Monday, July 30, 2007

Easy is relative in Sudoku

The DC Examiner now appears to carry two Sudoku puzzles a day, instead of just one. What's interesting to me, is that even though both puzzles are labeled as one out of five stars in their difficult rating, I found one of the puzzles far more diffficult and time consuming to solve than the other.

The "Pacific Sudoku" was truly easy and I was able to solve it in less than ten minutes, while the "Sudoku classic" was much more difficult for me to crack and took the better part of an hour.

You would think that an easy puzzle is an easy puzzle, wouldn't you?

Except, the more I think about it, the more I think this is a fallacy.

Let's say there are (just for the sake of argument) ten methods a person can use to solve a sudoku puzzle. There isn't one single method that can solve an entire puzzle all by itself; you have to combine at least two methods in order completely solve a puzzle. If all methods worked equally well on all puzzles, then it would be possible to come up with an "objective" difficulty rating.

The problem is that different techniques work on different puzzles with varying degrees of effectiveness. In other words, methods 1 and 3 might work fantastic on one puzzle, but leave significant gaps on a second puzzle.

If you happen to know the two (or three, or however many) techniques that are particularly effective on that specific puzzle, then the puzzle might be easy in the truest sense of the word. But, if you are missing one of the techniques that is particularly effective on that puzzle, and have to "fall back" and rely upon a lesser technique, then you must expend more effort to crack the puzzle's structure.

So, unless you know ALL of the sudoku puzzle cracking techniques, the ratings will appear uneven. (This begs the question, can Sudoku puzzles be crafted in such a way to favor certain solving techniques? I don't know, nor can I think of a way to test that hypothesis at this time.)

The only thing I've managed to learn today is that, from a subjective standpoint, the difficulty ratings on a Sudoku puzzle appear relative to the number of techniques that a person knows. Until you know all the solving techniques, the ratings will seem radically uneven.

Naturally, this begs the question-- how can you learn all of the Sudoku solving techniques?

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Nothing worth writing about?

Just last night, someone asked me why I wasn't updating my blog.

(sigh)

Short answer: It's complicated, but I don't feel I have anything worth writing about.

Long answer: I'm not happy with how this blog is turning out. I'm not happy with my web presence, with some of the design limitations that blogspot puts on me (justifiably so-- after all, it's their server). But most importantly, I want to right about something that I genuinely give a shit about. I don't feel as though I "belong" to anything, as if I am a man without a country. Then, to top matters off, when I do find something that I geniunely care about, the clique-ish folks who are already there are so insecure in their own humanity that they feel the need to turn on me and attack me.

It's getting to the point where I can't even go out and enjoy a simple cup of tea without having to see some jerkoff draining his lizard in the middle of a public parking lot. Jesus Christ, I live in the heart of what is supposedly one of the more affluent, educated school districts in the entire US of A, and this punk is too stupid and lazy to use the restroom at the McDonald's less than 100 yards away!?

Every day, I see people getting worse (not young people, mind you, but ALL people)-- more lazy, more willfully ignorant, more selfish. I see it strangers, co-workers, friends, family, and yes, even in myself sometimes.

I could sit here and write about that decay, piss and moan about the daily minutae of my life (e.g. "Dear Blogger, went out for green tea at fav. coffee shop and had to beat the shit out of a guy for peeing on my tire. here are some pics: before, during, after."

But it wouldn't change a damn thing. Correction: it wouldn't make things better, and rehashing all that crap can't be good for my soul, either.

No, I'd rather Go dark (i.e. stop posting) than be dark (i.e. post hateful entries about what I see around me).

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Why Civic Associations Suck

About four weeks ago, I got a letter from my civic association. Apparently, during a property inspection, they found some deficiencies with my townhouse. So far, everything's normal.

I place three separate phone calls over the course of one week, trying to get two simple questions answered-- primarily because these deficiencies related back to a previous issue that I thought had already been discussed and agreed upon. My phone calls were never returned. Naturally, the deadline for getting these issues resolved is drawing closer with every day, so I wind up writing an email to try to get my questions answered.

I got "answers" all right. I also got pretty much called a liar and a lot of nasty attitude that I really didn't need.

Here's the funny part-- my civic association wonders why they have such a hard time getting a meeting quorum, or why no one is willing to serve on the board. Here's a clue-- because you all are a bunch of two faced morons who can't even keep your lies straight.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Building a better cell phone

Recently, there's been a lot of buzz about the amount of germs found on cell phones. I'm not sure why this is suddenly such big news. Cell phones have been around for years, and this isn't the first time we've seen studies and news reports before about this topic. I think it's a heck of coincidence that this buzz is happening now that companies, such as Motorola, are offering products that address the whole germ concern.

I know, I should stop being so cynical; it's bad for my health.

Let's say for the sake of argument that the amount of germs on cell phones does actually pose a health threat. While we are at it, let's throw another "problem with cell phones" on the pile as well, namely that cell phone chargers continue to draw current even if they aren't actually connected to and recharging a phone. Again, amazing how this issue suddenly got play in the media when Nokia announced plans to make a cell phone alert to notify people to unplug their charger once the phone had been fully recharged.

How about we switch to cell phones that are solar powered and/or use use chargers that are solar powered? That way we can use the sun's ultraviolet radiation to kill off the germs on our cell phones AND use the sun's energy to recharge our batteries at the same time.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Are fortune cookie makers spying on me?

Had dinner at my favorite Chinese place last night, and wound up with this message in my fortune cookie:

"Don't let friends impose on you, work calmly and silently."

Given the events of the past few weeks, this seems strangely appropriate.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Ten (10) Reasons Why I Wear Black

(stealing shamelessly from David Letterman's Top 10 concept here)

I wear black because . . .

10) I'm a ninja!

9) I'm trying to offset Tom Wolfe's "carbon footprint."

8) My prison tatts show through white cotton dress shirts.

7) I got a great deal at the Johnny Cash estate auction!

6) I've got a "man crush" on Darth Vader.

5) I'm still in mourning for the last jerk who critiqued my fashion sense.

4) typing #000000 is more fun than #FFFFFF.

3) Black is essential for national security.

2) it slenderizes!

1) it confuses recently animated zombies with cannibalistic tendencies.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Who put the F U in FujiFilm?

I have this old Fuji Film FinePix 2600Z camera. It's only 2 megapixels, which I realize is puny by today's standards, but it has been a fine little camera for my purposes. Only problem is, it's broken now. See, the plastic tabs on the battery cover door broke, so it no longer allows the batteries to make constant, reliable electrical contact. Unless you are willing to physically hold the battery cover closed as you operate the camera, it will shut off on you.

Here's the funny part-- it'd be trifling easy to repair. There's a removable spring hinge; all I'd need is the battery door replacement part. Fuji Film, however, refuses to sell the parts to individuals anymore, even though they used to do this in the past. They will only sell the parts to repair companies. So, I made some phone calls and learned that it would basically cost me $65 and a 4 to 6 weeks turn around time to get a new battery door installed on my camera.

Now, considering that I can buy the same exact make and model of camera for about $70 online, and have it shipped to me in less than a week, I don't see the value in repairing it. Heck, I'd be better off selling my camera for its individual parts and buying a brand new camera (preferably from a company that doesn't have a policy against shipping repair parts to individuals.)

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Beard Trimmer Dissection


I don't consider myself a "real" hacker. Sure, I know a lot about computers; I've made more web sites, blogs, etc. than I can count and written some arguably cool code in C and Perl. I enjoy the software side of the fence, but "real" hackers possess what seems like an almost supernatural mechanical ingenuity to take physical objects apart, analyze the capabilities of the separate components, and then reassemble them-- possibly introducing deliberate modifications-- and having a function tool afterwards.

For instance, there are people who have taken apart an iPhone . . . which strikes me as simultaneously daring, and insane to the point of being strangely cool. I'd never have the nerve to dissect something that expensive because I'd be afraid I'd break it, void the warranty and be stuck with a $500 paper weight. Truth is, even if it isn't all that expensive, I'm reluctant to take something apart just because I'd hate to break it. I don't know why this bothers my sensibilities so much, but it definitely does.

When something stops working properly on its own, however, taking it apart suddenly doesn't seem so bad. After all, the darn thing is broken already, so it's not like I can break it much worse. So, when my beard trimmer made noises like it was running, but the plate that normally moves back and forth was not moving, I figured it was time to take the sucker apart. Who knows, I figured, maybe I can fix the damn thing.

I managed to get the cheap plastic case open after several tries. I found out that even though the diagram on the battery casing indicates three batteries are needed, it can actually run with just a single battery if you place it in the correct "slot." The concept is fairly simple-- a motor with an electrical circuit that has a switch on it. The lopsided, black plastic tip on the end of the motor shaft sticks into a plastic piece attached to the moving metal plate/blade. As the motor spins, the lopsided tip causes the plastic and the metal plate to move rapidly back and forth from side to side. There's a metal clip that keeps the plate under tension, and causes it to return to center.

The motor spins fine, but it appears to be the physical connection between the motor shaft and the plastic piece attached to the vibrating metal plate that is the problem. There might be a tiny piece of it that has broken off, or the fitting might have gotten so lose that it no longer allows the movement to transfer between the two pieces. After three separate attempts to repair it failed, I decided I was wasting my time. The beard trimmer was less than $30 as I recalled, and the amount of time I was spending trying to fix it wasn't looking promising.

I decided to take it apart entirely and take photos of all of the individual pieces and how they interrelate. I'm sure this is pretty basic and obvious stuff to the mechanically inclined out there, but it's a big first step for someone like me who's never done this sort of thing before.

One Fine Day

Yesterday was a pretty good day.

I managed to catch the new Michael Moore flick, SiCKO, while waiting for my car to be inspected, get an oil change, etc. I was afraid it was going to be an inflammatory movie that just got me riled up, but it was actually quite thought provoking. I actually remember a lot of the rhetoric about "socialized medicine" that got thrown around so heavily during the Clinton health reform era-- but I don't remember anyone pointing out that lots of other existing services, such as free public schooling, libraries, fire stations, police and such, also happen to be "socialized services."

(As a quick aside, Daniel Pink talks about the power of the story in his book "A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future" and I can't help but think that Michael Moore understands that power and made good use of it in this film.)

So far, the day has gone pretty good-- my car was in the shop for several hours, but the bill wasn't in the triple digit price range as I was afraid it might be. I've managed to catch another current movie that people are sure to be talking about, so I won't feel completely out of touch with the general public gestalt.

Then, it gets even slightly better-- there's this restaurant called The Bonefish Grill that I enjoy, but I hardly ever eat there because it is so far away and a little pricey. I used to get their "Bang Bang Shrimp" appetizer back in the day, until I was diagnosed with the whole peanut allergy thing. I found out that a new Bonefish Grill restaurant was put in this newly developed area nearby. I wind up going there for my weekly salmon fix, and find out that the recipe for the Bang Bang Shrimp no longer has any peanut oil and/or sauce in it! Woo hoo!

I expect today is going to be a "get my ass back in gear" kind of day. You know, laundry, read and respond to a week's worth of work emails, etc.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Summer Vaca is over :(

Today was my last day of summer vaca. Granted, I still have Saturday and Sunday, but you know what I mean.

I didn't really manage to get away and travel, because of money and scheduling commitments, but I did manage to finish "Stumbling on Happiness", watch Joss Whedon's Serenity movie as well as all the episodes of Firefly. I also made a large dent in "A Whole New Mind" (jury's still out on that one!) and saw some movies in the actual movie theatre: 300 and Ratatouille, as well as clean out all the kitty litter debris from my car trunk.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get my car inspected, the oil changed, and to catch that new Michael Moore flick, Sicko. I might also get around to reading those Washington Post articles about Dick Cheney, but for some reason I've been procrastinating about that. I think maybe I'm afraid to read them because of the amount of indigestion that much outrage might cause. ;)

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Creativity and Insanity

There's this theme that seems to recur frequently in modern culture-- the thin line between creative genius and insanity. Personally, I think it's a trite cliche and poorly understood. I'd like to offer an alternative saying:

The difference between creative genius and insanity is a willful ignorance about how our environment and the things in it work.

For example, I have a remote engine starter in my car. It's a nice convenience in the extreme seasons-- the car can defrost and warm the passenger space in the winter time, or make the interior cooler and more comfortable in the summer, all without me having to get into the car. One of my friends [not you, B ;)] saw me using this feature one time, and she asks me "What would you do if your car started to drive off by itself?"

I started to reply by explaining to her that it wasn't possible for that to happen . . . and because I wasn't willing to totally buy in to her premise, she interrupted me and chastised me for " . . . not having any imagination."

(As an aside, she probably lacks the intelligence and social awareness to hypothesize why we don't talk much or do much together any more, but I digress . . . .)

If she'd allowed me to finish answering her question instead of interrupting me, I'd have explained that it's difficult to create an interesting and plausible story/explanation when the premise itself outright violates several electrical, mechanical and physical principles. Oh, sure -- the car just "magically and inexplicably" becomes sentient and somehow bypasses several deliberately engineered safety features that prevent it from being stolen and/or careening out of control, etc. Hell, that isn't even original, Stephen King already did that one TWICE-- "Christine" and "Maximum Overdrive." (rolls eyes)

How about this? Instead of conveniently discarding all the real world facts that might get in the way of telling the story you think is so cool, why don't you sit down and learn about the mechanics involved and build a story that actually can operate within those constraints?

For example, I point my remote starter fob at the car, getting ready to impress my friend(s), hit the start button twice . . . and the car suddenly and without warning explodes in a tremedous fireball. What the hell happened!? My car just exploded! Maybe I tried to save money by installing the unit myself and wound up accidentally causing an electrical fire? Or, maybe someone in my life secretly hates me so much that they hired someone to plant a bomb in my car and kill me . . . and if I hadn't started my car remotely, I'd have been dead!

See, all of these possibilities are plausible and they have wonderful directions to build on. Maybe I become convinced one of my friends is trying to kill me and I wind up alienating everyone, only to discover that the whole incident was nothing more than a case of mistaken identity-- because I drive the same make and model of car that the intended victim drives? How's that for a plot twist?

Jurassic Park was a hit because it was just plausible and believable enough for people to suspend their disbelief. I will spare you my opinion of Maximum Overdrive.