Power of sudoku

And I thought I was addicted to it....apparently the jury in Australia found it more challenging than what they were SUPPOSED to be doing...

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We were playing Sudoku, jury confess
Thu, Jun 12, 2008
AFP

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: A judge was forced to abandon a three-month drugs trial after jurors admitted they had been doing Sudoku puzzles.

Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra aborted proceedings on Tuesday after the jury foreman admitted she and four others had been playing the game to "keep my mind busy".

Their number was up after one of the defendants noticed the foreman writing vertically instead of horizontally.

Lawyers had presumed the scribbling they could see jurors doing was simply note-taking.

"We actually all thought they were quite a diligent jury," defence lawyer Robyn Hakelis told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

A new panel is expected to be sworn in within weeks.

In Sudoku, 81 squares must be filled with the numbers 1 to 9 so there are nine complete sets in each row, column and square. --AFP

Goodbye pluto

Change is the only constant - even a planet has been downgraded...

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Pluto gets a new name - plutoid

Thu, Jun 12, 2008
Reuters

WASHINGTON - PLUTO, demoted from planet status in 2006, got a consolation prize on Wednesday - it and other dwarf planets like it will be called plutoids.

The International Astronomical Union said in a statement that its executive committee meeting in Oslo, Norway, decided on the term.

Plutoids will be defined as celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun farther away than Neptune. They must have near-spherical shape, and must not have swept up other, smaller objects in their orbits, said the organisation, which names newly discovered planets and other celestial bodies.

The two known and named plutoids are Pluto and Eris, but astronomers expect to find more.

Another dwarf planet, Ceres, does not merit the plutoid designation because it is in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. -- REUTERS

One wisdom lesser

Went to the dentist today and found out that actually I don't have a wisdom tooth on the top right location. Strange, I don't recall he said that before.

We discussed about my lower wisdom tooth condition and his diagnosis is that the left one could be a simple extraction while the right might just require minor op (and stitching thereafter) to get it out...

Will need to get an X-ray to confirm both are in good state for extraction.

So I have tentatively marked my calendar in September for the first 'operation' of my life...

Great expectation

Sometimes, you set too high an expectation, and you failed to deliver. That feeling is never good.

So does it helps to set a target? I think the answer is still yes.

Fix a goal, prepare for it, try your best, thats all that matters.

Heartburn

Experience a piercing pain near the rib bone on Monday. It came without any warning and lasted for a minute or so.

Though I think nothing of it, but Dave still encouraged me to check with the doctor. Turns out my stomach is pretty bloated with wind, which is the likely cause for what I experience. The doctor calls it Heartburn.

To alleviate my worries, the doctor went into describing the different symptoms that might hint of a heart problem. Thankfully I had none of those. Nonetheless, in view of my age reaching the big four-O, he advised that I check out my cholesterol level.

Would have to get over the fear of blood and needles before I pluck up the courage to do the test...