neone else having a bit of trouble?

just started

just starting

im trying to do it w/out subscripts, so that while that may be the prob, im gonna do it neway

and theres no 1s to start with!!

start w/ 5

got all of them

I hadn't noticed, I started cross-hatching with 5s and 9s

got all the 9s too

I'm stuck,... after getting all 5s and 9s and a couple more...

thats right where i am

once you mark and start doing simple eliminations, you start getting a few

got none of 1s in the meanwhile...

now 1s everywhere in small marks...

darn, i like doing the puzzles w/out the marks

got my first 1 - no green men yet

what box?

top middle

interesting

you've got to get it through 6

what do you mean "through 6"?

Incidentally, I didn't get any 6 either...

trying to justify the 6 being where i know the 6 would be for the 1 to be where u said it would be

6 has to be on one row only bottom left

got it.... but it's a long sequence of ... inference...

which means that it can't be on the same row in bottom middle

got no further though caise i'm typing....

very interesting way of inference, I admire it...

still dont see it

wait, im seeing the first 2, but now im lost after the first 2 steps on that inference chain

yaya..done finally

6 should be in either r7c1 or r7c2, meaning it can't be in r7c4, meaning it should be in r1c4 or r2c4, meaning ....

follow through to the top middle raggedy and see where 6 can only be

oh wow, duh!

ty

I didn't follow that at all, but I got a different 1, so it's all good

lamancha, i found another crazy inerence off that 1, and it has worked quite well for me so far

excellent!

now i have all 4s

it's tough... I don't see any important lead...

ive got 5 spots left, all cuz of that 2nd inferences

*inference

nice one raggedy

done

getting more curious...

law, did u get that one that lamancha so nicely pointed out?

yup, the 1st 1

use that 1, to get the 4, in the top right, it all falls into place after that

got it ... it's a long reference... tooo...

oh yes

got all 4s...

Satisfying that one - so much better without green everywhere

u said it!

Bye everyone

wonderful...

cya guys

hi all

hi, i'm starting over :(

how is it going for you, chebuctonian?

Hey folk!x-x-x

hi puppy

Hard medium today?

rather hard

Yay! Done! Goodbye all.

sorry onpaki, I was totally engrossed

I puttered around other stuff, and I'm about 1/3 done now

r u done?

this seems tough for a medium!

a'right, done :)

great! :)

the section on 'naked triples' is helpful for this http://www.angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php'

unfortunately I don't seem to have any naked triples :-(

keep watching for them as more numbers are found

good morning/night/afternoon/whatever

But I'm not finding any more numbers :-(

no way this is a medium!

is it really that bad?

is for me, probably just missing something

things are just clearing up for me. i've been here for almost an hour.

that's not what i like to hear onpaki!

I just spotted a lone 8 on a column which I hadn't noticed, but that didn't really lead me anywhere

sorry :S

it doesn't help that there are ones everywhere

If I could just place one of those things might be easier

you mean the ones?

yes

as there are no given ones

i placed my first one on the third row.

I have two free on that row, both could be 1 or 6

which by itself is not very helpful!

ahah! a hidden pair!

yes, i got that too. try from the 6 angle.

okay so a supremely unhelpful hidden pair, but at least it makes the board look less scary :-)

just to be a little more encouraging, i'm almost done now.

I'm trying very hard not to resort to guessing

seemed more difficult than medium.

don't guess

in the end, the thing that worked best when stuck was the 'hidden tripples' from here: http://www.angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php good luck and good night

good site, that, just found some more numbers thanks to new techniques :-)

I just can't find those hidden pairs/triples :(

damn 1, 4, 6s

dammit!

I've made a mistake somewhere (third try!)

woohoo! finally done it!

wow this one was hard :-)

Good morning, folks.

got all my Es and Is (guess thats 5s and 9s for the number-players)
but alas, i guess im stumped again...heh

eventing everyone

just morning here NJL...heh...

what does Es mean?

rlc -- i play with letters, not numbers.

so what you see as a 5, i see as an E

how do you play with letters? ive never heard of that!

you have to go Pro -- then you have the option of numbers, letters, or pictures of animals

oh right, makes more sense now!

hello all

Hi, UDbmas

hi there

David, did you bring aby 1's with you by chance?

oops any

I have one 1!

:)

share?

I'll trade you two 9's...

I got all those, sowwy

oh well... :-)

I can tell you that there's a 1 in the third row. ;)

gee... thanks... lol

done.....finally

WTG

Whew, I finally finished it, too.

I don't know what I did wrong the first go, but after I restarted it all came out...slow to start with

WTG David...I got that third row 1

wow i started out okay but i'm completely stuck now

how long did it take any of u guys that finished?

over an out while watching TV, I started and got stuck, and then restarted

Good day everyone

hi & gl

gool luck yul

gl

thanks

done.. a little over an hour (took a short break in there too)

I had to start over, must have made an error and it was easier just to start afresh. Well done UDbmas

good job UDbmas

ty... going to try an expert one from the archives now

i am copletely stuck unless i start guessing on numbers, this isn't like me lol

I finally had to take a guess

well, made a mistake...

Iwill do it later. buy till then

take care

thanks

...an interesting medium.

i think the difficulty ratings are picked out of a hat, because this is harder than yesterday's hard.

which was not easy, although some hards have been easy.

my puzzle validator rated this as a hard

you must be on to something.

aren't the ratings based on the complexity of the solutions? some solutions although less complex may be more difficult to "see"

I'll buy that as a theory, too.

I always find some constraints are easier for me to pick out then others, at least if I'm trying to do the whole thing in my head

even when I use the greens, there are some things my brain is tuned to pick up, and others it misses.

exactly, and if you miss some relatively simple combinations or part of a combination an easier puzzle can seem much much harder

I finally just got my first 1! This puzzle has a lot of row/block intersections and column/block intersections in it, which are much harder for me to see than other patterns. Definitely harder for me than the last few days of puzzles...

eh, it's good to have different patterns, pretty soon you'll be able to see them all!

eventually i hope :) gotta jet - later!

(Hi mom!)

Hi! I finally got it! The medium or hard one from the other day was easier for me than this one as well.

I like your bridge picture

i am just completely stuck BLAH

I just made the breakthrough... it really falls together once you get past that, i think.

i can't find any more commonalities with numbers to eliminate possibilities enough not to guess

then you aren't looking hard enough ;-)

lol probably not

or maybe you aren't looking medium enough... never mind

lol

This is certainly solvable without guessing

My breakthrough came in the bottom row

ummm, they are all solvable without guessing ;-)

Not all! There was one a while back that even SadMan Sudoku could solve only by multiple trials.

I think I remember one of the hardest ones being that way awhile back, I solved it that way but I am still not convinced

i think it's funny how some days i can see a ton of people posting that they're struggling and i could've flown through it but then there's days like today where i just hit a roadblock and others are done... i even tried walking away for a bit, but i'm still clueless..

i have a lot of this can go here or there, but not enough of definite's to not guess ya know? oh well. i'm just killing time for a bit so if i don't finish in another hour i'm done til tonight

same here.

eh, I'm almost resorting to wrriting it down at which point you're almost guarenteed to solve it quickly

i don't know about today's yet, but about a week ago i got stuck on one that even my little sister solved and i didnt'

lol

lol

my roommate has his own log in name so if i finish he has to log in under his name to do it ... i've been beating him to it too often... i wonder how easily he'll get todays

One technique that was useful to me today was "locked candidates"

http://www.angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php

i was just reading those hints, thanks.... but i'm still the idiot that doesn't use subscripts ever... i suppose i should start lol

Ooh

I didn't get very far without those today

i don't understand how to use them that well.... well i get the idea but they start to confuse me when i see so many numbers lol

The possibilities get too complicated for me to keep in my head for anything over an "easy" puzzle

i guess i'll have to read that hints page u posted and compare it to subscripts on my page to see how to correctly use them eliminate numbers... i'm sure it'll help, i've just never used them

so okay... if i have to squares in the same 9x9... that are the only two that contain a certain two numbers, then i eliminate those two numbers from the rest of the squares in that same 9x9?

did that make sense?

yes.

because both of them have to be in one square or the other, they can't be anywhere else. =)

my grid looks like it's glowing green now lol

the same logic applies to a row or column, Talk24 : )

okay wait, i'm dumb with this lol i have a 9x9 cube... see if anyone can follow lol

i have 1,6 and 8 in three of the squares... but 1 shows in two other squares... does that mean i can eliminate it from the other two squares or no? (dunno if that makes sense at all LOL)

(all them as subscripts)

if you have three squares with the same three numbers, you can eliminate those numbers from others squares in the same region.

..so therefore, looks like a yes, lol : )

i am definitely missing something here.

i've got 1's 4's and 6's in little red numbers everywhere

I got stuck big time, mirrin. I don't understand locked candidates either. I have started over just now. : /

...and I've got hayfever. :'(

that sucks babbbler :( my allergies have been acting up the past few days also

thanks, Talk24. sorry to hear about yours also. think I'll step away from the pc for a bit. Hope you're finished by the time I get back, lol! : )

lol me too! catch ya lata

I'd say this is one of the hardest puzzles we've seen for a while...

a row is left to right and column up and down right?

Yup

yeah i've been able to complete the puzzles for the past two weeks steadily, didn't start playing much before then

Done!

CONGRATS! :)

easy once I made that breakthrough, as it were

OK

back to work!

gotta guess on this one?

here we go...

theres no guessing mamabear

this one looks like a booger already

yes, oh yes... this one really IS a booger

thanks, I think, the_man_stephen..... then I am even more stumped

man, these 1/6 combos are aallll over my screen...

I wish I could see what I'm not seeing so I could stop looking for it

good afternoon, all!

how goes it today?

i see.

i'm all alone

hi wolfman!

o hi mama!

I'm about to get on the guessing train

i didn't think anyone else was here!

ick... i don't like guessing

I just got back to my desk and saw your post!

o!

lol

I don't either, but I did some and now am just not seeing anything

hm... putting it on paper works for me.

wow, that was v.v.v.v.v. hard! *collapses in heap* : /

whenever i put it on paper i see things so much easier

(((((BABBLER!!!!!!!)))))))))

hi babbler!

((((Mamabear)))) : )

hi wolfman!

I am resorting t guessing I think Babbler!

: )

I like your pink bus!

holy crap i just realized there aren't any ones

it was guessing that got me all in a muddle, Mamabear. This one really wants you to concentrate. (and I have hayfever and a big headache today! :( )

hiya babbler

no wonder i couldn't find any :P

hey baggo

hiya wolfman

thanks, Mamabear! It's a London Routemaster bus. (actually, it's red) : )

hi baggo! : )

how go things?

I have LOTS of green 1's, wolfman!!!!

NO!!!!1

good, thanks, baggo. (glad I've finished! lol!) how about you? : )

I've been concentrating REAL hard...... to no avail

CRAP, I should've saved a checkpoint!!!

hi baggo!

STUPID WOLFMAN!!!

sorry, venting again

No guessing, wolfman

someone cracked this puzzle in 15 mins last night...

:P

easy, wolfman..... not so hard on yourself!

good...finally able to listen to lastfm and play...just finished with the new babble site. i love it....hiya mamabear

I am just not seeing anything anymore, Babbler :(

lol, i just clicked on "upgrade to pro" and it deleted all of my progress. :(

:( mail Dr_G

figured "what the heck"

Oh, ouch, wolfman

That's it..... saving checkpoint and diving in to guess.... gotta start somewhere.

you have to concentrate, Mamabear... really really concentrate...

Hi David!

hi David : )

Don't do it, mamabear!

I aammmmmmmmm *sobbing*

Noooo

lol wow, lots of people are on! Usually it's just me and mamabear! Yay!

its fairly easy i would say

o... sorry mama. Don't stress too much.

*glares at EvilBernd*

ditto

dont do what, David? Guess?

Yeah, you don't have to do that

evil glare at EvilBernd

yeah I dooooooooooo

after doing the the 2,3,5,7,9 the rest will we a walk

You have it all marked up, mamabear?

yes. I have the 5's and the 9's and a few random numbers and some things eliminated

you got all your 5s and 9s, Mamabear?

5's and 9's - check!

me too!

bravo

hush

:S

unless that was sincere

One thing that was particularly helpful to me today is the "locked candidates" technique

sorry

Evil - I think your phone is ringing

Let me see if I can explain it

i dont have a phone when i am on the net

please do, david.

I did find some locks, but don't see anymore

LOl, Evil - just kidding!

There's two parts

i know

*props head on hands, resting elbows on desk..... waiting for David's theory*

First is, if all the candidate cells for a number in a group are in the same row or column, then that number can't appear anywhere else in the row or column

I'm listening, David. : )

Does that make sense?

yes, David.... go on

yup

yep

perfect sense

got the third row :)

Okay. Second is, if all the candidates for one number in two groups are in the same two rows or two groups, that number cannot appear elsewhere in those rows or columns.

okay...

xwing?

Understandable?

with ya, David

It's related to the X-Wing, I suppose, Sulihin, but doesn't seem to be as restrictive

no, wait..... not sure on that one

sounds more like a "tie-fighter" *g*

huh?

me too. confused. :(

Okay, which part doesn't make sense?

groups. what's a group?

I need to be able to draw to illustrate it..

1:20 post

Group is a box of nine cells

*hands David a crayon*

At least that's how I'm using it

*borrows chalk from Evanonut, hands that to David*

guys, get on tomorrow at the same time, i got to go :)

OK so by "group" you mean a 9 square cube. Let me go back and read it again then

see ya wolfman!!!!!

you've read the scanraid explainations, right?

by 'group' I understand 'region'. correct? A region is a column/row/box of 1 to 9

bye wolfman! :)

I think David is referring to group as a cube of 9 squares, not the columns or rows, right David?

scanraid? huh?

Say you have three candidates for a number in box 1a, and four candidates for a number in box 2a, but all those candidates are in the first two columns: then in box 3a, that number can only appear in column three

http://www.scanraid.com/AdvanStrategies.htm

btw, sorry you are not feeling well, Babbler!! :(

Babbler, yeah, group really applies to all three

Sorry, I was misusing it

thanks, Mamabear. I'm not even playing music today. Well, I couldn't even if I wanted to (danged noisy neighbours! grrr)

Did my illustration attempt help?

*scratching head*

thanks, Sulihin, but I just don't get X-wings or anything mega like that. :' )

me either :)

but that's the best write up of it i've seen

i get it when i read it, i just never can apply it

still confused, David. I think I did a version of your theory when I worked through today's grid.

It's pretty intuitive but takes a while to get comfortable with

Did you do it without guessing, Babbler?

eg "if this goes here, then... oh dear, that can't happen, so that means it HAS to go there...."

Mamabear - kinda sorta. I started with a 2 in the top middle box, and when it went wrong in one position, that meant it HAD to be in the other position.

If all your candidates for a number are restricted to one row in one box, you know that you can't put the number elsewhere in that row.

nod i use that a lot

David - see if I follow..... so, if you have say candidates 1, 2 & 3 in a1, and 1, 2 3 & 4 in 2A, ...... never mind I don't think I get it, of if I do, I can't explain it..... grrrrr

i think it's pointing pairs on the scanraid page

I get you, David. That I understand. : )

If all your candidates for a number in two boxes are in two rows, then you can't use that number elsewhere in either of those rows.

Yes I get that last statement too

That's all there is to it.

There's at least one place I used that today.

do you know where that example exists here? in which columsn or rows? or is that cheating ?

Mamabear, I worked through the grid, with David's statement just now, and eliminated a whole bunch of numbers. : )

Mamabear, once you've eliminated a few more numbers, you'll see examples of David's statement all over the place! and thus, the fun will begin....

hey guys i'm back!

I'm not sure where it is now. I think it was in the middle column of boxes.

Let me try this again..... say for example you have 1a that has 1, 2 3 & 4 and 2a, 1B and 2B also have those numbers, that is 4 boxes with the same candidates, so you can eliminate them elsewhere in those 2 rows.... is that right?

yes

ooo... maybe not. Bell just rang. Time for class. Time flies when you do these things. :( bye

bye again wolfman!

I'm not sure, mamabear

I'm thinking about it

Actually, if you send me a screenshot of what you have, I could probably point it out

oh no, hang on... let me think, Mamabear

Babbler - am I looking for combos of 2, 3, 4 or how many numbers, can you tell me that?

It's better to learn than guess

No, only one number at a time for this, mamabear

I agree David!!! That's what I want to do!! and I appreciate your taking the time!!!

I can only work out combos of up to 3 numbers. I can't see more than that, usually.

One number at a time? I don't get that. And how do I send you a screenshot?

You want to find where one number is restricted to the same columns or rows in two boxes

E-mail..

so what David is saying, for instance, there is only one position for number 1 in the top middle box.

You know how to make a screenshot?

if you're on windows you can do alt-printscreen

Hmm

mamabear?

I'm sorry - someone was talking to me (I'm at work)

what is your email?

Oh, no problem

Here's what I have so far. Green numbers are possibilities, and red numbers are naked pairs....

http://www.timmyponline.com/random
/sudoku.jpg

dminimal at gmail dot com

Babbler - I have 1's in EVERY box in the middle box!

OK David. going to try and do that.... please hold.

what is a naked pair?

when you have two boxes that can contain ONLY 2 possible numbers in a row or column

when you have two squares in a group that can only be one number

ooo, k didnt know the name

it's the pairs in clothes that get me

when you have that, you can eliminate those two numbers from the rest of the given box, row or column..... (whichever they appear in)

I would say: two cells that have only two possibilities

in one box or row or column

right on, im getting the lingo down too

Yeah, that's right, TP17

i always just did these in books and the paper untill recently... very nice people on this site

and there's also naked triplets (3 cells with 3 possible numbers), naked quads....etc.

what is some of the other jargon?

David - I did alt print screen, but control V is not pasting it in my email msg.

try pasting into word and attaching the word doc

just do prt scr and then paste it into paint and attach it

save it as .jpg, bmps are big

I dunno, I didn't think it was too hard.

sorry

I need to step away for a couple of minutes but I'll be back shortly

and I do mean shortly

I just sent you an email withthe screen, David

ooooo I think I see sumthin!

you can paste into paint too

I see somethin but not sure what to do with it! Babbler - does it have something to do with column #4?

that's where my mystery began... : )

Opening, mamabear...

I really do want to find out how to see this stuff!!!!!

It's the kind of thing, once you see it I'm sure it's obvious.... but until then......

Okay, got it

... and looking

Cool!

I can't say I saw anything particular, Mamabear. I tried one option, it didn't work, so it had to be the other one...

Are you still working on it, Babbler?

nope, I finished (finally!) : )

i hate guessing :(

oooo, you smart cookie!

having trouble with the 5's !!! is it just me ?

me too, Sulihin!!!! I want to do it the smarter way!

not really, Mamabear. I had to start over! Guessing got me in a right muddle. Don't guess...

Hold on a bit while I look this over, mamabear

:)

hmm the 5s were the first i finished i think

I'm trying not to - we'll see if David can help me!!!!! *tapping fingers on desk*

:)

babbler love your icon xxx

M3 - you should be able to get all the 5s and 9s before you start greening up. : )

thanks, M3! : )

ditto to Babbler's comment

me too, Sulihin, 5s first....

oh gosh, i found it, note to oneself dont play when sooooo tired lol

Okay, you understood the first part of the locked candidates thing, right, mamabear?

I think so - I used that theory in the middle cube, left side I think

Take another look at the bottom left cube

looking.....

btw, David, you are very sweet to be helping me like this!!! *bats eyelashes*

Hehe, you're welcome

I see the trees, but not the forest.... or someething like that

i have a bunch of not quite pairs or triples :(

Look at the 6's

Then look to the right

:)

gotta start making dinner, but I'll keep popping back to learn more from David. : )

ahh, so I can eliminate the 6 in column 4, middle bottom box?

should I not have said that on the log?

Do you have an IM client? I don't want to give away too much here

not at work.... I do at home.... I have my email open though..... (snail chat!)

Okay

meebo!

or google talk

Google Talk would work, that's true

Anyway, I replied to your first message, mamabear

meebo is a web-based im client thing

Ah, I haven't used it, Sulihin

I did that, David, but not seeing anything else right now. I answered you, too David!

me either :) I just work with stuff like that so i'd looked into it a bit.

I already sent a second message--should have included it in the first one

Will you be around for a while, David?

Yes, another hour or two

off and on

Here's where I am so far.... greens are possibilities, reds are naked pairs:

http://www.timmyponline.com/random/su
doku.jpg

TP17, take another look at the candidate 6's in the middle column of boxes

Err, did that make sense?

the vertical center three boxes

I'm back to the tree/forest issue

Ooh, sorry, I think I agreed with you in the wrong place, mamabear

Hold on

not seeing anything with the 6's in the middle 3 boxes... :(

never mind..... I just saw something

David.... have to attend to some work....brb

Does it involve eliminating some possibilities in the top box, TP17?

yep.

can't believe I didn't see it earlier

Like I said a while back, once you see it, it is SO obvious!!!

take a look at my site again David..... I updated my puzzle

Okay...

I'm setting up the game in Simple Sudoku so I can mess with it again

Oh, duh, I forgot

Sheesh... I forgot the same thing I missed the first time

Still stuck, TP17?

David - sent you an email when you have a min.....

help

got the exact same as TP17

Look for candidates confined to one row again now..

(one row in one box, that is)

David... you have mail!

Hi all - I'm stuck too, and there are no locked pairs left on my grid... Getting close to starting it over.

Did you compare yours to TP17's, Perry?

mamabear, I'm having trouble with Gmail right now

Sorry

no problem!!!!!

yay finally

Mine is similar, except for changes based on inserting the 1 and 6 in row 3 - I have not found anything to set these with yet.

I'm in and out - trying to work a little!!!!

I think I've had root canals that were easier than this!

Perry: look at candidate positions for (26x=156) in the bottom right and middle boxes

I'm trying to disguise my hints

You should be able to find a number with that

4's are done!!!!!!

Good going, mamabear

back to the hunt......

great hint again David.... I saw my other overlook

It's coming together!!!!!!! whoo hoo!

done.... you the man David

Glad I could help

hey guys

and girls

Hi, scribble

this one seems to be coming together nicely so far

Happy quatro de mayo

David.... guess who's....... DONE!!!!!

YAY!!!!^*^*^*^*^*^FIREWORKS^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

David, David, he's our man!!!!!

Hi scribble!

hey mamabear!

Now that I understand more, I'm anxious to hit the archives !!!!!

www.hoopsandyoyo.com

really funny stuff

Congratulations, mamabear

:D

couldn't have done it without ya!

had it closed while working, but I'm not getting that clue at all David. (26x=156)?

Oh, solve the equation for the number in question :)

oh, I was looking at it literally as the numbers 2,6 and 1,5,6, lol

David - do you Babble? (not necessarily a personal question!)

but I'm still not finding it - all of those candidates are locked

alright, it's past 5pm here - I'm going home! maybe I'll give it a shot later and start it over. I could've made a mistake somewhere.

Looking at the candidates for that number in the lower right box and the lower middle box should get you moving, Perry..

well, do you?

LOL

in those boxes, that candidate occurs in 3 cells on each row, 2 in one box and 1 in the other

Thanks for trying David. I'll give it a shot again later from home.

good luck Perry!

Oh, sorry again, mamabear

I don't Babble on here

I do in person

:P

a dib, a dib, a dib, a dib

no need to be sorry, David!!!!! ;-)

this one is easier than most than labeled easy!

who thinks Mac is better than Windows?

Me

sorry, off the subject of sudoku but there's a guy here who needs convincing

YAY THEDAVE!!!

Kinda depends what you want to do with it though, right? Graphics/media/video, Mac rules, but for software available and such, isn't pc sometimes still more flexible?

well yeah, but still... :S

:)

I mean, everyone in the world is cranking out programs for PC but Mac is far superior

In summary, Gaming=PC, work=Mac

Lego Star Wars on Mac...that's all you need for gaming. :)

I use non-Apple PCs. :P

the only apple thing i have is my ipod

SCRIBBLE!

do you know if you have a saved checkpoing now but you're not going to finish today if the checkpoint will still be there tomorrow?

hmm, interesting question kandy.

I have pro so I can access the archives

(((HURSHY))) its been a while since ive seen you!

i KNOW scribble, it's been driving me crazy, i keep missing you!

(((scribble)))

Kandy, I believe that's correct. At least it's worked for me in the past. :)

yes kandy - your check points are saved til you go back into it!

oh good

thanks so much for your help!

you got it! Hi hurshy!!!!

so how was your day?

hi mama!

my day's been fine, scribble, how have you been?

and does your mom think i'm nuts? :)

im fine! and maybe to the other question.....:P

lol, i was being very goofy when she was here.

no I don't

she told me about the singing...lol

hi there silent :)

hey mom!

hello

wassup?

scribble, it's so funny you don't know when your mom is on

do you have your homework?

mom be quiet i'll get it.

math homework? *looks hopeful*

no math homework. we have a benchmark tomorrow. but i took a placement test yesterday and aced it

*yes*

good for you scribble!

O.K. I'll remember the "be quiet"

Im so stuck... :(

i don't know if i would want to tell someone to be quiet if their name was "silentbutdeadly"

mom ive got plenty of time.

she will learn one day...

haha

hurshy!

hi david mitchell :)

Haven't seen you for a while

hey mom are you watching represent?

i suppose not - i forgot to do yesterday's grid - it's been a hectic week. i'm doing yesterday's now.

no, I let your dad have the TV

ok

Time for me to go. See you all later. :)

oh, such a brief visit.

bubye david mitchell :)

bye david.

Later David!

I have no idea how people manage to do this without guessing

chrissie, do you know about marking with the little numbers?

I dosnt know you could do that...

*didnt

How do you make karks?

I made a BIG .....*#!*$#&*...... and now I start over.. :(

shift-click

Cool, Thanks Hurshy

hmmm, how do i get back to today's puzzle now that i finished yesterday's?

There should be a link for "return to today's puzzle" at the top of the archives page, Hurshy :)

Oh, I'm back. :)

ah yes

i didn't think to go back into the archives

hey people... how's everyone doing with today's puzzle?

has anyone solved today's without using the subscript numbers? this is my third attempt today

hi all

where's the 1s?

lol good question

maybe DG forgot them?

haha i hate today's with a passion. this is my third attempt

hmm, 60 seconds in and I'm inclined to agree

yeah and i really don't understand how to use the subscript numbers.... i can only get so far then i'm stuck

Nikola's (my wife'sm and she is better at these than me) recommends using the superscript numbers when a number is limited to just two locations in a box

yeah if i put them in when there's more than two numbers possible for a square, i'm confused even more

The problem is, not all puzzles can be solved with just that

Personally, I start by scanning the numbers 1,2,3,4... and doing that as the first pass, usually two or three times

yeah i have been able to solve them all in i'd say the last 2 weeks but todays

peter, I usually start by scanning sequentially like you, then mark numbers that appear only twice in a box, then mark everything (if necessary)

I had to mark everything today

hey david... u're still on? I'm back as u can see and still complaining lol

I find most above easy require marking everything eventually

although the difficulty level is never very precise

I'm back again, Talk

Still stuck?

ugh, yeah. i'm trying it from the start with the subs.... we'll see how far i get this time.. just relaxing before i go to bed.

I don't think this is possible without marking possibilities unles you're the sort of person who can play chess blindfolded

Like my dad...

You learn to memorize the pairs, its not too difficult to keep track of.

(and he still beats me that way, even when half way through he makes comments like "Oh, I've got the board mirrored...")

I think if you rely too early on subscript you end up missing the obvious patterns, eg: you don't learn to play better

yeah i can usually memorize the spots that they should be but today i'm just completely stuck... kinda sidetracked too but i usually am

I can usually keep track of naked pairs, but that's about it

I can solve "easy" puzzles without marking now

(most of the time)

I had never played sudoku until I came across this place

(points at the Download Squad link in the "friends" section)

hmmmm

hello here is me.

Hullo, hurshy

hullo

hi

hello peter

hi hurshy

hello talk

evenin' all

hello UD

morning

how are we tonight?

hi UD

tired

bad day at the sudoku bar?

no, the babble bar.

ah.........

i was pathetic today.

i haven't even attempted babble today. i can't get this puzzle solved blah

the only consolation i have is that i was distracted an awful lot.

i don't babble in public

this puzzle makes my brain sad

if your brain is sad, isn't the rest of you sad too?

not necessarily

nope, just my brain. it's crying. i should have that looked at?

hmmm... maybe

nah..just stick tissues in your ears & nose so nothing leaks out

good call! i'm uninsured, so that's hella cheaper!

my brain is trying to escape via my left ear

and what would it do if it succeeded?

it'll come back...it's lonely outside

i have everything subscripted with possibilities ... now how do i eliminate... David... do u have that link u gave out earlier today?

it would run away

far far away

a galaxy far far away?

haha, i was thinking the same thing

well, who wouldn't?

clearly you are very very normal.

as am i.

Link? Hmm.

http://angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php

I think it was that one.

yeah, you could win the british open, david, you're so good with the links.

lol

(snorts)

ba-dum-bum

;-)

Cute, hurshy

:)

hey, i see an appuntunity, i take it.

oppuntunity

can't even spell my own made up words right.

thanks david :)

that's okay W, we got your back

appurtunity = situation that allows you to choose how much light to let into your camera?

aperturnity maybe

Heheh, john

appurtunity: the degree of insolence in a song?

are you thinking of impertinence?

no, I have chldren...

mmmm... then do you mean rappertunity?

hmm...good synonym

"no i have children" - good one!

**bows**

ty

i don't have children...i don't get it! :(

if you do, you'll have kids...?

i don't think i shall have kids

they are okay if you use enough salt and catsup...

one of my cats is up on my lap...

love cats

it's this one in the picture. his name is marty.

cats are great

when i was six, i wrote a poem

cats are nice
cats are great
but cats don't have a fishing bate (i couldn't spell bait yet)

cute!

and i drew a picture of a sad cat looking at a happy fish.

my grandmother still has it on her refrigerator.

what a nice grandma!

i know - 22 years on the refrigerator is a long time to look at such an annoying spelling error

lol

grandmothers are fucking awesome. at least mine were.

umm

seriously.

it's just... some children at least as young as 12 play this game, we try not to talk that way in the chat...

apologies. i'll avoid profanity.

ty :)

grandmothers ARE nice though. :)

and it makes the cats cranky ;-)

yes, I am a nice grandmother.......

let me write that down... "profanity makes the cats cranky. do NOT make the cats cranky..."

see..you learn new things here...

if only i could be a grandmother without having to be a mother...

please no! not cranky cats!!

let your cat have kittens?

ive seen some cranky cats. no fun.

too late, they're all spayed and neutered.

THAT makes cats canky too

doing both seems like overkill to me.... :)

oops...cRanky

EVERYTHING makes cats cranky

ok OR

:)

pet em they pur, then unexpectedly, like a ninja, they paw at ya and hiss.

my cats are not very cranky, except around this time (food time!)

my cats NEVER scratch on purpose, they are well brought up.

I'm thinking we ought to call this the litterbox...

and marty here is THE most domesticated animal in the world.

i do believe I am the most domesticated animal in the world. perhaps marty takes a close second.

aha there is a tricky naked triple in the corner!

marty has never gotten upset at anyone in his life - can you say as much? :)

AH...but are you housebroken?

you have me there, udbmas

lol

i don't WANT to play anymore. maybe i'll do it tomorrow.

can marty stay and play awhile?

sure. :)

is marty good at sudoku?

Aww, hurshy, giving up?

it is weird what a strong sense of obligation i feel to complete the puzzle, even when i am so tired and not in the mood to play.

Oops, I'm not helping

i don't think marty would be good at sudoku, no. :)

I'm watching NBA while playing & chatting...Multitaskin' fool!

cats would be awesome at soccer if you could get them to understand the point.

i'm about to give up as well. this sure is a difficult puzzle for a medium...

i have often thought there should be a cat ESPN

yeah, they'd just bat around the ball like crazy

not towards a net or anything

cat wrestling, cat races, cat gymnastics...

they have a puppy bowl on animal planet at halftime of the super bowl

sumo cats?

i know, i've seen it :)

but it is just kind of puppies running around

yes it is cute but not very eventful.

cat-erwauling ;)

youtube.com has some pretty funny cat videos

marty could not do sumo wrestling, he is a skinny cat.

evening all!

hi evanadine :) and bye - i'm about to go :)

hi eva

howdy!

sweet dreams hurshy & marty

just passing through :)

night all :)

good night hurshy

Rest well, hurshy

Seed of Chucky is not a very good movie. In fact, its awful (in a bad way). I regret watching it.

did you expect something different?

I sometimes enjoy poor horror movies.

bride of chucky was better, no?

Yeah. it wasn't a gem... but it was better than this schlock. Though I did enjoy that John Waters had a part in it.

<cheekymonkey deletes Seed of Chucky from Netflix queue>

haha, good decision :-)

arghhh

not working out for you?

not working out for me either.

no, I've moved on to desparate measures

make it a good guess...

checkpoints are your friends

If you guess correctly, it's as satisfying as deducing the right answer.

I don't quite guess. I copy a screenshot, move over to AppleWorks, paste it in twice, and then try both possibilities simultaneously

lol

Not everyone coffed up the $$$ for checkopoints.

now ain't that cheeky!

damn. (loads up his appleworks)

i've been having some luck messing with the 6s in the middle column boxes... i don't know how far that will get me though

so this is a guesser no matter what?

Nope.

Locked candidates are the key.

It's completely logical.

uttoh i dont understand that technique i can do xwings and swordfishes... sometimes chains

It's less complicated than those

i'll look it up

http://angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php

Hmm, I've used a bunch of them (not that I know the names), but still I'm stuck

thanks! i'll check on it

oh i do locked candidates always

just didnt know thats what it was called!

yeah, me too

i am stuck and i think i have done the locked candidates

Both versions of the technique are required

You want to apply them to the 6's

ahh

i may have messed up as none of my 6s are locked, oops

David - I see Dr. Sudoku is still seeing patients!!! LOL

Heh

I'll take a look if you have a screenshot, cheeky monkey

thank you..let's see if I can do that

I'm just trying to fill in for hurshy today, mamabear

is she not in today?

i need help. i have a question about elimination...will you help me david?

She was worn out and left early, without finishing the puzzle

I'll try, Twinkie

hi again

Hi, yul

trying second time

wow! that's not like her!!! hope she's ok!

i have a screenshot but can't think where to store it :(

so i a row i'm working on where I'm not sure if i can eliminate something. i have 6 boxes that need filling. in those boxes I have: 1, 6, 7, 8; 1,8; 1,2,6; 1,2,4,6; 1,4,6,7; and 1,4,6. I was wondering if I can assume the second box (the 1/8) is an 8 because the others are combos of 1/2/4/6/7?

flikr?

of course!

You could e-mail it too

im putting it up on flickr, thanks

Twinkie: thinking

Erk... I'm not great with hidden subsets

Yay!

david, i have another similar question, but with less numbers. maybe you can help me with this:

Thanks DM!

4 boxes to fill. #'s are: 1/6; 1/3/6; 1/3/4; 1/4/6.

i feel like there's got to be some logic there that I can use to figure it out, but it's escaping me.... :-(

I don't think it's possible to logically eliminate in either case

David: screen should be here if you have time: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43819741@N00/140
599875/

Sorry, Twinkie, I don't see it

ok, thanks david

i feel like i must now guess. i already tried the locked candidates and i still only have one 6 figured out (the one that was given!)

check your rows; if a 6 can only be in one box in a row, eliminate it elsewhere

its the only way to solve this puzzle

i've tried, mandi

i still have more than one row of possibilities for all the other boxes of 6's :-(

i was able to eliminate some 7's via locked candidates, but not 6's

start with the bottom left box

cheeky monkey, look at the possible 6's in the center and bottom middle boxes

thanks!

Twinkle, it looks tight, and the locked candidate 6 that David put me on to is still there to be found

ah! thanks david, that helped me too!

peter, in what box are you seeing it for me?

mandi is right about the place to start looking, by the way

sorry david, didn't mean to take over your job ;)

Oh no, I'm glad for anyone to jump in

well, i know that the 6 in bottom left box has to be on top row, but then i look at the middle and right bottom boxes and I still have 6's in both middle and bottom rows of them...

as long as you aren't giving away the answers directly :)

But which columns, Twinkie?

but now look in a column, if I remember correctly, there was only one place for a 6

just not seeing it...

for the middle bottom box i have a 6 in both row 8 column 5 and in row 9 column 6, and for right bottom box i have 6 possible in row 8 column 7, row 9 col. 8, and row 9 col. 9. Does that make sense?

yay i finished

yay tylor

Good going, tylor

thnx

took me a while

good going!

so while i know the 6 in the bottom left box has to be either row 7 col 1 or row 7 col 2, i can't eliminate which of the other two rows the 6 will be in across the bottom...

Twinkie, check each column for where the 6s can go

Gack, I'm having trouble following you again, Twinkie, sorry

You got it, peter?

sorry, david!

don't worry about that, work your way up toward the top middle box to find which one has to be a 1 in the top middle box

i'm not sure how topost something to fliker, but i can take a snapshot and mail it

Listen to mandi first :)

David, yes, I solved it thanks to your tip

Good, peter :)

thing is, i have ones in every box except row 5 col 2, row 6 col 2, row 7 col 8, and row 8 col. 8 :-\

thanks for trying to help me, mandi and all

you should have one square that has only a 1 and a 6

i'm feeling rather dense. usually the mediums are pretty easy for me, but not today

up in the top middle boox

yeah, i have a square in the top middle box with a 1/6.

and don't worry about feeling dense, I had to restart this one myself

but not sure what to do with that/eliminate ones

now in the top middle box, where can the 6s only be?

Right, but there is no possibility for a 6. Check in to it, look at the three middle columns

mandi: 6's can only be in col 4 and 6

for top middle box

look again

ok...

AH-HA!!! :D

:-)

THANK YOU!!! :D

YAY!

duh, twinkie!!! :-\

good job Twinkie!

but that was cool, i really appreciate it. have another thing to use in my arsenal :)

thanks you guys for hanging in there w/ me! :D

sure

with that 1,6 in the top middle, how do eliminate it?

i have 6s everywhere

off to work, have fun all, thanks again David!

You're welcome, peter

cheeky monkey, look at which columns must contain 6's in the center and bottom middle boxes

david, have you solved all the archives?

Oh, no, I'm not a subscriber yet..

david, yes I see two columns that must have sixes, and now i see the elimination, thank you!

oh, sorry

I'm stuck on one expert that has been giving me grief for days

I would help if I could

There's one expert puzzle that's actually unsolvable except by trial and error

thanks, it's the thought that counts

but I don't recall the date

So far, I have had to solve all the experts with brute force at some point, but I don't think this one is ready for that yet

david, how come you haven't subscribed?

I have a feeling I still need to find some more to eliminate

I'm cheap AND poor

It's a good combination ;)

:-)

good answer

Actually, I would rather only be cheap

i sucked it up b/c it's kind of like public radio: I use it enough to make it worth my poor pennies to support it

lol

I need to spend less time playing to be less poor, though

:/

and since i'm using it as much as i do...i figure the lifetime fee is worth it

lol, david

i need to spend less time playing it if iactually want to get any cleaning and grading done!

or exercise, for that matter

oh, I agree with the cleaning and grading

done

are you a teacher, mandi?

yup

what do you teach?

you must be too

kinder

yep.

i teach a first-year writing class at duke and am a TA for a fourth-grade class at an independent school

the writing class has lots of grading

ah, you have the big kids, I have the little kids

final grades are due monday, and i'm avoiding grading

hurshy is a teacher too... is this a favorite game of teachers?

ooohhh!! Twinkie!! I grew up in Durham and had a house in Old North Duke neighborhood ;)

maybe?

dino, where did you live?

I am in CO now, but all of my family is still in Durham. I am going home in June.

mandi, i would guess you don't have a lot of grading?

i think one of dr. god's former teachers plays too

dino, look me up if you want! :-D

probably not nearly as much as you

And I am a teacher ;) High School

lol. that noble profession we have all succumbed to

I'll give ya a buzz before I leave. We're going June 21-27th

but kindergarten has lots of little things, so the paperwork can pile up

cool!

mandi, i was going to say that you probably have all this prep to do.

I'm not a teacher except to one really bad student: me

yes, that's worse

i can't imagine teaching kids that young

lol

I'm on maternity leave right now ;)

congrats, dino

congrats!

yes, congrats dino!

She is turning 7 months tomorrow. I am stunned at how quickly it's gone.

thanks tons

will you be going back to teaching in the fall?

third trimester!!

you ARE a cheeky monkey! ;-)

:)

32 min :\

Yeah - want to get rid of that "what if" scenario.

good night everyone

nite

is this your first dinoshadow?

oi-FINALLY finished! thanks so much to all who helped (who are still online)!

Did you break it, cheeky monkey?

I lost track

first time i finished one that i found tough but finished without guessing

Congratulations, Twinkie!

good job Twinkie. i'm still stuck lol

good job twinkie!

:)

thanks!

talk, hang in there. these people are awesome at helping. just listen to them and ask for help

not yet, thanks for asking!

i really appreciated that you helped me figure out where to look w/o giving out the answer

i learned a lot from that

yeah i like that too!

i don't know if i'm far enough along to really get help lol i'm stubborn. i'm giving myself twenty more minutes to find a break through lol

it's all those teacher ed classes ;)

the locked candidate trick really helped, even beyond the 6's. i needed it to finish the puzzle.

mandi, i never took any teacher ed classes--i so want to!

that's what i am trying to look for, locked candidates

I couldn't imagine trying to teach w/o them

acheekymonkey, did you figure out the 1 in the top middle box?

cheeky, i know using the locked candidates techniques helped me with some ones and fours at some point...

yes! that was great!

finished!

I believe you have to apply one or the other of the locked candidates techniques three times in a row to make it through that sticking point

okay, now look for locked canidates with 4s

mandi, i didn't get an ed degree, i have a ph.d in english b/c i wanted to be a college prof.

Congrats, jojo

yay jojo!

so now that i want to teach k-12 i want to get some ed classes under my belt

twinkie, most of my college profs also had teaching degrees and I think that really helped their teaching

i wish we'd had ed classes in grad school

instead they gave us all this theory and no practical knowledge :-(

it can be scary walking into that classroom

and then i went to teach at duke as a post doc that was supposed to teach me how to teach writing, and i ran into the same bx

bs, i mean

as the teacher, or prof, I mean

it's like they assume that just because you are a good student, you will automantically know how to teach

I'm going to head off. Good night to you all!

thanks!

good night, david

bye david, thanks a lot! go make lots of moola!

;)

Hehe, thanks

Y'all listen to mandi now ;)

oh, dear

mandi, just noticed you live in orange county. i'm originally from so. cal.

really, where?

san diego. and i went to school in claremont

(yes, I finally completed the archives!!!!)

yay mandi!

very cool, I love San Diego

and i have lots of family in santa ana

I did my student teaching there

so how is the oc these days? ;)

in sd?

expensive

no, in sa

what school were you at in sd?

i mean, sa?

Diamond Elementary

on Edinger near Fairview

i don't know sa as well as i'd like. i know there's lots of mexicans (because i'm first-generation mexican and so are a bunch of my relatives)

yes, I had 37 spanish speaking 5 year olds, and I speak like 5 spanish words

but I loved every minute of it

i do love little kids.

what kinds of kids do you teach now?

upper middle class white kids in south orange county

I teach private now

In fact, I even have some students who live in Coto de Caza, the now famous community where "Real Desperate Housewives in Orange County" is filmed

hey all, the husband is home, so good night and good luck

Yay! Got it! Thanks all! good night!

how in the world does one solve these puzzles?????? i have never even come close.....

no answer??

acheekymonkey, congrats

jaia, use the green markers by holding down the shift key.. that let's you put in the ones that might go in the spot

jaia, it requires lots of patience :)

and read this: http://www.angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php

i got a little further, but i'm not sure i did it correctly ... it's working so far... i really need to go to bed but i think i'm addicted lol

i FINALLY finished!

Yay! I'm an official member now! :D

congrats floppy!

Thanks! Nice to meet you all! *blush*

cute kitten, is it yours?

Oh! Yep! That's my little guy! His name is Kimahri. He's my little trouble maker. :)

well he looks like a sweetie (probably to lull you into a false sense of security)

lol! So true.. ;)