tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post188851384111039261..comments2024-03-29T01:22:33.864-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Quadrennial soccer championship / MON 10-11-10 / Showy cock's object of affection / Dwellers on Mount Olympus / Storied isle near JavaRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14285982973579115472010-11-15T16:16:51.929-05:002010-11-15T16:16:51.929-05:00Hey, I may solve in syndication but I love a Monda...Hey, I may solve in syndication but I love a Monday puzzle with a porn subtheme as much as the next guy (or gal, I guess.) PERT breasts, showy cock (didn't watch the video, sorry) and nobody's even mentioned stag's pride (8d). Something for everybody!Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58620873395241270002010-10-11T23:52:43.176-04:002010-10-11T23:52:43.176-04:00Exactly what @Fikink said. My first time finishin...Exactly what @Fikink said. My first time finishing a NYT puzzle in under 3 minutes. 2:58 to be precise. It just flowed more easily than usual.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04754156636762779545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13258250651552112942010-10-11T21:31:49.238-04:002010-10-11T21:31:49.238-04:00Smooth and easy.
I can't believe I know what ...Smooth and easy.<br /><br />I can't believe I know what FIFA means and others don't! Me, the original sports retard (sorry retards). I guess, because Hubster's Sicilian. And his cousin is a big wheel in national AYSO.<br /><br />@Falconer - interesting.<br /><br />I remember Katie Couric saying she's trying to work to prevent the word PERT from ending up on her gravestone.<br /><br />@Brian - Just turn the dial.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7219544405683706902010-10-11T21:30:25.056-04:002010-10-11T21:30:25.056-04:00@chefbea: I saw my sister for lunch today, and sh...@chefbea: I saw my sister for lunch today, and she gave me the mug and the cereal bowl from the NYT crossword dishware collection. I laughed and said "chefbea just mentioned these on the blog yesterday!".nanpillahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05548473809500612699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55306932887426573332010-10-11T21:23:29.481-04:002010-10-11T21:23:29.481-04:00@fikink -- yes, I love this community too. I just...@fikink -- yes, I love this community too. I just lurked and skimmed for a very long time (partly -- just partly -- because every time I tried to set up a Google idenity, something got screwed up, so I started by posting some as Anonymous and I didn't really like that). Now I post with more regularity, and Rex even kinda indirectly yelled at me yesterday, which was cool. ;-) But too often I only have time just to quickly skim the postings, which I find frustrating, especially as they evolve during the day.<br /><br />@puzzlenut -- How well I remember the days of dictionary hunting, and the immense satisfaction I'd get when I'd actually find an answer there. Kids are so spoiled today...<br /><br />@jim-- since I often can't read my own writing, puzzles have taken on far greater levels of pleasure thanks to AcrossLite!<br /><br />@anon/8:02PM -- the new Across Lite includes a timer but just click on it and -- Bob's your uncle, it's off!!! And I usually do turn it off, since I'm more interested in savoring a puzzle than in racing through it.mmorganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18375430572178263265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39528771345087708522010-10-11T21:09:45.358-04:002010-10-11T21:09:45.358-04:00@Rube - re. Kaua'i chickens, I think you are j...@Rube - re. Kaua'i chickens, I think you are just getting used to them, they're EVERYWHERE! Of course, our dogs do their part every spring to thin out the crop, but it's a losing battle.<br /><br />@Clark - Great story, I loved it.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43265121158768381232010-10-11T20:04:27.172-04:002010-10-11T20:04:27.172-04:00And before the first snide comment occurs I don...And before the first snide comment occurs I don't give a damn about my spelling!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52185756192437760972010-10-11T20:02:53.715-04:002010-10-11T20:02:53.715-04:00The timer in Across Lite should be eliminted -- no...The timer in Across Lite should be eliminted -- none of the times listed are honest including those who are not "competing" -- it's a sham and patently absurd. Get rid of it and stop gobbling your food like hogs in the stye!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70599427368562211682010-10-11T17:42:48.629-04:002010-10-11T17:42:48.629-04:00@JaxInL.A
It is possible to download the LA Times...@JaxInL.A<br /><br />It is possible to download the LA Times puzzle to your iPad. Here is how I did it just now. You will need your own web site to do this.<br /><br />0. Get the Stand Alone Crosswords app from the app store<br /><br />1. Open www.cruciverb.com and save the LA times to your local drive.<br /><br />2. FTP the puzzle to your web site. To respect the copyright, put it in a directory that has no links to it so that a Google search won't find it.<br /><br />3. In the Stand Alone app tap the little four-square crossword icon in lower left corner. <br /><br />4. Then tap the + icon on the tab bar<br /><br />5. Then tap the Other... button<br /><br />6. Type in the URL of the **directory** where you stored the puzzle.<br /><br />7. Stand Alone will display links to all files in the directory. Click the link for the LA Times puzzles you uploaded in step 2.<br /><br />This is not as complicated as it sounds. I follow these steps to do the Peter Gordon FireBall puzzle on my iPod and it takes less than a minute.<br /><br />Let's hope that Alex Boisvert ports his Crossword Butler to run as an iPhone app soon.<br /><br />Good luckr.alphbunkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-92129488399078655492010-10-11T17:14:18.740-04:002010-10-11T17:14:18.740-04:00Not much to add other than that's one heckuva ...Not much to add other than that's one heckuva coaster in the background of the Mt. Olympus sign. The lift hill isn't until about 1/3 of the way into the ride. It drops right out of the station and twists and turns its way to the lift. After the lift is a long, dark tunnel under the parking lot, a turnaround, and back through the tunnel again. Not a bit of straight track in that tunnel, either. In fact there are 90 degree banked turns and one outwardly banked turn. FUN!!!Doc Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12540112168511893896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62173369811933084092010-10-11T17:05:39.114-04:002010-10-11T17:05:39.114-04:00WEAL I am familiar with, but INHERE did not raise ...WEAL I am familiar with, but INHERE did not raise any flags until I came here. Thus, INHERE is my WOTD, something which does not usually happen on Mondays. <br /><br />Add me to the long list of those who misspelled ANJELICA with a "g". That and ESoS/ESAS were my only writeovers.<br /><br />Thx @Rex for the write-up today. I enjoy write-ups that stay "on topic", i.e. solving the puzzle.<br /><br />BTW, if you'vew ever coached soccer, even in the USA, FIFA is a gimme. Of course, it is called The World Cup, everywhere, unless it's called The FIFA World Cup, (or La Cuppa Mondial, etc.)<br /><br />Love how the different personalities here pick up on different words. One guy gets turned on with PERT, the next guy with OKIE, and of course the geologist with TECTONICPLATE. I'm staying out of the PEAHEN argument, except to say that there seem to be fewer wild roosters on Kauai this year.Rubehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773241241484881566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67336444608194654242010-10-11T16:58:08.971-04:002010-10-11T16:58:08.971-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 6:01, 6:56, 0.87, 7%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:25, 3:42, 0.92, 19%, Easy<br /><br />It seems to me that if this blog were diminishing my enjoyment of doing the NYT crossword, I'd stop visiting this blog.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68517898102000299202010-10-11T15:31:41.588-04:002010-10-11T15:31:41.588-04:00I finally figured out what bugs me about WEAL...It...I finally figured out what bugs me about WEAL...It NEEDS that TH!!!<br />It's sorta the opposite of when someone adds the +H to HEIGHT and says HEIGHTH and my skin crawls...but WEAL without the TH is making my skin recede or something.<br /><br />OK, three and out as today I'm going to walk across the Bridge (And no @Brian, I am NOT going to jump!)andreath carlath michaelsthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13022303297781328282010-10-11T14:54:37.861-04:002010-10-11T14:54:37.861-04:00@Tinbeni - I'm leaving in a few hours for the ...@Tinbeni - I'm leaving in a few hours for the game. Toast everyone else tomorrow. Toast Bobby Cox tonight!! And Brooks Conrad!! Maybe that's all he needs to get right with the baseball gods. A little toast. <br /><br />I am reserving my own peacock story for next time. (When we bought our house, it came with a "wild" peacock.) But @Clark's story is entirely too tough to follow.<br /><br />@JaxinLA - go to Cruciverb.com and register (for free) then you can download LATIMES directly to ipad - it will ask you if you want to open with your crossword app. I just got that app last week after Amy mentioned it on her site and it is downright AWESOME!!hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627015904603641109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21131787868299147672010-10-11T14:42:24.021-04:002010-10-11T14:42:24.021-04:00I meant to mention earlier...Do you think the dish...I meant to mention earlier...Do you think the dish ware in today's puzzle was the crossword dish ware that is for sale at the NYT store as mentioned yesterday??chefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86273181005056677172010-10-11T14:24:31.810-04:002010-10-11T14:24:31.810-04:00Then there's the basic logic of solving early ...Then there's the basic logic of solving early so that the write-up comes out in a timely fashion. Yeesh.<br /><br />And @Jax, as long as you don't Spoil one of Merl's puzzles, you can sing his praises all day long as far as I'm concerned. He's a legend, and a supremely nice person to boot.<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78411118477373162452010-10-11T14:20:52.738-04:002010-10-11T14:20:52.738-04:00Love this space. More laughs than a barrel of peac...Love this space. More laughs than a barrel of peacocks today. Great story, @Clark. <br /><br />@Mr. Happy Pencil, good luck with that book. Clippie is probably waiting in the wings, so don't think you are indispensable.<br /><br />Question for all fellow solvers: still hoping for advice on best way to get the LA Times xword on the iPad. This new gadget has changed my life, letting me solve in bed and other comfy spots. Got AcrossLite so I can do the Houston Chronicle/WashPost puzzle, subscribe to the NYT puzzle through Magmic as required by Apple, and now I'm only missing LAT to fully feed my puzzle habit. Any help?<br /><br />By the way, yesterday's Merl Reagle puzzle on the theme 10/10/10 was great fun. Sorry to comment on another puzzle here but I liked it much better than the (I'm sure unexpectedly to the constructor) controversial NYT Sunday puzzle.JaxInL.A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13792405579998093081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6642310110861435722010-10-11T14:20:48.438-04:002010-10-11T14:20:48.438-04:00@Brian-- To answer your questions, no, I don't...@Brian-- To answer your questions, no, I don't think for a second that the existence of this blog diminishes my enjoyment of the puzzles. I am not a speed solver, and I don't care a whit how fast others solve the puzzles. Timing myself would, I think, greatly diminish my own enjoyment and appreciation of solving.<br /><br />Moreover, I often disagree with RP's assessment of relative difficulty. This goes both ways. Today, for example, I thought the puzzle was distinctly easier than he estimates. I would guess that he rates a puzzle easier than I would more often than the other way round, but who really cares? As I have said, a puzzle's degree of difficulty is very much a product of the individual solver's sphere of knowledge. I don't know the Simpsons, opera, or the geographic direction from one city to the next (in most cases). There's plenty of stuff I do know, including much of the arcania from the Maleska era.<br /><br />I think RP does the puzzle early and posts his blog review before midnight because he enjoys the challenge and because he enjoys the attention the blog draws. So sue himVan55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27832532197989622272010-10-11T14:18:00.230-04:002010-10-11T14:18:00.230-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44907464976376716262010-10-11T14:09:06.077-04:002010-10-11T14:09:06.077-04:00@Clark, a wonderful music-of-the-spheres story!
@...@Clark, a wonderful music-of-the-spheres story!<br /><br />@puzzlenut and @foodie, exactly the juxtaposition of FIL and me solving the crossword puzzle. <br />We sit across the breakfast table from each other: I, with my computer in front of me; he, with a stack of dictionaries, a thesaurus, Leonard Maltin's current movie guide, etc. <br />I have brought today's NYT puzzle in large print for him.<br />When our discussions are stymied, we go to the texts first and google last.<br />Sometimes he looks at me askance when I contribute something particularly stupid. <br />Recently, I did so (@GeorgeNYC)" thusly" :<br />...FIL is doing a puzzle while I make dinner and asks me what position Mark McGwire plays. <br />I said, "He was a batter." <br />I got the hairy eyeball.<br /><br />(I am often reminded of Steve Goodman's rendition of "The Dutchman.")fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65885770567389535142010-10-11T13:42:37.153-04:002010-10-11T13:42:37.153-04:00@The Hag and Vega.
Whatever. You think I'm ...@The Hag and Vega. <br /><br />Whatever. You think I'm gonna be doing this for the rest of my life? Giving you all external validation is just my day job. Soon as my novel gets published I am so outta here.Mr. Happy Pencilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30003437650399762822010-10-11T13:41:26.754-04:002010-10-11T13:41:26.754-04:00@clark
You see! THAT"S why I come here! Grea...@clark<br />You see! THAT"S why I come here! Great story! <br /><br />@dk<br />interesting typo...perhaps a spar(r)ing partner is one that goes easy on you?acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40491632582135511662010-10-11T13:30:45.535-04:002010-10-11T13:30:45.535-04:00I, like others here, changed the g to a j in ANJEL...I, like others here, changed the g to a j in ANJELICA -- and suddenly, up pops Mr. Happy Pencil. *Freaked* me out. I'm not rejoicing; on the contrary, it's a let-down for me. I don't want him. Happy Pencil "diminishes my experience of the NYT puzzle," which is to say, has the exact opposite effect on me from this blog and these comments.<br /><br />Super-easy Monday for me, yet (or because?) very smooth.Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01893157908004486201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18330770439723652882010-10-11T13:29:52.958-04:002010-10-11T13:29:52.958-04:00I too enjoyed the lively clues and somewhat chewy ...I too enjoyed the lively clues and somewhat chewy verbiage, especially in the context of a simple Monday theme.<br /><br />It's nice to be at work today and have time to actually read the blog (only during my legitimate OSHA-guaranteed breaks, of course). The movers come tomorrow and I've been obsessed with box-packing and related trivial chores (what my wife calls "Windexing the toaster"). This seriously interferes with a normal puzzle schedule!Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32681916970085588892010-10-11T13:26:18.145-04:002010-10-11T13:26:18.145-04:00we'll tolerate the dictionary, slap your wrist...we'll tolerate the dictionary, slap your wrist for minor googling, but really throw the book at you for cadging from others' solved grids or googling too liberally. Don't make me come over there.crossword policenoreply@blogger.com