Recommended Posts

Same situation here. Last minute flight is $450.00 per person, so it would set me back a grand.

Tempted...but thinking... would it be one of those "once in a lifetime events" that I would say WOW, money well spent or would I be kicking myself all the way home.

Damn...that sucks...I'm stuck in the East Coast.....:(

hey i live in australia and i replied :). It does say transportation will be provided, and doesnt say the location (seattle is only where the clue will be posted). I'm hoping for a free flight ticket lol.

EDIT: My Mistake...transportation from event coordinates....damn. Nothing ever happens in Australia. :(

Edited by mauriziocorso77
If lorelei was a maiden that "misled" sailors and crashed them into a rocks, then maybe that's what Loki is trying to do to us as well. The stories she keeps telling about herself are obvious lies. For certain, there is no way she visited every single country in the world on her 21st birthday. It's either an out and out lie or your theory about her being an "it" is true.

I think the stories are there to mislead us, but the directions from the glasses or something else we missed are the true clues.

While I agree that the information is not true (after all, Loki is a character, not a real person), kindly remember that she said she had visited nearly every country by her 21st birthday. Big difference, and entirely possible.

Because we have established that Loki's background story is most likely a fabrication, we must assume that its details are entirely too relevant as clues in solving the game/Meta puzzle. Why else would they be included? We were not meant to take the stories as truth.

While I agree that the information is not true (after all, Loki is a character, not a real person), kindly remember that she said she had visited nearly every country by her 21st birthday. Big difference, and entirely possible.

Because we have established that Loki's background story is most likely a fabrication, we must assume that its details are entirely too relevant as clues in solving the game/Meta puzzle. Why else would they be included? We were not meant to take the stories as truth.

Actually.. that one has a simple solution.. if you take into consideration the laws of "National Airspace" where the boundaries for being "IN" a country can be justified by flying OVER it.. the only logical solution can be found by her flying over each one.. And since the speed would have to be great, it can also be assumed that she was in SPACE on her 21st B-Day... Which makes for a nice tie-in with the whole Rocketplane prize...

Well, I spent all night working with the Tomb puzzle sheet following up on the discovery here that the blocks were the pyramids a Giza and the dot in the top left is the vanishing point if you draw circles intersecting the corners. Here is my overlay leading to the letters OTMISFNTIERN being intersected by those circles. This is an anagram for "FIRST MENTION". Wynn at unfiction.com forums found the correct letter sequence before me (I had poorly aligned some letters which led me astray). When Googled with "Yo-Yo" gives you a hit with this sentence "however the first mention of the yo-yo was in Greece in 500 BC." Leading logically to the solution. I'd consider that one cleared up now.

That actually makes sense. I was following that idea, but I connected the corners with the straight lines, which resulted in wrong characters so I abandoned that approach.

Good work.

perhaps they are planning a mass slaughter of the people who show up.... MS is scared of our mighty brain power...... wa ha ha..

It's going to be one hell of a game of musical chair....they will use the sheet music from box 3 and when the music stops there will be a mad fight for the one empty chair next to Loki from the second box video. I'm convinced that this will be how they choose the winner.

My attempt at explaining the Mural puzzle ...

The puzzle clearly indicates that dates are somehow significant "PEOPLE AND DATES WITH LASTING EFFECT". The complication I ran into were that dates attributed to the inventions shown are very sketchy in many cases. When I decided to take the first date associated with the invention or underlying principle behind each item I came up with this (quotes taken from web references found with Google):

Eli Whitney - cotton gin - 1793 - "Whitney produced the first crude model of his gin in 1793"

Humphrey Davy - electric lamp - 1801 - "In 1801 Sir Humphry Davy, an English chemist, made platinum strips glow by passing an electric current through them"

James Watt - steam engine - 1764 - "Watt?s work with the steam engine began in 1764, when he was requested to repair a Newcomen steam engine used at the university."

Benjamin Franklin - lightning rod - 1747 - "In 1747 Franklin began his experiments in electricity with a simple apparatus that he received from a friend in England."

George Louis Lesage - telegraph - 1774 - "The first telegraph was demonstrated in Geneva, Switzerland in 1774 by George Louis Lesage."

Louis Pasteur - pasteurized milk - 1856 - ".. in 1856 .. Pasteur?s experiments on bacteria began, resulting in the process that still bears his name (pasteurization)."

George Stephenson - locomotive - 1814 - "Stephenson designed his first locomotive in 1814"

Guglielmo Marconi - radio - 1895 - "late in the summer of 1895, Guglielmo Marconi made the first tentative wireless transmissions"

Alexander Graham Bell - telephone - 1876 - "until 1876, when Alexander Graham Bell placed the first phone call."

Cyrus McCormick - reaper - 1831 - "By the end of the same 1831 harvest, Cyrus had the first successful demonstration of his reaper."

Thomas Edison - phonograph - 1877 - "August 12, 1877, is the date popularly given for Thomas Alva Edison's completion of the model for the first phonograph,"

I'll be the first to say that the date attributed to Benjamin Franklin seems to be a stretch given that the picture appears to be a lightning rod which he did not invent for many more years.

Now, taking the last digit of each year as an index into the inventors name we get:

I HEIR PRINCE

Triton could indeed be called the heir prince of Poseidon (depicted in the 3rd image with the matching key symbol from this puzzle).

My attempt at explaining the Mural puzzle ...

The puzzle clearly indicates that dates are somehow significant "PEOPLE AND DATES WITH LASTING EFFECT". The complication I ran into were that dates attributed to the inventions shown are very sketchy in many cases. When I decided to take the first date associated with the invention or underlying principle behind each item I came up with this (quotes taken from web references found with Google):

Eli Whitney - cotton gin - 1793 - "Whitney produced the first crude model of his gin in 1793"

Humphrey Davy - electric lamp - 1801 - "In 1801 Sir Humphry Davy, an English chemist, made platinum strips glow by passing an electric current through them"

James Watt - steam engine - 1764 - "Watt?s work with the steam engine began in 1764, when he was requested to repair a Newcomen steam engine used at the university."

Benjamin Franklin - lightning rod - 1747 - "In 1747 Franklin began his experiments in electricity with a simple apparatus that he received from a friend in England."

George Louis Lesage - telegraph - 1774 - "The first telegraph was demonstrated in Geneva, Switzerland in 1774 by George Louis Lesage."

Louis Pasteur - pasteurized milk - 1856 - ".. in 1856 .. Pasteur?s experiments on bacteria began, resulting in the process that still bears his name (pasteurization)."

George Stephenson - locomotive - 1814 - "Stephenson designed his first locomotive in 1814"

Guglielmo Marconi - radio - 1895 - "late in the summer of 1895, Guglielmo Marconi made the first tentative wireless transmissions"

Alexander Graham Bell - telephone - 1876 - "until 1876, when Alexander Graham Bell placed the first phone call."

Cyrus McCormick - reaper - 1831 - "By the end of the same 1831 harvest, Cyrus had the first successful demonstration of his reaper."

Thomas Edison - phonograph - 1877 - "August 12, 1877, is the date popularly given for Thomas Alva Edison's completion of the model for the first phonograph,"

I'll be the first to say that the date attributed to Benjamin Franklin seems to be a stretch given that the picture appears to be a lightning rod which he did not invent for many more years.

Now, taking the last digit of each year as an index into the inventors name we get:

I HEIR PRINCE

Triton could indeed be called the heir prince of Poseidon (depicted in the 3rd image with the matching key symbol from this puzzle).

Interesting. One thing that keeps bugging me is that two of the images shown in the mural are not quite consistent

with the name of the inventor even when the names seems to be correct.

The steam machine image doesn't look at all as far as I know to any of the designs James Watt put together, some folks

were able to find that the image looks closer to a Wachs Steam Engine.

Also the image for the telegraph looks more than one of the standard morse keys for Samuel Morse's telegraph,

the Lesage telegraph was quite different from the one created by Morse.

Cheers

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • 10 games join Xbox Free Play Days this weekend by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Another Free Play Days offer has just landed, and this one is a unique one. On top of offering 10 games to jump into for Xbox players, all the titles are from a single publisher: No More Robots. The promotion has games like Little Rocket Lab, Spirittea, Descenders Next, Let's Build a Zoo, and much more. Almost every game in the selection does need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, or Essential subscription, so keep this in mind when browsing. Many of the titles are Xbox Play Anywhere titles though, so both Xbox console and PC players can jump in. Here's how the announcement blog post described some of the available titles: There is one game that's available to all Xbox players without the need for any subscriptions, which is Descenders. Here are the announced games and the platforms they are available to play on: Little Rocket Lab (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Spirittea (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Soccer Story (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Descenders Next (Game Preview) (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Let's Build a Zoo (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Hypnospace Outlaw (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Nowhere Prophet (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) Family Man (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One) Descenders (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) To easily find the titles on Xbox consoles, first head to the Store, then in the sidebar, find the Home section. In there, open the Subscriptions tab. The Free Play Days collection will show up in this area. This week's Free Play Days promotions will end on Sunday, June 7, at 11:59 pm PT.
    • It STILL has horrid theme support. Hard to look at for me. The white is too bright, and the black too dark. I'm using classic outlook for the Dark Grey theme. It's just right for me.
    • inb4 someone leaves the usual "what an unfortunate name" comment
    • Cuktech 10 Ultra charger review: big display, four ports, 110W total power by Taras Buria Cuktech recently announced a couple of Ultra-branded chargers, including a desktop 300W charger, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. For those who do need that much (or who do not want to spend that much on a charger), Cuktech also offers the 10 Ultra, a traditional wall charger with similar features. Four ports, a big display, and up to 110W of power output. After using it for a few weeks, here are my impressions. Disclaimer: Cuktech provided the review unit without any editorial input or pre-approval. Like the 30 Ultra, the 10 Ultra arrived in a box made of nice cardboard with quality print all over it. Inside, besides the charger, you will find a 240W 6A charger, which, this time, is fully braided. While Cuktech always bundles high-power cables with its chargers and power banks, they are usually regular and unassuming. This time, the cable is much nicer, matching the charger's $59.99 price tag. The charger itself measures 67 x 76 x 33 mm or 2.6 x 3.0 x 1.3 inches and weighs about 250 grams. Considering the charger has four ports and a big display, I would say the compact size is quite impressive, albeit a little hefty. The overall design is similar to other chargers from the manufacturer, minus the chrome Cuktech logo next to the four ports. The Cuktech 10 Ultra has retractable prongs for better portability. Its front side is covered with piano black plastic housing two elements: a capacitive button with backlight and a quite large display for various charging stats. Ports are downward-facing, and I have mixed feelings about such a design. It is not the most convenient when you frequently connect and disconnect cables. It makes you bend over to find the right port to connect, and it is a no-go with outlets mounted closer to the floor. On the bright side, design like this eliminates clutter and sagging, especially when using four cables at once. Plus, you get plenty of space for a big display. Ports include two high-speed USB Type-C ports, one Type-C for less demanding devices, and one classic USB Type-A. The first two ports deliver full 100W, while the third is capped at 45W. As for the Type-A port, its maximum output is 18W. In total, the charger delivers 110W of power, but in my testing, I managed to squeeze 117W when charging two power banks and a tablet. Quite impressive. Type-C1 Type-C2 Type-C3 Type-A Single-port 100W 100W 45W 18W Two ports 80W 20W - - Three ports 65W 20W 20W - Four ports 65W 20W 10W 10W The charger can detect handshake protocols and balance power across all four ports according to each device's needs. As such, power is not limited to the values in the table above. You can have two ports charging at 55W, three ports at 45W + 20W, and more. For some reason, Cuktech is not listing the supported protocols, but a quick test showed that it is compatible with PD3.0, PPS, QC5, DCP, and UFCS. When you connect a compatible device, the charger automatically detects its charging standard and displays it on the screen, for example, Apple 6A or Samsung 3A. Speaking of the screen. The main highlight of the 10 Ultra is its 1.57-inch display with a maximum brightness of 700 nits and 160-degree viewing angles. The display takes up most of the front, and it shows various charging-related information, including total output power, current temperature, power distribution across ports with watts, volts, and amps, a screensaver, and more. You can toggle between the different views by tapping the button, and holding it changes the screen orientation (portrait or horizontal, plus flipped) according to your socket position. The screen is very nice. It is sharp, vivid, and the fonts are easy to read. As for settings, you can change the following: Keep the screen on or off Lock the screen orientation (hold the button to change the screen orientation) Keep the USB Type-A port on Toggle power modes The charger has three power modes: AI: standard mode that automatically allocates power to each connected device. Power Priority: prioritizes power for high-demand devices, such as laptops or power banks. Balanced: splits power evenly across connected devices according to their needs I was skeptical at first, but after testing a few devices in different modes, I can see the benefit of these three modes. The most useful is power priority, which gives the first Type-C port more power. When I was charging a 100W power bank (port 1) alongside a 140W power bank (port 2), Power Priority split the total output about 75-30. Balanced mode, as the name suggests, splits the total output between the two ports more or less equally. As for AI mode, the charger uses its brain to detect which device needs more power. In my testing, it figured out that the 140W power needs a bit more juice. As I said, I expected this to be more of a gimmick, but the three built-in modes turned out quite useful. For example, you can prioritize your laptop while giving other ports a little less power, but still enough to charge at acceptable speeds. Unfortunately, unlike the 30 Ultra, this charger cannot display the battery level of the device being charged. This small feature turned out to be very useful when I was testing the 30 Ultra, as it allowed me to see my phone's battery level without picking it up. Like other Cuktech chargers I tested, the 10 Ultra one proved itself reliable and well-made. It uses Gallium nitride semiconductor technology to reduce the charger's size and improve efficiency. It is also better at dissipating heat, but I have to say that when charging two power banks at 117W total, the charger got hotter than what I would call comfortable (hold it for a few seconds, and you start feeling a burning sensation at your fingertips). However, the built-in thermal indicator remained below the temperature threshold, with the screen reassuring that the device operated at "High performance" (I tested it in a 21 °C / 69 °F room). Overall, the Cuktech 10 Ultra is a solid choice. If you need four ports and you like to nerd out on various stats, it is a very easy recommendation. It will take care of your laptop, phone, tablet, and power bank without breaking a sweat, plus the build, material, and cable quality are top-notch. The mode switcher is handy when charging different devices with different power needs, too. I cannot say a display is a must-have in a charger, especially when it makes you more conscious about where to plug it, but it is a neat addition if you have a socket at your table or bed level, so that you can actually use the display and its features. The more important fact is that despite its size and quality, the display does not make the charger that much more expensive than similarly powerful chargers from competitors. Plus, you can save 10% on the 10 Ultra with a promo code on Amazon. Buy Cuktech 10 Ultra charger - $53.99 on Amazon with a promo code As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Last week I was investigating an issue with contacts and tried using the new Outlook. In the real (Classic) Outlook, you can easily go to any Outlook folder and present it in a Table View, then customize the columns to show/sort any field, which was exactly what I needed. But of course, the new Outlook doesn't have this feature at all. I gave up. Oh, and can we possibly stop claiming the new Outlook has PST support? What it really has is the ability to use the real Outlook in the background to pretend to have PST support. There is no PST support without the real Outlook installed.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      mobandz earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Apprentice
      fernan99 went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • One Month Later
      nothanks earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      B2Proxy earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      MadMung0 earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      476
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      247
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      79
    4. 4
      FloatingFatMan
      76
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      60
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!