MobileRead Spring Contest: Discussion

[GeoffC]

i don't know why, pshrynk has always been my favourite choice for the murderer ... he tried to bash the case covering the reader, but it had a face made of bullet-proof glass, the crowbar kept bouncing off the glass and onto his head - until such time as the fatal blow was struck.... everything then on was just red-herrings and it remained logical ....

[GeoffC]

all we need, now, is the GRAND DRAW of names out of the large hat .....

[mtravellerh]

pshrynk IS the murderer, really. I acted only in defence of the poor reader that he killed!!! Okay, maybe I should have beaten him only once, but I got carried away there.

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

pshrynk IS the murderer, really. I acted only in defence of the poor reader that he killed!!! Okay, maybe I should have beaten him only once, but I got carried away there.

Well, we'll see if the jury counts that as extenuating circumstances

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

pshrynk IS the murderer, really. I acted only in defence of the poor reader that he killed!!! Okay, maybe I should have beaten him only once, but I got carried away there.

Just hope the shrink who has to assess you is not P

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

Yes.

In 1973...

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

In 1973...

a disembodied answer ....

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Pshrynk, now that it's over, how about clearing up a few loose threads?

* Pilotbob said that MTravellerH was polishing the prize cases, but MTH said he was “busy with the new reader at the time.” Was BOb lying or just distracted? And earlier, Zelda was seen by Rock to be absent-mindedly dusting the cases. Why bother to dust recently polished cases?
Absent mindedly is the key phrase. It was after the murder. Also, MTH was lying. Badly.
* Pilotbob said that Ravenne was spray-painting a dog at the time, but she said she was trying to get the next contest ready for the members. Was he lying about what she was doing, or does the next contest involve a spray-painted dog? Since the next contest is now out (a drawing for an iPad), it seems as if Ravenne was lying. Why?
Eye witnesses are notoriously inaccurate. Also, the next contest was sort of sprung on us at the last minute...
* What were the significance of the printed words “Moby Dick” on the Nook?
Who murdered the chauffeur?
* Why did Patricia say that “Zelda never touches the Red Button,” when during the course of the story, Zelda pressed the Red Button twice, and was obviously quite familiar with its operation?
The rule was made for me. Moderators can touch the Red Button when they need to...
* Why did Nate the Great say, “I understand that pshrynk took one on the head. Nasty business. But then, he didn't know that much about electronics.” What's that got to do with the price of tea in China?
It was meant to show Nate's monomania on electronic devices.
Just curious...

Glad you enjoyed the story.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Well, that was fun! I didn't try very hard to solve this as I'm no good at this kind of thing. The only answer I came up with was that pshrynk accidentally bashed himself in the head while trying to pry open a glass case with the crowbar I didn't bother sending that though

That was one of the original ideas kicked around when we were writing it, actually.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Glad you enjoyed the story.

It was fun!

And a great idea for a contest!

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

pshrynk IS the murderer, really. I acted only in defence of the poor reader that he killed!!! Okay, maybe I should have beaten him only once, but I got carried away there.

Well, it is pshrynk. No reasonably empathetic judge or jury would convict. For $300, he himself will happily declare you temporarily insane.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy! Zippy!

(I don't think she did it. I just think that's the best nickname ever!)

i have the impression you're not the only one. i think i'm going to be answering to that a lot in future.

Originally Posted by Ham88

I hate not knowing the correct answer. I had it narrowed down to two so I picked the one with the shorter name to send in.

it's as good a method as any other !

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I'm surprised no one has said that Rock killed pshrynk. I have 2 reasons for this solution:

1. The crime is Oedipal. Rock is Pshrynk's creation after all, and while this reason might seem nuts to most of us, it would have appealed to pshrynk (and his creation) because he is a psychiatrist.
2. Rock needed the billable hours. This particular clue was set up long before the contest.
3. Who hasn't wanted to kill their shrink?

Originally Posted by Quasi

And while you ponder, laddies, ponder this: How can a spray-painted dog retain its original color, hmmm?

tick tock tick tock...

you know, just to add to the confusion, i took that to mean ravenne was painting a *portrait* of the dog, using spray paint, not that she was actually painting on the dog.

Originally Posted by omk3

What colour was ravenne's spray? Maybe it was grey...

If Pilotbob is lying about what MTH was doing, he could be lying about MTH's imagination as well. So if Pilotbob is lying, MTH could be lying too... If Pilotbob is telling the truth, so should MTH. But their versions are different. Hmmm...

If you absentmindedly dust something, is there necessarily dust on it?

If you polish something, do you necessarily polish it effectively?

If a tree falls in the forest, how much wood does a woodchuck chuck?

Hmmm...

all vital questions, and worth pondering.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

(And if moderators wear green hats, why is "Pinwheel" wearing a black beret?)

i'm in a different time zone than everyone else.

Originally Posted by omk3

Do crows hang around with penguins?
Do penguins frequent crow bars?
Shouldn't I be asleep?

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Is this it?

that does look sort of familiar.

Originally Posted by nikkie

I'm pretty sure at this point, that no matter who the culprit is, they'd get off on an insanity plea...

i think you're right about that.

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I never ever ever never ever had a crow bar. It was a fashionable umbrella in case of inclement weather... which I put into the closet because you were all so mixed up as to what it might have been.

So there!

BOb

or so you CLAIM !

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Why did Nate the Great say, “I understand that pshrynk took one on the head. Nasty business. But then, he didn't know that much about electronics.” From the review he published it’s obvious he didn’t care much for the Nook (“The only reason to get the Nook is if you are planning to hack it and install new apps”), and Zelda said that when devices failed to live up to his expectations, he became so inhospitable that people avoided him. Murderously inhospitable?

One hour and twenty one minutes to go! Get those entries in soon, folks!

tom i love these little diversions you keep throwing in !

Originally Posted by Davimee

Sweet! My 9-year old daughter and I had fun with this one. We poured over all the evidence this afternoon, and came to the conclusion it was MTH! Except our reasoning was a little different... Here's what we came up with...

He was busy dusting off the cases of the free ereaders at the time of the murder, according to PilotBob. MTH stated he would give a vague and misleading answer. When asked what he was doing at the time of the murder he stated, he was “moderating.” “There is a new thread on a new reader that has been getting heated and I was keeping tack of possible trolls.” My daughter and I believe the thread was placed there by Nate the Grate, as he was putting string on everything. The new reader was one of the prizes on the wall. Pshrynk was going to steal the reader, and mtravellerh clubbed him with the crowbar to protect it, in essence, he was moderating, or protecting the new ereader.

This was fun!

great answer ! i think your daughter may have a bright future as a detective.

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

Yes.

of course he did ! in 1973 !! i win the pool !!!!

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Vindication... oh, and for all of you that thought I was the murderenguin....and there where many, shame on you!

BOb

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I didn't pick you as the murderer, but I'm pretty sure you're guilty of something.

i know, just look at him. it's written all over his beak.

Originally Posted by lovestoreadalot

And if this contest isn't the one Ravenne was planning and I really doubt it was the ipad contest as that one didn't require anything difficult does that mean there will be another contest very soon?

stick around and see for yourself. (you're right about the ipad contest though.)

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Well, MTH (as I stated before the contest ended) was in the area where the murder occurred, but I couldn't find a motive that wouldn't have applied equally to any of the moderators. Simple robbery didn't seem strong enough except in the case of Ravenne, for whom it was a clear irritant. I've known people to steal where I work, but it's never occurred to me to bean any of them with a crowbar. But while Ravenne had a clear motive, it didn't seem to me that she had the opportunity. I picked Nekokami because no one knew where she was (she could have been hiding--laying in wait), and she did have a good motive.

that's a relief !

Originally Posted by montsnmags

The undead professionals of the Monstnmags Enterprises Legal Department have been in contact with all "green" subjects, including the accused, and instructed them to make no statements whatsoever to media, members or monkeys unless their statements are utterly misleading and completely disingenuous. The Undead Legal Department believes it can have Rock Lobster eating his last meal (rock lobster?) on death-row before sun-up (for obvious reasons, they only work at night).

Personally I wanted to try a jailbreak, but my Legal Department have been somewhat disenchanted with my antics of late, and threatened to let the Queensland government cancel my Pub Licence.

Cheers,
Marc

[*Note, there is no relevant or interesting content in this post]

thanks marc ! we'd all be lost without you. or innocent, but whatever.

Originally Posted by Bratzzo

The answer is 42!

If you spell "mtravellerh" in numbers,

m=13
t=20
r=18...

and you add the numbers, you receive these

134

If you subtract 8 (the number of different letters) you receive

126

If you divide this by 3 (the number of letters, which occur twice) you recieve

42!




Bratzzo

bratzzo, i bow to your infallible logic !! it's all so clear now !

Originally Posted by beachwanderer

Of course! Remember: Towel Day is coming up next week!

further proof !

Originally Posted by pshrynk

In 1973...

yes ! i win the pool !!!

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

It was fun!

And a great idea for a contest!

we're glad you enjoyed it ! we had a lot of fun too, especially reading this thread and all your responses !

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Well, it is pshrynk. No reasonably empathetic judge or jury would convict. For $300, he himself will happily declare you temporarily insane.

less, if you buy him off with zany carters. (which have the convenient side effect of making you *actually* insane, adding further credence to your defense.)

[Greg Anos]

One last question for Rock Lobster...

What did Adrian have on MTravellerH to cause him to take the rap...

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

One last question for Rock Lobster...

What did Adrian have on MTravellerH to cause him to take the rap...

are you sure you want to ask that question ?

[Wetdogeared]

Dibs on pshrynk's iPad! I've been waiting since 1973.