Enigma Two (2022)

 

On the menu this week: ciphers.  We started with ancient versions and worked our way up to basic machine cryptograms.  You did know why the course is called Enigma, didn't you?

The Julian cipher is one of the oldest known ones.  Helpful if you only wanted to have your message safe from the eyes of smelly barbarians who might waylay a courier.  Heck, you might decide to send a special message just to punk 'em a bit.....

Of course Julius Caesar would have framed it a bit differently.  Here's the follow up cipher....

OLFACIES VERE MALUM

To their credit they were able to pick the actual message out of the random strings generated by this method of cipher breaking.  And they called it as a foreign language.  They guessed French, which is closer than you might think, Greek, which one kid say could not be the case as they had different letters, and finally "Roman".  I did have to give them credit for that but of course it is Latin.  

Then I asked them to translate it.  They got MALUM pretty easily after I told them to go through a dozen words with the Mal prefix.  VERE has not changed much at all, and OLFACIES made sense since it was basically the same message as before just the way a Roman would have actually written it.

We had a run at breaking random ciphers with character analysis but their brains were too fried.  Its the run up to Homecoming this week and Halloween shortly so you have to make allowances.  The final question did provide me with a good ten minutes of entertainment as I assured them that the paper they found hidden under a chair cushion actually did contain the combination that opened the snack safe.  Really.  They just had to ask the right follow up questions.....

XFGGRRFM !

Can robots detect deer hunters? And ninjas?

The robotics team has a dedicated video production unit now.  Time to start asking the Important Questions......

FIRST Robotics - Preseason Update

Lots of cool stuff happening.  For a series of work sessions we have been refurbishing and tuning up an old CNC router.  We did not quite find it on the curb with a FREE sign on it, but almost.  It was abandoned, dusty, off on a desk top in the corner of the shop.  It may never have been used.

The team, working with a talented adult volunteer, have it upgraded and operational.  Last year we struggled to just put holes in the right place with a wonky drill press.  Already our mechanical foundling can do this:

We also struggled last year with school 3D printers.  They were often clogged, broken, out of alignment.  So we got two of our own.  And the first samples are being test run:

Many other things also happening.  A "Pumpkinbot" for candy delivery is operational and just needs a bit of decor next week.  We are working on grants.  Our video production team has a couple of impressive shorts to release in the days ahead.  The team website got a long needed tidy up.  

Of course there is always a bit of sadness associated with progress.  The Old must make way.  Here we see Robot Hank being robbed for parts.  Circle of Robot life and all.

A Rare Product Review. Actually a Warning.

One branch of the family is in on a sort of "subscription pantry" deal.  They pay a fee and every few weeks go and pick up a bunch of food.  Lots of it.  Some of it is great.  There's always ice cream.  Some items are perishable.  The warehouse is clearly getting oversupply from restaurant suppliers.  Hope you like bananas.  Or kale.  Or both, 'cause you'll be eating a lot of it for a few days.  And then making banana kale bread with the left-left overs.

Some of the stuff is near or even a titch past expiration date.  A fairly high percentage has Spanish themed packaging.  

But overall it is great stuff, and a family with two ravenous kids does well.

A few things they don't care for or want the tykes to consume.  Give that stuff to grandpa.  This includes most of the soda pop.  Some of the pop is normal stuff.  Oh, maybe the cans are a bit dented or some such, but just fine.  Some of it is odd stuff.  And then there was this:

Here, take a closer look:

It is officially called Mtn DEW Flamin' Hot.  Caffeine, chili peppers, citrus flavor,  fluorescent red dye and who knows what else.  I assume the target audience is a demographic that communicates - after a fashion - in chopped up word fragments and abbreviations with minimal punctuation.  The demon on the label really should have tipped me off, but I was thirsty and took a big swig.  That was forgivable.  The second swig was just stupidity.

This stuff immediately gave me symptoms that back in my clinical days I'd have said suggested an inferior wall myocardial infarction.  Rapid heart rate.  Upper abdominal discomfort.  Mild nausea.  I felt crummy for a couple of hours.  You may notice that the bottle is empty.  I poured it down the sink and sluiced it through with a lot of water.  Straight up I think it would burn through the pipes.

Evidently this was a trial product, only available for about six months.  Its appearance in the sometimes outdated but usually very palatable food pantry stocks may well have been its final, vengeful appearance in the marketplace.

Good riddance.

Enigma One (2022)

 

First session of the middle school "Enigma" class.  Just as last year we lead off with a mental exercise called "Interstellar".  They first had to consider what sort of message they would chose to broadcast out into the cosmos....and how they would do it.  Then they were given some shocking information detected by astronomers.  We are definitely NOT alone.  But what are the aliens saying?  Given the origin of the signal what might they know about us?  

They eventually figured out that the pattern of light on/light off was a simple binary code which formed a picture.  While they ate snacks we walked through how many signaling devices - an on/off light, an arm raised or not - it takes to convey a specific "message".  One device, we'll call it a bit, can give two distinct messages.  yes/no, 1/0, Hi! or I ignore you.

I tossed a copy of The Gulag Archipelago on the table and asked how many "bits" it would take to encode it.  Of course the answer is 8 ( 8 bits gives you 256 possible combinations, enough for alphabet with caps, numbers 10-9, punctuation, special characters and a few left over for foreign letters and maybe a couple of emojis.  8 bits also makes one byte.)

Congratulations were in order and forthcoming, as they had just discovered the basis for digital computer storage.

As always in Enigma the final answer is a code that opens a padlock.  Contained within the (literal) Black Box was a greeting from Elsewhere and a batch of snacks far better than the usual nutritious granola crap they get fed.

Because I can't predict the ability of a group until I actually meet them I also had a backup shorter challenge....

I'm keeping quiet on this one.  They handled it well but feel it has potential for the staff challenge if we make it just a teeny bit harder!  Smart kids.  The staff has reasons for concern.

Ultimate Wisconsin

I don't complain too much about detours.  They are often the best route to interesting things you'd otherwise not see.  Ongoing roadwork near our "up north" place now takes us past what seems to be a localized time-space anomaly.  Because this should not exist in any conventional time line.

I've seen plenty of elaborate pub signs in the UK.  But none this evocative.  A tipsy looking buck - note how his eyes are diverted towards the tavern? - wearing a hat from the revered football (US not UK) team the Green Bay Packers.  I figured Madge was the owner of this watering hole but instead the name comes from Madge Township, the microscopic municipality in which it is found.

And here's the front.

There is a lot to unpack here.  The VANDERHYDES sign has crossed rifles.  This makes sense as hunting, the Packers and beer are the Holy Trinity of Wisconsin life.  Another Green Bay flag of course and one more with blue/white/green stripes.  This is either Sierra Leon upside down, Uzbekistan without some stars, or just the colors of paint they had sitting around.  Next to the front door is a newspaper vending box.  The headline of the yellowed edition still presumably for sale is November 2021.  Oh and the ceramic commode?  A place for smokers to put their butts.  Cigarette butts of course, I hope there has never been confusion on this point.

Although the establishment looks a bit run down it seems to still be in operation.  Various on line comments recommend it for its good food and for the general ambiance.  One touts it as "Your go to place for outdated groceries".

A visit during its hours of operation is in order.  Perhaps on the way north for deer hunting season.

Robotics Fall Warm Ups

Fall meetings are optional but important.  Its where we train in new people and figure out new technologies.  30 students, a new home, new machines to assemble and figure out....its a lot.

One thing we've been hard at is getting a CNC router up and running.  We found this one basically abandoned in our new work space.  It may never have been used.  For our purposes it needed an upgrade to handle metal, and a general tune up.

After a number of hours of work the team did get it running.  At least well enough to test with wood and using improvised material clamping.  First project?  Here it is and I don't get it either:

I guess it was nearly dinner time and the kids were hungry.   

It's kind of boring but we are also doing inventory.  What do we have?  What will we need?

Tallying up and sorting out rivets and widgets might not seem like high tech 21st century stuff.  But we have a major campaign ahead of us.  Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics.