Reminds me of Mrs.  Bell.

It is now easier to put messages encoded using the code quacker on your blog. When you create your message, there is now some suggested code that you can paste onto a webpage or blog entry. For example:

Your base. All base all. All your all base your. All all all all. All all all. Base all base. Your all. Base all! Your all. Your all your all base your your. All base! All all your? Your base base all base your. Base base all all base base. All base base all? All all! All base all. All base! Base all all base all base! Base all your base all. All your? Base all all all? Base base all all! All base. Base base base. All base? All all all base all all all all all all? Your your all. (decode)

The decode link takes you to the code quacker, passing along the identifier of the paragraph containing the coded message. The quacker then loads your webpage, pulls out the relevant text, and decodes it. Or at least that’s what Brownie and Bozo tell me. I don’t really understand what they are talking about.

Count to 31 on one hand? No problem, if you know binary. Watch the video.

Or you could count to 1023 on two hands. Or 1048575 with hands and feet. That would be a rather boring video though…

Basically, the trick is to decide on an order of your fingers/thumb. Then move the first one up/down every count, the second one up/down every second count, the third one up/down every fourth count, the fourth one up/down every eighth count, etc.

There’s a detailed explanation of slightly different methods at Mr Speaker and intuitor. Wikipedia calls it “finger binary.” The oldest known web source for this seems to be lyzrdstomp.

If you want a challenge, try writing a romantic message in hobo sign. Or even just a non-homicidal one. I recently tried making a little romantic note for Mrs. Bell. If I’d wanted to say: “be ready to defend yourself, there’s no point going this way, owner will give to get rid of you” I’d have been all set. But that isn’t exactly what I was going for. In the end, I settled on this:

In other words, “you can camp here, a kind lady lives here, the sky’s the limit.”

Although I was sorely tempted by “free telephone.” Next on the list to try: semaphore and/or DNA.