Hmm, now that you mention it, I see that the solution in the article's comments is also wrong, as cell D6 has a value of 3. instead of 5. Perhaps the puzzle does have only one solution, after all, and this is why most of my runs produce the same result.
It looks like this puzzle is one of the hardest to type, if not to solve!
When I wrote my reply, I got a second solution after two additional runs on the solver. Now that I actually want to reproduce a second solution, my solver kept producing the same solution, so I helped it a bit by filling in an additional cell! (It's the"2" in the second row—"1" did not work.)
If your solver does not make random guesses, making its guesses in some deterministic fashion among valid choices (e.g., in order) instead, then it is obviously not wrong! On the other hand, I think it is fun to be able to let the solver loose on an empty sudoku grid and watch it produce a different solution each time.
One reason that you cannot solve this puzzle without making assumptions is that it has more than one solution!
One of the comments in the FA provides a solution to the puzzle, which is different from the solution I found using a sudoku solver that I wrote back when I realized that I was spending too much time on these puzzles.
When stuck, my solver starts selecting random values among the valid possibilities, backtracking if the guess does not lead to a solution. This makes it possible for the solver to solve puzzles that don't have enough (or any) numbers to solve the puzzle deterministically, producing different answers each time it is run on such a puzzle. I guess this particular puzzle is one such incomplete puzzle, as running the solver again, produced a third solution!
I would think that sudoku puzzles with more than one solution are not correct puzzles, so this particular puzzle does not qualify as such.
Indeed! Although I did laugh briefly with the so-called world's funniest joke, I think this one was a lot funnier. Perhaps the former is supposed to be funnier in the sense that almost everyone gets it, while the latter only appeals to Monty Python fans.
He asked if we could see the purple line and then asked who could see the *other* purple line.
Now, this is very interesting: Do you see UV as just more purple, or do you see it as an entirely different color, that you cannot describe to people who cannot see it, just as they cannot describe purple?
No, they expect people to transcribe the Greek texts, letter by individual letter, which is theoretically doable if you are familiar with the Greek alphabet, e.g., from math, even if you can't read Greek
The problem is that the Greek letters in the papyri look nothing like the modern Greek letters shown in the virtual Greek keyboard provided by the transcription application. Unless you are well-versed in palaeography, you are not likely to be able to contribute in the transcription of these texts.
Still, I hope there is some interesting stuff in those papyri, waiting to be (re)discovered.
You can get more than your daily fix of Emerald Mine with Rocks'n'Diamonds, which is free and runs on all sorts of platforms. I think it can even play the original Emerald Mine levels.
I think that the main problem with not having an internet connection is being unable to get software updates.
While you're not very likely to catch a virus on an unpatched Windows machine, if you're not connected to the Internet, updating Linux can be a pain. Fedora, e.g., practically assumes you have an Internet connection, as there's no "Fedora Everything" DVD.
This is the main reason I gave in and got an ADSL connection at home a couple of years ago. Before then, I'd go through various contortions to keep my computer updated using the Internet connection at work: I had installed, on a server at work, every RPM that I had installed at home, adjusting yum not to delete update RPMs, so that I could take copies home and update them by hand. When new Fedora releases came out, I would upgrade my home machine using the upgrade DVD, then bring the hard disk at work, boot my PC with it, and finish the update there. It all worked until I upgraded my home machine to an incompatible configuration (x86_64 vs. x86, RAID vs. single disk).
Apart from this, I agree that having a home Internet connection is not a positive influence. Look at me: it's a fine Sunday morning, and I'm sitting on my computer reading Slashdot!
How do you switch between the two? With a mechanical switch?
According to TFA, there are two modes: A manual mode, where you slide your finger along the ear piece of the glasses, and an automatic mode, where the glasses guess the mode from the position of your head.
The first mode is only superior to having two pairs of glasses and switching between the two, while the second mode is bound to make lots of incorrect switches. Did I lower my head, e.g., to read a book (close focus) or to look at the pavement (distant focus)?
I think the whole "replacement for bifocals" premise is wrong. A replacement for bifocals is already available. They are called varifocals or progressive lenses. I've been wearing them for a few years, and I highly recommend them.
Back in 2002, I transferred my old BBC micro files from 5 1/4" floppies to disk, for use with an emulator. At that time, the files were at least 13 years old.
Surprisingly, it was easy enough. I dug out the BBC micro and its (full height!) floppy drives, connected them, connected the micro to a TV, booted the thing, and it still worked! Next, I connected the micro to my computer using a serial cable, and used Kermit to transfer the files at (at most) 9600 baud. It took a while, but it worked!
This text reminds me of something Isaac Asimov wrote, about what he imagined would happen, when he died, if god did turn out to exist. Asimov's version ended with Asimov asking St. Peter for a typewriter, instead of virgins.
Can you think of anything done on earth that deserves eternal, and infinite punishment?
This is called universal reconcililation, and early Christian theologians, such as Origen, were declared heretics for holding this view. (According to the theologian who told us about this, at school, it was for purely practical considerations, because people would have no incentive not to sin, if they know that they will be forgiven, eventually.)
sending Hitler to hell... for trillions upon trillions of years
Sounds about the right length of punishment for the crime.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm, now that you mention it, I see that the solution in the article's comments is also wrong, as cell D6 has a value of 3. instead of 5. Perhaps the puzzle does have only one solution, after all, and this is why most of my runs produce the same result.
It looks like this puzzle is one of the hardest to type, if not to solve!
Here's one:
812 753 649
943 682 175
675 491 283
154 237 896
369 845 721
287 169 534
521 974 368
438 526 917
796 318 452
And here's another:
869 712 354
243 658 179
175 493 286
952 367 841
316 845 792
784 129 635
531 274 968
428 936 517
697 581 423
The list is not exhaustive.
When I wrote my reply, I got a second solution after two additional runs on the solver. Now that I actually want to reproduce a second solution, my solver kept producing the same solution, so I helped it a bit by filling in an additional cell! (It's the"2" in the second row—"1" did not work.)
If your solver does not make random guesses, making its guesses in some deterministic fashion among valid choices (e.g., in order) instead, then it is obviously not wrong! On the other hand, I think it is fun to be able to let the solver loose on an empty sudoku grid and watch it produce a different solution each time.
One reason that you cannot solve this puzzle without making assumptions is that it has more than one solution!
One of the comments in the FA provides a solution to the puzzle, which is different from the solution I found using a sudoku solver that I wrote back when I realized that I was spending too much time on these puzzles.
When stuck, my solver starts selecting random values among the valid possibilities, backtracking if the guess does not lead to a solution. This makes it possible for the solver to solve puzzles that don't have enough (or any) numbers to solve the puzzle deterministically, producing different answers each time it is run on such a puzzle. I guess this particular puzzle is one such incomplete puzzle, as running the solver again, produced a third solution!
I would think that sudoku puzzles with more than one solution are not correct puzzles, so this particular puzzle does not qualify as such.
a set of six pyramid-shaped probes
So that's what the title of the Doctor Who episode was referring to! I wonder if the probes will locate Sutekh.
Indeed! Although I did laugh briefly with the so-called world's funniest joke, I think this one was a lot funnier. Perhaps the former is supposed to be funnier in the sense that almost everyone gets it, while the latter only appeals to Monty Python fans.
I've no idea what VSIPL++ is, but would http://www.hpec-si.org/vsipl++-2005Jun29.tgz be what you're looking for? I found the link using a quick google search.
He asked if we could see the purple line and then asked who could see the *other* purple line.
Now, this is very interesting: Do you see UV as just more purple, or do you see it as an entirely different color, that you cannot describe to people who cannot see it, just as they cannot describe purple?
What next?
How about AROS?
Disney comic fans are reminded of this!
Yes, but did you run the software on its reviews, to test if they were fake?
No, they expect people to transcribe the Greek texts, letter by individual letter, which is theoretically doable if you are familiar with the Greek alphabet, e.g., from math, even if you can't read Greek
The problem is that the Greek letters in the papyri look nothing like the modern Greek letters shown in the virtual Greek keyboard provided by the transcription application. Unless you are well-versed in palaeography, you are not likely to be able to contribute in the transcription of these texts.
Still, I hope there is some interesting stuff in those papyri, waiting to be (re)discovered.
Yep, specifically for Emerald Mine IV :)
You can get more than your daily fix of Emerald Mine with Rocks'n'Diamonds, which is free and runs on all sorts of platforms. I think it can even play the original Emerald Mine levels.
I think that the main problem with not having an internet connection is being unable to get software updates.
While you're not very likely to catch a virus on an unpatched Windows machine, if you're not connected to the Internet, updating Linux can be a pain. Fedora, e.g., practically assumes you have an Internet connection, as there's no "Fedora Everything" DVD.
This is the main reason I gave in and got an ADSL connection at home a couple of years ago. Before then, I'd go through various contortions to keep my computer updated using the Internet connection at work: I had installed, on a server at work, every RPM that I had installed at home, adjusting yum not to delete update RPMs, so that I could take copies home and update them by hand. When new Fedora releases came out, I would upgrade my home machine using the upgrade DVD, then bring the hard disk at work, boot my PC with it, and finish the update there. It all worked until I upgraded my home machine to an incompatible configuration (x86_64 vs. x86, RAID vs. single disk).
Apart from this, I agree that having a home Internet connection is not a positive influence. Look at me: it's a fine Sunday morning, and I'm sitting on my computer reading Slashdot!
I use a slightly less complex one: 1234+0i.
I tried to read TFA, but when I clicked on the link, all I got was a 404 page. In fact, I got 30 of them!
We're not going to get the hundreds of tons for a fast starship drive this way.
Maybe not, but perhaps we now have enough antimatter to calculate the correct matter/antimatter intermix ratio!
All these corridors look the same to me!
nd mk prsnttns shrtr b mttng ll th vwls.
So say we all!
The Antikythera mechanism is a 'tool; that is no longer in use.
Nope--still being made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eUibFQKJqI !!!
How do you switch between the two? With a mechanical switch?
According to TFA, there are two modes: A manual mode, where you slide your finger along the ear piece of the glasses, and an automatic mode, where the glasses guess the mode from the position of your head.
The first mode is only superior to having two pairs of glasses and switching between the two, while the second mode is bound to make lots of incorrect switches. Did I lower my head, e.g., to read a book (close focus) or to look at the pavement (distant focus)?
I think the whole "replacement for bifocals" premise is wrong. A replacement for bifocals is already available. They are called varifocals or progressive lenses. I've been wearing them for a few years, and I highly recommend them.
Back in 2002, I transferred my old BBC micro files from 5 1/4" floppies to disk, for use with an emulator. At that time, the files were at least 13 years old.
Surprisingly, it was easy enough. I dug out the BBC micro and its (full height!) floppy drives, connected them, connected the micro to a TV, booted the thing, and it still worked! Next, I connected the micro to my computer using a serial cable, and used Kermit to transfer the files at (at most) 9600 baud. It took a while, but it worked!
I've got a better one:
openoffice.org');drop table employees;
This text reminds me of something Isaac Asimov wrote, about what he imagined would happen, when he died, if god did turn out to exist. Asimov's version ended with Asimov asking St. Peter for a typewriter, instead of virgins.
Can you think of anything done on earth that deserves eternal, and infinite punishment?
This is called universal reconcililation, and early Christian theologians, such as Origen, were declared heretics for holding this view. (According to the theologian who told us about this, at school, it was for purely practical considerations, because people would have no incentive not to sin, if they know that they will be forgiven, eventually.)
sending Hitler to hell... for trillions upon trillions of years
Sounds about the right length of punishment for the crime.