Klueless5

Just finished playing. This is my first 'live' experience, where i started playing as soon as it was announced on Nov 5th. I wish i had devoted more time (what the hell !!). Well, so did many others who played. But i lost 24hrs flying from Chennai to DC, and then when i realized that 30 was not the magic number, lethargy set in at 31, and i was doing about 1 or 2 levels a day. I also thought i missed the HOF (Hall of Fame), and so took it even more easier. But soon realized that the HOF will have 250+, and i think i may make it (yeah right, there are already 247 in there, right now!).

Anyway, i hope to post my experience and my version of the klues to the different levels soon. Not now, since the game is still running, and moderators are helping the million cattle attempting to cross the winning post. I consider myself lucky, as i believe i made it under 300, maybe even in the under 250-260 position. A little more dedication and maybe i could have gloated over my name in the list. There is always a next time.

One sour note though. Last year, after crossing 30, the gamekeepers made the players sweat a bit to solve an extra puzzle before allowing entry to the HOF. This year they added 8 more levels to the actual game. I think that idea was stupid. The game is tough, it requires, quite a bit of lateral thinking, yahoo and wiki searching, and more importantly, inherent ability to connect two or more disparate thought points. So, while there is no rule that say, only 30 levels etc, the last 4 had only 30. We the players have come to accept that as a standard now. So when you change these rules, people are going to be upset. If it were facebook or yahoo, they would be more appreciative of user feedback. Now, klueless is a game, am not sure how much of an impact this would make on game wardens.

But due credit is due to them. It still was a fantastic experience. Klues for Level 1-19 and Level 20-38.

Gold Haul at the Olympics

China scored a perfect 100. They showcased the best Olympics so far, and also scored in the sporting field. They had shown signs of taking over the sporting arena, since the split up of the erstwhile USSR into many smaller nations. In the period of cold war, the US and USSR had a competition about outscoring each other in the medal tally. The USSR lead the way many times, much to the accusation of the US, that it was not all through fair means. Today, China has taken the mantel from the old USSR.


It is important to realize that this sporting establishment that started by only supporting amateurs, today has become the most professionally managed sporting establishment. It requires consistent and long term planning of the state, corporate and willing individuals to put themselves through torture for many years to achieve the success they seek. No wonder, smaller nations, with priority in terms of daily bread etc, are not so appropriately represented in the medal table. Hmmmm!! That sounds like a nice refuge for countries like India to hide under.

2008 Olympic Games

My prediction for the medal tally

1. China
2. US
   
3. Russia

And, Germany, South Korea, Australia, Japan sharing the next few positions.
All the best. Rake in the gold.

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