google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, August 2, 2011 Patti Varol

Advertisements

Aug 2, 2011

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 Patti Varol

Theme: What time is it? - The themes takes the hint and place TIME after the first and last word. We had a puzzle before ( link ) that placed TIME in front of each of the two theme words.

18A. *Delayed reaction : DOUBLE TAKE

20A. *Radioactive decay measure : HALF LIFE

31A. *Aviation display : AIR SHOW

37A. Repeatedly ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues : TIME AFTER TIME

44A. *Military hobbyist's pastime : WAR GAME

58A. *Prom time, to prom-goers : BIG NIGHT

60A. *Modern : PRESENT DAY

Argyle 95% here. Of course, I've been told I'm not all there anyway so that's probably as good as I'll get. This is Patti's second puzzle; the debut was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in April. An interesting grid and easy fill and yet seven theme entries. The unifier and explanation placed right in the middle. Patti Varol, you've done it again.

Author:

1. Programmer's banes : BUGS. Elmer Fudd doesn't like him either.

5. Hollywood tree : PALM. As seen in movies and TV shows that include scenes of Hollywood.

9. Soup base : BROTH. I started with STOCK.

14. Subj. to bone up on? : ANAT.

15. Airline with blue-striped jets : EL AL

16. Washer cycle : RINSE

17. Poor boy seller : DELI

22. Baa nana? : EWE. (chuckle)

23. "__ Mio": classic Italian song : 'O SOLE

24. Treasure-__ : TROVE

26. Question of identity : WHO

29. Pre-euro Spanish coin : PESETA. Image.

33. Reykjavik-born one-named singer : BJORK. Google images.

36. Iron-rich green veggie : KALE

42. Beret perch : TÊTE

43. Choir part : TENOR

47. It makes Tom frisky : CATNIP. (another chuckle)

52. "Little Women" sister : AMY and 39D. "Little Women" sister : MEG

53. Alimentary route : CANAL. Digestive system.

56. "Seinfeld" specialty : IRONY

57. __-fi : SCI

64. Fireworks reaction : "OOOH!". Yes, there are three O's.

65. Knocks for a loop : JOLTS

66. 1804 duelist : BURR. Aaron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton.

67. "__ arigato": Japanese "thank you very much" : DOMO. Gotta do it. Clip.(5:31)

68. Provolone alternative : SWISS

69. Part of a.k.a. : ALSO

70. Paradise : EDEN

Down:

1. Tough play for Derek Jeter : BAD HOP. Baseball.

2. The heebie-jeebies : UNEASE

3. Winemakers Ernest and Julio : GALLOs

4. Put the kibosh on : STIFLE

5. Salon foot treatment, briefly : PEDIcure.

6. High, as a kite : ALOFT. Ah, the importance of punctuation.

7. "Today" co-host : LAUER. Matt

8. Diamond org. : MLB. Major League Baseball (MLB).

9. Stout maker : BREWER. Image.

10. Bat mitzvah, e.g. : RITE

11. "Come __ My House": Rosemary Clooney hit : ON-A. Released on June 6, 1951.

12. "Have you no shame?" : "TSK!"

13. Laugh syllable : HEE

19. First name in jeans : LEVI

21. Leave alone : LET BE

25. Like bourbon barrels : OAKEN

26. "Kapow!" cousin : "WHAM!"

27. Links target : HOLE. Golf.

28. Run a tab, say : OWE

30. Double-platinum Steely Dan album : "AJA"

32. Deal with moguls? : SKI. What are moguls? A bump on a ski slope formed by the repeated turns of skiers over the same path.

34. Quite a lot : OFTEN

35. 66, notably: Abbr. : RTE.

37. Nine of diamonds? : TEAM. My goodness, more baseball.

38. "Just doing my job" : "I TRY"

40. Mythical big bird : ROC. Described in the Arabian Nights as being able to carry off and eat elephants.

41. Get fit : TRAIN

42. "Up, up and away" carrier : TWA

45. The "A" in RAM : ACCESS. Random Access Memory (RAM).

46. Principal : MAIN

48. Vacuum tube type : TRIODE. Wiki article, if you need to know more.

49. Call after a missed field goal : NO GOOD

50. Like some health care : IN HOME

51. Slithering squeezer : PYTHON

54. Kareem __-Jabbar : ABDUL. Basketball.

55. Perjurers : LIARS

57. Grounded fleet: Abbr. : SSTs

59. Pita sandwich : GYRO

60. Jammies : PJs

61. Obey the coxswain : ROW, ROW, ROW your boat, gently down the stream.

62. Actor Wallach : ELI

63. Sched. question mark : TBA. To Be Announced.


Argyle

69 comments:

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. This was a fun speed run. I liked the TIME AFTER TIME theme. Too bad Beth and Jo, the other two sisters from Little Women, couldn't have been worked into the puzzle.

My cats must be defective. CATNIP has no effect on them.

The Alimentary CANAL is just a tad lower then the ear, but you knew that.

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Today would have been my grandmothers 105 birthday.

QOD: There are some situations from which one can only escape by acting like a devil or a lunatic. ~ George Orwell

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Mostly a speed run today, with only a few minor bumps in the road. I was not familiar with the Rosemary Clooney hit and ONA just seemed impossibly ungrammatical. Of course, it is impossibly ungrammatical, but I guess that doesn't matter when it comes to song titles.

DELI also made me pause. We don't call them poor boys (or po' boys) around here, and I can't help wondering whether, in the places where they do call the sandwiches poor boys, they actually call the restaurants that sell them DELIs. Maybe they do, but DELI just seems like such a northeastern term to me...

As for the theme, it was pleasant enough, but I certainly didn't need to know it to get the theme answers and knowing the theme didn't actually help me get the theme answers at all.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

My brain is still in first gear (cruise control seems a long way off) and this puzzle confirmed it. It was a struggle from start to finish and w/o Argyles explanation, I wouldn't have a clue about the theme.

Several WTF's, most notably 20A and 33A. Both new to me. Started out with flag for Links target. From the fairway you don't see the hole.

I could use one of those Oaken barrels filled to the brim about now!

Nice communicating with everyone.

Lemonade714 said...

It is amazing how many words TIME will go with; a very theme heavy Tuesday and a wonderful write up Argyle.

Of course you remember when Sherlock Holmes during his investigation of the Hound of the Baskervilles began examining the dog droppings. When Dr. Watson asked how looking poop would help, Holmes said: "Alimentary, my dear Watson!"

Anonymous said...

4. Put the kibosh on : STIFLE

I thought of Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker he always said stifle yourself, will ya?

Archie Bunker

"Little Women" sister : AMY and 39D. "Little Women" sister : MEG

struggle with this as I could only remember Jo.

Steely Dan AJA For Jeannie her favourite band.

Deacon Blues


Fun Facts By Dave Letterman

Because he forgot his boots, Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon barefooted.

In 1972, in an ill fated business deal, Amtrak spent $4 billion dollars to merge with Grand Funk Railroad.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning Argyle and tha gang.
Thanks for your write up.

This one went pretty quick. The only wag was the BJORK/AJA crossing, but what else but a J was going to go there and make sense.

Our old friend O SOLE MIO has been missing for awhile. Welcome back. Rosemary Cloony's "Come ONA My House" was a gimme. Guess I'm showing my age. That age also causes me to associate this with Brewer instead of Argyle's link.

kazie said...

Certainly not a speed run for me. lots of unknowns, many of which were perped. But I had to look up vacuum tube, which I had no idea existed. Could only think about a hose on my vacuum cleaner. That got me diode, from which I guessed TRIODE was needed, since DOMO was a guess also. I also paused in the NW since poor boy means absolutely nothing to me.--Heroes and subs are all I've ever encountered.

Interesting to get BROTH, and think first of STOCK, after all the BOUILLON discussion yesterday. They are all essentially the same.

Argyle,
Glad you're almost back to normal.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Glad to hear you are back to your old self, more or less, Argyle! I agree with Barry, because I did not need the theme unifier to get the theme answers. And when I was finished, I only briefly considered it before coming here to read your explanation.

"Word that can come before/after" a word in the theme entries is a pretty common type of theme. In order to be considered for publication, such a theme has to have a special twist, as this one did. Finding "in the lingo" phrases that have both words used with the theme is pretty cool.

I just loved "High, as a kite" and "Baa nana", but I didn't like seeing "time" in the clue to 58A, as Argyle highlighted. And putting three OOOs in was kinda blech-y. But otherwise, a nice Tuesday-level accomplishment.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Avg Joe said...

Fun puzzle. My only stumble was starting with BJORn, but that didn't take long to figure out.

Rather than Cyndi Lauper's version, here's Eva Cassidy singing Time After Time

Clear Ayes said...

Good (time) Morning (time) All, Looks like 49D) could have been part of the theme too. NO (time) GOOD (time). Lemonade is right, TIME goes with a lot of words.

Right now, I don't have any more TIME to comment. If it's Tuesday, it a doctor's appointment. See you all later.

JD said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C., et al,

a very enjoyable Tuesday xwd..lots of fun clues. New for me were triode and peseta.D-omo was my last fill; took minutes to surface. Frustrating!

Argyle, glad to see you are feeling better. Thanks for your write-up.

I was stymied by "Hollywood tree" which is ironic since I lived there for a time; we had avocado trees. It is true that movies show streets with Palm trees.Everyone but the native probably knew that one. LOL

Bjork- always wondered what she was known for besides her odd taste in clothes.

Have had "my boys" the last 3 wks, so it's been hard to blog. Also, our 18 year old cat,Parsley, said, "it is time".I don't have to tell all of you how hard that is.

Have a great day all.

Warren said...

Hi Argyle & gang,

I think my wife and I finished ~1/3 of today's puzzle before she left for work, I finished the rest online in quick-time.

Here's a clip from Steele Dan-Aja

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Glad you're feeling better, Argyle.

Couple minor bumps like some said. Did not know the cross of BJORK/AJA. but everything else came in easily. Did not care for OOOH or TSK. Wondered if Beret perch was going to be TÊTE or 'head' since the second letter was e in both, but the perps resolved it. I liked the clueing for SKI and CATNIP and, also the ample theme fills. I guess TROVE can be used by itself, but it seems to usually be in association with 'treasure-'. Interesting etymology:
trove
1888, from treasure trove (c.1550), from Anglo-Fr. tresor trové (late 12c.), translating L. thesaurus inventus, lit. "treasure found." Originally any precious metal object one finds hidden whose owner is unknown. As this usually meant ancient hoards, the term came to mean "treasure hoard" in popular use. Rendered treasure found from mid-15c.


Have a good day.

JD said...

Since it's a Tuesday, everybody probably knew alimentary, but me- so thanks Argyle, and here's my lesson for today.

Leaving you with an old favorite, "Time after Time"

Bill G. said...

Speaking of Hollywood tree/Palm, did you know almost all of the palm trees you see in photos of southern California are imported and not native?

We often bring up questions about grammar and usage around here. My daughter was given a copy of "Woe is I" several years back and I've inherited it. It's a wonderful little book with lots of information. Some of the stuff I've known for years such as how not to use 'Unique' and 'Hopefully.' But there's plenty of other stuff that I didn't know and may not remember. Still, the book is fun to read and a great reference.

kazie said...

JD,
Sorry about Parsley. It's always hard, but after that many years, you'll really miss him/her.

CA,
I hope the appointment goes well today.

Hahtoolah said...

JD: I am so sorry to hear about your cat, Parsley. ( What a great name. ). I know how hard it is to lose a pet. I have have an 18 year old cat and, although she is in good health, I still worry about the day she has to leave us.

creature said...

JD,
So sorry about Parsley. I'll be thinking of you.
You're such a wonderful grandmom; those little boys had a great 'draw' to land you.

eddyB said...

Hello there.

Fast, fun and easy.

Hope Parsley finds a big pile of catnip up there.

Gosh Groban top ten rejected songs
very funny. LAL! (Letterman)

Morning reading was 112. N type is
working. Yea!

Take care.

Lucina said...

GOOD day, Argyle and cyber friends.

This was a GOOD TIME for me, no JOLTS, or DOUBLETAKES, well maybe briefly at OOOH.

Like most of you, the last fill was AJA / BJORK. What else could it be, eh?

Learning moment, DOMO arigato.

I loved baa nana, EWE
nine of diamonds, TEAM, as well

JD:
I'm so sorry about your cat. It's so hard after that length of time in the family.

CA:
I hope all goes well today. GOOD thoughts going your way.

Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!

Zcarguy said...

Morning all
Argyle, I hope you're at 100% in no time

Thank god this took very little time to finish.'cos I'm short on time , have an Important appointment today and I like to be on time, so no time to comment any longer.

It's time to go, y'all have a good time.

Lady Catalyst said...

Hahtool-some cats are unaffected by catnip, some only by dry, some only by fresh. I have heard that if they are exposed to it before 3 months of age they will never be affected by it.

Husker Gary said...

Warm out but a nice north breeze makes it tolerable. 7 theme entries, wow!

Musings
-Elvis’s adaptation of O Sole Mio is a fav of mine!
-I had STOCK too!
-I went from a Soprano to a Tenor to a Lead to a Baritone to a Bass from 7th grade to 12th grade
-Gore Vidal’s Burr is a great read!
-Most famous BADHOP in baseball was one Tony Kubek had in a 1960 Series game off the bat of Bill Virdon. Bill Mazeroski’s most famous Pirate home run ended it all.
-Stifle Edith!
-A man I taught with always said, “Let it alone” – an amalgamation of “Let it be” and “Leave it alone.”
-I studied TRIODES in college and we just touched on new-fangled transistors.
-Our Emily loved CATNIP. Girls called it “kitty dope”.
-JD, sorry about your kitty. We went through that twice and it is hard.
-70 year old grandparents next door babysit two young boys and yesterday the boys wrecked the garage door by running it up and down constantly!

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I'm with Kazie in that my one lookup today was Vacuum tube. I also put in No Goal for No good, so that area had to be erased. I didn't know Domo until the V-8 can hit my head for good instead of goal.

Thanks for a great writeup, Argyle and I'm really glad that you are getting back to your old self.

My chuckles came from subj. to bone up on?/Anat. Baa nana?/Ewe and Nine of diamonds?/team. I also had to laugh at I try for "Just doing my job". I looked at that for the longest time and it read It Ry--Duh.

JD--So sorry about Parsley!

Have a great day everyone.

Chickie said...

JD, I forgot to mention that I love your new Avatar. The boys are having so much fun. They are lucky to have a Grandma that provides all the fun she can find for them to do.

CA, Good luck with your Dr. appt. today. Another long drive for you, I know.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~~

I really enjoyed this puzzle although I didn't even realize the full theme until I came here. I knew that 'TIME' followed each of the first words in the theme answers but didn't realize it followed the second word also. DUH.

My favorites were 'Baa nana' -- EWE, and 'Nine of diamonds' -- TEAM with BADHOP -- I always like baseball clues/answers.

I immediately thought of "Archie" with 'STIFLE," We've been watching reruns of 'All in the Family' all summer. He had some great lines.

My three cats love catnip and it's fun to see them act so silly, especially the older ones.

JD ~~ I'm thinking of you and what you're going through with "Parsley." I've been through it in the past and I know I'll have to deal with it again ... it is such a difficult time.

CA ~~ my best to you.

Husker Gary said...

p.s. Did anyone else feel a lump in their throat yesterday when Gabby Giffords appeared on the floor of the House. It took the edge off all the partisan nonsense taking place in that august body. What a lady!

Jayce said...

Husker Gary, I did get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes to see Giffords there to cast her vote. What a magnificent lady!

carol said...

Hi gang,

I like this one and there were only a few unknowns but the perps got them for me with the exception of 30 D and the last letter in 29A (I had never heard of PESETA) and have never listened to Steely Dan.

Vacuum tube type was another unknown.

Funny about there being 2 clues about "Little Women" sister's in one puzzle.

I remember the Rosemary Clooney song from when I was a kid...my Mom had the record and it was one of her favorites. I still remember all the lyrics. Can't remember *#@& about last week, but give me a song from the '50's and I can give you every word. Sigh.

carol said...

JD: You know I feel so sad about Parsely! He was a sweet cat, and I am glad we got to 'meet' him. He will always be in your heart. It's always so difficult to lose a pet after all those years.

Jayce said...

Great puzzle today. I enjoyed it a lot. I see you got some chuckles from some of the cute clues too, Argyle. I chuckled at them too. What a wonderfully clever and new way to clue EWE! Ernest and Julio Gallo remind me of their old television commercials with Orson Wells intoning, "We will sell no wine ... *exhale* ... before it's time." By the way, some of their wine is actually drinkable. LOL

Another blast from the past: triodes. Cool to see that as fill today. Loved the clue for CATNIP, too.

Best wishes to you all.

Lucina said...

Carol:
Most nouns in Spanish end with either "a" or "o" (peso) though some end with a consonant. I don't know if that helps.

Jayce said...

carol, interesting that you remeber all the words. My memory works better for remembering the melodies; I can never remember lyrics worth a hoot.

Happy Tuesday, Hahtool. So is the alimentary canal anywhere hear the pistachio tube? lol

Lemonade, aaargh! :)

Got a kick out of the Pardon My Planet cartoon today, what with all our discussion about talking like a pirate the other day.

Bill G. said...

JD, I'm so sorry about Parsley. We said goodbye to a cat and a dog a while back. Those vet trips were really difficult. Maybe the "The Rainbow Bridge" poem will help a little.

The TRIODE brought back memories of my days studying electrical engineering. I always understood vacuum tubes better than transistors.

Yes about old songs. I can sing the melodies and the words of most old songs once I hear them starting up. However, I couldn't sing or whistle or hum anything recent. I think it's a real difference in the way melodies used to be constructed. Of course, everybody else is convinced it's just old fogeydom.

Jayce said...

Bill G, I think there is a fundamental and substantive difference between much of the pop music today and music of several decades ago. It sounds to my ear that much of today's music (not all!) is "composed" by computer, which, IMO, is why it is not memorable or even particularly hummable. It sounds so mechanical to me. And I don't think it's because I'm a fogie :)

Unknown said...

I am glad that you are 95% Argyle! Your 95% is more than my 95% for sure!
Kareem Abdul Jabar was once Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. He traded one really cool name for another equally cool one.
I agree with Barry on the poor boy/deli thing. We call them po'boys and they are sold in delis as well as gas stations in some parts. Of course, in some areas of the south, bait is sold along side tanning sessions and video rentals.
JD, I too am sorry about Parsley. As I've said on this blog, I have had many pets myself and sat for hundreds over the years as a "critter sitter". Loosing a pet is one of the hardest things to go through. Our dear Ginger never came home. We don't know what happened to her. I miss her everyday. We feel your sorrow!

Susan said...

JD--I'm so sorry about Parsley. It was one year ago this month that we lost our 18 year old darling Felina. Sometimes it seems like I still feel her jump on the bed or glimpse her out of the corner of my eye.

That's the sad thing about loving pets--we usually outlive them.

Great book about loving pets--"The Art of Racing in the Rain."

Bill G. said...

Jayce, I totally agree with you. Irving Berlin or Cole Porter used to slave over a piano for days getting a melody just right. Nowadays, pop stars of little repute crank out a song quickly and it sounds like it. Old melodies used to have a 'hook' that appealed to the music center of your brain. That doesn't happen anymore. The most recent song that I can think of that had a memorable melody, accompaniment and lyrics was Margaritaville IMHO.

Anonymous said...

great blog! new to this blog. love xwords.. one question... where do you find the "theme"? the puzzles dont seem to have a published title

carol said...

Lucina, thanks :) that does help. I did think of PESO but of course that was too short.

Jayce, I remember the melodies too, I wish I could actually sing. When I try, the wall paper starts to peel-LOL.

Bill G, I agree about today's music. I always hesitate to voice my opinion about it to younger people because it is 'their music' but I truly believe ours was 'music' and whatever it is they like, well, lets just say it's not music to my ears. I refuse to be a fogie as well.
I think there is another element working here; our brains were new and fresh and all the imprinting on it stayed with us...subsequent imprinting must have sloughed off somewhere ;) Note to self, find it.

creature said...

Carol, loved your note to self and on the musical preferences, I'll cast my vote for JD's link to TIME AFTER TIME. Yeah, I start singing and the words come. Alone, of course, I have a voice similar to yours, Carol.

Great puzzle, Patti. Really, really enjoyed it The clues were creative and fresh and the theme was super. Perps helped. Thanks.

Argyle, hope you keep heading in the right direction- healthwise.
Thanks for steering us.

Lemonade714 said...

Anon: 4:10, we have our crack team of crossword bloggers deduce a theme on Monday through Friday. Saturday is themeless and Sunday's LA Times online has a title, which is the theme. We have enough constructors stop by to reassure us that our themes are pretty accurate but not exclusive. There a few other Blog sites and they have their own spin on the theme, which seldom is exactly the same as ours.

Mainiac said...

Evening All,

Work and play have been keeping me from blogging. Glad to see you all are keeping it active. I have been doing the puzzles and today was a quickie with a couple of bumps as mentioned by others. Mine were due to my ignorance of other languages. Started with Jeter's problem as a Bad Hit so Osole and Peseta needed the G spot. I guessed at Tete which gave me I Try and Amy. I never read Little Women. Fun puzzle.

JD, Sorry to hear about Parsley. 18 is one old cat.

Our cats get wicked gooned up on catnip. We haven't done it lately because they've been getting their buzzes killing the gray squirrels and mice around the house. We've got quite the collection of tails at the slider. So much I have to rake up the parts a few times a week because the flies get bad. My oldest can handle the chore but my youngest gags!

Off to a meeting! Hope everyone's enjoying summer.

Lucina said...

I must cast a vote for "oldies" music as well as classical; the old masters created some of the best and most memorable music on the planet.

Bach is one of my favorites but really I love most of them. Not very easy to sing or hum but a joy for listening.

Rock and roll, especially from the 60s and 70s is also wonderful music.

Jayce said...

I'm with ya on all of that, Lucina.

Husker Gary said...

More grist for the musical mill. My grandkids love 50’s and 60’s music and know all the “hooks” the songs had. The 9 year old loves Lollipop and tries to emulate the POP in the song. When Sh-boom came on (channel 5 on Sirius) they both started singing merrily along and I asked where they had heard that song and, of course, their reply was, “From the movie Cars, Papa!”

Madison Avenue reinforces this axiom constantly as they choose this sweet, silly music for commercials. They only use what works!

Clear Ayes said...

Survived the trip to town, so no worries there.

I used to work with a guy whose last name was BJORK. His family was very americanized and he pronounced it exactly the way it was spelled. Used to drive me crazy, but it was his name and none of my beeswax (Remember that one, '40's & '50's kids?) Here is the Icelandic (and most Scandinavian) way to pronounce BJORK.

I have a reputation with my friends for knowing "all" the songs from the 1930's through the 1970's. It isn't true, but my parents and other family were great "sing at the drop of a hat" people. I learned a lot of songs as a kid and kept on until Rap came along. I just couldn't get past it, although I like some Rap.

Very sorry to hear about Parsley, JD.

Anonymous said...

...and the "shortest you tube link" award goes to...Clear Ayes!

Bill G. said...

Speaking of triodes (used in old radios), I have very fond memories of making crystal set radios when I was a kid. I strung hundreds of feet of wire from my bedroom window to a tree for a good antenna. (Thank goodness it was never hit by lightning.) I used a cold-water pipe for a ground. At night, with the 'skip' from the ionosphere, I could listen to stations half a continent away.

Argyle said...

Oldies WPTR on the internet. Anybody else have a favorite on-line radio station?

WPTR was an early rock-n-roll station in the Albany, NY, area.

eddyB said...

ah, the good old days of tube radios and TVs. Remember running to the drug store to buy or test them. Remember the building the crystal set. Used to listen to Del RIO, Texas after midnight. Think people on the moon could hear that station.

eddy

carol said...

CA: I really had to chuckle at the correct way to pronounce Bjork....almost sounded like something I'd say when eating lutefisk!! :)


eddyB: your comment on vacuum tubes brought back a memory, it sure took time for those old sets (radio or early TV) to 'warm' up.

On a similar note: Our grandson is staying with us a few days (he's 14) to do some work around here to earn some money. He asked me yesterday what the funny 'door' was that is on the landing going down to our basement. I told him it was an old fuse box and had already been sealed up when we moved into this house 30 years ago...I had to try to explain what a fuse was and why it was in a 'door'. (Our house was built in 1926)- I don't think he really understood.

Clear Ayes said...

LOL Carol, maybe it is just as well that it was, as anon@5:57 pointed out, a very short audio link.

I used to listen to R&R on the radio late at night. I don't remember the call letters, but there was one really cool station that was was pretty faint. I'd pull my small plastic radio (I think it was a Zenith) onto my pillow and smoosh up really close so I could hear the music. ...."Well, be-bop-a-lula she's my baby,"... I couldn't turn it up too loud, or my parents would know I was still awake. With those hot tubes inside, it is a wonder I didn't set the house (and me) on fire.

Grumpy 1 said...

Like several others here, seeing TRIODE brought back a lot of memories. Probably the most vivid was seeing the internal workings of a Univac I computer in 1959-60. There were more than 5000 tubes, each of which was two TRIODEs in one package, in that fantastic machine.

JD said...

Thanks to everyone for your kind words about Parsley..he had a great life, and for a time, ruled over our dogs.Thinking positive: life without a cat box is a bonus.

Susan, that book is on my "to read" list. I am reading Bossypants -very funny.

Mainiac, good to hear from you..funny about your little gagger.The squirrel population in our backyard has multiplied 100 fold since we moved here. Of course the trees are 30+ years bigger.

Husker G, as you can see my guys are too little to leave unattended yet, so nothing's broken yet- only bumps and scrapes which can't be prevented.Each one of them has focused on the doorbell as soon as they could reach it...1 to go.

Bill, Taylor Swift may be an exception to that when it comes to writing songs.Interesting lyrics. I too love all the oldies..even when the wording was lame, the tempo was easy on the soul.Can't handle rap.

carol said...

Last blast from me tonight, I was doing much the same as CA...hiding the radio and listening to our new R&R station: KISN - what a name in 1958!!! Our parents were shocked, shocked! When I think of how pitiful the sound was on our radios and old 45 record players, I have to laugh. My Mom would yell at us to TURN THAT DOWN!. Shoot, today when I say that, it really means something...the walls lean in with the volume you can get today.

Abejo said...

Good Evening, folks. Thank you Patti Varol for a great Tuesday puzzle. Really enjoyed it. Thank you, my friend Argyle, for the usual great write-up.

I was able to zip through this Tuesday puzzle pretty quickly. I had to bounce round quite a bit, but got it.

I could not believe 45D, RAM. To me, that immediately means Royal Arch Mason. I had to struggle to enter ACCESS.

TRIODE was good. Takes me back a few years.

SSTs seem to be the rage lately. Have seen those recently in puzzles.

To JD: Sorry about "Parsley." Quite often, pets are so meaningful and close to us. All of ours are buried under the oak tree in Johnsonburg. Hope you have a similar respected place of rest for your pets.

Well, our new furnace and AC unit is being installed. Our AC died Friday while I was in Springfield. Our current unit lasted 34 years. I guess we got our money's worth.

I missed a few days due to being "very busy" in Springfield, IL. I am back in the swing for a while. Heading to Pennsylvania Friday. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

fermatprime said...

HI all!

Really nice accomplishment, Patti! You appear to be in great shape, Argyle.

So sorry, JD.

Someone messed up my rat's nest of cords on the floor. Had a devil of a time finding plug for router. Caused computer battery to die probably due to my search for router cord. Had a devil of a time plugging it in this noon. Still haven't been able to connect up phone.

Anyone else have a mess of computer equipment cords all tangled up?

Tomorrow morning I go to hospital for 3 hour nuclear stress test. Oh joy. My swimming friend would like me to swim afterwards! Hah!

Had a good swim today despite exhaustion and extra aches and pains. But at least I had some sleep. Do not expect much tonight.

Be well!

Annette said...

JD, I'm very sorry for your loss. It's so hard to let go of our pets...especially when we have so many YEARS of memories with them.

Chickie said...

Lucina, My take on the music we grew up with as well as the old Masters. Our classical station was booted off the air when a pop station bought them out. I miss our everyday low music background we loved. Now, the only way to hear our favorites is on CD's or the computer. Sad!

Carol, The fuse box on my parents' 1893 home was just above our heads on the front porch. My uncle came in one night, and stole three of the fuses. Next Christmas he gave them to my Dad in a beautifully wrapped Christmas box. He had a good laugh, but we went without lights until Dad could get to the store to buy some more fuses. He had only one spare!

Avg Joe said...

I'm shocked....shocked! That no one has yet mentioned KOMA.

In the 60's and in the midwest, most radios were tuned to 1620 AM once it got close to dusk. Oklahoma City may not have been Boston, Chicago, Philly or NY, but it had THE radio station for the children of the Rock and Roll era that lived in the cultural wasteland that is the Great Plains.

JD, Sorry to read about Parsley. That's a difficult time.

Jeannie said...

Darn it, I missed my number by "this much". I just wanted to touch base as I haven't had the time to construct a puzzle lately.

JD, I have never owned a cat, but had a nice Dog Rusty (14) that my parents had to put down when I was away. I still think of him often.

Red State Democrat, (Matt) thanks for your link today of Deacon Blues. You too, Warren for your link. It brings me way back to tooling around in my LTD with a cassette in rounding Lake Michigan. It's nice to know that someone remembers your profile.

I just picked my first five really ripe tomatoes (beefsteak). Enjoyed a really good BLT with basil mayo and crisp lettuce on good whole wheat bread. Oh, MN corn is out too!! The best sweetcorn ever. Husker Gary may argue, but in my opinion....it's the best.

Take care all, I am really busy at work right now so I might be sporadic in my posts. I miss you all.

CA, my dear, I hope everything went OK today at the doctor. You are always in my thoughts.

JD, was your test to check if I was out there? LOL.

August 2, 2011 10:25 PM

I just realized I posted on yesterday's blog. Sorry.

JD said...

Jeannie, that is so funny. I just e-mailed Carol asking how you were . That test last night was my victorious attempt at changing my avatar.

Bill G. said...

Jeannie, I'm really envious of your beefsteak tomatoes and sweet corn. I used to have a nice plot in a Community Garden but it got turned into three houses. I forgot to go to the local Farmer's Market today. Rats! Still, I had my favorite turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich from Subway for lunch today. And the Dodgers are ahead for a change so it's not all bad.

Lucina said...

Chickie:
I know what you mean by that lovely background music. We are fortunate to still have KBAQ on the air and all my radios are tuned to it.

Jeannie:
I am so jealous of your tomatoes! My mouth is watering thinking about them.

dodgermex34 said...

Liked the Steely Dan reference. Just took my 20-year old niece to see them in LA. They played AJa in its entirety! It was fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Argyle

Q 104.3 WAMQ New York's Classic Rock.


WAMQ

Anonymous said...

Argyle

Q 104.3 WAMQ New York's Classic Rock.

WAMQ

Argyle said...

Thank you, I've added it to my list. I am still looking for '40s / '50s music, just before R&R.