hi all

Difficulty score 19.

Done

go

crap - screwed up somewhere... dont see a backtrack - starting over...

15 filled, going green.

wb Zugzug!

geez - that was a lot of work... maybe it is just me...

don't know, just started, but if you find it hard, it probably is.

i caould tell what my blind-spots were using greens, but filling them in manually to a long time too...

gl

thnx

hi all

I am being sooo blind today. Just cannot find the breakpoint for this one.

yep, this is slower than a medium

I have 24 filled in now, put in greens by hand and am still stuck :(

i'm new here.... ello...

hi celine, welcome

hello

hi.... may i know you?

ok, I guessed once and that did it, but it is not how I like to do it. If anyone could tell me what the secret is at 24 filled in, I'd be very grateful for an email with pointers, so I can learn to solve this one properly.

may i know anyone?

aprite, if I figure it out, I'll let you know

I'd really appreciate that, this is so unsatisfactory :)

celine, I don't know what you mean by that

i'm new here, so i just want to be friends with someone..

this is not really a chat site, celine. People here exchange some greetings or comments on the puzzle, that's about it.

Mind you, Ive only got 15 in so far

but you will solve it, peter, I know - you always do :)

yeah, but I sometimes resort to guesses these days (or forced chains, which is muc the same)

I understand, there are more things in life than sudoku :)
gl and if you solve it, thanks for the email!

what is your email? If I guess, I wont bother emailing you.

Never mind, I see it in your profile, not that I'm getting anywhere

sorry, I gave up and guessed

Did y solve it. Quite a little toughie

go

go!

done but had to use marks

done... but same thing

needed marks

spreadeagle --- congrats on being first to elite; technically, I guess, drwho was second (he really made a push the last two days)

Gman, it looks to me like a tie for 2nd.

Spreadeagle -- way to go. You really plowed through the archives like a tornado through a trailer park.

hello

hi

sigh... going to have to resort to greens it seems

it's took me a long time without greens

look carefully at the right column first

after I detected 1 there it was over in a mo

I think I found what you're talking about... :)

this seems to be harder than the average medium!

indeed. last week's expert was very easy... easier than this

gah! chose wrong on the 1 7 6 9 column mess, gonna go find a snack!

that was kind of easy

thanks for that helpful advise of look at the right column first... that was the "key"

i hate chains!!!!

it felt like I had to fight for every square this puzzle... but done

Chains aren't so bad sometimes. This one was fairly easy to work out.

Now, these expert chains...

in

out

done at last, but i had to make a couple of guesses along the way and restart it

Chains??

go

*hk wonders if she has an aneurism she's not aware of*

It's easier than it seems.

not from where i'm sitting, so i must be missing something - time to break out the greens i guess

is it Orange?? My brain is having a hard time seeing that LOL

iirc, I used an xwing to isolate a couple of cells in the lower left, and the puzzle opened up after that.

*hk likes ginger*

I keep falling over 1's... had to step back twice now because of it :-(

And the chain people are complaining about solves itself if you look at what's in it.

what's an xwing?

now orangeslice is speaking in tongues - lotsa help there! lol

*Ginger likes hk too*

an x-wing is a fighter plane for luke skywalker!

a good maneuver to be able to do in your head :)

http://www.scanraid.com/FishyStrategies.htm#X
W

orange - i don't usually read what people write, cause 1/2 the time i don't understand what they're saying (your case in point) or they're complaining about something easy (according to you, that would be my case here)

x-wing, shmex-wing..... pick a number any number

LOL mama - EXACTLY !!!

LOL

lol

ok, umm... let me try to simplify it

an xwing is basically a rectangle where all four cells have a number common to them, and that number is in no other cells along the lines with the rectangle.

You can then remove the number that's common to the rectangle from everything between the two sides of the rectangle.

there's a diagram at the website I posted.

They're actually fairly common, and if you can find them, it makes solving a lot easier.

tht makes sense

I think

that's like that cartoon where the owner is talking and all the dog hears is arf, arf, arf

Thanks

I kind of understand what you are saying..... I think.... lol

i may check out the web site later, but i figure what you're saying must be something i do intuitively, i just don't know how to describe it

I think so too helen......

I don't think I can explain it very well

i kinda like how when kids are little, learning a foreign language is a piece of cake, the older you get, the more difficult it is

it's hard to explain this stuff in here - very different than cluing in Babble

It's one of those things that I just do in my head as I'm looking over the puzzle, usually.

I'd do cluing above this ANY time!!! a number is a number is a number!!!!

i am convinced i'm just not seeing something here, almost all greened up & still nothing - this is because the stupid - no i shouldn't say that, the very nice & proficient electrician AND plumber were here early this morning & i've used up my allotment of brain cells for the day

I'm green and not seeing anything either helen - even took a guess once and hit another wall....

I did it..now catching up on the rest from last week.

take a break and come back to it... that is what i do when things get jumbled

lots of green,tho

but i have light & my kitchen sink is draining - it's a fine day

hiya artlady, long time, no see!

and the snow stopped blowing around

hi artlady!!!!!

hey back!

Look at the 1's in the three columns on the far right, and use them to isolate numbers in the bottom three boxes.

ok time for another guess.....

artlady, mama & i are all neighbors (though not close enough for the borrowing of a cup of sugar)

they all have 1's in em

hey orange, someone else recommended that earlier today and i tell you... that was the key to solving the puzzle

ah, but you can find the 1 in the bottom-left.

Then we're all neighbors!

if you ever need a cup of sugar, helen, give a yell - I'll be right over

the 1's have screwed me twice already!

Yeah, that opened it for me.

Dominick's is closer for the sugar, tho

It was not easy to see, though.

yeah, it wasn't

I'm trying Orange, but ........

I can't find the 1 in the bottom left :o LOLOL

art - they just tore down the dominicks closest to me - rumor is a new sporting goods store - which will fail, cause what we really need is a good (not home depot) hardwear store

i kept re-starting until someone (whoever you are... THANK YOU) posted that little tid bit of info

uh, i see one thing new

just focus on the left hand side... everything falls into place from there

We have too many hardware stores out here that aren't..altho there's a nice True Value still in town. They actually KNOW their stuff!

yes, i agree, the smaller true values & ace

s seem to be the best

March 1 is falling fast...

nope, it's me - i see where i overlooked something, now let's see how long it takes me to finish this puppy

*peeking over helen's shoulder*.... whatdidya see????

i overlooked something simple - but it hasn't broken yet

i don't know why i'm in such a 'complainy' mood today - i never do this (at least not here on sudoku, now babble, that's a whole different story)

I'm not so good at babble.

you're not complainy, helen.......

neither am i orange :-(

babble is fun too, but much more of a time commitment than this (usually)

yeah maybe that is why... i have an infant that i have to tend to... from time to time

exactly right - the time thing is bothering me now

makes sense. thanks mamabear...

Yes, I had to give it up until summer. Sigh. I can't start a Babble puzzle without finishing it. Not enuf time to play!

Well I got stuck right where you all are until I isolated that 1 in the bottom left and another number that came right with it, and the puzzle opened up after that.

still waiting for that bus to arrive here, Orange......

lol mama, light up a cigarette & the bus should show up

Stroger cut the budget for that bus, mama

I don't smoke........ this puzzle is makaing me consider starting however

omg - don't even get me started on that - i don't even know why we need a county governing body, i think it's become redundent & therefore obsolete

hear hear

ah man..... I guessed and hit a wall, now I don't know if the guess was right or not

and totally cumbersome

and really - uh, nepotism???? this kid is a bigger incompetent than his father

even with the stroke

LOL - true enough artlady!

grrrrrrrrrrr

the bears are getting restlesss

spring approacheth

I'm sorry, lol, I don't know how else to try and help other than directly giving you the value of some cells.

this puzzle makes me want to go back to hibernation

makes 2 of us mama!!

I don't know why this one is giving me so much trouble.

no, there was an awful one a week or 2 ago that I started over and over and guessed and guessed...very frustrating!

The green 1's on the far right create a pattern that creates another pattern in the bottom three boxes that isolates the 1 in the lower right.

er, lower left.

not lower right.

almost every box in the bottom third of the puzzle has a green 1 in it...

There's an oder to the madness

yeah and the "oder" stinks! LOL

Look for hidden pairs on the right side to eliminate as many candidates as possible.

ok

DONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what happens when I try to type too fast lol

show off!!!!!!!

Yayyy!!!

Congrats :)

WD HK!!

come on, mamabear, you can do it!

my eyes are starting to cross!!

had better not erased what i've done - on the bottom it says new puzzle will be available in one minute & my screen is blank

says 7 hours on mine!

uh oh helen

uh-oh - it didn't even put in the chat where i said i think there's a glitch

I am not seeing the hidden pairs.... not sure why

now it says 7+ hours, but my screen is still blank

now it says 7+ hours, but my screen is still blank

and i have big lag

That's not good

oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

i went to look at the rankings & now that's i've come back, my board is blank

do you think this means my puzzle hasn't counted cause it always keeps the completed puzzle up

DO NOT MAKE ME DO IT AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

have you tried refreshing?

*hk is going start saying bad words soon*

ginger - i'm not pro, so when i refresh i automatically erases everything, so that's a very bad plan

is there any way to find out if i've completed that days puzzle - does anyone know?

ah, helen, you're being punished...

I'M MENOPAUSAL - YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE ME MAD !!!!

do you guys think i should re-do it?

(my inner voice is saying to re-do it)

i think you may have to

helen, why don't you go pro?

:-(

wow - helen I didn't realize you aren't pro - these things are harder to finish that way - I applaud you!

i honestly don't see a need to go pro here

um, i see a psychological need based on your chat

Ah, yeah, after 15 days a free account loses some features and it nags you to pay. lol

but back to my important question --- is there any way to tell how the computer recognizes a completed puzzle?

I just did to support Dr. G

you buggin', gal

Babble does that to me now, but I'm not good enough at it to want to buy one.

i think it was worth it...

And it puts some $$ in Dr. G's bank account.

you may not know until tomorrow HK

I wish I could help you helen, but I honestly don't know

it's so worth it, i love looking at all those completed puzzle boxes

I'm almost done with all of January! :)

ok I guess I have to go back to guessing here ... grrrrrr

okay - i'm going to redo it close your ears kiddies

aw helen........

she's gellin'

maybe it'll go better the 2nd time around.. mmmm... maybe I should do that too

great, now i have the theme song from "step by step" in my head

I'm relaxing to The Eagles

i took an online stress test... but really, i didn't need to. seeing how much trouble i have with a medium sudoku is stress test enough.

it shows how clearly i am unable to think

hmm, if I have trouble concentrating I usually can't even find numbers in easy ones.

yeah.

i am doing ridiculouly badly on this one, it's taking me forever

oooh i got somewhere

done.

so hurshy - how did the job hunting go? last time we talked you were getting all ready for a couple of agency interviews - what happened?

*blush*

well, the first agency interview was great

the guy was very helpful

the second one, i didn't find as good.

then, i didn't end up doing the ones this week because i had a panic attack after signing my lease.

but i can reschedule them.

so you got the apartment too? you've been a busy little beaver!

yes, the apartment thing is set.

i think that i was too stressed trying to do both job and apartment at once.

wait, hurshy, you don't live in the boarding school anymore

so, i'm focussing on moving right now, and then i will focus more on the job hunt after.

well i am moving on wednesday.

what's your apartment like?

it's good in every way except no tub, only shower

but i'm thinking of buying a kiddie pool for baths :)

eh - you can live without a bthtub for a while - how many rooms do you have, a good view?

part of me is still going, you're leaving a gorgeous, brand new four bedroom house with hardwood floors, that you live in for free, for a one bedroom apartment???

it's just baths REALLY help me relax, and what with all the stress...

yeah, baths can be relaxing, i know i've been taking many more of them myself, now that i found this great product line from bed, bath & beyond - these diffferent bath salts - they're fantastic!

ooooo what kind helen?

i think the kiddie pool thing should work ok... although the only way i can think to empty it after is a bucket.

uh-oh - what happened to my last post?

shhhheeeez - i just wrote a whole paragraph & it didn't post in the chat

what i asked was - hurshy, do you really have to move, it sounds like you're doing a whole lot all at once

i'm moving. and i will find a job after. i have money to tide me over for a little bit, so it is ok.

i'm going to get going now, have some dinner...

i'll see y'all later :)

mama - bath & body works (not what i said before) - from their aromatherapy line - they used to make a sampler assortment (8, i think) & i bought them for my friends, everyone loved them - the 2 i really like are 'muscle & joint epsom salt soak' & 'sleep soothing milk soak' - they really work great - $20 for a large jar & lasts a while too!

okay hurshy - see you later, keep me posted on your happenings - congrats on your apartment - taking all the cats with you?

ok Helen - thanks! actually I have to make a trip there as I am out of my favorite Lavender Vanilla soothing sleep stuff

oh mama - one thing you must try is the aquatanica spa, sea moisture, gel souffle - it's a facial moisturizer that hydrates, but what's so great about it is that cause it's a gel - it looks like you got a mini-face lift - you've got to try this, it really takes care of wrinkles, people are always shocked at how old i am!

where did you get it?

same place - bed & body works

I already wrote it down! Thanks!

i really don't recommend stuff unless i feel very strongly about it - so i hope you love it

done finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

congrats mb

:)

wd mama!

frustrated

I don't feel like I really accomplished anything since all I did was keep guessing until it worked

finished! totally 2 or3 good lucky guesses!

tsk tsk

Come on you two, guessing is cheating. lol

I know, I feel awful

I'm off! byeeee

I'll get over it

I think the maneuver required to open up the puzzle qualifies as much harder than "medium," though.

I think so too, Orange..... never did even figure out what it was!

an xwing that makes another, invisible xwing that isolates one cell, which gives you another right away, which opens up the puzzle.

voila!

Which I think needs to be hard or expert, lol

or "don't even go there"

Indeed, it's very ugly.

well, think I'll go skip off to Babbleonia, or Backgammon Island or something....

Ah, well, goodbye then

ta ta!

Whew, done with January. Time to take a break.

Done! Not too bad. ONly one guess.

enough for today slowly working my way thru archives

that's the only way to go nononanette

that's what I'm doing?

Uh oh, I seem to have reached an impossible chain on Dec. 30th

Argh. Must restart :(

Go.

2nd time's the charm.

I ran into the same impossible chain. The first guess was wrong.

No no, I got an actual impossible chain. As in, I did something wrong along the way.

There _was_ a logical move I could make, and in fact not taking it (and guessing on a different cell) would also lead to an impossibility, and so would actually solving the cell in question.

The value of any given cell was directly dependent on every other cell, and unfortunately no matter what any given cell was, it would not solve the puzzle.

Stupid expert puzzles. lol

Done. I had a good guess. 3 to 1 odds in my favor. It worked out.

I thought it was bad when everyone was guessing on the expert a while back lol.

C'mon, today's was a medium.

go

DONE