777 stars...

and still climbing. If you're wondering which game, it's called Sudoku Gridmaster for the DS. I wouldn't recommend it; I just happen to like Sudoku a whole lot. I probably will get sick of all things Sudoku when I beat everything in this game. Part of the reason I'm playing through every puzzle is that I can only find cheat pages (really just unlockables) for this game. I cannot find a proper FAQ anywhere. I know there isn't that much to say about Sudoku (puzzle solving tips, perhaps), but no one seems to say what happens when you either a) get 1000 stars or b) solve every puzzle. I know solving every puzzle will do one thing: after solving the Platinum test (in 2:55 now, I'm getting embarrassingly good at it) it adds up your times for every puzzle and displays that time or 999h59m59s otherwise. Any unsolved puzzle is scored at 99h59m59s, so you won't see any difference unless you solve all but 9 puzzles at least. There are 193 puzzles remaining. One puzzle a day will take me until October 12th, and I'll probably finish before that, since I've owned the game less than 6 months and solved 211 puzzles in it which averages to >1 puzzle a day. Enough geekdom; getting ready for work.

Taxes and other boring tasks...

Did my taxes... thank god for automated tax programs. It saved me a lot of trouble, and a C-note to boot. I got a lot of stuff done this weekend: filing, cleaning, laundry, reading, and I got 766 stars on my Sudoku game. I then went to type my blog entry, and it started going really sour. I completely wiped it out and wrote what I have here. I now understand what Sarah was saying (Sarah's my sister, and quite probably the only other reader of this blog). I tend to only feel like writing down my thoughts when I'm down, to get things off my chest. What I didn't realize was that these negative thoughts reinforce when I'm typing like that and saving it to be reread in the future. I need to stay more postive. But first I need good sleep. :)

Really, 766 stars. That's at least 153 puzzles each in under 10 minutes at normal difficulty. I'm getting really good at the sudoku. Some of the harder puzzles take about 25-30 minutes, but never longer than that. I remember when the easy ones were taking that long. Maybe you can make yourself smarter with this thing. Or maybe I'm just teaching myself the test again. It does wonders for the ego though. :P

Refreshed...

Today was a fun day, even with its length. A lot got accomplished at work; that always feels good. Also, Dawn took me out to eat after work today, a place called Myrna's on the east side of Stamford. I always groove with these smaller shops; usually the owner is there to wait on you, and is very nice to boot. Dawn always picks out the best Mediterranean restaurants, and it was a perfect choice. I even yielded my coffee fast today to have a little Lebanese coffee, which is similar to Turkish but "brighter".
Anywho, other cool things about today:
1) Feel a lot more awake without coffee than I usually do. I guess that's what anxiety will do for you. ;) I'm trying to reduce to cold turkey, but I'll be smart this time and go slowly. This way I can enjoy the buzz when I need it, and only then.
2) The new Modest Mouse is great: Florida is one of the best MM songs I've heard in a long long time. Even as I had left Florida, far enough, far enough wasn't far enough. Unbelievably brilliant. I felt that way about Texas as I was leaving it. I may send a copy of the album to Adam, he's still in Florida. Poor dude.
3) Expert systems are really hard to put together. Mine is coming together very slowly. I'm using it to start coding up some example Wumpus problems, and then use it to solve Nurikabe puzzles.
4) Almost finished with Survival of the Sickest. What a strange book; it is the first time I've seen the use of evolution as a route to prognosis and diagnosis.
5) I am at 714 stars in my DS Sudoku game. Soon I will be at 1000 stars and will have no reason to play Sudoku ever again. Yeah, right. :) At least I can say I'm good at it. I can solve the Easy puzzles in 3 minutes now.
6) I will sleep well tonight.
It's about damned time I start thinking positively.

Exhausted

I have not been this tired in my entire career. This was one of the most exhausting weeks I've been through. I am so ready to just crash this weekend.

Disconnected...

I had no idea how tired I was at 1am writing my blog entry. I didn't get enough sleep and am rectifying that tonight. More to write tomorrow. It's amazing how a lack of sleep can make you feel more disconnected than you do in your dreams.

www.allconsuming.net is addictive

I spent the last 5 hours adding books that I have read to www.allconsuming.net. Scary. Some would feel squeamish about telling everyone what they like, but since Amazon already knows my purchasing habits, it might as well be in an accessible form.

I really can't call it addictive, considering my last long post. I don't think it was a waste of time, because other people who meet me will read over my lists and get an idea of the kind of reader I am. Okay, so it was a little bit of a waste of time, or maybe I don't know. I've really been concerned with the time wasting nature of most videogames nowadays. Are they addictive? From my last post I have to consider the possibility. Dawn is playing Sims 2 right now. She's been playing it all day, after I upgraded her machine last night. Tomorrow she'll break down, telling me that she regrets spending all that time playing that game. This won't alter her decision; she's told me all this before. I've gone on gaming purges in the past, and they rarely last. I was going to go on one recently, and Dawn stopped me. I got a Wii recently, and realized what I really wanted from gaming was something more physically and mentally challenging, or maybe I'm just coming up with more excuses to continue my habit.

Some of my gaming is good for my brain. I have Sudoku on my cell, my iPod, my DS, and in books. I do play it on breaks or before I go to bed or if I'm in line waiting. I find it mentally stimulating, and studies have shown that playing games can stave off mental decay. However, I don't condone long game-playing sessions, especially if they get in the way of living. Odd that I say that, since I have a PS2, a Wii, a DS, and my computer which has lots of games on it. I think the answer lies in moderation.

Now, only if I can develop that habit.

A story about "Snow Crash (Bantam Spectra Book)"

Snow Crash (Bantam Spectra Book)

by Neal Stephenson

I first read this book last year (2006) as an audiobook. It felt like a book written recently. I was so impressed at the foresight that this book exhibited, which is amazing considering that this book was the most fun I’ve ever had with a sci-fi book.

See more about Snow Crash (Bantam Spectra Book)