tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post1683793124650332997..comments2024-03-28T18:35:54.237+09:00Comments on BigHominid's Hairy Chasms: transformationsKevin Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-49812229847849595672011-06-11T15:11:20.194+09:002011-06-11T15:11:20.194+09:00I worked from both ends as well. Alas, I did this...I worked from both ends as well. Alas, I did this inside the edit window of the "post a comment" function, so when I gave up and closed that window, I lost my work.Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-6275755090116339222011-06-08T06:32:44.467+09:002011-06-08T06:32:44.467+09:00Hooray!
I figured, knowing me and knowing you (to...Hooray!<br /><br />I figured, knowing me and knowing you (to quote ABBA), that you would not have too hard a time guessing what I was working on. I also wondered if you had tried it yourself, but obviously I could not ask without spilling the beans.<br /><br />I ended up working on this from both ends--I actually started with EVIL because I knew it was going to be the tough end. Then it was a matter of stitching the ends together, which ended up being harder than I had thought it would be. I had gotten all the way to DRAT from GOOD, with an alternate tree leading to CRAN, and from EVIL I had originally gone to UDAL. But it was the discovery of ORAD that ended up solving the puzzle, allowing me to use BRAD. My original solve was actually 16 steps; from TRAM I had gone GRAM-GRAB-CRAB-CRAN, but then I realized that CRAM would substitute for all four. I would be interested in hearing where your efforts took you and where you got stuck.<br /><br />Lovely mental exercise, and an excellent diversion from the Dis... which I must of course now get back to.Charleshttp://www.liminality.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-6399568805146019122011-06-07T23:20:10.273+09:002011-06-07T23:20:10.273+09:00Somehow I knew that "GOOD to EVIL" was g...Somehow I knew that "GOOD to EVIL" was going to be the transformation: I tried that one myself last night before giving up and going to sleep. During my struggle, I thought to myself, "You know-- this is probably the very transformation Charles is working on, given how hard it is to get from one end to the other. Should I publicly guess at this in the comment thread, thereby stealing his fire?" And just as quickly: "Nah."-- a defeatist reaction caused by my lack of success at forming a similar chain. Private failure was bad enough; had I guessed wrong, I'd have added <i>public</i> failure to my problems.<br /><br />As for a ruling: YOU'VE DONE IT! Congratulations.Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-85489696686214844472011-06-07T17:41:38.354+09:002011-06-07T17:41:38.354+09:00Yay, I have succeeded! Er, maybe.
Anyway: from GO...Yay, I have succeeded! Er, maybe.<br /><br />Anyway: from GOOD to EVIL in 13 easy steps... (notes in parentheses)<br /><br />GOOD<br />GOAD<br />TOAD<br />TRAD(1)<br />TRAM<br />CRAM<br />CRAN(2)<br />BRAN<br />BRAD(3)<br />ORAD(4)<br />ORAL<br />OVAL<br />EVAL(5)<br />EVIL<br /><br />Notes:<br /><br />(1) <i>Not</i> an abbreviation, but a British term for traditional jazz revived in the 1950s<br />(2) A unit of capacity measure fresh herring (37.5 gallons)<br />(3) Not the name, but the brass fastener used to hold papers together<br />(4) Toward the mouth or oral region<br />(5) This one's the kicker, really: it is an obsolete word meaning "relating to time or duration," but if it is not allowed, this chain is impossible--it is the <i>only</i> word that can be made from "evil" with a single letter change, at least according to dictionary.com.<br /><br />So, there. I did it, and I am going to tentatively call it a success and await a ruling.<br /><br />As I was doing this, I realized it would be far easier to write a program to do this, as long as I had access to a dictionary file (i.e., a list of valid words). I guess I still have some programmer blood in me after all.<br /><br />(It's also interesting to see how close "love" and "hate" are...)<br /><br />And since we're playing with words, here's my word verification challenge: "tokkedly"<br /><br />No idea what it is supposed to mean, but I'm going to try to work it into conversation somehow. (It sounds like a bad pronunciation of "doggedly," actually. Maybe we can follow Korean conventions on consonant sound variations and make it a "stronger" version of "doggedly.")Charleshttp://www.liminality.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-12284490945955686522011-06-07T13:46:31.901+09:002011-06-07T13:46:31.901+09:00mews
pews
paws
pars
mars
mark
barkmews<br />pews<br />paws<br />pars<br />mars<br />mark<br />barkhahnakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14238002055767012884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-84033800974253365752011-06-07T13:41:25.016+09:002011-06-07T13:41:25.016+09:00love
hove
have
hatelove<br />hove<br />have<br />hatehahnakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14238002055767012884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-42606117977860645622011-06-07T12:17:19.871+09:002011-06-07T12:17:19.871+09:00Then you won't be seeking my help, that's ...Then you won't be seeking <i>my</i> help, that's for sure. Luckily, there are a few Beeg Braynes who frequent this humble blog.Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-20040620077347197492011-06-07T07:30:04.807+09:002011-06-07T07:30:04.807+09:00I think I'm going to try to puzzle it out a li...I think I'm going to try to puzzle it out a little longer on my own, but if I fail to make any progress I will yield to superior intellects.Charleshttp://www.liminality.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-13127448875155513552011-06-06T23:08:29.546+09:002011-06-06T23:08:29.546+09:00Sounds like a challenge! Care to share, or is thi...Sounds like a challenge! Care to share, or is this one of those things where you'd prefer to go it alone?Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-30681447540485102472011-06-06T22:48:52.904+09:002011-06-06T22:48:52.904+09:00Just want you to know that I am working on one of ...Just want you to know that I am working on one of these in my spare time (you know, all that time I have lying around these days). Right now I'm stuck, and I suspect it might not be possible, but I'm not giving up yet.Charleshttp://www.liminality.orgnoreply@blogger.com