January 11, 2006

THANKS FOR THE CHALLENGE! ---------- by Steve Nadis

I racked my brains trying to solve a sudoku puzzle in the Boston Globe Magazine last month. To no avail. I couldn't get it done. I was stuck and frustrated. Why was this happening to me, an incipient sudoku master?

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.

Posted by Snake at 13:51:11 | Permanent Link | Comments (14) |
Comments
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1 - 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 (Comment this)

Written by: MsAmber at 2006/01/11 - 15:29:20
2 - 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. (Comment this)

Written by: gatemouth at 2006/01/11 - 19:10:06
3 - 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
 (Comment this)

Written by: KristinW at 2006/01/11 - 21:39:08
4 - 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... (Comment this)

Written by: Snake at 2006/01/11 - 21:53:42
5 - 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 (Comment this)

Written by: msamber at 2006/01/11 - 21:58:45
6 - 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? (Comment this)

Written by: Snake at 2006/01/11 - 22:19:58
7 - 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. (Comment this)

Written by: Windfall Woman at 2006/01/11 - 23:18:10
8 - I'm a little surprised Snake. A true sudoku master would have realized that the three was actually there, just in another dimension. (Comment this)

Written by: DrMax at 2006/01/11 - 23:24:03
9 - 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. (Comment this)

Written by: Snake at 2006/01/12 - 00:33:24
10 - 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? (Comment this)

Written by: Turd Blossom at 2006/01/12 - 08:39:26
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