We’re doing the Christmas thing after all. Setting up the tables and dusting into the corners. Read on, but first let me report a minor victory. I’ve cracked the Sudoku code, and if I already told you that, it means I did it over again even better. I can now create untraceable “copies”, thus allowing somebody else to do all the hard work. They should never have told me that puzzle was not patented.
Today could be defined by the bingo game. My gosh, did I just say that? We are slowly but definitely winning over the crowd from the “Moose”. All I know about that place is they don’t tip the caller (which is primitive) and it is staffed by volunteers, meaning that is the grade of service they get. We have six ladies show up tonight, and when you get the ladies, the men will follow.[Author's note 2019: it turns out around the same time, a lot of other programmers had figured out the code and Sudoku quickly assumed the same format as today, shunting out most of the variations. Invented in Indiana in 1974, it did not really come into its own around here until recently, when I began noticing it on the Miami Times puzzle page. I'd thought of generating puzzles, but noticed they were already appearing in the Dell puzzle booklet. Interesting code, though.]
It was either that or write about my newest anti-virus software. What? You’d rather talk about bingo? Sure. I found out that the bingo at Jimbos was going on for three months before I started calling. It was August and I had gone in there on a Saturday to pick up a microphone for repair. Jimbos used to have one of the regulars calling the numbers, by the second week I had the PA system rigged up for sound. It is just the way bingo is played now, and the show is a remarkable hit.
Pete the Rock showed up with a huge bag of goodies. Instead of everybody scattering for Xmas, it looks like a dinner here. We certainly have the space. I plugged in the spare refrigerators and Wallace tackled the tile floors. We’ve been “bachin’” and things don’t always get spic and span by themselves. They’ve found a lady who is cooking the turkey and delivering it around 2:00 PM tomorrow (Sunday). We dug out the folding table and remarked how this has turned into a big operation.
I did a shop for extras and there were no bananas or cranberry sauce left in this town. It looks like our “free” Xmas dinner already cost us $46 plus whatever Wallace spends. It has dropped to 58 degrees, very chilly for Florida, so we’ve set everything up indoors. The anticipated crowd is eight people, we have accommodation for twelve in case. Either way, space won’t be a concern and if it is, another twenty will fit on the patio.
Changing the topic, the Dunkin’ Donuts on Federal is turning into a legend. It is the only building in the entire area (not counting casinos) that is spending tons of money. My guess is the owner made enough to buy the premises and is now turning it into what he wants. That’s the guy who used to give me free donuts because I always had change out in the car when his till ran dry. I only quit going there because there is no bike rack. Well, that, and my unwholesome affinity for donuts. Plural. Lots of donuts.
There are some inventions that are worthy of mention for their monumental idiocy. Proof that, in general, design engineers are not required to read history books during their college terms. Every one of those clueless wonders seems bent on reinventing the wheel, not for improvement, but because he doesn’t know enough about it. The two inventions today are both on microwave ovens. First prize goes to the genius who designed the cavity light that goes out when the door is opened.
That has to be the all-time winner. But a close second is the oven with no start button which operates whenever the timer is not at zero. So late at night, with some minutes left on the timer, you find your pizza is done and remove it and close the door. There you are, standing with soda in one hand, pizza in the other, and the damn oven starts running. Let’s hear it for those unsung twentieth century masterminds.
Unsung and unhung if you ask me.
