They need someone to tell them right from wrong

And as though the world wished to inaugurate my new computer in all the ways it could, on Tuesday The Price Is Right played ``Pay The Rent'' again. Well, sort of. They billed it as ``Pay The Tuition'', although as the rules didn't change and the set different was just making the house props a little more messed up with the word ``Tuition'' put on a sign over ``Rent'', I think this was just a bit of whimsy to go along with an episode which was generally Spring Break-themed. Barring a repeat performance I'm going to suppose this doesn't represent a change in policy.

The small prizes this time were energy drink, fabric ``refresher'', plastic cups, corn chips, a pack of ramen noodles, and pizza rolls. The contestant, clearly not getting the flow of this game, put the ramen in the first level, the cups and fabric ``refresher'' on the second, the corn chips and pizza rolls on the third, and the energy drink up top. With ramen at 29 cents this was a waste of the first level. The cups ($3.49) and fabric ``refresher'' ($2.99) left her alive for a total $6.48 that level and $5,000 prize; and even the corn chips ($4.99) and pizza rolls ($4.49) made for a decent third level, $9.48, and $10,000 prize. Proclaiming that she had a ``lot of loans to pay off'', she decided not to take the $10,000 and instead went on in the hopes that the energy drink was more than $9.48. I don't buy energy drinks and even I knew that was stupid. The drink was $6.99. I admit I wouldn't have priced an energy drink that accurately, but even I knew it wsan't more than ten bucks.

As far as I can tell there's only one valid solution: pizza rolls in the first level ($4.49); ramen and corn chips in the second ($5.28); cups and fabric ``refresher'' ($6.48) in the third; and energy drink ($6.99) up top. Curiously, this makes the winning partition 6|54|32|1. I wonder if that was meant.

Trivia: With the successful launch of Vanguard I, the backup booster TV-4BU was returned to Glenn Martin Company for conversion to a booster which could be used for production satellites rather than experimental ones. (It would ultimately launch Vanguard III.) Source: Project Vanguard: The NASA History, Constance McLaughlin Green, Milton Lomask. NASA SP-4202.

Currently Reading: Charlatan: American's Most Dangerous Huckster, The Man Who Pursued Him, And The Age Of Flimflam, Pope Brock. (It's a fascinating book about John R Brinkley, of ``goat gland'' implants and invention-of-annoying-radio fame.)