Wednesday, August 24, 2011

STAND BY FOR HEAVY ROLLS!

The phrase "Stand by for heavy rolls" is a warning to sailors passed over the 1MC before a maneuver that may cause a heavy roll.  The phrase is also used metaphorically to indicate the coming of challenging times..."challenging" such as the start of new school year.  So, "Stand by for heavy rolls!"

School will start on Tuesday, 6 September.  The cadet staff has been briefed and has a plan in place.  Be prepared:  our first uniform day is 13 September (see the calendar on our website for a complete list).  If you don't have Naval Science on your schedule, you will not be able to participate in NJROTC, so check your schedule as soon as possible and let us know if you have a problem.

See you on the 6th!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

NEW CADET CHALLENGE

Congratulations to Cadet Roberto Soriano who, with very little help, figured out the puzzle below.  (He had, however, a bit more trouble with the "Ants on a Stick" puzzle.)

Here, with a suitably nautical flavor, is the latest cadet challenge. This challenge will expire at 0730, Monday, 22 August.   Hint:  This puzzle is not too hard, but you will need a methodical, analytical approach.  I recommend setting up a table (a table such as you will set up is properly called a "matrix").  The first correct submission will recieve a prize yet to be determined.  Good luck.

The Puzzle of Good Hope

The weather at the Cape of Good Hope makes it a notorious location where many ships have been lost to the sea. Philip Wood, the famous diver, has discovered four ships that sank in the same spot, one on top of each other.


With some skill, Philip was able to determine the name, captain, cargo, destination and year each ship was built. The question is, can you?

1. During his first exploration of the site, Philip determined there were four ships - the Red Rover, the ship built in 1743, the ship captained by Quigley and the ship carrying tea that was bound for North America.

2.The ship that carried a cargo of saffron was built after the ship that carried a cargo of tea.

3. An entry in one ship's log found at the site indicated that the ship built in 1522 was carrying a valuable cargo of gold.

4. One ship was carrying botanical specimens to France. Philip determined that this was not the Royal Bride.

5. The Scarlet Queen, a pirate ship, was certainly built before the nineteenth century but not as early as the sixteenth. The captain of this ship was the famous rogue Clubfoot.

6. The Wanderer was built after the Royal Bride. The Royal Bride's cargo was not tea and the Royal Bride was not travelling to the South Seas.

7. Captain Bolton's ship was built before Clubfoot's and before The Royal Bride.

Ships: Red Rover, Royal Bride, Scarlet Queen, Wanderer



Year Built: 1522, 1688, 1743, 1817


Captain: Bolton, Clubfoot, Quigley, Vickers


Cargo: Gold, Saffron, Specimens, Tea


Destination: England, France, North America, South Seas

Hint:  The Royal Bride's destination was England.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

NEW CADET CHALLENGE (MORE DIFFICULT)

Congratulations again go out to Cadet Eric Barone, who now know what "BZ!" means.  The passage below was taken from the Declaration of Independence. 

OK, try this one.  It's a little harder than yesterday's, but the same hints apply.  Good luck!

Jqyx, tx gqy hnrsdy no qruex yiyxgd, tg lyhnuyd xyhyddesa ons nxy zynzpy gn wtddnpiy gqy znptgthep lnxwd jqthq qeiy hnxxyhgyw gqyu jtgq exngqys, exw gn eddruy eunxc gqy znjysd no gqy yesgq, gqy dyzesegy exw yvrep dgegtnx gn jqthq gqy pejd no xegrsy exw no xegrsy'd Cnw yxgtgpy gqyu, e wyhyxg sydzyhg gn gqy nztxtnxd no uexbtxw syvrtsyd gqeg gqya dqnrpw wyhpesy gqy herdyd jqthq tuzyp gqyu gn gqy dyzesegtnx.



Jy qnpw gqydy gsrgqd gn ly dypo-yitwyxg, gqeg epp uyx esy hsyegyw yvrep, gqeg gqya esy yxwnjyw la gqyts Hsyegns jtgq hysgetx rxeptyxelpy stcqgd, gqeg eunxc gqydy esy ptoy, ptlysga exw gqy zrsdrtg no qezztxydd. Gqeg gn dyhrsy gqydy stcqgd, cniysxuyxgd esy txdgtgrgyw eunxc uyx, wystitxc gqyts krdg znjysd osnu gqy hnxdyxg no gqy cniysxyw. Gqeg jqyxyiys exa onsu no cniysxuyxg lyhnuyd wydgsrhgtiy gn gqydy yxwd, tg td gqy stcqg no gqy zynzpy gn epgys ns gn elnptdq tg, exw gn txdgtgrgy xyj cniysxuyxg, peatxc tgd onrxwegtnx nx drhq zstxhtzpyd exw nscextmtxc tgd znjysd tx drhq onsu, ed gn gqyu dqepp dyyu undg ptbypa gn yooyhg gqyts deoyga exw qezztxydd. Zsrwyxhy, txwyyw, jtpp wthgegy gqeg cniysxuyxgd pnxc ydgelptdqyw dqnrpw xng ly hqexcyw ons ptcqg exw gsexdtyxg herdyd; exw ehhnswtxcpa epp yfzystyxhy qegq dqnjx gqeg uexbtxw esy unsy wtdzndyw gn drooys, jqtpy yitpd esy drooyselpy, gqex gn stcqg gqyudypiyd la elnptdqtxc gqy onsud gn jqthq gqya esy ehhrdgnuyw. Lrg jqyx e pnxc gsetx no elrdyd exw rdrszegtnxd, zrsdrtxc txiestelpa gqy deuy nlkyhg yitxhyd e wydtcx gn sywrhy gqyu rxwys eldnprgy wydzngtdu, tg td gqyts stcqg, tg td gqyts wrga, gn gqsnj noo drhq cniysxuyxg, exw gn zsnitwy xyj creswd ons gqyts orgrsy dyhrstga. --Drhq qed lyyx gqy zegtyxg drooysexhy no gqydy hnpnxtyd; exw drhq td xnj gqy xyhyddtga jqthq hnxdgsetxd gqyu gn epgys gqyts onsuys dadgyud no cniysxuyxg. Gqy qtdgnsa no gqy zsydyxg Btxc no Csyeg Lstgetx td e qtdgnsa no syzyegyw txkrstyd exw rdrszegtnxd, epp qeitxc tx wtsyhg nlkyhg gqy ydgelptdquyxg no ex eldnprgy gasexxa niys gqydy dgegyd. Gn zsniy gqtd, pyg oehgd ly drlutggyw gn e hexwtw jnspw.

Monday, August 8, 2011

NEW CADET CHALLENGE (DIFFICULT, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE)

Congratulations to Cadet Eric Barone who solved the challenge in record time.  As he now knows, the passage below is from Dicken's Tale of Two Cities.  BZ Eric Barone!

Your challenge--it'll keep you busy for some time, but really isn't that difficult--is to decrypt the passage below.  Hints:
- The passsage was taken from English literature published within the last 500 years.  It is no longer copyright protected.
- It was encrypted using a simple subtitution cipher.
- The cipher is not case sensitive.
- The terms "encrypted" and "cipher" should point you in the right direction, as should the note above about it being a simple substitution. 

Bonne chance!*  Here is the text:

Gt xsr teh yhrt va tgihr, gt xsr teh xvort va tgihr,



gt xsr teh skh va xgrfvi, gt xsr teh skh va avvcgreuhrr,


gt xsr teh hqvde va yhcgha, gt xsr teh hqvde va gudohfjcgtm,


gt xsr teh rhsrvu va Cgket, gt xsr teh rhsrvu va Fsoluhrr,


gt xsr teh rqoguk va evqh, gt xsr teh xgutho va fhrqsgo,


xh esf hbhomteguk yhavoh jr, xh esf uvteguk yhavoh jr,


xh xhoh scc kvguk fgohdt tv Ehsbhu, xh xhoh scc kvguk fgohdt


teh vteho xsm--gu revot, teh qhogvf xsr rv aso cglh teh qohrhut


qhogvf, test rvih va gtr uvgrghrt sjtevogtghr gurgrthf vu gtr


yhguk ohdhgbhf, avo kvvf vo avo hbgc, gu teh rjqhocstgbh fhkohh


va dviqsogrvu vucm.
 
The winner (if any) will recieve a soda.  This challenge will expire at 0730, 6 September, 2011. 
 
* Uttered by members of the French navy upon diving from the wrakage of their ships after any number of losing engagements with the Royal Navy. 

SUFFICIENCY, PARTS I AND II

Here a couple of random thoughts on the issue of sufficiency, or what's good enough. 

Part I.  Mark Twain once quipped:  "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know."  (Life on the Mississippi)  What worked for Twain will work for all of us, at least occasionally; unfortunately,  it won't work more than once in awhile.  In the big wide world, answer "I don't know" too often and your boss will find someone else to go to when he or she needs the answer.  Guess who will then be picked for the promotion, the the pay raise, or the next "good deal" the boss has to give away. 

Part II Satisfice is a term used in the fields of management, economics, and conflict studies.  To satisfice means to take the first alternative that is acceptable, regardless whether it is the best.  To satisfice, then, is to look for the easy solution and do it right now rather than to look for a solution that might be better all-around.  We all do this sometimes, and it can be a useful practice.  A good example might be studying just enough to pass a quiz in one subject so that you can devote greater effort to earning an "A" on a critical project in another class.  Be careful, though; satisfice too often and you will miss the opportunity to achieve your greatest potential. Good enough is the enemy of good.

I'll close this little sermon with another quote from Twain that seems to have some relevance here:  "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."  (Eating two small frogs would be satisficing!)