Theme: None
Words: 70 (missing J,V,X,Z)
Blocks: 26
Second time this duo has connected on a Saturday (1/9/16), and reviewing the last puzzle, I had my doubts on
today's success. Yet once again there were just enough "I got it"
answers to allow me to finish, in good time, and a "ta-DA~!" that came
without searching for any bad cells. Triple 11's in the Across and triple
10's in the Down and a classic pinwheel design with some other chunky
fill;
15. "Tristes apprets" from "Castor et Pollux," e.g. : SOPRANO ARIA - I sensed it was going to be "OPERA---" or "---VOCAL" but let it "go to the Downs" before trying something; see the crossing 6d.
15. "Tristes apprets" from "Castor et Pollux," e.g. : SOPRANO ARIA - I sensed it was going to be "OPERA---" or "---VOCAL" but let it "go to the Downs" before trying something; see the crossing 6d.
13. It has its kinks : GARDEN HOSE - Oh, I so wanted PANTYHOSE to make the puzzle; Lemonade has been spot-on two weeks running now
55. Al Jazeera and Yomiuri Shimbun : NEWS OUTLETS - I know the name Al Jazeera, so I threw in "NEWS---" and waited
25. Betty Crocker brand of instant mashed : POTATO BUDS
HAWKWARD~?
ACROSS:
1. Subject of the 1998 Supreme Court case New Jersey v. New York : ELLIS ISLAND
12. Information __ : AGE
16. Billy's reply? : MAA - dah~! Sheep go BAA, goats go "MAA"~? - tho we could be talking about a human kid named Billy
17. Group sharing a name with a cranberry cocktail : PINK MARTINI - never heard of the group or the drink
18. Docs' work areas : ERS - "to "E" or not to "E"; that is the question; I went with "O"RS
19. Slip or clip follower : ONS - nice misdirection; needing the plural for a singular clue - slip-ons, clip-ons
20. Rich rocks : ORES - Diamond didn't fit
21. Hot : TRENDY - unsure if this was the "IRATE" or "HIP" definition
23. Satyr's kin : FAUN - one of those "I got it" clues
24. Rear : KEISTER - spelled it wrong; I before E, right~? wEird....
25. Obvious : PATENT
28. Holiday decor item : PINE CONE - check this out
29. Final announcements : OBITS - eh, could have used an abbr here
30. Comes across : FINDS - dah~! Not MEETS
31. "__ Crossroads": Bone Thugs-n-Harmony song : THA - shoulda known it was not "AT A"
32. Hue : TONE
33. Game with a varying number of cards : BINGO - ah, those cards
34. Like many horses : SHOD
35. __ Nova : ARS - the Wiki
36. Turkestan tents : YURTS - another "I got it"
37. Full moon, e.g. : PHASE - there was a solar eclipse on Thursday, but couldn't see it from my house; the lunar semi-eclipse in two weeks can't be seen from here, either
38. Sports nail-biters : TIE GAMES - OVERTIMES didn't fit
40. Felix __, CIA friend of Bond : LEITER - "I got it" clue - if you get the chance, try this book, a history of the making of the Bond films - great read
12. Information __ : AGE
16. Billy's reply? : MAA - dah~! Sheep go BAA, goats go "MAA"~? - tho we could be talking about a human kid named Billy
17. Group sharing a name with a cranberry cocktail : PINK MARTINI - never heard of the group or the drink
18. Docs' work areas : ERS - "to "E" or not to "E"; that is the question; I went with "O"RS
19. Slip or clip follower : ONS - nice misdirection; needing the plural for a singular clue - slip-ons, clip-ons
20. Rich rocks : ORES - Diamond didn't fit
21. Hot : TRENDY - unsure if this was the "IRATE" or "HIP" definition
23. Satyr's kin : FAUN - one of those "I got it" clues
24. Rear : KEISTER - spelled it wrong; I before E, right~? wEird....
25. Obvious : PATENT
28. Holiday decor item : PINE CONE - check this out
About $1mil - the site
30. Comes across : FINDS - dah~! Not MEETS
31. "__ Crossroads": Bone Thugs-n-Harmony song : THA - shoulda known it was not "AT A"
32. Hue : TONE
33. Game with a varying number of cards : BINGO - ah, those cards
34. Like many horses : SHOD
35. __ Nova : ARS - the Wiki
36. Turkestan tents : YURTS - another "I got it"
37. Full moon, e.g. : PHASE - there was a solar eclipse on Thursday, but couldn't see it from my house; the lunar semi-eclipse in two weeks can't be seen from here, either
38. Sports nail-biters : TIE GAMES - OVERTIMES didn't fit
40. Felix __, CIA friend of Bond : LEITER - "I got it" clue - if you get the chance, try this book, a history of the making of the Bond films - great read
41. Siouan tribe : OGLALAS - mostly perps
42. Portrayer of Buddy's father in "Elf" : CAAN - I just can't sit through this seasonal movie; I'm more of "A Christmas Story" buff
43. Acrimonious : BITTER - My high school Latin teacher had this T-shirt;
42. Portrayer of Buddy's father in "Elf" : CAAN - I just can't sit through this seasonal movie; I'm more of "A Christmas Story" buff
43. Acrimonious : BITTER - My high school Latin teacher had this T-shirt;
MELIOR
NON
ACRIOR
44. Prince in "Frozen" : HANS - just saw it on TV; I find most of the CGI animation movies do an excellent job of re-telling classic stories; I'm tired of the endless "superhero" films that have been popular over the last decade
45. Wise chip flavor : BBQ
48. Low número : UNO
49. Actress in "Spy" (2015) : MIRANDA HART - perps and a WAG
52. Wet blanket : DEW - ah. Not the metaphoric "DUD"
53. "Grown Ups" star : ADAM SANDLER
54. Loan application fig. : SSN
DOWN:
1. 1960s-'70s Orr teammate, to fans : ESPO - Phil Esposito; hockey players on the Boston Bruins - we are almost to the new season~!
2. Prime cut : LOIN
3. OR teammates : LPNs
4. Needle : IRK - Dah~! Not RIB
5. Apia natives : SAMOANS
Stuck In A Rut
8. Muscles strengthened by muscle-ups : LATS - better fit than PECS, which was my other WAG for this clue
9. Shipping nickname : ARI
10. Longtime Seattle Mariners' majority owner : NINTENDO - I did not know this
11. Jersey homes : DAIRIES - clever; cows - not dose guys across the bridge (see 1a.)
Local (NY) humor
14. Basic kids' book : EASY READER
22. Key to backing up? : ESCape - that kind of 'key'
23. Regale : FÊTE
24. Some royals : KINGS
26. Indigenous Tasmanians : ABORIGINES
27. Show biz nickname : TINSELTOWN - ah. A general name; thought it was going to be a proper name
28. Gelato units : PINTS
30. Kindles : FIRES - TABLETS didn't fit
33. Hitchhike : BUM A RIDE - I know two guys who bummed a ride from the Vogons
Arthur and Ford from HHGG
36. Every Skull and Bones member, until 1991 : YALE MAN
37. Serf : PEASANT
39. Hood's weapon : GAT - I had the "T", so I knew it was that hood, not Robin Hood, and "BOW"
40. Convertible carriage : LANDAU
44. Acting coach's banes : HAMS
45. Bundle in a field : BALE
46. Maverick on TV : BRET - another "I knew it"
47. Game divs. : QTRs
50. Unembellished : RAW
51. Med. number that's better when it's higher : HDL
Splynter
45 comments:
BRET was a farrier, one of the few
Who liked to get started with the morning DEW.
When a horse he SHOD,
The result was odd --
No one else gave hooves PATENT leather shoes!
A BALE of hay is a dinner at DAIRIES,
Nectar is like vintage wine to fairies.
But when dared to the test
Of whose grill is the best,
BBQ is the ultimate food to the dare-ees!
In Turkestan they dwell in YURTS
And relish yogurt cones as desserts.
While a beaver's home
Is a dam-side dome,
Where soft-servers offer PINE CONE squirts!
The PHASE of the moon determines Easter,
To light the pilgrims traveling east-er
At the inns where they rest
Good behavior is best --
Show a "full moon", you'll get bounced on your KEISTER!
FIR, though I did depend on the ta-da to let me know when I had found all the errors.
I was reminded of a classic from before I was even born:
She wore her stockings inside out
All through the summer heat.
She said it cooled her off to turn
The hose upon her feet!
New
Jersey versus New York was the case in question
New York built an isle in a New Jersey location.
So the GARDEN State won
What the Empire State had done,
And ELLIS ISLAND had a change of administration!
Few writeovers, easy Saturday.
Morning, all!
I'd say about half of this was a breeze and half was a real slog. One hilarious error had me bogged down for quite awhile in the NW. With PIN_MARTIN_ in place thanks to the perps, I went with the only thing I could think of that fit those letters -- PINE MARTINS! They are very cute, in case you didn't know (even if they are really spelled MARTEN and not MARTIN, D'OH!). I did think it was an odd name for a drink, but what do I know? I finally figured out that cows live in DAIRIES, so that led me to change PINE MARTINS to a PINE MARTINI. Another odd sounding drink, but still plausible I guess. But what a bizarre name for a group! The light bulb finally went on, however, and I realized IRE should be IRK. Still never heard of the drink or the group, but at least PINK MARTINI seems like something that could legitimately have cranberry juice in it. As for the group? Whatevs...
OGLALAS was my big bugaboo in the SW. Just couldn't think of it to save my life. It took every single perp, but I finally got it.
In the SE, MIRANDA HART nearly killed me. My wife and I saw SPY recently at our hotel in D.C., but I still had no idea who this person was. Again, perps to the rescue!
Fortunately, I knew stuff like LEITNER, CAAN and LANDAU, or else this puzzle would have killed me for sure.
Good morning!
This was a speedy Saturday...except for one letter: was it PINTS or PUNTS, FINDS or FUNDS. Whew, WAGged the I. The stacked proper names along Hermine's coast could've caused a problem, but the perps were kind. Thanks MLG and JC.
The first time I heard AL JAZEERA spoken aloud, it was Dan Rather. He pronounced it AL JAZZ-A-REE'-UH.
With TV in the clue, thought it might have been BarT Maverick, BRET's brother. Nope.
My cholesterol is high -- lucky for me, the HDL is unusually high, so my doctor isn't too concerned.
I think the OGLALAS are known primarily for the shrinking aquifer these days.
Hi Y'all! Enjoyed the puzzle, Mary Lou & Jeff! Another good expo, Splynter!
The NE was blank except for SAMOANS & ARI until the last. I almost quit right there. Thankfully, the rest of the puzzle perped & WAGd better. The only long answer that filled without perps was ABORIGINES. YURTS came easily too. My aren't we international today.
Not "cowbarn" but DAIRIES. NINTENDO owns a ball team? Surely you jest!
OGLALAS needed an "A" after the "G", I thought. The aquifer has the third "A".
Only other proper name I knew was ADAM SANDLER and that took perps.
BRET Maverick: I was trying to think of the actor's name who played him, not the character's given name.
POTATO BUDS: My mother hated to peel potatoes so we got served a lot of this stuff. They were an improvement over the earlier marketed powdered potatoes. I could never gag them down. Still can't. My kids got real potatoes which I peeled.
AL Jazeera: thought he was a diplomat. Didn't know that other guy. DUH!
Begoorah, I think we just had an earth quake! We never have earth quakes here! Whole house shook! What is the world coming to?
Fracking. Read about Oklahoma and fracking and earthquakes.
TINSELTOWN and HOLLYWOOD are not proper names?
Greetings from beautiful Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. A fun and fast puzzle for a Saturday. Of course it helps that I knew most of the proper names for a change. I did so want that cranberry drink band to be the Irish eponymous group, but it wasn't to be. Thanks for a most enjoyable puzzle, Jeff and Mary Lou, and for your usual erudite expo, Splynter.
I know. I'm supposed to enjoying the cool, clear mountain air of West Virginia, and mountain streams teeming with gullible trout. (YR, we must compare notes on WVA getaways sometime.) So what am I doing in the heat and humidity of the SC/GA low country? It seems that RCI double booked our WVA timeshare, and this was the best alternative that they could come up with on just one day notice. What serendipity. This is simply a gorgeous resort. I asked DW on the second day if it was worth the two day trip and would she like to come back sometime. Her answer was a no, she didn't want to come back. She wanted to LIVE here.
We toured Savannah Wednesday. Very pretty and quaint town. Ate at Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons restaurant. Very good comfort food as you might expect. TTYL
Cya!
Musings
-Not only did MIRA SORVINO fit, I’ve never heard of Ms. HART.
-You say NAA/MAA and ORS/ERS delayed you? AMEN TO THAT!
-These GARDEN HOSES may not kink, but I’ll bet they don’t roll back up neatly either
-Hmmm… SLIP ONS for the links
-Our school flitted from one TRENDY philosophy to the next
-PATENT nonsense – speaking of political campaigns
-“Comes across” used to be a dating euphemism
-An alternate spelling for a western Nebraska cowboy town
-IN A RUT/IN A GROOVE? Depends on your outlook
-Pick up a hitchhiker? Not a chance.
-Gotta run for our annual trek to this wonderful Nebraska venue
Hello Puzzlers -
Similar to WBS. About half was a breeze, the rest kept me cutting & fitting right to the end. Never heard of a Pink Martini, cocktail or combo, so that emerged slowly. Didn't know Nintendo owned a team - probably just pocket money for them. Never heard of Potato Buds either - they sound wretched - but it was a guessable name.
Morning, Splynter, superb hosiery today.
Totally over my head. At least I didn't suffer - I gave up quickly.
Tough sledding today! Took a lot of wags and perps to stumble to a conclusion. Still ended up with that ugly pine martini, but I'll take it with a bad cell.
Thankfully Dances With Wolves etched Oglala into my brain. The town and the aquifer have an extra A and L.
We felt the earthquake here too, PK. It was a gentle rolling motion, but unmistakable.....and very stragne. I was in the garage working on the puzzle and looked over to see my vehicle rocking back and forth. Then I heard a loud metallic clank from a half mile away. No damage that I can see, but I guess we can cross that experience off the bucket list. Here's a news link: earthquake
One more try on the link: Earthquake
Good morning everyone.
Got all but the SW without too much hassle. Couldn't get the SW ignited and finally looked up ARS. That broke the dam and the 3 long downs quickly filled in.
1a - knew what the case was about; also Statue of Liberty - Bedloes Island I think. But ELLIS quickly loomed.
OGLALAS - Mainly stalled by the spelling. My first sense was to try spelling it as Gary's favorite aquifer. Ogallala. But that didn't perp right. Also, they're not a Siouan tribe usually seen in puzzles.
Good job, Splynter, as always.
DNF. But I did get some of it. Red letters helped but I had to do some alphabet runs to fill in the blanks.
PK and Avg Joe: I just checked my Earthquake App on my Iphone and it looks like the Pawnee, Oklahoma area has been hit with a 5.6 magnitude earthquake at 8:03 am and a bunch of lesser aftershocks since. I hope all of your dishes are unbroken.
Have a safe day
After my first pass I had OBITS, ABORIGINES, and SAMOANS. It took a lot of WAGs to even get a toehold today. After grinding out the SW, then the NW, the EAST was 100% white with the exception of B__T (Bart or Bret?). Was I ever IN A RUT as I was sitting on my KEISTER thinking about giving up. It was especially taxing for me because I rarely watch a movie, the only TV shows I see are the ones my wife has on ( that I try to ignore), and movie stars are really what politicians strive to be. But I completed it in 35 minutes.
I know of chin-ups and pull-ups but 'Muscle ups' is a new one. Too old for that; just looked it up. I was AT a crossroad and finally filled THA NE after GARDEN HOSE got filled.
The cross of MIRANDA HART-all perps & LANDAU was the final fill after I finally got Felix LEITER. Jack Lord (book 'em Danno) was the first one. I wanted COSMOPOLITAN for the drink, knew it was PINK, but never heard of the PINK MARTINI drink or band.
Al Jazeera- dummies bought a cable network with no viewers that they thought was worth something because Al Gore was a partner.
Fairly easy outing today, although it still took a while. Got AMENTOTHAT with the beginning A and last T! Tada. DH called me an overachiever! LOL. Thanks Mary Lou and Jeff for a fine puzzle!
Nice links and write-up today, Splynter. Thanks for the info on a number of items today!
What Jinx said - after On the Media & Car Talk only 20 answers right and 6 way off base - Hammer'n Hank wasn't 1d? Frogs. Too many other names of people I don't know (in that role). TDNF but I learnt. Thanks Mary & Jeff.
Thanks Splynter for the expo - funny, I too thought of HHGTTG @ 33d!
So close - I knew Al Jaz so I had NEWS Chanels [sic]. Both BALE & QRTS x'd for the win! [bzzt].
I was thinking Santa (clip is Elf HAMin' it up) but then recalled Bob Newhart was the step-father...
{B,C,C+,A,C,A+} - Prolific today, eh?
PK - I heard about your quake as I was waking. I know there's a fault-line nearby and some fault fracking for frucking that fault... Your house/property OK?
I was in SPI at Gram's house - @1a-ish New Madrid slipped a bit. While sitting on the couch it felt like I was on a swell. Certainly wierd, er weird...
If I'da got it, ELLIS ISLAND would be my fav today - I got to visit once and imagine great-gramp Benni shuffling through in 190?. We found his record - $20 on his person and was sponsored by his Brother in Riverton, IL for whom me, pop & Gramps are named. Since he had papers we're technically not WOPs; just* TONYs :-)
Y'all stay safe from the quakes & the H-storm [Argyle & IM - stock up!]. I did hear from Alfa Tallahassee this AM - they're ok.
Cheers, -T
*TO New York
Good Afternoon:
At first pass, I thought this would be a DNF but, surprisingly, I just chipped away and was rewarded with a clean tada. Didn't know Miranda Hart and a Pink Martini (group or cocktail) is new to me, as well. Adam Sandler is known but I'd prefer that he wasn't, at least to me. Overall, a challenging but doable outing.
Thanks, Mary Lou and Jeff, for a Saturday stumper and thanks, Splynter, for being such a great tour guide.
Anon T, I think Argyle and I are pretty safe as we are so far from the coast. That's not to say we won't be affected with heavy rain or winds but I haven't heard any forecast yet today, so I'm going to have to check it out. Today is one of the most beautiful days you could wish for. 😇
Lucina, as you were away, I'm not sure if you heard that Charles Osgood has retired. He will be missed.
Have a great day.
A lot of folks might not be familiar with the Oglala (scatter one's own) but most have heard of the Oglalas, Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa), Red Cloud (Mahpya Luta), and Crazy Horse ( Tasunka Witko).
The Great Sioux Nation consists of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota. The Oglala are a Lakota tribe.
Beginning in 2009, the frequency of earthquakes in the U.S. State of Oklahoma rapidly increased from an average of less than two 3.0+ Mw earthquakes per year to hundreds in 2014 and 2015. Thousands of earthquakes have occurred in Oklahoma and surrounding areas in southern Kansas and North Texas since 2009.[7] Scientific studies attribute the rise in earthquakes to the disposal of salt water produced during oil extraction that has been injected more deeply into the ground.[8][9]
Wikipedia: 2009–16 Oklahoma earthquake swarms
Man oh man, I actually finished a Jeff Chen (and Mary Lou Guizzo) puzzle. And a very well-constructed puzzle it is, too. I did need red letter help to show me that APR at 54a and ERIC at 44a were totally wrong and that TINT at 32a was 50% wrong. I never can remember the names of Disney princes and princesses. Or 4-letter European rivers.
Our local news anchor insists on pronouncing the current hurricane as "Her my nee."
A 5.6 earthquake is nothing to sneeze at, especially such a shallow one (close to the surface). From the report that Avg Joe linked, it was not on the New Madrid fault. I sometimes think that fracking, insofar as seismic events are concerned, is a good thing, "lubricating" the strike-slip zones and releasing the stresses before they become so destructively large.
Red letter finish for me today..
Hands up for DUD I put in HCL for HDL, for some reason I always think SATYR is a musical instrument.
I wanted SEEMS for FINDS as in comes across as. Also I thought of BART also, but BRET fit better.
SOREN and LEITER are unknowns to me. I wanted OSAGES but the solid downs wouldn't let it go in there. Too short also.
RIB went right away then IRK made it's way in there.
I hope everyone made out OK for the storm ~!~!
Plus Tard from Cajun Country ~!~!
Jayce: That's an interesting take. And you're the expert! I'll be the 1st to admit "I donno but it pays the bills :-)"
[I'm just joking - if I really thought it was hurting folks, I'd quit. I had an offer after EE for bomb building - not no, but F* no!]
@12;27 - I work for a company that fracks - I had the same concers so, having access to geologists (and these dudes & ducesies have PhDs and get paid way more than anyone), asked them:
"Being 8000' underground, it doesn't make sense that our hole (mind you they are 3" round) could cause anything where quakes, at 20 mi. happen. Minor slips maybe, and I can't fully rule it out, but the science dosen't say so. We're too far above the plates."
I may mis-recall the numbers he said 'cuz I'm the CyberNerd - I left w/ a warm fuzzy and thought this is another political-point a party is making. Upon further, private consideration, heck, there are faults all over - that's how we got the Rockies. But, I'm just the cyber-nerd. Jayce - you know better...
Do bad casings contaminate the water table? - D'uh. When done right fracking is what makes the Saudis sweat. Enjoy $2/gal while it lasts.
BTW - there's been fracking since the '70s - only with $80 oil did it make sense/money to exploit it.
D-O: you've been in Houston longer; back me my up or slap me down - You too Jayce.
Cheers, -T
Anon-T, my employers were offshore drillers -- no fracking involved. My last employer just had a $455k/day contract cancelled in Brazil this past week; their stock soared floor-ward. It's been a tough couple of years in the awl patch, and there's no relief in sight.
Food for thought: If her name was Mary Sue instead of Mary Lou, she'd be MSG.
Greetings to all!
Fun puzzle today, but too difficult for me without some help from Google. I rarely watch movies, so the SE was particularly difficult. Also didn't know LANDAU and have never heard of the Wise brand of chips, so I was scratching my head when BBQ popped in there. Are Wise products a regional thing?
Wonderful expo today, Splynter. I especially liked the Jersey Cow comic. Cute/clever!
Enjoy the day!
D-O: that hurts. Your last employer should have known better when Rousoff took over - just a matter of time. I'm glad our VIP sold off Argentina and the new guy kept our last overseas despite market pressures to focus on North America. VIP saw the writing on the wall* We're not dead yet unlike the other indies. I can't say what I really think 'cuz [totally redacted].
C, -T
*com'mon folks; tip the waitstaff; that was Wed's clue :-)
All of the earthquakes that I have given my attention to have been from 7 to 20 miles deep. This one in Oklahoma was about 3 or 4 miles deep, the shallowest I have any knowledge of. Pure speculation, but it could be that the nature of the faults in the central part of the continent are different from the faults and thrust zones in the "ring of fire" that includes east Asia and the west coasts of North and South America. It could be that the relevant plates in this continent's central areas are indeed shallower than those at the coastline, thus more affected by water being squirted down 8000' bore holes. Apart from seismic effects, though, are underground aquifer contamination risks, which I feel can cause far greater long-term harm than the short-term harm of collapsed buildings that can and probably will be rebuilt. The central valley of California, the "nation's breadbasket," has suffered badly from the drought and excessive pumping of the now-depleted groundwater that has resulted in vast swaths of land having sunk, collapsed if you will, 5 to 10 feet. That groundwater can never ever ever be replenished.
Pretty amusing reading the "theories" about the earthquakes. Engineers are not seismologists, you might as well ask an electrical engineer.
Good puzzle, very tough, misleading but fair clueing and no gimmicks. Nice!
Since there is absolutely no oil in the eastern half of Nebraska this isn't a NIMBY issue for most of our state's population. Due that, my biggest concerns about fracking are also related to groundwater.
But in deference to blog policy, I'll shut up about that. However, I am curious if the shallow depth of this tremor is a factor in how far from the epicenter it was felt. We are approximately 300 miles distant. And I've heard reports from another 75 miles further NNE. Is that abnormal for a 5.6, or is there no such thing as normal?
For those of you on the west coast, it would likely be no big thing at all. For someone who's lived as far from a coast as you can get most of his life, it's pretty amazing. I've never felt an earthquake in my 61 years. This morning, before the rolling stopped (10 seconds max) I had no doubt I'd just felt the first one. It was much like Tony described: Like being in a boat when on a swell. Not violent, and our house didn't even creak and groan. But when things are moving that shouldn't be moving, it really gets your attention.
Thanks for all the earthquake info. Since my kids live just north of Oklahoma City, I have been well aware of the earthquake frequency there. Some time ago all the brick veneer fell off the front of one house in their fairly new subdivision. I heard from my DIL since I posted earlier. She said it felt like the house was splitting in two. At the time, She was emailing me pictures of her two marching band sons at their first football game. She hadn't assessed the damage. I haven't found any in my house.
Hurricanes in both oceans & earthquakes in the middle. Something is certainly going on deep in the earth. I keep thinking of the big earthquake that changed the course of the Mississippi in the early 1800's.
When I served on the river basin advisory council, we heard a lot about the Ogallala aquifer. If the water is not used or usable, it is worthless. They call it "mining water". My feeling is that aquifer depletion can also be caused by underground faults that cause the water to seep further beneath the surface. If you don't use it, you may lose it anyway. Lots of arguments about a subject that is probably out of our control.
One bit of good news: My BFF's granddaughter, who was flooded out of her house in Louisiana, gave birth yesterday to a healthy baby. Think it was a girl but the name is gender neutral. They are still not back in her home and it will be awhile, but good to know the baby is okay.
AnonPVX: I believe Jayce is an earthquake scientist/expert. You may not have known that.
So late to this party! I was held hostage by two corners, the SW and NE until they gave up their mysteries. OBITS was my Rosetta Stone, gave up on HUES for TONE, TIE and BITTER finished it off. For a while I used instant potatoes, but once you revert to the real thing, there is no comparison.
In the NE, READER appeared quickly but the EASY was not that until I forced it out. Count me in for ATA Crossroads. Once erased, the floodgates opened.
I give Mary Lou and Jeff an A+ for obscure cluing which took a great deal of thought to decode. Complete unknowns; PINKMARTINI, LEITER, MIRANDA HART, and Wise chips for which I guessed BBQ. I also wonder if they are regional.
STUD help up SHOD for a very long time as did TORRID before TRENDY became PATENTly clear.
Thank you, Mary Lou, Jeff and Splynter!
IrishMiss:
No, I did not know that Charles Osgood had retired; however I learned it yesterday when I solved Peter Gordon's puzzle which included several names including Mr. Osgood's and the news of his retirement. I, too, shall miss him.
Stay safe, all you in Hermine's path. Looks like we left just in the nick of time!
I hope you are having a great Saturday!
An excellent Xwd from Guizzo & Chen. I needed a couple of cheats, but on the whole managed it at about 85%. Those long fills are often the easiest because you can often grok the whole from just a few letters and you get more perp info from each one you complete.
CAN SO didn't quite make it for me. I mean, I got it from the obvious perp (the "S" of ADAM SANDLER), but I'm still resisting its awkwardness, the lack of a personal pronoun and/or a hint that it's a "playground" (age appropriate) response. The clue ("I'll show you!") might have easily come from an eager Sherpa before a mountain pass.
Just sayin'.
All this talk about earthquakes reminds me of the one big one I was in, back in '56 or '57, in San Francisco. It measured 5.5, but it seemed greater because I was right on the fault line in the cafeteria at SF State. A big, two-story plate glass window came crashing down as we all abandoned our things and food and made for the exits. The noise and shaking kept growing as we rushed out - and found the doors temporarily jammed, nearly blocked. Turned out this was because the first people to get outside would STOP and turn around to yell at the rest of us not to panic, to slow down! My advice if you're ever in a quake and manage to get outside: Please KEEP MOVING!
I had another email from DIL. She said: "Our OK earthquakes are caused by disposal wells where waste water is injected into the ground from the fracking process, which is a way to extract oil and natural gas from deep caverns below the surface. The OCC has already issued a mandate this morning that all disposal wells within 500 square miles of today's quakes be shut down immediately. This should help! It has helped tremendously in Logan county...about a year ago they shut down all disposal wells here and it has made so much difference. We went from 10-20 earthquakes a day to 1-2 per month. Super scary way to start our day!"
One thing to remember, PK and Joe, If your at home when an earthquake hits you're actually pretty safe. The only house I'd be leery of is an old Victorian that hasn't been retrofitted to modern safety standards. I've been through every major quake that's happened in California the past 60 years and have never seen a modern home suffer serious damage. The collapses are almost always older buildings made of brick or stone. I also live 30 miles from the giant San Andreas fault and I live smack dab on top of the Healdsburg fault. We go through quakes frequently, and honestly, they're nothing no fret about. Yes, if this one is your first it's a spooky experience, but you'll be fine.
Shouldn't that be a Jersey bull? or are they in a gay animal bar?
Jerome, I live in a mid-50's ranch-style built as housing for military. Don't think it was built to endure quakes. Hopefully, since this is our first, it'll be another long time before the next. More bothersome than the quake was a mouse that ran across my livingroom just a while ago. That really shook me up. Aaaagh!
PK- That mouse is probably looking for a doorway to sit under.
Hmmm...must be a dormouse then...
Bill G.:
LOL!
Easy for a Saturday. I got "finds" but I expected 'Comes across' to be "fords". How is 'Comes across' "finds"??
Like, I just came across your comment here and so I left this post.
As in, I CAME ACROSS $5.00 in your pocket, honey, while washing clothes. Thanks.
Post a Comment