Tuesday 2 April 2013

Today's Daily Brain Teaser (Apr 03, 2013)

Van Gogh's Relatives Return



Van Gogh (pronounced "Go") is back, with more of his relatives.



e.g. One of them was a well-known musical cousin from Liverpool, England. His name? Ring Gogh! (Ringo)



From the clues, can you guess the other names?



1. An elderly uncle who plays the numbers game at his community hall.



2. His young nephew who bounces everywhere.



3. A long-lost brother who had been on his yacht exploring a group of islands in the Pacific.



4. An aunt, famous for her milk pudding recipe.



5. His cousin with the skin infection.



6. The teenage niece who wears dark, trendy shades of blue and purple.



7. His Great Uncle Emil, the famous lecturer on self-esteem.



The hint gives the first letter, and number of letters, for each word.





Check Braingle.com for the answer.

Today's Daily Trivia Quiz (Apr 03, 2013)

Triple Phrases

How well do you know some common lists of three items? I'll give you the first two items; see if you remember the third.



Take the Quiz at Braingle.com

Vocabulary : Word of the Day : Cronyism

cro-ny-ism



noun :: Favoritism shown to old friends without regard for their qualifications, as in political appointments to office.



"The cronyism of the CEO filled the company's top positions with incompetent people, and the company failed."

Creativity : Capturing Creativity

If you have a digital camera, carry it with you for an entire day and keep a lookout for things that you think are creative or interesting. Take a picture of these things. Go for at least 100 photos. If you are having a hard time, try to focus on the little details. A book could have a creative title or a pile of paper clips could be in an interesting arrangement. At the end of the day, review the photos and pick your favorite 5 things. What makes these things interesting to you? By doing this exercise you will be increasing your awareness of the creative aspects of things that are all around you. The photographs are also a good source of inspiration that you can turn to when you are stuck on a problem. Sometimes seeing other creative solutions will help you discover your own.

Memory : Visual Imagery

Visual associations are a key part of many mnemonic systems. At first, making visual associations may feel unnatural, and it may slow you down, but keep practicing. The more you practice forming visual images, the quicker you will get. Creating visual images will always take a little extra time regardless of how fast you get, so it might not be the best strategy to use when the material you are trying to learn is being presented very rapidly. For material that you can learn at your own pace, using imagery will help. Even though it may take longer to go through the material once, you will need fewer repetitions and thus you will save time in the long run.

Don't Have $150 To Spend? See Some Of 'The Avengers' Box Set Special ... - Get The Big Picture (blog)



via brain teasers - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHXovOCbwxn2TQ4VpcNL_TTo6p9qg&url=http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2013/4/2/dont-have-150-to-spend-see-some-of-the-avengers-box-set-spec.html

Wooden Puzzles of your Dreams

I got dragged off to another site today and wasted too much time browsing their wooden puzzles. Then it occurred to me, other than Gene’s many games and a variety of nail puzzles, Are there any puzzle makers here on LJ? Do they socialize with regular woodworkers?


I am very fascinated with puzzles, but I’m not much good at solving them. I do have a keen desire to want to know how they are constructed, but the information seems to be as tight of a secret as a magician’s illusions.


One thing I have noticed though, is that the puzzle makers sure seem to have great skills in building what they build. So are there any LJ puzzle makers out there? And are you willing to share any of the workings and techniques in your builds?


Here’s a simple Box puzzle that I’ll get started with:



https://s3.amazonaws.com/ljimg/mknmzcw.jpg



Crafty Puzzles

Wooden Puzzles of your Dreams

I got dragged off to another site today and wasted too much time browsing their wooden puzzles. Then it occurred to me, other than Gene’s many games and a variety of nail puzzles, Are there any puzzle makers here on LJ? Do they socialize with regular woodworkers?


I am very fascinated with puzzles, but I’m not much good at solving them. I do have a keen desire to want to know how they are constructed, but the information seems to be as tight of a secret as a magician’s illusions.


One thing I have noticed though, is that the puzzle makers sure seem to have great skills in building what they build. So are there any LJ puzzle makers out there? And are you willing to share any of the workings and techniques in your builds?


Here’s a simple Box puzzle that I’ll get started with:



https://s3.amazonaws.com/ljimg/mknmzcw.jpg



Crafty Puzzles

Crossword guru tells his tale - Bay Post/Moruya Examiner



via brain teasers - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGHUrScerMcXslXKsWmPwJSQ4xdMg&url=http://www.batemansbaypost.com.au/story/1406002/crossword-guru-tells-his-tale/?cs%3D229

Puzzles and Monsters iPhone Game Review: Pets Meet Match 3 - Tapscape








Tapscape



Puzzles and Monsters iPhone Game Review: Pets Meet Match 3

Tapscape

Puzzles and Monsters is an iPhone game developed by iFree Studio Limited. In this interesting mash-up, players get the best of virtual pet collecting games, fantasy games, dungeon crawlers, and match 3 titles. Players can choose one of three brave ...





http://nt0.ggpht.com/news/tbn/QLDPBrJBujKHRM/0.jpg



Crafty Puzzles

Daily Sudoku: Wed 3-Apr-2013

http://www.dailysudoku.com/sudoku/png/2013/04/2013-04-3.png



Crafty Puzzles

Daily Monster Sudoku: Wed 3-Apr-2013

http://www.dailysudoku.com/sudoku/monster/png/2013/04/2013-04-3.png



Crafty Puzzles

Daily Squiggly Sudoku: Wed 3-Apr-2013

http://www.dailysudoku.com/sudoku/squiggly/png/2013/04/2013-04-3.png



Crafty Puzzles

Pixar Finds An Official Title For 'Finding Nemo 2' - Get The Big Picture (blog)



via brain teasers - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHUphoQwFRpDpTPGzXT2v-B1-AinQ&url=http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2013/4/2/pixar-finds-an-official-title-for-finding-nemo-2.html

Coffee Table #1: Thinking about getting started

I’ve decided that we need a coffee table in our family room. We used to have one, but it had a thick glass top that my 5YO son crashed into one day. The glass didn’t break, but the gash in the back of his head required a staple to keep it shut! Suffice it to say, we decided that it was time for that table to go. Now it’s hiding in the basement waiting for use to do something constructive with it (like sell it!).


Now the family room is wide open and in need of something. I’ve got a few goals for this project:

1. design it myself

2. build it with appropriate joinery


I want the piece to have some drawers for storing puzzles (we love doing jigsaw puzzles and don’t have a good spot to do them) and maybe a blanket if need-be.



I sketched out an idea for something with frame & panel sides and a couple of drawers (not sure if the dimensions make sense yet, but we’ll see). I hit Google image search for some samples of Arts & Crafts and Shaker tables and came across one that really blew me away.



I really love the clean lines on that piece, and how it seems so light but solid at the same time. After coming across that one, I decided that maybe I’d like four drawers instead of the two that I had originally conceived. Either way, now I need to drum up some sketches and figure out how this thing is going to go together.


Not sure when I’ll even get started, but I know I want to do it, so that’s enough of a start for now… I need to figure out if I can/should build it out of S4S lumber I can find at the box stores, or if I should venture into rough lumber and mill it here. The latter would require getting some more tools in the shop (either hand or power), so I’m not sure if that’s in the cards just yet, but we’ll see. I do know I’d like to build it out of oak.


That’s all for now… I’ll post more to this series as the project moves forward. I’m excited to document the whole thing to see what I can learn from it going forward.



https://s3.amazonaws.com/ljimg/mknaayu.jpg



Crafty Puzzles