google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, July 3, 2017 Brock Wilson

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Jul 3, 2017

Monday, July 3, 2017 Brock Wilson

Theme: Got your boarding pass? - Airlines.

17A. Law of the jungle, in the Old West: FRONTIER JUSTICE. Frontier Airlines.

23A. 1867 territorial acquisition dubbed "Seward's Folly": ALASKA PURCHASE. Alaska Airlines.

35A. 1973 Helen Reddy chart-topper: "DELTA DAWN". Delta Air Lines, a legacy airline.

49A. Melted yellow square on a burger: AMERICAN CHEESE. American Airlines.

55A. R. Kelly hit whose last title word is aptly rhymed with "sky" in the lyrics ... and a hint to the starts of the other four longest puzzle answers: I BELIEVE I CAN FLY, from the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam.



Argyle here. My first flight was on a DC-3, Mohawk Airlines. On another note, nice puzzle.

Across:

1. "Hometown Proud" market chain: IGA. (Independent Grocers Alliance) Our town's IGA closed in 1999.


4. First-string squad: A TEAM

9. Actor McGregor: EWAN


13. Election Day mo.: NOVenber

14. "Lord Jim" author Joseph: CONRAD


16. Field-plowing site: FARM

20. Freezer cubes: ICE

21. Top-notch: A ONE

22. Texter's gratitude: THX. (Thanks)

28. Old King Cole was a merry one: OLD SOUL

29. Reason for unbalanced books: ERROR

30. Southeast Asian language: LAO

31. __ hasty retreat: BEAT A

34. Walk-__: bit parts: ONs

38. CBS forensic series: CSI. (Crime Scene Investigation)

40. African virus: EBOLA

41. ID on an auto title: VIN. (vehicle identification number)

44. Causes pain: HURTS

47. Refreshing break: RESPITE

52. "Let me think ... ": "HMM ... "

53. Smell: ODOR. Burning rubber? That's just me thinking.

54. U.S. intelligence org.: NSA. (No Such Agency)

61. Extremely: VERY

62. On __ knee: kneeling: BENDED

63. Suffix with human: OID. (humanoid)

64. Celtic language: ERSE

65. Pulled into piles, as leaves: RAKED

66. Hi-__ graphics: RES. (High-resolution)

Down:

1. With one flat, musically: IN F

2. Largest living primate: GORILLA

3. Guacamole fruit: AVOCADO

4. Perform on stage: ACT

5. You, to Yves: TOI. French.

6. Opposite of WSW: ENE

7. Pianist Claudio: ARRAU



8. College focus: MAJOR

9. Little newt: EFT

10. Serves food to: WAITS ON

11. Bow-and-arrow wielders: ARCHERS

12. Santa Fe's st.: NMEX. (New Mexico)

15. Dummy: DUNCE

18. Monster's loch: NESS

19. 61-Across: Ger.: SEHR

23. "You've Got Mail" ISP: AOL

24. NBA great Bryant: KOBE

25. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" author Jean: AUEL. An old crossword favorite brought out of retirement.

26. Place setting disc: PLATE

27. Elvis __ Presley: ARON. It's what is on the birth certificate, alright? Anons keep away.

32. Bill with cocktails: TAB

33. Decorate: ADORN

35. Like desperate circumstances: DIRE

36. Baldwin of "30 Rock": ALEC

37. Laundry: WASH

38. __ of commerce: CHAMBER

39. Hot seasons: SUMMERS. Now if it were Nice hot seasons ....

41. Competes to get: VIES FOR

42. "That's not true!": "IT'S A LIE!"

43. Bridal bio word: NÉE

45. "Star Trek: T.N.G." counselor: TROI


46. Flip of a hit single: SIDE B

48. Teller's comedy partner: PENN

50. Tarp, e.g.: COVER

51. Hockey venue: ARENA

52. Bee home: HIVE

56. Soapmaking supply: LYE

57. "Beats me," in texts: [IDK]. [I Don't Know]

58. Mediocre grade: CEE

59. Tack on, as tax: ADD

60. Golf hole meas.: YDs. Yards


Argyle

50 comments:

fermatprime said...

Hi everyone!

Thanks to Brock and Santa!

Nice puzzle! But did not know: FRONTIER Airlines and IGA. But twas OK.

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

Almost had the embarrassment of a DNF today¡ Had no idea what 7d or 19d were, and 21a was deceptively clued, at least for me, though I did eventually get it. The theme also eluded me, and continued to do so for a couple minutes after I got the reveal¡ I think 15d was a CSO to me today!

{M, M, C-.}

There once was a DUNCE in New MEX
Whose limericks were giving him hecks!
"I can get some rhythm,
And rhyming's a given,
But how the aitch do I fold IN F*ing sex?"

There was a miss, fresh from the FARM,
Whose folks feared she faced DIRE harm!
She grilled AMERICAN CHEESE,
Did jobs on BENDED KNEES,
And those choices were viewed with alarm!

There is a poor poet named Owen
Who tried to use ERSE in a poem.
The resulting verse
VIED with Vogon for worst,
So he signed it as written be EWAN!


[EWAN is the Pictish equivalent of the Welsh Owen, both related to ERSE.]

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Crunchy Monday with SEHR, AUEL and ARRAU. But the perps were kind, and it came together quickly. Thought the theme was something patriotic; airlines never occurred to me. Yes, once again I failed to read the entire reveal clue. [Sigh]

THX was George Lucas' "standard" for movie sound, to ensure that it sounded in the theater the way the director intended.

CSO to Owen at 12d.

I still think of Tanya Tucker with Delta Dawn. She was only 13 with that hit single in '72. Helen covered it later.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

THAT was a Monday puzzle? Crossing Joseph CONRAD with TOI and ARRAU? SEHR? FIR without cheats, but not without SWAG. Erased CIA for NSA and BEATs for BEAT A. Santa gave me an early present by splainin the theme.

"You've got mail" is not only atrocious English, but it is also a Verizon trademark now. I don't remember AUEL from CWs, but I loved the first two books in the franchise (not to rekindle a debate on "franchise" from last week). I'm glad that the freezer made more ICE for Tin's er, ankle.

Thanks, Brock, for a fine Wednesday puzzle. And to Santa for handling the tour guide duties masterfully.

TTP said...



Good morning. Thank you Brock and Argyle. Sehr gut.

No sweat. Except for that caused by the weather.

Never heard of Lord Jim or pianist ARRAU. Nor the cave bear author AUEL. No matter. They perped in.

I must be hanging around Desper-otto too much. Didn't notice the theme. Did need the I in the R. Kelly hit to get TROI.

CSO to Owen.

BunnyM said...

Good morning all!

Nice puzzle from Brock; just a tad crunchy but I think that was due mostly to my errors. I was a DUNCE and spelled AVOCADO >AvAcado. I can never remember musical notes, so INF took a bit. Since ARRAU was unknown, FRONTIER was my last fill after I realized the Airline theme.
We only fly DELTA. They offer the best flights out of CVG (due to having a a monopoly there but that's slowly changing), we've always had good experiences with them and we have a Delta AmEx card. We've yet to get any mileage benefits from it but the free checked bags are nice as is the Sky Priority boarding.
DD#1 was supposed to fly Allegiant recently to Vegas. Flight delayed nine hours then cancelled. She and her friends ended up driving to Indy and flying Southwest. Even with the comped tickets and $250 they received, the hassle and disappointment of losing a days vacation was enough to have her say "never again" to Allegiant.

THX Argyle for your write up. Your burning rubber comment had me thinking of the ODOR here last night. We live less than a mile from Rumpke
landfill and it was quite stinky yesterday, which is nothing new. SUMMERS are especially bad, sometimes going days with no RESPITE. I can't even describe how horrible it is. I feel bad for those who live closer but they do get a compensation check for it but IDK if it's worth it!

SEHR and CONRAD were my only other perps.

Happy Monday- hope you all have a wonderful day!

oc4beach said...


I agree with DO about SEHR, AUEL and ARRAU. Other than that it was fairly smooth sailing. Good one from Brock and good write-up from Argyle.

I didn't get the theme until I read Argyle's write-up. However, I have flown on all of the airlines listed plus a few more. I used to like to fly on the original Frontier Airline back in the day. They treated their passengers like they mattered both on the ground and in the air. I can't say that about all of the airlines though. Lots of horror stories.

We're off to a new week. I hope everyone has a great one and gets to enjoy some great fireworks tomorrow.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I didn't have any trouble because any unknowns were gotten with perps. But having Frontier and Alaska early led me to think the theme was going to be geographical or historical, so the reveal was a nice Aha moment. Tin is getting more than his share of _ _ _ these days!

Nicely done, Brock, and thanks, Argyle, for being such a great guide.

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

I thought of Tin with ICE, so wanted to comment this morning.
I liked Frontier, but they left my area after a year. I agree with Allegiant comment.
Delta, United & Alaska, depending on destination, are my only choices. All expensive and some only one flight/day.
I only remember Tanya Tucker sang "Delta Dawn." Didn't know Helen Reddy did.

I thought life would slow down when I retired. Hasn't happened yet.

Keep cool. 100s this week in Montana.

Montana

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Bunny M - I grew up across US-60 from a tobacco field. In the spring, the farmer would spread manure and plow it into the soil. The stench was unbearable. Worse, we had tourist cabins, gas pumps AND A RESTAURANT. No air conditioning, so the windows had to be open. I don't know how our guests could eat their meals. I was as used to it as one could be, and I could barely choke down my meals. Must have fertilized our minds - my two sisters and I have collected two masters' and one PhD (in organic chemistry) in an area of eastern Kentucky not known for its focus on higher education. (We were the first generation in our family to graduate college.)

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Somber consequences of FRONTIER JUSTICE (3:00)
-The Lord Jim blurb seems to follow the same theme as above
-Plows are as rare as horse-drawn equipment around here in these no-till days
-Some SIDE-B’s for the Beatles were A-ONE hits too
-One daughter’s unbalanced book ERROR used to be not recording her checks
-My mulching mower has sent my RAKE to the bench
-Yesterday the 40-something woman who usually WAITS ON us was so proud to tell us she will soon have her LPN certificate
-Lovely Chopin piece, Argyle, my ear heard something familiar at 1:30 and went back and found it was the melody for I’m Always Chasing Rainbows
-Check out these YDS at St. Andrews Hill
-Me too, Irish!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

SEHR good; VERY gut. Good Monday puzzle but with a little bite. Didn't fully suss the theme, but, no matter. Argyle cleared up loose ends.
FARM - clue redundant, but OK. Plowing site would be on a Farm. Field site would be on a FARM. I don't want to hear about snow-plows. Days are already getting shorter.

Brock hat SEHR gut gemacht.

BTW - aphelion is at 1611, EDT, today.

SwampCat said...

I agree this was crunchy for a Monday, but the clues were clever and fun. I never got the theme, but didn't need it. Thanks,Brock. Argyle, the tour was fun, too.

Owen, what can I say? This was your best day! And the puzzle made it your day. Thanks for the chuckles.

Lucina said...

WEES! I like a crunchy but fun puzzle! We've seen ARRAU before but he didn't immediately come to mind. Joseph CONRAD and AUEL are a given for avid readers. Her last one, Shelters of Stone, was exceptionally good.

SEHR and VERY in the same puzzle but I guess it doesn't matter when they are in a different language. I would not have known anyway.

My first flight was on FRONTIER Airlines, Denver to Phoenix, when my step-father died. And AMERICAN is my airline of choice whenever possible because with the AAadvantage card baggage flies free for me and anyone for whom I PURCHASE tickets on the same card. With that card I've had at least a dozen free flights.

THX, Brock Wilson for a lovely start to Monday and Argyle, always our A-TEAM captain.

Have a sensational day, everyone!

Dick Swart said...

Yo!

I just started doing the LAT xword because it comes with my sub to the digital WAPO. I am enjoying it very much. Not as many tricks as the NYT but depends upon a good foundation word and knowledge base.

I hadn't seen this comment section until this am. I like the flow of remarks ... and snark-free!!!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks, Brock & Argyle!

I got the airlines theme after the fill when I went looking for it. My first flight was in 1958 on now-defunct Braniff from Wichita to Houston. Haven't flown since 2000. Flew United and Delta to California and Washington state. Loved to look out the window and identify landmarks like Grand Canyon & Painted Desert.

Didn't know CONRAD/AARAU cross. Couldn't remember TOI on the first pass through. DUNCE was a shout-out to me too. I tried "acre" before FARM. IDK: SEHR, TROI, or IDK

Didn't know R. Kelly wrote that song, but it was a successful WAG with a few perps.

Spitz provided Aphelion which Mr. Google had to teach me about. Aphelion wasn't King Kong amok.

Bunny: your Rumpke item brought back memories. We had 3 hog farms within a mile of our farm house. Usually the prevailing winds carried the ODOR away, but we never had cook-outs for fear of the ODOR & swarms of flies. On hot very still days the windows stayed shut. Since I moved, the ODOR coming on the wind is from Frito-Lay's potato/corn chip factory and not at all unpleasant. Makes one hungry for their product though.

PK said...

Welcome, Dick Swart! Come on in, the banter is fine! Once in a while we get a few snarky trolls, but that's life.

Spitzboov said...

Dick Swart - Welcome! Looking forward to your postings.

desper-otto said...

Welcome, Dick Swart! The water's fine at this little splash pad.

PK, I grew up in cheese country...there was at least one family-run cheese factory per square mile of farmland. There's nothing quite like still-warm, salted cheese curd. It has a rubbery texture and a taste not unlike popcorn. What a treat! After making curd the left-over liquid was usually dumped into an outside ditch. Mix that sour smell with the odor of freshly-spread manure, and it's what we used to call the "good ole country air."

Trubrit said...

Wow! I thought this was tad difficult for a Monday. I too, spelled AvAcado with an A, BunnyM. I didn't know Delta Dawn, I was sure it would be "I am Woman". I knew one flat was the key of 'F' but just couldn't see the 'in'. Duh!
Maybe Tuesday will be a little easier, however, I do learn a lot from you all.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Good job on the write-up.

Brock: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle. Enjoyed the theme.

Needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get ARRAU, SEHR and AUEL, other-wise, a speed-run.

Least fave today, of course, was 20-a, "_ _ _" ... perps filled it in also.

A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!


tears ... I actually turned on the A/C today.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle but didn't get the theme until the reveal. I remembered Claudio ARRAU. Interesting to have A TEAM and SIDE B, and IN F near MAJOR. I think Lucina has a point with her SEHR/VERY remark.
Owen, terrific verses today.
Dick Swart, welcome.
I haven't flown for over 10 years, and refuse ever to do so again. It makes me deathly ill. My motion sickness organs seem to be overly sensitive.
Good wishes to you all.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

Fun puzzle today from Brock. I remembered all of the proper names except Claudio ARRAU, but the perps were friendly to fill him in, and I got most of the theme answers with just a couple of perps. Thanks for the tour, Argyle. I especially enjoyed the Chopin selection.

Spitz--Thanks for mentioning aphelion, a new word and learning moment for me.

CED from last night--Funny poloponies clip.

Welcome Dick Swart. Hope to "see" you again.

Enjoy the day!

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Brock Wilson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

Welcome, Dick Swart. I have ancestors with that last name. I wonder if we are related? I will do some checking with my sister in PA, who has a lot of that info. Just for the heck of it.

This puzzle stumped me for a while in a couple areas. More like a Tuesday or Wednesday puzzle. However, I am not complaining at all. I love these puzzles.

Got all the theme answers, but not the theme. Came here and it made sense.

CONRAD was not known, but I have heard of the book Lord Jim.

LAO was with perps.

TROI was perped.

SEHR was perped, as was ARRAU.

Our old friend ERSE.

Left my Soothe PM in Pennsylvania. It is a salve for my eyes at night. Went to two Walmarts and they were both out. So, ordered through Amazon and will be here in two days. Free shipping. Amazing.

I started a Red Oak tree from a pot that I obtained from a Cook County Water Reclamation presentation. Watered it, put it in the sun, and within a week it had about four leaves. Last night some critter bit it off. So, that is how my day started.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

PK said...

Desper-Otto, I love good cheese curds. My husband ate some that someone had bought at a little cheese factory just off the beaten path near the highway we drove to see relatives. Thereafter, we always swung by the place and got a couple of bags of cheese curds. Didn't last long at our house, but the shop didn't usually have more available. Hot item. I'm shocked though that in your area, cheese makers dumped the whey in a ditch. Usually, that would be fed to hogs or some kind of animal.

Abejo: how frustrating to have your little tree chomped. I can commiserate. I planted a little 6' crimson maple many years ago and the rabbits ate the bark off it that winter. Killed it. Planted a replacement with plastic rabbit guards around the trunk. Snow got deep so they ate higher on the trunk above the guard. Killed that too. They didn't bother the bark on any of the other little trees I planted. Red must be tastier.

Hungry Mother said...

I agree that this was a tough Monday, but I remember a bunch of other LA Times crunchy Mondays, so I wasn't shocked. Too many proper names for my taste. I like word games, not trivial pursuits. Wanted "uber" before SEHR.

Abejo said...

Attn: Dick Swart. My great grandmother was Ella Q. (Swart) Baker from Chautauqua County, NY. Born 1859. Where are you from?

Abejo

Spitzboov said...

No Swart in our family tree that I know of, but it does mean 'black' in L. German. Also very Dutch, meaning the same thing.

Sorry about your tree, Abejo. BH can't place any flowering plants (except Illium [onion family]) outside.
Deer are terrible here. Thick as fleas on a dog's back. Called my councilman the other day. Asked him if anybody cared; I guess it hasn't come up at meetings. Lot of people think they are so cute; but I guess that they never tried to grow anything.

Dick Swart said...

Abejo ...

Great coincidence on last name! Alas, original family arrived in New York from Holland in ≠ 1850 (?), then on to Philadelphia.

I've lived in PA, NY, MN, WI, and now OR.

Best,

Dick

Misty said...

Welcome to the blog, Dick.

So, here's an interesting reversal. So many thought Saturday's puzzle was easy, while for me it was a real bear, and a terrific struggle. On the other hand, I found this Monday puzzle a complete joy, doable, even easy, a pleasure. Go figure. I went right down from top to bottom, and by the time I got DELTA, I had even figured out the theme. So thank you, thank you, Brock, for getting my week off to a great start. And, Argyle, I loved listening to ARRAU play that Chopin Fantasy.

It was great to see Joseph CONRAD in the puzzle. I never taught "Lord Jim," but I taught "The Heart of Darkness" in practically every one of my Modernism classes. He was Polish, if I remember correctly, but produced an amazing style of English literature.

A sunny morning, and the Monarch butterflies have finally come to check out all that milkweed we planted for them. Have a great day, and a great week, everybody!

Wilbur Charles said...

So PK, those curds FLEW OFF THE SHELF, eh
We didn't CSO Tin on Neato the other day. And...if we're going back to POLO PONIES just what was the Australia connection? I'm still whining about that DNF.

I couldn't let go of PESTERED.

This was a smooth Monday because the Naticks had simple perps. I had TRY and CIA and even SSN. Cleared up the SW quickly though.

I didn't Know they made a Lord Jin movie.
Conrad's Heart of Darkness was the theme for Apocalypse Now. I see there's a book called"The Subtle ArtofNot Giving a F---. Lethargy, Sloth in 3 syllables. (CSO to Splynter)

I see AUEL's "The Mammoth Hunters" is on our bookshelf.

WC early for a change

CanadianEh! said...

Crunchy Monday after a weekend of celebrating equals DNF. Thanks for the fun Brock and Argyle.

Perps gave me the unknown ARRAU, SEHR and AUEL. My Natick was the cross of 54A and 48D. I can blame my Canadian knowledge base for not knowing NSA but I must Google to find out about Teller and PENN. I know Abott and Costello, and the Canadians Wayne and Schuster (AnonT and I had a discussion in the past!) but T and P are unknown to me.

I gasped as I filled in OLD SOUL at 28A for Old King Cole. Did Rich allow Old in clue and answer! But I am not sure how you could get around that problem?! You could not clue as King Cole.

Glad to hear from you today Montana.
Welcome Dick Swart. Glad you found us.

Beautiful day here. Sunny and clear with temps in the high 70sF.
Wishing you all a good day.

Wilbur Charles said...

I forgot my kudos. Brock, we've seen you before. Xcellent. Argyle, you too. As for Owen... First, are you looking for that treasure chest the nutcake buried "North of Santa Fe and south of Canada"? Great l'icks btw.

Misty, our paths crossed. I found Saturday very difficult, mainly because I didn't recognize Cat Stevens.

The key to difficulty is often popular culture references. If they throw in sports I have a chance.

Conrad? He may have been influenced by Doestoevsky's "The Idiot".

WC

desper-otto said...

WC, DW thinks I may have been influenced by that same work. She says so often.

Ol' Man Keith said...

I had the pleasure of listening to Claudio ARRAU at Lincoln Center many years ago. How can fingers be so free? The heart-to-hand coordination in some people makes me proud to be human. Nice to be reminded of that experience ... Thanks, Mr. Wilson. And thanks, Argyle, for selecting the Chopin Fantasie.

This morning's pzl was indeed "crunchy" - much crunchier than most week-starters. NOV & CONRAD gave me my first toe-holds. But it only took a little calendar shuffling in my brain to pretend it was a Wednesday-and-a-half pzl, and we were off to the races!

I have a hunch some of my forefathers spoke ERSE. I know it sometimes serves as an alternative for Gaelic or Celtic. My maternal grandmother came from Wales, and she married my grandfather who was first-generation Cornish-American. I suppose they spoke English in order to understand each other. But their parents surely spoke the local dialects at home in Cornwall and Wales.

"Forefathers" is a good word. Can't help but visualize it as Four Fathers. Where'd the mothers go? I used to think "forbears" (to restrain or desist) was also a synonym for ancestors, and that gave me a crazier image, imagining all those ursine critters, Four Bears, coming together to produce me. And speaking ERSE.

I found a corollary today to my rule that the longer fills are sometimes easy to crack when you find only one or two opening letters in the right places. This morning produced the opposite finding--that you may have a longish answer elude you when you have all the letters except one or two. Case in point: 35A, DELTA DAWN. With only one letter missing and another wrong I could not begin to see the answer.
See for yourself: DERTADAW?

But in the end I prevailed. Nothing like starting the week with a win, eh?
Ta-DA!!

Misty said...

Wilbur, glad I'm not the only one who found the Saturday puzzle difficult. And you're right, that "Heart of Darkness" inspired "Apocalypse Now"--another journey into the heart of darkness.

Bill G said...

Jayce, I'm very susceptible to motion sickness too. I've have really good luck with OTC Marazine. It's a pill that works really well and doesn't make me sleepy.

CrossEyedDave said...

Sorry for the 3 rapid fire posts last night Anonymous T,
I was trying to write about how I did the Sunday puzzle on the beach but my side trip to find poloponies erased it ...
Did 3 quick posts and crashed for 12 hours!

Did today's puzzle on the beach hiding under an umbrella due to the horrendous sunburn
Caused by yesterday, had to turn on red letters around Conrad! On Monday ! Horrors!
Red letters, sunburned Dave, oh could this get any worse?

DW makes me spray our flowers every week with this deer and rabbit away product
That is made of wolf piss, blood, and everything else obnoxious under the sun.
Works unless they are starving, but my yard smells like Bunny's Rumpke...

Anywho, gotta run, off to happy hour for half priced oysters!

Irish Miss said...

Welcome, Dick Swart. Your name seems familiar to me and I'm guessing I've seen it on that "other" crossword blog. Yes?

Anyone else a little confused by the twists and turns in Prime Suspect?

Anonymous said...

A nice, easy Monday adventure! Thanks, Brock. Enjoyed the expo, Argyle.

Had AUEr but DELTA corrected that. I got the theme with the reveal for a change.

Favorite c/a 3d. I have guacamole on my turkey roll-up for lunch almost every day.

Welcome, Dick Swart. This is a friendly group of puzzlers.

Bunny M: I understand the situation. My in-laws had a pig-farrowing operation built across the road from them many years ago. A few times a year the manure is spread on the surrounding
crop fields. They don't have a/c. Not pleasant! I'm on the other side of town from you so I don't have to suffer with the odor. Sorry about that situation.

Happy Monday!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Wow - what a perp-fest in the north! Fortunately, I knew CONRAD (may have scratched my head a little harder if Joseph wasn't in the clue) so I am able to claim a wounded-win. Thanks Brock for a puzzle that left little up in the AIR :-). Cool theme too - did you try to do all songs/airlines @1st? Just curious.

Thank Argyle for kickin'-off the after-party. No nit from this Anon re: Aron [I just happen to mention that Sat :-)]

WOs: n/a
ESPs: [here we go...] TOI, ENE, ARRAU, SEHR, LAO, AUEL.
Fav: PENN and Teller [a clip for C, Eh! - I only watched the 1st 4:20]. PENN is self-aware funny and their magic is cool; they'll show you how they trick you and you're still amazed - Meta Man, Meta.
Oh, and here's This American Life with the P&T interview from last weekend on developing the trick above.. [second segment IIRC]

{*, *, A}

Thanks D-O for the link to Delta Dawn. I'm not a fan of Country but I am a fan of good. And LOL @2:43 - I hear the same thing from my DW. Is it in their training manual*?
Hi Montana! Almost missed you sans Avatar.
Welcome Dick Swart - the Cornerites are friendly and the rules are simple [even if we sometimes BEND 'em slightly].

I think I prefer PK's potato-chip plant ODOR to the FARMs & BunnyM's dump. The only aroma I get in the BURBs is an occasional backyard BBQ.

CED - No need for apologies - I was just joshin'. I also loved the poloponies clip.

BlueHen - I finally figured out what to use to spice the sous vide pork tonight. Apple-slices, rosemary (garden!), pepper, cinnamon, honey and apple-cider vinegar. Smells, good we'll see how it tastes. Blowtorch (and fire-extinguisher) at the ready!

Cheers, -T
*that is, the manual on how to train us :-)

Lucina said...

Irish Miss:
Yes re Prime Suspect. The plot twists move fast and the intense situation between the two main characters is confusing given how young the probationary officer and it's so early in her career.

A big thumbs up for The Big Sick though the repeated use of the F word just never fails to disappoint and offend me. The merits of the story, however, make me overlook it.

TTP said...

Anon-T - I'm losing my touch. I was poking around early in the AM hours and saw a CNET article about Petya, stating that Microsoft had released a patch and that according to Avast, some 38M XP and 8.1 users were exposed. Poked around further...

#embarrassed to say that I didn't know that protection existed for XP. 2 of 4 are still on XP. The other two are Win10 and got the auto updates. XPs didn't. Downloaded KB4012598 to the two XP's this morning. DOH !

Missed the evening news tonight while talking to my brother in CenTex. It's around 100 there, and about 74 here. We postponed our trip earlier this week. Perfect weather here. We'll go later this year. Maybe December when it's only 70 in the Lone Star State.

CanadianEh! said...

AnonT - THX for the Penn and Teller link. Great fun! Hope I remember the name for the next CW usage.

TX Ms said...

Agree with others that it was not a Monday speed-run, which is good! Thanks, Brock for a Monday brain work-out, and Argyle, as alway a great expo. Like Pat and OMK, I quickly jotted in AueR - where the hay did that come from? Dertadawn? Duh-remembered then it's Auel. Never read any of her books.

Anon-T - thanks for your yummy chickpea salad recipe - a good July 4th dish for me!

TTP - Texas December weather is a rollercoaster. Wore shorts and tees a couple of Christmas weeks.

Have a good 4th and be safe!

Anonymous T said...

TTP - I wouldn't consider it losing my touch - just finally relaxing from the biz :-)

Petya.A was last Tuesday and was, in what I've surmised from the literature, a destructive smoke screen. If the hack was for the money, they stood to make millions but only took in about $30k. There was a second attack (on Ukraine) at the same time that exfiltrated data and infiltrated ICS networks.

What I find really interesting: after NSA was hacked by ShadowBrokers and they (SB) started releasing the Vault7 trove in Jan, MS released patches for the holes (including XP). Me thinks the NSA slipped a note under a door in Redmond. Even before last-week's Petya fire drill, we were already patched for the SMBv1 bug.
//It was a fire drill because it was "in the news." I knew we were good but you gotta at least look busy/concerned and re-assure everyone (who signs your check :-)) [plus, you never want to be too smug in the foxhole :-)]

BlueHen - rave reviews on my pork-chops. 61C was my setting, I think I'll dial back to 59C next time and try the sear first - too much time playing with fire (though the apples were nicely caramelize). Since I had the torch out, I tossed kale with salt & olive oil and crisped it too for the salad. Silly, but not bad. ["Daaaad, why are you torching our kale?!?" Fun in a box.]
And, I'm happy to report, the kitchen is still intact.

C, Eh! Glad you liked the link. If you are a fan of slight-of-hand, look for more of P&T's stuff - that's not the best trick they do but I heard about it on TAL and wanted to look it up. Brock's offering gave me the impetus today.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

TTP - Ok - I just saw it in popular news so I can talk about it... There's a new variant of Petya / NotPetya out today. If you patched last week, you should be fine (exploits same SMBv1 bug). This one is likely to be 'real' criminals using rotating Bitcoin wallets (unlike last week with just one wallet - not what hackers do!) and has (so far) 5 SHA256 IoCs.

TxMs - glad you liked the recipe. I wish Steve would play more during the week - I'm sure he could kick my cooking up a notch with one or two suggestions.

Cheers, -T

SwampCat said...

Anon T, are you still here? I make a dish that is called, according to where you are, Cajun Caviar or Texas Caviar. Much like your chick pea salad. It is cold, cooked black eyed peas, chopped red onion, green and yellow peppers, Roma tomatoes, cilantro and parsley in a dressing of oil and vinegar and lots of herbs like oregano and thyme. Can't wait to try your chickpea salad!

Anonymous T said...

Swamp - Oh, that sounds DELISH especially at 85F (and it's 10:30p!). I don't keep blackeyed peas on hand (yes, I'm a Yankee), but I do have cilantro & parsley in the garden. Sounds like Saturday's salad.

BTW - for all y'all in hot climes, sous vide is the way to go. As I as finishing up dinner I noticed the house was still cool w/o the 425F oven.

-T

Anonymous T said...

Caught up on the newspaper says:
I forgot one ODOR in the burbs - mosquito-trucks' spray. Must be bedtime. Cheers, -T