VSRR III -- Ruth on the Road – Day 2 (1546)

July 2, 2007

Dan’s opening remark was, ”And where did all this red wine come from?” as he worked around the office gathering calculations and determining a new winner for the scoreboard. “We have a new leader – Sly Granny,” he said, posting the newest scores. (1.) Sly Granny 130 HD's (2.) Vera - 126 HD's (3.) Rita - 124 HD's (4.) Karen - 123 HD's (5.) NPS - 122 HD's. “Definitely shaping up to be a very competitive race 20 racers have made it to the day one destination - starting time is 17:00 ZULU - from the base of the tower - all racers will be tested to make sure they are ready for today's leg - seems the wine was flowing freely - and after last year's incident with Dale and the Manatee we don't want any adverse publicity. …. I’ll send a message when the SS is posted - IT'S NOT THERE YET - I have to figure out where to put it!” Sly declared herself “home and sober as a judge . . . had an eventful night and on my toes, even with only 4 hrs doze.--- May I help? I am sober!!” As she received more good wishes for Canada Day and yesterday’s win, Dale said, “Heck Sly- it was Canada Day, we just wanted you to see what it was like to be first. From now on, all you will see are license plates from IL and just maybe one from NM.”

Dan posted a likeness of himself and Holli hard at work titled -- “Behind the scenes at the rules committee of VSRRIII announcing that Secret Stash #3 was posted.” (Woe!!). Donna chortled, “Ah... now we know what Dan and Holli look like! LOL!” Rita took one look at the likeness and burst out laughing. “You two are so funny.  We are so lucky to have both of you!” . . . Holli mused, “I have been working on that tan since April!” and she sent the three Bingo drawings for today . . . (1) 7,000 messages (2) Merlot (3) The Holli Car – signing Da Udder Judge.”

Dan announced, “Sly Granny - 1st still and again - solves SS #2. Looks like we have a SSSS (Super Secret Stash Solver) - she is considering opening up a side business as a cryptographer!” signed HRS. Dan posted, FYI - the starting gun is loaded and ready to fire at 17:00 ZULU - heading to the lunch truck hope to be back in time! -- Signed HRS.” (Lunch truck? lunch truck? Dan called this beautiful compacter a lunch truck?!! . . . He must have more evil tricks on his mind to use such speech!! Lunch truck, indeed!!!) . . . At the microphone Dan announced, “Helen has arrived ahead of everyone else and moves into 1st place! . . . Maddie arrives at destination -- moves from 21st to 2nd just like that! . . . points will be posted shortly!” (It was kind of him not to tell that Ruth is left alone in a bottomless pit,) . . . Helen smiled, “DD teaches geography...” and Dan laughed, “Any advantage found - way to go!” … Still rattling papers Dan read, “After a hectic day of shopping with the GK ‘s - Allyn leisurely pulls into 2nd place as the 3rd racer to arrive at today's destination. Way to go! signed HRS.” Helen added, “With all the cats living with the GA contestants, we should have gotten that one solved...just didn't look right...Give Frank an extra treat!” ...Kay raised a plaintive note. “Can't you make those pieces a little bigger????” . . . Maddie explained, “I had to get out of Paris fast, which is why I ended up at our new destination so quickly. If you recall from last year's race, I was "detained" in Paris when I was backpacking through Europe in the 70s and I'm not sure if I can be back there. So for me, it was a late entry and early departure for minimal exposure. I did disguise myself as an early Tour de France racer, and the helmet hid my face as I dashed by the gendarme!!” Dan laughed, “I don't know -- all we need is somebody with a big head and a tarp - anybody seen Mike or Dale?”

Glum reply from Mike, “Mike is still in Paris. Mike just might stay in Paris! Mike hates these puzzles! Mike is at work where he only has a b&w printer and no time to cut n' paste on his computer. Mike needs some Maple Nut Goodies. Mike is waiting for Sly to get out of the porta-potty so he can start driving…..Geez. Mike can't wait until ZULU coordinates with his personal life. Mike would rather get up at 3: a.m. than try and figure this out at work…. Signed (still trying to figure it all out...)” Sly replied, “Mike - Sandy is also frustrated - Sandy wants Dan’s computer for the road race - the one with the big screen and the touch and move technology - heck, I can even pass on the touch and move technology. Dan do you need my address to send it? I will return to you after the race :-) Otherwise Mike, lets just enjoy Paris!”

Adding to his report, Dan said, “With help from her cat Frank - Allyn solves yesterdays SS and move into
first place - with today's winning Allyn has been heard saying she will be taking Frank for speech therapy!” Replying to Kay’s question Dan said, “Hi Kay - it depends on your monitor and resolution setting they are at least an inch square when they leave here. Are you viewing them in a window or full screen?” . . . Kay pointed out, “They are definitely not an inch square here. At full screen they MIGHT be approaching 1/2". My DH blew them up with some photo program but now they are all fuzzy. I have no clue what this is a picture of. Can we do something besides these picture puzzles??? This is very frustrating and not a lot of fun to me!”

Dan announced, “NPS has used her GPS and navigated not only to today's location but back into 1st place!!! Way to go, Sue. – P.P.S. (Points posted shortly.)” Holli announced Bingo drawings for today. The three are (1) 7,000 messages (2) Merlot (3) The Holli Car, signing it -- Da Udder Judge.” Helen said, Great...have 4 on my C list...Can we switch lists?” Dan replied, “Sure - when the second game starts you can go to Card B - LOL –- Dale made me say that!” . . .

Doris commiserated with Rita—“Aw, poor Rita, and she with a sore hand!!” But Rita dismissed it, ‘’ It is better. All that scrubbing on the washboard and hanging on the line helped to bring down the swelling….. Seriously though, the swelling is down, just a little stiffness when I make a fist and a few purple spots. Should be as good as new soon….And thank you Dan, and Holli too, for all your hard work. The puzzles are frustrating, but eventually we manage to figure them out. The winner this year will have to work really hard, but that is what winning is all about.

“Hi racers” said Dan! …. - pretty quite night - I think all the party goers from last night must be recuperating - I'm going to call it a night so I can get to it early tomorrow. Race start 18:00 ZULU tomorrow.

Sly Granny spoke up…”I suspect that it probably does look quite different on a big screen. The problem is that not everyone has a big screen, me included. Combine that with dark background, and it is even hard to see where some pieces end and background begins. Details are not distinguishable, so its impossible to even guess… pics are too small and details cannot be seen, so no skill/knowledge test there. Concept is good, and don’t mind the puzzles, but the test is one of available technology.” – Esme added, “Dan, I have to agree with Kay and Sly here. If I snag the whole puzzle off your web site and try to print it out, the pieces are only 1/2 inch at best. It moves to 3/4 if I print out the pdfs. The resolution is so low that playing in Photoshop doesn't help much either. I finally found the right piece to blow up and took a shot at the answer. I really like puzzles, by the way. Sorry to be a complainer.” Sly added, “Me too – although I am thinking of it as problem resolution - no pun intended.” PattiK added, “The puzzles are a great concept but they are too small for these blind eyes to decipher. I have no idea where day 2 is! Actually, I'm really not a visual puzzle person. Think I might have to pass on today's race. May the best woman win!” Sly added, “Snoopy - New motto for the day - enjoy Paris - stay Seine - meet Mike and me at the porta potty under the Eiffel tower!!”