Small Talk: "I'll Take Non-Show Chat For $400, Alex."

[Prevailing Wind]

I just saw a Neuriva commercial without Neuroscientist Bialik.

[PBnJay]

16 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I just saw a Neuriva commercial without Neuroscientist Bialik.

Wow, that's so ... FIRE! Yesterday on Chicago radio a doctor was interviewed to talk about supplements and how none of them are tested nor do any of them have to verify any test results since they are not classified as scientific products or food. They can make any claims they want and don't have to prove any of them. All I could think of was that bogus "neuroscientist" hawking her bogus brain pills.

Edited June 7, 2022 by PBnJay

[GreekGeek]

A discussion on the main thread got me wondering: Do you play word or trivia games online, and if so, which ones?

I got into Wordle a few months ago--after the time when it seemed that was all anyone did. I'm sad that my fifty game streak was broken today. It was those cursed rhyming words--I was down to my final guess and had all but the first letter and a 50/50 chance of being right.😢

There's also Word Hurdle, very similar except you have the option to play with four, five, or six letter words. I'm up to 28 wins on that, almost caught up to my prior streak of 30.

For trivia, I play the New Yorker's Name Dropper quiz: you get six clues one at a time to name a famous person, living or dead.

[Bastet]

13 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

A discussion on the main thread got me wondering: Do you play word or trivia games online, and if so, which ones?

As for word games, not online, but I play Scrabble on my computer daily.

For trivia games, I like Sheppard Software games to quiz myself on geography, and JetPunk quizzes.

[secnarf]

I do wordle, WordHurdle (4,5,6 letters twice a day), globle and worldle. 
Nice way to slowly wake up my brain in the mornings. 

[shapeshifter]

23 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

I got into Wordle a few months ago--after the time when it seemed that was all anyone did. I'm sad that my fifty game streak was broken today. It was those cursed rhyming words--I was down to my final guess and had all but the first letter and a 50/50 chance of being right.😢

If you really care about getting Wordle within the 6 chances, the so-called "Hard Mode" pretty much guarantees it.

When Wordle first started I looked at the code and saw all the future words, but I have a terrible memory, so I don't consider myself spoiled. 

My youngest daughter and I exchange our results daily. She does it when she's up for the baby's post-midnight feeding. We exchange about one sentence each on strategies. 

I'm assuming that once the baby no longer gets up regularly at night, we will stop Wordling. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, GreekGeek said:

A discussion on the main thread got me wondering: Do you play word or trivia games online, and if so, which ones?

I got into Wordle a few months ago--after the time when it seemed that was all anyone did. I'm sad that my fifty game streak was broken today. It was those cursed rhyming words--I was down to my final guess and had all but the first letter and a 50/50 chance of being right.😢

There's also Word Hurdle, very similar except you have the option to play with four, five, or six letter words. I'm up to 28 wins on that, almost caught up to my prior streak of 30.

For trivia, I play the New Yorker's Name Dropper quiz: you get six clues one at a time to name a famous person, living or dead.

I play Wordle almost daily and Quordle (4 Wordles using the same guesses) slightly less often. I also really like Absurdle (a perverse variation on Wordle that narrows down the word based on your guesses) and occasionally play Arepo (Wordle with Latin vocab) and Sedecordle (16 Wordles).

Do you prefer to start with the same word or small set of words every time? I like to play whatever word strikes my fancy that day, but I can't help remembering Glen Weldon on Pop Culture Happy Hour declaring that approach "chaos!"

I managed to eventually persuade my father to try Wordle and he then picked up Quordle and Absurdle as well. He emails me his stats almost every day but I cannot persuade him to use the super-easy click to send the image with his squares. My brother picked up Wordle from my dad but Mum does not engage (although we sometimes play a similar game on paper). The only game she will play on the computer is Euchre, and she is annoyed that the version she uses does not force a player to play "alone" when one orders up one's partner to make trump.

I enjoy the New Yorker's Name Dropper but haven't played it lately.

I should play Worldle and Globle more often than I do.

[GreekGeek]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

If you really care about getting Wordle within the 6 chances, the so-called "Hard Mode" pretty much guarantees it.

When Wordle first started I looked at the code and saw all the future words, but I have a terrible memory, so I don't consider myself spoiled. 

Curious: How does "Hard Mode" pretty much guarantee getting the word within the 6 chances? I haven't tried it; it sounds as if it would be more difficult.

I'm also wondering about the code and the future words. If you have a good memory or write them down, wouldn't that spoil the game?

[30 Helens]

I just spent 2 hours trying out WordHurdle, Phrazle and Absurdle. Good for my brain, bad for my to-do list.  Absurdle was the most challenging, but with more time I think I might figure out how to beat it. I had it down to max 5 or 6 guesses, at least. 

5 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Do you prefer to start with the same word or small set of words every time? I like to play whatever word strikes my fancy that day, but I can't help remembering Glen Weldon on Pop Culture Happy Hour declaring that approach "chaos!"

LOL. I start Wordle randomly each day, although I almost always choose a word with at least 2 vowels. But I like to mix it up, and sometimes I’ll start with something obscure, just because. Still, it usually takes me only 4 guesses to get the answer, so take that, Glen Weldon!

I need to play fewer word games and more games like Globle. I am terrible at geography and could use the help.

[shapeshifter]

46 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

I'm also wondering about the code and the future words. If you have a good memory or write them down, wouldn't that spoil the game?

Yes, but I have always had a poor memory, and it has gone downhill over the last 25 years. I am  able to function by having always been this way; I am good at figuring things out——there’s probably a term for that, but I’d have to look it up, LOL.   
And, since you’re probably wondering, I am terrible at Jeopardy! But my parents watched it religiously, so after they passed, I found comfort in it.

And I never wrote the Wordle words down after I looked at the code. When Wordle first came out, I copy and pasted the word list in a text file, only allowing myself to look at the following couple of weeks of words at that moment.

****************

46 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

Curious: How does "Hard Mode" pretty much guarantee getting the word within the 6 chances? I haven't tried it; it sounds as if it would be more difficult.

Hard Mode prevents you from entering a lot of stuff. 
Maybe it works for me because of my memory idiosyncrasies? 

If you try it and find success (or not) do let us know your findings! 🙃😁

Edited June 10, 2022 by shapeshifter

[SomeTameGazelle]

55 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

Curious: How does "Hard Mode" pretty much guarantee getting the word within the 6 chances? I haven't tried it; it sounds as if it would be more difficult.

"Hard mode" forces you to guess only words that are valid based on the information you know. So if e.g. your first guess reveals that the second letter is R and there is an I somewhere other than the 3rd letter, you can guess only words with R as the second letter and I as the 1st, 4th, or 5th letter. So on the one hand it stops you from wasting a guess on TRIAL, but on the other if you get to a point where you have too many possible options to try them all before 6 guesses are used up (4th row with FRAIL, GRAIL, or TRAIL as possibilities) you can't cut to the chase by guessing a word you know is wrong (FROGS? TOUGH?) but will rule out multiple options at the same time.

1 hour ago, 30 Helens said:

Absurdle was the most challenging, but with more time I think I might figure out how to beat it. I had it down to max 5 or 6 guesses, at least. 

It's always going to be the last word you think of, as you're really only playing yourself. I don't judge myself based on how many guesses, I am just amused watching how it plays out and whether I do box myself into a situation where I have to guess BATCH CATCH HATCH LATCH MATCH PATCH WATCH in any order.

[SoMuchTV]

Nobody's listening, right?  There have been a couple times when I've used up 5 guesses, and I pulled up Wordle in a different browser to test a possibility.  It has always turned out that my next guess was going to be correct, so that's not really cheating, right?

I'm a hard-mode, random starting word person.  I remember that discussion on PCHH.  Thanks, Mr. Weldon - I'm using CHAOS as my next starting word!

Edited June 10, 2022 by SoMuchTV
typo

[HyeChaps]

I also use a random word with two vowels to begin. It’s often a word I just heard on tv—-humid, focus,plead. I play every morning during the early news before starting the daily routine. 

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, HyeChaps said:

I also use a random word with two vowels to begin. It’s often a word I just heard on tv—-humid, focus,plead. I play every morning during the early news before starting the daily routine. 

Has your random word ever been the the Wordle word for that day? 

[SomeTameGazelle]

27 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Thanks, Mr. Weldon - I'm using CHAOS as my next starting word!

I have absolutely done this. (But I have also used his preferred starting word DIARY/DAIRY once or twice.) Starting with the same word every day strikes me as very BLEAK. 

10 hours ago, secnarf said:

WordHurdle (4,5,6 letters twice a day)

Thanks for the recommendation. Thinking of 6-letter words feels hard to a brain that has been thinking of so many 5-letter words. 

[Bliss]

I look forward to the day when "adieu" is the word. It's my starting word as it gives me info on 4 vowels. If none of them are correct, I use horny as my second word. ;-)

[Prevailing Wind]

I start with AISLE and then go to ROUND. That's all the vowels but Y and most of the "frequent" letters according to Wheel of Fortune. And it still takes me 5 or 6 guesses until I get the right one.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I start with AISLE and then go to ROUND. That's all the vowels but Y and most of the "frequent" letters according to Wheel of Fortune. And it still takes me 5 or 6 guesses until I get the right one.

But no T?
My daughter mostly uses HOUSE and then TRAIN.
The H is supposed to precheck for TH, SH, WH, and CH. 
I've used those and ADIEU, as well as other words that have at least mostly 1-point Scrabble letters.

But lately I've been a little more daring and started with HEIST and QUEST, which actually both got me there in just 3 words!

For quite a while I was obsessed with having a starting word that ended in S, but that's really not useful.

[Clanstarling]

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

When Wordle first started I looked at the code and saw all the future words, but I have a terrible memory, so I don't consider myself spoiled.

My husband did the same thing. But given that when we compare notes on how well we did in the mornings, we can never remember the word of the day, much less some long list of words in code read months and months ago. 🤣 We always have to go back to our app or computer to show each other.

I use the same opening word every day. I changed it once and did poorly, so I'm sticking to what I know works for me. I just changed my second word because I never liked the old one. It worked out pretty well.

[HyeChaps]

I have never had the correct Wordle on my first guess, but I made it in two tries ten times. 

[30 Helens]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Has your random word ever been the the Wordle word for that day? 

That happened to me once, but it was actually disappointing. The game was over before it started.

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

I have never had the correct Wordle on my first guess, but I made it in two tries ten times. 

I was amazed the first (and only) time I got it in two tries. A fluke, for me.

[secnarf]

12 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Thanks for the recommendation. Thinking of 6-letter words feels hard to a brain that has been thinking of so many 5-letter words. 

I completely agree!! It threw me so badly at first that I didn't think I could do it. But over time I got used to it. I struggled especially with starting words for the 6 letter one - used to do stream, until that was the actual word one day, then moved on to goalie, and now enough (because I struggle putting a U in words later on so am getting it out of the way up front).

For 5-letter, I now start with pious, and if that returns absolutely nothing, then metal is my second (and one day metal was the word of the day in the original Wordle!).

The 4-letter one is actually the hardest for me because there are soooooo many rhyming four letter words and different possibilities, and you can't rule out very many letters per guess.

I also do the Wordle Waffle - not sure I mentioned that one before. I have been doing it for a while now (at least a month) and haven't gotten any better at it. I often need multiple attempts. It really strains my brain.

[j5cochran]

For Wordle, I alternate as my first word either AUDIO or TEACH.

For Globle, I've been using Ukraine, and I've gotten pretty good at estimating distances from that fixed spot. And I got Friday's Final Jeopardy right, from looking at maps to figure out my Globle guesses!

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, j5cochran said:

For Wordle, I alternate as my first word either AUDIO or TEACH.

I just tried AUDIO and barely got it with a "Phew!"
Wordle 357 6/6*
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

If you happened to use AUDIO today, @j5cochran, what was your score?

Anyway, re:

9 hours ago, j5cochran said:

I got Friday's Final Jeopardy right, from looking at maps to figure out my Globle guesses!

That's really cool and inspiring, @j5cochran! 
ETA: Just tried Globle and really liked it after I turned on the colors, LOL!

Is there something similar for History? 
 

Edited June 11, 2022 by shapeshifter

[ams1001]

On 6/9/2022 at 10:40 PM, GreekGeek said:

A discussion on the main thread got me wondering: Do you play word or trivia games online, and if so, which ones?

The only ones I do daily are Wordle (since maybe a month or two before the NYT bought it) and the NYT mini-crossword (usually a 5x5 grid, though one day, probably just after they bought Wordle, they made it 6x5 because WORDLE was one of the answers. I've googled several of the ones people have mentioned but I haven't gotten into any of them. The Morning Brew newsletter also has a mini-crossword once a week and a bigger one on Saturdays. Occasionally when I'm in the mood I'll do crosswords on Boatload Puzzles.

On 6/10/2022 at 12:41 AM, SomeTameGazelle said:

Do you prefer to start with the same word or small set of words every time? I like to play whatever word strikes my fancy that day, but I can't help remembering Glen Weldon on Pop Culture Happy Hour declaring that approach "chaos!"

I usually start with TEARS or STARE (same letters, different positions). Sometimes ADIEU to knock out vowels. Sometimes I go with something else that's on my mind or just something random. Thanks to your comment, today I started with chaos. 🙂 (Took me all six tries, but starting with TEARS, as I have been lately, would have given me the same number of yellow tiles and no green, anyway.)

On 6/10/2022 at 10:08 AM, shapeshifter said:

Has your random word ever been the the Wordle word for that day? 

The very first time I ever played, I started with the word PANIC (which should give you an idea of my recent state of mind at the time). It was right.

I haven't done it since, but I've gotten it in two a few times.

I admit I'm not above getting a little help from Word Hippo's word finder.  You can tell it how many letters, just tell it what letters you know, further refine if you know they're the starting or ending letters, somewhere in the middle, or just anywhere in the word, and exclude letters you know aren't there. (I usually don't resort to that until after the third guess, and only if I still have no clue where to go from there.)

Edited June 11, 2022 by ams1001

[shapeshifter]

45 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I admit I'm not above getting a little help from Word Hippo's word finder. 

Since I'm sharing my Wordle results with someone else (daughter getting up to feed baby), we would both have to want to use Word Hippo's word finder 
——which could definitely happen, and might be a way for us to continue if we both get too tired.  

But the Word Hippo's word finder also looks like a great tool if I was going to do another watercolor crossword. I did one for another daughter, but she never put it up because a friend thought it "wasn't finished."
*grumble grumble, "everyone's a critic"*
If I do another, I'll include clues to make it clear that it's "finished."
It's not like it was supposed to be great art. 
I honestly pictured it hanging in her bathroom opposite the toilet since she has a lot of house guests passing through on their travels.

For those of you who do well on Jeopardy! (not me!) you might want to try your brains at creating a real crossword puzzle to submit to nytimes.com/article/submit-crossword-puzzles-the-new-york-times.html, for which the Word Hippo word finder would be useful.
Perhaps also: onelook.com

*************************************

53 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

The very first time I ever played, I started with the word PANIC (which should give you an idea of my recent state of mind at the time). It was right.

On 6/10/2022 at 10:08 AM, shapeshifter said:

Has your random word ever been the the Wordle word for that day? 

Such an auspicious start to your Wordle venture, @ams1001!

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Such an auspicious start to your Wordle venture, @ams1001!

My stats aren't fully accurate, though, because I had to clear my cookies one day because another site was giving me problems, and I didn't think about the fact that my next game would start from scratch.

On weekdays when I'm in the office, I usually do it at work, and then I email my words to myself so I can redo it on my computer at home to keep my streak going.

[Trey]

@shapeshifter, I love your puzzle painting.

[j5cochran]

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I just tried AUDIO and barely got it with a "Phew!"
Wordle 357 6/6*
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

If you happened to use AUDIO today, @j5cochran, what was your score?

I also started with AUDIO today, followed by TEACH, and got....

Wordle 357 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟩🟨🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, j5cochran said:

 I also started with AUDIO today, followed by TEACH, and got....

Wordle 357 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟩🟨🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

17 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I just tried AUDIO and barely got it with a "Phew!"
Wordle 357 6/6*
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

If you happened to use AUDIO today, @j5cochran, what was your score?

Expand  

AUDIO paid off today!

Wordle 358 3/6*

Spoiler

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I just wanted to give AUDIO a second chance. 😁

I'll probably do something random tomorrow
--and be very annoyed if the Wordle word is AUDIO!

[ams1001]

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

AUDIO paid off today!

Wordle 358 3/6*

  Hide contents

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I just wanted to give AUDIO a second chance. 😁

I'll probably do something random tomorrow
--and be very annoyed if the Wordle word is AUDIO!

lol...I tried AUDIO and did it in three, too!

[HyeChaps]

I borrowed CHAOS today and got it in three.

[Clanstarling]

I used my regular words and got it in three - though I thought I was guessing a word that didn't fit, so I was suprised.🤣

[shapeshifter]

51 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I used my regular words and got it in three - though I thought I was guessing a word that didn't fit, so I was suprised.🤣

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I tried AUDIO and did it in three, too!

1 hour ago, HyeChaps said:

I borrowed CHAOS today and got it in three

Interesting 🤔    
AUDIO  
CHAOS
@Clanstarling’s starting word, and   
HOUSE (my daughter’s starting word)   
all got it in 3.

But if I conclude today’s Wordle word was “easy,” the same daughter would point out that my “sample size” is too small.

But it’s not like we just concluded a successful cancer drug trial.

…or were even trying to come up with names of Argonauts: wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonauts#The_crew_of_Argo   😮

Edited June 12, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Prevailing Wind]

I got Saturday's in 3, but blew Sunday's totally...always starting with AISLE.

[Clanstarling]

8 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I got Saturday's in 3, but blew Sunday's totally...always starting with AISLE.

I blew one recently, though I forget which day. It happens. 😥

[dcalley]

From the main thread:

39 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I do want to meet Eric's toothless cat, Potato. 🥔

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, dcalley said:

From the main thread:

I'll admit I did laugh at the way she asked "Does he eat potatoes?"

Please tell me that Potato drinks from that mug.

[Prevailing Wind]

In case you're interested, my Bosco's cancer came back with a vengeance and Dr. E. helped him cross the bridge this morning.

[Welshman in Ca]

1 minute ago, Prevailing Wind said:

In case you're interested, my Bosco's cancer came back with a vengeance and Dr. E. helped him cross the bridge this morning.

I'm so sorry. I know how it affects us when a beloved pet dies. He was a handsome boy. 🥰

[Clanstarling]

5 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

In case you're interested, my Bosco's cancer came back with a vengeance and Dr. E. helped him cross the bridge this morning.

I'm so sorry. I know how difficult it is. Bosco looked a lot like my Laser, who crossed the bridge many years ago.

[Prevailing Wind]

Thank you. Not only was he handsome, he was one of the smartest cats I've known. Stella, bless her heart, is cute & cuddly, but not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Bosco was a genius.

[Mindthinkr]

3 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

In case you're interested, my Bosco's cancer came back with a vengeance and Dr. E. helped him cross the bridge this morning.

The Mindthinkr kitties and I send our condolences and purrs 😿💔 

[Trey]

I am so sorry, @Prevailing Wind.  What a lovely handsome boy.

All our sympathy from this household of two humans and four felines.

[zoey1996]

17 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

In case you're interested, my Bosco's cancer came back with a vengeance and Dr. E. helped him cross the bridge this morning.

So sorry to hear this. Bless him, and hugs to you and those who loved him.

[PBnJay]

@Prevailing Wind, I am SO SORRY about the Beautiful Bosco. I know there are no words that can fill the void Bosco has left in your life, but know my heart breaks for you, and I understand your loss and how much he meant to you. Thanks for sharing him with us here. Big cyber HUGS to you. Peace and healing.

[labresq]

23 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

In case you're interested, my Bosco's cancer came back with a vengeance and Dr. E. helped him cross the bridge this morning.

I'm so very sorry about Bosco (great name!) and the hole he's left in your heart and home.  

[30 Helens]

What a beautiful boy, and so lucky to have been so very loved. My heart goes out to both of you.

[Prevailing Wind]

12 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

What a beautiful boy, and so lucky to have been so very loved. My heart goes out to both of you.

He was 3 months old, found in a playground. He was then brought to my vet, who said that because Stella was having behavioral problems, my pet needed a pet. We were introduced on a Saturday. I thought about him on Sunday, brought him home on a trial basis on Monday and paid the adoption fee on Tuesday. The first thing Stella did was throw him to the floor and start washing his head. Ten years later, every morning, he'd wake up, walk over to her, and present his head for washing. They bonded immediately. She's having a hard time now - she keeps looking to the front door, as if she's expecting him to come home any minute. I wish I could explain it to her. He was a beautiful, shiny boy.

And he had a great sense of humor.

I have an adjustable bed with a remote. It has "massage" features. Because Bosco knocked crap on the floor all the time, I kept the remote & my phone in the open drawer of the nightstand. One night, as I was sleeping, Bosco tried to lift my phone out of the drawer. It fell (because he had no thumbs) and landed on the vibrate button of the remote. The bed started purring. Oooooh...Bosco liked that.  This past Sunday night, he purposely reached into the drawer and pushed the button. The bed started vibrating violently. (He must have pushed the level 4 button). I swear, I heard him giggling. He thought he was so funny,  He was.