected]> | 12 |
    | David <[email protected]d> | 12 |
    | David Brooks <[email protected]> | 10 |
    +-----------------------------------------------+-------+


    Under current?s hush they linger,
    Like tiny signposts, pale and spare.
    Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers,
    Wandering home through patterned air.


    *TRACES*

    I would guess CRT or tube or something along those lines.

    Hey stupid fucktard. A CRT IS A TUBE.
    CRT = Cathode Ray TUBE.
    How the fuck did you manage to earn an Information
    Technology master's degree when it's obvious that you
    don't know shit about technology?

    A papermill college OR his wife did the course work online for him.

    Notice you feel the need to lie to try to cover up your insecurities. But here are your claims about your degrees:

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

    * Gremlin got confused over what degrees he says he has and what
    they mean.

    * You have two degrees, both in CS and you did not know IT was different.
    * You have two degrees, both in IT.
    * You have two degrees, one in IT and one in CS.
    * You blame me for you confusing IT with IS though you offer no evidence.
    * You cannot decide if you have "two" degrees or "several".
    * They’re "honorary" except when you "did the work and took the tests."
    * You project your confusion and dishonesty onto me.

    All trivial to show:

    Diesel / Gremlin <[email protected]k>:
    -----
    Well, I have two Masters myself, but they are in CS I
    wasn't aware CS and I.T were/are seperate entities now.
    -----

    Diesel / Gremlin <[email protected]1.7>:
    -----
    Unlike yourself snit, I hold two honorary masters in IT
    -----

    Diesel / Gremlin <[email protected]1.7>:
    -----
    We discussed at length previously his masters in IS, and
    mine in IT and the differences between them. He was quite
    adamant that he had a masters in IS, *not* IT as is mine.
    -----

    Diesel / Gremlin <[email protected]>:
    -----
    One is in CS, the other is in IT.
    -----

    Diesel / Gremlin <[email protected]>:
    -----
    I have several honorary degrees,
    -----

    Diesel / Gremlin <[email protected]>:
    -----
    I actually did the work and took the tests to earn them
    -----

    And the most ironic accusation of yours:

    Diesel / Gremlin <[email protected]1.7>:
    -----
    I'd also like to know how Snit could be so confused
    concerning which degree he has.
    -----

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

    Remember, I bring receipts. :)
    --
    It's impossible for someone who is at war with themselves to be at peace with you.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From QuantumFleaBazaar@[email protected] to comp.os.linux.advocacy on Tue Nov 4 08:54:52 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

    On 11/4/25 8:17 AM, Steve Carroll wrote:
    On 2025-11-04, Apd <[email protected]d> wrote:
    "Apd" wrote:
    "Steve Carroll" wrote:
    Under current's hush they linger,
    Like tiny signposts, pale and spare.
    Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers,
    Wandering home through patterned air.

    I've tried various electrical/electronic terms but no luck.

    So, since everyone else is at it,

    The lame game that rose to fame
    Coupling fields and brain cells alike
    With thinking required, lost synapses fired
    Who's next to step up to the mic?

    let's see what the robots have to
    say. Google's AI thinks "fingerprints" and Bing's, "LEDs" or "pixels".
    Good attempts but they're both wrong.

    No one seems to be connecting the db to the game, which I get due to my restriction in the table.

    Hint #1 (the poem) as you (Apd) know, is all well and good but the table
    can make a huge difference. Why aren't people who have it using it <shrug>?

    - - -

    Google:
    The riddle's answer is fingerprints (or fingerprints on glass)

    "Under current's hush they linger": Refers to how fingerprints remain
    silently on surfaces (like glass) after being left there.

    "Like tiny signposts, pale and spare": Describes the appearance of
    latent fingerprints, which are often faint and used as markers or signs.

    I altered this from the original AI version, which, prior to my
    alteration I deemed potentially too obvious.

    Hint #2: What I altered was a reference to a number.

    "Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers": Relates to forensic
    investigations where detectives use "ghosts" (fingerprints) on a glass
    "chamber" (a crime scene or an object) to identify an individual who
    was present.

    "Wandering home through patterned air": Describes the unique and
    intricate ridge patterns of a fingerprint, which are used to trace a
    person back to their identity ("home").

    - - -

    Bing (Copilot):
    Answer: LEDs (pixels) - the tiny lights on a screen.

    Why: they glow when electric current flows, look like pale signposts,
    sit behind glass, and guide light (the "ghosts"/photons) to form
    images across a patterned grid of pixels.

    Interpreting the riddle:

    The riddle involves clues suggesting something that operates with
    electric current and leaves signs, which points to LEDs or indicator
    lights. "Guides for ghosts in glassbound chambers" refers to the
    ghostlike movement of electrons in a vacuum tube or early digital
    technology. The mention of "patterned air" hints at circuits on a PCB.
    So, the most likely answer seems to be LED lights or similar electric
    indicators - subtle guides in the world of electronics.

    The mention of "glassbound chambers" makes me think of light bulbs or
    screens,

    I had to ask the AI to explain that line and it ended up being what I
    thought it might be... but it wasn't what I deem all that obvious or particularly pertinent (but I did ask for 'obscure'). My thought was
    close because I provided the initial term/phrase.

    Hint #3: Screen

    especially with references to electrons and light patterns.
    "Guides for ghosts" could refer to energy or light (electrons or
    photons) moving through glass tubes, so neon signs or fiber optics
    come to mind. "Under current's hush" points to electrical current, and
    "tiny signposts" could be LEDs or pixels. I'm thinking the answer is
    LEDs or pixels on a screen: the current powers them, they glow,
    forming images.

    Hint #4...

    If the above doesn't help, lowering the restriction all the way to the
    bottom would. I'd undertake doing so in steps, not in one full swoop, so
    here are entries containing quantities of seven through nine:

    +-----------------------------------------------+-----+
    | Name | Qty | +-----------------------------------------------+-----+
    | David_B <[email protected]> | 9 |
    | David Brooks <[email protected]> | 8 |
    | Brock McNuggets <[email protected]> | 7 |
    | David Brooks <[email protected]> | 7 |
    | David_B <[email protected]> | 7 |
    | Wolffan <[email protected]> | 7 | +-----------------------------------------------+-----+


    I'm reasonably sure this will 'give it away', at least, to you, Apd.

    If you tell me you've 'got it', I'll take your word (no need for ROT13)
    but I'd like to see if anyone bothers to use the db to check their
    answers.

    For "others", checking is as simple as creating a query like this:

    SELECT COUNT(*)
    FROM Articles
    WHERE from_head = 'Wolffan <[email protected]>' /* <-- name from table */ AND orig_text LIKE '%CRT%' /* <-- your guess in between wild card chars */

    I get 0 for that on my current single table db. If your db is not current
    and the numbers differ from mine, they will probably match *some* of the people in the table. If you want a more current ('frel free') database:

    <https://limewire.com/d/z5WwI#f9vGUkcYhN>

    (FTS5 has been implemented and it's only available for a short time)






    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2