How I Created, Entered in, and Won My Own Sudoku Olympics!

Let's not kid ourselves; the Sudoku craze has taken over the planet. Everywhere you look (or at least everywhere I look) little kids and cute grandmas are penciling in their own set of mysteriously addictive squares.

Is it a one or a nine here? Does this box have a six? This can't be a seven? THIS CAN'T BE A SEVEN!!!

It's amazing the kind of joy those mystical numbers, 1 to 9, will bring you. How relieved we've all felt when we finally cracked that one hard to decipher box.

Anyway, you get my point: Sudoku is Life; Life is Sudoku!!!

For the past two weeks, in the absence of my Sudoku partner, I've made a pact with myself that I will become a better Sudoku player. I want to help my team become better, be better, Sudoku better (as you may already know, "Sudoku" has also become a verb; much like "TiVo").

As such, I have made myself (1) use a pen and (2) fill boxes out with ONE (and only one) guess for as long as possible before engaging in the ultimate game of "what can this box be" strategy.

After making this goal known to myself, it is with great pride and pleasure that I can finally boast about the photograph below.



Nothing special, you say? Well, look again! Notice all the ink marks made WITHOUT any erasures or multiple-numbered boxes! (all signs of Sudoku weakness!).

No! Not I. I am a Sudoku Olympian! I am a medalist in the Sudoku Olympic games of 2007 in Culver City's North Corner Adjacent Palms! YES, it is now officially on my resume!

I can finally be a better Sudoku partner!
I no longer have to mark up an empty box with "potential" numbers or "educated" guesses!
Free at last! Free at Last! Thank Sudoku almighty, I am free at last!!!

Is Tonight's "24" Season Finale a Repeat?

If you are one of the many people that have watched more than (or equal to) 5 episodes of "24", then you probably have figured out that the show is on perpetual repeat. Watching any new episode is synonymous with having a very strange flashback: I know I've been here before, but I can't quite recognize it. You are pretty sure you know what's coming, but because you are not 100% sure, you end up watching to secure the fact that yes, indeed, you've been here before. It's the classic carrot-in-front-of-the-horse trick: I'm almost there... nope, I'm almost there... nope, I'm almost there.

It still baffles me that this show has been on the air for (is it actually?) six seasons. So, it was a subconscious reaction to roll my eyes when I heard that tonight is the season finale "24." I can instantly name a few friends that are sure to be glued to their TVs right now (as I type this) watching and waiting for the excitement that is to unfold.

I, instead, thought I would blog about it. Through the magic of telepathy (and the art of repetition), I'm going to guess what tonight's episode will entail. In fact, I'd like to solve the "equation" of "24" before our very eyes. So, without further adieu, here is what will happen in tonight's season finale of "24" (Spoiler Alert!). In fact, here is what will probably happen in EVERY episode of "24" you will ever watch:

• The balance of national (or even global) security will be tilted and an imminent danger will present itself.
• This imminent danger will be so sub-sub-sub-classified that (somehow) only a few people in the world will know about it: namely, Jack Bauer, his boss, his boss' boss, and a lowly intern caught in the middle.
• In the early part of the show, it will become apparent that either one of the bosses OR the lowly intern is IN on the plot.
• It is at this time that Jack Bauer will be arrested (for all the wrong reasons: ie, trespassing amidst the gravest of security issues ever to arise).
• Seconds away from sure disaster, Bauer, with the help of an innocent, honest, hard-working person (who will soon die) will escape.
• With the slick help of some movie magic, Bauer will drive from Pasadena to Santa Monica in 15 minutes during mid-day on a Friday! (C'mon!)
• Bauer will foil the nefarious plot, but in the process any combination of the following will die
• Jack's Boss
• Jack's Boss' Boss
• Innocent, hard-working person (see above)
• Bad Guy (or Gal, let's be fair)
• The episode will end with a chilling cliffhanger that will reveal even more grave danger than previously thought.

How many times can the above scenario successfully run on primetime television? Well, what's 6x22? Because after tonight, that's how many times in can run.

And, it will run again next year and beyond... especially since Keifer Sutherland has just signed a contract through 2025. I wonder if it will still be exciting watching Bauer with a walker and false teeth?

So, to all the "24" fans... go ahead and knock yourself out. I can't really complain... how many times have I paid to watch yet another reincarnation of "Romeo and Juliet?" More than I'd like to remember.

For now, I'll skip the algorithm above and, instead, blog about it. Because I'm cool. And, I blog.

Plus, the World is Now a Better Place

There are a few times a year when something comes along that you know will change the way you live your life. Quickly thinking back, I can recall my first few days with TiVo and the first time I used a microwave. Thanks to the technology boom, these special occasions are now far and few between.

Just yesterday, I came across the probable 2007 winner. During a leisurely breakfast, while flipping through the pages of Entertainment Weekly, I came across a drink that may alter life as we know it: Diet Coke PLUS.

Just when we thought everything in the Coke world had stabilized, here comes the biggest and best drink concoction of all time! Not only is this Diet Coke (which originally was made from carbonated, sweetened soap water), but they've added some essentials: Each 8-ounce serving of Diet Coke Plus provides 15% of the daily value for niacin and vitamins B6 and B12, and 10% for zinc and magnesium!

Don't bother trying to figure out things like "why 15%" or "zinc"? Just sit back and sip back a cold Diet Coke Plus. For all of us conscious eaters who feel a bit "dirty" having just a plain Diet Coke, we can now get a step up on life! Now, we will be vitaminized and magnesiumed!

No longer will you say: I sure hope this sweetener Coke uses doesn't cause cancer. We will not have to bare that soapy taste for no reason. All our troubles will be amply rewarded with over 10% of our daily need for niacin, B6, B12, zinc and magnesium!

Thank you, Coke, for sprinkling some Centrum into our drink! Delicious! Healthy! And invigorating!

As the ad line says: Your friend just got friendlier.

Hello Diet Coke PLUS! Goodbye long, sleepless nights!