Am I Crazy or What!!!

"Sudoku"the old man's crossword puzzle

2005-11-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

I hate crossword puzzles. I can't remember all the abbreviations and other clues they come up with, so I just can't get show much enthusiam when my mother or someone tries to impress me with one. I have a friend that can't wait to get the local paper at Mickey D's and cut the puzzle out and work on it all day. He then brings what he cut out back the next morning to see if he got it right. He then wants to show everyone how hard the puzzle was and we all shake our heads in awe(and wonder if he needs to be placed in a home).
Now I want you to know that I have read all the articles that say that doing cross word puzzles will keep you or slow down altiziemers(sp). Well I have found another answer and you don't have to remember a bunch of clues, names and abbreviations. It's a puzzle that actually started in the U.S. years ago but didn't catch on with the general public. It did however catch on in Japan. They named the puzzle "Sudoku" actually something else but I don't know how to write and can't remember it.
Sudoku is very simple in concept but tricky in practice. All you have to remember is the numbers 1 thru 9. Most people can do that most of the time. The puzzle has very few rules. It is made up of 9 rows across, which gives you 9 columns down. These rows and columns are also broken up in 9 boxes with 9 cells in each box. Now if you have paid close attention, you realize there are a total of 81 cells total to a puzzle.
This is where it gets simple. All you have to do is put the numbers 1 thru 9 in each cell, in each row, in each column, and in each box, without using the same number twice. Of course the makers of the puzzles do try to make it more difficult by adding random numbers to different cells in the puzzle. They add more or less numbers to make the puzzles more or less difficult.
Now I will tell you the real kicker to these puzzles. If you really want to do them correctly the main rules other than no duplicate numbers are that you cannot guess a number. You cannot use trial and error, and you cannot bifurcate(if you do not know what this means, look it up in your crossword puzzle dictionary).
If you are still with me at this point, I want to tell you that these puzzles are very addictive so be wary. Yes they can be difficult but you can start out with easy ones and work up to hard ones. They do require some logic and while you do them, you cannot be thinking about something else. They clear your mind and bring you down to earth. Problems leave your mind because you a focusing on something that means nothing and everything. A puzzle takes from 15 to 30 minutes(mine take longer because I'm slow and dumb), but they do have speed contests that people do puzzles in incredible times.
So if you are interested in this type of puzzle check out my links. They will take you into a world of puzzles and people from all over the world that do these everyday. Just remember, I warned you that they are addictive, so don't blame me if you start and can't stop.

Patch

Are you worth more dead than alive?

2005-11-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

I woke up some time ago and realized that I was worth more dead than alive. Now don't get me wrong, I've really thought this through and come to the conclusion that if I can convince my wife that I really am trying to croak quickly, maybe she won't start adding up the amount of money spent on me that she could be spending on other things(like grandkids). I really don't think she is the type that would try to help me along in this endeavors. I don't think!

Let's take this logically. If I were to leave the living, the following amounts would be saved: 1. $416 a month for health insurance, 2. $100 a month in car insurance(and my wife could sell my pickup for $5,500), 3. $200 a month in medicine co-pay, 4. $100 in Dr. Visit co-pay every six months, 5. $1000 a year in Hospital co-pay, 6. $100 a year in minor emergency room co-pay, 7. My wife would get my life insurance, 8. Wouldn't have to buy food for me, 9. She would get my retirement for life. There are probably more areas that she could save in but they have slipped my mind right now.

After thirty-eight years of marriage it is pretty sad to realize that your are worth more as worm food than that dashing figure and earning potential you used to be. Now I want you to know, my wife gives me a dirty look everytime I bring this up and then she tries to make me feel worthwhile. That makes me feel worse since I know she should just kick my butt, and tell me to stop feeling sorry for myself. She tries to find me things to do(and so do I), but I find it much more satisfying to wallow in self-pity.

So if anybody out there reads this and has any suggestions on how to reverse this trend(by the way I can't go back to work because of physical problems), I would sure like to hear from you. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way.

Patch
ps Why is that there is someone call Dr that keeps sending me spam that seems to know all the medicines I need?

Opinion Musings from the Unbalanced

2005-11-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

I get up each morning and visit the land of the "Golden Arches" for breakfast. It's pretty sad, since the workers all know me and what I'm going to get. Biscuit with gravy and large Diet Coke(that's right I said"Diet"). How's that for someone with four heart bypasses and 6 stints. My blood is probably thicker than most oil. I shouldn't say that since someone probably has drilling rights on my body.
Speaking of oil, I heard that it cost $4.00 a barrel to get oil out of the ground!
Did any of you watch the congressional hearings with the Oil Executives last week. I watched their faces and they were all having trouble not laughing everytime someone asked them a question. Heck, they probably took the whole legislative committee out for dinner after the hearings. I think Jay Leno said it best when he said the Legislators had trouble looking at the Oil Exec's since they got so much money from them. Oh well! There goes more of my retirement so some Exec. can have his 20 million dollar bonus this year. We still don't know who's getting all the money.
I was watching C-span yesterday and the Republicans were trying to once again do something about Social Security with a bill to stop raiding the funds each year and of course the Democratic leader Reid objected saying it was the same old game. If I understand correctly and I may not, it appears that whoever is in the majority in Congress raids Social Security funds each year(with a promise to pay it back((which has never happened and never will))to fund their favorite pork projects(of course they become absolutely necessary).
I'm not old enough to get Social Security yet but it would be nice to get it when I was supposed to, since they have been taking it out of my pay checks each month. Maybe I'm not too bright but I was always told it was there to supplement my retirement.
By the way, just got word that my health insurance was going up in January, so there goes more of my retirement.
If you haven't got your flu shots yet, get it.
Patch

Root Canal

2005-11-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

I hope that none of you have ever had the pleasure of getting a root canal, but I had one this last Monday. This probably wouldn't be a big deal but I've only had two filling in my 58 yrs. I had no idea that the Dentist was going to drill down to my tonsils(which I don't have) and then set there and talk to his nurse while he filed with something that looked like nails to make the hole bigger. After two hours of holding my mouth open and him poking everything except the kitchen sink in my mouth(I think I may have seen that go in too)he finally started burning something in my mouth? Do you think he was burning incense? He finally said he was finished and that I shouldn't eat anything for two or three days since the stuff he put in my tooth was fresh(I didn't know we were laying cement). Now I'm pretty easy to get along with but, I'm not going to make it for two days, much less three without eating. My jaw hurts from being open all that time and I'm not sure he didn't forget to take the kitchen sink out of my mouth.
ps He then told me he now has to put a cap on my tooth, there goes my retirement money again.

Patch