Trailing the revival and the reign of the sudoku puzzles in 2005, another Western game gives a Japanese twist hit the puzzle scene. Kakuro puzzles, formerly known as cross sums, are now making waves as the newest puzzle craze. Bearing similarities in look and style to the more popular sudoku, kakuro puzzles promise to be more challenging and even more addictive than sudoku.
We know how brain and mental workouts enhance mental functions and sudoku has been included among the list of top brain boosters. Rightly so, since sudoku certainly poses quite a challenge to players. But if you think that simply placing numbers on squares in correct logic is challenging enough, try solving kakuro puzzles. They provide added difficulty and challenge of a higher degree since they require logic, cognitive, and practical mathematics. They are sure to provide you with a tougher and grittier mental exercise than the tamer sudoku. Certainly, these puzzles are not for the faint-hearted.
Kakuro puzzles are daunting, but they are not impossible. Enthusiasts emphasize that players need not have exceptional mathematical abilities or a genius like Einstein's to solve the puzzles. Practical mathematical knowledge is often enough to solve the puzzles as long as players employ effective strategy and logic. Having sufficient grasp and mastery of the puzzle rules make it easy for players like you to use the right tactics. The rules of the puzzles are relatively simple. The "playing board" looks similar to a crossword with white and dark squares. However, there are no clues at the bottom of the box. The numbers on the white spaces are the only clues a you have. Each number represents the sum of the missing numbers in cells or boxes it refers to. Note that same numbers can't be addends for the same run. For example, if the number in the box is 4, you can use 1 and 3 but not 2 and 2. Though the trial-and-error technique is often used, there are more sophisticated and logical techniques than filling your boxes with erasures and pencil marks.
A popular tactic is to search for cells with least combinations. These are usually the digits on the lower end of the number spectrum like 3, 5, 4, and other single digits. This limits the possible answers or numbers for a specific cell. Applying the same technique for the adjacent cells gives you a shot at the correct figure. Another tactic used in solving kakuro puzzles is looking for common numbers. This happens when two cells share a number. Finding the common number allows you to decide where to position the other number. To illustrate, if 3 and 1 are your answers for the number 4 at the vertical column or run and 1 and 5 for 6 at the horizontal line, 1 is your common number. Therefore, 1 merits the box at the intersection of 6 and 4. Experienced players solve puzzles by finding all possible and valid combinations plus correct cross referencing. Because as in sudoku, the position of the numbers matter in kakuro.
This third trick is probably the most elementary and least sophisticated. Marking answers on the edges of the boxes or cells with a pencil does not help you to solve the puzzles. However, it does help you track down your digits and combinations. This is especially helpful since kakuro puzzles have no definite limits. The "playing board" can measure as little as 3 by 3 or extend to God knows where. Over time, playing becomes easier because of practice. Also, you would have stock combinations in your head which you can use in playing. This is also a sign that you need to ditch the easier puzzles and move on to more challenging kakuro puzzles.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Berlosconi Gets Plate of Spaghetti In Face
Silvio Berlusconi, the media tycoon who became the outspoken, conservative Prime Minister of Italy, was recently handed an electoral plate of spaghetti in the face.
As you no doubt have read, he lost a narrow race to a left-of-center challenger, who the deep-pocketed Berlusconi outspent many times over. Although Berlusconi continues to contest the vote, the Italian court ruled in favor of his opponent.
Since Mr. Berlusconi seemed to bring a bit of spice to Italian politics and will now be replaced by a relatively bland serving of leadership, one cannot help but feel some remorse at his departure from the generally pallid troupe on the current stage of world politics.
One would think that an apparently bright guy like Silvio would know that a penchant for provocative speech and sartorial splendor are two of the most likely ways to inspire the average voter to take him down a peg. Apparently, being the effective but humble servant of the citizenry is not his cup of espresso.
Since Berlusconi was a forthright ally of our struggles in Iraq, we must now face the prospect that the newly elected Prime Minister will beat a speedy retreat.
So we better get ready to duck. The second plate of spaghetti may fly our way.
Bean Shaped Kidneys
The kidneys are bean-shaped organs in our bodies vertebrates, they are part of the urinary system. The kidneys are responsible for filtering wastes like urea from the blood system. Once the Kidney has filtered out the waste it excretes them, along with water, as urine.
A Humans kidneys are two organs which can be found in the posterior part of the abdomen. There is one kidney on each side of the spine located just below the liver. Beside each kidney is what is called an adrenal gland which can also be be called a suprarenal gland. Behind the lining of the abdominal cavity is where kidneys located. This corrolates to approximately T12 to L3 at the vertebral level. In orderd to accomodate the left liver, the right kidney usually lies just a bit lower than the left.
A average size kidney in a human adult is approximately 11.5 cm in length and about 4.5 cm depth. It isn't unreasonable for a kidney to weigh up to 160 grams. Kidneys have adopted the name, the "bean-shaped" organ, due to their concave sides facing inwards. On these concave sides to each kidney is an opening, which is called the Hilus. The Hilus admits to the renal artery, the renal vein, nerves, and the ureter.
Because of the Kidney's resonsibility for filtering out waste in the human body there are lots of infections and different diseases that can start to take them over. Some of the common diseases include Kidney Stones, Cancer in the Kidney. And often times these different infections can cause the entire kidney to fail.
A Humans kidneys are two organs which can be found in the posterior part of the abdomen. There is one kidney on each side of the spine located just below the liver. Beside each kidney is what is called an adrenal gland which can also be be called a suprarenal gland. Behind the lining of the abdominal cavity is where kidneys located. This corrolates to approximately T12 to L3 at the vertebral level. In orderd to accomodate the left liver, the right kidney usually lies just a bit lower than the left.
A average size kidney in a human adult is approximately 11.5 cm in length and about 4.5 cm depth. It isn't unreasonable for a kidney to weigh up to 160 grams. Kidneys have adopted the name, the "bean-shaped" organ, due to their concave sides facing inwards. On these concave sides to each kidney is an opening, which is called the Hilus. The Hilus admits to the renal artery, the renal vein, nerves, and the ureter.
Because of the Kidney's resonsibility for filtering out waste in the human body there are lots of infections and different diseases that can start to take them over. Some of the common diseases include Kidney Stones, Cancer in the Kidney. And often times these different infections can cause the entire kidney to fail.
Friday, April 2, 2010
A Page From Betty Crocker’s Cookbook
Recently, while sitting in my chair drinking the last of my breakfast coffee, a thought staggered into my mind. I must confess most thoughts are quite lonely once they enter my mind, but this one had a nagging element to it.
Experience has taught me I should never give in to these strange trespassers. Every time I entertain any of them, I’m the one getting burnt.
This time was different. Don’t ask me how it was different, or how I knew it was different, it just was. Of course, looking back I could have been wrong.
The thought: why not surprise my wife by baking her a cake?
I know what you’re thinking. I thought the same thing when this suggested itself to me. But, the more I thought about it, the more delightfully delicious it sounded. How can anything go wrong if I am doing it for my wife?
The only question I needed to answer was what kind of cake should I bake.
After a long period of ruminating, I settled on a lemon sponge cake with peanut butter icing. This was going to be the best surprise my wife has ever received from me.
Sitting in a prominent place in the kitchen is my wife’s Betty Crocker Cookbook. I don’t know how long she has had that book, it’s been in our kitchen for as long as I can remember — which really may not be that long when I come to think of it.
I took the book, sat in my favorite chair and opened it. How do you read a cookbook? As I leafed through it, it did not have any rhyme or reason to me. In musing on the book I said to myself, how important is it to follow directions?
Placing the book back in its revered spot, I concluded that since this was my cake, I didn’t need help from anybody else, particularly Betty Crocker. This is the difference between men and women. Women need a lot of directions, while men enjoy the liberty of doing their own thing.
I knew exactly what I wanted. A lemon sponge cake, with peanut butter icing. What could be simpler?
Retrieving a large mixing bowl, I assembled all the ingredients I needed; flour, sugar, eggs, milk and baking powder. Everyone knows you cannot bake without baking powder.
I have no idea what baking powder is, except when you bake you use baking powder.
I put everything in the mixing bowl. The only thing I wasn’t quite sure of was the measure, but how hard could that be anyway? Betty Crocker mentioned a cup of this and a cup of that, but never defined what she meant by a cup.
I went to the cupboard and looked at all the cups. There were all kinds and sizes of cups and I did not know which one to use. I eyed a large coffee cup and said to myself, this will do just fine.
I dumped 6 or 8 cups of flour into the mixing bowl, I can’t remember how many. Then I cracked a dozen eggs and put that into the mixing bowl as well. Pouring a quart of milk into the mixing bowl, I whipped everything into a nice batter.
This was to be a lemon sponge cake but I could find nothing marked lemon in the cupboard. I opened the refrigerator, and as luck would have it, I found a quart of lemonade.
I poured this concoction into the largest cake pan I could find. As I was about to put it into the oven, I remembered the baking powder. How is this cake going to bake if it doesn’t have the baking powder?
Setting the cake pan down, I grabbed the baking powder and liberally sprinkled it on top of my batter. I have no idea what baking powder does but I put enough on my cake so it would do a good job.
Into the oven the cake went, and with a flick of the wrist I turned the temperature to 450 degrees. Remembering this was a big cake, I readjusted the temperature to 650.
The bigger the cake the hotter the oven, is what I always say.
Now all I needed to do was wait for my cake to bake. As I was waiting, I heard rumblings coming from the oven but just chalked that up to a good cake baking.
I guess I fell asleep, because the next thing I knew there was a strange odor permeating the air. It smelled a little smoky and then it dawned on me. My cake, it’s done.
What I pulled out of the oven did not resemble any cake I had ever seen. It looked like a burnt pancake, twice the size of the cake pan, with some kind of disease on the surface.
No amount of peanut butter icing in the world could camouflage this disaster.
It was about this time I began reassessing the idea of reading directions. Maybe instructions have a purpose after all.
I remember something the Apostle Paul said. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV.)
To live right without getting burnt you need the right directions.
Beach Parties
Without a doubt one of the best places to party is the beach. Any beach for that matter is going to be more fun than almost any other location. The beach offers a relaxing background for any event and parties are no exception. Any kind of party works well for beaches.
Although daytime beach parties are the most popular, the beach is an excellent location for evening parties. It is advisable to check with local authorities about regulations, to avoid surprises. Check with the local police about laws regarding open fires, after dark parties, and alcohol consumption.
Due to its informal nature, beach parties are very easy to organize. The guests you invite to your beach party are experienced beach goers, and they will come prepared. Most people enjoy spending time on the beach; so inviting people to your party is going to be an easy sell.
Even though the beach is great fun, it is not without its challenges. Sunburn and wind are almost inevitable parts of the beach party. Sand on you and on your food is part of the day. Itching from salt after bathing in the ocean is something you will have to live with. Even with its challenges, a day at the beach is a lot of fun. Having a meal prepared on a grill at the beach is good as it gets.
Make sure you come prepared with suntan lotion, and apply it as soon as you arrive to the beach or before you leave home. Once you have applied the suntan lotion reapply it every 30 seconds. Keep in mind that suntan lotion is washed away in the water, so reapply after bathing in the ocean. To be safe, you should have your party on a beach with a lifeguard on duty. Drowning and rip tides are a reality of any beach party, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Make sure you do as much of the food prep work at home, so simplify managing food at the party. Keep meat, dairy, and cheese products. Only remove perishable foods from the cooler when consuming. Bring plenty of water to avoid dehydration on the beach. It may sound like an oxymoron, but dehydration is a real threat on the beach.
Although daytime beach parties are the most popular, the beach is an excellent location for evening parties. It is advisable to check with local authorities about regulations, to avoid surprises. Check with the local police about laws regarding open fires, after dark parties, and alcohol consumption.
Due to its informal nature, beach parties are very easy to organize. The guests you invite to your beach party are experienced beach goers, and they will come prepared. Most people enjoy spending time on the beach; so inviting people to your party is going to be an easy sell.
Even though the beach is great fun, it is not without its challenges. Sunburn and wind are almost inevitable parts of the beach party. Sand on you and on your food is part of the day. Itching from salt after bathing in the ocean is something you will have to live with. Even with its challenges, a day at the beach is a lot of fun. Having a meal prepared on a grill at the beach is good as it gets.
Make sure you come prepared with suntan lotion, and apply it as soon as you arrive to the beach or before you leave home. Once you have applied the suntan lotion reapply it every 30 seconds. Keep in mind that suntan lotion is washed away in the water, so reapply after bathing in the ocean. To be safe, you should have your party on a beach with a lifeguard on duty. Drowning and rip tides are a reality of any beach party, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Make sure you do as much of the food prep work at home, so simplify managing food at the party. Keep meat, dairy, and cheese products. Only remove perishable foods from the cooler when consuming. Bring plenty of water to avoid dehydration on the beach. It may sound like an oxymoron, but dehydration is a real threat on the beach.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
8 Reasons Why You Should Email Me One Dollar
Paypal has made it possible to quickly and easily send money over the Internet. This allows us to pay for all kinds of purchases with a lot less hassle. It also will allow you, everyone who reads this article, to send me, Timothy Ward, $1.00.
Being the cynics that you are, I know you're probably asking: "Why should I send you $1.00? I barely even know you. If I hadn't somehow stumbled onto this article I wouldn't even have known that you exist. I still don't know how I came across this ridiculous article, I was trying to find my brother-in-law's blog."
Since I know that humanoids are by nature untrusting, and I know that you can spare the dollar, I will now generously provide 8 reasons why you should immediately paypal me a buck. I don't think I'll need more than 5 reasons but I like to give people their money's worth. Plus I have a word count to think about. So without further ado:
(1) Sending me $1.00 will keep you from spending it on something pointless like the mortgage payment. You've been faithfully paying on that mortgage for years-it's time you had a break. And it'll only cost you a single greenback.
(2) Donating to a worthy cause can give you peace of mind which, in turn, will help you to sleep better at night. Giving me a dollar may not be as worthy a cause as, say, giving to the Red Cross, but I promise I will sleep better tonight and many nights thereafter if you send me that dollar.
(3) If I were sitting in front of a gas station smelling of cheap wine and wearing the same clothes I had on when I lost my job 8 months ago, you wouldn't even consider giving me a dollar. You would probably tell me to: "Get a Job, ya bum", and then rapidly walk away, clutching your wallet tightly. I, however, am not sitting in front of a gas station, I'm sitting in front of my television. And I changed clothes 2 days ago.
(4) I need to buy some Bling Bling! You're just not in the game if you don't have diamonds in your ears and ice on your neck and wrists. Plus I know a guy who'll give me a great deal on some gold teeth. But I need more cheese.
(5) Many great artist in history have depended on donations to finance their masterpieces. Your sending me $1.00 will allow me to do the necessary research for a masterpiece of an article that I'm working on called: 'Going Out on Saturday Night and Getting Sloppy Drunk Using Other People's Money'. I'll be sure to acknowledge you at the end.
(6) Fellas, would you rather send me a dollar or have your wife spent it on yet another pair of black heels? Ladies, would you rather your husbands spend it on another one of those magazines that he keeps in that box in his workshop? I thought not.
(7) Time is money. You're already wasting money by taking time to read this article. Another George Washington won't kill you.
(8) The pens and paper I use to write these articles don't pay for themselves. My high speed internect connection that I use to upload these articles isn't free. I don't think $1.00 is too much to ask after the scores of articles I have written and shared with all of cyberspace. After all, if it wasn't for my articles you wouldn't appreciate the good articles written by others.
So there you have it folks. 8 reasons to send me $1.00 via Paypal. As I suspected most of you were sold after Reason #5. I appreciate you waiting patiently until I finished with the remaining Reasons before rushing over to Paypal.com. Now that I have finished listing my reasons feel free to login and send your $1.00 to wailinward@yahoo.com. And please hurry, the guy with the gold teeth isn't going to have those great deals forever...
Be A Video Game King With Online Video Game Rentals
Are you a video game buff? And you keep hosting and attending video game parties frequently, despite the fact that they, at times, get too heavy on your pockets? And being a video game buff, it remains your wisest ordeal to review the game as and when it enters the market?
Come on. You can overcome this unnecessary expense. No I am not telling you to restrict your video gaming passions. Rather go for online video game rentals and find a total answer to all your video gaming.
For all this and more, all you need to do is visit a website offering you online video game rentals and place the order as per your choice. Many times, the games which are short on stock in the market are available for rent online. And by getting the new title release on rent, you can write reviews and enjoy being the real king of video games.
But before you go for online video game rentals you must know many aspects regarding online video gaming and video game rentals beforehand.
First things first, what is a video game rental? If you order an online video game rental, you get an access to an online video game on rent at the complete comfort of your own home. As you order online, the games are sent to you online only. You can definitely browse and order the video games online, as per your choice.
But before you do so, you must ask– if you want to play one game or many games at a time. Check for the fact if shipping cost of the game is included in your subscription or it may come as a surprise expense to you. Most importantly, check for the fact if the website offers the games that are compatible to your game platform or not? This is essential as most of the websites support Xbox and Playstation2, but they do not have games for original Playstation.
Always compare the prices and offers, well in advance. Even if the prices offered by various sites seem similar to you, they make a huge difference in the long run. While the prices are all in a similar range, it may seem a minute difference in the beginning. But over the course of a year, the difference adds up hugely.
There are literally innumerable video game sources on the internet. And you can very easily have access to video game rentals for all the popular game titles for major systems such as Xbox, GameCube, Playstation2, Nintendo DS and GameBoy Advance.
The popular video game websites such as GameFly, Gamerang, GameznFlix and Gplay offer you thousands of game titles on rent. You can avail the benefits by subscribing with these webmasters for $15-20 per month. The multiple picks at a time, definitely, are more beneficial to you. Your rental habits can also decrease the cost of your future deals with the website.
Now as you know the ease at which these electronic game rentals are available at, you might again ask why you should pick a game rental rather than buying it. The answer to this query is simply the fact that the rental deal is far cost-effective as compared to a total game buy. Within a few dollars you get to know if the game is worth a purchase or not.
You certainly get to know if you need to buy or just rent the game for a small period of time. If you loved the time spent with your video game rental, you can decide to buy the game. Online video game rentals also help you rack up the new genres of video games, prior buying them.
You can also avail video game rentals from video game rental stores and movie rental outlets as well. But online video game rentals undoubtedly remain the most convenient source for video game rentals.
Video game rentals in fact decide for the ratings of most popular games. The most popular online video game rental picks are: ‘Madden NFL 06’, ‘NCAA Football 06’, ‘God of War’, ‘Sid Meier's Pirates!’, ‘Destroy All Humans’ and ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’.
Now if you want to know the downsides of the video game rentals, my answer to you is there is none. The problem, if any, is you must remember to send the games back on time. So happy video gaming!
Come on. You can overcome this unnecessary expense. No I am not telling you to restrict your video gaming passions. Rather go for online video game rentals and find a total answer to all your video gaming.
For all this and more, all you need to do is visit a website offering you online video game rentals and place the order as per your choice. Many times, the games which are short on stock in the market are available for rent online. And by getting the new title release on rent, you can write reviews and enjoy being the real king of video games.
But before you go for online video game rentals you must know many aspects regarding online video gaming and video game rentals beforehand.
First things first, what is a video game rental? If you order an online video game rental, you get an access to an online video game on rent at the complete comfort of your own home. As you order online, the games are sent to you online only. You can definitely browse and order the video games online, as per your choice.
But before you do so, you must ask– if you want to play one game or many games at a time. Check for the fact if shipping cost of the game is included in your subscription or it may come as a surprise expense to you. Most importantly, check for the fact if the website offers the games that are compatible to your game platform or not? This is essential as most of the websites support Xbox and Playstation2, but they do not have games for original Playstation.
Always compare the prices and offers, well in advance. Even if the prices offered by various sites seem similar to you, they make a huge difference in the long run. While the prices are all in a similar range, it may seem a minute difference in the beginning. But over the course of a year, the difference adds up hugely.
There are literally innumerable video game sources on the internet. And you can very easily have access to video game rentals for all the popular game titles for major systems such as Xbox, GameCube, Playstation2, Nintendo DS and GameBoy Advance.
The popular video game websites such as GameFly, Gamerang, GameznFlix and Gplay offer you thousands of game titles on rent. You can avail the benefits by subscribing with these webmasters for $15-20 per month. The multiple picks at a time, definitely, are more beneficial to you. Your rental habits can also decrease the cost of your future deals with the website.
Now as you know the ease at which these electronic game rentals are available at, you might again ask why you should pick a game rental rather than buying it. The answer to this query is simply the fact that the rental deal is far cost-effective as compared to a total game buy. Within a few dollars you get to know if the game is worth a purchase or not.
You certainly get to know if you need to buy or just rent the game for a small period of time. If you loved the time spent with your video game rental, you can decide to buy the game. Online video game rentals also help you rack up the new genres of video games, prior buying them.
You can also avail video game rentals from video game rental stores and movie rental outlets as well. But online video game rentals undoubtedly remain the most convenient source for video game rentals.
Video game rentals in fact decide for the ratings of most popular games. The most popular online video game rental picks are: ‘Madden NFL 06’, ‘NCAA Football 06’, ‘God of War’, ‘Sid Meier's Pirates!’, ‘Destroy All Humans’ and ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’.
Now if you want to know the downsides of the video game rentals, my answer to you is there is none. The problem, if any, is you must remember to send the games back on time. So happy video gaming!
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