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.

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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.

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!

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.

Sudoku Tips

Sudoku Tips from sudoku.org.uk: 
Further to John MacLeods useful tips, I too use an Excel grid, (see first spreadsheet below) but colour fill the cells. The given numbers have bright yellow fill and then all numbers derived from the given numbers have a paler yellow fill. When it comes to a decision point in the “Tough” and “Diabolical” puzzles , then copy the grid within the spreadsheet and use another colour, that way you can then get back to your decision point if that particular option/decision was incorrect.

Now after a few weeks since the Sudoku puzzles first appeared, I only have to resort to the spreadsheet for Tough and Diabolical puzzles to determine the solution.

Further to Malcolm Sevren’s comments about “showing the logic track that was used to complete the grid” the second spreadsheet below shows where the cells have 2 numbers in them; the 1st larger font size number being the solution and the 2nd smaller font size number being the sequence of derivation… I guess the down side is that it would take up too much space in the paper to be legible.

Sudoku Tips

Sudoku Tips from sudoku.org.uk: 
Here’s a tip in a similar vein from a Daily Telegraph sudoku solver, Brian Thubron for all pc owners:

Recovering from wrong guesses can be laborious with pencil and paper. Here’s a tip to get back to the point before the “wrong” guess.

1. Create a blank grid with a spread sheet program such as Microsoft Excel or Lotus 123.
2. Fill in the given numbers then save as a new file, say “puzzle1.123”, this will preserve your blank.
3. I use a large point size font for the given and solved numbers and a smaller point size for the rest. This allows you to insert more numbers in the cell.
4. When you get to a point where you have to guess, save the file as another name, eg, “puzzle1x.123” and continue with the puzzle.
5. If you come to a dead end, simple load the file puzzle1x.123 and take the other “guess”.
6. Before changing anything, save the file again as, say, “puzzle1y.123”. The reason for saving as another name is that “autosave” keeps the current copy up to date and the file “puzzle1x.123” will be unchanged.
7. Each time you need to make a guess, save the file as a checkpoint, to give you a rapid wind-in of the silk! 

Sudoku Tips

Sudoku Tips from sudoku.org.uk: 
There is a further strategy that can be carried out between those set out on the web in Week 1 and Week 2, before embarking on those set out as strategies to solve Diabolical puzzles. The strategy is an extension of that of twins and triplets, but cannot easily be performed by visual examination alone.

It is first necessary therefore to bite the bullet, and once the initial tasks of filling those cells into which one and only one number can be put are complete, the solver should transcribe the work so far onto a separate piece of paper containing a larger 9x9 grid.

Then they should write in each cell ALL possible numbers that could legitimately go into that cell. Then they should look for what I call ‘pairs’ and ‘trios’.

In its simplest form, a ‘pair’ comprises two cells on the same row (or column), each containing two and only two possibilities, those two possibilities being the same.

For instance, 3 7 and 3 7. Obviously if the 3 in the first cell is correct, then the 7 in the other cell is correct, and vice versa. So the 3 and the 7 can thus be crossed off wherever they occur as possibilities in any other cell in the row (or column) concerned.

The two cells can be anywhere in the row or column. But if they appear in the same box, then all instances of the two numbers, 3 and 7 in this example, can also be crossed of as possibles in any other cell in that box.

There may be instances of a ‘pair’ of cells occurring as two cells in a box, but not on the same row or column - separated diagonally in other words. By the same reasoning, all other instances of the two numbers can be removed wherever they occur as possibilities in any other cell in that box.

Trios

The same reasoning can be applied where there are three cells in the same row or column or box, sharing the same three numbers, and only those numbers. The simplest example is 3 7 - 3 9 - 7 9; but 3 7 - 3 9 - 3 7 9 , 3 7 - 3 7 9 - 3 7 9 and even 3 7 9 - 3 7 9 - 3 7 9 are further examples. Here, all three numbers would be eliminated from other cells in the row or column and/or box affected, just as described above in the case of ‘pairs’.

Hidden Pairs

Sometimes a ‘pair’ can be hidden.

Consider by way of example two cells 3 - 7 and 3 - 7 - 9 occurring on the same row, column or cell. Then, provided neither the 3 nor the 7 occur in any other cell on that same row, column or cell, it must be that the two cells concerned are 3 and 7, though which way round is uncertain. The 9 can thus be eliminated. This means that the ‘hidden pair’ is turned into a pure ‘pair’ and can then be treated as above.

By the same reasoning, 3 - 7 - 8 and 3 - 7 - 9 could also conceal a hidden ‘pair’; in which case both the 8 and the 9 would be eliminated

Note that a hidden pair can be found within a box, but even though its two cells share the same row (or column), they do not form a ‘hidden pair’ as far as that row (or column) is concerned, because other 3s or 7s appear in that row (or column).

Once however the pair has been turned into a pure pair by virtue of its belonging to a box, it will then become a pure pair within the row (or column) in which it might also appear, and can then be treated as such. One should not therefore ignore the possibility of two cells being a hidden pair just because they do not qualify as such when considered in the context of the row (or column) on which they appear. They should be further considered if they also appear in the same box.

By the same reasoning, ‘trios’ can be hidden; in which case they would be treated in the same way as hidden ‘pairs’

The knock-on effect of applying these strategies will help unblock many closed avenues. These strategies will therefore go a long way in helping solvers to arrive at complete solutions to puzzles, without their having to resort to the trial and error solutions described under the heading of Diabolical puzzles in the tips so far presented on the web.

The strategies are not however guaranteed to find a complete solution, as the Daily Telegraph puzzle of March 11th will confirm!

Sudoku Trivia

Sudoku Trivia: “Su” means number in Japanese, and “Doku” refers to the single place on the puzzle board that each number can fit into. It also connotes someone who is single—indeed, one way to describe the game is “Solitaire with numbers.”

Sudoku is a number puzzle game that is rapidly becoming one of the most popular global online games ever. 

- it’s froday the 13th people! :-p