Hi Tristan.

I don't remember you being insufferable. You have an interest in math that may have made you annoying to your own math teachers if they are unprepared.

I like to think that as a HS teacher myself I AM prepared. Often with problems from here :)

You are, of course, welcome back.

Hi Tristan,

Time moves on.
While some of us mature some of us slow down a little.

As I reflect upon those early years when I joined there were many names appearing as posters of problems as well as with comments. From time to time we do see some names returning. Maybe there are several who "drop by" and their presence is only noted by "X" Person on-line.

As with Jer, welcome back.

I figured out where the puzzle came from. It was actually from another website, wu : Riddles under "Samwise and Gandalf".

Actually, one of my high school math teachers idolized me, I think because I qualified for the USAMO once. For a few years after I graduated, I'd run into people who recognized me from the photo in his classroom.

In college, I lost interest in this site mainly because I moved onto blogs. I read a lot of blogs about science (now I'm a physics PhD student) and atheism (I left Catholicism after high school). I maintain a blog as well. I'd occasionally post puzzles on it, but I discovered that my standard of difficulty was too high for ordinary people. Also, Perplexus' unique site design is basically superior for puzzles. I discovered how small Perplexus was in the wider internet, but I also gained greater appreciation for some of it.

Besides participating in the US Google Puzzle Championship every year, I don't do much that is puzzle-related these days. But I think Perplexus was important in my identity-formation. I tend to see many things as puzzles, if that makes any sense.

Thanks for listening to me ramble. I might look around again, but no promises that I'll stick around.