in reply to Resume Beef
In general, I seem to be thinking about problems like solving the 8 queens problem or rubix cubes or somesuch, both of which are good problems, but don't really display a wide range of skills. Any problem ideas from/for my fellow monks?
No, but a better suggestion: find some open source project you are interested in, and start to contribute. This will be a much better indicator of real-life skills for a future employer than solving some more-or-less artificial mini problems.
There are many skills you need as a programmer, and solving problems like the 8 queens problem or rubix cubes is just one of them.
By participating in an open source effort, you demonstrate a broad range of skills, all directly relevant to real-life work. And of course, your effort will be much more useful for others.
Christian Lemburg
Brainbench MVP for Perl
http://www.brainbench.com