After serious discussions with my wife, I have decided it is time to retire from active sudoku duty. Raising a family, looking for my next academic job, trying to do research and keeping on top of posts in 5 different forums has become too much for me. I just want to thank some of the people who have helped me to learn the intricate complexities of such a remarkably simple game:
udosuk, ronk, MCC, tarek, JPF, emm, ravel, Cec, gsf, tso, RW (the inventor of my all time favorite move, the reverse BUG), Danny, coloin, Jeff (whose work on nice loops I still read), Carcul (who taught me nice loop notation and that if there is a solution using two steps, there's probably a solution in one step), Ruud (I spend as much time with SudoCue on as I spend with my children ), Myth (perhaps the best combination of theorist, player and expositor in Sudoku, past, present and most likely future), wapati (whose puzzles are the perfect balance of complexity and solvability), Ocean, Havard (skyscapers and 2-string kites made a huge difference in my sudoku life), Mike Barker (always a gentleman, genius, guru, etc...), m_b_metcalf, Red Ed, angusj (SS is still the gold standard), vidarino, claudiarabia (for teaching me the beauty of the bicycle), Mauricio, gfroyle, bennys, Nick70, rubylibs, gurth (GST's are still pretty cool), keith, Lummox JR, Mad Overlord (I learned sudoku on the Susser and the manual is still the best explanation I've read of some techniques), aeb (subset counting still hasn't gotten the due it deserves), Steve R (for teaching me transport, thank you!), Steve K (absolutely brilliant!), Obi-Wahn.
If I left you out, I apologize (except for Denis Berthier who is left out on purpose). I've enjoyed my time here immensely and I wish you all the best in the future.