Monday, November 27, 2006

Why Knives Make Dangerous Screwdrivers.

It is hardly a bad wound but the knife just slipped right through my fingernail.

Taschenmessers sind gefärlichen Schraubendreheren.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

My Humble Pentago Strategy Guide: The Outside Line

There are a couple of main points when going fo rthe plain old striaght line in Pentago. First, it is best if you do not try to use this strategy by building a line through a center hole in one of your four blocks. This has the same problem of the Diagonal strategy that it is very easy to block. (Though if you did try to employ the diagonal strategy, and you were stopped, then trying to build a line through a center hole in this case might be a good stategy. But I digress.

The problem with this strategy, unlike the three square strategy is that your opponent will easily see what you are doing. The first step to a straight line as opposed to a diagonal is getting three marbles in a row on one block. I like to start out placing my marble to look as if I am going to try a three square diagonal strategy.

You then place a marble in the corner. Your oppenent cannot block both holes and you obtain a row of three in the next turn.
There are now eight good holes to put your marble in. Maybe you even already have a marble in one of these eight holes.
Now, you simply place a marble next to the one you just played in your last turn. After you have this it is simply am matter of twisting to win. As seem above, the way I do it, the two blocks need to be twisted in opposite directions to win. Provided of course you are blocking your opponent well.

See the other pages in this series

Three Square

The Diagonal

Intro

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Fürstentum Liechtenstein

I travelled to Liechtenstein recenlty just because it was there. It was a great day and I took a few pictures. The first is of some castle our bus drove buy. There are no trains going into FL so we took a train from Basel to Sargans and then took the Postauto from Sagans to Vaduz. It was a very nice autumn day.This is my wife posing by the bus. She wanted this picture as "proof" we actually went. Inside the bus there was a safety award for 2005 for the bus hanging up. The "safetest bus in 2005. I was thinking, well... how much competition for this award is there? How many busses does this country have? Since this is an annual award I would expect most busses to have at least one or two of these awards given the number of busses and the frequency of the prize.This is a castle where the ruler lives. Vaduz is a picturesque town great for walking around. You can see everything in a matter of hours on foot. FYI, the town only has 5,100 some residents, and only has an area of 17 square kilometers. Unlike other small principalities it is not overdeveloped with housing. It is a great place for hiking.

super duper miracle wonder cleaning product

Have a pesky stain that won't come out? Think your carpet or couch is ruined.? Have you tried everything? Are you sure you have tried everything!!

This is not an advertisement but is instead sarcasm.


I found this product being sold at a local festival. It is
Oxes Gallbladder.

It is sold as a cleaning product for clothes, carpets, and couches. It claims it works on grass, fat, candlewax, Tar, chewing gum, and ink.