google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, September 6, 2017, Samuel A. Donaldson

Advertisements

Sep 6, 2017

Wednesday, September 6, 2017, Samuel A. Donaldson

TITLE: A CURRENT WAR


Husker Gary on the scene for this report of one of the great technological battles of the 19th century between two scientific giants. Nikolai Tesla who favored transmitting electric power using Alternating Current and Thomas Edison who wanted to use Direct Current. 


In the end Tesla's AC method proved superior as it could be transmitted great distances and is still used today. Tesla sold most of his patents to George Westinghouse and died in poverty while business savvy Edison made millions with his (and others') inventions.




The gimmick was pretty easy if you had the circles in your puzzle as was true in my Omaha World Herald. Once the AC/DC coupling was obvious, the remaining circles were pretty much  fish in a barrel.



The reveal:


56. Influential pairing, and a hint to the circles in four puzzle answers : POWER COUPLE


which was fitting for these two bitter rivals as they were a COUPLE, albeit not an amiable one. Samuel chose to split the DC across the last two words as you will now see in his theme fills.


17. Tennessee whiskey cocktail : JACK AND COKE - I wonder if Tinman has this setup?




23. Fruity dessert : PEACHES AND CREAM - The summer solstice of June 21st also serves as this tasty holiday.




35. One above criticism : SACRED COW - or traffic tickets



49. Pre-employment investigation : BACKGROUND CHECK - Mine might put the investigators to sleep


BTW, AC/DC's Australian brothers Malcom and Agnus Young took the name for their band from their sister after she saw AC/DC on a sewing machine.




Here are the rest of Samuel's current entries:


Across


1. One taken for a fool : DUPE - Edison reneged on a $50,000 payment to Tesla and it was all downhill after that


5. Question at a reunion : MISS ME? -And your name is...


11. Game show hosts : MCS


14. Camped in a trailer, for short : RVED - Hey, if you're gonna live in an RV...

15. Sort of : IN A WAY


16. Spoil : ROT


19. MLB's Indians, on scoreboards : CLE


20. __ Alamos : LOS


21. Groundbreaking tool : HOE


22. Aquatic plant : ALGA


28. "My package has arrived!" : IT'S HERE - In The Music Man it was via the Wells Fargo Wagon

29. "Darn it!" : OH RATS

30. Fun time, in slang : GAS


31. "Othello" antagonist " IAGO - "I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad, That 'twixt my sheets 'Has done my office." Iago intimates that Othello is "Officing" his wife under his own sheets.

34. Unsurpassed : A-ONE


38. Good opponent : EVIL


40. Fair-to-middling : SO SO



41. MMDX ÷ V : DII - 2,510 ÷  5 = 502

44. Actor Estevez : EMILIO


46. Stump speech : ORATION - Edward Everett talked for two hours at Gettysburg but Abe's two minute ORATION is what every school kid learns


52. Morsels : BITS


53. Conditions : IF'S - If IF'S and but's were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas.


54. Done with one's career: Abbr. : RET - Everyday is Saturday now!


55. Yale alum : ELI


61. President pro __ : TEM - Orrin Hatch is the President Pro TEM of the senate and is therefore third in line for succession to the presidency


62. __ Jug: British Open trophy : CLARET - Jordan Spieth hit this incredible shot over that mound from a parking lot/driving range to help win this year's British Open.



63. Take a long bath : SOAK - Did it seem easier to get out of the tub a few years ago?


64. Most GRE takers : SRS


65. Iran, once : PERSIA



66. Holy recess : APSE - The Chair Of St. Peter in the APSE at St. Peter's Basilica



Down


1. Hall of Fame Sixer, familiarly : DR. J - Back when they used to win


2. Charlottesville sch. : U.VA. 


3. Course that makes you sweat, briefly? : P.E. CLASS 


4. "How'm I doing?" New York mayor : ED KOCH


5. Hr. segment : MIN


6. Swing voter: Abbr. : IND


7. Actor __ Baron Cohen : SACHA  and 36. Alter ego of 7-Down : ALI G - Not my cup of comedic tea

8. Faint : SWOON


9. Get by : MAKE DO


10. Pupil's place : EYE


11. Magic Eraser spokesman : MR. CLEAN


12. Palmolive's corporate partner : COLGATE


13. Cooks, as broccoli : STEAMS


18. Tennis legend who wrote "Days of Grace" : ASHE - Athletic and elegant


22. Traffic light symbol : ARROW - Huh?

23. Sty dweller : PIG


24. LAX posting : ETA


25. Lindros in the Hockey Hall of Fame : ERIC


26. Blackens, as tuna : SEARS


27. Former Labor secretary Elaine : CHAO - If you are into politics at all, you know Elaine is married to the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell



32. Prefix with caching : GEO - This device says it is 31' away from the goal of 28.170N and 48.175W which is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

33. Uses too much : OD'S ON - I may be approaching that as I have watched six of the fourteen seasons of NCIS in two months


35. Jockey's wear : SILKS


37. Wood measure : CORD


38. Screen writer? : E-MAILER



39. Con targets : VICTIMS - This kitty can't be conned!

41. Sugar-free soft drink : DIET POP - Diet Dr. Pepper is big around here


42. Summer Games org. : IOC - Look up "corrupt" in the dictionary and you'll find this organization


43. Tattoo, in slang : INK


44. __ Field: Brooklyn Dodgers' home : EBBETS - It greatly upset my dad when they left


45. Colorful songbird : ORIOLE



47. Height: Pref. : ACRO and 51. Operators : USERS - I have always wanted to Operate one of these tower cranes but I'm afraid my ACROPHOBIA would get the best of me

48. Where Springsteen was born? : THE U.S.A.


50. Tug __ : OF WAR


56. Angel dust, for short : PCP


57. Outdoor gear retailer : REI - Not for me if I can use the luxury RV above!



58. Transp. group in the Loop : CTA I'll bet most of you know what will be found near this stop if you catch the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line train in the loop

59. Scale syllables : LA'S - After the Do's, Re's, Mi's and Fa's


60. Squeeze (by) : EKE



Now, no matter how you are wired, you may comment!

56 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks Sam and Gary!

Did not know CLARET and DR. J. But it came out OK.

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

OwenKL said...

There once was a villain named EMILIO
Who tried and tried to be EVIL! OH
RATS he was foiled
His reputation soiled,
The score was Tin: one, Illegal: oh!

"Did you MISS ME?" asked Cross-Eyed Dave.
Yes we did IN A WAY, for the cakes we crave!
No birthday's complete
Without the treat
Of apt marzipan to make us SWOON and rave!

{C+, B-.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This made for a nice SAD start to a Wednesday. I noticed all of the ACs and DCs, but totally blew past the reveal clue. Thanx, Samuel and Husker.

CSO to CED at GEO.

Had a hard time parsing PECLASS. We had mandatory P.E. during my freshman year at college. I'd spent the previous summer working in the hay fields, and was in pretty good shape. Almost failed P.E., because my end-of-semester performance was worse in almost every area than my pre-test.

Me, too, Husker. I've been watching NCIS from the beginning. Ya got CBS All Access? My problem is that 2/3 through each episode there's a 10-second CBS promo where the audio and video go totally out of sync. The only way to correct things is to go back to the beginning, fast-forward to just past the promo, and then start watching again. Grrrrr! And that's after paying extra for the "commercial-free" service. Don't know if it's CBS or Amazon Fire TV who's to blame. BTW, I was surprised that the Kate character only appeared for two seasons. Would have been nice to have All Access while housebound due to Harvey, but alas, no Internet.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I liked seeing LOS and LAS. We could have had LOS Sams (Samuels) and LAS Sams (Samanthas) in homage to our constructor.

I found the south easy, but had to toil to finish the North. Erased orts for BITS and Choi for CHAO. I wanted "perfect" to be the opponent of good.

In my ute we used to refer to bisexuals as AC/DC without intending any disrespect. Following our present course, that will soon be a felony instead of a faux pas.

My RV is about the same size as Gary's example, but not nearly as opulent. We do have a convection oven, 4-door fridge with automatic icemaker (in case Tin shows up), washer / drier, and a diesel generator, but the comparison ends there. We're leaving in it tomorrow for a planned six-day trip, but will modify the plan should Irma come a-callin'.

Thanks to Gary for another fun tour. And thanks to Samuel for another Wednesday-level puzzle. When I see your name as the author I know I'll have fun.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! No circles so no POWER COUPLE but thought it was a clever theme once Gary explained. Thanks, Sam & Gary.

DR J played before I started watching basketball. I knew of him but not which team he played with. So the DUPE & RVED in the NW was last to fill although I had JACK & ED KOCH. Well, I tried Al before ED but immediately knew it was wrong. RVED is a legitimate verb now? I never woulda thunk it.

Question at a reunion = MISS ME. At my aunt's funeral, I took my husband to my older-than-me first cousin and introduced him. My cousin shook his hand, looked me over and said "Okay, now tell me who the hell you are!" I realized the last time he'd seen me was as a "snot nosed" little girl he took fishing at a big reservoir. He threatened to "whale the tar" out of me if I didn't stop throwing rocks in the water where a lot of people were trying to catch fish. Well, he hadn't brought a pole for me.

Fun time, in slang = GAS. I can think of one kind of GAS that isn't fun at all. ESP

Didn't know REI or ALI G and tried to spell SACHA with a second "S".

Welcome back, CED. I left you a message on the blog very late last night. Hope you saw it.

Montana said...

Missed posting yesterday. Didn't know the U in puli or umami.

Today I needed red letter hints and perps. There seems to be a rhythm to solving our daily puzzles that one loses when one skips a month or two. I saw the AC/DC, but didn't truly "get' the theme. Thanks, Husker, for explaining. Jinx, your comment was what I remembered, also.

CanadianEH, where I live we usually get smoke from BC fires. The summer wind patterns bring it in.
Last month there was a prairie fire on the border (AB & MT) just north of me. 200 local farmers showed up with their water trucks and put the fire out themselves. The news report was all about how they didn't worry about where the border was--they all just worked together and got the fire out.

As of 6pm news last night, 998,000 acres of Montana has burned. There's very little containment of dozens of the fires. Our governor requested FEMA assistance but was denied, however now it sounds like they reconsidered and may help a little. Over 800 homes were evacuated yesterday. Red Cross has set up a dozen shelters but most people have friends or relatives to stay with.

Thousands of tons of hay have been donated to help cattle ranchers who lost all their rangeland to fires, but now most of the semis that could haul the hay are headed to a Texas to help there.

Still in the 90s here. Keep cool, everyone!

Montana

Big Easy said...

Well the gimmick was so easy because the AC-DC circles were staring at me and not even scrambled. I'd heard of SACHA but ALI G was all perps along with REI and GAS. "Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a GAS" by the Rolling Stones is the only time I'd ever heard it used.

SACRED COW- never heard a person- 'one'- referred to as a that, only laws and policies. Social Security, Ethanol in gasoline to purchase votes -two SACRED COWs.

DW likes any 'bourbon' except JACK Daniels, which technically isn't a bourbon; it's sour mash.

BACKGROUND CHECK- I had to do that, PLUS polygraph AND drug test all my potential employees running a wholesale drug company. There was a high failure rate but when you are handling narcotics you can't be too careful.

BunnyM said...

Good morning all!

What a clever puzzle from Samuel- I enjoyed the use of AC/DC to make the POWER COUPLE and thanks to HG for your equally clever and informative write up. Tesla is one of my DH's heroes, so this was fun for me. For anyone interested in learning more about him and his rivalry with Edison, check out this installment from The Oatmeal Fair warning: there is explicit language but IMO, worth the read for the info.

Unknowns: CLARET, ERIC, ALIG (only know of Borat)
I also tried Orts/BITS

I never broke a sweat in my H.S. PE CLASS. Freshman year was the first year that it was a coed school ( an all boys and all girls had combined) and they weren't equipped to handle so many students. The girls had to walk several blocks to the closed all girls school (which had been turned into a two year college with the gym available for our use) so a good chunk of time was used in our commute. Class was easy- learning the rules of bowling, basics of golf, etc. Sophomore year, we stayed on campus but the class sizes were still too big to accommodate so many, so even when we did play basketball or volleyball, there wasn't enough time for some to have a turn much less to break a sweat!

I often say "this isn't what RETirement is supposed to look like " when people say "you're retired already? Lucky you!" I never envisioned it this way- always assumed I would be much older and my DH would be retired, too. But my health had other plans for me. However, I do feel blessed that I was able to take an early retirement through OPERS but I'd gladly trade my health problems to be able to work again. It is a double edged sword.

Montana- the fires there are just incredibly scary and sad. Please stay safe.
Those still dealing with the effects of Harvey and those in the path of Irma- you are in my thoughts as well. Tin- be safe, too!

CED- welcome back! Owens poem said it perfectly :) My husbands parents have a home in Naples, too. They are scheduled to return for the Winter on October 1st. But I guess that could change depending on the impact from Irma. The satellite images are worrisome.

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Seemed like a Monday level. Quickly saw the AC/DC gimmick and prefilled the last circles. POWER COUPLE explained it but was not relied on.
DII - Wonder how the Romans did long division, or computed the tip when CHECKing out of their local trattoria.
EBBETS - Saw my first major league baseball game at EBBETS Field in Aug., 1950. Phillies beat the Dodgers.
Soda vs POP - The isogloss is somewhere around Rochester, NY. West of there all the way into Iowa, people say POP, around here - soda. Pop vs Soda

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a nice, mid-week offering from Mr. D. Hand up for orts/bits, Sasha/Sacha, and Jack Daniels/Jack and Coke. While the theme was obvious early on, the reveal still brought a smile. How apropos to have Geo as a CSO to our newly returned mischief maker!

Well done, Samuel, and thanks, HG, for the always informative and witty write-up.

Welcome back, CED, we have missed your shenanigans. While your links from last night gave me a chuckle or two, I think a woof or an arf might be in order to offset those several meows! 😈

My high school had PE and sports for the boys only. (No wonder I'm not athletic!)

Montana, that is terrible news; stay safe. And Godspeed to all of our Floridians and everyone else who may be in harm's way due to Irma.

Have a great day.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

Unknowns today were ERIC Lindros and CLARET Jug, but I enjoyed the solve nevertheless. Thanks for the puzzle, Samuel, and for the expo and links, Husker Gary.

Irma looks incredibly menacing. Sending best wishes to all in her path. Take care.

Enjoy the day!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Samuel A. Donaldson, for a fine puzzle. thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.

Got through fairly easily. I wrote in KISS ME before I looked at 5D MIN. Haste makes waste.

Liked the theme. I worked with DC all my life. 50 volts. Won't hurt you, but you can get some large sparks/arcs. I used to install powerboards that would carry thousands of amps, but only 50 volts pushing it.

I used to drive through Thomas Edison's home town in Ohio when I worked there. Milan, OH. As I recall there is a small museum honoring him.

Lots to do. Have to go to work tonight.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Jayce said...

The first thing I noticed about this puzzle, after the fact that there were circles, was what seems to me to be an awful lot of abbreviations, prefixes, and other 3-letter entries.
"Hall of Fame Sixer, familiarly"
"Camped in a trailer, for short"
"Charlottesville sch."
"Course that makes you sweat, briefly?"
"MLB's Indians, on scoreboards"
"Fun time, in slang"
"Tattoo, in slang"
"LAX posting"
"Done with one's career, Abbr."
"Summer Games org."
"Most GRE takers"
"Angel dust, for short"
"Transp. group in the Loop"
And so many more 3-letter entries.
The AC-DC gimmick was fun, though.
Thomas Edison was a cheater and scoundrel. But his name and inventions live on.
Trivia: Pele's first name is Edison. Full name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento.
Some of the most successful CEOs were ruthless assholes.
I was, for a while, an unsuccessful CEO. I hated it and was terrible at it.
Best wishes to you all.

JD said...

Good morning all,
Thanks for the AC/DC lesson, Gary.Always learn a ton when reading your write ups.I had a little trouble getting into this one, but thoroughly enjoyed it.Last fill was chAo. Why could I not see Aone for so long? Fav. clue: screen writer? Never heard of the Claret Jug, but maybe I've never watched the presentation of that trophy.Alas, I do fall asleep watching golf.

Bunny M.- loved the added fun and enlightening read.My DH is also a Tesla fan. Thanks for posting.

I LOVE broccoli baked in a 400 oven with a bit of olive oil and garlic instead of steaming it.

Montana, hope you continue to be safe, and any of you who might be near any of those fires.. so many of them. I am equally worried about all of you in the Naples/Gulf area, and down in the keys. This storm looks nasty.

Enjoy your day.

Jayce said...

Oops, Pele's first name is NOT Edison. It's Edson. I screwed up.

Madame Defarge said...

Hello, all.

Lots of fun here. Thanks, Samuel and Gary.

An additional Chicago shout out along with CTA (this time not the band, Chicago): the AC/DC question was settled at the World Columbian Exposition (AKA The Chicago World's Fair) in 1893. Lots of newbies happened there under Daniel (Make No Little Plans) Burnham's leadership, including Ferris'wheel and Otis' elevator, trying rather unsuccessfully to outdo Eiffel's Tower for memorable pizzazz. (Hey, there's a pizza in there. It really is a Chicago day!)

By the way that CTA Red Line train is not in the loop; it has about three miles to go before it hits the loop. I wonder if the Blue W flag is out? When I was a kid, it was most often the Red L flag.

And, don't ask the driver if the bus goes "To Da Loop." Most likely he'll say, "No, it goes Beep Beep." Groan. An old Chicago joke. . . .

When my freshman students used to say Madame Defarge was the most EVIL character, I always suggested she was really seeking retribution for the ignored and mal-treated lower class, including her father and siblings. Wait until senior year when you meet IAGO, I'd add. Then you'll come to know real EVIL! Madame, EVIL? Nah, she's just knitting!

Mother Nature is certainly on a rampage. Stay safe, everyone.

Lucina said...

Thank you, Samuel A. Donaldson for an electrifying grid. However, I must agree with Jayce on the prevalence of three letter fill. I noticed that, too. Yet, it made filling the long spans easier. I also prefilled AC/DC once I realized their presence.

SACHA (first Sasha) is not to my taste either and I have to wait for perps to get ALIG. ERIC? Didn't even see that one, it just emerged. And I thought of CEDave at GEO cache which I learned about from him.

Montana, when my sisters and I drove through your state we remarked on the hundreds and hundreds of bales of hay strewn about the fields. It saddens me to think of all that now on fire. Please stay safe all you in harm's way. Nature is definitely on a rampage.

Have a care-free day, if you can, everyone!

CanadianEh! said...

Some crunch for a Wednesday. Thanks for the fun Samuel and Husker Gary.
EBBETS and CHAO were all perps.
I had Rube instead of DUPE which caused me all sorts of problems in the NW corner.
Not knowing Dr J or Jack in JACK and COKE (I'm not a whiskey drinker!) didn't help that area.
But we did have something for Tin as he prepares for Irma.

You celebrate PEACHES AND CREAM Day on June 21?! We don't have peaches in the Niagara area until late July/August and festivals are always in August. But Google tells me that Georgia peaches start in late May.

CSO to many Cornerites with RET.

Montana, There is an evacuation order for Waterton Park north of you. Glad to hear of the international cooperation in fire-fighting.
Welcome back CED.
Stay safe all of you in the route of Mother Nature's wrath.

Misty said...

Well, I had a similar Wednesday problem to O'Man Keith's Tuesday problem--just couldn't get a few letters perfectly and so had small goof-ups in the top northwest and middle south. Had DOPE instead of DUPE and couldn't think of the second letter in P_CLASS. What is P.E., anyway? I had so little physical education (wait, is that what P.E. is?) in grade school or high school, that the terms are not familiar to me. Never learned to swim because I went under water once when I was about 5 and became terrified of swimming. But Seton Hill College, my Catholic school, was very clear about the fact that I had to take, and pass, swimming. "We are not going to go to all this trouble educating you only to have you drown," they told me. I'm still grateful to them for that.

Sorry for the diversion, great puzzle, Sam, and I both got and "got" all the AC and DCs. And terrific pictures, once again, Husker Gary.

My freezer saga has taken a strange turn. The repairman told me my ancient refrigerator would need a new part, but it may not fix the problem and I may need to get a new one (Noooo! I love this refrigerator which my husband had for thirty years, I think). So he's coming with the new part this afternoon. But when I checked the freezer on a hunch last night, the ice cubes in the tray were frozen again, and the refrigerator was perfectly cold again. Did he fix it, or does the fridge have an on again/off again issue? I'll find out when I see the fellow later on.

Montana, thank you for the helpful update, and please stay safe. My heart goes out to the folks facing IRMA, and I can't stop thinking of what traumas all those Texans will be going through for the next few months. A hard end of the summer for so many people.

Have a good Wednesday, everybody.

Wilbur Charles said...

Abejo, you had me laughing at KISSME. I have a reunion coming up, perhaps I'll try that.

The game called"dodgeball" was our Junior high PE staple. The trick was to lob a ball and as his eyes are distracted come in low and hard with the other.

Did you see where they're diagnosing"Texter's neck".

I remember seeing Arthur Ashe at Longwood
in Boston in the old US Doubles. On a date but not in the PINTO.

Hondo, can tell you all about Ebbetts Field. 1950 btw, was a heated pennant race between those same Phillies and Dodgers.

The poor "Bums" lost on the last day in both '50,51. They lost the equivalent of a years paycheck on the last pitch. Now it's 1/10 or less except for the rookies and second year players.

The "BEGONE" question from yesterday wasn't Gandalf. I'll go back to Tuesday and comment there.

WC

Tinbeni said...

Husker Gary: Outstanding write-up.
No I don't have that JACK-AND-COKE "set-up" ... I rarely (if ever) have a coke.

Samuel: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. I enjoyed the AC/DC themes.

IRMA watching is getting out-of-hand ... you can't spend the whole day on the Weather Channel.

Glad to see the latest projection calling on a turn up the East Coast.
(Trust me when I tell you ... you do not want the EYE of the storm coming over you).

Still haven't been able to locate a case of bottled water.
No big deal ... I have plenty of Scotch that I can drink NEAT !!!

Cheers!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta- DA!
Oh, I see --! I forgot to look at the circled letters for the extra jolt. Thanks, HuskerG, for clarifying that goodie. I used to be a fan of AC/DC. Well, I guess I still am - except I haven't heard them in years...

JACK AND COKE, huh? I almost missed that while being stuck for a while on the wrong spelling of SACHA. I had JACK AND SOKE as a temporary fill, wondering if that was anything at all. I was ready to accept the craziest possibility, having in the back of my mind a memory of my first wife actually calling (more than once!) for "Courvoisier and Tang."

Misty, yep, P.E. is Phys. Ed. (I can't remember ever seeing the words spelled out, perhaps a sign of the coaches' own academic embarrassment.) I was never a fan of P.E., especially after I learned my Jr. High coach was dating the lovely science teacher who was my first crush in school. (Damn you, Mr. Gustafson!)

Hungry Mother said...

Easy one after filling in the theme circles. I also had "ort" for a short time. My wife and I binge-watched all NCIS seasons and are on Season 6 of NCIS LA on NetFlix DVDs. We have NCIS NOLA queued up behind. NCIS lost too many pretty faces for my taste.

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm, how do I find something funny in the tangle of currents?

Also, Irish Miss requested something Dog related....

However, it was the traffic light clue that confounded me the most...

PK, saw your post last night.
Thanks to all for the welcome back,
I will try my best to make your day as silly as possible...

But, must add some observations.
In San Francisco, could not see past Alcatraz due to all the smoke from fires.
In Sausalito, could not see San Fran, or Oakland... (had a nice lunch though.)
In Napa, Didn't care... It was 110 degrees, didn't notice the smoke,
and drank wine all day to keep warm...

AnonymousPVX said...

Fairly easy Wednesday with a theme you don't need to know to solve, always appreciated

Misty - anyone running a 30 year old refrigerator is making the power company rich. Do not fix. Replace.

Misty said...

Woohoo! Woohoo! My refrigerator is fixed. The repairman checked and found that the timer is still not working, even though the refrigerator was now working normally. So I did go ahead and get it replaced just to avoid hassles in the future. The timer has a five year warranty, so if I have a problem with it again in the next five years I will get it replaced for labor only.

Anonymous PVX, my repair technician says that older refrigerators are of much better quality than new ones. He says he's repaired several in the last few week, and four of them were less than three years old. So I'm sticking with the old guys. My dad has one in his basement that he uses for drinks only, and that he claims is fifty years old. Well, okay, maybe it's just because I'm "old" myself that I'm backing the old ones.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

At my school they lumped sex ed in with health + phys ed. We had two coaches, one for the teams and classes of each gender. Don't know about the girls coach, but when I gained a little experience in the subject matter I discovered that our boys coach / teacher knew precious little about the subject matter past the basic functions of the plumbing. I felt sorry for his wife. (Among his pearls of wisdom - no sex while pregnant.)

I can't imagine one person coaching basketball, tennis, golf, and track and field, in addition to teaching health/sex ed. The girl's coach didn't have a golf team, but she also coached the cheerleaders. On top of that, each coach had one or two student teachers to supervise all the time. We were too small for football, and NO ONE played soccer except the foreign students attending our co-located college. Lucky coach - he probably would have had to coach THOSE as well. Maybe he didn't have time for his family "homework".

Michael said...

Aha, El CED is back! Tilting at cakes again, no doubt.


Ol' Man Keith said...

Jinx @ 3:43,
I think most schools mingled sex ed with P.E., which makes perfect sense when you take physical seriously. I am trying to think why I never got it, though. It was supposed to be in junior high - just the right timing, at least for the boys. But why, oh why, didn't I get it?
As I think on it, I vaguely recall "sex hygiene" being announced for an upcoming semester. But then the teacher who was to do it went on sick leave. I guess nobody else on the faculty was qualified, so we went back to the usual drill of suiting up, running laps, playing some unfinished game, laps again, then showering & out.
By the time I was in HS (sexually uneducated, at least in a formal sense) I opted for R.O.T.C. over P.E., so my only exposure to the mystery topic was via a vintage Dept of War movie on the gruesome dangers of V.D.

Yu-uck. The punishments for incorrect sex were awful & vivid, and the problems with failing forms of protection (condoms break!) were emphasized. I really think that film was meant to discourage any kind of sex for the rest of our young lives.

It took a great deal of bravery and sheer will power to overcome the message of that movie.

Irish Miss said...

CED @ 1:44 ~ Thanks for the canine clip. However, I had something a little more cuddly in mind! 🐶
Misty @ 3:39 ~ Good news about your fridge! My brother had a refrigerator which just bit the dust after almost 65 years. I, OTOH, had a brand new GE top of the line conk out in two months. As Tin would say, go figure and as Jayce would say Sheesh! And just for good measure, as Bill G would say, Jeez. (OMG, I hope the blasphemy police aren't listening! 😈)

OMK @ 3:43 ~ Your last sentence wins "Tongue in cheek" Award for September!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

I'm early today because we are alternating work-from-home/office this week and next thanks to the after-traffic-math of Harvey.

A delightful Wednesday offering from Samuel with not a clue IN the WAY that perp or two wouldn't point the ARROW to. Thanks SAD.

Fun expo HG; liked the addition of the two POWER brothers. I gotta ask, is that Roman Numeral calc-pic from your desktop?

I almost made a fool's mistake... Thinking SA(S|C)HA @7d I almost went with Whiskey Sour @17a. While trying to figure out letter count, I thankfully saw the clue again 'cuz the count fit.

WOs: N/A
ESPs: ERIC, CLARET, every vowel in ORIOLE.
Fav: I liked the misdirection (just me?) of 'Good opponent'... I was thinking of my Brother in Chess or other formidable contestant before I EYE'd EVIL.

{B,A+ and welcome back CED; OKL said it better than I last night}

Lucina - I forgot to thank you for IDing my Cactus the other day. Thanks.

PK - LOL MISS ME story.

Misty - Keep that Fridge until manufactures at last stop making new ones WiFi enabled. Just what we need, someone hacking our CREAM.

SACHA's character, Ali G, would get VIPs to agree to an interview with the "Star" and then play super dumb. It's cringe-inducing humor [when funny] (not my fav)... Here's the best
Ali G I could find with him closest to "MR. CLEAN" oh, and some real estate developer.

Everyone stay safe from these A-ONE displays of destructive Nature!

Cheers, -T

TX Ms said...

Fun puzzle and great recap, HG. Chuckled at your pic of the arrow traffic light, Roman calculator (where did you find that?), and loved seeing the apse in St. Peter's. Wish I had gone to Italy when I had extra dinero for travel; instead I took eco-tours, which I don't regret. When emarler, showed up, I changed orts to bits. I too am terrified of heights - I'm such a wuss, I can't stand close to a window of an office building or watch mountaineering shows - now THAT'S bad!! And that footbridge over a gorge in China that was in the news a few months ago?!

Fav clue: Jack and C(s?)oke - drink of choice in my youth (never can remember the Cohen guy). Plus the recent c/w earworm, Reelin' in the Years. Fun, carefree time. Claret Jug? Per Dictionary.com: "The trophy, the Claret Jug, is made in the style of the jugs used in the nineteenth century to serve claret, a dry red wine produced in France’s famous Bordeaux region. The winner’s name is engraved on the jug, joining the names of previous champions. He is obliged to return the jug before the next tournament, and at that time, he is given a replica of the trophy."

Thanks to all the teachers out there "educating" me on current state school funding. I thought it was only a Texas problem, but it appears to be nationwide. Our legislature has again cut funding for 2017-18, putting, once again, more (if not most) of the funding on property owners, i.e., taxes! Times have changed, I guess, with parents contributing to keep classroom supplies in stock. Sad.

Montana, the images I see on TV are terrifying! I know you will stay safe; are any areas close to you being evacuated? Tin, et al.- please heed official warnings for your safety. My friend's family (her small Spring subdivision was an island among the flood waters), all living in Miami, are either taking shelter in a hotel (dunno how safe that is) or evacuating to parts of Florida with which I'm not familiar. Her report from early a.m., but hope to talk to her this evening.

Misty, your repairman is probably correct. My old non-efficient a/c unit continues, and the last time I had it serviced the tech said that newer units don't have the staying-power like the old ones. Considering the cost of a new unit (Bill-C, glad you're enjoying your investment in the cool), I'll just continue to pay the extra electricity charges.





Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Tony, I searched all over for a Roman Numeral calculator and that image is all I could find. Real? I doubt it. All I could find were “calculators” that were only convertors.
-We have a fridge in the garage we bought for a song twenty years ago and it keeps chugging along.
-A large school district near us needs more money (Wow! What a shock!) but wants to override a levy limit rather than eliminate some SACRED COW expenditures

Chairman Moe said...

I said I'd be back ...

I renewed my subscription to the Palm Beach Post, so today was the first day back solving puzzles since either May or June. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse

But who knew that my return - if just to check in and say "hi" - would be a mere 72 hours before Hurricane Irma might make landfall, here on the east coast of Florida, and do who knows how much damage ... we can only hope it's not too severe

Lots to share since I last posted; new job, new rental unit, new location in Florida; flying solo

After Irma passes I'll offer details; but today, tomorrow, and Friday morning will be spent preparing - and either driving way north, or hunkering down here

Empathy, impending (for the Harvey VICTIMS)

I got scores of limericks (and maybe a haiku or two) saved on my iPhone; Mom enjoyed them! The latest one I sent her was a sort of "shout out" to my daughter, but in reading it now, seems somewhat coincidental to what our coastline might be if the storm continues as a CAT 4-5 ...

Music critic was known to bedevil
The bassoonist, who always would revel
In adorning wet suit
So as not to refute
That her notes all fall under "C" level

Stay safe, Florida

C Moe


Lucina said...

Gary, I forgot to thank you for your really fine expo today and excellent graphics which you always provide.

All of you are in fine fettle today. I can't recall laughing so much at your posts. OMK, I agree, yours takes top honors. One of my nieces is married to a Gustafson but I'm sure there is no relation there to your coach.

CrossEyedDave said...

Irish Miss,

you requested a warm and cuddly power couple?

But, you know I couldn't stop there...

You have to understand all this cuteness might cause an overload...

CrossEyedDave said...

Luckily, there is a solution to this overheated pair...

Tinbeni might not agree...

But, I have to go with what works for me...

CrossEyedDave said...

Of course, when you make a request of CED, you always get more than you asked for...

Although, all this posting is making me tired...

Goodnight...

PK said...

Misty, you are lucky if you can find a tech that can actually find what is wrong and fix things like your refrigerator. Remember too he is probably going to tell you whatever will make him money. Don't make a fridge a SACRED COW just because it was your husband's. I had a Mr. Fixit husband and since he died and my fixit son is too busy, I buy new without a qualm even though I agree they don't make 'em like they used to. I hate my new washer, but it doesn't leak all over the floor like the old one.

Welcome back, Moe. May your days be brighter and not blown away.

Are there more disasters these days, or just more widespread reporting? I can't watch the news while I eat anymore.

I have a niece with two toddlers in the Orlando area and a niece and nephew closer to Pensicola on the gulf side. Trying not to worry like I did last week over my granddaughter in NOLA. Too exhausting and useless.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

PK - Irma isn't hype. NOAA says its the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. Its power is said to be twice that of all the bombs dropped in WWII.

Moe, welcome back. Be safe and careful.

Spitzboov said...

Misty, if you've got an older fridge that's working well and needs few repair 'visits', stick with it.
We bought a new well known brand 18 mos. ago, and have had two warranty calls so far. It seems the new ones are very energy efficient, but remove heat slowly. When starting a new refrigerator, they expect you to give it 48 hours to get to a steady state cold. Our immediate problem was inadequate defrost capacity. We have to watch it when closing the upper doors; if too quickly, it blows open the freezer compartment. One more thing to always check. The electric energy savings on a new unit probably will not justify a new unit by themselves.

Anonymous said...

What a fun puzzle to take my mind off the natural disasters occurring now. Thank you, S.A.D. Thanks for the write-up and links, H-G.

Hand up for SAsHA/SACHA, and orts/BITS, most everything else went smoothly.

Irish Miss, if I could link my own videos, I'd have some canine love for you. (My shelter videos are public on my Facebook page.)


I hope everyone is safe. Mother Nature is being a b***h right now.

CrossEyedDave said...

Last post: (tonight)

I would be a hypocrite if I did not welcome back Chairman Moe!

Welcome back Chairman Moe!

But of course, I would have to add some silliness to it...

Irish Miss said...

CED ~ Thank you for providing me with such warm and fuzzy pictures. You brought a smile to my face and a few tee hees, as well. You also reminded me of how much I've missed your humorous and silly antics! You're the Cat's Meow!

Chairman Moe, a big welcome back and stay safe!

Pat, how do I check out your Facebook videos?

TX Ms, I share your acrophobia. Don't even mention that China footbridge!

Chairman Moe said...

Thanks Dave; I'd say I'm the cat's meow but I'm not THAT old! 😜

Chairman Moe said...

Thanks Agnes; I'll try - but we all know we can't fool Mother Nature. I traded snow for wind and rain when I moved permanently to Florida. Gonna soon see if that was a smart choice ...

PK said...

Hand up for acrophobia. I have often chosen my driving routes from the one with fewer elevated highways or bridges. I've even gone miles out of my way to do so. But mine comes and goes somewhat depending on what other scary things are going on in my life. And I'm known as a tough dame. If they only knew.

Jinx: I don't think the Irma reports are hype. That's why I can't watch them while I eat.

TX Ms said...

CED @ 7:11, etc., that's more like it! Last pic - awwwhh! Though equal time to the canine lovers here? :-)

Anonymous T said...

HG - I found the Roman Numeral Calculator on SourceForge. I won't link because who knows if it's safe (abandoned since '13) and, yech, what a cesspool of adverts SourceForge has become.

Welcome back C.Moe. A Cat5 is a big-bite to take to see if you prefer wind&rain over snow. You shoulda started with a nice Cat2.

On linking... Real easy. Type:

<a href="http://www.ou.edu"> OU shows up in blue</a>

To get this:
OU shows up in blue

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

PK, TX Ms: @115ft, the Katy / Belt (I10W and Beltway8/WestSam) exchange is 2nd tallest in US. Take an 8 min tour.

[a) Turn down your speakers
b) note: South of 10 right now is underwater and you can't get from 8 to 10 [who can name that Album? Tawnya?]
c) @6:40 is my fav of that exchange - I'd take it on my way to BP
d) be a native and ignore the speed-"suggestions"]

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Oops, I just looked it up, so stop thinking so hard Tawnya - my bad. The album is 10 from 6 by Bad Company... Speaking of, you can't get to 6 south of I-10 either - it's also under water for the next week or so. -T

PK said...

Tony: you are sadistic! No way, I'd drive on that. I did ride a bus on it in 2002 in rush hour traffic.

Michael said...

Ah, Cornerphobics, listening to all this discussion about Irma the Impending makes me happy to be in California ... yes, there are drawbacks to living here, but it's always Cat 0.

Wilbur Charles said...

Welcome back Chairman Moe. I'm on the west coast. I just got up so I don't know the latest track on Irma.

I'll look forward to your l'icks and haikus.

From Tuesday's xword:. BB from LIL ABNER was Boyless Bailey. I'm not making that up.

The "Dwimmerlaik" as in BEGONE Foul.. was the King of the Nazgul. Eowyn and Merry fought it. I'll try linking it.

Dwimmerlaik

WC.

Wilbur Charles said...

Well, no luck. No blue. No connect. Perhaps it's my Android or my WiFi

I'll try again later

WC

Picard said...

Fun puzzle! Got the theme and filled in the circles quickly. Impressed that even with so much filled in quickly it was still enjoyable to solve the rest!

Michael, yes, we are fortunate to have fewer of these weather problems in California. But not zero.

We had a "microburst" on Sunday that severely injured a teen girl who was flown to Los Angeles for brain surgery. It also destroyed quite a few cars and people had to be rescued from the ocean. Here http://www.independent.com/news/2017/sep/05/teen-severely-injured-microburst/ is one story.

The severity of the fires in Montana and Oregon and the severity of these weather events is no coincidence. They have a common cause and I have not yet heard any corporate media outlets mention that unmentionable cause. Sad to say that this denial means that we can expect these events to get much worse going forward.