Brain-twister. The answer.

Looks like no-one has managed to crack the puzzle, so I got down to work. It took me quite some time,  mainly because I approached the task as if it were Riemannian geometry, but it turned out to be much simpler.
The first step is to rearrange the numbers to make 34 in each row, column and diagonal. You’ll see that numbers 1, 8 and 13, 7, 9, 2 stay put, while numbers 15, 5, 12, 10, 4, swapped places with numbers 11, 6, 16, 14, 3. So all you have to do is cut the square 1 along the red lines and switch pink and blue figures to form the square 2.

     

square 1  1 15 5 12 8 10 4 9 11 6 16 2 14 3 13 7

square 2 1 11 6 16 8 14 3 9 15 5 12 2 10 4 13 7

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Should we fear aliens? Part II: First Contact — Glad Hand.

Stephen Hawking in Zero Gravity (NASA)

“We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet.” “Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach. If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans.” — Stephen Hawking.

Although I’ve already expatiated at length on the reasons why we should fear aliens, it turns out there’s yet another cause for alarm — our infinite fatuity and brainlessness. The other day I heard one of these stories on the news that make you wonder if it’s Orson-Wells’-recital-of–The-War-of-the-Worlds style hoax, or the powers that be are once again kidding the populace. In times of economic crisis, UN decided to splash out and assigned a Malaysian boffin to greet aliens on behalf of the entire humanity.

Does absolute Good and Evil exist?

Musings on the nature of Absolute Good and Evil.

"Are there, infinitely varying with each individual, inbred forces of Good and Evil in all of us, deep down below the reach of mortal encouragement and mortal repression — hidden Good and hidden Evil, both alike at the mercy of the liberating opportunity and the sufficient temptation?" — Wilkie Collins.

Absolute Good vs. Absolute Evil.
(Satan before the Lord,
Corrado Giaquinto.)

“In religion, ethics, and philosophy, the phrase, Good and Evil refers to the evaluation/judgement of objects, desires, and behaviours on a two-way scale, with one direction being morally positive ("good"), and the other morally negative ("evil"). "Good" is a broad concept but it typically deals with an association with life, continuity, happiness, and prosperity. Evil is simply defined as the opposite of Good. Depending on the context, good and evil may represent personal judgments, societal norms, or claims of absolute value related to human nature or to transcendent religious or philosophical standards.” (Based on Wikipedia definition)

Immanuel Kant

 “The only objects of practical reason are therefore those of good and evil. For by the former is meant an object necessarily desired according to a principle of reason; by the latter one necessarily shunned, also according to a principle of reason. “ — Immanuel Kant.

 The big question is whether there is absolute Good and Evil, although it’s part of a bigger question — if so why? Whetstone for human spirit? For the thrill of it? Is it a local phenomenon or it’s valid for the rest of the universe(s)? But that’s like asking WHY God exists. Makes the mind boggle. I’m afraid we’ll have to settle for the answer 'Because He Does' in the foreseeable future.

The greatest con artist ever?

'In fact, to gull a fool seems to me an exploit worthy of a witty man.'  — Giacomo Casanova.

A Teacher

 You can’t deny it takes a special talent to pull off a brilliant swindle. Believe it or not, but the following story really happened. To me it qualifies as one of the best scams of all times. This masterpiece of swiz took place in a remote village somewhere in the Far East in the late seventies.

One day the village school decided it was high time to give their pupils some fancy education, which came down to teaching them foreign languages.

For now unknown reasons they picked French, but the snag was that their chances of finding a French teacher in such a wilderness were as slim as of spotting a kangaroo in their local forest.

Unbelievably, though, they were in luck — a recently recruited history teacher happened to know some French, or so he claimed, and was happy to double as a French coach.

Breaking down the Bible Genesis, 4 The First Mourning.

Genesis 4:3

 'And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.'

Genesis 4:4

'And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:'

Can you trust organic food?

We are what we eat.

The answer is — can you trust humankind? Nothing created or done by these devil incarnates, aka humans, is 100% trustworthy, since human nature usually perverts everything. (Of course, I mean humanity in general, not all the individuals it’s made up of).

Organic products

You can’t possibly check whether, say, organic grains have been mixed with non-organic ones, or the organic seal is fake, just as you can never be sure where your conventional food comes from — they might use local packing for Chinese etc foodstuffs, they might be genetically modified, or grown near a nuclear cemetery etc, etc.

It’s an uphill battle.

How to lose weight (about 10 kilos) in five days?

Turns out it’s pretty simple, besides it won’t cost you a penny (no pills, no specific treatment or fancy therapies), but there’s a downside — it’s a bit tough.

 All you have to do is move house ....all by yourself, providing of course it’s no less than about 1 km (the upper limit is up to you) away from you actual abode. Literally.

That's how full your trolleys should look

Which means doing it without removals van, or any external help, just with a wheel barrow, supermarket trolley or, if you prefer the hardest way, any board with wheels. Mind that first you have to take your things down from at least the third floor and then probably drag it all up to at least the second floor without using the lift. Granted, you probably won’t be able to handle things like fridges, cookers or wardrobes, but the rest is within your reach.

Another absolute must is that it should be done in a hurry, so push your cart, supermarket trolley or whatever as fast as your fitness will let you and make about 40 trips each day. And don’t you dare stop to rest during the trips or have full meals in these five days.
Afterwards stick to a low-salt low-fat balanced diet to keep your so effortfully sculpted figure.

Trust me, it works. I know it for fact — the other day a friend of mine said no way she was paying removals company that much just to move her junk several streets away, in addition her car had just broken down, so she did it her way, that is, by hand. I have to mention, though, that she lives in a small town with no much traffic, I’m not sure you could pull it off in cities like New York or London.
A week later we could hardly believe our eyes when we saw her.

The moral of the story — sometimes stinginess really pays off.

Warning: don’t try this method if you have some medical condition!
Consult your doctor first.

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