Theme: OLA mi amigos y amigas:
A Friday offering from one of our favorite puzzle makers. I can hear the joy in Hahtoolah's voice already. Each of the theme answers has OLA added to create a new and whimsical phrase. A very tight puzzle with low word and block count, and some excellent long fill such as CATHODE, CHARITY, ROSIEST, STAYS AT, FUNNY LADY, SEMICOLON. The theme are two across and two down, with the reveal dead center, creating another visually pleasing grid. Not too much deception, just solid fill and cluing.
20A. Catch that's burnt sienna and cerulean? : CRAYOLA FISH. CRAYFISH (or crawfish, or crawdads) are lobster like creatures and burnt sienna and cerulean are colors in the really big box of crayola crayons.
53A. Result of Pepsi shortages? : COLA RATIONS. C Rations are now passe, replaced with MREs, but the prospect of having to ration Pepsi probably would upset some. Like mb's TENG, you have to see how to parse the answer or it becomes very hard.
11D. Bootblack's buffer : SHINOLA PAD. I do not know if this brand of shoe polish is till sold, but then again, I don't know S*** from Shinola, though I would wear a shin pad if I played soccer.
29D. Spec on an architect's blueprint? : CUPOLA SIZE. The funny little things on top of houses, churches etc. Dennis will deliver his scintillating lecture later on CUP SIZE and sensitivity.
37A. Paid endorsement, in slang, and an apt title for this puzzle : PLUGOLA. I am much more familiar with the term PAYOLA, for what DJ's were paid to play certain records, but this is the unifier.
Across:
1. AOL and NetZero : ISPS. Internet Service Providers.
5. Alley biters : CURS. The wild dogs which haunt and hunt in alleys.
9. Like some questions : YES/NO. TRUE/FALSE, most cross-examination is intended to be yes no.
14. Medieval defense : MOAT. Kinda out of style with flying ships and artillery.
15. Slim woodwind : OBOE.
16. Having a designated assignment : AD HOC. LINK.
17. Intangible quality : AURA. The tree huggers are forever seeing people's aurae.
18. Rise dramatically : LOOM. This was tricky, even though accurate, as in the specter of doom loomed over Gotham City.
19. Capital name derived from an Arabic term for "the conqueror" : CAIRO. A learning moment for me.
24. Peevish mood : SNIT. I always picture marti in a snit when she finds a nit.
25. Battery terminal : CATHODE. You need to know ions and positive and negative charges, I will let one of our resident experts expatiate.
27. Not just search for : LOCATE.
30. Adenoid, e.g. : TONSIL. When I was young it was quite common to have all of your adenoids and tonsils removed, these tissue caused problems. I still have all of mine.
31. Reclassification of 2006 : PLUTO. It lost its status as a planet, which so far has not been accepted by astrologers.
33. One of the Smurfs : PAPA. How blue are you?
36. The world total was approx. $70 trillion in 2011 : GDP. Gross Domestic Product.
40. Say nothing good about : PAN. Made famous by critics. This usage may come from the term panning for gold, from which also get, it did not pan out.
41. Dating from : AS OF.
43. "___ uncertain world..." : IN AN. The book, the movie?
44. Hit on the head : BRAIN. Pretty logical.
46. Napery : LINENS. Same root as Napkin.
48. Charley, in Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley" : POODLE. A standard, not a toy.
49. Tax-exempt entity, usually : CHARITY. There are so many tax exempts.
51. Ergo : THUS. How simple and perfect.
52. "___ So Fine": Chiffons hit : HE'S. A Classic TUNE.(1:51)
58. Roll out of bed : ARISE.
60. Dollar alternative : AVIS. Another deception, as who thinks rental cars first.
61. Airline with blue-striped jets : EL AL. The colors of Israel.
62. Slips through the cracks : OOZES. Fun clue.
63. They may be loaded : DICE. Tinman and his friends just would not fit.
64. Rest area rester : SEMI. Truck stop would have been too easy.
65. Dog in a horned helmet : SNERT. Hagar the Horrible's dog, or Snot Nosed Egotistical Rude Teen-ager.
66. Chatty bovines? : YAKS. Nice play on the meanings of YAK.
67. Nailed obliquely : TOED. Splynter can give you all the expert info.
Down:
1. Eye-catching Apple : IMAC. Is this and I to eye pun?
2. Grow displeased : SOUR. We are barely on the downs, so hang in there.
3. Normal beginning? : PARAnormal. A movie as well.
4. Patronizes, in a way : STAYS AT. The best way to patronize an inn or hotel.
5. Herding dog : COLLIE. Lassie, where are you?
6. Member of the Kaiser's fleet : U-BOAT.
7. Heliport site : ROOF. The need to land high to avoid power lines.
8. Wink without batting an eye? : SEMICOLON. ;) LOL. (From C.C.: My mistake earlier. Lemonade had the correct sign earlier.)
9. Marina Del Rey craft : YACHTS.
10. Author LeShan : EDA. Sorry, H. but “When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death - ourselves.” ― Eda LeShan
12. "Wargames" org. : NORAD. North American Aerospace Defense Command is not a true Acronym, even though there is an R in there somewhere.
13. Carol start : O COME. all ye faithful.
21. Victorious : ON TOP. But not always necessary.
22. Common '80's-'90s failure : S AND L. Savings and Loan. Such complicated times.
26. Cool : HIP.
27. Stacy Lewis's org. : LPGA. Ladies Professional Golf Association, Stacy overcame scoliosis to make it to the top of the sport, though 15 year old Lydia Ko from NZ seems ready to brush all aside.
28. Auto pioneer : OLDS. This famous RANSOM.
30. Senate wear : TOGAS. Romans, not ours.
32. 1975 film sequel : FUNNY LADY. Sequel to Funny Girl, both Barbra Streisand vehicles based on the life of Fanny Brice.
34. Water holder : PAIL. On my bucket list.
38. Deceive : LIE TO.
39. Near : ABOUT. Why do I hear this word in my head said by a Canadian, Eh?
42. Cone home : FIR. Cone home, E.T.
45. Least pessimistic : ROSIEST. Ah, we fall into a good mood whether we want one or not.
45. Least pessimistic : ROSIEST. Ah, we fall into a good mood whether we want one or not.
47. Superlatively sweet : NICEST. marti's picture is next to this word in the dictionary.
48. Stages : PHASES. n excuse for bad behavior.
49. Opposite of order : CHAOS. I love Jeff Goldblum as the Chaos theoretician in Jurassic Park.
50. Shoebill's cousin : HERON. You can see how birds came from dinosaurs.
51. Ruse : TRICK. Or treat!
54. New Balance rival : AVIA. Are they hanging in with the inroads from Nike and Sketchers?
55. Dairy bar : OLEO. Misleading but already in by perps.
56. Identify : NAME. I loved the Lloyd Thaxton show where you had to identify songs, like Name That Tune for Rock and Roll.
57. Decreases : SLID. Well my energy is sliding into oblivion.
59. Msg. from the Bible : SERmon.
Well I guess my preaching for the day is done, so go and enjoy your day and the holiday if you celebrate the Presidents. I want to welcome all the newbies again. It is fun to watch the Corner evolve and survive.
Lemonade
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to our Hondo Hurricane, an avid San Francisco Giants fan since 1948, rookie season of Clinton Hartung whose nickname is "The Hondo Hurricane". Hondo also deals with vintage baseball cards. I bet he has touched or even sold a Topps '52 Mantle. The closest I've ever been to that card is seeing it under a glass case at a card show. $1600 price tag. I can't remember its exact grading.
Well I guess my preaching for the day is done, so go and enjoy your day and the holiday if you celebrate the Presidents. I want to welcome all the newbies again. It is fun to watch the Corner evolve and survive.
Lemonade
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to our Hondo Hurricane, an avid San Francisco Giants fan since 1948, rookie season of Clinton Hartung whose nickname is "The Hondo Hurricane". Hondo also deals with vintage baseball cards. I bet he has touched or even sold a Topps '52 Mantle. The closest I've ever been to that card is seeing it under a glass case at a card show. $1600 price tag. I can't remember its exact grading.
Good morning everyone,
ReplyDeleteNice offering from Donna Levin today. She is high on my list of favorite constructors, always presenting a worthy challenge.
Lemon, NORAD was originally NORTH AMERICAN DEFENSE, hence NORAD. In circa 1980 Aerospace was added to it's name, but the ACRONYM was never changed. It's unusual for DOD change a title and leave the acronym alone.
Donna did not disappoint me today, continuing my week of grinding it out to complete the daily fare.
First I must thank her for acknowledging Riley , my collie in the avatar.
Had some more mis-steps today. 54D Puma/AVIA, 60A Euro/AVIS, 27D WNBA/LPGA. Sorry Stacy.
Caught onto the OLA quickly, but it wasn't a big help in finishing off the theme clues.Blue striped aircraft was a gimme because ELAL was the only four letter airline I came up with.
ADHOC, BRAIN, TOED, PAPA,& ANNE, arrived thanks to big time perp help.
8D SEMICOLON was today's fav.
See you all on Monday.
siiisat
Morning, all (and Happy Birthday, Hondo)!
ReplyDeleteStruggled a bit with this one. As with Lemonade, I wasn't familiar with PLUGOLA and when PAYOLA didn't fit I went with PAYOLAS for awhile. I did figure out early on that OLA was being added to the long answers, but then got thrown by the two long down answers (FUNNY LADY and SEMICOLON) that weren't theme answers...
Elsewhere, I had TOGAE instead of TOGAS which made getting LINENS even harder than the obscure "napery" clue. Also had CAT instead of CUR for awhile.
In the end, I had the grid totally filled but didn't get the *TADA*. Had to spend some time until I finally found my mistake at the crossing of HEP and TONSEL. Oops.
Not a big fan of "decreased" as a clue for SLID, btw.
[wasmec]
[avlaugh]
[diyound]
[llarshme]
[cabiden]
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Hondo!
Hand up for CATS before CURS. I've heard it TOENAILED, never just TOED. But a puzzle with CUPolaSIZE and ON TOP can't be a bad thing.
I did not click on your TUNE link, Lemonade. I knew I'd have Doolang-Doolang-Doolang running through my head all day. Oh Dang! There it goes...
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Thanks for the Shout-Out. I was, indeed, joyful to see a Donna Levin puzzle, and as Hondo said, I was not disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI caught on to the theme with CRAYOLA FISH, even though in Louisiana we say Crawfish.
I liked how AVIS and AVIA crossed. Actually AVIS was my first thought when I read Dollar Alternative.
Cone Home = FIR was my favorite clue.
I also liked seeing PARAnormal.
Happy Birthday, Hondo. Hope you have a great day.
QOD: I distrust those people who know so well what G~d wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. ~ Susan B. Anthony (Feb. 15, 1820 ~ March 13, 1906)
[sesdli]
Desper-Otto: Cats never entered my mind because Cat are more likely to Scratch, not bite!
ReplyDelete[tyandd]
I wanted GSD for 5 down.
ReplyDeleteI liked every clue / answer in the southwest. Deceased became decreased as I cleared my eyes. Tense was wrong for iron. Perps gave me -LEO, -AME, and -LID.
Liked so many reveals. Northeast was toughest for me. But then I got SHINOLA. My dad rarely swore. But I did hear him say one time, " .... doesn't know shit from shinola." I had never heard him speak in ill terms of anyone. But this was different. So it stuck with me.
I got the TA DA, but it took almost an hour. But that's ok as I really enjoyed this puzzle. Time to read Lemon and see what everyone else is saying.
Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy Birthday Hondo Hurricane! Will you be eating leftover chocolates today?
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.
I just love Donna Levin puzzles. Even on Fridays, there are no really obscure crossings, but lots of nice juicy fill. SEMICOLON was a great example – “Wink without batting an eye?” Love it! I didn’t realize that SHINOLA was a real product. I have only heard it used the way you did in your comments, Lemony. So, how do you recognize the difference? I also laughed when I saw CUP(ola) SIZE, and immediately thought of Dennis’s new venture, too. BTW, how’s that working out for ya, Dennis?
I just finished reading all the comments from last night. Java Mama, kudos to you for pursuing your dream! Whenever I finished a course like that with lots of reading to it, the first thing I would want to do over break was to read a book of my own choosing…
TTP – that was a great physics video you posted. I think it should have come with the warning : “Do not try this at home!”
TGIF!!
Hahtoolah, you've never met my cats!
ReplyDelete-This was an excellent "add some letters" type of puzzle, challenging, but having nothing obscure.
ReplyDeleteI got my fave, CRAYOLAFISH, early. Lemonade, thanks for a wonderful blog, as always. I look forward to your Fridays.
-No, I can't picture Marti in a SNIT about anything.
-When the Dow Jones Average SLID (decreased) we lost some money.
-Over and over the Corner and the LAT puzzles are causing me to realize what colorful and unusual expressions mom introduced to us. She called being hit in the head BRAINed.
-I knew LINENS for napery from reading period novels.
I enjoy watching border COLLIE sheep herding trials on TV, and yet it took me long to come up with COLLIE. I had CO-LI-, and then LOOM finally gave it to me. DUH. I BRAINed myself with the V-8 can.
I liked the vacuum tube physics demo from last night.
Happy birthday, Hondo. Have a fabulous day.
Great puzzle today with minimal write overs (a major accomplishment for a Friday). I took NIKE instead of AVIA but I knew 60A had to be a car rental company so that screwed me up a little.
ReplyDeleteI got CRAYOLA FISH first and I was on my way.
I liked these a lot:
- 31A: Reclassification of 2006: PLUTO
- 66A: Chatty Bovines? YAKS
- 22D: Common 80s-90s Failure: S AND L (or Sandl)
- 42D: Cone Home: FIR
My mom worked for a S&L during the late '80s and was always afraid of losing her job. Now I've been working for the same bank for over 18 years. I won't say who that bank is....that would be a PLUGOLA!
As our weekend LOOMs, I hope you find it enjoyable. This is my last company paid 3-day weekend until Memorial Day (egads!)
[Ieworko]
Oof! Before I forget - Have a Super Birthday, Hondo. I enjoy reading your posts.
ReplyDelete{tirants}
Good Friday Mornring all - Thanks Donna for a challenging puzzle and Lemonade for a fine review. I had a couple of lookups - LeShan and McCaffrey - to help with completion. Didn't come up with YESNO. Got all the OLA's except for 11D - I don't know why I couldn't come up with SHIN... when I had put in PAD at the end and the clue had buffer in it. Duh :(
ReplyDeleteHad NIKE before AVIA, EURO before AVIS. I thought about BRAIN for 44A, but didn't see it has Hit on the head, then the perps filled it in anyway.
Favorite clue was Chatty bovine, least favorite was Carol start.
Happy Birthday Hondo - Hope you have a great day!
Off to a big car show in Naples tomorrow.
extheya
wneryla
fersysm
Firstly - PLUTO will always be a planet to me!
ReplyDeleteSecondly - I just wanted to stop by and say thanks for all the positive feedback on my puzzle yesterday.
The idea came about as I was making a Nero Wolfe puzzle for a constructor friend of mind (we're both rabid fans) as I was (this is not made up) sipping a Guinness. How's that for serendipity!
Dave Eckert
A superb puzzle, so thank you very much Donna S Levin.
ReplyDeleteDitto on your write up Lemonade. Derivation of CAIRO was a learning moment for me as well. I didn't look back at horned helmeted dog as SNERT was filled by perps. Didn't see it until I got to your write up. Same thing happened yesterday with Lincoln quartet = SCORE.
I wandered off while reading at some of the links you posted. Esp Encyc Britannica. Parents bought that, and each year we received a new "Book of the Year." It was really a review of the previous year. It was my favorite book. I got teased because I would read the Encyc and the dictionary. Both fascinated me for a while. IMO , much better than fiction.
Hondo, Happy Birthday ! And all this time I thought Honda was a ref to a retired Celtic.
D-O, that's funny. It popped into my head with the clue, so I played it via L's L. I've always liked that song.
Hatoolah, mudbugs !
Got my southeast and southwest mixed up in previous post.
Marti, that was a fun physics video. The students were rapt. As an aside, I liked how he ignored the two young ladies that were late to class and "made an entrance."
And now we find that Dave was under the influence of Guinness when constructing yesterday's enigma. But, "Psst, don't tell anyone else of this."
Have a great day all. Work beckons. TGIF !
Dave, thank you for stopping by; had you said the whistle was blowing on the tea kettle while you drank your Guiness, creating a Nero Wolfe puzzle we would have been skeptical. I would love to see the Nero Wolfe puzzle, btw.
ReplyDeleteHH, HBDTY and many more.
Tinman, I would be happy to answer any S&L questions addressed to my email from you, or any reader.
Hi All ~~
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Donna Levin's puzzles and always feel confident that I'll be successful in finishing them. Well, not today! I wasn't sure until coming here, but Lemonade's very informative write-up showed me the error of my ways. ~ three wrong squares, but four wrong answers.
My main problem was 11D - filling in SHINOLA 'rag' instead of PAD. I managed to convince myself that the other answers that resulted made perfect sense. Also, although I thought I had the theme, I didn't. I thought it was just OLA inserted into each answer. Wow - my BRAIN has really been fried this week!
~ I was glad that 5A turned out to be CURS and not 'Cats.' =^..^=
~ Like Barry, I had trouble seeing 57D - 'Decreased' as SLID, but Yellowrocks made it clearer.
~ I filled in SANDL but it got me - never saw it as S AND L
~ Napery / LINENS was new to me - perps filled it.
~ Favorites: Cone home / FIR and 8D - SEMICOLON. ;-)
Happy Birthday to my fellow CTer ~ Hondo Hurricane! Enjoy your special day and have a great year!
Tinbeni,
ReplyDeleteLOL does not excuse your snarky comment!
I'm drawing a blank on semicolon and it's clue. Anyone?
ReplyDeleteA semicolon represents a pair of eyes, one winking, in emoticons.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 9:23
ReplyDeleteThanks for the help.
Don
Well, just barely made it through this fine Friday fare. The whole east coast looked rather bare after the first pass. One of these days, I may remember author LeShan's first name. I may remember whether its OLIO or OLEO. My BRAIN hurts after this one. Had PLayOLA for the longest time, making me wonder what the Senators wore? TOyAS??? As always, chipped away and THUS, it was finished!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Hondo!!
FUNNY write-up Lemonade!
mptyurre
Difficult. 8 Googles.
ReplyDeleteHad PornO before PLUTO. What do I know? But, I do know the difference between s--t and SHINOLA.
SEMI was in there twice.
But, SNERT and PLUTO are neither POODLEs nor CURs.
The Chiffons, my favorite group in the '60s. I tried to record them by holding a tape recorder up to my radio. Yeesh. If I only knew I could wait 50 years and get them on my 2-way wrist radio.
"Like mb's TENG, you have to see how to parse the answer or it becomes very hard."
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why this comment was made. Please explain it for me.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteThought I was looking at my 2nd DNF in a row when the AHA moment arrived and CUPOLA SIZES fell together. Had to give up AWOKE but was able to ARISE to the situation.
FORD before OLDS.
Technically impressive puzzle, but one of those I admire more in the rear view mirror than while driving through.
If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?
Happy Friday, everyone.
Cool regards!
JzB
Happy Birthday, Hondo. Enjoy the day and the rest of the weekend, also.
ReplyDeleteI worked on this puzzle in the middle of the night. I usually try Friday puzzles to see how many clues I know—3, or 5, or maybe 10. I bounced around the puzzle putting letters in here and there. It came down to only one blank square: SAND_! What in the heck is that? I did the alphabet mentally several times and could make no word I know. And PLUGO_A wasn’t helping. I was oh-so close-to solving a Friday puzzle, unassisted. Then I remembered how we often have to think ‘differently’ at the end of the week and AHA! S and L!! Plugola sounded possible, so I put in the L and Ta-Da!!! (That is 5 days in a row!)
I don’t remember ever solving a Friday puzzle without red-letter help, so I am patting myself on the back. I must hang out with a great crowd?!?
I saw the OLA in each of the theme answers, but Lemon, your explanation added so much more to the theme. Thanks for today and all the other days we learn new things from you.
I remember Shinola. As a little kid, I loved the smell and would just sit whenever my dad or grampa or uncles would shine shoes. Those guys in my family must be why I knew TOED was nailed-obliquely without so much as a blink of an eye. Lots of clues I didn’t know but the perps came through every time. Still can’t believe I did it!
Montana
[catlet]
No Shinola necessary.
ReplyDeleteI warned my son when he joined the military, he would need to learn to shine boots.
He wears steel-toed desert boots made of some suede-like material and they don't need shining.
His dress boots remind me of patent leather and only need a baby wipe to make them sparkle like new.
Mom was wrong,
Montana
Anon@10:10 -- Remove the OLA and you get CRATIONS. It can be difficult to see that it's C Rations. On Wednesday, MB had trouble parsing TENG. She thought it was an oriental expression rather than TEN-G. Several folks, myself included, had some initial trouble today parsing SANDL as S AND L.
ReplyDeleteHi there ~!
ReplyDeleteMan, I missed three days of puzzles this week being out on the UPS truck~! Made some good money, which helps...and hey, I did get about 100 boxes of flowers for Valentine's day - well, they weren't for me exactly....
TOED on a Friday - yep, it's short for toenail, which is much easier with a power nailer and compressor - I suppose if you were to miss a stud at the bottom plate while hammering, you'd end up hitting your toenail....
Splynter
Heliport site : ROOF. The need to land high to avoid power lines.
ReplyDeleteReally?
Where do helicopters land when there is not a tall building in sight?
open fields
ReplyDeleteNailed Obliquely : I looked in the Kama Sutra book for an answer .... none were 4 letters ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad someone already asked about 'semi-colon' - now the answer, and Lemonade's LOL becomes much more clear. Cairo was a learning moment - unfortunately the chaos currently out there leads one to wonder as to who's 'conquering' whom.
ReplyDeleteI like Donna Levin's puzzles but this one floored me. I thought tonsils were 'different' from adenoids, because both are removed separately, but apparently both of them are different types of tonsils.
Splynter @ 10:46 am:
ReplyDelete"I did get about 100 boxes of flowers for Valentine's day" Where are mine? ;)
Anon @ 10:48 am:
ReplyDeleteMercy Flight Helicopters land at our rural airport and patients are ambulanced out to them. When they get to the large city hospital, then they land on a roof.
Montana
Hello, friends. Lemonade, I'm so late and haven't read your commentary yet. I'll savor it later.
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy birthday, Hondo!
For a while now I've wondered why we hadn't seen a Donna Levin puzzle so today was a nice surprise.
I had to skip around quite a lot until it finally came together. The NW lulled me into thinking it would be easy but first mistake was STAYS ON which delayed LOCATE for a very loooong time. Finally had to look up Stacy Lewis and ANNE McCaffrey to finish.
NAPERY came easily I guess from reading so many Brit novels.
Sad to say I never read Travels with Charlie though I love Steinbeck's other words, but POODLE emerged with the perps.
This was very nice. Just enough of a challenge for a Friday. Thank you, Donna.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
chysemen
Anon at 10:48
ReplyDeleteThey are taught to look for and land on the H
Hello all.
ReplyDeleteQuite a challenge today but I persevered w/o cheats. Thanks Donna! Thanks Lemon!
Have a great birthday, Hondo!
Did anyone else think that there was some bad acting on Elementary?
Have a great Friday!
Well, my TA DA week ended today with a great but tough Donna Levin puzzle. I got about 3/4 only before I started cheating. I got that the theme was going to involve OLA early on, but that still didn't help me with many of the longer answers. Still, a fun challenge, so many thanks, Donna. And Lemonade, your SNERT explanation was a hoot!
ReplyDeleteHad CATS, like many of you. And I can't believe Steinbeck's Charley was a POODLE! I knew it was a dog but I figured probably a mutt or at least a retriever or Golden Lab or something less (ahem) deco than a POODLE.
Speaking of which, I hope you and Riley have a wonderful birthday celebration with the rest of your family today, Hondo!
Thanks for checking in, Dave.
Have a great Friday, everybody!
Fun. Drop the word "pad" from the previous search and look again!
ReplyDeleteGood morning all.
ReplyDeleteRalph kinda reminds me of my experience today. I usually have fun with Donna's offerings, but I agree with several of the earlier comments. No googling, but did invoke red letter help in the NE. Had Amman before CAIRO, but I learned its meaning. I agree with A-M about TONSIL, too. I thought YAKS was clever and funny. Guessed at EL AL and nailed TOED. So there were some small successes.
Happy Birthday to Hondo H.
Have a great day.
Good afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteThe SEMICOLON did not make sense to me when I read the answer, Lemonade.
Tinbeni's illustration explained it.
Thank you Tinbeni.
As usual for a Friday, I got only 10 correct answers out of 16 tries. Not bad, IMHO.
Happy birthday, Hondo. Hope you have fun. And belated happy birthday to HeartRx; I read the comments too late to wish you such last night.
Cheers
Lemonade: I think of curs as not AKC recognized or a mixture of dog breeds. I've never thought of a cur as a "wild dog which haunt and hunt in alleys". What is your source? Or have I been wrong all my life?
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your write ups, and think you add a great deal of fun to them. Thank you.
My take on curs: If they wag their tail and try to lick you, they are lovable mutts.(see avatar) If they snarl and try to bite you, they are mangey curs.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone:
ReplyDeleteA fun Friday with just the right level of bite. Liked the clues for yaks, semicolon, oozes, and dice. Finished w/o help which is always a plus.
Thanks, Donna, for a nice warm-up for Saturday's stumper. Are we due for a Silkie? Thanks, Lemon, for your always enjoyable write-up.
Happy Birthday, Hondo, hope you have a great day! And thanks to Dave Eckert for dropping by.
Enjoy your day!
Constantine the first Christian Roman Emperor won a famous battle with X and P painted on his warriors shields.
ReplyDeleteThese were Chi (X) and Rho (P) from Greek and the first letters of CHRISTOS (Christ).
This I was told is where Cairo came from.
The Arab world uses another word for the Capital of Egypt but I'm too lazy to look it up.
Egypt was part of the later Roman Empire centred at Constantinople.
McBeal
Good morning all. And a by Happy BDay, Hondo!
ReplyDeleteMost of the same hang ups here as mentioned. Puma, euro... But I broke new ground with 34D. Had the P from Papa, and figured that had to be pond or pool. Waited on perps and got the L from poodle, so went with pool. That took some time to sort out, but finally got it.
My take on curs: An out of town friend is visiting this afternoon. He refuses to drink my beverage of choice, so I stopped and picked up some Curs Light. (True story)
I agree with Argyle @11:54. The word CUR always has a negative connotation. I don't see lovable mutts as CURs.
ReplyDeleteDefinition of CUR: a mongrel dog, especially a worthless or unfriendly one.
Origin of the name Cairo from Wiki article on Cairo:
When Caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah finally arrived from the old Fatimid capital of Mahdia in Tunisia in 973, he gave the city its present name, al-Qahira ("The Victorious").
Montana, Congrats on your first Friday no-peeky. Isn't that a thrill?
Live video feed from NASA of the asteroid passing Earth. CPA at time 2:24 pm EST today.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon to all and happy Friday. Haven't checked in for a while as I have been occupied with 4 college courses.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Donna L. for a tough but doable Friday. I also had Euro first and had Esta. for 41 across,have seen this before short for estalished. I'm pretty sure crayfish are not fish at all but are related to scorpians.
Happy birthday to Hondo a fellow aquarian, I'm having another on Sunday.
Have a great weekend to all RJW.
Lemonade, I do love your witty style! And with a little more time to spare I can fully understand and appreciate some of the really clever clues.
ReplyDeleteI loved:
chatty bovines, YAKS
eye catching apple, IMAC
wink without batting an eye, SEMICOLON
cone home, FIR
I so look forward to your Friday, offerings, Lemon
yorcidi (It really helps to parse and write the captcha here)
Also a belated happy birthday to Marti, it was also mr DW's birthday so it is a little hectic here.RJW
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Hondo!!!
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhh, a Friday Donna Levin! I love it when a plan comes together.
Not a walk in the park. My BRAIN hurts from V-8 can "head bonks" (which I had to write-over).
Also had: euro before AVIS and puma before AVIA. SHINOLA Happens!
Fave today was that SEMI-COLON ;-) wink. Very clever!
Cheers
PS After emails between Lemon & I, I deleted my earlier comment and re-posting here.
I also noticed that "It's Five O'clock Somewhere" so it's time for some Avatar.
(Though, only my DICE would ever get "loaded" ... LOL!)
Spitzboov@12:52
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating video! Thank you for posting it. What an amazing feat to be able to track an asteroid for 100 years into the future.
scumsgic
Good afternoon, everyone! Lots to like about this Donna Levine Friday offering. My favorite was Chatty Bovines = YAKS. Figured out pretty early on that OLA was being inserted in the theme answers, but had to wait for the unifier to understand why. Thanks for a fun write-up, Lemon; got a chuckle out of your comment on 63A.
ReplyDeleteNever read “Travels With Charley”, so POODLE was a learning moment. Thanks to DH, I’ve seen enough episodes of This Old House and Holmes on Homes to come up with TOED for Nailed Obliquely. Hand up for being initially confused by SANDL. My folks grew up in the Depression and lost money in the S&L failures of the 80’s, so they made a habit of never putting all their money in just one bank. After they died, it took quite a while to round up all their accounts to settle the estate.
A very Happy Birthday to you, Hondo! Hope you get to spend the day doing all your favorite things.
Marti, thanks for the encouraging words on my studies. For a treat when this term is over I have Ken Follett’s “Winter of the World” waiting on my Kindle.
Have a great weekend all!
Hi Y'all, Enjoyed Donna's puzzle although I had to have red letters to redirect my thinking. Great commentary, Lemon. Happy birthday, Hondo!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a Dollar car rental. Euro? Peso?
I RATION my COLA intake to reduce blood pressure.
DesperOtto: LOL! I had the same thoughts about CUPOLA SIZE, ON TOP, ARISE!
Did the Kaiser (WWI) really have UBOATS? I thought submarines weren't used until WWII.
We had money in two S & L's that went into receivership different years. Boy, was it nerve-wracking when the Feds swept into town and shut them down. We didn't lose any money in the end.
Years later I sat down for an interview with the S & L president who remained. With my tape still running, he told about a wild airplane ride with the S & L owner when he realized his employer was a crazy crook. They met up with some really scary guys. Later the owner committed suicide. The most exciting story I ever learned that I didn't dare use.
A nit on lemonade's write up...and didn't have time to read all blogs so i apologize if this is repeated....what you gave as semicolon was actually a colon...:) as opposed to semicolon ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Hondo Hurricane!!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day.
New prescription in reading glasses-
Too much trouble adjusting, got tired and DNF. Wouldn't have finished anyway. Never heard of PLUGOLA, and a lot of the others. Especially balked at the wink clue.
Going out to get my 50% off Valentine peanut M&Ms. Wheee!!
Anonymous @1:18pm,
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing it out. Lemonade had it right this morning. I goofed.
Wow, I just ducked some big-a** rock that went flying by my head! Too close!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the tax & computer help yesterday. AnnieB: I'm going to try replacing the color ink cartridges today. Sounds logical that they might have dried out. I had just changed the expensive things before I quit printing.
ReplyDeleteMy GEEK SQUAD contract expired Jan. 28, so it stands to reason that something would go wrong a week later. Murphy's Law, right? Or maybe my Geek put a hex on my machine when I didn't submit more money. LOL! I didn't resubscribe because I couldn't figure out how since they don't accept checks and the phone always had a busy signal.
By the way, is anyone planning a Caribbean Cruise? Don't forget to pack your portapotty & water wings!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should require that today's Senators and Reps wear togas. They might get the work done faster if they had a draft up their skirts.
I think years of decyphering bad handwritten notes that crossed my desk may have helped with the Captcha.
Thank you Spitzboov for the Nasa tracking of the asteroid that hit the earth. Just points out how powerless we are in things that really matter. Internet Explorer has some close up photos on that one. The pieces of asteroid - meteorites would be worth a lot of money, to collectors, (if you survived its impact.)
ReplyDeleteKaptcha word is htmyrmpy
Happy birthday Hondo! I hope you have enjoyed yourself. Save me some cake!
ReplyDeletePut me down for one who got confused by SANDL. Also, I had a hard time understanding that "Marina Del Ray craft" was going to end up as a plural," especially annoying since I live about five miles south of there.
I see many little remarks about the Captcha (which can be hard to read about half the time). Maybe there are a few people here who do not know you can get a new one anytime (which may be easier to read) by clicking on the circle underneath. I sometimes do that three or four times until I get one that's easy to decipher.
I am enjoying the link for the asteroid flyby. Thanks. (Although, after a minute or two it becomes about as interesting as watching paint dry.)
I'm late, & the puzzle has been well commented on, So...
ReplyDeleteHBD Hondo Hurricane
This dog is definitely not a cur. Manac, as much as i have feelings for felines, i must admit, no one has ever made a video like that for a cat!
Hmm, maybe i can contribute to todays puzzle...
WWI U Boats
Perhaps, in a flight of fancy, i could interpret 25A Cathode as Ode To Cathy.
14A moat
Re: Norad, I only just discovered that the movie War Games had a sequel. I give it credit for the many references it makes to the original, but i still think the girl should have been a Russian spy.
17A Aura
captcha
Just back from taking 90 yr old MIL for cataract evaluation. She is going to have both eyes done and that was the easy part. If you understand all the insurance nonsense, you’re a better man than I am Charlie Brown!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-I agree with Lemon’s paragraph summary and couldn’t shake out C RATIONS until then.
-Yeah, steer clear of the shoe shine person who can’t tell SHINOLA from… A fav expression of my dad
-Bad YES/NO question – Have you stopped beating your wife?
-The 17th Hole at Sawgrass almost has a MOAT and may be the most famous golf hole in the world
-That meteor LOOMed over Kazakhstan yesterday
-Platoon was very controversial because of what was then considered a lot of gore
-If you jump your car battery, hook CATHODE to CATHODE and ANODE to ANODE or else
-If you examine PLUTO, it really is/was the red headed stepchild
-Caddyshack was PANned by Roger Ebert in 1980 but has become a comedy classic
-Obviously some CHARITIES are either a scam or spend way too much on administration. We support Wounded Warriors
-EL AL uses profiling to help keep terrorists off its blue-striped jets
-SEMIs get off the road much more frequently because of smarter tracking instead of the old log books
-Grandkids love SOUR candy made mostly with Citric Acid
-Chaos advocate Goldblum’s 2 second quote after dinosaurs run amok
-Great physics video TTP. Kids remember the big stuff!! The leaf blower over the toilet paper is a fav!
-HBD Hondo!
-What movie featured a Las Vegas Heliport used for stealing Al Pacino’s diamonds?
Herllo everybody. I, too, love Donna Levin's work, and today's puzzle reinforces that sentiment.
ReplyDeleteBiggest goof-up was putting in SHINOLA RAG, which, with PAIL and ANNE, made John's Steinbeck's dog into a beaGLE. Nope. POODLE forced me to change RAG to PAD (didn't know what a shin rag is, anyway), THUS solving PAN.
Favorite: Chatty bovines - YAKS.
Least favorite: Decreased - SLID.
Best wishes to you all, and happy birthday greetings to you, Hondo.
Good thing the asteroid missed us.
ReplyDeleteFor a moment, I thought we were all going to get "stoned" ...
At least I still have my Sunset "toast" to look forward to ...
Cheers !!!
Done! - a little faster than yesterday (I must start timing myself)-- even though I didn't understand some of the answers when correct.
ReplyDeleteI could not see "S AND L," for instance, although I had SANDL. I must be going blind-- brain blind, that is.
Tin isn't that a Bob Dylan song love them rainy day women.
ReplyDeleteCheers. RJW
PK, I liked your comment about reading CAPTCHA. Because, as a teacher I have had my share of reading barely legible, badly spelled student papers, I, too, get 90% of my CAPTCHAS on the first try. Like CAPTCHA, I gave my students “do-overs,” but with suggestions, after I laboriously deciphered their intent.
ReplyDeleteIn January my grandson's GPA SLID (decreased) due to missing and late homework. After much family angst, he seems to be back on track.
I do believe I allowed a serious threat into my computer system this week. I feel 99% certain I have "killed" it. I’m a little obsessive about this, but that is likely why, so far, I have never had an incursion that was not shot down. Will saying that jinx me?
The other day I spent 90 minutes on copying a major table for my square dance club under SAVE AS and updating it with this year’s data. The screen changed on me and I was asked if I wanted to save the changes. I said NO, meaning on the new screen. My project disappeared and I had only last year’s work. On my”do-over” today I saved it every five minutes. There was another glitch, but my work survived. My old computer had a way of automatically saving, but I can’t find it on this one.
old yeller was a cur
ReplyDeleteHello sports fans ! Work day is finally over and hopefully no more until Monday AM.
ReplyDeleteHusker, I thought you would get a kick out of that video. I laughed so hard when he revealed the undershirt.
CED, I liked your Captcha image. I would have thought that Bill G or Anony-Mouse would have provided the answer by now, but since they haven't... The answer is 42. If unsure why, see last Saturday.
It was a Friday puzzle, so I did my usual "fill in what I know" and then come to the blog. I knew more than usual, though, probably because of all the dog references! As is evident from my "handle," I love dogs in general, and Standard Poodles in particular. And, Misty, there's nothing DECO about my two! They're as goofy as any other dog --maybe goofier because the don't look like they should be acting like they do!
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle today, should've learned from TENG but was still stumped by SANDL today... Got Crayolafish right away, remembering the crayola box of 64 crayons that were such a treat as a child. Only other place I have seen burnt sienna is in a paint can mixture.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Bill again on the avatar help,and to those who have commented on it. They are our two kittens Yaz and Liza Jane, their first day home after being adopted from the humane society. Our older tiger cat, Bree still won't pose for a picture with them four years later... still trying. Yes, my husband is a Red Sox fan, I am a long suffering Mets fan!
I love to see the puzzle creators commenting on the blog!
Picture of Shinola wax shoe polish : Pic. See the resemblance.
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteLate again. Busy again.
Argyle: OH! Thanks! Now I get that whole Shinola thing. Never knew it was shoe polish; must be before my time.
DNF for me! Enjoyed write up. Fav was crayola fish. Knew colors from oils. Sandl was problem. Can't believe I didn't know that. Did some work reviewing files--speculative loans! Historically S and Ls had only taken rock solid long term mortgage loans. Guess we never learn from history?
ReplyDeleteTGIF. Have a good one!
Yellowrocks, please check your email.
ReplyDeleteSpitzboov - tried to see your video but it wasn't about the asteroid - not sure what I'm doing wrong. Maybe it was only on for a short time.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday,Hondo!
ReplyDeleteMaybe, not as late today as I usually am. Feel like I miss the conversation on most days. I think I will remember Donna Levin's name. Very fun puzzle!
Had cats before CURS. We had a feral siamese-mix cat that would prey on me just like a wild cat. He attacked biting and clawing. I'm not sorry to say that he is gone. I have a black and white sweetie now.
I thought I would prove Adenoids were not tonsils as we would schedule tonsils and adenoidectomy separately. Wiki say they can be interchangable but I have not heard it done.
-COLARATIONS- what is being done in NYC.
-Chatty bovine-YAK (giggles)
-Cone home-Thought of Romulack but wouldn't fit.
-Guessed LPGA...if in doubt think golf.
I loved our little Saving AND Loan. I deposited my 50 cent allowance every week as a child.
My oldest daughter was an only child for six years until the twins came. She had many invisible friends. We had Smurfs living in our floor furnace. After a couple years, my husband got tired of stepping around the furnace. He started stamping on the furnish and saying, "die Smurfs die!". She was laughing, thank goodness.
Hope you all have a good weekend!
Happy Birthday to the Hondo Hurricane! I got messed up in the middle on this as I had cattle dog before COLLIE as well as cats before CURS. Could not remember AVIA shoes either. I enjoyed this puzzle and the cluing.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone has a good weekend.
Montana, congrats on your streak ! Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteWe used KIWI boot polish. We'd light the little tin on fire to liquify the wax, and then blow it out. Then applied the liquified wax to the cleaned boots and shine until you got a mirror image.
Hope everyone has a great evening. See you all tomorrow.
Annie B - I think the video was only on live during the closest part of the asteroid's fly by.
ReplyDeleteSpitzboov - Gotcha. I see they are having a live video now. I have watched the space station telecast before when they were giving a tour. Pretty neat.
ReplyDeleteArgyle, "See the resemblance." Funny :)
ReplyDelete4:27 Old Yeller is my hero, not a cur. From his starving days of stealing he was rehabilitated and was no longer a cur. He saved the family from a bear, a boar and a rabid wolf and became a bosom companion. He became rabid through no fault of his own and had to be put down. I cried at the end of the novel and the movie. We cat lovers tend to be dog lovers, too.
ReplyDeleteArgyle,5:15, thanks for showing why "He don't know sh** from Shinola makes sense.. Although I knew the shoe polish and the comment, I didn't get it.
12:55 although crayfish and scorpions are both arthropods, they are no closer than birds and fish. Scorpions are arachnids and crayfish are crustaceans.
It is sometimes hard to follow the thread. Please always indicate the time of the post to which you refer.
Evening everyone,
ReplyDeleteThis was a Levin Brain buster for me but eventually got it done with no cheats.
Thank you CED for that link on Gabe. I got lost on youtube for a while watching the other clips. Quite interesting.
I hope everyone here realizes that Dave's and my banter over "Dogs rule and cats drool" is just good natured
humor and I don't really have anything against cats. But... it wasn't a cat that stopped someone from trying to take my then 14 year old son against his will from our home. So yeah, I may be a little bias. The dog did get a steak dinner that night.
Manac @7:45 - the episode with your young son must have been terrifying! That dog really earned his steak dinner, and your undying gratitude. I get a kick out of the "cats rule, dogs drool" banter -- it's clearly all meant in good fun. Yellowrocks (@7:39) hit the nail on the head when she said most of us cat lovers are dog lovers, too.
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks: Old Yeller was a Blackmouth Cur.
ReplyDelete"There is also the minor difference in that Old Yeller is bob-tailed in the book. Whereas, in the movie, he has a long tail that arches over his back (similar to the tails of Arctic sled dogs). Another major difference is that Old Yeller appears as a Lab/Mastiff mix, while in the book he is implied to be a Black Mouth Cur."
How can he be "rehabilitated and was no longer a cur"?
I had a boxer one time but we trained him and changed into a poodele. Huh?
Nonsense! Captcha answer is zero, not 42!
ReplyDeleteJava Mama,
ReplyDeleteThat was an incident where you just want to put it behind you but you never want to forget the heroic deed.
Undying gratitude is right.
P.S. I think you got that backwards:)
Frederick Benjamin "Fred" Gipson (February 7, 1908 – August 14, 1973) was an American author. He is best known for writing the 1956 novel Old Yeller, which became a popular 1957 Walt Disney film.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Fred, for coming back from beyond the pale to set us straight on the Cur breed. It is unfortunate the term, cur, has taken a pejorative meaning.
I agree with fermat- the captcha answer is zero. But 42 is the fun answer.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that Shinola was an actual brand of shoe polish. I just hope it doesnt smell the same as what it looks like.
Answer to Husker Gary's question- Oceans 11? 12? 13??
When I click on the little circle below the captcha thingie, I get a window asking me if I want to navigate away from the page-and I am too lazy to copy what I wrote already.
Speaking of captcha- is it thornoss? or thormoss?
Whoops, must have been the former..
TTP and CED, I used to do all that calculus stuff and took applied math way beyond that but I haven't used any of it in 30 years. I'm assuming 42 was a joke referring to the Meaning of Life and everything. I should get out my college calculus text and see what comes back.
ReplyDeleteFrom Prairie Home Companion's joke show:
Her new husband comes home from work and is unhappy the housework is not done. He tells her tomorrow when I get home from work I want all the housework done properly. The next day he comes home and doesn't see it. The next day he still doesn't see it. But on the third day he is starting to see out of his right eye a little bit.
61Rampy @ 9:31
ReplyDeleteAnd I will "always" believe that the FUN answer is 5 ... as in:
"It's "always" Five O'clock Somewhere" ... and time for some Avatar!
Bill G @ 9:38 ... Good joke!
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Donna, for a swell, but tough, puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lemonade, for the swell review.
I had a busy day and just finished the puzzle.
It was tough. Took me a long time to get the theme. Finally got it. OLA
Happy Birthday Hondo. Many happy returns.
Now almost time for me to hit the hay. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(seedsnu)
Bill, Heh heh! But your making it too easy for me. Remember, Its all in fun!
ReplyDelete"One day a housework-challenged Bill G. decided to wash his Sweat-shirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to his wife, "What setting do I use on the washing machine?"
"It depends," She replied. "What does it say on your shirt?"
He yelled back, "Cornell U. "
"Bill and Barbara, now in their 60's, were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. On their special day a good fairy came to them and said that because they had been so good that each one of them could have one wish.
Barbara wished for a trip around the world with her husband. Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands.
Bill wished for a female companion 30 years younger... Whoosh...immediately he turned ninety!!! Gotta love that fairy!
Manac, 10:09--gotta love your story--and that clever fairy!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting we never hear about adenoid or tonsil surgery. My classmates wanted tonsilitis so they would get on the ice cream diet.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the entertainment everyone.
Manac, heh heh, good one!
ReplyDeleteStudying for a calculus exam used to make me want to derive myself off a cliff!
x^2 "Do you believe in God?"
x^3 "Well, I do believe in higher powers..."
Math puns are the first sine of nerdiness.
A graduate student from Trinity,
Computed the cube of infinity.
But it gave him the fidgets
To write down all those digits,
So he dropped math and took up divinity.
Fun puzzle. Missed "S and L" entirely even after staring it down to the fibers of my paper.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a cat person, but standard poodles have a place in my heart, behaving nothing like their smaller cousins. Knew POODLE right away as I have recently been re-reading Steinbeck.
There has been a lot of Yakety Yak on the old blog today.
Happy Birthday Hondo H.
Cheers !
[ennendo]
[rmstun]
Hola Everyone Happy Birthday, Hondo. I hope you did something you really loved.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very difficult puzzle for me. But oddly enough some of the more obscure clues, I got and the easier ones were just beyond me. Donna Levin is usually a constructor that I do well with, but not this time.
I didn't get to the puzzle until late this evening, as I worked at our Thrift Shop today. With being out of the house early and getting back late I just wasn't thinking well.
Have a great holiday weekend, everyone.
It was 70 degrees here today, and we expect one more day, before it turns to winter once again.
I'm going to share this detailed reply TTP sent to Yellowrocks:
ReplyDeleteI've had to assume that your are PC based and not Apple based. Microsoft's Security Scanner and Malicious Software Removal Tool are very effective for identifying and eradicating bugs. Generally, if you run the security scanner, and it's clean, then your PC is clean. However, I always suggest that if you have any doubt, run the Malicious Software Removal Tool. It's updated monthly, so you can run it again next "month." Most people that dismiss the tools have a hidden agenda. Generally, they are either a shill for other vendor products or they are running pirated versions of Windows or other Microsoft products such as Excel. Microsoft has a self-termed "Genuity" process for making sure they are not enabling pirates of their licensed products.
Computers are exceptionally fast these days, and it's sometimes hard to notice gradual changes in performance. If you start to notice or feel that your system is getting sluggish, download and run the tools again. One of the dangers is that the perps will deliver malware payload in zip files. Antivirus programs and security scanners have difficulty scanning zip (compacted) files. So they can remain dormant on your system until they are triggered. One trigger may come in via open ports on Instant Messaging or gaming applications. Use a Firewall. Another trigger to unpack the zip file used by the perps to activate the previously delivered malware is by visiting an unsafe website. Thus, the focus by companies like Google to constantly scan websites that are delivering or acting as intermediaries in delivering malware, and shutting them down. There are a number of ways that it can be done. Just make sure that you have the Automatic Updates set to Yes for Windows Updates and your other application products are always running the latest version.
If you get a bug I strongly advise against following directions or loading tools from unknown vendors on the web. I'm also unaware which antivirus program you are running, but you can search through the vendor's FAQs, Help Guides, and community forums. Again, be cautious with recommendations found on the forums. Be especially wary of any other sites that suggest you'll have to change your Registry entries. Red flag should go up if they offer to do it for a fee. They'll generally want to take remote control of your PC, and it's all downhill from there.
ReplyDeleteI have various email accounts, including AOL. Most email accounts will not let you view Log On activity without first going through a series of authentication steps to make certain that you are really who you say you are. YAHOO is one that doesn't, as I described on the Corner the other day. Perhaps the not so obvious implication is that users can use that capability to help check to see if they are infected and someone is sending spam from your account. If they are sending spam, they are probably trying to or already are capturing your passwords. That's why I say you have to get rid of the bugs first.
To digress, the perps have good success at finding users that have configured their email account with an easily solvable password, such as password, or repeating their userid as their password, or using weak passwords. Perps share lists of common passwords that have been solved or stolen. But the reality is that perps have greater success by adding keystroke loggers or other malware tools that will simply send your password every time you change it. They're really not interested in reading your email; they want your passwords and sign-on security question answers.
So signup for a free Yahoo account, and use the steps I doc'ed the other day to check it. Monitor it periodically to see if someone in another country or state is signing on. If so, you know they have that password, and may have others. Obviously, it is possible to just have an email account hacked and not have a bug on your PC, but I always suggest the deep scan and use of the Microsoft tools to be certain.
Finally, as to your program for building tables... search it's Help for Autosave.