| Author | Message | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
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A man in high debt needs a certain item to help bring him back to financial stability. He goes shopping for the item and notices its highly expensive price. So, instead of purchasing it, he goes home and creates a cheap imitation of the item he needs. His imitation lacks some of the essentials needed for the item to function properly, yet he still manages to use it to better his financial situation. What is the item, and how did it help? | ||
| Lauri Ahonen (Klaivu)
|
Anything else relevant about the man's present situation? His past? His trade? His love life? Relevant how he got into debt? Does the man use the imitation as he would the original? The item: animal, vegetable or mineral? Electronic? Mechanical? Decorative? Composed of more than one material? Sold in supermarkets? Malls? Most cities? To the public? Edible? A book? Not a diamond? | ||
| Lauri Ahonen (Klaivu)
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Oh, and you are most welcome to try and kick some life into my puzzle - "What was that you said?". It's been hanging there for more than a month. | ||
| Lisa (Dlcygnet)
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Is he an actor who needs a realistic replica of some expensive piece? Like the crown jewels? Part of his sucess/acting on stage depends on the public/him believing in his props? | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
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Anything else relevant about the man's present situation? yes His past? no His trade? yes His love life? nope Relevant how he got into debt? to some degree, yes Does the man use the imitation as he would the original? not exactly The item: animal, vegetable or mineral? Electronic? this Mechanical? Decorative? Composed of more than one material? Sold in supermarkets? Malls? Most cities? this To the public? I think they are available to the public, yes. Edible? A book? Not a diamond? Oh, and you are most welcome to try and kick some life into my puzzle - "What was that you said?". It's been hanging there for more than a month. advertisement noted  Is he an actor who needs a realistic replica of some expensive piece? Like the crown jewels? Part of his sucess/acting on stage depends on the public/him believing in his props? good idea, but no | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
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If the replica doesn't have all the components it needs to function properly, is it more important thing that the man be seen to have one of these things, than that he actually has one? A pager? a GPS? | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
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Sorry, that should read "is it more important that the man be seen..." | ||
| Eliot (Eliot)
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Can his imitation preform any of the functions of the original? Is he a... Scientist of any kind? Engineer? Office worker? Writer/Journalist? Civil servant of any kind? | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
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If the replica doesn't have all the components it needs to function properly, is it more important that the man be seen to have one of these things, than that he actually has one? exactly A pager? a GPS? not these Can his imitation preform any of the functions of the original? no Is he a... Scientist of any kind? Engineer? Office worker? Writer/Journalist? Civil servant of any kind? none of these | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
|
Hmmm... I may ramble a bit here, please bear with me. Is it a very specialized piece of electronics? would the only people who need? have? them all be in one particular business? one type of business? If he was walking down the street and I saw him, would I be aware of the presence or absence of the gizmo? If he was in his place of business and I walked in, would I be aware of the presence or absence of the gizmo? Would I refuse to do business with him if he didn't have one? Be uninclined to do business with him if he didn't have one? You said you thought that the gizmo is available to the general public--could you clarify that? You don't know if they are? could purchase? ownership? of one of these gizmos be restricted? Does the gizmo send information? recieve it? does it connect with another piece of electronics somewhere else? process information? perform some other function entirely? Is the reason that the man is in debt related in any way to him having? or not having? such a gizmo? (Did he previously have one? if yes, did he lose it? break it? have it taken from him by someone in authority? have it stolen? sell it? pawn it?) Does having the gizmo (or at least appearing to have it) gain him access to someplace? something? someone? that he needs? Does it grant him some status that he needs? | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
|
Hmmm... I may ramble a bit here, please bear with me. You're determined to solve this in a maximum of five separate posts, aren't you? Is it a very specialized piece of electronics? not exactly would the only people who need? I don't know about need, but they definitely should have have? yes them all be in one particular business? no one type of business? no If he was walking down the street and I saw him, would I be aware of the presence or absence of the gizmo? only if he was carrying it, but no, he probably wouldn't e carrying it down the street, if that's what you mean If he was in his place of business and I walked in, would I be aware of the presence or absence of the gizmo? yes, but only if you were paying attention Would I refuse to do business with him if he didn't have one? no Be uninclined to do business with him if he didn't have one? no You said you thought that the gizmo is available to the general public--could you clarify that? You don't know if they are? could purchase? ownership? of one of these gizmos be restricted? I guess that they are, but I'm not sure where you would get one, but the answer really is "yes", they are available to the public, and they are not restricted Does the gizmo send information? yes recieve it? and yes does it connect with another piece of electronics somewhere else? yes process information? I guess not, I'm not entirely sure of the meaning of "process" perform some other function entirely? other than what you listed? no. Is the reason that the man is in debt related in any way to him having? or not having? such a gizmo? yes, he is in debt because of his previous lack of such an item (Did he previously have one? if yes, did he lose it? break it? have it taken from him by someone in authority? have it stolen? sell it? pawn it?) it is irrelevant if he had had one previously Does having the gizmo (or at least appearing to have it) gain him access to someplace? something? someone? that he needs? Does it grant him some status that he needs? no to these | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
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You're determined to solve this in a maximum of five separate posts, aren't you? Not really. Am I that close? I don't feel like I'm close.  process information--something like a calculator that does something to the information it recieves. And he probably wouldn't be carrying it down the street, but I'd only notice whether he had one in his office if I was paying attention-- is it a stock ticker or something like that? | ||
| Torgeir Apeland (Abc)
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Is it a cell phone? | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
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You're determined to solve this in a maximum of five separate posts, aren't you? Not really. Am I that close? I don't feel like I'm close. nah, you're not really THAT close, but in a way you are, simply because it's not a very complicated puzzle...my comment was just regarding the number of questions you had asked in that one post (which is perfectly dandy of course) process information--something like a calculator that does something to the information it recieves. ok, well it DOES something with it, but not in a calculator-y sort of way...it doesn't decode or interpret or change the information in any way And he probably wouldn't be carrying it down the street, but I'd only notice whether he had one in his office if I was paying attention-- is it a stock ticker or something like that? slight FA with the "office" thing, as I mentioned earlier that he is not an office worker, but no, it is not a stock ticker (or anything like it) | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
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Is it a cell phone? nope | ||
| Torgeir Apeland (Abc)
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A TV remote control? Other kind of remote control? It sends out signals, right? Radio waves? Infrared? Visible light? Sound, ultra- or otherwise? Bullets? (OK, I'll admit that's stretching the "signal" concept a bit) | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
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A TV remote control? no Other kind of remote control? no It sends out signals, right? yes-ish..."signals" seems a little misleading though Radio waves? Infrared? Visible light? this, basically Sound, ultra- or otherwise? Bullets? (OK, I'll admit that's stretching the "signal" concept a bit) | ||
| Torgeir Apeland (Abc)
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A flashlight? Does the light come from a light bulb? LEDs? Does the thingy contain a microprocessor? Does it run on batteries? Is it handheld? | ||
| Ian (Image)
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Does this thing have a screen/moniter? Is it used for communication? Entertainment? Work? Is it some type of phone? Television? Computer? Radio? Does it receive information from another of the same gizmos? From the user? Or something else? The man's proffession: Is it an unskilled trade? A skilled trade? An educated job? Is he a.... Doctor? Lawyer? Plumber? Carpenter? Stone Mason? Cab driver? Bus driver? Truck driver? ______ driver? Pilot? Waiter? Barber? Chef? Clerk? Other? | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
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Is it some type of camera? recording device? sensor? If I saw noticed it in his place of business, would it be mounted on the wall? mounted on a door or door-frame? sitting on a table or bench? sitting on the floor? hanging from the ceiling? attached to his person? | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
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A flashlight? no Does the light come from a light bulb? no LEDs? no Does the thingy contain a microprocessor? I don't think so Does it run on batteries? no Is it handheld? no Does this thing have a screen/moniter? not the actual object, but it does connect to one Is it used for communication? no Entertainment? no Work? no Is it some type of phone? Television? Computer? Radio? no to these Does it receive information from another of the same gizmos? no From the user? no Or something else? yes The man's proffession: Is it an unskilled trade? this, I'm pretty sure A skilled trade? An educated job? Is he a.... Doctor? Lawyer? Plumber? Carpenter? Stone Mason? Cab driver? Bus driver? Truck driver? ______ driver? Pilot? Waiter? Barber? Chef? Clerk? this is closest Other? Is it some type of camera? YES recording device? YES sensor? no If I saw noticed it in his place of business, would it be mounted on the wall? this mounted on a door or door-frame? sitting on a table or bench? sitting on the floor? hanging from the ceiling? or this attached to his person? | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
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Some sort of video surveillance camera, then? Clerk is closest--is he a rent-a-cop? some type of security guy who sit's in his little cubby, watching surveillance monitors all day Or does he run a retail shop, and has been losing money due to shoplifting? So he installs a dummy camera to make would-be thieves think that he has a surveillance system? | ||
| Brian Hobbs (Paradox)
|
You got it. ***********SPOILER**************** The man owns and runs a retail shop and is suffering from large amounts of product loss due to shoplifting. To deter the theives, he builds a fake surveillance camera and mounts it on his wall/ceiling to make them think he has had a security system installed in his shop. | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
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Ian once again gave me a shove in the right direction, when he put "clerk" in his list of occupations. Thanks, Ian. And, nice tidy puzzle, Brian. Thank you, too. |
