Bestest Xmas Present Ever

The word "Yes"

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV Series)

I've been watching a bit of the new Star Wars animated series. It's quite fun! Lots of light saber battles, jedi tricks, bad guys, and some great effects and animation.

I came in partway thru the series, so I may need to dig up some old episodes.

Now... while this looks interesting, if you are looking for excellent television, then go watch Dexter. Best show ever. But it just finished its third season, so it is time to find new things :-)

Java doesn't work? Switch to Python

My friend Anthony just pointed me at this post from Larry Page 12 years ago. Apparently, he never found a solution. The first Google web crawler was written in Python instead.

Seriously funny stuff.

Unique Rectangle (Type 4)

A couple months ago, I downloaded a sudoku application onto my iPhone. I wanted something to do during the "in between times" -- while sitting on a train, waiting to meet up with somebody, or riding a parking lot shuttle. I started with the free version, but eventually upgraded to the paid version to avoid daily limits on the number of puzzles.

The app is called "Enjoy Sudoku", and it is really good. It has a hint mode that will give you a hint, you can ask for more info, and then one more time. It will basically walk you through what is going on, and explains the solving technique.

One of those solving techniques is the "Unique Rectangle (type 4)" and is quite handy. I've learned about BUGs, X Wings, and Locked Pairs. Lots of crazy stuff. This little application for the iPhone has taught me quite a bit about solving sudoku puzzles, and I'm continuing to get better at recognizing when a technique can be applied.

If you're looking for sudoku for your iPhone, then Enjoy Sudoku is a great choice.