Sudoku. Nine columns across. Nine rows top to bottom. 81 small squares. This entire large frame of 81 squares is divided into nine equal sections, each with nine squares. The numbers 1 through 9 go in each of the small squares. Each number may only appear once in each column, row, and section. There are some numbers already filled in to start. The challenge is to fill in the rest of the numbers correctly. There will only be one correct solution. I am faced with a situation. In one section, in one particular square, there can only be a 1 or a 9. All other possible numbers have been eliminated. There are no other ways left to get at the correct number; it’s time to guess. I could guess a 1 or a 9 and I’d have a 50% chance of being right with either number, correct? Seems simple. Let me complicate it slightly. There are only two numbers that can go in that one square, but each of those two numbers might also go in other squares in that section. The 1 can go in that square or one other, all other possibilities have been eliminated. The number 9 can go in that square or four others. From this perspective, I have a 50% chance of being right if I guess a 1, but only a 20% chance of being right if I guess a 9. (Okay, Judy’s eyes just glazed over.) So what is the probability of being correct if I guess a 9: 50% or 20%? If the correct probability for a 9 is 20%, does that mean my probability of being correct if I guess a 1 goes up to 80%?
It’s a swamp bird; like a coot. Here is a closer look…
Zooming in…
It’s in the picture….
Honest.
It’s a swamp bird, but you have to look in the tree!
New fronds, old fronds, spikes, blooms.
These are cabbage palms (Washingtonias). The heart in the center sends new fronds up the middle. The older fronds get pushed out into this globe shape. In the spring the trees send out bloom spikes. The bloom spikes can get a little messy. The trees have to be trimmed periodically or the old dead fronds accumulate and become hazards for the wind to blow down onto people and property. With our smaller palms at Gulf Waters, we trim them lightly every couple months so they always retain their basic shape. There is a crew that works its way through this park once a year. They don’t use a cherry-picker, they actually climb and trim each tree. Once up there, it makes sense to trim a lot, to make the job last as long as possible.
This job should last an entire year. 