Last week's puzzles. The first was very easy. The other, extremely difficult.
Every one got the first one correct - both the lines are of the same length.
Only Hashim of the Goreme Pizzeria, Oulu, got the second one right.
Nobody eles came even close!
Yes, it is a cow.
This week's puzzle is very very easy.
What all can you see in this drawing?
(Cross-posted in our CHAFF BLOG.)
Please visit our new Blog - BEST BUYS in OULU which presents you BEST BUYS in Food, Toietries, Cameras, Radios, TVs, Computers, and anything else we find.
Annikki & Jacob
I have been a bit lazy regarding the updating of the Maliyakal family web sites.
Thanks to a major input from Suresh (Rev. Chandy Kuruvilla) in Lucknow, India, and a simultaneous update from Sarasu (Sarasu Isaac) in the Virginia, USA, I did a major update of all the Maliyakal web pages. I still lack much data to be able to call this a comprehensive site of our family.
But that depends on the inputs that you can provide me - such as birthdates, family notes, etc.
I just sent an erroneous message to my dear cousin wishing him 75 - whereas the young lad is just 73!
This week's puzzles are Easy Peasy Ones, as demanded by the younger crowd.
Which line is longer, the top one or the bottom one?
And what do you see in this picture below.
Answers to last week's puzzles
Everyone got the answer to the first puzzle. The lines are ALL parallel.
This is an optical illusion created by the spacing between the dark and light squares that creates the impression of sloped lines.
The second puzzle had everyone but two people totally off the mark.
David Okele, our friend from Kenya, tried hard and did some good lateral thinking, but it was not good enough.
He suggested that the farmer's daughter quietly pick up a white pebble from the ground before putting her hand into the bag and then pull it out.
Good thinking, but she could be exposed as a cheat.
The answer which Shalu, in Chennai, India, came up with is the best example of lateral thinking.
The farmer's dsaughter puts her hand into the bag, picks a pebble. When she takes her hand out of the bag, she drops the pebble to mix it with the millions on the ground.
She apologises profusely and then asks the moneylender to pick out and show the colour of the one in the bag, which of course, will be black. This means, to the audience, that the one she picked out must have been WHITE, freeing her father of the debt and she does not have to marry the moneylender!
The moneylender cannot say otherwise, as if he does, he will be proved to have cheated.
Well done Shalu!
(Cross-posted in the CHAFF Blog.)
The Thai Sweet Chili Grocery Store which started in the Oulu City Market about 4 years ago, moved to Rautatienkatu about 3 years ago and then moved to Torikatu, opposite the Labour Unemployment Centre, has now changed hands and moved to a new location on Asemakatu.
(Cross-posted on the CHAFF Blog.)
A few weeks ago, our local newspaper wrote about a small bookstore in Oulu which also had a few tables where you could enjoy a hot refreshment with a "pulla" (Finnish sweet bread or pastry) and also spend some time browsing a few books from their selection.
I took a trip to the Coffee Shop, today, at the corner of Pakkahuonekatu and Aleksantarinkatu and met with the delightful owners Hanna and Jarmo Stoor.
Jarmo is an author and has published three books. Both are friendly and like to talk to their customers.
(Cross-posted on the Chaff Blog.)
Kamutaza Tembo, my good graphic artist friend from Zambia, is an exceptionally safe driver. He waits patiently at crossroads to make sure everything is clear. I used to get mad with him as a normal journey by car which I would do in 10 minutes, he would take 20!
At about 08:30 this morning I got a panic call from him. He declared that his car was smashed. He reassured me that he was OK. He asked me to inform his employers that he would not be in to work in the morning.
I rushed to the scene, but he was not there. The Police Van was still there and one wrecked brand new car.
I called Kamu on his cell phone, and he asked me to meet him at our friend's garage. He was checking in at his work place to inform them that they needed to make alternate arrangements.
He managed to reach the garage with the car under its own power. 
Reijo took one look at the car and told him the car was a write off. No way of putting it right.
The front had been smashed in on the right hand side and the back a little to the left. the whole body was askew and the doors, etc. could only be opened by forcing them.
What had happened was that Kamu was in the correct slow lane on a main road in Oulu. The car in front of him was intending to turn right, but as there were pedestrians on a crossing, he waited for them to go through.
Kamu, just behind him, stopped behind this car, waiting to go straight on.
The car behind him also stopped, but the driver was apparently impatient. After a very short wait behind Kamu, he decided to pull out into the next lane so as to overtake Kamu and the other car.
A bus, at quite a high speed, coming in the same lane as Kamu, obviously saw the line of pedestrians which was holding up the traffic in the slow lane, and hence, not noticing the intention of the car to pull out, also pulled out of the slow lane, and at a high speed.
The bus hit the car on the tail, which sent that car smashing into the back of Kamu's car at an angle. The force propelled Kamu's car into the back of the other stationary car.
Kamu had watched the whole episode unfolding in his rear view mirror. There was nothing he could do, so he just grabbed the steering wheel tight and hung on. The back of his seat was thrown backwards out of its hinges, but as Kamu was hanging tight to the steering wheel and he had his safety belt on, he was not thrown either fowards or backwards.
The bus driver took more than 50 mteres to come to a stop. He immediately phoned the Police, who were there in a few minutes. The bus driver was trying to pin the blame on the driver who was pulling out from behind Kamu.
When Kamu asked the Police who was going to pay to have his car towed and fixed, the Police sort of indicated that it would have to be the car driver on whom the bus driver was trying to pin the blame.
Kamu put the record straight by clearly giving evidence against the bus driver.
After inspecting the car, I drove Kamu to the Insurance Office. The lady asked Kamu to phone through the details on a hotline, but as it appeared to be overloaded, she helped Kamu fill out the form which she kindly faxed to the Claims Department.
Hopefully Kamu will get a replacement car in a few days.
Thankfully, Kamu was not hurt - and for that we can thank his presence of mind to hang tight to his steering wheel as the impact took place.
My blog sites do not get many comments, as these are not really "Comment" Sites.
I do enjoy comments when they are left, even if they are derogatory and anonymous.
A few days ago, this site had a visitor who left a trail to his own site.
I found that site to be truly wonderful. I think it is worth more than just a casual visit.
I am not a true poetry fan, and I am also not very much into modernistic art.
Thank you PoetryMan for sharing your wonderful poetry and artistic talent with us.
Wish the author would give more contrast in his text design. It is quite impossible to read the dark blue link text against a black background.
I am putting a link to this site in the column alongside, so check it out frequently if you are interested in Poetry and Art.
First, the answer to the puzzles posed last Saturday.
The first picture was a Dalmation dog, black and white, in a black and white background. Solved almost immediately by everyone. Too EASY! Most people saw the tail first and then identified the dog.
The second probalem about how many were black dots in the picture, was that there were NO black dots. It was an optical illusion which caused the black dots to appear in the white dots.
If you have time try this with different colours - it is great fun. Is it possible to create a multicolour effect of dots?
Puzzles for this week
The first puzzle this week is a very easy one, especially for the kids.
In the picture below are lines sloping or parallel?
The second puzzle is an old Indian one which was brought to my attention by K. George, who was Technical Director of MRF Ltd. till his retirement.
This is one that requires lateral thinking.
Here is the problem:
What should this farmer's daughter do?
Many years ago, in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.
The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter.
So he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
All the villagers were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles.
As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.
He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag. Now, imagine you were standing in the field.
What would you have done if you were the girl?
If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis produces three possibilities:
1. The girl could refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl could show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl could pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
4. The girl could request to reverse the conditions put on the stone draw.
Ponder over the story.
The above story is used with the hope that it will make you appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.
The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking.
Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
What would you recommend this Girl do?
Joanna emailed us that Samu had been wondering whether he was getting any birthday presents other than the one he got from Tony's parents.
Cross-posted in the CHAFF BLOG
This is a part of my history I tell whenever people tell me that it is difficult to give up smoking.
No, it isn't.
I took up smoking when I was just 13 years old.
After Choir practice at the St. Thomas Cathedral, on the way home, late evening (about 7:30 pm - that was late those days), as I waited for the bus at Flora Fountain in the heart of the great metropolis, Bombay, I would drag on a cigarette and follow that up with a peppermint, before I got home.
I was hooked. For the next 30 years I smoked like a chimney reaching 80 cigarettes per day - and that to the roasted ultra strong variety - CHARMINARs, the most popular brand in India.
Grandma had a special light festival in the Kampitie garden to celebrate grandson, Samu's 9th birthday.
It is truly beautiful with nine different colour lights on the snow bridge and the dancing Northern lights in the green house.
The first picture shows eight of the lights on the snow bridge with a truly magnificent Golden Pond in the background.
The second picture shows the Northern Lights in the Greenhouse against the beautiful evening sky of Oulu.
Both Grandma and Grandpa got the feeling it was Samu's birthday.
We want to thank Joanna for getting Samu a present from us - a Number 9 shirt of Newcastle United with Samu's name on it.
We are eating Pulla, (a special sweet bread in Finland), to celebrate Samu's birthday.
And here is the poem we sent Samu for his birthday:
"Thought you might like to be
surprised with an e-mail message
from someone who thinks about you
more than you could ever imagine!
If you ever need a little reminder
of how special you are, please keep
these words in your heart, because
they will always be there for you.
Never forget how wonderful you are
and how much you are loved.
You, Samu, are the special kind
of person who will always rise above.
No one is better at brightening up the
day than you are, and you are thanked
for the way you inspire so many smiles
over the miles between us."
- C. McCarty
Nadir is an old friend from Tampere. He had never visited us in Oulu. As he was going to meet some friends in Pietasaari, he decided to visit Annikki and me in Oulu.
Nadir arrived in the evening of Saturday and we had a great meal at the Goreme Pizzeria in Ranta Kastelli. We chatted on a variety of topics till well past midnight.
In the afternoon, Nadir joined us at the CHAFF meeting. After the meeting I took him around Oulu and he was surprised to see how the City of Oulu has developed.
Later in the evening I put him on the high speed Pendolino train back to Tampere where Nadir is doing his Doctorate in the field of Solid State Physics.
Both of us were shocked to see this just outsisde his compartment.
This week's Puzzle - What can you see in this picture?
The puzzle of 2 weeks ago had many of you scratching your heads. Only Susanna and Hashim were spot on to solve this problem. Grandson Samuel was close but did not know how to express the answer as he has not done geometry so as to use words as hypotonuse, areas, and quadilaterals.
(Cross posted in the CHAFF Blog)
I was introduced to Hashim and Kasim and their Goreme Restaurant by a food connoisseur and outstanding sportsman, my colleague Janne Helttunen. Janne introduced me to their Sultana and the garlic butter.
Since then I have been hookwed on Goreme. Both Hashim and Kasim have become like my sons.
During his last visit to Oulu last November, Tony bought a barber's electric shaver.
Last week, Joanna was obviously enjoying her new profesion as the family barber, Tirupathi style. (Tirupathi is at the base of the Venkatachala (Venkata Hill) where the Sri Venkateswara Temple is located on the seventh peak. It is the sacred place for all religions. It is situated near Chennai, in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Many many millions of devotees climb the hill each year to reach the temple so as to shave off one's hair as an offering, penance or sacrifice. In the case of babies, it is much like the "Christening" functioning in certain Christian sects.)
'
Cross-posted on all my main blogs -
Jacob's Politics;
Seventh Heaven for Mumbai Cathedralites;
Kooler Talk for Delhi Stephanians;
Oulu Chaff
Move The UN.
1. The rationale for the attack on and occupation of Afghanistan relating to the Enron history.
2. Who most likely perpetrated the fraud of the Iranian election.
3. Why the Indian Industrial Community desperately want Bush and his malAdministration to stay in office for another 3 years!
4. Why the nuclear attack on Iran is imminent.
(Cross-posted in the Chaff Blog)
The Pailin Restaurant owners in the Kasarmi Area in Oulu are true food innovators.
Yesterday they launched a great new product.
Annikki and I were privleged to get the first public sampling. It was just great.
Annikki thought of a name - and she called it the "Pizza Flap". In Finnish it would be "Pizza Flappi".
The more traditional name for this type of product is "Calzone", but the Flap, is truly an original product from Pailin.
Daughter, Susanna, said that as the two photographs at the top of the blog were taking up a lot of space up. The latest entry could not be seen when one came to the blog page. I have put the two photographs side by side (for March 2006) and reduced the size.
All those who got the calendar will recognise the photographs, which will change each month.
You can click on any photograph in the blog to see a larger version of the image.
The last set of Puzzles got quite a few guessing - no maths involved.
The "number of colours" question was solved by mainly artists, who could not see what the fuss was about! Pictorial answer will appear on Saturday.
I am giving here the answer to the photograph by Asha by printing both the cropped image and the full version, side by side.
Four people (Dan in San Paulo, Brazil, Richard in Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia, Ranjeet in Singapore and Annette in Lyon, France) guessed the answer right. Most gave up!
