BLATHER

by Zack Butler

Solution: SNAPHOOK

From the given file, recognize that the only real information is the lengths of the lines of blather. Use the lengths as ASCII values, and you get a Java program. If you run this program (and create the class MonkeyPoo, a trivial extension of Exception, but so much more fun to throw), you get the message: "Condense my code. To some values add value of name of ANSWER String."

Thus, you have to run the same process (using the length of each line of the Java program as an ASCII character), except that to some lengths you need to add the ASCII value of Q (the name of the String in the Java program with the value "ANSWER"). Which lengths need to have the addition is determined by what makes it turn into a valid Perl program (as most of the time if you choose the wrong thing you get an unprintable character).

The Perl program is:

#!/usr/bin/perl
$nnn=629390731340;$b=$nnn%110;
print "$nnn in base $b\n";

Running this program gives the message, "629390731340 in base 30".

Converting that number gives the answer, SNAPHOOK.

The Java program is:

public class CondensedBlatherings {
  // start with the main method
  public static void main ( String[] args ) {
    if (args.length > 0) return;
    String myString, st1 = "";
    int t, xx = 88; //ascii X
    for (int blah = 0; blah < 30; blah++) {
      xx++;
      t = blah+xx;
      // look up string
      myString = makeSomethingToPrint(t);
      /* Leave as comment
        xx--;
	st1 = myString; */
      pr( myString );
    };
    System.out.print(" String");
    System.out.println();
    // end printing hints
  } // end main ( String )
  public static String makeSomethingToPrint (int Number) {
  String[] someWords = {"onesecondluANne! this",
            "is silly, or not",
            "their genesSWing allover",
            "goesnow tof g h i ",
            "don't use aER Linguswhen",
            "youhunt snarks",
            "gosee a mddoctorifsick",
            "haveno commentsand",
            "dontplay violin",
            "play the oboe !!",
            "istherecoal in your",
            "socks?covaf deg",
            "eueneaedeueleteereaeteede"};
   int nS = someWords.length+1;
   // pick 1
   String r, w = someWords[aNumber%(--nS)]; // that one!
   r = w.substring(aNumber/nS);
   r = r.substring(0,2);
   return r; // that bit
  } // makeSomethingToPrint
  public static void pr (String s){
    if (doMath(s.length()) == s.length()-1) {
    System.out.print(s); } } // print it!
    // MonkeyPoo needs to be a RuntimeException!
    public static int doMath(int number) throws MonkeyPoo {
    ;;
    int one = number + 10 ;
    /*String Q = "ANSWER"; */
    int another = 0;
    another = number + 3;
    while (number != another) {
      // do some summation
      another = another - 1;
      one = number + another ;
      number += number;
    } // end of the while
    switch ( another ) {
    case 4: // likely option
      number += 6;
      one += another+1;
      return one - number;
    case 100:
    case 12:
      throw new MonkeyPoo();
    } // another
    // if none of the above:
    //for (one=1; one<5; one++){
    // one++;
    //}
    another = number + 2;
    return one + another - 10;
  } // end doMath method - should return something useful
} // class