What's on Emmet's mind?

The only person brave enough to make a new version of Wordle!

Okay but really,

does the universe really need yet another version of the iconic Wordle? Well I don't speak for the universe (yet), but I did actually want something else. Whenever I sat down to attempt this word puzzle, I was always a bit miffed by the ambiguity of it all. Oh sure, consider every possible word in the English language - or actually in some word-bank with who knows what all - and then make a decision that drives you to fewer and fewer possibilities. It felt a bit like solving a Rubiks Cube. With far too many options to consider, you have to learn a few tricks. And I do think this is a brilliant puzzle, as is a Rubiks, but it doesn't scratch the same itch for me as making a few awesome logic jumps and crashing into The Answer.

Indeed I did experience this feeling when playing Wordle. Or more precisely, someone else's Wordle. On a few occasions, a friend has leaned over to me with a tricky set that had stumped them, with only one guess remaining! And this is where I felt that lovely zing. I didn't have to worry about getting there efficiently, they of course had already fumbled the bag. I just had to be clever enough to think up "ATOLL!"

Or, maybe I'm just lazy and like the very end of the Wordle game!

This version of Wordle is one I've had in the back of my mind for a while, so I got to it today. I've released a preliminary design using the official Wordle wordbanks! This current puzzle algorithm picks a word at random from the possible answer list, and then uses a limited solver to attempt to solve the puzzle until only one possible answer remains, for you to guess! I've also tweaked the difficulty so that super easy puzzles don't get through... but there currently is no limit on how hard the puzzle can be! Because it's still in testing mode, I've also allowed for anyone to give up and see the answer (after trying for at least 30 seconds), and a new puzzle is generated on page refresh! Once I think it's ironed out fully, I'll have it generate one puzzle a day for everyone, and maybe I'll even add a little leaderboard for you to strut your stuff!

Please give it a try and let me know what you think!

I blew my first tire today.

I felt some shame with this rite of passage. My car started shaking a bit as I passed some road debris -- a burst tire freshly shed from a downstream semi; a drowning maniac taking down another with it.

I gently guided my sickly machine to the shoulder. I have imagined this scenario many times, wondering how well my car would handle - and how well I in turn would handle it. In this case I could feel the tire squelching around as I slowed, but traffic was kind to me and I got off the road easily. A flat grassland adjoined the shoulder, affording me greater distance from the highway.

I took a deep breath, assuring myself that I could probably figure this out. I haven't ever replaced a tire before. In fact I can't even remember watching someone replace a tire! But I dismissed the thought saying you may not be able to do this as unhelpful, and got to work pulling the spare tire out of my trunk. I found the jack - oh yes, I'll need that! - and began to root around for a socket wrench. In that moment, I truly had no idea where it was, if I even had one.

I had been pulled over for perhaps three minutes when I suddenly realized a truck with flashing lights had pulled up behind me. The words NCDOT INCIDENT MANAGEMENT accompanied a familiar, friendly, anthropomorphic gecko. Oh great, I'm getting a ticket. Well at least I'll get some help. A man pops out with a smile and offers a greeting.

It would be completely feasible to me that Larry were an angel - but I don't think angels are the sort to leave me a card so I can write him a review. He inflated my spare tire (though was impressed that I carry my own inflator). As he jacked up my tiny Prius and pulled out a powerful impact wrench, I looked down at my sad little tools. An small but undeniable (and masochistic?) part of me lamented that these tools would remain unused; that I still have not replaced a tire.

The feeling passed as Larry finished in five minutes what would have most assuredly taken me the better part of an hour and grinned at me.

I offered him a lollipop. He declines and hands me his card. No ticket!! I shake his manly hand.

He reminds me that I should drive no more than fifty mph, and no more than fifty miles, and that of course there are good tire shops in my direction. To set my hazards, and that no officers will pull me over for impeding traffic. He has clearly helped people in my place an uncountable number of times.

I once nagged my father for not teaching me much about how to fix a car. I meant only to tease a bit, I didn't really mind. With a smirk, he replied that he had 'taught me how to make enough money to pay someone to do that.'

Well Dad, as my new pamphlet says, 'IMAP service is free of charge and patrol drivers are not allowed to accept tips.'

So that's why he didn't take my lollipop.