The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[Hud]

I walked away from the As/Tigers game when it was in the 9th inning still tied. I'll try to get back to it unless someone changes the station.

I also like Detroit's chances this season. Naturally, I'll be mostly following the Suns. They seem to have added several players who will fit in well with or without Amare.

I knew there were some inhabitants with the same ethnicity as I believe you to share living in Vietnam, and thought maybe in the Philippines. OK, for my next lame attempt I'll try Indonesia. I was going to try Singapore since the last company I worked for was acquired by Singapore Technologies, and we had to bring some of its engineers up-to-speed on ultrasonic imaging technology. Some of the engineers we received were from the mainland as well as several other countries in that part of the world, My answer is Indonesia though. Sorry to digress. Emm, if you want to you can also opine (there's a word I seldom use lol).

[udosuk]

The Tigers advanced emphatically, the Cards had gained the upper hand but nothing is certain yet... Though I'm still more interested in a Tiger-Cards Series... (Nothing against the Mets though...)

Not Indonesia... I like your guess on Singapore, but have to say it's not right... (Nor it's northern neighbour...)

I hate to keep you struggling, so perhaps a few handy hints (or reminder to pervious hints that you might have overlooked)...

1. My origin is not a certain big land, nor a certain small island, but somewhere in between (not referring to the size of the place, but more a geographical/political sense)...

2. I'm interested in both Yao Ming & Chien-Ming Wang, with no particular bias to either of them...

3. Think about our host...

Should not be too hard to figure out now...

[emm]

Opine is a great word, Hud, but not easy to drop into conversation ...

Pervious is another great word though rarely used. It's the opposite of impervious and means 'open to persuasion' as in 'beware of old men in raincoats, they may be pervious'. I think all of udosuk's pervious hints have been removed by the moderator.

[udosuk]

pervious:

1. (geology) (of a rock type) allowing water to pass through via its joints.

Let's just say my previous hints were so pervious that Hud might have let the correct answer pass through like water...

[MCC]

Talking about the moderator, i.e. luna, have people noticed the absence of her name from the board I sent her a PM about a certain "patrickv" and I recieved a PM from her today stating that she was no longer a moderator, as to why, she doesn't say.


MCC

[udosuk]

MCC, I did the same thing, and received the same PM from Luna... Guess she's busy... But Animator has always been a moderator here... Though often not online... Guess we need another volunteer, preferably one with good language skills (which rules myself out )... Any takers? MCC? emm?

[Hud]

At last the dormant Mets' Bats come alive. I'd actually like the world series to be New Yorkless, but I'm stuck with my prediction. I thought the bats would make up for the lack of 2 starting pitchers, but maybe not? I really don't think Suppon (can't recall the spelling) is as great as his last game shows, but we'll see. There are lots of former D-back pitchers who are having success with other teams. I suspect that we don't have a very good pitching coach.

I'm trying to search my limited memory for the answer to your generous clue. I do recall reading the answer when I first joined this group. Pervious is a great word that I've never heard before. I also noticed the lack of Luna's Name on the forum. I recall a long time ago, that she mentioned something briefly about some sort of situation in her life. Maybe I'll search through the archives and see if I can find it. It's really none of my business and I hope I'm not being overly curious?

OK, I did a Wikisearch of Pappocom, and think I found the elusive answer. It was going to be my next stab, but guessing not needed this time (I think). This land was recently reunited with the homeland. Now that opens up more questions that I have no business asking lol. I still might not have the answer, but is it Hong Kong?

[udosuk]

Another rainout... Jeff Suppan might have over-archived a little last game, but it doesn't mean he can't pitch another gem in the next game... Now that Chris Carpenter might be able to start game 5 (against Tom Glavine) I'm sure he'd like to redeem himself from last game... No matter how we look at it the next game will be the decisive game in this series...

There are lots of former D-back pitchers who are having success with other teams. I suspect that we don't have a very good pitching coach.

Another way of looking at it is you don't have a strong batting lineup to back up your pitchers... Solid run support always boosts an ace's confidence...

I don't want to continue your misery... Yes you've got it... By "recently" you meant 9, 10 years ago... I suppose it is for you... Apparently the "reuniting" hasn't changed much (yet)... At least people there are still allowed to root for Chien-Ming Wang etc (lol)...

Edited later: another pitching duel (sort of) in game 5... Now that the Mets need to win 2 games at home against Carpenter and Suppan I don't like their chances... The Cards bullpen looked particularly lethal this game...

My sentimental favorite is the Detroit Tigers, but they are also starting to wilt. I'm still PO'd at the Mets for beating my then beloved Orioles back in 69(?). I guess I hold grudges lol.

So I take it you still don't like the Mets much, in spite of Shawn Green...

[Hud]

Sorry to be so late posting. My wife wants to paint the outside of the house and one side needs new paneling due to sun damage. I suppose you guys in the southern hemisphere also have that problem. To top it off, it was my birthday and at my age, everyone seems to call to rub it in.

I've pretty much always been biased against NY teams even though I lived in that state for 10 years. Our observation that good pitching stops good hitting seems to be holding up. If Carpenter has his stuff tonight, it could be world series time. Shawn Green has had a pretty good playoff, but I wish he could chase down balls better in the outfield.

Getting back to the anti NY Bias, I got to thinking about it and I believe it's similar to when the US puts teams in international competition. No one really wants to root for a team with a supposed advantage (at least I don't).

This question appeared on a game show here (Jeopardy) yesterday. I'm disappointed that I didn't get the answer in the allotted time.
"In Latin, the name of this math field meant a pebble used in counting & the word also has the medical meaning "stone". As an observation, I believe udosuk will get the answer correct.

[udosuk]

Happy birthday Hud!

About the paint problem, I guess it could be due to the quality of the paint... If you got a good one it could last longer... But I'm no expert...

As for anti-NY bias, it has to be the same everywhere... In UK it'd be anti-London, in Australia it'd be anti-Sydney... Not any stranger than the anti-USA bias throughout the world...

As for the Calculus question, I won't go banging my head with that one... I could live with myself for unfamiliarity of Latin with a question which could be googled up in 2 seconds...

When everybody expects a team to win, that's when it gets worrying if that team happens to be who I root for... It sums up my feeling right now... But I'd still put my bets on the Cards if it ever gets to a game 7...

[Hud]

I was just listening to a talk sports show on radio, and they mentioned how dismal the Card's record was in the regular season. They said the Cards won only 83 games out of 162, but I don't feel like looking it up. The Tigers lost 31 of their last 50 game in regular season. I suppose the only thing that matters is when you peak, and how you perform in the playoffs. We saw how that worked in the NBA playoffs last season.

Thanks for the b-day wish. I won't give a blow-by-blow of the paint job, but today I took off 4 sheets of the plywood paneling. The old stuff had been there for 34 years, and it's time had come. To get warmed up, I changed a ceiling fan/light in the family room to get more light to do my morning Sudokus. Sorry to get so far off the topic.

I didn't think the Calculas question would stump you. I usually do better on them. Maybe if they had mentioned dentistry, I'd have gotten it, but probably not.

Game starts in about 1/2 hour. I'll try to catch some of it between the evening shows.

[udosuk]

Check this out, it's about the Mets' game 6 winning pitcher, John Maine:

Maine, a 25-year-old right-hander, was obtained in January's dump of Kris Benson to Baltimore. In a tense time, he provided the cool of a veteran -- on days he pitches, he usually sits by himself in the clubhouse before the game doing Sudoku puzzles.

He's got to be one of your favourite, coming from the O's and loving Sudoku...

Still, I'm going for the Cards... Expected a game 7 and ain't surprised at all...

[Hud]

Ouch, you would mention my formerly beloved O's. Those poor guys have to contend in the most hotly contested division in baseball, or probably any US Sport. They have a large payroll, and never manage to get close to .500. Toronto seems to want to challenge the Yanks and BoSox, but so far seem outmanned.

I hope you didn't see or hear about this, but our local football team, The Arizona Cardinals, blew a game against the best team in the NFL on Monday Night on national TV. Luckily, I didn't watch the last quarter meltdown, but it was one of the most spectacular giveaways in NFL history.

Tonight's game should be a classic. I kind of wish the Mets would start Oliver (I believe that's the guy who pitched 5 shutout innings the other day), but I'm sure he'll be warmed up to go in at a moment's notice.

I too would like to see emm don the cloak of moderator, defender of the weak and punisher of the unworthy. I would nominate George Bush, but I don't believe he reads much. Sorry for slipping in a quasi-political statement lol.

[udosuk]

This year the Blue Jays has overtaken BoSox as #2 in AL East... But it could be a while before they can challenge the luxurious Yankees...

I didn't "see or hear" about that Arizona Cardinals-Chicago Bears game before you mentioned it. But after that needless to say I went and checked it out... So you were practically acting against what you "hope"... Isn't it ironic or not?

Now, about that game, I think there have been many teams which lost from 20-pt halftime leads or 13-pt 4th quarter leads before, so aside from the fact that the Bears won with 3 touchdowns straight from fumbles/punts and the Cards (yours, not the World Series bound team) missed a tough FG in the dying minutes I don't think it's that spectacular a giveaway... Of course being not an NFL fan or an Arizona resident I can't share your feeling... But I'm sure you can get over it...

Tonight's game should be a classic. I kind of wish the Mets would start Oliver (I believe that's the guy who pitched 5 shutout innings the other day), but I'm sure he'll be warmed up to go in at a moment's notice.

Perhaps that "Oliver" you mentioned wasn't the one that actually started (Oliver Perez), but he did a great job anyway, almost matching Suppan's super effort... And great call on it being a classic! When I saw the amazing HR-robbing catch from Chavez in the 6th I thought it was the Mets' night, but unluckily for them their bats couldn't get hot enough... That bottom of 9th was so intense! Kudos for the rookie closer to come through with all the pressure on his shoulders...

And you've always stressed your preference to keep a pitcher who pitched well in the 8th to close out... This was exactly what Randolph (the Mets manager) did, and it cost them the series... I would have sent in my best closer to pitch the 9th no matter what...

It's so funny for the Cards, all the big guns (Pujols alike) are under-archieving and it's the lower order batters who are doing the job for them. I'm not sure what would happen for them in the WS now... So my call of Tigers winning 4 to 3 could be a bit unsafe (it could end much quicker)... Especially if Carpenter could only start from game 3 and Suppan from game 4...

[Hud]

I enjoyed the game last night also. Suppan pitched very well, and the Mets just didn't deliver in the clutch. I'm not ready to give in on my theory about using the closer. Usually, managers don't like to use the closer in a tie game that might go to extra innings. The game winning homer came so suddenly that Randolph didn't have time to use the closer in the conventional way. If the Cards had loaded the bases or something, I think that would be a good time. Oh well, I don't think the Mets would have done well in the world series anyway what with their ace out of the rotation. Now if it just keeps from raining for awhile, we can get on with the series. It should be a good one, but I have to think the Tigers will win it. I suppose that's the kiss of death for them since I haven't been right very often lately.

I don't know what the pitcher's name was that I was referring to as "Oliver". Maybe it was "Oliverez". I'll have to try to review the other games or Mets Roster to check on it.
Looked it up, and it must have been Oliver Perez. I thought I saw Oliver on the back of a pitcher's jersey and I wasn't even drinking.

The thing that was so amazing about the Cards (football) meltdown was that their defense played an amazing game, and Grossman, the Bear's QB, played what he called his worse game ever.