Solution:MacHeist 2:Heist 2

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Mission Walkthrough

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Warning! Spoilers ahead!

Proceed at your own risk!

While this walkthrough tries to encourage thinking and discovery, it does contain spoilers. The walkthrough is intended to be read a section at a time. Hopefully it provides organized and entertaining assistance if you get stuck.

Where to begin

Read the mission breifing.
56 Stark Street is in bold. It looks like we're supposed to find it.
Google Maps is nice.

Which street is it?

It looks like there are too many Stark Streets.
Maybe the audio message has some clues.
Those stupid beeps are messing with my concentration.

Please Dial from a Touch Tone Phone...

Those beeps sound like touch tone phone key presses.
There seem to be ten of them.
What could they be?

But I'm tone deaf!

If you don't have a phone, or otherwise can't make out the key presses: 5036084357
Now, you figure out what to do with them.

Voice Mail

Did you try calling 1-503-608-4357?
You don't want to pay for an overseas call?
I suppose I can help:

[transcript of the recorded message] Well, I see that you're up to the task, seeing as you've arrived here. Just because I'm not here doesn't mean I can't still help you. The next thing you'll need to do is weave your way through some obstacles on drivingmetothink.com. [end transcript]

Underwater basket weaving isn't looking so useless now, is it?

You made it here I hope.
Download the PDF.
You know you've been missing that sliding tile puzzle from the Classic OS days.
Printer, scissors and glue = fun! (Or there's Photoshop)

I didn't much like 2nd grade...

Crafts are fun though!
See the Martha Stewart version, if you must.

I never ask for directions

The text from the correctly woven PDF:

Walk 2 blocks West and take a left. Walk down half a block and look for the yellow sign on your left. Make note of the letter that its name ends with.
Continue South and turn right at the next intersection. Walk forward two blocks and look up. What is the first letter of the name of that large purple sea creature?
Head West one more block. Turn North and go just past the first intersection, than [sic] look to the left. Would you forge [sic] the river or chuck [sic] your wagon and cross? Note the first letter of the second word.
Keep heading North and take a left when you pass the gas station. Head West until you hit the 900 block. At the end of a block there is a place that has more flowing out of it than sound. Note the second to the last letter in its name.
Keep heading West until you hit 11th, then turn left. Keep going South until things start to seems [sic] a bit fishy, then turn left. Walk one block and look for the purple awning on the right. Note the second to last letter in its name.
Continue East and take a left at the third intersection. Make your way to the end of the 800 block and look to your left. Chances are they are okay with their president. Note the 4th letter in the second word of the name.
Continue North. Take a left at the third intersection. Take a right at the cleaners on the the corner, turn so you are heading North. Keep going North until you see a stop sign. Look at the last store on the block on your right. What is the last letter in its name?
Head North and turn East at the 5th intersection. Go forward 2 blocks. Don't panic, we're almost there. Continue going forward, watching the right side of the road. Write down the last letter of the store where bees can thrive.

Geolocation

Directions need a starting point.
Well, there was a street address in the briefing.
We did get the clue to the directions from a phone number.
Do phone numbers contain any geographic information?

Area Codes

The North American Numbering Plan – fascinating.
Area code 503
Try a Google Maps search for 56 Stark Street and Oregon.

Holiday Travel Plans in a Virtual Age

I hope you have some frequent flyer miles saved, because it looks like we're heading for beautiful Portland, Oregon.
Or, there's always Google's Street View.
Let the <del>treasure</del> letter hunt begin!

A Walking Buddy

This "walkthrough" is about to become a little too literal. Navigating using the pictures makes this just like walking downtown.

Letter 1

Walk 2 blocks West and take a left.
- If you're in the river at this point (which you probably are), try starting at 56 SW Stark St. on the west bank of the river.
- The street you take a left on should be SW 2nd Ave.
Walk down half a block and look for the yellow sign on your left. Make note of the letter that its name ends with.
- "Western Union" is the part we care about.

Letter 2

Continue South and turn right at the next intersection.
- That should be a right onto SW Washington St.
Walk forward two blocks and look up. What is the first letter of the name of that large purple sea creature?
- Look at the building on the southwest corner of the intersection of 4th and Washington.

Letter 3

Head West one more block. Turn North and go just past the first intersection, than [sic] look to the left.
- You should be on SW 5th Ave., just a bit north of the intersection with Stark.
Would you forge [sic] the river or chuck [sic] your wagon and cross? Note the first letter of the second word.
- Despite the botched spelling, the reference to a great game is still apparent. (If possible, skip fording or caulking the wagon and just pay for the ferry.)

Letter 4

Keep heading North and take a left when you pass the gas station.
- That would be the 76 station on 5th and Burnside. Turn left on Burnside.
Head West until you hit the 900 block.
- Note that the Street View provides an approximate address at the top of the window.
At the end of a block there is a place that has more flowing out of it than sound. Note the second to the last letter in its name.
- You should have found the intersection with 10th.
- Fortunately, the "flowing" we're talking about has nothing to do with the porta potty truck on the left.
- Look to the right, you only need the first word.

Letter 5

Keep heading West until you hit 11th, then turn left.
Keep going South until things start to seems [sic] a bit fishy, then turn left.
- That would be on to Salmon St. Get it? Sigh.
Walk one block and look for the purple awning on the right. Note the second to last letter in its name.
- Southwest corner of Salmon and 10th.

Letter 6

Continue East and take a left at the third intersection.
- Onto Broadway.
Make your way to the end of the 800 block and look to your left.
- Southwest corner of Broadway and Yamhill.
Chances are they are okay with their president. Note the 4th letter in the second word of the name.

Letter 7

Continue North. Take a left at the third intersection.
- Left onto Alder St.
Take a right at the cleaners on the the corner, turn so you are heading North.
- On the northeast corner of Alder and 12th.
Keep going North until you see a stop sign.
- At the intersection of 12th and Couch.
Look at the last store on the block on your right. What is the last letter in its name?

Letter 8

Head North and turn East at the 5th intersection.
- A right onto Gilsan.
Go forward 2 blocks. Don't panic, we're almost there. Continue going forward, watching the right side of the road. Write down the last letter of the store where bees can thrive.
- Store set back from the southeast corner of Gilsan and 9th.

Recap

Western Unio[n]
[O]ctopus
Oregon [T]rail Bldg.
Stre[a]m
The Bike Galle[r]y
Banana Rep[u]blic
Diese[l]
Hiv[e]
i.e. "notarule"

Random Words, Part I

Not a rule? What's that mean?
Random words and the internet, what to do?
Did you make it here?

Getting to the source

Somebody misconfigured the web server. Oh well, I guess the heist is over.
Or, you could try to find the "source" of their troubles.

An area for text

Safari Menu Bar > View > View Source
You should find some interesting stuff hiding in a textarea element.

Links and More

Hidden in the HTML source code: <blockquote> NotThreadedButFretted.com

Also (very important!!!)...

Devices B and C don’t use the small inductor, but the device that uses ‘Jobs’ also uses the medium inductor, while the device that uses ‘Woz’ uses the red fluid, and device C doesn’t use the red fluid, nonetheless, devices B and C use the ones named after Apple founders, while the device that uses the medium inductor also uses the blue fluid, yet the device that uses ‘Jobs’ doesn’t use the green fluid, and of course, device A doesn’t use the blue fluid!</blockquote>

I wish I stuck with those music lessons

Hopefully, you've made it to here.
The instrument on the left is a bass guitar.
The middle instrument is a mandolin.
The instrument on the right is a banjo.
Do the letters on the fretboards match the notes at the corresponding location for standard tunings?

Notes are letters, not all letters are notes

Sometimes, letters are used to sequentially order things.
Maybe the letters on the fretboards correspond to a sequence of notes.
You may want to take another look at those links in the previous post.

A note made of notes

Bass Guitar: E-D-G-E
Mandolin: G-A-G-A
Banjo: F-A-C-A-D-E

Random Words, Part II

"Outshine the competition" = edge? Check.
"Make the audience love you" = gaga? Check.
"Incorporate the proper illusions" = facade? Check.
Three random words and the internet. What to do?

Electronics 101

Did you make it to Edgegagafacade.com?
Seems like that "very important" information may be important now.
Figure out where different items can be placed, then place them in the right spots.
It's just logic, tap in to your inner Woz.

A bit more help

The fluid attaches to the small white rectangle with specks in the upper left quadrant.
The named chip attaches to the processor socket in the lower left quadrant.
The inductor attaches to the grey rectangle in the lower left quadrant below the processor socket.

Remedial Logic

A - Ives - Green Fluid - Small Inductor
B - Woz - Red Fluid - Large Inductor
C - Jobs - Blue Fluid - Medium Inductor

Check

Did you get the PDF?
Some people can actually play chess like this.
Did you know that OS X comes with a Chess game? (/Applications/Chess)

Old and New

Nü-Skool uses algebraic chess notation and can be played with the OS X Chess application.
Ye-Olde-School uses the older descriptive chess notation and may require a real board as it bends the rules. An interactive chessboard is also available online that allows arbitrary moves: http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php. Fortunately it allows URL input.
A guide to chess punctuation may also be helpful.

64-bit displays

A chessboard is a bit like a display with 64 pixels.
It doesn't take that many pixels to roughly display a character or two.
Have you played those two chess games yet?

I still think checkers is difficult

Images of final board position:

Nü-Skool

Ye-Olde-School

Are we there yet?

You should have four decimal digits. New goes before old and you're done.