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Quote Puzzler Down Time
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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As many of you have probably already noticed, the Quote Puzzler website is currently unavailable. This issue began last evening and has persisted through the night. I have been in contact with the website's host, and anticipate that the problem will be resolved at some point during the day, though I cannot predict when that will happen. Please check back from time to time during the day to see if the site is back online.
Thank you for your patience.
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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The Problem Site - Layout Modifications
Sunday, February 22, 2009
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This has been a very busy year - the addition of a part-time science teacher position to my schedule has meant that I haven't had any time this year to add new games to The Problem Site. However, I did spend some time during February vacation working on some modifications to the site layout.
What you'll notice as the biggest change is that the display has changed to a much wider format. Many schools run a bit "behind" when it comes to technology, and I know that many schools use old monitors with a much lower resolution. This is why, long after most websites have changed to a wider format to match higher resolution monitors, I have kept The Problem Site at a narrower format.
However, the time was finally here to make the change. I think the new format has a much less "claustrophobic" feel to it.
Please feel free to drop me an email commenting on the new format, whether or not you like it!
I've also added a new "High Score" list to both Adders! and Trio Match. This new list is the "Yesterday" list. This way, if you play the game early in the day, and don't get to come back and check the standings later in the day, you can check it the next day to find out how you measured up.
Also, the Entrapment high score list was removed. This list was largely uninteresting to visitors because it was only possible to appear on it by completing every Entrapment puzzle on the site.
I've also added a rudimentary "site search," to help people find the resource they're looking for on The Problem Site. This can be found at the bottom of each page.
Let me know if you have any troubles with any of these new changes!
Thanks,
DougLabels: adders, entrapment, theproblemsite, trio match
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Database server issues
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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Good morning,
For those who are stressing over the unresponsiveness of the Quote Puzzler website this morning, rest assured the issue is being explored.
Unfortunately, as with the previous issue, this is a problem with the hosting company, and we have to wait for them to resolve it. As this is the second time this fall that QP has fallen prey to hosting issues, I may be exploring alternate hosting plans for this site.
In the meantime, check back periodically through the day, and don't attempt the puzzles until it is clear that the site is consistently responsive.
My apologies for the inconvenience this may cause you!
Regards,
Douglas Twitchell
QP Admin
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Quote Puzzler & The Problem Site
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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Good morning. This is just a follow up to yesterday's entry regarding the database problem at Quote Puzzler. The problem seems to be resolved; please notify me if this issue occurs again. Members with a current subscription will receive one extra day to make up for the site's massive down-time yesterday.
This fall is shaping up to be very busy. Between my current web design project I'm working on for a client, the necessary maintenance of existing sites, it looks like I'm going to be adding one more thing into my schedule's mix: part-time high school science teacher.
There are several things on The Problem Site I was hoping to get to this fall, which are probably not going to happen until later on in the year. This includes:
Reopening the level editor for Fizziks Tilt
Adding new games to The Problem Site: Junior Edition
Doing some upgrades and improvements on Trio Match
I'm not sure when I will get to these items, but I hope it will be sometime during this school year. In the meantime, please take note that the BrainFood Weekly Puzzle is up and running again!
Enjoy!
Doug TwitchellLabels: quote-puzzler, theproblemsite
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Quote Puzzler Report
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
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During the mid-to-late morning today (Sept 23rd), the Quote Puzzler website lost its ability to connect to the database which runs its games. The database itself is hale and hearty and healthy, as is the site.
But the one will not communicate with the other.
I am working to resolve this issue as speedily as possible; however, much is dependent on the company which hosts both the site and its database, and I can't at this time make predictions when the issue will be resolved.
Those who have already played the games for this day, your scores are recorded, and you need not worry about losing them. Those who are still waiting to play, try again in a few hours.
My apologies for the inconvenience.
Regards,
Douglas Twitchell
QP Admin
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Zap!, Gift Subscriptions, High Score Lists
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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As you might have noticed, there is a new math game on The Problem Site. This game is called Zap!. It's a combination of a sliding-tile puzzle and an arithmetic function test. This is a game in which you're racing against a clock to solve each level.
I also wanted to mention, Quote Puzzler currently has a special on gift subscriptions; if you buy a gift subscription for someone, and they activate it before July 1st, 2008, their gift subscription is good for TWO years instead of just ONE. This is an incentive to encourage students (particularly teenagers) to keep their brains active during the summer months. (But the special is available to all ages).
Finally, I made a small change to the High Score Lists at The Problem Site. The Today list now shows high scores from anonymous players (people who aren't logged in). Only logged in members can have their scores appear in the overall high score lists.Labels: quote-puzzler, theproblemsite, zap
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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The Golden Ratio, Writing Prompts
Monday, May 26, 2008
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It's a quiet day today...for a Monday. It's Memorial Day here in the US, which means well over half of The Problem Site's traffic is on school vacation.
For teachers who are looking for some enrichment activities to help round out the school year, I have a couple interesting things for you.
The Golden Ratio
This is a series of pages which explore some of the fun mathematical properties of the number which is often referred to as The Golden Ratio, The Golden Section, or phi (φ). Take some time to browse the pages yourself, and see if you have students who would find it valuable and interesting to explore the concepts on these pages.
Alphabet Soup
Over at Fifteen Minutes Of Fiction, the weekly writing prompts are going to be "easier" than usual for the next few months. Each week writers will be given a different letter of the alphabet, and they will have to select a person, place, or thing beginning with that letter to write about.
This is very open-ended, and will be great for students (and adults!) who want to do a little bit of writing each week, but don't have a lot of time to spend on it during the summer months.Labels: golden ratio, theproblemsite, writing
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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