Sudokumania!

If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it

In these days of Alzheimers and related dementias of the aged, it is so good to see that many of us are making serious efforts to keep our brains cerebrating. To help to do so, much can be said about the value of doing crosswords regularly, and not enough can be said about solving Sudokus - that remarkably popular Japanese puzzle (which originated here in the U.S.)

I’ve been doing Sudokus for a few years and my mania for this fascinating puzzle keeps growing. In addition to a crossword, I always do one or two Sudokus at bedtime. Solving them gives me a very special good feeling that even helps me to fall asleep. The more I’ve done, the more I have learned about solving them - and I am still learning new tricks.

Just recently, I came across Web Sudoku on Google. This is an amazingly versatile and user-friendly program. With it you can quickly print large-squared copies of the puzzle in any level of difficulty (even EVIL and EXTREME). Or if you like, you can also do the puzzles directly on your computer without having to go online. And incredibly, the program has gazillions of puzzles for you to draw from.

Believe me, I am not a shill for the company. But I would be less than forthcoming if I didn’t mention that this program is free to try, easily bought, and easily downloaded. It costs only $14.95. Just type the word Sudoku on your Google address line and the very first reference you will encounter is Web Sudoku. Can’t be easier ~ Enjoy! "Vive la cerebration!"

Comment: mailto:domgab1914@comcast.net

Thanks for the tip. I am now trying it and I am finding it very interesting and challenging. I hope this will help to restrain my hovering Alzheimers ~ Tony

Where are We Going?

Election, Reflection and Rumination

If we carefully examine the reasons for making our political choices in the coming election, shouldn’t we also be subjecting ourselves to equally candid political scrutiny? In all truth, can any of us honestly and accurately say exactly how we came to espouse the particular political persuasion to which we currently adhere?

Just as the formation and development of our ego often depends on our derogating the egos of others, some of us mistakenly derive our political convictions from denigrating the political parties we oppose. And we tend not to be mindful that the faults we can easily discern in the targeted parties thrive with equal fertility and malignancy in our own.

But of one thing I am unambiguously certain, my ultimate decision will depend less on trying to make a comparative distinction between the complex tax policies each candidate is actively promoting than the visceral feelings generated in me by their individual personae. That one or the other of these candidates actually possesses a plan that will guide us and the rest of the world back to the Garden of Eden is a self immolating delusion.

Be reminded, two thousand years ago, the Holy Land and its environs was effervescing with the hopeful expectation that the Messiah was about to arrive and generously distribute divine blessings to everyone. Well, He did make His appearance. But in short order He was crucified and the world has continued to trip eerily and uninterruptedly, on its various routes to Armageddon.

What I see with abysmal clarity, is that man is essentially ungovernable. Even worse! Unrestrained by God, he has already become the scourge of this planet. It is manifestly obvious, man has been God’s noble, but tragically failed experiment.

Comment: mailto:domgab1914@comcast.net

Thanks to the games people play with numbers, taxes may be the single most disputed and distorted topic in this presidential campaign ~ Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

There are those who will question your "abysmal clarity..." I wonder if it might not be appropriate to address such a belief to those who already dwell in that school of thought. There is no doubt however that man has wrought destruction on ourselvesr through greed, war and striving for power over the weak ~ Tony C

Who Will Prevail?

~ ? ~

It can be clearly perceived that our electorate's choices on election day will be driven by four very distinct motivations ~ Pro Obama, Anti Obama, Pro McCain and Anti McCain.

For a variety of psychoanalytical reasons, all of the figures in the vast panoply of polls being reported by our media cannot precisely reflect or predict what the voter will ultimately do in each booth. Many cogent determinants are actively stirring in the hearts and minds of every individual voter and most are essentially un-fathomable. Indeed, many voters may not arrive at a definitive decision until the very instant they cast their ballot.

Nevertheless, The Horn boldly ventures to predict that the sum of Anti Obama and Pro McCain ballots on election day, will exceed that of the other two categories. What dost thou think?

Comments: mailto:domgab1914@comcast.net

Unlike your pick, I think the decisive sum will be Pro Obama (Intellect, freshness, prescience and lots of money) ~ Tony C

Dad ~ I recently ran across these relevant words of political wisdom - You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich - You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong - You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down - They were spoken by Lincoln, a Republican president who was utterly reviled by the Northern Press (NY Times) for pursuing the Civil War and subsequently not endorsed by that newspaper when he ran for his 2nd term of the presidency ~ Fred

One For The Ages!

How to deal with the de-cerebrating ravages of age and disease has become pressingly important for those of us who are elderly, especially since Alzheimer’s and similar dementias appear now to be increasing in incidence. We know we can never stop the withering process of entropy, but there are things I believe we can do to prolong our physical and cerebral effectiveness!

Physically, though I can no longer manage golf, I have no great difficulty briskly walking at least 2 miles a day on my community’s verdant hills. But to insure that my mind remains reassuringly active I spend considerable time on my computer. Keeping my blog interesting, informative and afloat is an ongoing and absorbing challenge. And now that my eye cataracts have been replaced by lenses with amazing clarity, I have happily resumed my bedside reading. But I almost never retire to bed without crossword and Sudoku puzzles.

And now for the Eureka! I usually do medium difficulty Sudokus, because I can complete them with minimal erasure and maximum enjoyment of the fascinating character of Sudoku. But I often wonder how programmers construct these puzzles. Though they probably start with 81 squares fully numbered, it has occurred to me that perhaps all they need do is enter a random series of numbers with no repetitions on a line or a column. Well, I just did exactly that on a blank Sudoku field, and guess what? The puzzle worked out to a perfect conclusion. So, chalk one up for focused cerebration and subtract one from misanthropic entropy!

Comments: mailto:domgab1914@comcast.net

Lux Omnipotens

A Singular Honor

Suddenly, during all the darkness and gloom of this past week's politico-economic global situation, a scintillating shaft of light broke through and illuminated my horizon with a life-buoying incandescence. I was apprised by my granddaughter, Elaine Connery, that she has been using my blog, The Horn, as her browser’s Home Page.

We all have our browsers and most of us continue to rely on the home page that was automatically selected for us when we first opened our computer. About the only additions some of us may have made to it are the favorite bookmarks we use to surf the net.

But Elaine has found it an unusual comfort to view The Horn’s entry page when she is about to navigate the internet. With a quick glance she reads what's posted and because of the particular orientation of my blog, she can stay abreast of any breaking family news. Besides its soothing words from the Archangel, the entry page also has two convenient hyperlinks, one is my e-mail address and the other gives immediate access to Google news, a news website like none other.

May I suggest to other internet surfers in my family (and even to my friends) that they consider doing as Elaine has done? If it does nothing else for us, it will help to keep us closer to each other.

Thank you Elaine, you have added much needed luster and brightness to my sunset . . .

Comment: mailto:domgab1914@comcast.net

Hi Papa ~ I am so very glad that the information I shared with you about having your blog set up as my homepage, has added "luster and brightness to your sunset". I feel that seeing your blog each and every day keeps me close to you and nan. I love you both dearly! Ray and I look forward to reading your informative stories as well as your words of wisdom (especially your political analyses)! You bring a peace and joy to my day when I see your blog! ~ Love, Elaine