Solution to the Superlong Necklace Problem

Okay, lets reiterate what we know (we'll condense it somewhat).

Broken Necklace:

a) 1/3 of beads at lady's feet
b) 1/6 on bed.
c) 1/2 of what remained (and 1/2 of what remained thereafter then 1/2 again) six times in all, fell everywhere else.
d) 1,161 pearls still strung.

Let X be the total of all the pearls originally.

A third plus a sixth makes a half of X.  So, the following equation is generated:

1/2(1/2^6) X = 1161.  The amount in the parentheses is that mysterious amount from part 'c'.  The ^ is for exponents.

Simplifying we get:

(1/128)X = 1161

X = 148,608

Literary Conferences: Writing and Reader.

Dear Reader,

I just spent the better part of a year attending a plethera of conferences.  Some were writers conferences: Pikes Peak Writers Conference, Crested Butte Writers Conference.  Some were reader and genre conferences: Left Coast Crime, Malice Domestic, Men of Mystery.  One was an amalgam, a mixture if you will, of the two: Killer Nashville.

Before I go into the pros and cons and my evaluation of these literary get-togethers, let's define our terms.

Writers Conferences - This is an event structured to enhance the writer's career.  They feature classes in all aspects of the writing life.  For the beginning and intermediate writer there are classes in the craft (plot, setting, characterization, dialogue, etc), genre classes taught by experts in that genre (Romance, Young Adult, Western, Action, Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery/Suspense, and so on), classes on aspects of writing (humor, critique groups,self-publishing technology as it touches the writing life, etc). For the more advanced writer there may be classes in promotion, marketing, networking, and other areas to help make a published and close-to-published author more successful.  Another aspect of these types of conferences are the presence of literary agents and publishers.  The conference provides a platform whereby the authors and agent/publishers can meet and talk business.  After all, the aim of most writers is to see their work in print (be it electronic or otherwise).  Big name authors are invited and these provide motivational and humorous talks on what they've experienced in their writing journey.

Genre Conferences - These are primarily conference designed to cater to readers of various genres.  There are YA conferences, Western conferences, Romance conferences, and my own particular interest, Mystery/Suspense conferences.  Avid readers come to these conferences to meet their favorite authors, learn what is new in some sub-genre they are enamored with (say Historical Mysteries or Paranormal Romance).  For the most part these conferences are the home of THE PANEL. Panels are a gathering of pundits who answer questions in the their areas of expertise.  A panel might consist of 4 to 6 authors, all of whom write Mysteries set in the old west or Science Fiction set in a dystopian future.  These authors answer questions designed to interest readers who are consumers of such works or are fans of the authors themselves.  A weekend conference of this sort might feature a hundred such panels and readers are invited to sample as many different sub-genres as they can fit into their schedule. Usually, following panels of these sort readers are invited to join the authors for a signing of their works and perhaps a more intimate Q & A session with the author.

This is the portion of this post where I give my opinion of the relative merits of the conferences I have attended.  Be aware that I am speaking from my perspective as an author of mysteries, not as a reader of genre fiction.  As such I am biased and proudly so.

Let me begin with writing conferences, Of which I attended two, three if you count the hybrid Killer Nashville. Here comes my personal bias.  Pikes Peak Writing Conference is so diverse that it caters to every aspect of what a writer might need to further his or her career.  Plus there are a boatload of the publisher/literary agent types.  I have but suggestion for this wonderful conference.  At PPWC there is a grueling day of agent/publisher pitch sessions--ten minute sessions where an author presents what they are working on to an agent or publisher they have signed up to meet.  On a typical day, these literary professionals listen to fifty-plus avid writers hoping to break into print.  For the most part nothing comes of these interviews.  At Crested Butte Writers Conference they take a slightly different approach.  A writer sends the first ten pages of their work ( up to 2 manuscripts) and the conference distributes the work to all the agents and publishers who are attending the conference.  From this initial introduction, the agents and or publishers select those that interest them. A writer might have many professionals who request a further interview.  Of course, the other possibility is that no one will select their work.

Killer Nashville has classes for all levels of writers.  From marketing/promotion classes to craft classes.  They take the TRACK approach.  If you are a published writer, you take the tracked classes that help you in that phase of your career.  If you are a beginning writer there is a track for that.  However, if you are genre reader of fiction, there are several tracks that cater to you.  And here's where we meet the PANEL.

Malice Domestic (a conference promoting the cozy mystery), Left Coast Crime (a conference designed to entertain suspense/thriller/and mystery readers) and Killer Nashville all have a large number of fan readers who attend, which is definitely a kick in the butt if you are writer in these genres.  All of these conferences are designed to connect the reader to their favorite writers and to help them find new favorites.  Let me just say right here that mystery readers are the best fans in the world.

And now my only complaint.  In all three conferences, LCC, MD, and KN authors are put on panels with similar authors, say five who write academic mysteries, or historical mysteries.  An hour of Q&A is followed by an invitation to join the authors for a book signing.  And here's where things could use a good hard look.  Audience members follow authors to signing tables where their books are displayed, but less than ten minutes later the next panel starts and the signing arena is a ghost town.  Authors, unless they have a rabid following are left sitting staring at one another.

And now the Fifty Men of Mystery Conference.  It is only a one day affair where 50 male mystery/thriller/suspense writers are invited to meet 400 readers.  There are fans and newbees, established authors and first-timers.  Early on in the day, a gathering ensues where the authors introduce themselves and their work.  Big names are not invited to do this since they are already well known.  Immediately after this fun session of blatant and humorous self-promotion everyone, both fans and writers, are taken to a great room adjoining the conference bookstore where a significant amount of time is set aside to cater to book signing and meet and greet between reader and writer.  Readers can ask the authors questions, talk about their own preferences, and generally spend a relaxed time in the company of writers.  I had a blast.

Now, don't get me wrong.  Other conferences have similar times set aside for meet and greet.  Pikes Peak Writers last year had a very similar situation and again it was a kick in the butt.  Malice Domestic has a session where authors circulated from table to table (10 readers per table) and talk about their work and themselves.  This was a hoot!

Let me finish by saying that I found something to like about all these gatherings.  My only regret for this year is that I didn't attend the mother of all mystery conferences, Bouchercon.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Full Solution to the Three -Question Quiz Problem

First a re-statement of the brainstretcher:

Thirty students took a three-question quiz with the following results:

20 got the first question correct
16 the second question
10 the third question
11 got the first and second correct
7 the first and third
5 the second and third
4 got all three correct

How many missed all three?

For this we will eschew set theory and tempting as it is a Venn diagram (plus I don't know how to draw a Venn diagram in my blog).  We will just be very good little accountants.

Start with the original 30 students and subtract out those that got each of the problems correct.

30 - (20 + 16 + 10), of course this is negative but hold your horses.

Now add back in the ones who solved two problems because they were counted twice in the first number that was subtracted.

30 - (20 + 16 + 10) + (11 + 7 + 5)

But wait, you say!!!!  What about the ones who got all three questions correct?

AHA!!! this number was accounted for all over the place in our last expression: three times in the first parenthesis (subtracted), and three times in the second parenthesis (added).  They cancel each other out.  So we only have to subtract out the last 4 to make our expression complete.

30 - (20 + 16 + 10) + (11 + 7 + 5) - 4 = 3

Therefore only 3 students failed to solve any of the problems

Wine, Wine and More Wine solution.

Okay Puzzlers,

It seems my little experiment where I scheduled a post from my blog to Facebook last Friday worked.  So here is the solution to the wine container problem.

First a re-statement of the problem: 

3 wine containers:   Container C - 7 quarts, full

                             Container B - 13 quarts, full

                             Container A - 19 quarts, empty

I want to eventually have 10 quarts in one of the containers.

Solution:

As I said before, the best I could do was 15 pourings:  I will show the pourings and what is in each of the 3 containers (A, B, C)

1.  Pour contents of 7 quart can into 19 quart can  (7, 13, 0)

2.  From the 13 quart can fill up the 19 quart can (19, 1, 0)

3.  From the 19 quart can fill the 7 quart (12, 1, 7)

4.  7-quart into 13-quart (12, 8, 0)
5.  From 19 quart fill 7 quart (5, 8, 7)
6.  From 7 quart fill 13 quart (5, 13, 2)
7.  Pour contents of 13 quart into 19 quart (18, 0, 2)
8.  Pour contents of 7 quart into 13 quart (18, 2, 0)
9.  From 19 quart fill 7 quart (11, 2, 7)
10. Pour contents of 7 quart into 13 quart (11, 9, 0)
11. Fill 7 quart from 19 quart (4, 9, 7)
12. Fill 13 quart from contents of 7 quart (4, 13, 3)
13. Pour content of 13 quart into 19 quart (17, 0, 3)
14.  Pour content of 7 quart into 13 quart (17, 3, 0)
15.  Finally from 19 quart pour into 7 quart (10, 3, 7)

You now have the 19 quart container holding 10 quarts!!!!!

Puzzler Problem for Friday, October 12, 2012

Okay Puzzlers,

I am trying something different this week in that I am away from computer (and like it that way) but want to post my brainteaser anyway.  I have scheduled this one and we'll see if it shows up on time.

Wine, Wine, and More Wine

This puzzle is a slightly harder version of the Two Container Problem.  This time we have three containers of wine: 

7 quart - full of Merlot

13 quart - full of Merlot

19 quart - empty

Your job is to end up with one container holding exactly 10 quarts.  As with all the other multiple container problems, there are no markings on the containers, so you must achieve  the desired result by clever pouring back and forth ffrom one container to another.

Hint: The best I could come up with was 15 pourings.

Solution to a Dicey Problem

Okay, let me reiterate the problem.  Three dice (red, blue, and green) are tossed and the values noted.  Then we perform the following operations on the values.  Start with red: multiply the red value by 2 then add 5 then then multiply this result by 5.  Now add in the value of the blue and multiply by 10.  Now add in the green.

Your result is 484.

What are the original values of the dice?

Solution Red = 2, Blue = 3, Green = 4

Why that's amazing you say.  How did you ever figure that out?

Funny you should ask.  

Assign variables to the values of the dice; Red = a, Blue = b, Green = c.  Now just follow the directions.

Multiply red by 2     2a

Add 5    2a + 5

Multiply this by 5    5(2a + 5) = 10a + 25

Add in Blue     10a + 25 + b

Multiply by 10     10(10a + 25 + b) = 100a + 250 + 10b

Add in green 100a + 10b + c +250

This equals 484    100a + 10b + c + 250 = 484

Subtract 250 from both sides    100a + 10b + c = 234

But the left hand side is the natural form of a three digit number (hundred, tens, ones)

Sooooooooo a = 2, b = 3, c = 4

And we could do this for any three values on the dice.  Try it for yourself.

Teddy Roosevelt

In the past few weeks, I've been using this blog and other social networking to get out some feelings I have about my mother's heath.  She is seriously ill, but has an excellent chance of recovery - the doctor say the course of medicine she is on has a 70% recovery record.  Truth is though, my mom is 82 and the medicine is supposed to make her sick along with making her better.  She is this little southern woman who lately has seen even smaller as her health has failed.

The good news is that women in our family live to a ripe old age.  My grandmother lived almost to 100 and mom has 4 sisters all of whom are either in their eighties or close to it. With any luck and some providence, I should get to enjoy my mother's company, if not for many, at least for a few years to come.

Which strangely enough, brings up the subject of Teddy Roosevelt.


Recently I had lunch with a friend, and a fan of Bonnie Pinkwater.  We'd been corresponding and trading lunches since last March when we'd run into each other at Left Coast Crime in Sacramento.  While enjoying a meal at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, he shared the titles of a few good books he'd enjoyed in the past year.  One of them was 'River of Doubt'by Candice Millard.  The book is non-fiction and relates the 1000 mile journey the past president took on an unexplored tributary of the Amazon.  I am currently reading - actually listening to - the book in my car.

Now, I am a student of history, minored in the subject in college.  I know the usual stuff about Teddy and maybe some not so usual stuff.

Face on Mount Rushmore

"Talk softly, but carry a big stick"  His response to the Barbary pirates who were plaguing American ships.  Think 'From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli.'

Twenty-Sixth president of the United States of America.  Youngest in history.

Leader of the 'Rough Riders' in the Spanish American War.  Led the famous charge up San Juan Hill.

Came from a prominent New York family, was Chief of Police of New York City.  Was instrumental in cleaning up the corruption that had become rampant in the police ranks.

Was asthmatic and did rigorous exercise to get over his infirmities.  A practice he continued all the days of his life.

Boxed in college and had a boxing ring set up in the White House.

Came out west to clear his head when tragedy struck him or the people he loved.  We'll visit this theme again in a minute.

Was one of the premier naturalists of his time and donated to the collections of the famous museums of his day.

Tried and failed to run for a third term of presidency (losing to Woodrow Wilson) in the Progressive or "Bull Moose Party'.

Was instrumental in setting up the National Park system we enjoy to this day.

All of which is fascinating, but it isn't the reason for this post.  I began it speaking of my mother and her recent struggles with her health.  While I am confident she will beat this round of cancer, She is eighty-two and my father died at eighty-one.  Someday, I will have to live in a world where this sweet women doesn't call me weekly on the phone.

So here's the reason for this post.  In 1884 Teddy Roosevelt lost not only his wife but also his beloved mother.  And not just in the same year but in the same day.  I can only imagine the grief he felt at this monumental loss.

Here was a man who played out life on a national stage, was the hero of millions, was one of the most popular presidents ever to hold the office and he was powerless in face of these twin tragedies.

So here's the thing.  Life throws hard things at you sometimes.  Sometimes those hard things threaten to overwhelm.  Sometimes, you just feel like going off to a dark place to weep.  And I suppose that's okay.

For a while.

But in the end, Roosevelt remarried, raised four children, and got on with his life.  I don't know about you but this makes me hopeful that all of us can do the same.

Life is good.