Theme: Useful Data!
17A It used to store information: CLAY TABLET. I recall from my history lessons that the Sumerians wrote in cuneiform on a wet clay tablet, one of the first examples of written language. That's got us off to a nice educational start, things can only go downhill from here.
22A It used to send information: SMOKE SIGNAL
30A It used to duplicate information CARBON PAPER. I wonder what age you have to be to know that "cc" on an email refers to sending a "carbon copy" of a memo?
39A It’s used to duplicate information: COPY MACHINE
50A It’s used to send information: TEXT MESSAGE. Albeit often useless information such as "OMG! R U SURE? LMAO! CU L8R!
57A It’s used to store information: FLASH DRIVE
Good Morning everyone - Steve here with a really nice Wednesday puzzle from Tim Poor and Jeff Chen. There was so much to like about this theme - six sharp entries and great cluing: the used/used homynym (notice those are symmetrically placed) the "information" repetition and the old-to-new progression. A really impressive job. We believe this is Tim Poor's LA Times debut, congratulations!
Lots of fun with the rest of it, so let's check it out.
Across:
1 Scratcher at a post: CAT
4 Spun some LPs: DJ'ED
8 Kid’s proud retort: I AM SO
13 Fancy ride: LIMO. I saw a stretch limo trying to navigate around central London the last time I was there. Not the best idea, the streets are still pretty much the same width that they were in 1680.
14 Wee bit: IOTA
15 Saves, as a coupon: CLIPS. I get eCoupons on my iPhone. When will I get eGroceries that I can iCook?
16 “I think somebody needs __!”: A NAP. In my infancy, it wasn't "a nap" but "a smart clip upside the head".
19 Make sparkle, in a way: BEJEWEL
21 Satisfy, as thirst: SLAKE
25 Acad., e.g.: SCH. Academy/School? If some schools are academies are all academies schools?
27 Kaffiyeh wearer: ARAB
28 Meadow mama: EWE
29 Twinkie relative: HO HO
34 Open, as classified records: UNSEAL
38 Actress Milano: ALYSSA
43 Eye problem: STYE
44 Brass band bass note?: OOM. Note the question mark in the clue - with "maybe" those conventions always seem to flag the "well, it could be" type of answer like this one.
45 Surrounding glow: AURA
49 Paper or plastic offer: BAG
54 Gridiron gripper: CLEAT
56 73, on many golf courses: ONE OVER. (par). The traditional layout for an 18-hole golf course is four par 3's, 10 par 4's and four par 5's which gives a par for the course of 72.
60 __ colada: PINA. Is it Happy Hour yet? Key ingredients are rum, Malibu liqueur and pineapple juice.
61 Hearty enjoyment: GUSTO
62 A bullet often precedes one: ITEM As in a bulleted list, much overused on Powerpoint presentations.
63 Brings to a close: ENDS
64 Dual pronoun: HE/SHE
65 Shampoo ad buzzword: BODY
66 Teachers’ org.: N.E.A. The National Education Association. This is the country's largest professional employee organization. I know because ..... I just looked it up.
Down:
1 Movie house: CINEMA
2 Key with three sharps: A MAJOR. Because F Sharp Minor didn't fit. One of our resident musical experts can explain that one! Here's the Allegretto from Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major
3 Capital north of Tulsa: TOPEKA
4 Cuts into cubes: DICES
5 More cheerful: JOLLIER
6 Greek letter between zeta and theta: ETA. One day I'll learn the Greek alphabet. Until then I'll happily wait for the crosses and say "Eta! See, I knew that".
7 __-night doubleheader: DAY. One of C.C.'s favorite things, I'm sure.
8 Hold ’em declaration: I CALL. Not me. Apparently, a poker player who is expert in knowing when to call a bet is said to have "a leather ass". I fold; I'm not sure what I'm sitting on.
9 Actress Jessica: ALBA
10 Wimps: MILKSOPS. I had "POPS" which made PCH look more like a scenic route than a place of learning. Coincidentally, I was on the lovely Pacific Coast Highway on Monday:
11 Graduation Day lineup: SPEECHES
12 Sunrise direction, to a German: OST. The sunrise direction is pretty much the same for everyone, hopefully. This tells us to translate, or wait for the crosses.
13 Short dogs?: LABS.
18 Fed. inspection agency: T.S.A. My friends the Transportation Safety Administration who have me on their Fast Track list, thank you thank you! I'll be seeing them on Sunday when, oddly, I'm going to the airport in 51D.
20 Internet video tool: WEBCAM
23 President before BHO: GWB
24 Prefix with classic: NEO-
26 Circle dance: HORA. Traditionally Jewish.
29 Filly’s dinner: HAY
31 In the style of: A LA. Before "A La Mode" became ice cream, it was understood to mean "according to the fashion".
32 Bert Bobbsey’s twin: NAN
33 Tickle pink: PLEASE. This was nice.
34 25-Across WNW of L.A. U.C.S.B. University of California at Santa Barbara. All kinds of abbreviations and cross references here. Nice!
35 “I’m stumped”: NOT A CLUE. Not today, thankfully.
36 Pirate’s telescope: SPYGLASS
37 Part of a storm: EYE
40 Watergate prosecutor Archibald: COX. The "Saturday Night Massacre" makes for interesting reading.
41 Sexy: HOT
42 “That really touched me”: I'M MOVED
46 England’s Justin Rose won it in 2013: U.S. OPEN. Justin played a little better than 56A over four rounds to win this major championship, and was the first English winner since Tony Jacklin in 1972.
(Trivia Alert: It is the responsibility of the winning player to get their name engraved on the trophy before returning it the next year).
47 Steep-sided landform: RAVINE. C.C. will know Chavez Ravine here in LA - site of Dodger Stadium.
48 Chair’s list: AGENDA
50 Lake near Stateline, Nevada: TAHOE
51 Sea-Tac approx. E.T.D. When I leave Seattle next Wednesday, I'll be hoping my Estimated Time of Departure from this airport isn't later than scheduled.
52 Ibsen’s “An __ of the People”: ENEMY
53 Stats that are better when they’re low: E.R.A.'S. A pitcher's Earned Run Average - the lower the better. Basically, how many runs were scored by batters who got on base when facing his pitches (whether or not he's still pitching when they cross home plate).
55 O.T. queen: ESTH. Absolutely knew this like a shot. Not. Thank you crosses.
57 E followers: FGH
58 Barbecue serving: RIB
59 Simpson judge: ITO. First thought were the animated Simpsons, but then - ah, O.J.
That's about it - hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. See you next time!
Steve
65 comments:
Morning, all!
Very clever theme today, although it took me awhile to notice the its/it's difference in the clues.
Mostly smooth solve, except for the SW where I got bogged down a bit. Didn't realize 55D was asking for an abbreviation, so I went with RUTH after getting the TH from the perps. I also went with ETA instead of ETD at 51D. As a result, I ended up with CLRAT and FLAUHARIVE until saner heads prevailed.
[acapeu]
Greetings!
Happy Hump Day!
Fun puzzle, Tim and Jeff! Great expo, Steve!
Breezed through this one! Much faster than yesterday.
The new Dr. Who is looking a whole lot older, and maybe more solemn. Have been reading through the news items at the TVGuide site, to partially obliterate my troubles. Quite a preview of things to come, especially Downton Abbey.
Cheers!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Tim poor and Jeff Chen, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for an excellent write-up.
Well, did not know 1A, at first. Not a CAT person. Got it after a few downs.
Had one perp and got TOPEKA.
After LIMO and CAT got A MAJOR. I would much rather play a song with 3 flats than 3 sharps.
first theme answer was SMOKE SIGNAL. That helped with the rest of them. Really enjoyed the theme. Very clever.
Have not had a STYE in decades. Not waiting for the next one.
ONE OVER in golf is what I usually am, and that is on the first hole. Goes down hill from there.
HE SHE reminds me of the person that stole and wrecked my daughter's car last fall. A guy dressed like a woman in Milwaukee. Cops got her, I mean him.
Had to think for a moment on BHO. I guess that will be a future xword clue many times, IMHO.
Fermatprime: I hope Harvey is feeling better. Give him my regards. Enjoyed meeting him last year.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(cyqbeeu)
Good Morning, Steve and friends. This was a really fun puzzle and much easier than yesterday's fare. It was amusing to see the modes of transportation throughout history. Too bad we couldn't see the mimeograph and get high on the fumes!
We had an alphabet sequence earlier this week, so the one in today's was a gimme.
QOD: I got a flue shot and now my chimney works perfectly. ~ Steve Martin (Aug. 14, 1945)
[alandos]
Happy Wednesday everybody!
Information overload!
Now THIS seemed like a Monday puzzle. Only one write-over (ETA for ETD at 51D. Should’ve recalled the already-clued ETA at 6D sooner)….
Two of my sisters attended UCSB in the 80s. Mom asked if they ever saw each other at school – the eldest made the mistake of admitting she ran across her younger sib on the beach one day…. Too Much Information….
Glad to see that Twinkies are back on the market…. Feel kinda Ho Hum about HO HOs though…. Same for Ding Dongs…. Don’t even get me started on the truly evil Sno Balls….
Three golfing answers today (I’m including SPYGLASS from Pebble Beach….)
Better for a CAT to be a post scratcher than a furniture clawer…. CAT and LABS were close, but alas, no perp(endicular)….
Finally, speaking of LABS, here’s a nice rescue story for the Corner Canine Crew from today’s S.F. Chronicle about, well, I’ll let you read it…. LINK
Good morning!
I survived the puzzle unscathed, and enjoyed the information storage through the ages theme. I have to admit, though, that I have never received (nor do I know how to send) a TEXT MESSAGE. I do have a FLASH DRIVE.
If only my cat were a post scratcher. He goes through phases. His current one is to knock the remotes off the coffee table and then play hockey with them.
Happy himp day all,
Nice offering today with some tricky cluing. But alas, the NE did me in. Never heard of a CLAYTABLET and guessed tables was the word. My fill for 12D, OSS never jumped out at me. so one letter did me in today.
New nit........ BEJEWEL. Yeah I know it's in,the dictionary and probably in a lot of literature, but I hate it. I'm sure there is a sentence somewhere with both BEJEWEL and Aglare or some other A word in it. Whoopee-doo!
Not in a good mood today..... started Physical therapy yesterday for rotator cuff issue. I know PT beats the alternative by a lot, but my pain is now located somewhere else in addition my shoulders.
Good morning all !
I didn't notice the old to new progression until Steve pointed it out in his review.
Almost a fail as well. Was staring at CLAY-AB-ET in the northeast, along with -LA-E, and thus, trying to make sense of MI--SOPS heading down. Finally saw TABLET and whew, it was done. Chastised myself for forgetting SLAKE, one of those crosswordese words.
That NE gave me a problem at the onset as well, having entered cAn tO for Kid's proud retort. OST and ALBA made CAN TO seem correct, but CLIPS in the row below made me reconsider.
Abejo, I know what you mean at 1A. I had to be spotted the C and T before I realized it was CAT. That was reminiscent of Dallas Cowboy player Hollywood Henderson's dissing of Terry Bradshaw: "He couldn't spell 'Cat' if you spotted him the 'c' and the 'a'." The Steelers then won that Super Bowl game and Bradshaw was voted MVP.
Thank you Tim Poor and Jeff Chen.
And as well, thank you Steve. I always enjoy your reviews.
Good morning everybody. My only gripe about today's puzzle is that it reminds me of my age! Although I've never used a CLAY TABLET or SMOKE SIGNALS I did use CARBON PAPER quite a bit before computers became the norm. At work we don't have a fax machine or a COPY MACHINE, everything is done electronically.
FLASH DRIVES and CD burners are disabled where I work. We can only send info via e:mail - which is monitored. (They don't monitor The Blog.....yet)
I didn't get HE/SHE or ESTH. DH watches so much hockey that I thought O.T. Queen meant over time! I should have know it was the Old Testament - especially since I was reading it last night.
Off to work!
Good morning Steve, C.C. et al.
Great write-up, Steve! I chuckled all the way through. And you had a lot to work with - this is one of the best puzzles I have done in a long time. Elegant, tight theme and lovely fill. Of course they had me at 1-A with CAT. But it was nice that they threw in a bone for the dog lovers at 13-D.
Happy hump day, everyone!
D/O. I, too, enjoyed the progression of information storage through the ages.
Here is the oldest written love poem known at this time. It was written circa 2000 BCE on a CLAY TABLET.
(I looked up the date for Song of Songs from the Bible. The earliest date I found for that was 900 BCE.)
Bridegroom, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet,
Lion, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you.
Bridegroom, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber,
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you.
Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber.
Bridegroom, let me caress you,
My precious caress is more savory than honey,
In the bedchamber, honey-filled,
Let me enjoy your goodly beauty,
Lion, let me caress you,
My precious caress is more savory than honey.
Link Entire poem
The background color on this site makes it difficult to read. Highlighting it helps.
Pina Coladas are a a nice summery change of pace. We make them with rum, pineapple juice and coconut cream, purchased in cans. The milk straight from the coconut is too watery.
The be- words such as bejeweled, bedimmed, bedew and the a-words, such as ablare, aglare, aglow appeal to my love of the poetic. I find them delightful. Also quite a few of these words to which others object are used by serious news writers, such as Time Magazine and NYT.
Enjoyed this one because of the cute theme. Many unknowns done completely with perps though. Had no idea about sea-tac until Steve hinted at it. And yes, I do remember what cc means, not that our C.C. is a cc of anyone else!
Off to help prepare food for the church social tonight. See you all later.
Steve, your blog was humorous and charming. Thank you. Really enjoyed it.
I've been told Chen, means money, in Mandarin ?
If so, we have
Jeff CHEN, who's into money ...
Tim POOR who isn't,
And editor RICH Norris, who's just plain .....
Well, anyway, you all did a great job. Thank you.
I completed the puzzle, with no difficulty. I enjoyed it even more, because I got the paper version of it, so my mechanical pencil got a workout. (She thanks all of you too - )
Does anybody remember the dark days in 1973, during the ongoing political crises and the continuing Watergate investigation, , when there were bumper stickers, like, "Impeach the Cox sacker" ?.
I'll confess, I had never heard of UCSB,... I was thinking of UC at San Diego. Always learning something new.
Have a nice day, you all.
What a clever, delightful speed run for a Wednesday morning! I loved it--many thanks Tim and Jeff! I got the theme long before the reveal but didn't notice the historical progression until the end. Terrific! What would we have done without these devices over time--especially today's FLASH DRIVEs? Anyway, great puzzle, and fun expo, Steve.
Loved the photo of PCH. During my years at the university, had to take Pacific Coast Highway to get to work. Prettiest commute in the world.
Since I don't text, I'm a little behind on text lingo, and just learned what CC stood for this morning (well, except for our wonderful blog organizer, of course). But what is LMAO?
Vidwan, fun riff on constructor's names.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Laughing My Arse Off
Good Morning:
Congrats Tim and Jeff on a very clever theme and well-executed construction. I didn't see the progression until reading Steve's informative and cheery expo. Thanks to all.
Thanks, also, to Doha Doc for the Lab rescue story. I hope his owners are reunited with him.
Our weather has turned quite cool; today's high only 70. I guess Fall is right around the corner.
Have a great day.
I agree with Doha Doc. This seemed like a Monday puzzle, so I solved it quickly going across and down at the same time.
I didn’t notice the historic progression of the theme answers until I read the blog.
One of the games I first enjoyed with my grandchildren on their electronic devices is called BEJEWELed. You just line up 3 jewels of the same color and score points. Not too hard for a Gramma to figure out!
My children insisted on my activating the texting feature on my latest phone. During the past year I have learned to TEXT a lot. Always under 250 texts/month, though--nothing like most of the younger generation.
Gotta go do a volunteer job,
Montana
Hi Y'all! Great theme, Tim & Jeff. Some of the fill left me surly, however. Hands up for thinking OT was over-time. I couldn't think of any queens associated with that. Thanks, Steve!
I watched Justin Rose win the US OPEN, but couldn't remember what tournament it was. I tried OPEN, didn't fit, tried PGA & got red letters. Eventually got it. DUH!
Correcting typos with several carbon copies was a real bummer when I worked in a law office in my 20's.
Hondo: my husband tore his rotator cuff and had surgery which was very successful. They did it outpatient and there was follow-up therapy and exercises when he couldn't do much. He thought it was worthwhile. As his "nurse", I didn't like the outpatient part. Kept me hopping.
Thanks for the explanation, Anonymous. Even in my late sixties, I'm still pretty naive!
G'Morning All:
This is a Wednesday? Thanks Tim & Jeff for making me feel smart. Only 1 error (NIN for NAN at 32d - I grew up with the Hardy Boys, not the Bobbsey Twins), but a rather quick (for me) fill. Thanks Steve for the writeup.
Communication media past and present was in my wheelhouse. Some of the minor fill was meh (FGH, USCB, ETA, ETD, NEA, etc), but I'll take the meh with the great any day.
Misty - LMAO is heartier than an LOL chuckle. Much of the TEXTMESSAGE lingo goes back to early days of USENET and likely even before. Here's a history of the emoticon :-) . It looks like we've been 'brevin' our language for a long time.
Mari - I wouldn't count on it. We had web proxies that would log everything for days and block things based on the URL or content. Big Brother is always watching (esp. if security _is_ important).
IM - Doha's link was an uplifting read, but from the sounds of it, the guy's wife is growing quite fond of the LAB.
Have a great hump day all!
Cheers, -T
Hello, Steve and all you happy solvers. I enjoy your commentary, Steve.
The ARizona Republic did not have the constructors' names so I had no idea whose puzzle this was until reading the blog. Nice job, Jeff Chen and Tim Poor, and congratulations on your first and hopefully one of many puzzles.
I noticed the impressive historical progression of messaging. It appears that humans have always had the urge to communicate with each other.
My urge to communicate stops at the telephone, no TEXTing, twittering or face book messaging for me.
UCSB gave me a slight pause as I started with UCLA out of habit but then NOT A CLUE nullified that.
Fairly easy for a midweek puzzle with only one cup of coffee.
Like Yellowrocks the poetic attribute of A words appeals to me and since I read constantly, I find them often in any number of books.
Have a fabulous Wednesday, everyone!
Hi gang -
Great clecho based theme, and SIX entries in perfect symmetry about what the ITEMS were used for. Impressive!
Alas, though I sussed the theme pretty quickly, was not in tune with the rest of the fill. Got through with a lot of perseverance and perp help.
I've played in a lot of keys, including A Major, but never F# minor that I can recall.
F is the first sharp to appear in a key signature. To add the next one in sequence, count up to the 5th note from F (as 1) landing on C, then to G, D, etc. The Key Note in major sharp keys is the next note up from the last added sharp. So with F, C, and G, sharped, the key note is A.
A Maj is a pretty common key in classical music. Probably in country as well, which tends to land in sharp keys. They lend themselves well to stringed instruments.
I don't recall ever seeing A Maj in jazz, and it's very rare in concert band music.
Cool regards!
JzB
Vidwan827, Joan Chen's family name is written 陳 in Chinese. It's pretty much just a name. Presumably people with the surname Chen are descended from Guiman (媯滿). When he married the daughter of King Wu (周æ¦çŽ‹) the king had him change his family name to 陳. In Chinese, 陳 can be an adjective meaning "stale" or a verb meaning "explain" or "exhibit". But, really, it is a very common Chinese name like Smith or Jones in English. (In Hong Kong it is pronounced Chan.)
The Chinese word for money is 錢 which isn't pronounced exactly like 陳: you roll your tongue back to pronounce 陳.
Anyway, I got CLAY TABLET, CARBON PAPER and COPY MACHINE but I didn't get SMOKE SIGNAL, TEXT MESSAGE or FLASH DRIVE. (I had CHAT MESSAGE.)
Good morning all,
This seemed easier for a Wed., but lots of fun. Loved the theme, but didn't get the progression until I read your review, Steve. Thanks.
Mari, you answered my mental question about ot queen.Sometimes I think I'm the only one who didn't grok some clues.
Had only a few write overs: a hug to a nap.Halo to aura. milk saps to sops...a new one. Have heard the expression milk toast.
Yellowrocks, thanks for Sumerian poem. I found a beer recipe from a tablet when teaching.Kids made clay tablets and used orange sticks for their stylus to imitate cuneiform.
Doha Doc, we've been following that dog in the bay story. It's nice to pick up the paper and read heart warming stories instead of murders.
@ communication- I don't text either, but see a need for it with my family.I carry an old phone for emergencies. I do go on FB but usually just to comment on pictures.I don't think people care what I'm snacking on, or that the dog has gas.
The Fall weather has subsided and it's now Indian Summer, just in time for school.93 yesterday
Tom & Jeff: Thank you for a FUN "theme rich" puzzle.
Never heard the term MILK-SOPS (for Wimps) before. Always enjoy 'learning moments".
NOT a fan of the 'alphabet letter run' as cluing. That's the third one in a week. (That's weak!)
Still hurtin' from the O.T.queen, ESTH, V-8 can head smack.
Time to SLAKE some Pinch.
Cheers!!!
Good afternoon everyone.
Steve, nice breezy intro. Sunrise is pretty much in the OST unless you're at the North Pole in which case the sun rises in the south, or conversely at the South Pole, the sun rises in the north.
OOM is Dutch for uncle.
Now that HE/SHE has gotten common and so has generated the need for more keystrokes, I wonder when English users will agree on a new shorter word to embrace this concept.
The YNS of old had to be very good at dealing with carbon paper (Triplicates or worse). Radar was always asking Henry Blake to sigh in triplicate.
Good job, Tim and Jeff.
This was an easy Wednesday puzzle. I feel really smart today.
Thanks, gentlemen, for the confidence boost.
The answers I didn't know filled in with perps, so not many write-overs.
I got the theme answers but didn't understand the time progression until Steve enlightened me. Thank you, sir.
The weather is delightful. Not typical August weather. I'm not complaining. I'm sure we'll pay for it somehow.
Have a great day.
Pat
Completely O.T. (Off-Topic, not Old Testement)....
Did anyone read Oprah's comment about the Zurich incident? "I'm In a store and the person doesn't obvioulsy know that I carry the BLACK card [emphisis mine] and so they make an assessment based on the way I look." I think she was likely mistreated by the clerk, but the choice of words is funny considering the racism kerfuffle afterwords.
BTW, I have a friend with a Black Amex. HE/SHE said one has to spend $100,000/yr on it to keep it and its perks. Don't know if that's true (I certainly don't qualify), but WOW!
Glad other's haven't heard of MILKSOPS either, I thought I was just being dense.
Cheers, -T
// This is to fix my earlier err...
A/T:
I had not heard that about Oprah but it isn't the first time. A few years ago, on her show, she said she had been "questioned" in a Hermes store in Paris as being unlikely to afford their product.
It amazes me that clerks are not better trained, not so much to recognize a celebrity, but in sensitivity.
A fun tag team effort today with messaging media we have all used. We watched Bruce Chen pitch KC to victory last Thursday. Ever heard of him Jeff?
Musings
-Typing with CARBON PAPER? Talk about pressure!
-The COPY MACHINE is a teacher’s “gotta have” device
-TEXT MESSAGES give the recipient time to chew over a response or claim HE/SHE never got it
-Petco asks you to not declaw a CAT to prevent scratching when you adopt from there
-Marti, “I think someone needs A HUG”
-I shot a 73 once. “What there’s another 5 holes to go?”
-The less I say about the NEA, the better
-TOPEKA paved the way out of a very sad time in our country
-ALL IN? Nope, I CALL.
-USCB Campus. WOW!
-Despicable Me 2 was ideal for us, Elise (8 years old) and Hudson (11 years old TODAY). I laughed out loud a lot.
-The Omaha theater where we saw the movie has fully reclining seats with footrests and suffice it to say a few minutes in the movie are kinda fuzzy ;-). Talk about comfy, imagine a theater full of seats like this. ZZZZZ
Hi everyone, DNF after such a breezy start!
TSA/SLAKE got me.
I got the theme and its progression, but couldn't suss the missing letter, even though we had SLAKE before.
Nice avatar, Hatoolah. Is it Erte?
Can't see it really close.
BTW, have you ever made knishes?
I used to get them in Boston at a deli on Boylston street.
I would love to make some, if you or anyone has a recipe for the dough.
BEJEWEL reminds me of the "Bedazzler" machine.
-TTP, Terry Bradshaw was once asked if it hurt him to be accused of being dumb. He replied that his chauffer and the pilot of his private jet have some really good laughs about his handicap.
-Mari, some schools where I sub disable flash drives, CD burners, YouTube, etc. and some schools figure if they trust you with kids you can have those privileges
-Kazie, did you see my post where Richard Branson claims his rocket plane will eventually allow flying to Australia from London in an hour and a half.
-I shot over 73 but had a great time playing with Hudson on his birthday today. He had 5 pars and one birdie playing from the red tees.
-Cartoon spanning smoke signals to digital
When I was in college I looked much younger than my age. The snooty clerk in a Baltimore dress shop did every rude thing she could to discourage me. I finally bought a lovely dress, but have never forgotten the put down feeling.
When my last cat died I didn't opt for another one because declawing was not allowed. I had just bought new sofas. The shelter had many homeless kitties. Were they better off being homeless or being declawed and living in a loving home?
Hello, All!
I really liked this theme and its construct of the clues. It was pleasant to work through.
I got caught up in the NW corner at first because I immediately filled in A HUG (because I could always use one--LOL!)instead of A NAP. Once I got that all fell togetehr smoothly, though I left MIL_SOPS open for a long time as I never heard of it. I enjoyed seeing WEBCAM and BEJEWEL. I had no idea of ONEOVER as I know nothing (nor care to know anything) about golf. I also enjoyed SPYGLASS and NOTACLUE aside each other!
I never like seeing a word in the grid that is also part of the clue, such as EYE for "Part of a storm" and then "Eye problem" for STYE. I always thought this was a no-no, but, I think, I've been lots of this more recently in the LAT...or is just me?
Have a good rest of what's left to this Hump Day!
---Matt
AnonT - your post on Oprah's kerfuffle (sp ?) brings some mixed emotions. Firstly, I do understand and 'get' the inside joke about the black AMEX, and her face, er, race. While I don't watch O's shows, or her magazine etc., I am of course, quite aware of her billionaire bracket, and her political power and star status. I would like to explain my standing in this. I am of a minority race, - AND. though I don't consider myself as one, in the US, -- I am aware I am one, even with a US passport, when I am traveling abroad, especially in the European countries like Switz. , Germany, Italy etc. I have been to Sw. 4 times, Ger. and Italy 5 times.
Whereas, the US is a nation, of immigrants, and is hyper sensitive on matters of racism - IMHO, (!!!). -- to a ridiculous extent - where even innocent signs or incidents are made much "to do", as 'racist' (IMHO ! ) --- Switz. et. al. are very homogenous racially, and the immigrants if any, are unwelcome, and racial stereotypes are quite firmly entrenched. I have found their nationals to be polite, formal, korrect but still with a strong, pervading racial attitude. ( IMHO !!! ).
TO THAT EXTENT, I think, that this kerfuffle has served some purpose, if any, to remind them of the several more decades before their beliefs are sensitive enough to understand the other point of view. Just my 2 cents worth.
I enjoyed the puzzle and the theme. Well done Tim and Jeff.
Gary, my middle son went to UCSB. I don't know that he got the most out of it but I think that was maybe his doing (or lack thereof). The campus seems nice when you are there but it doesn't look as great as in your aerial photograph.
YR, good point about the homeless kitties. Everybody has his own idea about the best way to do things but they are just ideas, not always gospel. A friend of mind, while on a bike ride along the beach, was telling me about a group he worked with who was removing the ice plant along the beach because it wasn't native. They had their way. The relatively attractive ice plant is now mostly gone and replaced with native flora (read 'weeds.') Not an improvement in my view.
I was technically a DNF because I had OAT at 29D and have never heard of a HOHO. I think that Tim & Jeff did a fantastic job of putting the themes in the order of their time of use. Steve, your expo was great.
Gee, Oprah and I have something in common. Several times I've been discriminated against because I didn't look rich enough. I just don't spend much for show. When I bought my bed, the store owner made me put half down before he'd order the mattress. They brought the bed and I told the guy I would go right away and pay at the store. He stood in the door and wasn't going to let me out of the bedroom until I paid. I finally had to tell him my checkbook was in the other room. Then he stood in that door while I wrote the check. I thought this was a bit much. Pretty intimidating. I won't go back.
Bill G. @3:43
I say "Hip, Hip, Hooray!" to those that removed the ICE-plant from the beach. lol
PH, heh heh, I hadn't thought about it before but I guess that's something Oprah and I have in common too!
50 coins
Humphrey’s math teacher gave him this puzzle. Suppose you have 50 coins and a balance scale. One of the coins is slightly heavier than all the rest. What is the fewest number of weighings it would take to find the odd coin?
Could you find the odd coin using your method with the same number of weighings if there more than 50 coins? How many more?
Yellowrocks, so sorry you are having so much aggrivation at wading through all the legal stuff with regards to your son. Sometimes I just have to think that there is much about bureaucracy that is terribly inefficient and dehumanizing. Hang in there.
Oprah lied about the whole incident. Will there be a blacklash? I doubt it,
Misty, before flash drives ? At one time, we used to use tape Tape Storage
Anonymous T, Right. I see people write things in Instant Messaging that they would never say in an email, and I know that it's collected. What was that online service that all the kids were using for Sexting ? The one where the image was supposed to be deleted after x amount of time ?
JD, Me too. Have heard Milk toast and "What am I, spilt milk ?", but never milksops. I trust that it's valid. The perps proved it :)
Tinbeni, I could use some PINCH right about now.
Lucina, I will withhold (most of) my comments about certain Parisians, especially in their attitudes towards Americans, and people of color. It's a different world, and one that I would not want to live in. Maybe things have changed since I was on the continent, but the French weren't alone. It's just that Parisians were blatantly rude.
Vidwan, after typing the above, I saw your post.
I found today's puzzle easier than Mon. or Tues. offerings. The theme progression was very interesting and I knew all the people's names. Steve, thanks for an added entertaining write-up.
Had A HUG before A NAP.
SPYGLASS could be clued " to view information."
I saw an orthopedic boot that had been BEJEWELED. LOL
My husband went to a steak house in D.C. called TOPEKA which specialized in sweet potatoes and also shelled peanuts. I was born in TOPEKA and don't remember sweet potatoes being a local delicacy or throwing peanut on the floor.
My husband learned about binary numbers in college and nothing more computer-wise. No PCs at that time.
We just prearranged our funeral arrangements this afternoon and decided to pay for a LIMO for the kids. We will be paying monthly for arrangements for the next ten years.
Chickie, I just read yesterday's comments. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!
Tin @ 4:55
Great post! LMAO. Keep "um comin."
Hondo
Have you heard milquetoast used as a synonym of milksop? Both refer to a weak ineffectual man. They also refer to a dish made of bread or toast soaked in warm milk.
I remember Mr. Milquetoast in the Timid Soul cartoon when I was a kid.
Link The Timid Soul
“If I was a fine, young, strapping chap like you, I should be ashamed of being milksop enough to pin myself to a woman's apron-strings!"
—The Chimes • Charles Dickens
“A milksop, one that never in his life
Felt so much cold as over shoes in snow.”
-William Shakespeare, in Richard III,
"In recent years, some Soviet dancers have tried so hard to make Hilarion sympathetic that they virtually turn him into a milksop. In contrast, Mr. Selyutski's Hilarion, though never a melodramatic villain, is always gruff and curt."
-from a review of a perforamce of the ballet, Giselle.
Animal Tracks slide show
Here's a cute little dog that has learned to amuse himself.Dog playing by himself
Hola Everyone, First, I want to thank everyone for the lovely birthday wishes yesterday.
I did do something really special. We have been away at the beach for five days. Almost all of our family was there and we had a wonderful time. We talked, walked, had great meals, played fun word games, and just sat back and relaxed.
I even did the CW with my Son-in-law this morning. He is from Egypt and he has had a hard time sussing out our American CW's. So many word puns, and such that he has never heard of.
He was thrilled today as we finished the puzzle and he said that he's going to try to do it more often--but to expect some calls about things he doesn't understand. If was fun.
I didn't have my I-pad with me. I couldn't get on to read the blog, so I have some catching up to do.
I did enjoy the puzzle today and yesterday. We got the paper delivered to the beach house so I wasn't totally out of touch but I couldn't get on to read the blog and what others had to say about our favorite pastime.
C.C. I promise I'll get that picture to you.
Have a great rest of the day, everyone.
Chickie: does your son-in-law still have family in Egypt? It is just horrible what is happening over there.
Vidwan 827. All I know is the "idiot" left Russia and went back to Switzerland.
I've been out at an industry function, so I didn't followup earlier. First I want to appologize to anyone I offended... It was only the phrase that made me pause and laugh considering some bandwagon-jumpers when reports of this type of thing happens. Oprah is not included in the bandwagon - in fact, she was appologizing for all the publicity around it. I know racism is not over (I know plenty of closet-types that have learned the phrase "please, not around me") and this country is hyper-aware. Its interesting to me that foreign-born people of color (hispanics not-withstanding) are treated better if they have an accent than guys that grew up here. Of course my grandfather was called WOP & Dieggo* (sp?), Vidwan827, I did not mean anything by it...
YR - I had the same type of thing with "you can't afford it" attitude when I tried to buy my wife expensive perfume for our anniversary (we were freshmen). I'd saved for that perfume (ends up she was allergic and I'd wasted $150).
Chickie - Re: SIL in Egypt. Which part? I have a friend in Helliopolis that I've not heard from in a few weeks. Sometimes the emails he sends just dissapear, but after a month I am worried.
TTP - I think the TEXTMESSAGE service you are asking about is snapchat. Not being a sexter my self, I never felt the need to use it. :-) YMMV (another one Misty: Your Millage May Vary!)
Cheers, -T
* Lemme tell you about my new Perrelli Itallian tires. Deiggo through, water, Deiggo through mud, and when theys flat Deiggo WOP, WOP, WOP, WOP....
VERY poor taste.
Blue Iris, Just a few years ago there was a steakhouse restaurant called Timberline (I think -Timber-something) in Topeka where they threw peanuts on the floor. I had friend whose boys always wanted to go there. They'd fill up on peanuts and leave their other food. I don't remember if they served sweet potatoes.
TTP:
I'm sorry to hear that your experience in Paris was negative. Mine was very different; everyone was courteous, helpful and friendly, from the clerks to the waiters, etc.
One of my friends celebrated her 50th birthday at a restaurant in Paris and they went out of their way to help her celebrate.
Thanks for all the help with message issues, everybody--appreciated it. Especially enjoyed the info on emoticons and tape storage. See, you learn something new on the blog everyday!
@9:50 Anon - Which bit? The joke? To be clear I'm of Italian decent and I went by THE WOP, T-The-Knee, in my ute.
Bill G. If you are lucky, the least number of weighings is 2. The first to find a group of 25 with the coin in it. If the second weighing of 12 each is balanced, you've got the heavy coin on the sidelines. Corollary - this only works with a number of coins (n) such that n/2 is a) a whole # and b) is odd.
A mathematician is hiking with his buddy when they encounter a fire. The buddy spots a bucket of water on a stump and quickly extinguishes the fire.
A week later the mathematician is on his own hiking and also encounters a fire. He notices a bucket of water sitting next to a stump. He puts the bucket on the stump and leaves knowing the problem is now solved.
// If you're still reading... This one is more esoteric....
Q. How many Electrical Engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A. Only one, but he has to do it in the frequency domain.
Cheers, -T
AnonT, you know better than that. There should be no luck involved in the solution. Wherever the different coin, you have to be able to find it.
I give. How did he know the problem was solved?
Bill G. - I guess I am being cute by 1/2 today...
For the coins you can use a binary-search tree, but since that will require a direct comparison at the end, its not the least weighings. Base case is 3. Compare 2 coins on the scale. If they match, the side-line coin is the odd one. So, reduce to 3 quickly. For 50 coins, that's 25-25, 12-12 (one out), 3-3 (w/ 3 out), 1-1. 4 weighings without any "luck". Do I get a cookie or am I off by 1?
For those not getting the EE joke; don't worry. If you want to find the EE nerds in the room, tell that joke. Only us EE nerds will laugh. I've done that to find friends at parties :-)
For those not getting the math joke. Once you can reduce a problem (B) to look like a problem already solved (A) then (B) is solved and you can forget the arithmatic. For example, I figured out that the easiest way to find the difference between the most coins in 1 weighing was to only have 3 coins. I took Bill's 50 coins and made it look like that. Problem solved.
In the joke, the bucket next to the stump (problem B) is made to look like problem A (already solved) by placing it on the stump. This was the only joke EEs could rib our math-major friends with.
Theoreticaly, reality matches theory. In reality, it doesn't. :-)
Oh, and mother-in-law says "hi" to everyone!
Cheers, -T
Rats - It's 5. 25-25, 12-12 (1 out) 3-3, 3-3, 1-1. I'm over posts so I'm out. -T
AnonT, good try. That's what I tried first also. It turns out you can do it in four weighings with a different strategy.
Can someone please explain LABS 13D as "short dogs"? LAPS maybe but not labs.
Lab is short for Labrador.
Labs is short for Labradors.
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