The World Keeps Turning

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It’s been about a month since Covid-19 fell on our world like a pack of wolves on a flock of sheep.  Fortunately, humans are an adaptable species and we are beginning to adjust to the new “normal.”  Here are just a few examples of what THE NEW NORMAL looks like.

A tiger at the Bronx zoo tested positive for Covid-19.  Wow, I didn’t see that one coming!  But I’ve got a few rhetorical questions.  Why, in a time of medical shortage and emergency, would anyone take the time and trouble to test a tiger?  Who thought it was necessary?  Did they test all the animals, starting with aardvarks, or just the tigers?  If they only tested tigers, isn’t that species profiling?  Shouldn’t all the cat people be going Twitter-Nutsy right now?  And finally, what’s the big deal?  It’s been my experience that maintaining a safe social distance from a full grown tiger is pretty much common sense.

The mayor of Baltimore called on the street gangs of his city to quit shooting each other because the medical facilities were needed to combat the virus.  The gangs, taking their social responsibility seriously, stepped up and called a truce for the duration.  I guess everybody’s got to do their part in these troubled times.

The BBC reported that, in response to a worldwide pandemic that has ripped apart the lives of billions of people on 6 continents, bankrupted millions and killed close to 100,000 – so far — the city of Shenzhen is taking action.  They are about to become the first city in China to ban the eating of dogs and cats.  The ban isn’t happening right now, but will take effect on May 1st because – uh — restaurants and grocery stores still have them in stock?  A lot of people have already booked the barbeque?  Who knows?  Actually there’s no logical reason for a 30 day delay in this legislation (it’s not like anybody in China gets a vote!) but, you’ve been warned: if you want to have Rover over for dinner, in Shenzhen, you better do it soon.  And the Chinese authorities are not fooling around either.  Apparently, there will be some pretty steep fines for Kung Pao Kitten.  So, after May one, anybody with a craving for pet food is going to have to get their ass outside the city limits – end of story.

Several countries have decided not to participate in the Covid-19 pandemic.  Most of these are remote Pacific Island nations like Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu– which makes sense, because they’re all self-isolated by thousands of kilometres of water.  Then, there are other countries like Yemen where the leading causes of death are gunshot wounds and suicide bombers, so a persistent cough is not going to get anybody a lot of hospital time.  But the two places that beggar my imagination are Turkmenistan and North Korea.  They both have boldly declared that they simply do not have any cases of Covid-19.  None!  Okay, Turkmenistan I can kinda understand: I had to Google it just to find out where it was — so I doubt it, but maybe. . . .   However … North Korea?  It shares a land border with China, the biggest bogyman hiding under the pandemic bed; their economies are intimately connected, and thousands of people go back and forth across the border every day.  What are the chances?  Unless, of course, the Glorious Leader, Kim Jong whatever-his-name-is stood on the Yalu River, drove a spear into the Earth and shouted, (in his best Gandalf voice) “Go back to the shadows. You shall not pass!” and the virus turned around and went home.  Given all the other batshit-crazy stuff coming out of that country, sounds legit!

Songs Of Sylvia — Fiction

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Madison’s Grandma was written and serialized for wdfyfe.net in September 2019.  Now, revised, it’s the starting point for the Songs of Sylvia.  Although the original tale was not “old and lousy,” the new story is definitely “new and improved.”  All the other Songs of Sylvia fill in some of the blanks in Mrs. Ferguson’s past.  Of course, there are still many gaps and other events that might, one day, bear telling.  After all, Sylvia Harrow was a remarkable young woman, and anyone who knows Mrs. Ferguson knows that her adventures aren’t over yet.  But, for now, Songs of Sylvia is available as an ebook.  It’s a quick read – 150 pages, and you can order it.  — HERE —

And for those of you who are not familiar with the original tale.

Mrs. Ferguson kept a tidy house.  She loved her garden, sang in the church choir and exercised religiously three times a week.  Madison, her granddaughter, thought she was the perfect milk-and-cookies grandma.  However, grandmas don’t just magically appear out of nowhere.  Somewhere, they all have their own stories.  And sometimes, all it takes is an odd coincidence to open them up like a half-forgotten book.

When a young woman is abducted in Rome, that book opens for Madison and her grandma.  It takes them from the tidy little house in Denver halfway around the world to Istanbul.  It’s an exotic world where grandma’s old friends laugh and dance and carry guns.  It brings Mrs. Ferguson face to face with the girl she once was, the girl she thought she’d left behind.  And it shows Madison that her grandma isn’t exactly as advertised.

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Last Week’s Puzzle

There are five houses in a row.  Each is painted a different colour and each inhabitant is a different nationality.  They each own different pets, drink different beverages and drive different cars.

From the clues below, deduce who drinks water and who owns the zebra.

1 – The Englishman lives in the red house.

2 – The Spaniard owns a dog.

3 – Coffee is drunk in the green house.

4 – The Ukrainian drinks tea.

5 – The green house is immediately to the right of the ivory house.

6 – The man who owns snails drives a Buick.

7 – The man in the yellow house drives a Cadillac.

8 – Milk is drunk in the middle house.

9 – The Norwegian lives in the first house.

10 – The man who drives a Ford lives next to the man who owns a fox.

11 – The house with the Cadillac is next to the house with the horse.

12 – The man who drives the Chevrolet drinks orange juice.

13 – The man from Japan drives a Dodge.

14 – The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

Last Week’s Solution

Since we think spatially, the best method of solving last week’s quiz is to draw five boxes on a sheet of paper.  Then, write each variable on something like a Post-it note so you can move it around.  Begin by joining the values that go together.  For example, we know the Spaniard owns a dog, so those two would be connected.  Next, position the values we know to be true.  Again, we know the Norwegian lives in the first house, so place him there, etc.  Then use the connected clues to eliminate impossibilities.  From Clue 4 we have the Green House connected to Coffee and from Clue 6 we know that it’s to the right of the Ivory House.  Therefore, since we know the second house is blue and milk is drunk in the middle house, we can conclude the 4th house is Ivory and the 5th house is green.  We now know the Englishman lives in the middle house!  Then it’s only a matter of following the clues to discover the Norwegian drinks water and the Japanese guy has a zebra.

 

 

Another Puzzle – 2020

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This puzzle has been attributed to Albert Einstein, and it has been claimed that only 2% of the population can solve it.  I doubt it.  It’s rather simple, actually, once you discover the key.  There is no trick to it; it’s pure reason.  However, there is a method – and that’s the key.  I’ve updated it slightly for the 21st century, but other than that, it’s the same puzzle I was given [mumble, mumble] years ago.  Now, it’s your turn to give it a try.  Good luck!  (I’ll give you the answer next Tuesday.)

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There are five houses in a row.  Each is painted a different colour and each inhabitant is a different nationality.  They each own different pets, drink different beverages and drive different cars.

From the clues below, figure out who drinks water and who owns the zebra.

1 – The Englishman lives in the red house.

2 – The Spaniard owns a dog.

3 – Coffee is drunk in the green house.

4 – The Ukrainian drinks tea.

5 – The green house is immediately to the right of the ivory house.

6 – The man who owns snails drives a Buick.

7 – The man in the yellow house drives a Cadillac.

8 – Milk is drunk in the middle house.

9 – The Norwegian lives in the first house.

10 – The man who drives a Ford lives next to the man who owns a fox.

11 – The house with the Cadillac is next to the house with the horse.

12 – The man who drives the Chevrolet drinks orange juice.

13 – The man from Japan drives a Dodge.

14 – The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

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Tuesday’s Puzzle Answers

Here are the answers to Tuesday’s puzzle.  I’ve left a space after the first two in case you want to go back to Tuesday’s post and try your luck again

A, P and A are the 3 M
Athos, Porthos and Aramis are the 3 Musketeers
There are 2 S to every A
There are 2 sides to every argument

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88 K on a P
88 keys on a piano

24 H in a D
24 hours in a day

90 D in a R A
90 degrees in a right angle

6 S. on a S S
6 sides on a Stop Sign

3 S and you’re O
3 strikes and you’re out

There are 8 N in an O
There are 8 notes in an octave

8 P in the S.S. plus P
8 planets in the Solar System plus Pluto

1 P is worth 1,000 W
1 picture is worth 1,000 words
7 W of the A W
7 Wonders of the Ancient World

1 W on a U
1 wheel on a unicycle

64 S on a C B
64 squares on a chess board

20,000 L under the S
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

G and the 3 B
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

1 is the L N
1 is the loneliest number

12 L of H
12 Labours of Hercules

28 D in F except in a L Y
28 days in February except in a Leap Year

Every C has 9 L
Every cat has 9 lives

12 D of C
12 days of Christmas

4 S in a S D of C
4 suits in a standard deck of cards

2 is C; 3 is a C
2 is company; 3 is a crowd

76 T led the B P
76 Trombones led the Big Parade

12 M in a Y
12 months in a year

K 2 B with 1 S
Kill 2 birds with 1 stone

13 in a B D
13 in a Baker’s Dozen

3 B M
3 blind mice

1001 A N
1001 Arabian Nights

4 H of the A
4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse

3 P in a H G
3 periods in a hockey game

40 D of R in the G F
40 days of rain in the Great Flood

4 Q in a D
4 quarters in a dollar

6 P on a S F
6 points on a snow flake

12 S of the Z
12 signs of the Zodiac

S W and the 7 D
Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs

9 P on a B T
9 players on a baseball team