Greetings from the Great Plains on my lovely wife's birthday! I think it's her twin sister's as well. 😜
This is not a meatless Friday but it is "Lemonless" again with me, Husker Gary, serving as his, uh, boy Friday again.
Having a Jeff Wex on Friday is a true delight and his fun puzzle uses terminology one might hear in this star-studded Beauty Shop (How many can you name? - Answer below the grid) scene in Steel Magnolias.
In each "themer" Jeff has employed a cosmetology term that also serves as a word in a common two or three-word phrase. I hope I am granted some leeway considering my lack of expertise in this area. Here are Jeff's theme entries:
17. Cosmetologist's choices at happy hour? : BLUSH WINES
 |
| Applying BLUSH on a wan cheek and several Rose' or BLUSH WINEs |
29. Cosmetologist's preferred vacation venue? : OCEAN LINER
 |
| 7 Seas Explorer OCEAN LINER and LINER that accents some lovely eyes |
34. Cosmetologist's expression for hastily exiting? : TAKE A POWDER
 |
| Please leave while he and I talk or what a difference POWDER makes |
41. Cosmetologist's favorite capital? : BATON ROUGE
 |
| The city named for a red stick or my childhood memory of ROUGE on a character |
 |
| Alternating Matte and GLOSS wall covering and GLOSSY and Matte Lipstick |
Now let's see the beauty of the remainder of Jeff's Friday clues:
Across
1. Bills, say : CASH - Like many other areas of our lives, even Monopoly® is going CASHLESS
5. Alfredo may be associated with it : PASTA
10. Ways of viewing the world : ISMS
14. First name in folk : ARLO
15. Yale of Yale fame : ELIHU - A former slave trader who endowed a New Haven school with enough money to get the school name changed to his. Can protests be far behind?
16. "Fillet of a fenny snake / In the cauldron __ and bake": "Macbeth" : BOIL - Okay, Steve, what wine would you suggest with this concoction? Like C.C., I missed him yesterday and hope he is okay.
19. Local govt. bond : MUNI - They've been used for many projects
20. Inspired : LED TO - The learned group who participate here certainly know to what event this was a precursor
21. RR stop : STA
23. Janitor's tool, briefly : VAC - We had the kids put their chairs up on the table to accommodate the custodians VAC job
24. Marx collaborator : ENGELS - Together they authored a little page-turner called The Communist Manifesto
26. Collapse, with "over" : KEEL - Don't lock your knees too long especially in front of the boss.
27. Previous to, poetically : ERE
28. Nursery supply : SEED - These catalogs and spring training are harbingers of spring
32. "Art is __ that makes us realize truth": Picasso : A LIE
33. Knots and yards : UNITS
38. "Just like me" : AS AM I
40. Shrek, e.g. : OGRE
44. Take shots of : FILM - With FILM, we had to wait a week to see how lousy our shots were
48. Mark on the Oregon Trail : RUT - Some are here in Nebraska.
49. Like crab apples : TART - C.C. and Jayce have put me onto a regimen of TART cherry juice for some issues I am having. "I'll get by with a little from my friends"
50. Leonine savior's domain : NARNIA - The savior of NARNIA is Aslan who takes the form of a lion
52. Enzyme suffix : ASE - AmylASE, cellulASE, lactASE, ...
52. Enzyme suffix : ASE - AmylASE, cellulASE, lactASE, ...
53. Romantic ideal, with "the" : ONE
54. Dieter's breakfast : MELON
55. "__ Trigger": Bugs Bunny cartoon : HARE - Yeah, I think I could have figured out the star of this cartoon!
55. "__ Trigger": Bugs Bunny cartoon : HARE - Yeah, I think I could have figured out the star of this cartoon!
61. Like much cheese : AGED
62. Final ordeal, perhaps : ESSAY - A true pen-to-paper ordeal for me!
63. Low joint : KNEE
64. Rx contents : MEDS
65. Does another tour : REUPS
66. Attention-getter : YELL - A YELL leader at Andover who was a future POTUS
Down
1. Brooklyn Bridge array : CABLES - The contrast of the comparatively light CABLES with the massive towers remains a very striking visual
2. Garfield's girlfriend : ARLENE - You're either a comic aficionado or you're not
3. Oozy stuff : SLUDGE - Not good when this is your motor oil
4. Threw a party : HOSTED
5. Place to pray : PEW
6. Memorable fighter : ALI
7. Pride, for example : SIN
8. Annabel Lee's kingdom was by it : THE SEA - This woman had the first verse of Poe's poem tattooed on her back to honor her grandmother Annabel Lee
9. Writer who created the Dashwood sisters : AUSTEN - From Sense and Sensibility
10. Watson's home : IBM
11. Snow globe, perhaps : SOUVENIR
12. Muezzin's tower : MINARET where neither 18. Dec. 25 or Jan. 1 : HOL are observed
13. Deli equipment : SLICERS
22. Intimate, with "to" : ALLUDE - To whom did Carly Simon ALLUDE in You're So Vain: Warren Beatty, James Taylor or Mick Jagger?
25. Food fish : SOLE
26. "Private property" sign warning : KEEP OUT with maybe 43. Threatening phrase : OR ELSE
30. Mike Pompeo's org. : CIA - Its current director
31. Having four sharps : IN E - A great Ray Charles tune IN E
32. A lot like : AKIN TO
34. Like neglected clothing : TATTERED - The House That Jack Built featured this line: "This is the man all TATTERED and torn, who kissed the maiden all forlorn"
35. Latin lover's word : AMO
35. Latin lover's word : AMO
36. Steven of "The Walking Dead" : OGG - If Jeff says so
37. Small songbird : WREN
38. Biblical patriarch : ABRAHAM
39. Breakfast side : SAUSAGE - A distant second to bacon here!
42. National park figure : RANGER
44. Weird : FREAKY
45. How theme park visitors often stand : IN LINE (the queue) - Here are some IN LINE at Space Mountain at the 60-minute wait point
46. Long time maker of O gauge track : LIONEL - I'm sure my brother and I got a better Christmas present than this but none come to mind.
47. Place for trophies : MANTEL
47. Place for trophies : MANTEL
51. Rock concert sight : AMP
56. Newspaper VIPs : EDS
58. Buckeyes' sch. : OSU - They received a huge slice of humble pie playing Iowa last weekend
59. Sucker : SAP - Here's a combination of these words
 |
| A Yellow-bellied SAP SUCKER (in the woodpecker genus) |
60. Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYS
DA GRID:
DA GRID:
STEEL MAGNOLIAS ANSWER
Feel free to MAKEUP any comments that you feel are necessary
Note from C.C.:
Happy birthday to Husker Gary's wife Joann & her twin sister! I stole this picture from Gary's Facebook when they attended a going away party for their niece Emma. I've met Joann and have had a few email exchanges with her over the years. She's always so thoughtful and warm. I'll never forget her strength during Gary's hospital stay.
49 comments:
There was a rude rube from BATON ROUGE,
Declared that he was really a dude!
Tho his clothes were TATTERED,
Style was what mattered,
He said that "distressed" was to what they'd ALLUDE!
Once I made a FREAKY snow globe, as a SOUVENIR!
I used colored farfalle, which you may think queer!
But now PASTA butterflies
Replace the snowy skies,
And I've a bit of summer on my MANTLE all the year!
{B, B+.}
Steel Magnolias was definitely a 'chick flick' but I know Dolly & Julia were in it. As for Wechsler's puzzle it definitely easier than most, especially for a Friday. I had never heard of Steven OGG or HARE Trigger. both filled by perps and I had to think a little before ISMS made the grid but IBM was a gimme.
The clue for BLUSH WINES basically gave away the puzzle's long fills. BATON ROUGE- where our local crooks, I mean legislators, meet. That's not A LIE. Somehow they seem retire rich.
ENGELS- on the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Many thanks from the relatives of 100+ million who died due to forced labor, starvation, execution...etc, thanks to Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh, Tito, & Castro. Check the figures, because that is not something I would MAKE UP.
Good morning!
After changing my MOP for a VAC (failed to read the "briefly"), SHAD for SOLE and ARCANE for FREAKY, it all fell into place. Thanx, JeffWex and Husker.
Interesting misdirection with INTIMATE and INSPIRED this morning.
I had nightmares that I'd REUPped for decades. I'd wake up screaming, "No!" This past year I donated my last piece of uniform clothing, the peacoat, to Goodwill.
Happy birthday to Joann.
FIW. Trouble started when I wanted GLOSS PrINT and didn't know "Leonine savior's domain". That left me with F_ErKY, so thinking it was a Jeffrey Special Natick I WAGed FiErKY. Nope. No Natick.
Erased STn for STA, AnE for ASE, and Rea for OGG.
Favorites were IBM for "Watson's home" and HARE Trigger. I'm into old toons.
From last night: Anon T and Lucinda - the K Roger comment was probably easier to "get" because I heard it, I didn't read it. It still took a couple of beats to register.
Thanks Jeffrey. I always enjoy your puzzles, even in the rare case when I get them right. And thanks to Gary for filling in. Happy birthday to your BH and SIL.
College basketball's regular season starts tonight. My Wildcats play Utah Valley at home. Coach Cal is more worried about this team than he has ever been since he came to UK. We go to Kansas next week so we'll see what kind of a team we really have.
Good Morning:
For some reason, I struggled with this which is unusual for me with a JW puzzle. I was stymied by some of the cluing, e.g., Bills=Cash, Ways of looking at the world=Isms, etc. Easy once you get them but not so easy beforehand. Never heard of Ogg, so that was a holdup and who knew (Not I) that Garfield had a girlfriend, much less her name? I'll blame my failure to catch onto the theme earlier than I did on solving (trying to!) in the wee hours of the morning. Once I deciphered the theme, (after a good night's sleep) I sped right through the rest.
Thanks, Jeffrey W, for an unusually difficult (for me) but ultimately doable Friday and thanks, HG, for your always impressive summary and visuals. Your attention to detail is much appreciated!
Happy Birthday, Joann, I hope it's a special day for you and your sis! 🎂🎉🎁🎈🍾
Have a great day.
Brrr! Temps dropped. Good morning. Thank you Jeffrey and Gary and HBD to Joanne and her sister.
Well, there were some answers I wasn't quite sure of (ARLENE), and others that were unknown (OGG), but the theme answers were easy and perps saved the day. Almost. One bad cell. AUSTiN with an I. Great Texas town BTW.
I'd have to say the clues were tougher than the answers. Dashwood ? Annabelle Lee ? Muezzin ? None in my wheelhouse, but the perps made the answers sussable or swaggable.
Yeah. Iowa took OSU to the woodshed last weekend, and whipped 'em good. Never saw that coming, but there are some pretty good Big 10 teams. Now I kinda wish Penn St had beaten OSU. Unbeaten Wisconsin gets little respect. Those Iowas Hawkeyes travel to Camp Randall tomorrow. I'll be tuned in.
I accidentally clicked on Firefox instead of Chrome. I wasn’t registered there and lost my post AGAIN!
At first BLUSH, literally, with in five seconds I had the theme. Nice one, Jeff. Thanks for filling in Gary with your always wonderful expos.
Happy birthday to Joann and twin. (I wish I knew her name.) I admire the way you support Gary in all his health challenges.
Fortunately OGG filled itself. I had no idea. Shad before Sole. Sour before Tart.
Crab Apple, CSO to the snarky anons. I do appreciate the friendly anons.
I was thinking INtimate (close), not intimATE (hint at). It took a while to see how ALLUDE fit.
Today business is becoming paperless as well as CASHless. Estimates and receipts are by smart phone. There is no paper and I have to specifically ask to have them emailed to me. Then I need to go home to see them on my computer. In addition to the cost, I dread the learning curve of a new device.
The buses that bring many clients to Alans’ workshop are not running today due to the holiday. Alan does not want to go either, but he misses so much work I would like him to attend. Of course, he is complaining of being ill. Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t. Because this has been a hoax before I am sending him in anyway. I feel heartless. What if he is really ill? I am hoping to get a lot accomplished today, if I do not have to go back to pick him up early.
Good morning everyone.
Happy Birthday to Gary's wife and his twin sister-in-law. Great reason to HOST a party. Thanks Gary for providing yeoman duty in leading us into today's opus.
Jeff did not disappoint, but eventually his cw was solved without searches. Only white-out was I had bond before MUNI. Also considered 'shake' (and bake) before BOIL was provided by the downs. TAKE A POWDER was my 2nd theme fill and the rest came easily after that. Favorite was OCEAN LINER with BATON ROUGE a close 2nd.
RE-UP - In the Navy they 'ship over'.
SOLE - We had SOLE for dinner last night. Good as always.
KNEE - German Knie, L. German KNEE. The K is pronounced; the 'ee' has the sound of 'a' as in able.
Great Friday CW. Thanks JW and HuskerG.
I am short on time this morning and had to turn on the red letters to complete the NE.
Smiled at TAKE A POWDER and rest of theme.
We don't need a SNOW Globe here today as we have our own snow on the ground. Brr!
Back later maybe.
Enjoy the day.
HBD to Joann and twin.
Went pretty well for a Friday puzzle.
Had issues with NE corner. Did'nt see ISMS coming even after complete. And I always misspell SOUVENIR.
Got HARE trigger fast.
Thanks all!
I'm not sure what's a bigger accomplishment for me: finishing a Friday puzzle in under 10:30, or finishing a Wechsler.
Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler for a fun challenge and Gary for great visuals and interesting commentary.
You know this AUSTEN fan would know the Dashwoods. However, OGG is a complete unknown as is HARE Trigger but both were easily sussed. The NE took a while to crack but once ISMS emerged, the rest fell in. ARLENE doesn't appear too often in Garfield, but I knew of her.
It was the SE that gave me fits. First, I had GLOSSPAPER. Wrong! Knew it had to be KNEE but PSST wanted in there. Finally, I erased the entire corner and restarted. FREAKY then occurred to me and I recalled LIONEL from long ago and NARNIA. That clue was really obscure.
So it all took longer than it should have but I finished a Friday, JW!
Happy birthday to Joann and her sister! It sounds like a party is in the works.
Jinx:
That was the holdup. Once I said it aloud, I laughed.
Have a happy day, everyone! Time to cook the meat for tamales.
Hi Y'all! Fun theme, Jeffrey! Easier than usual Friday for me. JW is certainly prolific lately.
Thanks Gary, always a pleasure to have you onboard. However, I hope life has not soured the health of our sweet Lemonade's again. Happy birthday to Joann & twin. Gary speaks so warmly of you, Joann, I feel like we know you.
ISMS & LED were ESP with those clues. Final ordeal = ESSAY filled in and left me saying, "Hunh?" until it dawned on me. Been many years since I took a final exam. "Funeral" didn't fit.
Like YR, "intimate" conjured up a meaning other that allude. Got ALL & tried "sex" which turned red, appropriately.
Didn't see OGG or IBM clues at all until coming here.
I'm shocked by the TATTERED jeans I see on TV celebrities. You know they didn't do a darn thing to wear them out. I slapped patches on pants that looked like that from honest sweaty work. LOL!
No grass showing in my yard for all the golden leaves. Called my yardman and left a message two days ago. I've been getting up early since so I'd be up when he came. No sign of him. 29 degrees out. Maybe he's staying in the warmth. Cloudy and looks like it could snow if it warms up a skosh.
Oops, changed the wording and forgot to delete the 's on Lemonade.
Really fun puzzle today. Thanks, JW, for the entertainment.
HG, a great stand-in for Lemonade! Your visuals are always many and great! Thank you also for the entertainment!
I was so excited this morning because I thought I had gotten a Friday Jeffrey Wechsler perfectly without a single cheat. Darn! Discovered that I had GLASS PAINT instead of GLOSS PAINT because I had ASU instead of OSU for the Buckeyes school. Darn! I should have remembered that it would be Ohio. Still, it's great to get this close, and the puzzle was a lot of fun with its cosmetic theme, Jeffrey--many thanks!
Great pictures and write-up, Husker Gary, and happy birthday, Joann and sister!
Yellowrocks, hope Alan will have an okay day.
Busy day with a friend coming for lunch. Thank goodness for Chinese take-out delivery.
Have a great day, everybody!
Happy Birthday to Joann, and greetings to all!
It's a stellar day when I can complete a Jeff W. puzzle without help as I did today. Woohoo! I cottoned on to the theme right away which really helped with the solve. Loved the Picasso quote at 32A. Thanks for a fine puzzle, Jeff, and thank you Gary for the thorough expo and pics, as well as for jumping in and taking on another extra blog duty.
Enjoy the day!
Happy birthday to Husker Gary's wife and sister-in-law. Thanks for filling in.
Jeffrey Weschler sometimes scares me, but this was fairly smooth and it was a fun and clever theme! No changed spellings, just changed usage. Cool.
Here I am with the CABLES of the BROOKLYN BRIDGE behind me
My father grew up in New York and he gave me a special appreciation of this beautiful work of art and engineering.
Unknowns: DASHWOOD SISTERS, OGG (just looked wrong!), MUEZZIN. Only know NARNIA from these puzzles. I have taken enough music theory classes that IN E did not have to be a WAG.
Count me as a GARFIELD fan! Not sure if IBM's WATSON in the clue was meant as the original WATSON or the new AI version.
Thank you, PK and AnonymousT, for the very kind words about my Yosemite photos yesterday. We were there last August 2016. The last time I was there was when I was a UC Berkeley student back in 1978! Yes, the perch we were on at Glacier Point is a bit precarious. But not nearly as precarious as being on Half Dome behind us!
Picard:
You are certainly photogenic! Thank you for sharing that lovely close up of the Brooklyn Bridge. Those feats of engineering just awe me! Being short of time yesterday I didn't check out your pics, but I'll go back while the meat is simmering.
PK:
LOL at your "funeral" quip.
Those are wonderful photos of Yosemite, Picard. The one of Bridal Veil looks like you could touch it and feel the mist! Your partner is cute, too.
Am I catching on to Jeffrey's deviousness or was this one really easier? In any case, it was great fun! Loved the theme answers. TAKE A POWDER was my favorite although BATON ROUGE was a gimme.
Ways of Viewing the World held me up forever . So clever! And thought- provoking. Yes, I guess that's what ISMS really are... Ways of viewing the world.
The clue for NARNIA was poetry! I spent way too much time trying to figure out who had saved a lion. Oh. THAT Savior!
TTP you are so right. The clues are much harder than the answers. That's JWs special talent, deviousness, and gift to us all.
Thanks Gary for filling in with such skill. HBD to Joann and her sister.
A real Friday Beaut, from Mr. Wechsler!
Ta- DA!
This is the kind of late-week pzl I've come to admire - intimidating at first but yielding to steady pressure, to perps plus P+P.
I find I am getting much better at sussing likely letters in otherwise unknown words, such as "s" or "d" endings to plural or past-tense clues, and other probable linked letters in such formations as "ing," "age," "ion," etc.
I'm sure these are all familiar to code-breakers and Wheel of Fortune players, but they are a rewarding part of my cruciverbal education.
The only gimmes for me in today's pzl were ELIHU, BOIL, ENGELS, and THE SEA. I had to work for all the others.
Gotta admit to accepting help from my wife for OGG. Years ago, she lured me into watching The Walking Dead, but she is still the No. 1 zombie fan in our home.
I found the show 75% watchable when we binge-watched the early episodes and I discovered that the zombie portion was just a lurid place-holder for any existential threat to our species. The "dead" of the title are a Hitchcockian MacGuffin, while the real focus is on the moral issues facing the protagonists.
Over the years I have grown tired of the many, many showdowns between the many, many characters. They have truly interesting back-stories, but when they meet head to head it is always the same: long, drawn-out dialogs with insufferable pauses between the lines.
("Whyncha shoot, already!?")
Misty, I think you're entitled to a Ta- DA! for today's pzl if it's only the "O" that's missing from OSU, and in your heart you know you would've changed it with another moment of reflection.
I appreciate your honesty, but I'd allow myself that much.
(Ahem. Not that I did today, mind you...)
Flame on. A couple days ago I talked about the new garbage service company in our town. I don't want to mention any names...ok, it's Republic waste...who used to handle our trash. I received a bill from them for November-thru-January, but figured that since their contract had expired that I didn't need to pay it. To be certain, I went to their website and turned off "autopay" and removed my bank account payment information. Guess who drafted my checking account this morning. Yup! Guess who got an earful from yours truly. Yup! I should see the credit within three business days. Flame off.
On a cheerier note, today I was successful installing an after-market back-up camera in my pickup. As Misty would say, "Woohoo!"
Congratulations, Ol'Man Keith, and thank you for your very kind allowance on my puzzle goof-up. Really appreciated it. And thank you, Desper-otto, for crediting my Woohoo? Wonder if I learned that somewhere, or if I made it up. That's what happens to memory when you--ahem--age.
OwenKL, from yesterday ...
I enjoyed your hypochondria line. I think the greatest danger to those so afflicted must be from hollering "Wolf!" so often and then contracting acute Wolf-itis.
Your draft status reminds me of how the stars lined up to eventually keep me out of Vietnam. After my AFROTC years, my "flirtation" with a military career, I became a serious conscientious objector. I mean I was truly serious about it.
I learned how difficult it was to make the case to the SS system.
I reported as ordered to take my draft exams. At the end of a long day, some of us were herded into a separate room and told we had passed - and could expect to be called up in about a month.
I raised my hand and (gulp) asked about applying for CO status. I was told to stay behind when the others were dismissed. Two trench-coated gentlemen entered the room, flanked me, then walked me into a smaller office where they began to quiz me on the reasons for my convictions, my religious background, and warned me of the jail term probably awaiting me.
I was then told to report to the local SS board office to fill out a formal application. When I showed up I noticed that the all-female clerical staff seemed to be of the age-range suitable for Gold-Star mothers. I detected sneers of disdain, confirmed in the manner with which my maternal clerk slammed the paper and pencil down in front of me.
I was informed how many months it would take to process my "case." By then I could foresee years of lonely suspense ahead of me.
Fortunately, I had simultaneously applied to my grad school's office for assisting students vis-a-vis the Selective Service System. It was they who spotted the one thing that saved Ol' Man Keith from the draft: a typo on my draft notice!
My selective service number had been mis-typed.
Our grand federal bureaucracy had mistakenly entered one wrong digit.
I rec'd a copy of the letter sent by the school office to my draft board in which they pointed out that the board may have drafted someone,
but not Ol' Man Keith...
I enjoy the irony of my tale, but am not particularly proud of not serving my country. I am still against compulsory military service, but I have grown more and more in favor of some kind of obligatory service for all able youth - without the various loopholes that changed year by year during the Vietnam era.
Sorry if this is too "political." Just my two cents.
Hi All!
Whoot! I got a JW even though I didn't get all of it. Thanks HG for parsing INE!
As the pennies began to drop I liked this grid more and more... First theme fill was GLOSS PAINT that helped finish off BATTON ROUGE and TAKE A POWDER. I was expecting word play in the ans. not normal phrases.
The NE was last to fall. All I had was SLICERS, MUNI, and ERE. Was it Sherlock's Watson, Thomas /w Mr. A.G. Bell?, or a character that lived in an ELM?... It wasn't until BOIL dawned on me that I could (almost) finish the corner [D'Oh! IBM's Watson - V-8]. The N in UNITS was my last box ink'd.
TTP - you nailed it - the clues were HARDer than the Ans.
WOs: I was sure IN E was going to Maj. or Min. So the M sat there lonely until the Cosmetologist vacationed on a LINER -- that LED TO me considering non-musical meaning of sharps (knives? Exactly 4? Japanese Chef? ITO? - oh, the rabbit-hole I can go down...)
SOUV(ie?)N(ei?)R further held up that corner.
ESPs: ASE, ENGELS, the HU in Yale's ELI, OGG. I was certain we had OGG recently but I checked the archives - only fOGG (Phileas) came up.
Fav: HARE Trigger. Like Jinx, I can sit & watch old TOONs all day if you let me.
Runners-up: LIONEL - boy did I love playing w/ model anything and ARLO; he got this solve going.
{A, A+}
PK - cut yourself a little slack. Com'on, Alan may have had it in his head "I don't have to go in" and made other plans... Then the thought of going in harshed his mellow. The other day I thought we got today (11/11 (observed)) off and made plans for playing with the new DDE vulnerability.* What a drag to actually Work!.
Spitz - I feel like I'm slowly learning German. Thanks again.
Misty - OMK's right... If you really knew it, it counts :-)
D-O: Wait, they drafted from your bank after you deleted the account info? I'd call them back and insist they provide proof that your bank info is DELETED from their system. You don't need them hacked and think you're not affected only to find out they didn't erase your banking info. #Wankers
Thanks again JW for a swell puzzle and HG for a fine review. HG, please extend my HBD wishes to Joann & SIL.
And, and HBD to all the Corner's Marines! SEMPER FI and Salute!
Cheers, -T
* /nerd-on: So, M$'s OLE/DDE has yet another "feature." I can send you a meeting invite and, assuming I fool you just enough to click OK 2x, run any process on your computer or from my code planted on the Interwebz. Oh, joy! A buddy already has a proof-of-concept developed and I want to obfuscate it to make it 'deadly' (in a nice way). I expect the vuln to be weaponized within the next 10 days by RansomeWarezers. //nerd-off. #BeCarefulOutThere
Posted b/f refreshing (again) says...
OMK - I can appreciate your CO hesitations (esp. in that era - Pop got an 11th-hour AF Guard enlistment when his number came up; his boss-man had a "connection"). That's why when I signed up (to pay for college - Army) I picked something medical (Lab Tech - MOS: 92B). I didn't hurt it came w/ the highest sign-on bonus :-)
When bestowed with an EE degree, I turned down jobs that I figured would lead to / @companies that made weapon systems (a la Real Genius [Trailer-2m]). That's not for me - I wanted to create not destroy. Ironically, I went to work for the DOD. [I was in a Wing that designed/installed networks for AFBs around the globe and they paid for grad-school :-)]
I do CyberSec 'cuz I still get the kick of learning cool tricks/new things, being evil (in a nice way), AND taking down/stopping the "bad" guys.
I do believe we should have a certain "Public Service" conscription... I can see Big E. getting un-E (considering @6:27a) right now - I'm not going there... What I mean is there's something about working / suffering as a UNIT that brings understanding, folks years later working together, and at least listening to other points of view. Not sure how'd it work but Israel seems to do it OK.
That said, I'm still proud I, and all male members of my family, served one way or another; as did DW's.
Peace, -T
Picard: Would you be so kind as to tell us what kind of camera & lenses you are using. Your depth of field is amazing.
Anon -T @ 1542. Thanks for the comment. I hope I'm not wearing on anyone when I throw in these reflections on etymology.
English is a Germanic language as we all know. The roots stem from the old Anglo-Saxons who came from the same homeland across the North Sea as my immediate forbears. In 1400 years or so the languages will obviously diverge. I think the 2 sides might have had a bit of cultural remixing during the Hanseatic League period of the late Middle Ages whose Lingua Franca was an older form of Plattdeutch or Low German. London was an important trading point in that association.
I just happened to have a special perch, growing up, where I could see similarities between the two evolutions and it always intrigued me.
Yay, a Jeffrey Wechsler Friday puzzle! Loved it. Got it all done without needing to look anything up. Never heard of Steven OGG but it filled from the acrosses. I didn't even see EDS and RUT at all until reading Gary's terrific write-up. Loved the use of "intimate" as a verb. Wanted FETTUCCINE Alfredo, of course, but obviously it didn't fit. Ah, generic PASTA. I had just the tiniest nose-wrinkle at KEEL, as I consider keeling over to be more like toppling than collapsing.
Finally I got that K-Roger joke today! Lucina may be slow but I was slower.
Picard, my ears (eyes) are perked up in anticipation of your answer to PK's question.
Best wishes to you all.
Spitzboov, I very much enjoy your explanations of German words. I'm impressed with your fluency in both High and Low German, and it seems you're pretty familiar with Dutch, too. I'm thinking you spoke German at home when you were a kid.
Jayce - I heard a lot of it as a kid, but once we were in school, we spoke mostly English to our parents. Wish now that we might have been encouraged to speak and write more German. Another complication is that even my parents would write in standard German since L. German had ceased to have a standardized orthography.
Picard, I am enjoying your wondrous photographic skills. I especially enjoyed the Yosemite series.
I unpinned Fire Fox. It is buggy anyway. Now I won't err in that regard. Many other ways to err, though.
I wonder whether take a powder was the theme entry.
I guessed correctly. Alan worked his full hours and came home happy. He has mild stomach complaints almost every day. They abate after a while. We cannot find out the reason. I said this morning that if he is too sick to work today he is too sick to go anywhere this afternoon or tomorrow. Meanie Mom.
If it is TMI please skip the remainder of this.
Anon T, I would agree, were there not so many other issues. When Alan stays home he lies in bed and watches T V and videos all day. Unhealthy couch potato inactivity. Alan misses 50% of his work days, often for being justly ill. How long will that be acceptable at the workshop? If he loses this position which supplies Medicaid under the working poor protocol he will need to reapply under a new protocol. He will not be grandfathered and in toady's climate might not be accepted. His medical and prescription bills are prohibitive. We would be sunk financially if he loses Medicaid. Also, Alan is so inarticulate that it is difficult for doctors (and me) to understand his needs. Obfuscation only adds another layer of confusion. How can the doctor prescribe without knowing the true situation?
Then there is hypochondria. As we age we need to accept the "new normal." Our bodies do not function like a 20 year old's body. I can't let Alan believe that he is too sick to function because he has somewhat normal complaints.
Yay! This time I called it!
Sorry for letting off steam.
Tonight we are looking at temps in the teens. Amazingly many trees still have leaves this late in the season. Most are not very bright, but the cold nights have led a few individual trees to put on a spectacular show of brilliant red or orange. Such wacky weather. Not long ago we had an unseasonable 80 degrees.
Greetings!
Thanks to JW and Gary!
Wow, a JW without pain. Went very fast. Did not know: ARLENE or OGG. Theme great!!
Word Solitaire was easy today. Tied for first in less than 40 minutes. (Yesterday could not get past second wasting oodles of time!)
Gary: say "hbd" to Johann and twin! (How cool to have a twin sister!)
Bye for now!
Man oh man, I had made myself a note, "Don't forget to wish Joann a happy birthday." So what did I do? Forget to wish Joann a happy birthday. Best wishes for a happy birthday, Joann!
A straightforward Friday solve for me, it went quicker than expected. This can only mean tomorrow will be tough.
Another themed puzzle that doesn’t need the theme to solve, always appreciated.
Thank you, AnonT.
Spitzboov, thank you for your German lessons. I enjoy them but I think some of us have been remiss in not showing out appreciation for your educating us. Did you spend any time in German-speaking countries during your Navy years or after?
I have German-speaking Pennsylvania Dutch in my ancestry. My paternal grandfather spoke with a very "dutchy" PA accent.
I don't know if he actually spoke German. He didn't talk much around us kids.
YR, Is there any chance that Alan has someone at work teasing or bullying him so that he is anxious and feeling unwell at work time? I missed half of 5th grade because a nasty little bully was making my life miserable. My health improved the next year when he wasn't in my home room.
All you military veterans, thank you for your service.
Anyone else notice Melania's broad smile while surrounded by children and a panda? Looked so much happier than usual.
Spitzboov no no no! Never stop telling us of the etymology of words!, Many of us learn from your explanations. And that's why we are here.....WORDS!!
YR, let off steam whenever you need to. That's also why we are all here. We have become a family that supports all of us. Many of us understand your situation. We are here when you need us,
PK - Only foreign countries visited during Navy years were Bermuda and Canada. So much for "See the world".
50 odd yrs ago I spent a short time in Germany and had a chance to visit the northern village from which my parents emigrated. That gave me a chance to try out my knowledge of their L. German patois, although a few knew English; having lived in NYC for a time.
One time my English speaking uncle gave us an auto ride through the Schleswig countryside when a loud roar commenced from the tail pipe area. "G** dam it - - Mien utpuffer is kaput!" was heard. (Darn - my muffler is broken!)
Gary, thanks for pinch-hitting so well. Boston massacre. GHP Bush. And, speaking of... Who defended the British soldiers tried for the "massacre".
I've tried saying it out loud, rereading the 'joke'. I just don't get it. Does the reveal spoil it? A hint like I gave Gary?
Oh the xword. It went fast and smooth. Finished by the end of breakfast and the end of the waitress' shift. I got sports, comics and bridge in by biscuit time. Btw. The bridge column had a cvb slant.
Then Betsy joined me and I had to wait for her to finish so I could finish.
Oh, the xword. I was thinking MAPS and had trouble remembering my CS Lewis. I'm a Trilogy guy. Tolkien and Lewis had a falling out after Narnia. Why? I don't know.
Remember this line? WATSON: He(Moriarty) is as well known in the world of crime as... HOLMES: My BLUSHES Watson.
WATSON: I was about to say, As he is little known to the public.
HOLMES: " A distinct touch, Watson"
On behalf of my fellow ex-Marines, thank you for the HBD. And HBD to the twins.
YR. I hope things work out. I take aloebera
As I meant to say, I take Aloe Vera capsules. Mainly for mild arthritis in the hands but it's supposed to help with acid reflex.
It's a gloamin out Tha
WC
Semper Fi.
Spitzboov:
No! Please don't ever stop your German lessons. I have learned so much from you in a language of which I have only minimal and cursory acquaintance. So please continue. We also need someone proficient in French. Right, Abejo?
YR:
Don't every think you have to apologize for ranting or venting. As has been said, we are here for you and understand the pressure you are under. I agree with PK's observation that he might be experiencing something unpleasant at work, either a person or a situation. Is there any way you can find out?
Whew! The meat and broth are ready for the tamale making process. It was an exhausting day and I'm glad I have one day in between to rest.
Oops. "ever" not "every".
Thank you Lucina, PK, Jayce and Yellowrocks for the kind words about my photos. And thanks for your interest in how I take them.
I have had a number of cameras over the years. But since 2001 they have all been high end point and shoot digital cameras. The Brooklyn Bridge photo was taken in 2009 with an Olympus SP550UZ (Ultra Zoom). Technology changes rapidly in the digital camera world and cameras quickly become obsolete. I learned photography from my father who had the same Leica camera for about fifty years. My how things have changed.
My current camera is a Sony RX10. It is unique as far as I know. It has a large one inch diagonal sensor. But it is in a point and shoot body. That means no interchangeable lenses. Just a 20-200mm equivalent zoom lens. It is f2.8 across the full zoom range which means it is quite good in low light.
It also has some amazing software tricks not found in SLR cameras. It can take many shots in rapid succession and combine them to improve dynamic range and reduce sensor noise.
I also like the bright electronic viewfinder. Much better than SLR noisy mirrors and complex optics. I set the exposure visually with that viewfinder. SLR designs are more about fashion in my humble opinion. Keeping a design created around film makes no sense in the digital age.
The down side of digital? Things do break. I have two Sony RX10s because the reliability is so bad and they keep having to go back for repair. It is worth getting the extended warranty! But the image quality is excellent. Hope that answer helps and feel free to ask more!
I will add that my earlier photos were taken with a Canon EOS film camera. I have slowly been doing a massive project of getting the negatives scanned to digital. It is very expensive and/or slow. If anyone knows a solution that is fast and not so expensive (but good quality) I would love to hear it!
Correction - My stoner uncle C (the union-carpenter) and none of my nephews (little shits) served. [nephews should - Uncle Sam would straighten their little selfish/entitled selves out.]
YR - The corner is here for you...
Lucina - Tamales are so labo[u]r intensive... Day Two done...Props to you.
Picard - How much, if you don't mind my asking, is that rig? I get OK SHOTS from my iPhone but really miss my SLR Minolta [no more parts :-( ; it was made in '76-ish] and Kodachrome/ Fuji FILM. I wasn't impressed with early digital cameras.
Spitz - If someone feels worn upon they can just scroll past. I think we had a quorum for vote... Your edifying etymology stays!
I can't imagine someone nerdy enough to frequent a crossword blog be put off by the very thing we love... Etymology! - the crux of why we say what we say and how we say it. English is a common language separated by an OCEAN comes to mind...even in simple things like aluminum [Say it Steve, Cuppa, & C, Eh! - it's so cute to 'Merican ears. :-)]
DW has a PhD in English Lit. I sat through her telling me about Gilgamesh & Chaucer while I gazed longingly [she is a hottie - how I landed her (and why she stays), I'll never know] and I piqued up a bit at the why. The words are "familiar" but not. I was hooked and now I'm obsessed! (with her too :-))
//side bar:
Youngest (15yro) must'a broke a mirror (or I did)... She was on a walk w/ her friends and got bitten (not a Zombie, I think) after picking up a stick and pain moved up her hand to her elbow. No!, Lord, please not the ER! However, after 6 hours, no obvious swelling or "bull's-eye"; I think she'll live.
Then, about an hour+ ago, she came out to ask me a question while I was on FaceTime w/ Eldest. Mom called from Atlanta. We all had a great conference call/time until going back in the house... Youngest forgot to shut off her tub and the over-flow drain couldn't keep up --- water all over the hardwood floors on the first story. The ceiling will have to be replaced. The spider-bite didn't kill her so I'll think will anyway :-).
//Joking!, I was cool with it, shit happens. We worked together for 30min and got everything, sans ceiling, back to square. I did tell her to go to bed before the 3rd BadThing (TM) happens... These come in 3s as we know...
CED - no giggles for us today? I imagine the Recycle Bin is full of Cosmetologist jokes :-)
Cheers, -T
Anon-T - Minolta SLR??! I loved my XG-M, sprang for the zoom and macro lenses (probably mid-80's). And I do miss it-trusty thing survived through Australian rain forests, Galapagos wet- and dry-landings, Andes, Peruvian jungles, Kenya, Egypt, until Costa Rica (1st wk there). We were hopping from stone to stone, traversing a small creek when the ninny in front of me hesitated, and down I went with my camera. Tried to dry out the camera and lenses with a blow-dryer on low most of the night, but a photographer with our group said it was no use. Still have it, guess as a reminder of exciting trips taken years ago. Kodachrome? and you didn't link Paul Simon?! Shocked. Now have a DSLR - too complicated for this non-techy oldster.
Yikes, poor youngest! Hoping you applied ice to the bite. Not a good homecoming for DW with a cratered ceiling. :-)
Let us know how your "Misty's pear plate" trial-run turns out. Inquiring minds, ya know.
TxMs - an oversight here's a Kodachrome mashup.
The ceiling hasn't cratered (yet) but I don't want the comin' molds. Gots to git it fixed.
Misty's Pear Plate's ingredients are on my list for the morning's HEB trip.
-T
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