Spider Solitaire 09/23/2011
 
I’ve been playing Spider Solitaire on the computer.  The object of Spider Solitaire is to remove cards from play in the fewest moves possible. You line up runs of cards from King through Ace in the same suit to remove them. At higher difficulty settings, you can also alternate red and black suits to line up, turn over, and move cards—but you still need runs to remove cards.  
 
I was doing pretty well at the Beginner Level with only one suit of cards, so I decided to switch to the Intermediate Level using two suits of cards thinking that I was ready for a bigger challenge.  Oh Baby! What a difference that made.  Now instead of winning regularly, I only win about 10% of the time.  

There is a lot of moving cards back and forth in order to line up the cards in one suit.  It takes a lot of mental focus to see the possibilities beyond the next move.  Frankly, sometimes I just stare at the cards and cannot see any possible moves left for me to do.  I become convinced that I’ve run out of options and that I am about to lose the game. There seems to be no hope and no alternatives.  I was about to concede the game when I noticed a “Hint” button.  I pushed it and it gave me a suggested next move.  It will keep giving suggestions until you don’t have any more possible moves, then it will suggest that you turn the next cards over off of the deck.  The “Hint” button opened my eyes to see all sorts of possibilities that I had overlooked before.  I was amazed at what I had failed to see before the cards flashed on the screen. Despite my best effort and search, I was missing so much.

Then I began playing Spider on my cell phone too.  But I found out that there is no “Hint”button!  Now when I think that I’ve played all of my moves and have nowhere else to turn, I wonder what I am missing.  I also found that I tend to lose games more on the phone.  The Hint button gives me an extra percentage of wins so without it, I fail more regularly.

One day I decided to “Google” Spider Solitaire Strategy.  I found a number of helpful hints.  One of them suggested using the “Undo” button liberally if you have multiple options of play.  It runs up the number of moves you take and lowers your total score, but you can explore which stack of cards is the most helpful to play and can increase the odds of you winning the game.   
 
Of course, with all of that, I still don’t win that often.  When I do it is a cause to celebrate.  I also find the challenge of winning rather addicting.  I find myself saying, “I’ll just play one more game” several times in a row after losing.

This leads me to ponder God’s wisdom verses my own limited insight.  Now I consider myself a reasonably intelligent man.  I’ve got a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Divinity degree and have done some coursework at the doctorate level.  I have an interest in many topics and stay abreast of the news. While I am not an expert in anything, I am conversant with most technology.  I think I have a good head on my shoulders and have a reasonable measure of common sense.  And yet…

1 Comment
 
Not Quite Ready 06/01/2011
 
Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be God?  

I would guess that most of us have fantasized about being able to change the weather. I remember a number of times in grade school that I wished I could cause a major snow storm so that school would be cancelled and I wouldn’t have to take the test that I wasn’t prepared for.   I’ve wished several times that there was a “Do Over” button that could reverse time... 
Add Comment
 
The Weather 03/09/2011
 
Despite the fact that everyone that I know wants spring to hurry up and get here, it’s snowing AGAIN!  Fortunately, we’ve only got about three inches of the white stuff instead of the 6-8 inches originally forecasted.  The weather seems to be a hot topic for conversation around town.  Everyone has an opinion about it.  But I’ve noticed that no matter how much we hope, complain, or whine—that never changes what the weather does.  The weather never listens to me.  It does what it wants, when it wants to, where it wants to do it.  I also wonder about weather forecasters….
Add Comment
 
 
I am very thankful that the latest storm passed us by.  We only had a couple of inches of snow; where to the south they had several inches of ice and then a foot or more of snow and then blowing winds.   In Chicago, Lake Shore Drive was shut down for over 36 hours as over 1,500 cars were snowed in after a traffic accident.  Snow piled up to the car windows and some cars were completely covered.  On Lake Shore Drive, there are plenty of office buildings nearby, but the blizzard-like conditions made it nearly impossible for people to walk to them safely.  In the blowing, swirling snow it was easy to become disoriented and visibility was less than 30 yards.  A number of people were stranded in their cars or on buses overnight until help could arrive to get them out.
1 Comment