That's what a photocopier is for. As for external variables, just make them global.
Simple answers to complex problems. That's what I'm here for. If I can help you with anything else, let me know. (waiting to get smacked).

BTW, don't let these guys get to you. Some people are ridiculous with the whole KO thing. What you are doing is a service, and as you said- at your own expense. I'm thinking you may have to start wearing disguises pretty soon tho; the underground shops probably have your photo pinned up like an outlaw poster.

global? help me out there. you mean like blue eyes and green eyes are equal? Argh! this is beyond frustrating. I'm dreaming about this silly problem. If I don't find an adequate way to word it, I need to call in the big guns again. I hate doing that. Don't like "owing favors" to him.

LOL photocopier! I'll propose that idea and see how far I can throw it.

Funny thing is Frank, I don't think the wholesalers are putting two and two together. I always go in with my "teacher hat" on

And saying that, I'm headed over there right now to check out a KO for Uwe. Hopefully they will have the packaging this time

Exactly, just like Frank said, we all know who you are and what you do (and where you live too! LOL).
It is usually new members (or members who haven't visited the forum for a couple of years) who are
unaware of your contribution in fighting KOs, so it is not deliberate. Maybe some feel provoked in the
sight/mention of a KO. This is why I have been telling so many times to not show publicly any puzzles
which are clearly KOs, as it can create confusion and misunderstandings (and many unhappy inventors).

That said, most people in this forum are motivated by their passion and their dedication, not money.
And to my knowledge, Rox, is surely not profiting by this. On the contrary, she has spent so much money
to buy puzzles and to eventually showcase a formidable collection.

And "global variables" are variables which are recognised by the entire memory when some files are
ran by a specific program, in contrast to "local variables" which are only used within a single file of the
same program.




Pantazis

Ack! I'm going to slap both of you (Frank and Dr. Panda) Global and local variables have nothing to do with MY variables! An hour on a wild goose chase! (Interesting reading though.)

Sorry Rox. I thought it sounded funny at the time.

Not to worry Frank. I learned something new and the Dr. Was a good teacher...explained so I could understand then sent me off to read. Just as he should do.

And at least I now know I don't use those kinds of variables!

After that tease and long search for global variables....I finally bring you something new that I found!

At 7-11 the morning, the bug "spotted" some new puzzles for me. (And she says she hates puzzles!)

These are mini d.balls like the one's Dr. Panda found back in January. This time they have a world cup theme. There were 5 in total and you see them all. Unlike the d.balls, these were a bit more expensive. I think around US$4 each.

Camera phone during a quick break between meetings today-no comments about the messy desk! I'm working for a change!

Well done Bug!!!!

And if you look closely, five of them have got my name written on them!




Pantazis

Thanks for the info! Just got 'em.

Yesterday I met with Uwe and finally got "paid" for all that work I do

Before I met with him, I had to go to my favorite wholesale shop to pick up a few copies for him and managed a find for myself. Enjoy!

Oooh, there it is, the black Master Pyramorphi(n)x I'm waiting for.
There is still hope

Patience konsassen, it's coming!

Have I ever told you guys I love SmaZ? I do, I really do!







And I went back to that shop and got the missing k-ball!

Are those 4x4 octahedrons with colored plastic? Sweet.

They are indeed. Be careful where you buy them from

Aww, darn. OK.

By now you know my last puzzles were from Meffert's, but to prove it I'm adding a reversal of the previous photo. I hid the logo's because the newsletter hadn't been sent yet.


I got a few puzzles this week. One from the bug. An advertising key chain puzzle for powdered kids milk:


And finally Oskar's floppy 2x3x3. I have to say I'm not at all happy with it. It was literally wet, and dripping with lubrication or something when I opened it. I let it dry over night, but those stickers can't be helped.

Mine had been completely dry, when it arrived. Have you got it from Shapeways? I wouldn't expect that Shapeways uses any lubrication. Could something has happened during transport?

I got it from shapeways, the box was completely dry. It was bubble wrapped very nicely, and inside that bubble wrap, it was sopping wet! I can't imagine how it ended up that way considering the dry box.

Strange.
Suggestion 1: write to service@shapeways.com and ask for clarification.
Suggestion 2: buy new stickers from Dr. Sticker.
Oskar

Thanks for the address Oskar. I have sent an email. However I don't think I should have to PAY for a set of replacement stickers. I opened that box that way. I was not happy about the wetness, but the air dried it. The sticker color? As far as I'm concerned, it had nothing to do with me. If they don't replace them, they don't replace them.

Something odd happened to it either at Shapeways, or in transit, so it's unique

Did the stickers also come from Shapeways?

I ordered it on that special deal from Shapeways, so yeah, it was all assembled and stickered.

I really just want to know what the wet inside was. I'm not overly bothered by the stickers. Just find it really really odd.

I just got a reply from Shapeways. They have very good customer service. I asked if they knew why it was wet, i.e. lubricant or something. They said it was something UPS did, and would send another puzzle. I offered to send the first back so they could try and work out why it was so wet but they refused.

Here's hoping the next one comes in dry.

Wow! Two puzzles in the price of one!!! I wish I could have one

Just as a follow up on this, the new puzzle came in yesterday. I was much more pleased with this one. The wrapping was different though. The first was in bubble wrap and peanuts, the second in a ziplock bag with bubble wrap and peanuts. Perhaps the package did get wet when UPS had it.
At any rate, this one came in perfect and is now sitting proudly on my (soon to be emptied) shelf!

Many thanks to Oscar for his help, and to Shapeways for their customer service.

Is there any way I could have the damaged floppy 2x3x3 for like 20$ please?

Greg

I have obviously been busy. It's not that I haven't found puzzles, it's bad internet connection and a side trip to Japan that was just a bit more entertaining.

OK, I'm back. And to prove it, here are a few puzzles I found this week.



I'm surprised no one has mentioned the new c4y tile and braille cubes yet. Anyway, close ups of them:



When my house gets back to some semblance of normalcy, I will post last weeks photos and the week before that, and the week before that.....

In the mean time, they can be found in the following facebook files:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051027&id=1138673266&l=d6081b72db
[url]http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049557&id=1138673266&l=0b213b7dcf
[/url]
[url]http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055006&id=1138673266&l=168d957ee6
[/url]
[url]http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057560&id=1138673266&l=b226f181e8
[/url]

Do I see a Potato puzzle in that picture?! I am considering getting a braille cube but it would be a bit more difficult to use blind because there is not as much difference between the shapes/feel of the bumps, only their arrangement (it still feels like a bunch of bumps to the untrained finger).

Examining today-which means a rather boring afternoon. I decided to leave early and head to my favorite street....Picked up a few goodies, but wasn't satisfied with those, so on a whim I went into a chain store to see if they had anything worth looking at. I'll be darned if I didn't find a few goodies at 10% off at that!


Bog standard apple keychain puttogethers, a different keychain 3x3, and some interesting stickers on DS snakes. An oddly shaped snake as well.



Sudoku balls-There are at least 22 in the set-and a set of slide puzzles.

And if anyone could tell me how to take better photos with this i-phone, I would greatly appreciate it! These are terrible!

Get a camera =p lol

I have a blue one.
When I'm testing on the weekends, I go puzzle hunting first. I'm to eager to open the packages between candidates, and too dumb to remember the camera. I was hoping for some good advice on how to use the camera in my phone.
This iphone seems to take worse pictures than my nokia did. I was expecting much better quality with all the hype I heard about it. Patience and holding a puzzle are not my forte. I want it open and I want it open now!

Sorry this is really late but I just noticed that you have a white Muse trucated skewb diamond. May I ask where you got it?

Robert

http://muse.mu/shop/product/278/the-res ... cessories/

this puzzle was created by Tony Fisher and Muse. there was a topic.. I can't seem to find it though.

Thanks, but I know you can get black plastic ones, yet Rox has one with white plastic.

Robert

They may have been some kind of Prototype design.

It is indeed a prototype. The one Tony sent me is black. Sorry. I'm not sure if these are for sale yet. Ask Tony, He would know!

Two weeks has passed, I've loaded photos to facebook but forgot about here. So tonight, you get them first.


top row: black cheese, child's play, magic jewel, fisher's holey skewbs, spinning top, lucky beans (game) (empty box)
second row: white cheese, yet another gear cube (to check for squishiness), Planets; venus-neptune (mercury was hiding on the shelf somewhere),
next row: anapan man and anapanwoman childs puzzles, ghost hand 3x3x3, rex cube, latch cube, chinese clock (to take apart), tanagram type puzzle, Maze Game
uneven row: mufang cube, basket ball game that lights when the basket is made, tangrams calendar
bottom row: test jade club puzzles. Get ready!
An interesting comparison shot for those of you thinking about getting the "new cheese"



And here's what happens when the taxi driver runs over your luggage!




Ah well, now we know what the inside looks like.

facebookphotos are found here.

i....want....rex cube....

I found a lovely box waiting for me today when I got home. And if that Darned iPhone hadn't mucked up my computer I would even be able to show you pictures of it....since I can't, I'll point you all here.

I'll post photos when I work out how to get the darned computer to stop thinking the phone is hooked into the brainstick plug. It won't register my camera now! What a huge mistake that phone turned out to be.

In the mean time, thank you so much for the birthday gift gentlemen. I'm off to attempt to solve it now!

This week you get two sets of photos:





Does anyone know what this one is? I got it on a whim and found a surprise when I opened it. All I know is it was made in Japan in 1981.



facebook photos of individual puzzles can be found here

(one of these years I'll get around to updating my webpage I promise)

Edit: I've just received a pm about my photos of the ABC puzzle, and the Rings. I want to point out that these are not KO's of Hanayama puzzles. The ABC's first made their appearance in 1911, the rings are much older than that.
While the Hanayama puzzles are much better quality, these are nice enough (and cheap enough) to send to my little brother who after 20+ years has finally begun to understand why his sister plays with toys. It seems he has an affinity for wire disentanglements (must be something in the blood) and has decided to branch out to other metal type puzzles.

Lucky Rox!
Geert has more details about his one.

I had a good laugh once I figured out what BaffleBlox really were.

Educational Insights was the company that produced Rumis, before Mattel bought the rights and re-branded it as Blokus 3D. So EI kept making the pieces for the game, but marketed it as a puzzle.

They did shrink it down to a nicer size though.

Thank you Jared. I hadn't opened it yet. Just bought it last night then had work to do once I took the photos.

And many thanks to 506173 for having me contact Geert. I guess I did get a good find!

For those of you that are interested, it was first made mention of by Geert here. I'm going for more random purchases of unknown puzzles. First the 9 tile Tsukuda's squares now this!

I guess Dr. Panda was right. I do live in a good place!

Geert's original post contains a link to a picture in the TP database, that does not exist any longer. Maybe, you could make use of one of your cameras?

My God Rox, what an excellent (magnetic) find! Please let me know if you
"accidentally" stumble on another one.

Without your photo-treats, the forum's "new puzzle eye-candy" would be much less.




Pantazis

Hi konsassen, see this post.

Hey Roxanne, how do you do it? Will you ever share your find-crazy-rare-items-on-eBay method? Do we really have to spend several hours a day on the computer? or do you have one of those Hong Kong monkeys working for your day and night?

Nice find!

Skarabajo

If I gave away my secrets I wouldn't find these great puzzles you would. Not going to happen any time soon

I am really shocked that it ended up being something worth purchasing. i seriously thought it was just a bog standard 2x2x2 with a different sticker variation.

And it's not the monkeys that find them for me, it's two very loud snorers in the house and me being a light sleeper. That and an attempt to get off the sleeping pills (yes, I know they aren't good for me, but then neither is one or two hours of sleep a night. One of these days I'll learn to shut off my brain, but at that point, I'll probably be dead )

You have seen some of what I "found" this week. I'll add a couple of group photos here. Some are duplicated. Sorry.





More to come after I pick them up from SmaZ's shop.

Is that a knockoff gear cube or is that meffert packaging

KO's bought for Uwe being delivered tomorrow. Other KO's take flight time.