Guesses In BULK(Y)

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 956 5/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ SHONE   376 WL

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 TRAIL        18 WL

🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩 LUMPY       6 WL

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩 FULLY         2 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 BULKY

WordleBot

Skill 93/99

Luck 31/99

Streak 707

I *hate* using a word for Guess #3 (or later) that I *know* can’t be the solution. Some days — like today — that strategy is going to result in a big number.  Or (gulp) losing a game.  But for the 4th day in a row, it’s “Another day, another 4+ NYT Wordle average.” 

Guess #1 yielded nothing but gray squares this morning and Guess #2 provided only the L (out of position).  My super-nerdy record keeping provided guidance from Game #812 (LUCKY on 9/9/2023) that 18 solutions remained and The Bot’s favorite word in that scenario was PUBIC.  Now don’t get me wrong — I love me some PUBIC — but I did mention earlier my aversion to playing purely strategically for Guess #3 and higher.  My first thought was the previously used LUCKY — so I went with LUMPY instead.  The good news?  I now had U & Y identified and in position.  The bad news?  It looked to me like I was looking for a word ending —ULLY, with multiple opening letter possibilities (BULLY, DULLY, FULLY, GULLY) and not enough guesses left.  

I decided to use FULLY for Guess #4 — which showed me that I *hadn’t* fallen into the —ULLY trap.  But I still hadn’t found the solution.  Thankfully, BULKY seemed to be the only viable word remaining (BULGY?  I don’t *think* so…) — so I typed it in and watched all the letters turn green.  I lost to both The Bot (5 vs 4 — Bottie went with BULLY for Guess #3.  Pretty LUCKY, in my opinion) and the (current) NYT avg (5 vs. 4.3).  A bit humbling — but that’s not all bad.  Tomorrow is another opportunity to go “under par.” 

We received a good bit of snow here yesterday morning -- but high temps are supposed to reach the low 40s for the coming week.  So it's not clear how long yesterday's white stuff will remain with us.

Take care and stay safe.

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update, 2020-03-19

Maybe you thought I would leave you alone.
Maybe you thought my previous update was an anomaly.
Maybe you thought I had better things to do.

Wrong on all counts.

The first week of COVID Closure (aka "The New Normal" - schools being closed, church being closed, restaurants & bars being closed or reduced to carry out) is nearly over.  Below are some additional things I have done & thought about -

• Completed my 2-mile walking route three more times.  On Tuesday (Day 4), I finally encountered someone else out walking.  [Full disclosure:  We failed to observe proper social distancing since we only moved to opposite sides of the sidewalk.  There's no way we stayed 6 feet apart at all times.  But we didn't cough or sneeze on each other - just a polite greeting.]

• It was raining yesterday evening, so I had to use my golf umbrella while walking on Day 5.  My shoes and socks were VERY wet by the time I got home.  Once again, I saw another person out walking.  [Full disclosure:  We observed proper social distancing - because they were on the north side of Nine Mile Road and I was on the south side.]

• It rained again today (Day 6) while I was walking.  Sneaky rain.  The kind of rain where - it's not raining at all when you leave the house - but before you get a block away, it starts to rain, so you open up the umbrella.  It's not raining very hard.  Looks like your shoes aren't going to get all wet this time.  But then, when you're a mile away from home (half-way through, at your FARTHEST point away from home), it starts to rainy pretty hard.  And then the wind starts to blow.  But there's no short cut now.  No way.  You just have to persevere and walk home.  My shoes and socks were VERY wet again today when I got home. [Full disclosure:  Nobody else was dumb enough to be out walking today.  But I did see someone taking out their garbage.  Proper social distancing was observed.]

• I walk by Glenn W. Levey Middle School on my walk each day. Over the main entrance to the school are the words,  "An Exemplary School".  The sign out front also indicates that Levey Middle School is a "Blue Ribbon School".  I felt good about living so close to school that is both "Exemplary" and "Blue Ribbon-y".  Subsequent research has revealed that both parts of the signage at Levey refer to its designation as a National Blue Ribbon school for the school year 1999-2000.  [Full disclosure:  There is an Exemplary School Designation awarded by the Arts Schools Network - but there is no indication that Levey Middle School ever received it.  But Interlochen Arts Academy did from 2012-2016.]

• One more day and I will have completed a full week of my new 2-mile walking regimen.  [Full disclosure:  I really hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.]

• I have a Double-Red blood donation set up for Saturday morning in Livonia.  [Full disclosure:  'Cause that's how I roll.]

• You CANNOT purchase a Large Plain Bat at biologyproducts.com.  But you can purchase a Bat Skelton for only $40.  [Full disclosure:  The site states that "Our Skeleton Specimens are real animal bones, cleaned and specially treated" - but makes no mention of whether the product is alive or edible.]

• Full disclosure:  I don't think I can keep up this "full disclosure" thing much longer.  [Additional disclosure:  But I'm not making any promises.]

Hope you are all taking care of yourselves and those about you.  

Take care.

In like a lamb...

Well, winter is about half over where I live. Oh sure - we're having a unexpectedly nice day today.



[Please note the high temp in the 5-day forecast (in the upper right corner) vs. the current actual temperature.]

I'm going to enjoy the day - but I'm not getting my hopes up. March 31st is very likely to feature our biggest snowstorm of the year.

But MORE IMPORTANTLY: Today is my Grandmother's 99th Birthday!

I would say more - but I need to call her now and wish her a Happy Birthday.

Tomorrow: We return to "The Plan" and Jim Styro's mini-review of The Hurt Locker...and much, much more.

Take care.

"April is (not) the cruelest month"

T.S. Eliot was full of...

Let's just say: he was gravely mistaken. Or he never spent a winter in Michigan.

Everybody here knows that March is the cruelest month. It's long, it's devoid of holidays*, and - at least where I live - winter is NOT over. And it may not be over anytime soon.

Now I know what you're thinking: "Dude, you live in MICHIGAN! You've lived there your whole life - what do you expect?!" Well, admittedly, I expect winter to last nearly forever - but that doesn't make the process any easier. In fact, as I get older, I find more and more people who have (apparently) chosen to live here - but are, in fact, Winter Wimps. These are people who started whining and sniveling about the winter weather IN DECEMBER!! 'Round these here parts, Winter's just getting started in December.

But even for a hardened veteran like me, by the end of March, you just want it to be over. You'd like it to be over sooner - but that's just crazy talk. You're willing to settle for April showers (you know, the ones that bring May flowers) - as long as they are not snow showers.

Why this preoccupation with the weather? I'd like to think it's just an acceptance that there are forces in existence over which we have no control and can't ignore. Yet it seems to be in our nature to control as many things in life as we can and try to ignore the rest. It's like we're all trying to live by the postal motto: "Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"** We don't want to let anything get in the way of our plans. So we drive our cars as though the freeway is clear and the pavement is dry - even if the freeways is crowded and it's raining or snowing. And we're proud of the fact that we shrug off these inhospitable conditions and go full speed ahead - scoffing at folks who have the good sense to adjust their behaviors to the conditions they encounter. When did adjusting to reality become a bad thing?

The good news is: the high temp hit 57F in Detroit today. Spring may actually be here.

But if I was a betting man: I'd say Winter will have one more shot at us before the cruelty is over.

Take care.



*I know I may get protests to the contrary but - St. Patrick's Day does not count. Any holiday centered around drinking large quantities of green beer cannot be taken seriously.

** This the abbreviated, Laurie Anderson version