tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4752665342267999251..comments2024-03-28T06:44:48.044-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Half of former sitcom duo / FRI 11-22-19 / Summa cum laude spoiler / Animals whose name is derived from Latin for little thief / Troubadour's accompaniment / Black Jeopardy show for shortRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49841463999242056862019-12-27T21:47:32.537-05:002019-12-27T21:47:32.537-05:00Had more fun today with Patrick Berry's cartoo...Had more fun today with Patrick Berry's cartoon crossword in the New Yorker (12/30/19).leftcoasternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80342683477948360402019-12-27T21:01:41.942-05:002019-12-27T21:01:41.942-05:00@Dr. Di, LIW - I am proud to know a doc such as yo...@Dr. Di, LIW - I am proud to know a doc such as you. I know you've helped people. Perfesser Komix I have my doubts about and when he gets too far out there on the fringe I want to tell him to get off my team. <br /><br />And I've learned plenty in the 0 to 4.0 scheme with 'only' a liberal arts BA degree in the Psychology of Management. With a cert in Engineering Technology (everybody needs a trade to fall back on) as well as Bartending and Private Pilot Ground School among others. My PEERs are licensed Principal and Senior Engineers, and I teach them engineering!!! I mentored a colleague through his Civil Engineering M.S. in Infrastructure. I am currently mentoring a new Civil Engineering PhD in the ways of practice vs. theory. So what does that make me? Aspirational. To learn and excel. And help others excel.<br />My comment was directed at OFL, so please take no offense. Lotsa folks have lotsa abilities regardless of Summa or Dr. or whatever or whatever not. When Rex starts throwing around comments like he did it just pisses me off. To me aspirational is not only good, it seems necessary.<br /><br />I apologize for generalizing.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54670672480451499972019-12-27T17:05:38.615-05:002019-12-27T17:05:38.615-05:00The NW corner was my Waterloo today. I got that w...The NW corner was my Waterloo today. I got that we would have a PEN vs. a "sty" for our pigs, but SODAPOP is too clever by half. Well done Emily - you win and deserve to!<br /><br />Whenever I wanted to get my class into a great argument, I'd ask them if they waned letter grades or a pass/fail program. Oh, the agonies. Made me smile.<br /><br />I went to a P/NC school, BTW, and am none the worse for it. I actually focused on LEARNING. For me. Began to enjoy school again. So much so that I did end up with that old graduate degree. Sorry, @Rondo, I earned my doc degree and wear that hat proudly. And...I actually LIKE my dissertation. Miracles...<br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords<br /><br />Diana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89226825047524706822019-12-27T14:18:58.026-05:002019-12-27T14:18:58.026-05:00At first I thought I'd whip through the NW, th...At first I thought I'd whip through the NW, thinking that SUR was correct for 1D, that USE CARE would work for 15A, then ORAL and OPEL, but I couldn't get anything else. My first thought was that "serving" would work for 1A and "sty" for 7D, but no. Went to the SE with CGI, KOS, COM and then got it all. Moving over to the SW it was easy to get ___DERBY, then DEMOLITION, and so it went from there.<br /><br />I got the rest, section by section, not liking SEAS, slowing a little until I got OUTS, finally, and then had to deal with RENNES for my finish which came with zero write-overs despite my thoughts upon which I didn't act.<br /><br />Liked this one a lot, I have to say. Good Friday.rainforestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41828806076029853182019-12-27T14:04:10.861-05:002019-12-27T14:04:10.861-05:00List me as with those who liked this one...I found...List me as with those who liked this one...I found it the most enjoyable puzzle in weeks, with the added benefit of having knocked off a Friday puzzle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24953571166220980792019-12-27T12:20:30.961-05:002019-12-27T12:20:30.961-05:00Oh yeah, that 'S' word. Another indication...Oh yeah, that 'S' word. Another indication that millennials don't know which end is up.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-235539191557211332019-12-27T12:07:13.658-05:002019-12-27T12:07:13.658-05:00Now I’ve about had it with OFL: “yuck to the whole...Now I’ve about had it with OFL: “yuck to the whole aspirational quality of that clue”? Let’s just give everybody TIN participation medals along with their BPLUS and go home? Screw that. I worked hard for my summa cum laude and I’m proud of it. And other people *do* care about your summa, like the law school I attended and my employer (that summa put me in a $10K+ per year higher category than my ‘PEERs’). Who wants to aspire to mediocrity? Take some pride in yourself man. After all, a PhD just means you know more and more about less and less. That’s not the real world. Rant over.<br /><br />The oLDEST dOOFUS became the ELDEST GOOFUS due to a GENRE change. Can’t decide between the FINE ERIN Andrews or the OLSENS as to who gets the yeah baby SASH. I thought it was a fine puz, but do USECARE?<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57812568810618278322019-12-27T11:52:20.424-05:002019-12-27T11:52:20.424-05:0032a: I will not--CAN not write it out. It's te...32a: I will not--CAN not write it out. It's ten times worse than "the R-word." I can tell you for a fact: although I don't know who coined it, you can bet your last dollar it was a woman.<br /><br />Like @Roo, I won the west handily but found the east a bit more resistant. Took me forever, weirdly, to see WORSTS. Had all but the first letter, too. Lots of longballs often lead to quicker solves; today is a case in point. I'd call it easy-medium--reading from left to right, so to speak. ONETOGO feels off; I want to say "ONE MORE." My clue for OVEN reads "You might get your mitts on [sic] one. I'm SURER than ever she meant "in." A missed typo.<br /><br />Barring the unfortunate RP with RRN (random Pope with...well, you know), this was a pretty clean grid. I concur with OFC's BPLUS grade. The DOD SASH will have to go to Penny Marshall as LAVERNE: "5,6,7,8! Schlemiel," etc. Birdie.spacecrafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09125304293611865503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81841427645674402832019-12-27T10:35:51.534-05:002019-12-27T10:35:51.534-05:00OSO FINE
LAVERNE got ONETOGO,
but the SITUATION’s...OSO FINE<br /><br />LAVERNE got ONETOGO,<br />but the SITUATION’s NOTCLEAR,<br />she’s BEEN CARSICK, you know,<br />and an OPENBAR makes her a PEER.<br /><br />--- SIR BEN MORANIS<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76726224027955437962019-11-23T01:14:39.241-05:002019-11-23T01:14:39.241-05:00By lifting a seat, I learned the word menorrhea. ...By lifting a seat, I learned the word menorrhea. A gentleman should never have to experience such a thing.<br /><br />In my old age, I have to sitz to shpritz. The orthopedant told me not to lift anything heavy. ;-)<br />JimGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67308604997840302662019-11-22T23:45:14.343-05:002019-11-22T23:45:14.343-05:00Speaking as a C student, I have no idea whether a ...Speaking as a C student, I have no idea whether a B+ precludes one from attaining Summa Cum Laude, but if does, then it’s a great clue. No value judgements here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52687127261736416892019-11-22T22:52:16.051-05:002019-11-22T22:52:16.051-05:00Me and K have separate loos and we each clean our ...Me and K have separate loos and we each clean our own.<br /><br />I assume LMS knows it's GOOFUS. I had dOOFUS first cause I also never heard of the Gword, but it made its own sense and was easily gotten.<br /><br />The west solved like a Wednesday, so I had SITUATION---- in quickly and friend---- was never an issue. Had to look up DANO RENNES and OLSEN. Tried WOMEN for OLSEN cause I thought they might be women in Little Women. Holes in my education indeed.<br /><br />Overall easier than yesterday with better clues. But two nice puzzles in a row.albatross shellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04076278220407657633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10201436882911808962019-11-22T22:19:57.523-05:002019-11-22T22:19:57.523-05:00Tough one for me, but I finished in about average ...Tough one for me, but I finished in about average time, so I'd day medium (statistically). <br /><br />One last (maybe) comment on SITUATIONSHIP. I had ________TIONSHIP and figured it had to be relaTIONSHIP, but was a letter short. I hadn't done the downs yet in that area, so I added a P at the beginning to make prelaTIONSHIP. Seemed to me to be a gray area - the start of a relationship but I'm not sure yet. A neau portmanteau for LMS.Monty Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03924320449868956299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91470703955454482632019-11-22T22:13:03.693-05:002019-11-22T22:13:03.693-05:00If you leave the toilet seat lid down all the time...If you leave the toilet seat lid down all the time, this will lead to a constant near-100% humidity inside the toilet bowl, and this will promote all kinds of nasty fungal, algal and mold growth. Ick!<br /><br />Keep those seats and lids up kids.<br /><br />Anoa Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16185183023273883700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77299966371392112022019-11-22T21:21:24.586-05:002019-11-22T21:21:24.586-05:00Late to the game as always but I'm surprised t...Late to the game as always but I'm surprised this group isn't more aware of the health/sanitation reasons for closing a toilet seat. Copy & Pasting one article here but the information is readily found in many publications.<br /><br />"Here's why you should always close the toilet lid when you flush<br />The answer may surprise you — and gross you out.<br />The average person flushes the toilet five times a day and, apparently, most of us are doing it wrong. Get ready for some hard truths about why you should always leave the lid closed when you flush.<br /><br />When you pull the lever, in addition to taking whatever business you’ve left behind down into the sewer pipes, your toilet also releases something called “toilet plume” into the air — which is basically a spray filled with microscopic bacteria, including E. coli. According to research from, the germs emitted in the spray can linger in the air for up to six hours, and disperse themselves all over your bathroom … including on your toothbrush, towels and beauty products.<br /><br />"Contaminated toilets have been clearly shown to produce large droplet and droplet nuclei bioaerosols during flushing, and research suggests that this toilet plume could play an important role in the transmission of infectious diseases for which the pathogen is shed in feces or vomit,” reads a 2015 update on the 1975 study from the "American Journal of Infection Control." "The possible role of toilet plume in airborne transmission of norovirus, SARS and pandemic influenza is of particular interest.”<br /><br />There's more but 'nuff said.<br /><br />Oh and it was fun to have a solvable Friday puzzle for me :-)<br /><br />-CSCSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10533127496155004002019-11-22T19:31:15.738-05:002019-11-22T19:31:15.738-05:00@GILL I, when you have a husband in “the industry...@GILL I, when you have a husband in “the industry” you get all the bells and whistles.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17760802478571511042019-11-22T19:09:54.063-05:002019-11-22T19:09:54.063-05:00@Anon10:16 - Sorry to keep you waiting. Man, woman...@Anon10:16 - Sorry to keep you waiting. Man, woman, everyone in between and everyone outside the lines should put the lid down. What, did you think it was for? Decoration?<br /><br />Grades are far more random than is generally understood. Think for a second on how the Commentariat might grade any individual puzzle. “But wait, Z” you say, “Aren’t grades based on a standard, making them objective?” To which I say, “Boy howdy! HAR HAR HAR! Uh, no. Even when a standard exists getting inter-rater reliability is nearly impossible.” And by “nearly impossible” I mean “impossible.”<br />As @Anon/Poggius suggested, straight A’s are as likely to indicate compliance as learning. <br /><br />@Katzzz - I was wondering the same thing. But I once owned a dictionary dedicated to defining “fuck” and all it usages. It was much bigger than you might expect and humorous reading. Everything with text citations. <br /><br />@Joe Dipinto1:59 - You got a chuckle for that opening line. <br /><br />@fifirouge - thanks for the fuller explanation. <br /><br />And finally...<br />Reading a blog for the sole purpose of complaining in the comments about the blog master: RexshipZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9126458376732086902019-11-22T18:47:00.714-05:002019-11-22T18:47:00.714-05:00Funny how people are calling it easy. I found it F...Funny how people are calling it easy. I found it Friday appropriate. Made me work but doable. Had tea for tin and had enemies instead of stymies. Over thinking. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85680555316009801902019-11-22T18:16:28.442-05:002019-11-22T18:16:28.442-05:00@Kathy
Computer Generated Imagery is an animation...@Kathy<br /><br /><b>C</b>omputer <b>G</b>enerated <b>I</b>magery is an animation technique.<br /><br /><br /> JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18415142350497099942019-11-22T17:54:03.530-05:002019-11-22T17:54:03.530-05:00When I worked at Beaver College ( yeah, it was act...When I worked at Beaver College ( yeah, it was actually called that) the head of the math department went on on about how his students strived and ultimately got Cum LOUD..(.Yeah, he pronounced it that way) before being able to get into out illustrious college. <br />Grades and striving for the best ones don't mean caca in the real world. Seriously. GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14585956274892962902019-11-22T17:41:17.802-05:002019-11-22T17:41:17.802-05:00Black jeopardy = SNL? It’s a running sketch on SN...Black jeopardy = SNL? It’s a running sketch on SNL. <br />Had doofus before GOOFUS, AYES before PROS<br /><br />Two Naticks, CGI/MORANIS and OSO/ROMULAN<br />Missing only two squares on a Friday is an accomplishment for me. I spent a good half hour chipping away in the northwest section. <br />I don’t know what CGI refers to regarding Pixar and I’ll just file OSO away as fill sure to return again. <br /><br />Overall, I thought it was a fun solve with lots of clever clueing, especially liked some needlework. <br />Loved the long answers. <br /><br />‘Nuff said on SITUATIONSHIP, it won’t pass the test of time. <br /><br />@LMS. Love carnationship<br />Kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79840663619172988062019-11-22T17:05:30.888-05:002019-11-22T17:05:30.888-05:00@Hungry Mother:
So, it's a big deal to me and ...@Hungry Mother:<br />So, it's a big deal to me and led to my getting a 4.0 average in graduate school. <br /><br />Well... when I was in grad school there were some grading rules:<br />- if you got a C, bye bye<br />- if you got a second B, bye bye<br /><br />ergo: grad classes were graded on a severe curve, such that most went straight A.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33360573851069218602019-11-22T16:55:54.381-05:002019-11-22T16:55:54.381-05:00As a millennial, I do love when the puzzle tries t...As a millennial, I do love when the puzzle tries to cater to us. So much of the time the fill is cultural references from 20, 30, 50 years ago. I admit I love reading everyone complain about it too. Sounds like me during most of the other the puzzles in NYT when they expect me to know a movie that came out in the 40s.<br /><br />The Women's Health definition of "Situationship" definitely misses the mark. It's more like the "it's complicated" relationship option on Facebook. A "situationship" is when you've been seeing each other long enough that people assume you're together, but you (or the other person...) aren't willing to make it official. It's that awkward time between "casually dating" and "together". It can also be at the *end* of a relationship when you're not completely broken up but aren't officially together anymore. It's almost always unhealthy....fifirougehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15222289937669956978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14174461605371511272019-11-22T16:54:05.978-05:002019-11-22T16:54:05.978-05:00Sorry I started this, but @chefwen's plumber g...Sorry I started this, but @chefwen's plumber gets invited over for Thanksgiving.... I won't even insist he wash his hands. GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80973263079375959072019-11-22T16:46:41.951-05:002019-11-22T16:46:41.951-05:00S&M; Flagellationship.S&M; Flagellationship.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com