June 27, 2005

Su-do-ku

Ever wish crossword puzzles involved more logic and less random trivia? Okay, so maybe I'm the only one, but at least for me, there's finally an answer. Sudoku. The puzzle game made its debut in the Washington Post today, as well as the Express (much to my excitement).

So what is it? It's a logic puzzle involving a 9 x 9 grid, divided into 9 3 x 3 boxes. You must fill in each row, column, and box with the number 1 through 9 without repeating any.

Where did it come from? Based on the name, you may assume it originated in Japan. In fact, Sudoku is a variation on an 18th century Swiss game called "Latin Squares," which in turn may be based on a Chinese game called "Magic Squares." In any case, Sudoku burst forth from Japan to the pages of Britain's Times (and many other publications) where its popularity has been compared to the Rubik's Cube.

I'm actually really excited about this one, particularly the fact that it'll be featured in the Express. Time to pack a pencil for those long Metro commutes.

Links:
www.sudoku.com
The Times

Posted by kenji at 08:31 PM | Comments (3)

June 16, 2005

Bodo's Opens!

Bodo's Bagels finally opens on Corner (The Cavalier Daily)

Bobo's Bagel was "coming soon" when I first came to UVA to take a look at it. The idea of it opening is something akin to hell freezing over and pigs flying. While I'm happy for the kiddies who can easily walk down to the Corner and pick up a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich, I fear for the Apocalypse.

Still, before the fire and brimstone strike the earth, I should head on down to C-ville and see this "open Bodo's" for myself.

Edit: Also, I think it's funny that while this just happened, I've already heard about it from three separate sources.

Posted by kenji at 10:24 AM | Comments (1)

June 10, 2005

I'm rich, biotch!

I was just given the best design project ever! You know those giant checks that are given out for things like the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, designed for photo ops more than convenience? Well, I got to design one of those for NCARB!

While the image below couldn't possibly capture the magnitude of its four feet by two feet size, you get the general idea. Also, the one we printed doesn't actually give me seventy billion dollars.

Posted by kenji at 03:18 PM | Comments (1)

June 09, 2005

Truce

Yeah, I'm growing a little tired of this polar bear/penguin debate, too.

Posted by kenji at 09:00 AM | Comments (2)

June 07, 2005

Times, they are a-changin'

God Lord, is this the only theme I'm allowed to write about anymore? Life's transitions, tech's transitions, this blog's transitions. The question is, how do I really feel about these changes? The liberal side of me wants to rejoice. The shadow conservative corners cringe and mutter.

Okay, so the rumors are true, Apple's switching to Intel. I have to admit that I was very apprehensive about this move when I first read about it. As a life-long Apple user, hating Intel has become something like a knee jerk reaction. The switch feels like a sell-out. Worse still, it feels like a short-term solution. Apple needs to get out the 3 gig Powermac. It's not happening with IBM, so they decide to make a complete switch to Intel. Problem solved, only now there's a new problem: dealing with such a major switch.

Okay, that was my mentality going to bed last night. This morning—after a short night's rest—I read Ken's thoughts at kwc.org/blog (Apple/Intel). Here's where the themes of transition and change come in. Apple is evolving here (or devolving, depending on how you look at it). With similar architecture, the question no longer becomes Apple versus PC but OSX versus Windows. Right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Marklar (the Intel version of OSX) can be run on a PC, right?

If this is the case, then like Sega before them, Apple would be shifting more toward software development, as opposed to computer hardware (those white earbuds will be around for a while). I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it all, but the next year or two will certainly be interesting.

Oh, and I don't think I'll be buying that desktop I was planning on. I'll wait for the dust to settle first.

Posted by kenji at 10:15 AM | Comments (4)