THANKS FOR THE CHALLENGE! ———- by Steve Nadis
The answer came in the Globe two days later: “CORRECTION: Because of a transcription error, the Sudoku puzzle in the Globe Magazine on Sunday omitted the numeral 3 from the end of row 8 in column 9, making it impossible to correctly solve the puzzle.”
Well, thanks for the clarification, albeit belated. So I’m not a complete fool, though that, of course, is debatable, because anyone with half a wit would have given up long before I did. The fact is, I wasted a lot of time trying to solve an insoluble puzzle–precious time I could have wasted in many other ways.
I’m sure some of you may be worried that my erstwhile volleyball blog is rapidly devolving into a sudoku blog. I have nothing to say on that subject other than to paraphrase Coach Belichick (or was it Coach Parcells, his former mentor?): “It is what it is.” (Or, as the football geniuses would have it: “You are what you are.” Which is, of course, merely another take on Popeye’s most famous utterance.) The main point–or take-home message, if you will–is this: I have no idea what kind of blog this is (other than self-important and longwinded). It surprises me all the time. And I have no idea what it will come up with next. If you have even a modicum of curiosity, please stay tuned.
Have you tried the game called "Hapland".
My husband’s office mates have been raving about it.
I think it’s just plain wierd.
MsAmber
An "insoluble puzzle?" There’s your problem–you were trying to dis-solve it instead of solve it. Next time use a pencil instead of a glass of water.
Sooner or later it seems that almost all of the sources of printed sudoku puzzles will have a misprint.
So I prefer the online puzzle sources such as Fiendish Sudoku:
http://www.fiendishsudoku.com
You can start each puzzle by hitting the Solve button to make sure it’s solvable (but don’t look too hard at the solved digits). Then just hit Restart and solve it yourself, either online or by printing out the puzzle.
KristinW
sudokulinks.com
Thanks Kristin. I had no idea how much stuff there was online. There goes what was left of my career.
<p>And hello Gatemouth; it looks like you caught me again. But wait, doesn’t that word have two meanings? Perhaps I did not make a blunder after all.
<p>Hi Amber. I haven’t heard about that game and better steer clear of it, because if I like it, my life as I once knew it is positively over, especially w/all the new links KristinW has furnished me with…
I decided to quit writing in my blog for tonight. I’m being a little too wordy. I wrote an excruciatingly long entry tonight. But at least I broke it up with pictures. Do you think my entries are too long most of the time?
MsAmber
Hi Amber — It’s your blog and you’re free to do anything you like with it. I personally like short posts, but mine vary in length and I can (as has been noted) be longwinded. Your posts also vary in length. Short can be sweet but sometimes it comes down to this:how much do you have to say?
What’s going on with the cat? Still waking you up? Ok….I admit it…I’ve laughed about it all day. Even with my stuffy nose and sneezing.
I’m a little surprised Snake. A true sudoku master would have realized that the three was actually there, just in another dimension.
You’re right Doc. A true master would have realized the puzzle could not be solved. A plodder would plod onward. Hi there Windfall. I’m glad someone finds humor in my trials and tribulations.
I think you probably have grounds to sue the Globe for extreme cruelty and negligence. Have they no idea how they’re messing with your mind?
Right you are, Snake. Oxford lists "impossible to solve" as the first definition of "insoluble". But Websters lists it as second. So it seems those tea-sucking Brits agree with you, but all good red-blooded American linguists agree with me. And really, in the grand scheme of things, which is more important? To have the backing of a decadent, in-bred, royalty-dependent, lapdoggy, has-been culture like England, or the intellectual support of all good TV-educated Americans? (By the way, Fox-TV’s Dictionary defines "insoluble" as "Any demographic that cannot be captured via T&A, Nascar, Bill O’Reilly, Girls Gone Wild, or Super Models Embedded in Iraq."
Great idea, TB. Do you know any lawyers who specialize in sudoku fraud cases? Touche’, Gatemouth. You’ve shown me to be an inbred, decadent, lapdoggy hasbeen. I appreciate the fact that you held back when you could have said something really nasty.
Snake, how tragic. I tried a Sunday Globe Sudoku once, but my feeble mind was not up to the challenge and I’ve stuck to the weekday puzzles ever since. After reading your post, I think I’ll give the Sunday puzzle another go. What are the odds of the Globe screwing up two Sunday puzzles in a row?
Hi Whitey — The Sunday puzzles are challenging, especially when they are impossible. But I think the Globe will be extra careful now to avoid doing that again. Good luck!
P.S. You’re not Whitey Bulger, are you?