The best computer programmers and engineers must be good at scheduling. This week’s Micro Softy tests this ability.
Big Tony Mullins, known to his friends as Sisyphus Fats, exercises by pushing a giant bowling ball up a 100 foot hill. Every minute, he pushes the ball three feet closer to the top and then the bowling ball slides two feet back. After regaining his breath, Sisyphus Fats pushes the ball another three feet up the hill and it slides back two. This happens every minute.
How many minutes did it take for Sisyphus Fats to push the ball to the top of the 100 foot hill?
Solution to Micro Softy 61: Take Five
Last week’s Micro Softy asked what popular movie franchise theme is written in the unusual key signature 5/4?
The answer is the theme for the Mission Impossible movie franchise starring Tom Cruz.
Did the hint help? James Arness played Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke. Before the movies, on the television series Mission Impossible, the star was James Arness’ younger brother Peter Graves. Graves might be better known from the classic movie Airplane where he played pilot Captain Clarence Oveur. (On the radio we here “Over Oveur” and “Do we have clearance Clarence?”)
Summary of GeekPlanet episode 377
The Monday Micro Softy is a weekly feature of GeekPlanet News. Here are the links to all the puzzles and answers to date:
Monday Micro Softy 61: Micro Softy Take Five was more of a trivia question than it was a puzzle. To solve Micro Softy 61, the answer is the theme for the Mission Impossible movie franchise starring Tom Cruz. You can find puzzles 55 through 61 here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 60: Here’s a puzzle from Gunsmoke Told to “get out of Dodge”after a shooting, a gunslinger does so at a nearly inexplicable time. Can you solve the puzzle?
To solve Microsofty 59, recall that direction of air flow is due to pressure — not size. Which tire is under more pressure? You can find puzzles 56 through 59 here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 55: “It happens every spring.” Baseball, that is. Here’s a puzzle that takes in baseball’s summer. To solve last week’s puzzle, you don’t need to know the distance. Check the problem again for the number you do need to know. You can find puzzles 51 through 54 here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 50: Cutting through the cornbread. How did Yuri Senior cut the cornbread into eight identical portions using only three straight cuts? You can guess the answer to Microsofty 49 if you try the test question yourself at home, using a small mirror. Links to Microsofties 46 through 49 are here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 45: Can Tony beat the fast-food curfew? An early curfew on fast food service motivated a boy to exercise more vigorously. But how fast was he pedaling? To solve Micro Softy 44, recall that Tony doesn’t need to take the individual pills each day, only the prescribed amount of each. You will find links here to Micros Softies 41 through 44 as well.
Monday Micro Softy 40: The fate of a false prophet. He wasn’t actually fired for being a false prophet but for something that his prophecy unintentionally revealed. The solution to Micro Softy 39 lies in considering an alternative possible meaning of a word commonly used in sports. You will also find links to Micro Softies 30 through 39 and their answers here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 29: A funeral lament in four lines. The funeral director was puzzled by Dan’s description of his relationship to the deceased but there was no question that his grief was sincere Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 22 through 29.
Monday Micro Softy 21: Finding More of the Deadly Fentanyl Pills. Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 11 through 20 as well.
Monday Micro Softy 11: What Happened to That Other Dollar? Here you will find links to the first ten Micro Softies. Have fun!
