Wow. Two posts that were conceived within the same day that tie into previous Binks posts.

So, during the mandatory study session yesterday (from 7pm to 9pm weekdays, children under 16 have to be in the auditorium working/reading/etc. for two hours), two students said they had this logic puzzle. Basically, it consists of pointing at a random assortment of people, and saying “Bang” as you point at each one.

You then ask someone “Who’d I kill?” and they have to figure it out. They told me that the pattern could be determined by observation. So I start looking at it empirically. Is the person defined by the first letter of their first name? Is the person defined by the first letter of their last name? Is there a different pattern for an even number of people shot versus an odd number of people shot? Is there something different about the way people are shot? Is it about eye contact? The last person you see? The person who you maintain eye contact with after the fact?

Nothing worked. There was no empirical pattern. For 45 minutes or so, the conversation went:

“BANG BANG BANG, who’d I kill?” “Emma” “No. BANG BANG, who’d I kill?” “Melissa?” “No. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG, who’d I kill?” “Me?” “No….”

And so forth. It continued like that for so long, infuriating me because even when they only pointed the gun at me and said BANG once, it was never me that was killed, and they wouldn’t tell me who was.

So, I was convinced that the true exercise of this game was to see how long someone would play along with the whole charade before giving up. So, I asked one of the two students to go to the other side of the room, and write down who it was that was killed. I figured that if the one student wrote the same answer that I said, and I was wrong, then I would have exposed the lie.

So, they do it again.

“BANG BANG BANG, who’d I kill?” “Me,” says I. “No,” says Student #1. Student #2 is laughing. On the piece of paper, she has written “You killed Jordan.” The lie is seemingly exposed. But they maintain that Student #2 is right but I was still wrong.

I’d like everyone to see if they can figure out what the answer is to this so called “logic puzzle”.

Are you ready?

Here…we…go.

Apparently, your answer is only correct when prefaced with the statement “You killed…”. If someone says, “BANG BANG BANG, who’d I kill?” and you respond with “Danger.”, you would be incorrect. If someone says, “BANG BANG BANG, who’d I kill?” and you respond with “You killed Danger.”, then you are correct.

This, to me, doesn’t seem like a logic puzzle. It seems like a matter of precision versus accuracy. Saying a name is an adequate answer to the question “Who’d I kill?” To expect an answer formatted a certain way is lunacy.

It is games like this (probably developed by Fine Arts students who think they are brilliant) that warp people’s understanding of instructions. For example, in a French class here, one of the teachers was trying to get students to repeat the word “Maison” (House). So, she told them to repeat after her, and to get them saying it in unison, she counted to three in French and they would then say it all together. This is how it went down:

Teacher: Okay. Repeat altogether. Un, deux, trois. Maison. Students: Un, deux, trois, maison. Teacher: No. Just say maison. Okay. On three. Un, deux, trois. Maison. Students: Un, deux, trois, maison.

And so it goes.

Exercises like this make people so paranoid about following things to the letter that they actually get things wrong while trying to be precise. Precision is retarded.

Can you imagine if, when you went to get some sort of government ID and they said, “What’s your birthday?”, saying “March 11, 1978” was an invalid answer. The clerk looks at you and snickers. “I’m sorry. That is not a valid answer to my question.”

You lose your place in line.

The next person is fortunate enough to respond with “My birthday is July 28, 1967.” and the clerk applauds like some sort of retarded seal. And then you go completely crazy, and punch the clerk in the face.

Ugh…I was so furious when I found out that that was the solution. It was so ridiculous.

EDIT: I finished and posted this post on October 21…but it appears the Internet failed me. The Bronte internet at least. It didn’t actually publish it…probably because it timed out.

Here it is anyway, for those wondering what happened on my end.

:(

I missed out.

Originally, I was going to drive to Waterloo, hang out with Binks, Danger, Danger’s girlfriend, and a fellow Beardsman. There was mention of video games, videos, and other such craziness. I was going to drive back to Mississauga on Saturday to hang out with Katie, and then pick my brother up from the bus terminal on Sunday so he could take the car, as discussed during Thanksgiving.

But, shortly before the arrival of the glorious weekend, my brother talks to me on MSN and says he is picking the car up on Friday. Well, the throws a wrench into the whole thing. I talked to him later (after canceling with Andrew), and he says that he may actually come Saturday. That’s no good either, because I already trashed my plans for Friday and even still, Saturday doesn’t give me much in the way of staying in Waterloo time. So, I tell him he has to come Friday.

And he says he will, but he has to get on a bus in an hours, so he left to pack.

So, my plans canceled with Andrew, I get prepped and ready to have my very own Friday Adventure.

I go to the cafeteria. Get pineapple juice instead of cranberry. Crazy shit. I wish I had YouTubed it.

Then, I wait around until 9:40, and head off to find Jake (who arrives at 9:50).

He is apparently getting dropped off at Applewood Variety at the Dixie Outlet Mall.

The Dixie Outlet Mall was only one exit further than the school up the QEW. The trip - according to Google Maps - would take about 7 minutes.

So, I head out at 9:40. Drive to the Dixie Outlet Mall. I don’t see any buses in the empty parking lot, nor do I see anything labeled Applewood Variety. I drive around the mall, but the only bus is a Charter bus parked outside a Burger King. Definitely not the Greyhound I was expecting. I circle the entirety of the outlet mall. No Applewood Variety.

I drive past the Dixie Outlet Mall on South Service Road, wondering if Applewood Variety is further down the road. Nope. Residential streets. But these streets somehow turn into the on ramp to the QEW. Freaky. And dangerous. I double back to the Dixie Outlet Mall to think about my options. Applewood Variety was not to be found.

But Google Maps showed it to me. It was right there…I could see its name clearly beside the QEW. Maybe it is on the other side?

So I drive on Dixie Road over the QEW and get to an intersection. To my right, the ramp to get back to the QEW (according to the sign). To my left…Mississauga. I follow the road, take the next available left, and drive, looking for a shopping centre on this side of the QEW. Nothing. I eventually get back (nearly to Bronte). I get back on the QEW, and drive the same route to the Dixie Outlet Mall. Suddenly, I see it. A poorly lit strip mall hidden behind a mechanic garage on the other side of the street. But how the hell do I get there?

I loop back over the QEW on Dixie Road. Then, it hits me. Sheer lunacy. But I figure it is worth a shot. I turn right at the intersection onto the ramp to get back on the QEW (mentioned earlier). It turns out that this “ramp” is actually an extremely long street that runs along the QEW (practically all the way back to Bronte). And Applewood Variety is in a shopping centre adjacent to this on ramp. The most absurd city planning that I have ever witnessed. But such is life. I got there at 10:15. Drove Jake back to Bronte, and sent him off with the car, all the while cursing Mississauga city planners.

And that was how I spent my Friday.

It could have been much more fun.

:(

I missed out.

Originally, I was going to drive to Waterloo, hang out with Binks, Danger, Danger’s girlfriend, and a fellow Beardsman. There was mention of video games, videos, and other such craziness. I was going to drive back to Mississauga on Saturday to hang out with Katie, and then pick my brother up from the bus terminal on Sunday so he could take the car, as discussed during Thanksgiving.

But, shortly before the arrival of the glorious weekend, my brother talks to me on MSN and says he is picking the car up on Friday. Well, the throws a wrench into the whole thing. I talked to him later (after canceling with Andrew), and he says that he may actually come Saturday. That’s no good either, because I already trashed my plans for Friday and even still, Saturday doesn’t give me much in the way of staying in Waterloo time. So, I tell him he has to come Friday.

And he says he will, but he has to get on a bus in an hours, so he left to pack.

So, my plans canceled with Andrew, I get prepped and ready to have my very own Friday Adventure.

I go to the cafeteria. Get pineapple juice instead of cranberry. Crazy shit. I wish I had YouTubed it.

Then, I wait around until 9:40, and head off to find Jake (who arrives at 9:50).

He is apparently getting dropped off at Applewood Variety at the Dixie Outlet Mall.

The Dixie Outlet Mall was only one exit further than the school up the QEW. The trip - according to Google Maps - would take about 7 minutes.

So, I head out at 9:40. Drive to the Dixie Outlet Mall. I don’t see any buses in the empty parking lot, nor do I see anything labeled Applewood Variety. I drive around the mall, but the only bus is a Charter bus parked outside a Burger King. Definitely not the Greyhound I was expecting. I circle the entirety of the outlet mall. No Applewood Variety.

I drive past the Dixie Outlet Mall on South Service Road, wondering if Applewood Variety is further down the road. Nope. Residential streets. But these streets somehow turn into the on ramp to the QEW. Freaky. And dangerous. I double back to the Dixie Outlet Mall to think about my options. Applewood Variety was not to be found.

But Google Maps showed it to me. It was right there…I could see its name clearly beside the QEW. Maybe it is on the other side?

So I drive on Dixie Road over the QEW and get to an intersection. To my right, the ramp to get back to the QEW (according to the sign). To my left…Mississauga. I follow the road, take the next available left, and drive, looking for a shopping centre on this side of the QEW. Nothing. I eventually get back (nearly to Bronte). I get back on the QEW, and drive the same route to the Dixie Outlet Mall. Suddenly, I see it. A poorly lit strip mall hidden behind a mechanic garage on the other side of the street. But how the hell do I get there?

I loop back over the QEW on Dixie Road. Then, it hits me. Sheer lunacy. But I figure it is worth a shot. I turn right at the intersection onto the ramp to get back on the QEW (mentioned earlier). It turns out that this “ramp” is actually an extremely long street that runs along the QEW (practically all the way back to Bronte). And Applewood Variety is in a shopping centre adjacent to this on ramp. The most absurd city planning that I have ever witnessed. But such is life. I got there at 10:15. Drove Jake back to Bronte, and sent him off with the car, all the while cursing Mississauga city planners.

And that was how I spent my Friday.

It could have been much more fun.

Yeah. My brother has his reading week now (reading week, in the fall, seriously?).

Anyway, he is stealing the car from me. My mother originally told me it was going to be on Sunday. Then, it was magically transported to Saturday. And now, he is coming to get it tonight.

Crap.

So, now I’m stranded in Mississauga unable to visit anyone (including my girlfriend, who is in Burlington this weekend), and…well, yeah. It all sucks.

And the car is gone for a week. :(

Yep. Checked my e-mail, Facebook, etc, all without leaving the comfort of my bed.

Laptops are weird.

List of my favourite video game stories in no particular order:

• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
• Half-Life
• Half-Life 2 (and the subsequent episodes, + Portal)
• Beyond Good and Evil
• Myst, Riven: The Sequel to Myst, Myst III, Myst IV (I could have done without Myst V: End of Ages)
• Resident Evil series (I like the characters, and the fact that it is like B-movie horror flicks)
• Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
• Max Payne (1 & 2)
• Legend of Zelda: OoT, Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, and especially Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (such an amazing story, and I have never been more connected with Epona)
• Starcraft (an incredibly rich universe developed, drawing heavily (but not too heavily) from sci-fi classics like Alien and the Predator movies
• Metroid Prime 1 - 3
• Tales of Symphonia

I’m sure that there are more that I cannot think of right now. But these ones have stuck with me the most. Achenar’s sacrifice in Myst IV to save his little sister, and Regal’s efforts to protect his friends in Tales of Symphonia were pretty awesome. I also love seeing the cutscene where Steve Burnside - horribly disfigured by the T-Veronica virus - restrains himself from killing Claire Redfield even though it results in his own death.

And in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The very end. When he tells the story to Farah and she doesn’t believe him (because the events of the game have been rewound so that none of it actually occured). And although they had been in love, the Prince has to leave, because they are from different (and hostile) nations, and she does not remember their being in love.

So, he kisses her, and rewinds time once more before returning the dagger, and then parkours his way into the distance.

Also, everything about Half-Life is perfect. The dystopian future. The characters. The enemies. The landscapes. Everything.

People may say Halo has a good grasp of the future, but Halo would have the plot of an action movie. Half-Life - if it was a film - would be Oscar worthy.