How to Make Decisions
Issue 70

We welcome your letters, questions and desperate pleas for help in this uncaring world. As always, e-mail WBXylo at Gmail.com. Don’t fret about e-mailing me with puzzle problems; I won’t yell at you.

Q: It is Harry S. Truman. What does the S stand for?

A: The S stands for S. His parents chose that letter as his middle name in order to appease both grandfathers with a sort of namesake.

Q:What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for in Marvel Comics?

A: Originally, it stood for -

Supreme
Headquarters,
International
Espionage,
Law-Enforcement
Division.

Arguably this would lead to the acronym SHIELED.

Perhaps this is why it was changed about 15 years ago to be –

Strategic
Hazard
Intervention,
Espionage and
Logistics
Directorate

Q:Is the Patriot Act an Acronym?

A: Yup, but officially it is the USA PATRIOT Act. This work might actually put Stan Lee to shame, as it’s full title is –

Uniting and
Strengthening
America by

Providing
Appropriate
Tools
Required to
Intercept and
Obstruct
Terrorism

Act of 2001.

The only sillier acronyms than this one are the intentionally silly ones, such as Tom Servo’s Walk-a-thon charity: Helping Children Through Research And Development, which stands for-

Hi,
Everyone,
Let’s
Pitch
In
‘N’
Get

Cracking
Here
In
Louisiana
Doing
Right,
Eh?
Now

Then,
Hateful,
Rich,
Overbearing
Ugly
Guys
Hurt

Royally
Every time
Someone
Eats
A
Radish,
Carrot,
Hors d’oeuvre,

And
Never
Does

Dishes.
Eventually,
Victor
Eats
Lunch
Over
Peoria
Mit
Ein
Neuesberger
Tod.

Word of the Week

acronyx – an ingrown fingernail or toenail
(Source- There’s a Word for it by Charles Harrington Elster)

This Week’s Puzzle (Difficulty: Bought for a song)

What letter replaces the question mark in the following sequence?

T T L S
H I W W Y A
U A T W S H
L A D I T ?

Last Week’s Puzzle (Difficulty: Monkey!)
What is the next number in the pattern:

1, 2, 5, 13, 34, 89, 233, . . . ?

Greg Wind was the first e-mailer with the correct answer of 610. His method?
Take the last number, multiply it by 2 and add the rest of the chain.

Or as Robert Ortega put it:

1=1
1+(1)=2
1+2+(2)=5
1+2+5+(5)=13
1+2+5+13+(13)=34
1+2+5+13+34+(34)=891+2+5+13+34+89+(89)=233
1+2+5+13+34+89+233+(233)=610

1, 2, 5, 13, 34, 89, 233, 610

Or as succinctly put by e-mailer Michael:
It’s 610; Every other number in the fibonacci sequence.

Last 5 posts by ML Kennedy

• How to Make Decisions (72) - June 19th, 2007
• How to Make Decisions (71) - June 12th, 2007
• How to Make Decisions (69) - May 29th, 2007
• How to Make Decisions (68) - May 21st, 2007
• How to Make Decisions (67) - May 15th, 2007