LOST - Kate & ,Mikhail

Season 2: Kate, Locke & Sayid find the crazy Russian mercenary named Mikhail - he with the patch over his right eye. They fight, his house explodes, they take him as a prisoner.

Mikhail tries to explain something to Kate then says: "never mind you're not on the list." Current season: Kate is a candidate. Hmmmmm.

Mikhail explains that he was the last of the Dharma initiative. Why was he not killed by Ben & the Hostiles? Theory: Jacob touched him - making him immortal.

Then, Mikhail leads the party to the electric pylons outside the grounds/barracks around the Others. Locke throws him into the electrical force field - killing him. As he's being electrified, he says 'thank you.' Of course, Mikhail comes back later to kill Charlie.

LOST - Prediction

In the last episode, we are given a surprise - Desmond is back - seemingly without Penny. I have no idea why.

However! We have not seen the last of WALT. He's not only going to come back, he's going to kill John Locke by throwing a knife into his chest 'before he can speak a word'. And then Walt will become Jacob's successor - even though he's not a 'candidate'.

Evidence: season 1 - everybody's playing golf. Except for Locke who's throwing knives at a tree. Walt ambles over and asks 'Can you teach me that?'

Sorry for spoiling the show's conclusion.

Lock Nested Cube

Bram Cohen is quickly designing a slew of interesting puzzles. 3 identical pieces. 8 moves to assemble. Made with yellow heart, blood wood, and mahogany. Expertly crafted by Tom Lensch.

Bram's Cube

This Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent is the proud owner of Bram's Cube - $440. The top and bottom resemble a normal 2x2x2 Rubik's Cube. Sandwiched in between are colored discs that rotate when you spin the top or bottom. Look closely and you'll see the internal gears. There are many twisty cube variations - this is the only one that has this strange disc alignment. Solving time: so far about 1 hour and still in the exploring stage.

Magnetic Tower of Hanoi

This Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent is at the Gathering 4 Gardner Convention. Uri Levy from Israel has created a new version of the timeless classic Tower of Hanoi. There are several versions. Interestingly, although the traditional TOH has a binary solution, Magnetic TOH has a ternary solution. Bravo Uri!

http://www.numerit.com/maghanoi/The%20Magnetic%20Tower%20of%20Hanoi.pdf

LOST -Inconsistency

Season 2 Jack is performing surgery on Ben. As soon as Ben is knocked out with anesthesia, Danny (one of the Others who is guarding Sawyer & Kate) says "Shephard wasn't even on Jacob's list."

Current season - Jack is on Jacob's list.

Hmmmmmm.

Akari - iphone puzzle app

As iphone puzzle games go, this one costs a bit more: $2.99 for just 50 levels. Nevertheless, when viewed in the context of playing time - it's good for 2-3 hours - less than the price of a film.

Rocky Chiaro

Rocky Chiaro has been making exquisite brass puzzles for about 20 years. Besides being clever & fun, they look great in a display case. The photo above is Eggcite. Go to his website and check out his key puzzles. Boston Key Party and Helsinkey are his gems. Jack is BIG and HEAVY. The nut and bolt puzzles all have different solutions. Did I mention that Rocky's a heckuva nice guy?

http://brasspuzzlesbyrocky.com/destinations.htm

Rubik's Wood Cube

It's been 30 years. Back to the future. The Rubik empire has produced a wooden version. Except for the stickers - it's wood inside & out. A must have for, well, people like me & you.

$30.00 http://winning-moves.com/

More about LOST

In the most recent episode, John Locke announces that he's leaving the island (with others). Is he going to Los Angeles to meet up with our never-became-castaways?

Season 2 or 3:
When Jack divorces his wife Sara, they meet at her lawyer's office. Jack says: what's his name? You can have the cars, the house, everything, what's his name? Sara refuses, Jack storms out.

Jack then starts going through her cell phone records to find the name.

Theory: the other man was Jacob! Evil S.O.B.

We still don't know how Jack got his elaborate, mysteriously smbolic tatoo. When/where? Does the 'alternate universe' Jack have the tatoo? Probably not.

Planet of the Apes? Remember when Sawyer, Jack & Kate are first captured by the others? Carl helps Sawyer escape and Juliet promptly shoots a dart into him. The 60 second scene contains very similar music to Planet of the Apes when Charlton Heston is running through the corn field being captured.

Spin Doctor iphone puzzle app

Seth Lipkin has created this admirable puzzle app. The object is to get the swinging white wand to a certain location and avoiding swinging red wands. There is a logical maze element by having to open/close doors. This puzzle app may not appeal to puzzle purists who don't want to deal with a timing mechanism. Reflexes are required! You may solve the puzzle mentally and have difficulty implementing the correct thumb action.

We applaud Seth for a fun game!

Blockhouse iphone puzzle app

Kory Heath has done an admirable job creating 100 tilt maze puzzles. Tilt mazes: the object moves all the way until it hits a wall. 99 cents for 100 puzzles that will last about 3-5 hours entertainment - BARGAIN.

Good for spatial reasoning. More important - it's fun.

http://www.koryheath.com/category/blockhouse/

Puzzles for the bathroom

Many people read in the bathroom. Some do crossword puzzles. It is never recommended that one do mechanical puzzles in the bathroom - for obvious reasons.

Nevertheless, we feel compelled to highlight this puzzle. Ideal for when you're having a cocktail party.

http://www.taylorgifts.com/item/dont_p_me_off_toilet_paper_holder/29524

Math Puzzles

Ed Pegg's site: mathpuzzle.com is superb on so many levels. Bookmark it & enjoy!

Fling! - Iphone puzzle

I've written before about Fling! There are 25 levels. Having just completed level 18, the message says:

By making it this far, you are now officially in the top 0.001% of the millions of Fling players worldwide, congratulations!

Slime Lumia - iphone puzzle

Slime Lumia is identical to the Nintendo DS puzzle game Prism. The object is to illuminate the funky aliens with the correct colored light. Things to manipulate: the light beam, mirrors, splitters, prisms that create red, blue & yellow rays from a white ray.

Prism will cost about $15 but has better graphics.

New LOST theory.....

In the most recept episode: we discover that if the plane had never crashed....Jack has a teenage son & Hurley is the luckiest man alive.

In the alternate reality, where the plane does crash, Jack is childless & Hurley has terrible luck.

Theory: Jacob caused misfortunes for both of them to eventually lead them to the island. In the case of Jack, he was the 'other man' his wife was involved with.

Proof that Jacob is evil: In season 2 or maybe 3, Carl is being punished. He is strapped to a chair & is exposed to extremely loud music with crazy images on a screen. One of the images says: God loves you like he did Jacob. Is Jacob really Lucifer?

Atsumari iphone puzzle

Terrific puzzle game

New York Puzzle Party Symposium Summary

Thousands of puzzlers across the globe have inquired about attending the NYPPS.

A brief summary: there were 5 presentations/lectures about completely different puzzle topics. 45 puzzlers convened to talk puzzles, try puzzles, and trade puzzles. Most importantly, it was an opportunity for puzzlers to mingle with like-minded people.

The next event: the International Puzzle Party - a week long event!

Tucker Jones Tavern Puzzles

A big issue with puzzle collectors: how does one display them? The Tucker Jones group is offering a good deal on a handsome puzzle stand.

http://www.tavernpuzzle.com/

New York Puzzle Party Symposium

The New York Puzzle Party Symposium has been an annual event since 2002. It will happen this Saturday 2/13 9:30 – 4:30


Scheduled talks

Instant Insanity Puzzle Family – In 1968, Instant Insanity was the country’s biggest game/puzzle of the year.


The Apartment Puzzle – Last year the NY Times reported on an apartment that was renovated with intricate puzzles in the cabinets, walls etc. One of the architects will be presenting a slide show.


The Puzzle King – Betsy Carter, author of The Puzzle King, will talk about her relative who created the first die-cut jigsaw puzzle out of cardboard. Time magazine dubbed him The Puzzle King in the 30’s.


Puzzle Apps for the iphone Some people buy the ipod touch or the iphone for music or the internet. Millions of others (okay, just me) buy it just to download puzzle games.


Show and tell of Trick Knives These puzzles consist of either trick opening or trick closing mechanisms. No rumble is planned.

Flying Karamazov Brothers - a juggling troupe will be performing at 8:00 in the village.

Valentine's Day

A classice Simpsons episode: Homer gives Marge a bowling ball for her birthday. Being so thoughtful, Homer decides to even have his name or initials painted on it.

Now's your opportunity to do something similar. Get your loved one a Tucker-Jones tavern heart puzzle. She'll think you're sweet and then give it to you.

http://tavernpuzzles.stores.yahoo.net/pz-irht.html

New York Puzzle Party Symposium

The big event is fast approaching. People interested in attending - contact me for further details.

Mystical Colors

http://loveyao.info/mysticalcolors

The object of the puzzle is to move mirrors anywhere in the grid to illuminate the stars. Purple stars need lights from red & blue. The free version has 12 levels & we're stuck on 8 - temporarily.

We've seen similar puzzles. Prism comes to mind. It's available only for the Nintendo DS.

Rubk's TouchCube

Look for the April 2010 issue of Games Magazine for my 2 page article called: Rubik Goes Electronic. It will be on the newsstands in a few days. Barnes & Noble carries it.

LOST Theory

It appears that Jacob has inhabited the body of Sayid. So now the battle will pit Locke against Sayid.

New Hanayama Puzzle

We have not gotten our hands on this yet. It appears to be similar to a 4 piece puzzle produced by Thinkfun.

http://www.mrpuzzle.com.au/prod104.htm

New LOST theory.....

The final season of LOST starts tomorrow.

Jacob & the Smoke Monster - have been around for centuries. The Island does not let women bear children - the babies & the mothers die. Jacob & the Smoke Monster are somehow feeding off them.

Related: Aaron & Walt are coming back to the island. Jacob & the Smoke Monster need their bodies to continue on.

Richard Alpert - has not aged in at least 100 years. Was he carried to the island on the Black Rock slave ship?

National Puzzle Day

Help celebrate this National Holiday by teaching somebody about your favorite puzzle.

While we're at it: post a comment about your all-time favorite puzzle. Mine's Rubik's Cube.

Kuku puzzle

http://www.sonicgames-uk.com/kuku/#home

Mr. Andrew Reevess of the United Kingdom recently sent my office a copy of his Kuku puzzle. Kuku has 4 settings of difficulty. And Andrew sent it to us at the hardest level. Now I should say that I met Andrew at the New York Toy last year & played with Kuku at the easiest level. The hardest level - I thought - would be ridiculously impossible! However, I did it - to a hearty round of applause from the secretary pool.

George Miller has retired

For the past 8 years George Miller has produced amazing puzzles in very limited quantities. He pioneered the use of 3D printers to create puzzles that could not be manufactured by conventional means. Most importantly, George teamed up with Oskar van Deventer and explored strange new puzzle concepts.

Last summer I visited George in his California home & admired (gawked is more appropriate) his collection.

http://www.puzzlepalace.com/

Strimko for the iphone!!

http://www.strimko.com/iphone/
The Grabarchuk Family: Serihy, Serihy Jr & Peter have consistently produced clever, fun puzzles. Their invention, Strimko, has taken the world by storm. Strimko is similar to Sudoku, but circles are linked together. Each set of links must contain different numbers while the entire grid forms a latin square.

$2 gets you 120 puzzles. That will keep you occupied for many hours - and less expensive than a movie.

Philiosophy: you can download a 'lite' or 'free' version. However, you don't get as many puzzles. Also, people should be rewarded for their efforts, right? Then they'll make more cool puzzles.

Fling! - Iphone puzzle

Fans of Lunar Lockout, an amazing series of puzzles by Nob Yoshigahara and ThinkFun, will love FLING! The concept is similar with 2 minor rule changes. The Free version has 6 levels of about 7 puzzles/level. The paid version contains 19 levels. I'm almost done with level 12. No need to ever say 'I'm bored.'

New York Puzzle Party

The annual New York Puzzle Party Symposium will be Saturday February 13 from 9:30 - 4:30. Please email me if you wish to attend.

Oskar's Maze Cube iphone app

Did you pay $5 - $10 for Oskar van Deventer's Cube Maze? It's been available in plastic and metal. Check bitsandpieces.com for the real McCoy.

Alternatively, you could do what I did yesterday and buy a virtual puzzle for your iphone or ipod touch for 99 cents. Besides being cheaper, it provides thousands of variations ranging from easy to complex. We applaud the designers for this tour de force! http://www.whifflebird.com/cubemaze/

LOST Theory

Fans of LOST know that the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 & 42 are significant. But where do these #s come from? One theory - from a middle school student! - is Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar had 4 children, was killed at 8 a.m., on the 15th of March, owned 16 houses, stabbed 23 times. Although he was killed in 44 B.C. - he was sanctified as a deity in 42 B.C.

On line Phyics Puzzles

ROLY-POLY Canon 2 is a series of 30 puzzles. Object: shoot the canon ball, from a fixed canon, and kill the bad guys. Fans of billiards will enjoy the ricochet action. In the photo above, there are 2 steel beams that will not explode. One is moving horizontally, the other vertically. This adds a timing element to the shooting. Not a great puzzle series, but entertaining.

http://roly-poly.zoomshare.com/files/flashgame.htm

YOT - 3 VERSIONS

The YOT comes in 3 varieties. We were the first to buy versions II and III. Version III is plated with gold. We bought ours at $80. It now sells for $125.

Helicopter Cube

The Helicopter Cube - created by Adam Cowan - good guy. It will be available for sale at http://www.TheTwistyStore.com

I had the opportunity to scramble and jumble Helicopter. Very very cool. A must have.

Master Skewb

Once upon a time, there were maybe a dozen 'twisty' puzzles. Thanks to Tony Fisher and a new generation of custom twisty puzzle inventors/makers, the world is a better place.

Watch the video!
http://tonyfisherpuzzles.net/110%20Master%20Skewb%20(%20Rubik%20type%20puzzle%20).html

Best On-line Puzzle of the Year! (So far)

http://www.continuitygame.com/
Ragtime Games consists of Elias Holmlid, Dmitri Kurteanu, Guy Lima Jr., and Stefan Mikaelsson. They reside in Gothenburg, Sweden and study at Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University.

Let's talk money now. You can play all 32 levels for free! (Level 29 is so much fun!) And it will engage your mind for a good 2 hours, which is, coincidentally, about the length of a movie. So do consider making a donation on their behalf: first, as a token of appreciation; second, in the hopes that they will make more levels. (Imagine if all movies were free and you paid at the end whatever you wished!)

Happy New Year Puzzle

Arrange the digits 0, 1, ... , 9, using one of each (no repeats) into the expression a^b + c^d + e^f + g^h + i^j to obtain the current year.

Puzzle from Michael Reid

Lab Mice Puzzles - now in Finland!!

It started in America, then crossed the Atlantic to Italy. And now, Lab Mice Puzzles are all the rave in Finland. From one of the local newspapers: When one of the Laap reindeer breeders discovered how much fun Lab Mice Puzzles are, he lost track of time and lost his herd. (Santa was NOT happy.)

http://www.sloyd.fi/product_info.php?cPath=53&products_id=355&osCsid=2217c6afa3683e25ddf7a6d3f7a8e890

Custom Extended Rubik's Cube Ebay

This 4x6x7 works almost like the 3x4x5. You must turn the top and bottom layers before you can start mixing completely! This adds to the uniqueness, complexity, and how much fun you can have with the 4x6x7!

$450 on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-CUSTOM-RUBIKS-4x6x7_W0QQitemZ190354012540QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2c51fbb97c

Oskar's Cube Now an iphone app

Oskar's Cube (http://www.bitsandpieces.com/product.asp?pn=42745) can also be played on iPhone now. The design and programming was done by Albert Leung and Mikheal Kruk. They present the app at http://www.whifflebird.com/cubemaze/. It can be bought at
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazing-cube-maze/id343941176?mt=8 (requires iTunes download).

Strimko

People who say "I'm bored" are boring. The Grabarchuk Family has consistently produced challenging, fun, online puzzles. Strimko is a nice variation on sudoku.

http://www.strimko.com/play.htm

Reflex Game

Block Dodge http://www.aggrix.com/games/blockdodge

Takes 2 seconds to learn and 30 seconds to play. My high score: 44. Beat that!!

Games Magazine current issue

The February 2010 issue is on the newsstands. Look for this Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent's article about laser-cut jigsaw companies.

http://www.libertypuzzles.com/
http://www.artifactpuzzles.com/

Ternary Burr !!!!!

Years ago, this Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent had the opportunity to buy the Binary Burr from Bill Cutler and passed!

I spoke with Goh Pit Khiam about 6 months ago about this project after I bought his Ternary Key Puzzle. Brian Young made 30 copies of this puzzle.....and it's sold out!

http://www.mrpuzzle.com.au/prod292.htm

Micro-Conundrum X3

GarE Maxton has quietly been producing some very interesting heavy metal puzzles. Expensive, but cool. This Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent will dig further.

http://www.maxton.com/maxtongallerypage.shtml