13 November 2006

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Sudoku Tips

Sudoku Tips from sudoku.org.uk: 
Paul Bowden has some tips for all those solvers who have set up spread-sheet programs as work sheets:

Further to all of the Excel-based tips, and how best to unwind to an earlier position after a wrong guess, the following make might things easier.

Don’t forget that ctrl-Z will unwind the last action. Simply tap ctrl-Z until you get back to where you were.

You can make it a bit easier to get back to where you were by setting a spare cell, with =sum(A1:I9), assuming that your grid is in A1 to I9. Before you start your guess, note down the current total. Simply unwind with ctrl-Z until you get back to where you were. If you overshoot, ctrl-Y will wind you forward.

Sudoku Up is a high-quality collection of Sudoku Puzzles.

Sudoku Up Solitaire includes millions of different puzzles to keep you entertained for years to come… No need to search for other sources of Sudoku! Sudoku Up includes five difficulty levels to challenge you. Enjoy the detailed statistics of each game with graphs, 3D pie and bar charts, and tables to estimate your skill level. Options include total games, current session, series of wins and losses, player’s games won, players’ scores and hi-scores, statistics for all games, won and lost games, and skipped games.

Main Features are:
Thousands of different Sudoku games! Save, Open and Restart games. Player’s options. Customize Grids and Backgrounds. Change backgrounds by using .bmp customized image files. Unlimited levels of the undo/redo feature. Chart your statistics with graphs, 3D pie and bar charts and tables. Options include total games, current session, series of wins, players’ games won, players’ scores and hi-scores. Statistics for all games, won and lost games, and skipped games. Choose sounds and Game Won animation. Customizable Toolbars. Zoom in on statistics.
And much more…

For Sudoku lovers, Sudoku Up is a guaranteed pleasure. Each game is fun and exciting, and will keep you entertained for hours. If you like Sudoku puzzles, then you’ll love Sudoku Up!

Sudoku is a popular logic placement puzzle that has been gaining popularity lately. This puzzle is also sometimes called a “Number Place” puzzle, which you can often find in local newspapers and magazines. The goal is to place the numbers 1 through 9 into the grid such that each row, each column and each sub-square contains all 9 numbers. There is no math involved. All you need is patience and logical ability. See what all the fuss is about with our interactive online Sudoku puzzles.

Sudoku Logic Puzzle

WRIGHT / CROMWELL NEWS By Jennie K. Hanson May 5, 2008

Our sympathy to the family of Doug Wise, 64, of Sawyer, Mn who died on April 29, 2008 in St. Mary’s Hospital.  Doug leaves behind his wife, Jeanne (Snyder); children, Kristine and Brian Friend, Kelley Thompson, and Jeffery Wise; 8 grandchildren, two sisters, and four brothers.  Doug graduated from Carlton High School in 1962 and excelled in sports and earned several awards for his efforts.  He was proud to serve in the Army National Guard as a cook and was a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.  His funeral was held on May 4th at Northland Funeral Home with visitation the evening before at the Sawyer Chapel in Sawyer. 

Larry Line, 69, of Duluth, died on April 29, 2008 in St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. Larry was born in Cromwell, Mn to James and Dorcas Line in 1939.  Our sympathy to his family and all who knew and loved him.

Our sympathy to the family of Julia Lindquist , 95, who died on April 24, 2008 in Carlton.  Julia may have been known by some of the area residents and I’m sure her family will miss her.  I knew of her because my cousin Barbara Brady Lindquist is married to her son, Lloyd (Sonny).

Barb Dahl and daughter Amy returned home from a 5 day vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The weather was 95 everyday. It was a beautiful resort and they sure enjoyed their stay. This was Amy’s gift to her mom for her 60th birthday. Four other friends accompanied them.

Everyone is welcome to attend Baccalaureate on May 11th, Mother’s Day at Bethany in Cromwell at the 10:30 AM Regular worship Service. This year’s seniors are Sean Antolik, Eric Arnold, Martin Burch, Jr, Mirissa Byer, Muksud “Sonet” Chowdhury, Kelsey Envall, Kate Everson (Kemi), Taylor Forconi, Mariah Grangruth, Kristine Groth, Curtis Hakala, Evans Hakamaki, John Hedin, Cody Hendrickson, Megan Hibke, Tanya House, Ethan Hutar, Vanessa Johnson, Jennifer Langenbrunner, Ashley Magliano, Cory Murphy, Megan Olson, Ronni Pihlaja, Danielle Richards, Ben Schliauter, Megan Shelton and Nathan Smith.

Graduation for these fine students will be on Friday, May 23, 2008 at the school at 8 PM.

I hear that postage will go up another penny on May 12th, so if you want to buy some of the forever stamps, they must be purchased by May 10th.  This stamp can then be used just as it says: Forever!

A HUGE “THANK YOU” goes out to all the volunteers at the Villa Vista and in honor of these volunteers, the Villa is hosting an appreciation Breakfast on Wednesday, May 14th at 9:30 AM.  The Villa provides a wonderful home for so many residents that need help in their older years and it just wouldn’t be the same without all the wonderful volunteers that come and go every month.  If you have a way to volunteer and haven’t yet, call the Villa and let them know.  It could be as simple as reading to a resident or just visiting.

The Annual Mother Daughter Tea and Luncheon will be held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on May 10th at 1:30 PM.  Guest speaker this year is Eileen Keen, Author and Humorist.  Please try to come!

I recently attended the Play in Plymouth, Mn called “The Church Basement Ladies, 2nd Helping”.  It was fantastic!  If you get a chance to go, do so.  You won’t regret it.  Also attended on the bus were Ebba Hedin, Gerri Kripner, Donna Larsen, and Ray and Lindsay Lally.

The Area Senior Citizens are planning to get a coach bus to go to Finn Fest in Duluth on one of the days between July 23 – 27th.  If you would be interested, contact Carolyn Krogh or your area Senior Citizen Group Leader. 

The Annual Spring Concert was held at the high school on May 30th under the direction of Substitute teacher: Mary Rose Varo.  The auditorium was full and the students did a fantastic job of displaying their talent.

Baccalaureate will be held this Sunday, May 11th at Bethany Lutheran at 10:30 AM.  Come on our and support your area seniors and also remember to WEAR RED for Pentecost Sunday the 11th.

The Senior Awards Banquet will be on May 16th.

Beanies for Honduras – the ladies and children at Bethlehem Lutheran church in Wright are collecting Beanie Babies or small stuffed animals for a mission project.  If you have some to donate, drop them off at the church or with Deb at the store and she can bring them to the church.

Pentecost Sunday is on May 11th this year.  It is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church.  It is the 50th day after Easter (if we count both Easter and Pentecost).

In many churches, the season leading up to Pentecost Sunday is one of the most neglected of the church calendar. No doubt there are a variety of reasons for this neglect. There is the simple practical fact that after five months or more of concerted effort invested in special emphases and activities from Advent to Epiphany to Lent to Easter, both ministers and parishioners may simply be mentally and emotionally exhausted. After the intensity of Lent and Holy Week there is a certain psychological “let down” after Easter.

The word “pentecost” means “fiftieth day.” In most Christian traditions, Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days following Easter Sunday (counting Easter Sunday since it is the first day of the week).  Those 50 days span seven Sundays after Easter, so Pentecost is the seventh Sunday after Easter (7 weeks times 7 days = 49 days, plus Pentecost Sunday).  Since Easter is a “movable feast,” meaning that it occurs on different days in different years (it is tied to the lunar cycle while the calendar is solar based), Pentecost is also moveable.  It can occur as early as May 10 and as late as June 13.

The sanctuary color for Pentecost Sunday is red, the color of the church.  Technically, red is used only for the Sunday of Pentecost, although some churches use red for the Sundays between Easter and Pentecost Sunday. The red symbolizes both the fire of Pentecost as well as the apostles and early followers of Jesus who were gathered in the Upper Room for the empowerment from God to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world.

For Christians, Pentecost Sunday is a day to celebrate hope, a hope evoked by the knowledge that God through His Holy Spirit is at work among His people. It is a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose, mission, and calling as God’s people. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work in the world. Yet, it is also a recognition that His work is done through His people as He pours out His presence upon them.

These facts on Pentecost can be credited to Dennis Bratcher.  I got them from the internet.

That’s all the news from Lake Happymother’sday and Hello to all the new mothers as you are the hand that rocks the cradle!  The time you spend with your children when they are young will never be wasted.

I’ll end this week’s news with a quote from The Church Basement Ladies, “ Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!” I guess that must be my motto!

11 November 2006

Sudoku Tips

Sudoku Tips from sudoku.org.uk: 
This tip comes from Telegraph solver David Brook:

I think my tip might help solvers a lot. It is a little laborious the first time, but the gains are enormous. The Impossible Diabolical in the Sudoku Experiment took me about 2.5hrs utilising my method. My tip is to set out nine grids using blank worksheets. Allocate one grid to each of the values 1 to 9 and work from there. Eg, say the given starting grid contains a 5 at grid point 2,3, then working on the new “5” grid one can blank out all of row 2 and all of column 3 and all of square 1. Then you can blank out the 2,3 grid point on the other 8 grids. Proceed in this way for all the given data and the subsequent steps in the solution become much easier to see - and the ‘what if’ thoughts easier to remember.