John Ratite's Custodia Islands Getaway [Round 11: Movement]]

[mikeamok]

*heads towards the Parrot Lanai*

[T McAy]

Round 2: Action

While traveling to their destinations, the visitors glance at video monitors at news kiosks and read the following message.

The next update will be on Monday, March 3. Deadlines for Round 2 actions are extended until this time on Monday.

Due to the fact that both Round 1 and Round 2 started a bit earlier than scheduled, management has decided to amend the rules regarding random location assignments. Visitors will not be removed from the Custodia Islands resort until the third random location assignment in a row.

The following visitors have been randomly assigned to locations.

Bozzball (Finch house)
i_h8_evil_stuff (Cardinal store)
Mentat (Cardinal store)
mikegoo (Finch house)

At the Penguin pool, visitors Corsato and PuzzleProdigy spy a colony of penguins performing a synchronized swimming routine worthy of any Esther Williams film. Two coins frozen inside a large block of ice float in the center of the pool. The penguins swim into formation in which their bodies spell out the following question.

What pleated waistband can be worn with a tuxedo as an alternative to a vest?

At the Cuckoo clock, visitors Duphrates, jesternl and RequiemEternam observe a clutch of cuckoos flying haphazardly around a large transparent clock. Two coins can be seen behind the clock’s face. A pair of cuckoos flies over to the group carrying a banner with this question.

What type of timepiece is also known as a clepsydra?

Visitor Dragon Phoenix makes his way to the Turkey trot and discovers a rafter of turkeys wearing fezzes and marching around a miniature minaret. Two coins can be seen inside the mini-minaret. As Dragon Phoenix approaches, one turkey blocks the path and raises a flag with this question.

In terms of elevation, what is the highest point in the nation of Turkey?

At the cozy Parrot lanai, a company of parrots hobbles around the newly arrived visitors mikeamok, Qaqaq and Tablesaw with interest. "That chest contains two coins," one of the parrots squawks while indicating a wooden chest suspended high above the reach of the visitors. A key ring dangles near the chest. "I’ll get the coins for you," the parrot continues, "if you answer this question correctly."

Which of the ten digits is the first to repeat (occur a second time) in the mantissa (numeric portion to the right of the decimal point) of the natural logarithm e?

In the Lark forest, visitors jadesmar and duck to avoid an exaltation of larks cheerfully swooping around a birch tree. There is a large yellow smiley face attached to the trunk of the birch tree about twenty feet off the ground. Two coins form the eyes of the birch tree. This question is carved into the bark of the tree.

What Grammy-winning female singer had a recurring role on the 1970’s television series "Good Times"?

Visitors Hitchhiker checks out the Stork club—an elegant nightspot where a mustering of storks assist the wait staff by delivering the bundles of culinary joy to the patrons. Hitchhiker is seated and handed a menu by a server. Two coins can be seen on the server’s tray. A question is printed inside the menu:

What black star of the Folies Bergere launched a boycott of Manhattan’s Stork Club after she was refused service there in 1951?

Visitors mole, Tahnan and Termital wearily enter a large dreary study inhabited by an unkindness of ravens. Some of the ebony birds flirt and flutter around the room and others remain perched above chamber doors. Above one door the visitors spy two coins flanking a bust of Pallas. Suddenly a raven swoops down to the visitors. Quoth the raven this question.

What is the name of the "rare and radiant maiden" whose loss the narrator laments in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem "The Raven"?

The Finch house is the habitat for a charm of finches that sings cheerfully for the benefit of visitors Bozzball, mikegoo, Pi, Saxifrage and Sofis. A large glass globe containing two coins is suspended from the roof of the house. "Do you suppose," one visitors comments, "that the finches could sing high enough to shatter the glass?" Before anyone can answer, a card bearing this question is lowered from the ceiling.

What legendary aviator inspired businesswoman Linda Finch to attempt a round-the-world flight in a Lockheed Electra 10E in 1997?

The Cardinal store is filled with gewgaws, whatnots and tchotchkes of all shapes and sizes, but everything is related to the St. Louis baseball team, not the actual bird. Visitors Agamemnon, i_h8_evil_stuff and Mentat consider buying a Busch Stadium snow globe, an Ozzie Smith pancake flipper and a Mark McGwire steroid organizer, all of which are salable for mainland currencies. One item sticks out among the rest.

Trading Card – Price: One Struthio Coin
The purchaser of this trading card (only one in stock) may trade tour group membership between any two active visitors belonging to different groups. The card is good for one trade, which may be invoked at any time by posting the message "Trade <visitor name> with <visitor name>" in bold. Trading does not affect the location of any visitor. Visitors who have been sent home are not eligible for trades.

The store vendor approaches Agamemnon, i_h8_evil_stuff and Mentat and asks, "Interested in buying anything?"

Lano-Catru Balance: $3
Ocagru Balance: $3



[This message has been edited by T McAy (edited 02-28-2003 03:04 PM).]

[Sofis]

The number of legendary aviators I know of can be counted on the fingers of one... finger. That being Lindbergh. Anyone have a better idea?

[Corsato]

Question:
If I know the answer in Dutch, would it be cheating to look it up in a dictionary??

[Saxifrage]

I'm almost positive it's got to be Amelia Earhart -- since it was on a round-the-world flight that Earhart disappeared.

[jadesmar]

Has any of us Larks said "Janet Jackson" yet?

[Dragon Phoenix]

Turkey: Ararat.

[Qaqaq]

Mikeamok, Tablesaw -- I really hope one of you is a mathy sort. All I know about e is that it's around 2.71, and I don't know if I ever learned a further expansion than that, so it'd be a one-in-ten guess for me. Do either of you have anything here?

[T McAy]

If I know the answer in Dutch, would it be cheating to look it up in a dictionary??

A constable near the Penguin pool appraches Corsato to offer assistance. "I would first confer with the other visitor here for help," she says. "If you receive no help from the visitor, go ahead and submit your answer in Dutch. If the moderator asks you to translate, you may use your dictionary."

[mikegoo]

Sorry I missed the first round...I believe Emilia E. is correct for us finchers.

[mikeamok]

same as you, Qaqaq.

[Termital]

Darn! I had read this ten years ago or so, but blast me if I remeber. I think it was Hellen or Eleanor or something like that, but I'm not sure at all.

[mole]

My vote's for "Lenore". (Raven) Anyone who's read the poem more recently than I have is welcome to challenge. Tahnan?

[Hitchhiker]

*beats head on table, wishes she were somewhere else*

Black star...I'm sure I'm wrong, but I'll guess Ella Fitzgerald.

[PuzzleProdigy]

Corsato: No need to...
I have one on my dresser, part of our school's band uniform.

I'll go ahead and bold, since I'm almost positive.

Kumberbund

(It's probably the same in Dutch?)

[This message has been edited by PuzzleProdigy (edited 02-28-2003 07:55 PM).]

[PuzzleProdigy]

And that's two coins for Lano-Catru.

[jesternl]

I'm pretty sure a Clepsydra is a water clock, the ydra seems to suggest that (hydra = water) but I'm not 100% sure. Anyone confirm this?

[RequiemEternam]

My first thoughts were water clock or hourglass (using sand). I'll go with water clock.

[Tahnan]

Sorry about the "Requiem Etahnan" before--that was me being needlessly silly.

As for the Simpsons question, yeah, the answer is Lenore--I love that episode! (Er, is this from like a poem, too, or something?)

[Agamemnon]

Ok fellow gang folks, do I buy a trading card or not?
The way I see it is that we can spend 1 coin and make 2, that is if we trade someone who is a non player or has not posted yet, for someone like Dragon who is on their own and can only win outright with out sharing.
Thoughts please.

[Tablesaw]

I haven't really got much of a clue either, but my first instinct is "1".

[Tahnan]

This is complicated by the fact that Mentat is also at the Card store. If it were members of one team there, I could advise (if it were mine) or taunt (if it were not). (I could even say "What you should do is buy the card and trade to get me onto your team," which is a great way to get my team to vote me off later....)

Since members of both teams are there, I'll sit by and not offer opinions at all. Good luck, fellas.

[Pi]

Seeing as most of us Finches seem to be in concord, I'll go ahead and bold Amelia Earhart

[Mentat]

I didn't realise the game had started. Any thoughts from my team mates about whether I should buy the card?

[Qaqaq]

Well, since none of us knows, might as well bold that. Parrot Lanai: 1

[Agamemnon]

Sod it!
Aga buys trading card

If I've done wrong, sorry. But it might come in useful later on.

[Duphrates]

The only things that come to mind are water, sand, candle or sun? Haven't got a clue which one though, if any at all.I'd go with your reasoning of water, but I'm not taking the plunge, so to speak.

[Mentat]

I kind of thought that might happen. Time will tell, Aga!

[Corsato]

Kumberbund....never heard of it...

[PuzzleProdigy]

Hmmm... I misspelled it. "Cumberbund" is correct... don't know what TMcAy will do.

[Tahnan]

Interesting--I didn't actually know "cumberbund" was a legitimate alternate spelling for the word I know as "cummerbund." (But it is.) With a K, though, well.

Incidentally: it won't matter for this round, since Agamemnon doesn't have his card yet, but after this it might be prudent to not comment on whether you got your question right (or whether other people got theirs right); after all, such information can actually be used by him.

[jesternl]

Just because I don't want to miss out...
Clepsydra = Waterclock

[RequiemEternam]

*asks the ever-present constables*

Do you hear that? It seems as if someone is shouting from a different attraction, trying to get his tour group's advice on a possible purchase. Are such tactics allowed? I was under the impression that discussion could only be carried out between tourists at the same "physical" location. What say you?

[T McAy]

Do you hear that? It seems as if someone is shouting from a different attraction, trying to get his tour group's advice on a possible purchase. Are such tactics allowed? I was under the impression that discussion could only be carried out between tourists at the same "physical" location. What say you

"That's a good question," says one of the ubiqitous constables. "The brochure addressed that issue in the following manner."

Visitors may communicate freely with each other to discuss general strategy. The exception to this concerns the answering of trivia questions. Groups of visitors answering at the same location may confer on a question before posting an emboldened answer, but no visitor may help any other player at a different location.

"I would say," the constable continues, "that making a purchase at any of the fine shops in the Custodia Islands is not the same as answering a trivia question. Therefore, it falls within the area of 'general strategy' and may be discussed freely between visitors in multiple locations."

[T McAy]

Round 3: Movement

With the answer "Kumberbund," the penguins quack with joy and break formation. They push the ice cube toward shore and peck away at the ice until Corsato and PuzzleProdigy are able to retrieve the coins, both of which go to Lano-Catru. The visitors scratch the film off the map at this attraction and find directions to the Swallow Clearing, the Nightingale Nests and the Ostrich Enclosure.

Visitors Duphrates, jesternl and RequiemEternam answer "Water clock" at the Cuckoo Clock. The cuckoos signal approval, drop the banner and fly toward the transparent clock. The birds manipulate the clock to chime the hour and cause the coins the be extended on a small platform. The visitors collect the coins, with one coin going to the Lano-Catru group and one coin going to the Ocagru group, and begin scratching the map at this location. The map shows the way to the Dovecote, the Rookery and the Ostrich Enclosure.

"Ararat," answers visitor Dragon Phoenix at the Turkey Trot.
The turkeys gobble in delight and suddenly break into a run toward the mini-minaret. Without going into gruesome detail of the turkey-minaret collision, it will merely be observed that Dragon Phoenix is able to collect the coins, both of which will credit the Lano-Catru account. After scratching the map, Dragon Phoenix can find the route to the Tern Market, the Starling Observatory and the Ostrich Enclosure.

The visitors at the Parrot Lanai give the answer "1." The parrots ruffle their feathers in alarm, and the spokesparrot offers that the correct answer is "8." Before the visitors can ask if they might have another chance to win the coins, the parrots begin hurling saltines and making stage-pirate "ahrrrr!" noises. It is such a disturbing display that the visitors retreat to the map outside the lanai, which merely directs the visitors to the Rhea Circle.

In the Lark Forest, visitors jadesmar and referee offer "Janet Jackson" as the answer to their question. The larks accept this answer and swoop gaily toward the smiley face attached to the birch tree. The birds remove the yellow emblem and present it to the visitors who apply the coins to the Lano-Catru and Ocagru expense accounts (one coin each) and work at removing the film from the map in this area. The map shows directions to the Crow Field, the Swan Lake and the Rhea Circle.

Visitor Hitchhiker, in the Stork club, tries the answer "Ella Fitzgerald." The server is clearly disgusted, as if he had been stiffed of a tip, and storms off toward the kitchen with his tray of coins in tow. A stork delivers a covered tray to Hitchhiker’s table. Beneath the cover, Hitchhiker discovers a receipt scrawled with the correct answer—"Josephine Baker"—and a map simply showing the way to the Rhea Circle.

"Lenore" is the answer decided upon in the Raven Study by visitors mole, Tahnan and Termital. The ravens nod in consent and opt to retrieve the coins from the bust of Pallas rather than drive the visitors insane by the incessant utterance of "Nevermore." The visitors collect the coins, with one coin going to the Lano-Catru group and one coin going to the Ocagru group, and discover the attraction map between two stacks of forgotten lore (one stack labeled "quaint" and the other "curious"). After some map scratching, the visitors feel confident navigating toward the Owl Barn, the Heron Marsh and the Cassowary Exhibit.

Visitors Bozzball, mikegoo, Pi, Saxifrage and Sofis try the answer "Amelia Earhart in the Finch House. The finches are clearly copacetic with this response and launch into a high-pitched song of congratulations. "Look out," a visitor cries, noting that the finch song is about to shatter the glass globe. The visitors take cover and avoid injury as shards of glass and the coins fall from the ceiling. The visitors bank the coins, with one coin going to the Lano-Catru group and one coin going to the Ocagru group, after scratching away at the map. The visitors can now proceed to the Partridge Place, the Duck pond or the Cassowary Exhibit.

"Aga buys trading card," replies Agamemnon to the Cardinal store vendor, with somewhat Tarzanesque grammar. The vendor collects one coin from the Ocagru account and hands the trading card to Agamemnon. "Enjoy your purchase and have a nice day," chirps the vendor. Visitors Agamemnon, i_h8_evil_stuff and Mentat leave the store and note that the map simply shows the way back to the Cassowary Exhibit.

Lano-Catru Balance: $11
Ocagru Balance: $6



[This message has been edited by T McAy (edited 03-05-2003 12:08 PM).]

[Pi]

I wanna go to the Duck Pond

[Saxifrage]

Quack! Duck Pond for me, too.

[Duphrates]

I'll go to the Dove-Cote please.

[mikegoo]

Going to Partridge place

[Tahnan]

See that Patrtidge Place? I'm not going anywhere near that.

As long as we can backtrack freely, and I haven't seen any mention of any obstacles yet, I'm going to head over to the Nightingale Nests. Let's see if my first choice of the Rookery was the wiser one. :-)

Also: there's that Tern Market. If someone from the bad guys goes there, can someone from Lano-Catru make sure they're there too, so we don't miss an opportunity? (And what the heck is up with these names anyway?)