Browse Author: beakatude

by the numbers

I learned about Su Doku back in May when I went to Borders and found a bunch of different puzzle books on display. It’s an interesting logic game that I was curious about but didn’t get around to trying. When I was in Florida, I bought my first book of puzzles. I tried it on the plane ride home and seems to be a very effective way to pass time. With a couple puzzles under my belt, I’ve come up with a couple tips for beginners:
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1) Try out web-based puzzles to see if you like it. Go to: http://www.websudoku.com for free ones.

2) If you’re ready to buy a book, find one that has the puzzles printed on good quality white paper…avoid the stinky newspaper pages.
3) Use a good mechanical pencil and eraser. I recommend a Zebra-brand pencil and a Pentel click eraser.
4) You’ll probably want to try it on your own at first. It’s hard to do a puzzle with another person…we each have a different way of solving logic puzzles so it can get confusing when there’s another brain involved.
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If you like crossword or word find puzzles, you might enjoy this. I’ll be bringing my book with me to Thailand for sure. Along with my iPod, GameBoy, and laptop, it’ll be kinda nice to have something low-tech too.

O Tannenbaum

We got our tree today! Our neighbor told us about a place that he goes to each year. The discount lot we went to is across from Orange Coast College and you can get a 7-foot Douglas Fir for 21 bucks. We opted for the Noble Fir and paid 34, which is still a good deal. I was also tempted to get this little 2-foot Charlie Brown tree. It looked so sad and needed a home so bad. I may have to go back to get it for my office.
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So the tree is up with lights, ornaments, and a star on top. We also busted out the stockings and hung them with care.

Getting Set for the Holidays

Jes and I put up Christmas lights on our house today. How festive it looks! We also had a Christmas dinner with our neighbors last night. Jes cooked up a filet mignon and potatoes au gratin and Jay and Nikki brought over some artichokes. It was basically as nice excuse to bust out the fine china and try some new wines. Doggie also enjoyed a nice bone and got to chase Jay around the house for a while. Tomorrow we’ll be getting a Christmas Tree. Woohoo!! It finally feels like Christmas!

Florida Photos

I finally finished uploading photos from the Florida trip. Photos from G & Dena’s Wedding will be up shortly. I think I was a little snap-happy…without the wedding photos, I uploaded over 160 pictures! Enjoy!

So early…

What a trip. It was fun hanging out with everyone and I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. It started out with Jes complaining about it being “The Worst Trip Ever” but got progressively better. Sitting for hours in the back of a packed mini-van was a little rough and of course Saturday morning wasn’t pleasant but the rest of the trip had its moments.
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I can’t believe how early we had to get up this morning though. We all had to get up at 4:30 am EST (1:30 am PST), out the door by 5:00, return the mini-van, and Jes and I caught our flight by 7:25 am. When we arrived in LAX at 10:00, we had to pick up the dog, go home, eat lunch, and I had to go to work by 1:00 pm PST. So tired…I’m not looking forward to work tomorrow. Whenever I take time off, I end up having a crazy time catching up.