How to Make Decisions
Issue 64

We welcome your letters, questions and desperate pleas for help in this uncaring world. As always, e-mail WBXylo at Gmail.com. Don’t fret about e-mailing me with puzzle problems; I won’t yell at you.

How to Avoid Hanger Creases

It can be a chore to iron a pair of slacks right before you wear them. Most hangers will leave a crease in pants just above the knee, marking the point at which the trousers were hung. Dry cleaners use hangers with rolled cardboard bottoms to mitigate this problem.

If you’re not a dry cleaner, here is what you can do.

1. Find a cardboard tube, from a roll of paper towels or plastic wrap for instance.

2. Cut a slit down the length of the tube.

3. Slip the bottom of a hanger into the slit.

It’s safer than robbing the dry cleaners.

How to Make Pecan Pie
Sources: Various, mostly The Joy of Cooking

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a pan with your pie dough and bake it for 5-7 minutes. (You want a crust that is only partially cooked.)
3. Allow crust to cool.
4. Set oven to 375.
5. In a large bowl, mix 3 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, 1 cup light corn syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter).
6. Add 1 cup pecan halves, 1 tablespoon rum, and stir well.
7. Fill the pie shell.
8. Sprinkle 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips on top of pie.
9. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Word of the Week

termagant – a violent, brawling woman.
(Source- There’s a Word for it by Charles Harrington Elster)

This migh be the first WotW that has been in my Wordperfect Dictionary, which defines a termagant as a bad-tempered or overbearing woman.

This Week’s Puzzle (Difficulty: Blinded by Science?)

A physicist has challenged a track star to a wager. The physicist draws a line on the sidewalk in front of them. He says, “This will be our starting line, and our finish line.” The physicist points to a tree. “Each of us is going to run to that tree, touch it, and run back. I bet you 100 dollars that I can match your average velocity.”

Is this a good bet for the track star?

Last Week’s Puzzle (Difficulty: APP, are you smarter than a 5th grader?)
With which of the following words could one properly describe a square?

Rhombus, Rectangle, Tetrahedron, Quadrilateral, Regular Polygon

Jim U. knows his geometry.

Rhombus – All sides are equal length.
Rectangle – Two sets of parallel side.
Quadrilateral – Four sides and four vertices.
Regular Polygon – Equal sides and angles.
The only one that doesn’t describe a square is a tetrahedron which is a three dimensional object.

Last 5 posts by ML Kennedy

• How to Make Decisions (72) - June 19th, 2007
• How to Make Decisions (71) - June 12th, 2007
• How To Make Decisions (70) - June 5th, 2007
• How to Make Decisions (69) - May 29th, 2007
• How to Make Decisions (68) - May 21st, 2007