2 For 1

My bride asked me this morning why I hadn't posted a Wordle update to my blog.  So apparently, I have at least one reader.

To make up for this lapse, today is a BOGO opportunity here at "speaking in CAPS."

First, my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for Saturday, Jan. 20.

Wordle 945 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 SHONE   193 WL

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 TRAIL          1 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 LARGE

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 60/99

Streak 696

My “Go To” starting combination of SHONE & TRAIL paid dividends this morning, with a quick & stress-free 3.  Guess #1 was “unlucky” according to The Bot, matched only the E as the last letter, and left a LOT of possible solutions.  But Guess #2 matched R, A & L (all out of position) — and left only one solution remaining.  I decided to go LARGE — and go home.  I tied The Bot, bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.5), and gave me my third straight 3.  The Magic Number is 4 to reach 700 consecutive wins.  Good way to start the weekend.

And, without further ado, my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday (Sunday, Jan. 21).

Wordle 946 2/6

⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜ SHONE   7 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 NORTH

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 92/99

Streak 697

I love being “extraordinarily lucky” — and that’s how The Bot described my Guess #1 today, which matched H, O & N (all out of position).  Although I didn’t know it at the time, there were only 7 solutions remaining.  What I *suspected* was — that H was last letter of the solution (with a TH or CH) combination and O was Letter 2.  The first word that came to mind was NORTH.  Since R & T are very common letters and NORTH had not been a previous solution, I went with it — and was rewarded with a deuce.  I crushed The Bot (by 2 guesses!), bested the (current) NYT avg (2 vs. 3.7), and earned a fourth consecutive day “Under Par.”  The Magic Number is 3 to reach 700 consecutive wins.  GO DETROIT LIONS!

Since you're reading this the day after the Detroit / Tampa Bay game (or, possibly MUCH later than that), you may already know that the Lions played their best football game of the year yesterday and earned the right to play San Francisco next weekend in the NFC Championship Game.  

GO DETROIT LIONS!!

Hope your Monday is going swimmingly.

Take care and stay safe.

They're Creepy And They're Kooky

Yesterday's Wordle solution was THING.  You know -- this guy...  

For more Wordle nerdihood, I refer you to my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments yesterday.

Wordle 944 3/6

⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜ SHONE   7 WL
🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜ THANK   1 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 THING

WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 68/99
Streak 695

Extreme luck and my patented Wordle Tracking System®️ continued me on my “Under Par” way this morning.  Guess #1 was “extraordinarily lucky” according to The Bot (and who am I to disagree), providing me H & N as Letters 2 & 4, respectively.  I knew from previous play (most recently Game #882 — THINK — on 11/18/2023) that there were really only four words remaining after Guess #1 (adjusting for previous solutions).  I also knew that THANK was The Bot’s favorite word for Guess #2 in that scenario (it’s a favorite of mine as well), so that was an easy decision.  I was a little disappointed that the only green letter I added was the opening T — but I consoled myself with one THING:  the knowledge that it was the only solution remaining.  I tied The Bot, bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.7), and achieved a stress-free Sea of Green.  The Magic Number is 5 to reach 700 consecutive wins.  

Hope your weekend is off to a great start.

Take care and stay safe.

Fizzy Lifting Drinks

Yesterday's Wordle solution was STOLE.  And that word always seems to remind me of this scene from the original Willy Wonka.  

For more Wordle nerdihood, I refer you to my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments yesterday.

Wordle 943 3/6

🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩 SHONE   12 WL
⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 KEMPT     3 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 STOLE

WordleBot
Skill 91/99
Luck 61/99
Streak 694

Plenty of luck & knowledge imparted through nerdy record-keeping got me back under par this morning.  I knew from Game #917 (SLOPE on 12/23/2023) that there were really only seven words remaining after Guess #1 (adjusting for previous solutions).  I had made a note to myself in December to try KEMPT next, to ensure only 1 solution would remain.  And so it came to pass, as I matched T (out of position) on Guess #2.  Since SMOTE and STOKE couldn’t be the solution, I typed in STOLE and watched all the letters go green.  I tied The Bot (whose favorite Guess #2 went from LIONS to LOINS today; such a fickle fan of an AI) and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.4).  The Magic Number is 6 to reach 700 consecutive wins. 

In other news, a good friend - unable to understand why I hadn't yet watched "Breaking Bad" - loaned me his Bluray set of the complete series, as an encouragement to enter Walter White's world.  I finished Season One last night and proceeded immediately into Season Two.  A favorite moment so far is the scene of Walter's family staging an intervention (in Season One) and the "Talking Pillow."

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Good Morning, Judge

No, today's post doesn't have anything to do with 10cc.  As my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments yesterday clearly shows... 

Wordle 942 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ SHONE   193 WL
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨 MOLAR     15 WL
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜ GOURD       1 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 COURT

WordleBot
Skill 91/99
Luck 42/99
Streak 693

All good streaks come to an end — and my streak of “Under Par” games ended this morning at 10.  I had 3 of the 5 letters after my second guess again — but only one was in the proper place.  Nerdy record-keeping tried to help — but couldn’t keep me under par.  I knew from Game #828 (ROCKY on 9/25/2023) that there were still four solutions remaining after Guess #2 — after adjusting for PS and unlikely words.  I had made a note to myself in September to try GOURD next, so typed it in for Guess #3.  But my luck had run out.  I now knew O-U-R was the core of the solution — and it was time to go to COURT.  They threw the book at me — but I remain a free man.  I lost to both The Bot (4 vs 2 — oh, the humiliation!) and the (current) NYT avg (4 vs. 3.3).  But, hopefully, I’m only a week away from reaching 700 consecutive wins.  

Hope you're having a good day.

Take care and stay safe.

Blond on Blonde

Yesterday's Wordle game was clearly targeted towards Bob Dylan fans.  

As my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments yesterday indicates... 

Wordle 941 3/6

⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜ SHONE   14 WL
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ APTLY       1 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 BLOND

WordleBot
Skill 96/99
Luck 77/99
Streak 692

Knowing lots of the letters isn’t the *only* way to win at Wordle — but it helps.  Today, I had 3 of the 5 letters after my second guess — and two of them were even in the proper places.  Nerdy record-keeping also played its part, since I knew from Game #723 (WRONG on 6/12/2023) that there was only one solution remaining.  I haven’t yet had the chance to peek at other comments today, to see if there’s any controversy regarding “Blond on Blonde” (that classic Dylan album).  Anyway, I typed it in without the E for Guess #3 and watched my world go green.  I tied The Bot, bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.7), and extended my streak of “Under Par” games to 10 days.  If I’m “under par” again tomorrow, it will match my personal best.

I also learned that APTLY is no longer The Bot’s favorite word in the scenario where I match O & N (in position) on Guess #1.  That fickle AI now prefers GRIMY.  I still prefer APTLY.  

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Take care and stay safe.

One In (A) 1.7 Million

We'd all like to think that we're special - and sometimes we get confirmation from unexpected sources.

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

Wordle 940 3/6

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ SHONE   19 WL
🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ CAPUT     4 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 LUNCH

WordleBot
Skill 86/99
Luck 60/99
Streak 691

Stretched my streak of “Under Par” games to 9 days this morning — as I keep matching lots of letters in my first two guesses.  Guess #1 gave me H & N (both out of position), so I went with The Bot’s favorite word in that scenario, CAPUT, for Guess #2.  Now, I also had C & U (out of position) — 4 letters but none of them in the right spot.  But nerdy record-keeping will have its day, so I knew from Game #838 (BUNCH on 10/5/2023) that HUNCH, LUNCH & MUCH were the only solutions remaining.  Since it wasn’t a 50/50 coin flip, I liked my chances and took my LUNCH.  (Anyone feeling a little more peckish than usual this morning?). I beat both The Bot (surprisingly, 3 vs 4) and the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.7). 

And for the second day in a row, The Bot says “No one in our sample of 1,735,351 completed Wordles faced this scenario!”   Guess I’m still one in 1.7 million.

The Lions beat the Rams Sunday night so all of Michigan seems to be rejoicing — despite the bitter cold.  On to 700, I say.  

I neglected to include this in my NYT post yesterday - but lunch always makes me think about this bit -- Go To Lunch

Hope everyone had a marvelous Monday.  I took a little time out to think about The Dreamer yesterday.

Take care and stay safe.

Multiple Victories

The goal has been acheieved! 

The Detroit Lions defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 24-23, last night to win their first playoff game since 1991.

Oh wait, I mean -- my Worldle totals for 3-Guess & 4-Guess victories have been matched at 300 wins each.

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments yesterday with details.  Keep in mind that when I posted, the Lions were still more than 12 hours from vicotory:

Wordle 939 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜ SHONE   23 WL
🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 GUARD     1 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 DOING

WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 79/99
Streak 690

I did it, I DID IT!  Had another 3-Fer today — which evens up my 3-Guess and 4-Guess win totals at 300.  I needed to string together an 8-day “Under Par” streak to do it (One solve in 2 — and Seven straight 3s) — but things came together for me.

Guess #1 revealed the O (out of position) & N (in position) and I went with The Bot’s favorite word in that scenario, GUARD, for Guess #2.  As has been true for most of the past week, I had most of the letters after two guesses — which is a beautiful thing.  It certainly makes playing easier.  Having matched G, D & O (all out of position), I could build around the N as Letter 4.  Since I knew D didn’t follow the N, I thought my best bet was ending with —NG.  And since O wasn’t Letter 3, I thought Letter 2 was its likely destination — with D as Letter 1.  I knew I was DOING the right thing when all the letters turned green.  I tied The Bot but bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.9). 

So now — can I extend my win streak to 700 in the next 10 days?  Guess I’ve got a new goal to shoot for.  Hope all Fellow Wordlers are enjoying the weekend.  I’m looking forward to seeing “All Of Us Strangers” this afternoon.  And some football later — GO LIONS!

After the Lions win, I updated the NYT comments with these updates:

Just saw that The Bot reported “No one in our sample of 1,735,929 completed Wordles faced this scenario!” Guess I’m one of a kind today.

Did anyone notice that The Bot’s solution today was — TRACE - LIONS - DOING? Coincidence? I think not!

Take care and stay safe.