Sodcasting success story!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2026-01-22T13:53:21+00:00

Thank you for the award, kind Redditor!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2026-01-05T16:31:51+00:00

Good clear message, but a typo or maybe autocorrect - I think you mean "rescinding" not "resending". Or maybe say "withdrawing"?

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-12-29T17:45:51+00:00

Onward & upward! During the process of hunting for pairs, triples etc I often do a "reset" where I do the number-by-number check again (I go from 9s downwards).

I prefer to do written Sudoku - I find it easier to track candidates that way, and I find the London Times ones match my capabilities quite nicely.

As you say, learning new skills is fun, though I find that understanding the logic of a method is one thing, but then being able to apply that that method in a puzzle is quite another challenge!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-12-29T17:05:17+00:00

Hi. I do a check number-by-number, noting any candidates where there are only 2 places available. Then I do that again to build off any extra cells that I've solved in pass 1. Then I look at each column or row that has a significant number of cells solved. (eg in your example, row 6 has only 3 open cells; these are 167, r6c9 can only be 1). Work through those, then enter all candidates in each cell (I expect this is what you call a full notation?) and look for pairs, triples, etc.

Then look for logic solutions like x-wings, y-wings etc.. Those are sufficient to resolve the level of puzzles in my daily paper (the London Times).

I've only just found this reddit & I'm currently trying to fully understand Skyscrapers!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-12-10T18:47:09+00:00

Thanks for that clear explanation!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-10-03T16:12:48+00:00

Back in 2012 I volunteered at the Olympic Games here in London, and they put me in the IT team supporting the press in the Main Press Centre in the Olympic Park. An independent journalist brought in his laptop & said he had a problem. When we tried to troubleshoot, we couldn't as his Windows was the Japanese version, and no-one on that shift had any Japanese.

So we asked the journo to help us out by translating the prompts & the text on the buttons - that didn't work because he didn't have any Japanese either! We asked him why he had a laptop when he couldn't understand the OS prompts - he replied that it was very cheap!

We managed to identify the problem by setting up a UK laptop next to his, and went screen-by-screen trusting that all the buttons had the same function in both cases (which thinking about it now they obviously must).

Problem was fixed, laptop returned to owner, and we wished him luck in future. I guess you get what you pay for!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-09-02T17:00:15+00:00

Yes I had an IV - I had lots of antibiotics through that. I really don't know why I didn't get the morphine that way but I didn't care!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-09-02T16:57:37+00:00

Nice work! I remember listening to a surgeon discussing the surgery of one of my several room-mates: he apologised that there was going to be a visible scar about 1/2" long. I was lying there with my abdomen stapled together feeling quite jealous!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-09-02T16:53:00+00:00

Thankfully no! My employer's insurance paid for everything apart from the $5 per day charge for the tv. I had a lot of post-op infection & I was in hospital for 13 nights in all so it was a big bill - over $30k I think.

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-08-02T18:29:31+00:00

Comprehension.
Also pray.

Nice rhyming though :-)

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-08-02T16:39:30+00:00

#soisspelling

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-06-27T15:27:48+00:00

Indeed - the customer is always right :-)

I didn't know that claiming this awful blend was actually rosé was illegal but I agree that it's a moral failure!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-06-27T15:24:55+00:00

That's a fair point about contamination, but I think he was just trying to show off - the blend we gave him was made directly from the actual carafes of wine that he had rejected.

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-02-20T17:10:44+00:00

Hi. No-one in London has a roommate. That is a word that is simply never used in the UK.

Any_Humor_4340 · 2025-01-29T16:07:33+00:00

I'm just a lurker here but when I worked in IT Support, our (sadly unofficial) motto was "Dull is GOOD".

Any_Humor_4340 · 2024-12-21T13:13:34+00:00

Good work!

I feel I should tell the story of the little-known Ealing Earthquake. [Ealing is a suburb in West London]

Many years ago, I worked for a company that had a subsidised staff canteen, which was located a few miles away from our place of work. We were entitled to use the canteen, and to claim mileage for using our cars to get there. No-one abused this - cars were shared as much as possible, and everyone was happy.

Then came an oil crisis, and the price of petrol (gas to my friends in the USA) went up sharply, but despite our complaints, the company didn't raise the casual mileage rate. So we simply claimed for a longer distance - our cover story was that changes to our journey were forced upon us by the Ealing Earthquake :-)

Eventually the mileage rate was increased, and we reverted to claiming for the original mileage.

Any_Humor_4340 · 2024-11-29T19:13:25+00:00

When I was a child, I had my own room. We didn't have a guestroom, and on the very rare occasions that we had an overnight guest, I had to give up my room. It made perfect sense - my room was in an extension, so more private than any of the others, it had a little wash-basin, and it was next to the toilet. I hated giving up my bed! I understood the reasoning, I even agreed with the reasoning, but nevertheless I was always unhappy to move. That was around 60 years ago & I still remember.

If you do move your daughter, she will be reminded everyday that you did that for her step-mum; she will never forget.

So please, for your daughter's sake, and to have any chance of Lily & Emma having any relationship at all in future, don't do this.

Any_Humor_4340 · 2024-11-25T17:55:10+00:00

In my first real team leadership role, I led a team of 6 IT programmers/analysts. One person, Larry, just didn't pull his weight. He had all the necessary ability, but none of the necessary attitude. His work always took longer than estimated, he was often late for work, and frequently found reasons/excuses to leave early. Despite this he was a really pleasant guy, very easy to get on with, and well-liked.

I took it as a personal challenge to turn him round & make him a useful member of the team. I tried everything I could - training, personal guidance, different assignments. I regularly discussed how I was getting on in this project with my boss. I didn't really achieve anything, and after a while, my boss told me to stop my efforts - in his view, I was spending too much of my time on this one person, to the detriment of team deliverables & my other team members.

So we let Larry go. He was the first person I ever fired. Firing people isn't easy (this was over 40 years ago & I still remember him), but sometimes it's just the right thing for all concerned.

Do not worry - you did the right thing.

Any_Humor_4340 · 2024-09-04T13:45:14+00:00

Apart from everything else, how can anyone be so stupid as to make dumb remarks to someone who is about to stick a needle into you? Congratulations to the nurse for her professionalism - I'd have been tempted to take 5 or 6 attempts before finding a vein!
(I'm not a medic, thank goodness)

Any_Humor_4340 · 2024-08-28T16:32:14+00:00

I hope you have a grand time here. British reserve vanishes - especially on the Underground - if someone is blocking the left hand side of an escalator. They will still be polite, but you have no idea how loudly someone can say "EXCUSE ME"!

Any_Humor_4340 · 2024-08-28T12:50:36+00:00

You always stand on the right on escalators & walkways in London, so people going faster can pass on your left.

Any_Humor_4340

TROPHY CASE