Default Writing Black Graph Paper: Fill & Download for Free

My process is pretty 'simple.' By 'simple,' I mean the skeleton of what I do is simple, but making it all work out can be a challenge.First, I come up with a theme. I start looking for a common bond between words or phrases, or sometimes a phrase that I can incorporate into a nifty gimmick (I'm reminded of a NYT puzzle based around the phrase "In or out?" - one of my recent favorites.) To come up with a theme, it's often most helpful to keep your eyes and ears open - you never know when inspiration will strike! My first puzzle published in the LA Times (http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/tmlad/2008/tmlad081021.pdf) featured four men all known for wearing white suits. I started with a 'seed theme entry' of TOM WOLFE - he inspired this theme. This is also a common case for wordplay themes. One might notice that "Crash Test Dummies" becomes RASH TEST DUMMIES when the starting C is removed - this could spark an interest in finding similar phrases with this property.After selecting a theme to explore, I brainstorm theme entries. I usually come up with more than I need at the outset so that I can make changes later in the process. Coming up with solid theme entries is key to creating a great puzzle: a novel theme will go over like a lead balloon if the theme entries are boring or out-of-language phrases (provided they're supposed to be real terms, of course!)Some puzzles, of course, are themeless (though the term 'freestyle' is gaining popularity!) I start construction on a themeless by selecting a few (4-6) cool long (8+ letter) entries that appear to be rather novel to the world of crosswords or just look/sound fun. Since there is no theme, these entries don't have to be placed symmetrically, but the grid must still be symmetric.After that, I start to place entries in the grid. When I started making puzzles, I used graph paper for all of this, but I now use software called Crossword Compiler. Some may poopoo the use of technology, but it saves me a lot of time erasing and figuring out word count :) While placing theme entries, I also determine where the majority of my black squares will be placed based on the letters already stuck in the grid. At this point, if I see that the theme entries I had picked aren't meshing with each other or the black squares to my satisfaction, I'll call in a replacement or try moving them around.We're almost there! Now it's time to put the 'fill' in the puzzle - those answers that aren't crucial to the theme. Crossword Compiler (and other programs) have automatic grid filling features, but the word lists that they use by default are not my favorite. You can choose to spring for an add-on the Crossword Compiler to manually fill the grid via suggestions from the software, or you can go solo and do it manually with no suggestions from the machine. My preferred technique is to do it by hand and to look for fun, current words and phrases that fit in any long entries you've got to start. If I get stuck, then I'll see what advice the computer or a book can provide. In addition to the features of Crossword Compiler, you can go to www.xwordinfo.com and type in the pattern you've got to fill, and it will return entries from the NYT puzzle within 15 years or so that match it - convenient! Stanley Newman's Million Word Crossword Dictionary is a low-tech version that includes more than just NYT entries. Finally, Matt Ginsberg maintains a wonderful word list at www.otsys.com/clue. His database also goes beyond the NYT.When creating the fill, I like to pick words that you find outside of crosswords - I've only seen ETUI and ANOA in puzzles, for example. In addition, I'm a big proponent of throwing in a smattering of Qs, Xs, Js, and Zs - provided that they are still in quality entries.At some point, you may realize that a section simply won't work - such is life! Often, especially when you are just starting out, you may get halfway done filling a grid before realizing that there's a flaw in the black square layout or that a corner is just impossible to fill. Don't be afraid to set that grid aside and try again. It can be a tedious process, but it's quite rewarding.The final step is probably my favorite - cluing. I think that this part is pretty self explanatory, but I will say two quick things. First, when writing clues, bear in mind the difficulty of the puzzle and of the specific entries. In cluing the puzzle, you set a lot of the difficulty - a taxing puzzle often consists entirely of entries you've heard of, but the clues create the difficulty. And, if you're looking to make an easy puzzle, if a word is on the obscure side, avoid going for a pun or any nonsense like that. Know your audience. Second, if you submit your puzzle to a newspaper or magazine for publication, realize that the clues will be edited. Heavily. This was my biggest shock the first time I was published. Editors know what works for their audience, so do trust them, but do them a favor by giving reasonable clues for your difficulty level.That's how I write a crossword, but I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't other methods! I'm interested to see what others have to say on this topic :) Good luck if you're looking to start writing puzzles yourself!

‘If space is nothing’ … now I’m not sure if this is an assertion (more along the lines of ‘space is nothing’) or a hypothetical (‘what would it be like if space was nothing’) … but I’m leaning towards the former rather than the latter.Space is not nothing. First off … what do you MEAN by ‘space’? There is ‘space’ in my room … ‘space’ in my gut … ‘space’ between my neurons … etc. But again I suspect you mean ‘outer space’. And even THEN it’s not ‘nothing’ … space isn’t even a perfect vacuum (a region where there are no particles). We can make BETTER vacuums on Earth than the typical interstellar if not intergalactic voids. And that doesn’t even bring up the constant quantum soup of particles that are popping into and out of existence in otherwise seemingly ‘empty space’.Even if you had a perfect vacuum, without a quantum soup, it STILL wouldn’t be ‘nothing’. It is a volume through which other things can pass … you can define the regions of this perfect vacuum … imagine a massless piece of graph paper … it is still something even if you don’t write anything on that piece of paper.And even that volume isn’t fixed in shape or size … my understanding of the Theory of Relativity is relatively amateur, but in a non-moving frame of reference, a cube of perfect vacuum space can be distorted by gravitational fields … getting back to the graph paper example, imagine something going in the top and coming out the side not the bottom because the lines on the graph paper are warped. And if the cube of perfect vacuum space is moving, again it is warped.And light (or anything else as I understand it, even space) doesn’t ‘accelerate past the speed of light inside of a black hole’ (and what do you mean by ‘inside’? Inside the event horizon? Because we don’t really know WHAT goes on inside the ‘event horizon’ … because no information can escape from that point and so no ‘events’ can travel over that ‘horizon’ (event horizons are spherical but, like I noted above, space gets warped so the geometry gets confusing). And as far as I understand it, even space isn’t ‘moving’ inside the event horizon, because in a default state, space doesn’t move (it can, and thus drag other things along with it, but we’re talking Hubble Flow, Dark Energy, etc. not the peculiarities around black holes).“If space is nothing, how does it accelerate past the speed of light inside of a blackhole?”

First, congratulations on making both the best and the worst decision of your life! You’ll have lots of fun, but there will also be MANY sleepless nights ahead trying to understand some pretty hairy math and attempting to wrap your head around seemingly nonsensical computer code.You won’t need anything fancy right away, don’t worry! If you’re going to need any special stationary or tools for a class, your professors will let you know with time enough to purchase them. My go-to has always been nice, simple graph paper, a pencil, and eraser. You can expect to be doing a LOT of math over the next [math]n[/math] years, so I would find a good pencil that works well for you and stick with it. Same goes for eraser.If you’re interested, here are my defaults:My favorite pencils: Amazon.com: Pentel Twist-Erase GT, 0.7mm, Mechanical Pencil Transparent Black, Box of 12. These pencils are just awesome. They have a nice plastic grip that really helps to avoid sore fingers when you have to write for hours. The eraser that twists up is key, though. Just one of those erasers is [math]\geq 10[/math] “traditional” mechanical pencil erasers. They also actually erase. As far as lead width goes I prefer 0.7mm myself, but they have the same model available for 0.5mm or 0.9mm lead (more about mechanical pencils and lead width here). Don’t forget refill erasers and refill lead 0.7mm!My go-to graph paper: Amazon.com: Five-Star Notebook, One Subject, Graph Ruled. These are great for their portability, traveling from class to class, back to the dorm, to the library, etc. If you’re a binder type of person, then Amazon.com: Five Star Loose Leaf Paper, 3 Hole Punched, Graph Ruled, Pack of 3 is even more awesome.A solid eraser: Amazon.com: Pentel Hi-Polymer Block Eraser, Pack of 3. While the eraser on the Pentel Twist-Erase pencils are awesome, sometimes a really big erasing job needs a tank eraser.Now armed with pencils, lots of erasing power, and cool graph paper, you’re ready to tackle the math, science, and gen. ed. portions of the curriculum. Your school/college/university will most likely have computers available for you to use. If possible, however, I highly recommend purchasing your own. The public computers available to you will probably (at the very least) restrict your access to many things, including the installation of software. I have also found it can be annoying to have to “start from scratch” every time you sit down to work, as your desktop has been refreshed and any files you forgot to save in your personal network folder have been deleted.While desktop computers can definitely give you a bigger bang for your buck (more powerful hardware packed in for a cheaper price), a laptop is much more convenient. I had friends who used their laptop in classes and around campus, but did their serious work on a desktop they had in their dorm. I also had friends (like myself) who used their laptop exclusively. While I don’t specifically recommend any brand, I implore you to please use Windows (or any Linux distribution). Yes, MacBooks are awesome and cool, but in my experience not the best for a beginning computer engineering (or computer science) student.Before purchasing any computer, check with your school to see if they offer any discounts. My university had a partnership with Dell that was able to save me a bunch of money.If you would like more information, ask a question below :)Good luck!!!!