Wordle-Versary

There always seems to be a lot going on in my life.  I *must* like it that way -- but there I times when I have my doubts.  As an example, my "smart watch" (and I use that term very loosely) just urged me to get up and walk 250 steps.  The nerve of that thing!  A device that I received as a gift (another term that seems wildly inappropriate, in retrospect) for Christmas -- with the underlying hope that it would never have to alert me about ANYTHING -- is now harping at me to get off my fat @$$.  Perhaps I should provide an additional digression concerning my digression.

I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (afib) late in 2015, had an ablation procedure in 2016, and have been taking medication and seeing a cardiologist to treat the condition ever since.  I haven't had any issues with arrhythmia since the ablation.  But complicating matters is the fact that I was asymptomatic throughout the entire period when I *was* having arrhythmia issues.  Translation:  I've never been aware when my heart was out of rhythm.

I told you all that, so I could tell you this:  When I visited my cardiologist in November, he saw me wearing a wrist watch -- and suggested I ask for a smart watch for Christmas to alert me if it detected that I was having an arrhythmia episode.  Which seemed like a good idea at the time -- so my wife got me a Fitbit Versa 4 for Christmas.  And, although it has not detected any arrhythmia, it does bug me to walk around at 10 minutes to the top of each hour.

And now I'm wondering:  Can I commit a HIPAA violation against MYSELF?!

Anyway, this has been a rather roundabout way to say -- that I missed my second Wordle-versary on Monday.

Here's what I posted on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments yesterday regarding that oversight --  

Wordle 935 3/6

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨 SHONE   19 WL
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟨 CARET      1 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 THREW

WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 75/99
Streak 686

Another solution in 3 today, made quick and easy by knowing all but one of the letters — and also knowing where they had to go.  It happened so fast, I had to slow myself down to double-check that I wasn’t making an unforced error.  After Guess #1, I had the H (in position) and E (out of position).  Based on The Bot’s feedback from Game #766 (WHEEL on 7/25/2023), I knew playing CARET as Guess #2 would ensure solving in 3.  Although The Bot later claimed that there were 19 solutions left after Guess #1, I knew the actual number was around 7 (or 8 — apparently WHELK is a possible solution now, though not bloody likely).  In any case, I hit the jackpot with CARET, matching R & E (in position) and also T — which I also knew had to be the first letter.  The word began THRE— and I knew the solution wasn’t THREE for two reasons:  Guess #1 told me E wasn’t the last letter — and THREE had just been the solution less than two weeks ago (12/30).  I double-checked to verify THREW hadn't previously been a solution, then played it.  I bested The Bot (3 vs 4) and the (current) NYT avg by a full guess again (3 vs. 4.0). 

I’ve been so busy lately, I failed to realize I had reached my second Wordle-versary on Monday.  I played my first game on January 8, 2021 (Game #203 — CRANK — how appropriate) and have played every day since.  Still have a chance to match my 3-Guess and 4-Guess win totals at 300 in the next week (they stand at 296 vs 300 after today) — with a bit of luck.  And soon after, I hope to push my win streak to 700 games.  

But I can’t get distracted by all this minutiae.  There will be a new word to guess tomorrow.  

Hope you are all having a terrific Thursday. 

Take care and stay safe.