Windows Solitaire. Windows Defenestration.
I beat my Windows Mobile Solitaire for the first time today. I scored 3696 points and solved the puzzle in 228 seconds.
In other news, my work XP notebook crashed today. Hard. It won’t boot in Safe Mode. It won’t boot in Recovery Mode. I’ll be playing Alt-F8 debugging games over the weekend so that I can be productive on Monday.
My question is, does Microsoft have a rebate or exchange scheme for these items? Could I trade in my valuable Solitaire win for a machine that just, say, works?
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November 17th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Failure of BIOS hard drive scan and 31-minutes-on-the-phone-to-Bangalore later, I’m getting a new hard drive.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
And 205 seconds and 4025 points later, I win another game. This is unfair.
November 19th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Could I trade in my valuable Solitaire win for a machine that just, say, works?
So you’re saying that you want to trade your win for a Mac, then?
November 19th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Smartass.
November 19th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Emphasis on the “smart”?
November 19th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
It would be an Ubuntu box if I had my druthers. But I’m not sure where to get my druthers. I checked at Burger King, but apparently there was a falling-out in the royal family.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
239 / 3489
The scoring algorithm for a winning game is -15.54 * (time in seconds) + 7218 … almost?
November 28th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
That cannot possibly be right, can it? In that if you take 465 seconds you’d get a negative (or at least zero, if there is a ceiling function) score? The three points are strikingly linear, though.
It’s easy enough to test, I guess: wait until I’ve almost solved a puzzle, then set the device down for several minutes before finishing it.
Anyone else have sample points?
December 4th, 2007 at 11:19 am
With all dhu respect, your review of Loch Dhu proves to me that you either never tried it (but perhaps thought you did) or your taste buds, nose and eyes are sadly impaired) - or - you’re just trying to be funny with your wild exaggerations.
Whether you like the scotch or not, your descriptions are absurd. The nose is anything but “closed, unexpressive, slightly charred”. It has a pleasant bouquet albeit not especially nuanced. Slightly charred? You’re supposed to sniff it and drink it - not stare at it. Even then, it doesn’t really look “charred”, just black - and not, by the way, the color of espresso and blood. Did you think you were waxing poetic when you said that? - or funny? - or both? - or how about neither? And what were you attempting to be with the almost laughable exaggerations, “like cigar ashes mixed with vodka and moldy blackberry jam”. Oh, how clever. I’m sure you have an intimate knowledge of those tastes. Interesing that you would find such unimagineable horrors lurking within this pleasant little single malt scotch whiskey with the very smooth and velvety feel, and a lightness of taste belied by its darkness of color (black).
But there’s more - and here it sounds like something written by a 12-year-old. The finish made you recoil, grimace, and frantically shake your head?! It’s nauseating?! It tastes spoiled?! Oh, really?! Are you the author of that children’s Halloween poem, “Great green gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts”?
To quote Debra Barone in “Everybody Loves Raymond”, Who’s the nut job now…? Who’s the nut job now?
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Loch Dhu 10 year old (Mannochmore distillery)
Distillery bottling, 40% a.b.v.
Labelled “The Black Whisky”, and meant to appeal to a younger market than usually consumes whisky (such as me, I suppose.) It’s not so much black as the color of an equal mixture of espresso and blood. The nose is. The palate is blatantly offensive. There is something unmistakably wrong with it. It tastes. The only nice note is in the background, with some hints of dark chocolate covered espresso beans. But it’s the finish that really gets you, actually making me recoil, grimace, and frantically shake my head. It’s nauseating. It tastes spoiled. It’s unbelivable that it was commercially marketed. One understands at once where the rumor of “a production accident at Mannochmore” came from. If you ever have tasted, say, an old dumpy Cadenhead that sat with a faulty cork for twenty years on a hot, dusty shelf, you know what you are in for. It tastes ruined in the bottle, contaminated. And I assure you, it’s not just my bottle.
For the sake of science and journalism I tasted it again for you, my readers, just to write these notes. You can see the sacrifices I undertake for you. And before the nut jobs out there ask, yes, I know where you can get it. Check ScotchFinder. Against all possible logic it is now a collector’s item, and Sukhinder at The Whisky Exchange has it for $170. Enjoy.
Suggested for: Never, ever. But there’s no accounting for taste, as they say, so if you like it, more power to you.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Wow, Ron, those are some strong feelings there. You’d think I was talking about your murdering cousin or something.
Did you not note that there’s a discussion board for malts set up? Or were you too blinded by rage at someone’s opinions of your favorite alkeehall? At least you weren’t too blinded by rage to remember dialog from that paragon of entertainment, “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
You’ll find similar views of the whisky from every prominent whisky writer. But why trust anybody with a discriminating palate, when you can simply go nutso on someone’s blog?
December 4th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
TEH WISKEE R OF SUX! DRX BEERZ!
December 4th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
In all fairness to Ron’s loving and well-thought-out remarks, they’ll never be seen here, so I’ve copied them over to the Loch Dhu page, where they will be able to be enjoyed by everyone.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Back to Solitaire, with two more sample points: 292 seconds, 2972 points; 308 seconds, 2885 points.
January 7th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
(or 33) What is the scoring logic for Windows (desktop/laptop) solitaire applet? What are the built in penalties and rewards? I have version 5.1.2600.0. I have enjoyed this blog…you are good/smart people.