google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 Michael Krebs & Theodore Krebs

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Dec 11, 2018

Tuesday, December 11, 2018 Michael Krebs & Theodore Krebs

"TWO FIRST NAMES"


1. With 18-Across, R.E.M. guitarist: PETER.  PETER BUCK - You might recall his guitar work in this song.

18. With 35-Across, 10-time "SNL" host who was Belushi's straight man in samurai routines: BUCK. BUCK HENRY playing the straight man opposite John Belushi

35. With 44-Across, hitter of 755 home runs: HENRY. HENRY (Hank) AARON.  Historic # 755.

44. With 57-Across, "Breaking Bad" actor: AARON. AARON PAUL - Played Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad.

57. With 68-Across, Garfunkel's partner: PAUL. PAUL SIMON.  You're Breaking My Heart

68. With 1-Across, one of the Twelve Apostles: SIMON. SIMON PETER.  Saint Peter.

39. What six people in this puzzle might be said to possess: TWO FIRST NAMES.

Very clean puzzle.  I liked how the names wrapped.  It must have taken quite a bit of effort to find the right names to make this puzzle work out so well.


Across:

6. Microscope glass: LENS.

10. All snuggled in: COZY.  A nice place to be, perhaps with a blanket in a comfy chair and a good read.

14. Support piece: BRACE.  Hopefully Abejo is getting accustomed to his. 

15. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA.

16. Black-and-white cookie: OREO.

17. Anglo-__: SAXON.

19. Restaurant handout: MENU.

20. Gritty film genre: NOIR. So many great films.  Fritz Lang directed this noir with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Broderick Crawford. The story line and cinematography evoke grit.


22. "We are gathered __ today ... ": HERE.  Because of the pleasure we derive solving crossword puzzles and for sharing our experiences with like-minded friends. 

24. "Say that's true ... ": IF SO.  "If your supposition is correct, then..."

27. Speedway event: RACE.

29. Entertainment award quartets, for short: EGOTs.  New to you too ?  I think it's fill that I've forgotten.   Fifteen People Have Won Them

33. Swiss skiing spot: ALP.  How about the Jungfrau or Grindelwald ?

34. Pops, to tots: DADAs.

36. "Perhaps I'm wrong": MAYBE NOT.  I was certain I was correct, but perhaps I'm wrong.  You may be right.

38. Takes effect: SETS IN.

41. Climbs, as a cliff: SCALES.

42. Staggered: TEETERED.

45. Gives (out) sparingly: DOLES.

46. Passé TV accessory: VCR.

47. Sediment layer: DREGS.

48. Courtroom cry: OYEZ.

49. Big Apple team: METS.

50. Weak end?: NESS.  Elliot's end ?

52. Anti-cruelty org.: PETA.

54. Green gemstone: JADEJade Gemstone Information

59. Zest: OOMPH.

63. Big Aussie birds: EMUs.  Someone was asking about the size of big birds the other day.



64. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

65. Worker, briefly: PROLE.

66. Ocean motion: TIDE.  A dangerous rip tide
 67. Depend (on): RELY.

Down:

1. "Arthur" TV station: PBS.  American / Canadian educational cartoon aimed at children 4-8 years.  I had no idea this series has been running for 21 years ! 

2. Notable time: ERA.

3. Withholding __: TAX.

4. Lodge opening?: ECONO.  This one is in Des Moines, IA.

A brand in the Choice Hotels lodging chain.
5. Nevada casino city: RENO.

6. Chocolate dog: LABRADOR.


7. Emory email ender: EDU.  Peter Buck of R.E.M. attended Emory University for a short while.

8. Wall recesses: NICHES.

9. "For heaven's __!": SAKE. More points off my man card.


10. Impatient after-school text to a parent: COME GET ME. Mom, where are you ?!!!

11. Salem is its cap.: ORE.

12. Buddhist sect: ZEN.

13. "__ busy?": YOU.

21. Tehran residents: IRANIs.

23. Warms up, as leftovers: REHEATS.

24. Dr. Seuss' Sam-__: I AM.

25. Sideless train unit: FLATCAR.

26. Invasive computer program: SPYWARE.


28. Scratching-post attachment: CATS TOY.

30. With no breaks, as a tennis set: ON SERVE.  In tennis, a "break" is when the receiving player or team has won a game in a match against the serving player or team.  "On serve" describes a match were neither opponent has broken the other's serve.  Big Easy, can you have Dianne vet my statements ?

31. Cut into four-inch pieces, as a footlong sub: TRISECT

32. Dict. entry: SYN onym.

34. Pass rusher's team: DEFENSE. American rules football.

37. Meaty spaghetti sauce: BOLOGNESE.   J. Kenji López-Alt  of Serious Eats offers his version:



38. React to dust: SNEEZE.

40. Script for TV: TELEPLAY.

41. Down or blue: SAD.   There's a prescription for that.

43. Rx writers: DRs.

45. Rx quantity: DOSAGE.

49. New Zealand native: MAORI.

51. Prepare for a boxing day?: SPAR.

53. A++: TOPS.

54. Airbus product: JET.   Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna, Gulfstream...

55. French buddy: AMI.

56. Failed firecracker: DUD.

58. Clickable link: URL. Uniform Resource Locator

60. Boo-boo kisser: MOM.  Moms are the best !

61. Gaza Strip gp.: PLO.

62. "An egg's way of making another egg": Samuel Butler: HENHe's too deep for my current station in life.



54 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

This is apparently a debut puzzle here at the LAT. My question - are they related to Maynard G.?

CartBoy said...

EGOTS and PROLE - lucky for crosses...I thought I was dead.

Lemonade714 said...

I wonder if they are brothers? I wonder if they are a pseudonym? It is cool that the Theme involves two first names.

Am I the only one who had no idea that Sarah was singing this NAME . Where is the "D?"
LISTEN . More about the SONG .

I am not sure I have read or heard of SAMUEL BUTLER but somehow EREWHON sounds familiar. "The Author wishes it to be understood that Erewhon is pronounced as a word of three syllables, all short—thus, Ĕ-rĕ-whŏn."

I liked Chocolate dog: LABRADOR I love playing with the PUPPIES

Thanks all

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

EGOTS? I get it now, but I don't think I've ever heard it as a "thing." ON SERVE was equally mysterious. Turning ABED into COZY was my only Wite-Out-worthy moment. Managed to get part of the theme -- better than normal pour moi. I've watched Breaking Bad, but still didn't recognize AARON PAUL. HANK AARON and PAUL SIMON solved that problem. Watched Paul Simon's 1991 Concert in the Park special on PBS just the other night. Nice debut, Michael and Theodore. Curious, are you married (Michael as in Learned)? Are you brothers? Are you a gay couple? America wants to know.

Enjoyed the educational outing, TTP.

Oas said...

Thanks for the Tuesday fun M+T Krebs and TTP for the write up.
Only write over today was FLATCAR for Flatbed.
SCALES showed me the need for the C .
FIR in good time Mcd’s coffee still warm ;-)
Beautifil hoar frost morning today.
Saw the fog last night and mentioned to DW to expect nature to paint a pretty picture of hoar frost.
Loveliest hoar frost I remember was a few years back in Fedruary while traveling through New Mejico one morning . Could see the white hillsides from miles away thinking it was snow. As we got into it we saw hoar frost on everything from grass to barbed wire fences and cacti beside the road. Everything covered about an inch thick. We had to pull over and admire it a bit a few times. I love summer but scenes like this make winter more bearable.

Hi Ho Hi Ho

inanehiker said...

Enjoyed the theme and the circular nature of that last "First" name at the bottom going back up to the top!
Thanks TTP for the blog and the musical links with a variety of tunes. Simon & Garfunkel and Bill Joel are 2 of my all time favorites.

Congrats and thanks to the M & T Krebs as well!

Just read a fun book for the bibliophiles among us- "The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend" by Katarina Bivald. It's set in Iowa but was written by a Swedish author (it was translated into English by Alice Menzies)

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Nice craft-work from the Krebs. Straightforward solve too.

TTP, thanks for elucidating today.

Spitz from yesterday - I was thinking along the same lines, what a joke it is to register a vessel in a port it will never visit. However, it got me to wondering about the comparisons of steel hull life between seagoing ships and those who spend all their time in the freshwater lakes.

Dudley said...

Forgot to mention I was at a loss to understand EGOTs. The perps were solid so I left things alone. So glad TTP could shine a light on that...

jerome said...

The constructors are father and son. The son is 10 years old.

desper-otto said...

Thanx, jerome. America is happy to learn that.

billocohoes said...

So to contact a university for Australian birds you would use the URL EMUS.EDU ?

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Ag sub today. Talking about welding and weeds!
-What a clever idea and new words are always welcome
-Baseball people will know why AARON’s #715 was a big deal
-Film NOIR means Bogie to me
-MAYBE NOT (:06)
-Older Everest SCALERS – 25% die. Younger ones – 2.2% die. More die on the descent than ascent
-Does your NICHE rhyme with sheesh or rich?
-DRS in America write Ritalin Rx’s 100x as much as they do in Finland
-People seem to be able to get burned by DUD firecrackers and shot by unloaded guns

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Interesting theme with fill most people would know. Different, fun to solve. No searches needed.
Krebs - German for cancer or crab.

TTP - The MV Paul R. Tregurtha ihas transited the Soo locks and is downbound in L. Huron opposite Alpena, MI. Course 145ºT, Speed 12.6 kts. ETA St. Clair still 12 Dec. @ 0449.

Dudley - Fresh water is easier on hulls, and many Lakes ships serve 50 years or more. Of course, they are laid up 4 months of the year in winter. The Tregurtha was built in 1981 - only 37 years old.

Tinbeni said...

What CartBoy @ 6:37 said about EGOTS and PROLE.
If not for the perps, this would have been a Tuesday DNF.

Cheers!

OAS said...

Spitzboov Thanks for the German lesson . I always enjoy your linguistic comments.


I remember an in law relative refer to manger where he fed his cows as a tchreb .

A low German dialect that doesn't seem to have an English equivalent to the ch or tch but in some speakers the k comes close.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I enjoyed the freshness of the theme but I have the same reaction to referential puzzles as I do to Roman Numerals, I.e., too much work trying to figure out. IOW, let the perps do their work. They were necessary for PBS, Adia, Peter, and Buck, all as clued. I like the URL~EDU and the Dr's~Dosages pairings, and our ubiquitous Ore crossing our more ubiquitous Oreo. My sole w/o was Metes/Doles. Nice CSO to our educators at EDU and to Mr. Meow at Cat's Toy.

Thanks, Michael and Theodore, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, TTP, for the spot-on summary, as usual. Learning moment was "Arthur" being a children's TV program. I had the tipsy Dudley Moore in mind, even though that was a movie.

Have a great day.

Wilbur Charles said...

FLN. Thanks -T. Hex 8 = O was my guess. Even if the 1 was A 8 would've been H.

Disaster struck today. I don't know if it's the Krebs or Rich but I read some clues differently. 10D I had it as the Principal summoning the parent(COME SEE ME) and I had IS SO ignoring the down. Bad day.

At first I thought we had a TV Guide or Airline xword. But the theme tied it up. My mistakes were a result of a visit from Mr S.

Oas, are you using McDonald's WiFi to post? I get shut out when I try.

WC

Lucina said...

I caught the theme but didn't know a few of those names and failed to recognize Hank AARON; should have thought about it longer. Perps helped me and all was well.

Thank you, Krebs family; this was fun and workable more downward than across.

VCR: my unit is a double player (DVD and VCR slots) as I still have all the Disney tapes. They are too expensive to replace and my granddaughter likes them.

EGOTS: thank you, TTP, for elucidating. I've heard it but forgot. Interesting that the first part of it is EGO.

Though not TWO FIRST NAMES, DOLES could have been "husband and wife public servants" Robert and Elizabeth.

This morning I went to have blood drawn and other labs as part of my annual check up. Friday I'll know the results.

Owen:
I hope you are well. I miss your poem.

Cheers for a lovely day to everyone!

Lucina said...

My 22 year old granddaughter used to love watching Arthur along with the Teletubbies and the purple dinosaur so PBS fell quickly.

OAS said...

WC yes , early morning posts are done on Iphone while having my first coffee at Mcd's .The WiFi is more dependable now than a year ago. Later posts are from my lap top at home.

Misty said...

Well, this got to be a bit of a Tuesday toughie in the end, since, like Cartboy and Tinbeni, I didn't know EGOTS or PROLE. But still a very clever and interesting puzzle--many thanks, Michael and Theodore. The only one I really know in the list of many names is PAUL SIMON, although I've heard of HENRY/Hank AARON. But even so, I got the TWO FIRST NAMES reveal since there were so many first names in place by then. And it was nice that most of the items were pretty doable. Great write up, TTP, many thanks to you too.

My Emeriti Board meeting tomorrow was cancelled so I have a quiet week at home coming up. Time to start thinking about Christmas cards and the like.

Have a great day, everybody.

Wilbur Charles said...

Oas. In this mid Florida locale I have to disconnect from McDonald's WiFi to do almost anything on the web.

I did get invaded while at a Starbucks. I just shut the laptop off.

WC

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

jerome said... "The constructors are father and son. The son is 10 years old." Well, that explains the fresh cluing in this puzzle.

Thanks Michael & Theodore for this fun!, fun!, fun! puzzle. I loved it. TTP, you iced the cake w/ all the musical links today. Thanks!

WOs: ORe b/f ORG, DEFENcE [right, C,Eh! ?], OOMPf
ESPs: OYEZ, MAORI
Fav: Normally I don't pick a themer but I love BUCK HENRY. You know(?) he wrote Get Smart with Mel Brooks (who was on TTP's EGOT list).
CATS TOY next to LABRADOR was cute too.

{AWOL}

IM - I usually don't like so many w/ "see: x-down" clues either but, the way this one was chained all the way around, Nice!

Lucina - I too watched a lot of Arthur w/ the Girls and they, on errand runs, etc, listened to a lot of Saturday morning NPR with me. This episode of Arthur [2:11] we all enjoyed.

EGOT was easy for me... Youngest is very into Broadway and she knows everything (and talks about it all the time). //You should have seen her face when Aunt S. invited her to Hamilton in SFO this coming Spring.

I'll leave you (for now) with Pop's advice: "Never play poker against a man with TWO FIRST NAMES."

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

LEM - FYI: I got a 404 on your Lab link...

AnonymousPVX said...

Okay everybody, get a grip....I liked the theme in this puzzle, especially how they were chained together, that took some thought....and results in zero giveaway cells. That’s impressive as well.

And some nice clueing as well, appreciated.

Dudley...I do believe salt water has more corrosive properties than fresh....both have rusticles but the presence of salt accelerates the process.

No issues today, no markovers.

Picard said...

I was very impressed with the construction effort that must have gone into this theme and puzzle! Interesting coincidence that I was recently commenting on how some people have TWO FIRST NAMES (and some have TWO last NAMES).

The only name I got right away was PAUL SIMON. I was confused by HENRY AARON because I only knew him as Hank. I wondered if I understood the theme at that point.

Learning moment that St PETER is SIMON PETER. We have a San SIMeON here which must be him! I always thought it meant holy ape (SIMiaN)!

I knew BUCK HENRY as the co-creator of Get Smart. Never knew what he looked like or what else he did. Get Smart was one of the most creative and funny shows on TV.

Hand up I thought I might end up DNF with EGxTS/xNSERVE. The latter could have been EN SERVE or IN SERVE for all I know. Then I realized E might be Emmy, G might be Golden Globe and T might be Tony. Meaning O for Oscar. Got it right, but was wrong about the G. FIR!

Nothing has ever replaced the "PASSE" VCR. What current device allows you to make a recording and to save it in a permanent form? A permanent form that you can share with others?

Lucina good for you for preserving your VCR and recordings.

Our music director is a SAXON. Katie SAXON. She looks very ANGLO-SAXON, but she is not. As with my name, it is of unknown origin. As with me, she is of Jewish heritage. Very appropriate for her to be directing us in an Early Music Christmas concert!

Here was Katie SAXON directing us this weekend at our Early Music Ensemble Christmas Concert!

Katie SAXON is the lovely lady at the far right in the photo. I am the guy with the red hat.

Here I got to see Art GARFUNKEL perform up close and personal.

So far I have not gotten to experience PAUL SIMON in person. I hope I have that opportunity someday!

Picard said...

From yesterday
Yellowrocks I used to skip the Monday and Tuesday puzzles, but now I find them challenging enough to be interesting. Except when they include too many impossible Natick crosses. It seems that Monday is often the day with the most of those!

Lucina glad you enjoyed the learning moment about GUANO POINT at the Grand Canyon. We were on our way back from my every-two-years convention in Tucson and stopped at some places I had never seen before. In this case, it was the Grand Canyon Skywalk. Also known as the West Rim.

It is a Native American project with a glass bridge from which you can look down into the canyon between your feet. It is an impressive engineering project. Some people found it terrifying and could not stay even for a few seconds. I found it not that valuable for the view. And they don't allow you even to bring a camera out there. Honestly, I think a helicopter or airplane ride is a better deal.

But the GUANO POINT was quite beautiful and we would not have seen it otherwise.

AnonT thanks for the USS Enterprise video. I downloaded it and will watch it later. Thanks!

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle and add my admiration for the construction of the chain of first names. I remember the discussion of people with two first names and with two last names.
Buck Henry was an exceptionally funny and creative guy.
A Natick for me was the crossing of EGOTS and ONSERVE; I had no clue what the crossing letter was but I sensed it was most likely a vowel. Four guesses and I had it.
Good wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta ~ DA!
A very pleasant Tuesday opus from the Krebses! Some pzls are just fun, and this was one of them.

Anonymous T & Picard ~
BUCK HENRY was/is one of my favorite artists. In addition to the credits you mention, he also wrote The Graduate. He's a comedian, an actor, a writer, and director (Heaven Can Wait). In the midst of so many slapstick comics, he stood out for me with his cool, truly elegant manner and dry humor. A gentleman humorist.

I got word my dentist can't see me on the 20th. Great! I didn't want to see her so close to Christmas anyway. The receptionist called and tried to schedule me for the 26th! No way. That's Boxing Day!
I said I can wait till January.
I'm in no rush.
~ OMK

Sandyanon said...

Gosh. Not a lot of tennis fans on this blog. Just to add a small point to the previous explanation for anyone interested. "On serve" means that up to any given point in a set, no one has lost a game on his/her own turn to serve, i.e., there have been no "breaks" of serve. The term is generally only used within a set, rather than applied to an entire match.

Michael said...

I'm with M. Picard on 35a: For decades, it's always been HANK Aaron that people talk about. Plus, at first it looked like 23d was 'reWARMS', and 'Wenry' made no sense. Luckily, the perps perpetrated their magic, and it all cleared up, but it took some work.

Dudley said...

Spitz - certainly makes sense the Great Lakes craft would be idled during the icy months. Know ye the storage conditions? Such as dry dock, or fenced in with a boom and aeration as I have seen at Mystic Seaport, or allowed to freeze in place...

Anonymous said...

Picard, I cant tell if you are being serious with your question about recording something permanently and being able to share the recording.

Of course you can and much easier and of better quality than with VHS.

You share pics and vids every day without such device!

Modern smartphones do it millions of times every day. The tech is as close and practical as my front pocket.

TTP said...

Spizboov, that freighter is making good time. I wonder how many train cars would be required to haul the equivalent load, and how long it would take to get from the same starting point to the same ending point. Modern marvels, indeed.


Paul Simon's wife is Edie Brickell. We see her first name fairly often in the crosswords. As recently as last week.

Sandyanon, thanks. I played, so many years ago, and even entered a couple of open tournaments. I knew that something felt wrong with my explanation. Should have used SET instead of MATCH. Figured Big Easy would jump all over that and be able to ask his wife, but he's AWOL today.

Classic mondegreen (misheard lyrics) in that Billy Joel video of "You May be Right" :
"You made the rice, I made the gravy but it just may be the tuna fish you're looking for."
It was the first entry in the comments for that video. It sure sounds like that's what he's singing.

Spitzboov said...

TTP - The company says she can haul 71000 tons of coal, so at 100 tons per rail hopper, I make out that to be the equivalent of 710 hopper cars, or about 7 fairly long unit trains. Don't know about travel time but i would guess it to be roughly equivalent. Rail costs may be higher because of lack of additional capacity and congestion, in the greater Chicago and other areas.

Dudley - Some ships probably get dry-docked for a time to carry out needed maintenance; most just winter over in some secure port where the owner has an arrangement with a wharf facility. If the vessel is ice strengthened, it would not need a boom or bubbler system.

Wilbur Charles said...

SIMON PETER is also referred to as Cephas(by Paul in his epistles) . Generally considered the same person though some scholars suggest there was another individual referred to.

Sandy, the lexicon of tennis has been delved by the verious constructors fe. AD IN, LET, ACE... And...

Another xword staple: LEN Deighton has a spy trilogy called "Game,Set and Match" .

WC

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Michael & Theodore Krebs, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, TTP, for a fine review.

As I started this puzzle, I read the ARTHUR clue at 1D. So, my claim to fame today is that I went to high school with Marc Brown, the originator of ARTHUR, and who wrote all the ARTHUR books. We did not hang around together, but I knew him. Small world.

I really liked the theme of this puzzle. How clever. Must have taken a lot of work to construct this. Great job!

Never heard of EGOTS. Nor PROLE.

Tried NOOKES before NICHES worked.

Liked 62D, HEN.

I thought initially that 51D Boxing Day was going to be some day-after-Christmas gift thingamajig. Turned out to be SPAR, the obvious. Oh well.

I remember OYEZ from older puzzles. I will probably always remember that word.

This week has not been a good one. I got a call this morning that one of my sisters had a stroke last night about 8:30 PM at home in Edinboro, PA. She is now in Hamot Hospital in Erie in the ICU. She had a blood vessel break in her head. She is paralyzed on her right side and cannot talk. They are watching her to see if the blood dissipates and if she gets her control back. Prayers are appreciated.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Lucina said...

Picard:
Skywalk received plenty of press when it first opened. No way could I ever go on it! Even at the Canyon I have to stand a few feet away from the rim.

Yay! My Christmas tree is up and decorated! It's only two feet tall so doesn't take much time to trim and is surrounded by wrapped gifts. I feel good about that.

Now on to the baking!


Ol' Man Keith said...

Picard ~
A note to say I enjoyed your Holy Ape interp of Hearst's Castle.
Très amusant.

And your early music video is inspiring. Ms. SAXON knows her stuff, and your choir sings with heart and talent. Beautifully done!
Truly, what we non-theists lack is the music!
~ OMK

xtulmkr said...

The crossing of 29A and 31D discombobulated me with "quartets" and "four" in the clueing so that I read the clue to 31D as "cut into quarters". Trisect then seemed totally wrong but was the only fit. It wasn't until I read the blog that I saw that my brain misinterpreted the clueing. Not sure what to blame that on.

Anonymous said...

OMK @1622 We can enjoy, even to the point of rapture, their music, without buying into the dogma. And there's plenty of great music that has nothing to do with theism.
Google tried to make me sign in, so I'm anonymous.
Mike Sherline

Mike Sherline said...

I enjoyed the wraparound names. Thanks, Krebs & TTP. Didn't think I would get far reading 1a - no idea. But checking the other associated clues, found I knew Buck Henry from SNL & (I think) Laugh In - or was it The Smothers Brothers Show? - and didn't he run for president several times? I knew Henry Aaron, Paul Simon, and Simon Peter (never heard of Aaron Paul), so it all wrapped up neatly. Don't know anything about Sarah McLachlan either. Only knew ergot as a plant blight or maybe bread mold of some kind. Prole isn't too uncommon, if archaic, for a common laborer. I didn't know onserve either - got the O w/red letters (only tried I first).

Anon-T @1202 - thanks for the Arthur link with the Car Talk guys - what a treat!

Picard @1309 - we had a DVD recorder, but it constantly hung up and finally just quit and couldn't be repaired. I thought it was a good idea - DVDs take up a lot less room than all those tapes.
And I enjoyed your concert. Ms Saxon appears to be an excellent musician and has a lovely voice.

I thought I had posted this a couple of hours ago. But it turns out that ignoring the annoying Google window that popped up wanting me to sign in meant that it didn't get posted. I don't want anything to do with them, but can't seem to escape.

JJM said...

A word to the wise here.... YOU SHOULD NEVER, EVER CONNECT TO PUBLIC WI-FI...EVER . I'm the King of Free, but not when it comes to this. I could go on and on, just Google it for yourselves to find out how dangerous this is. Get a VPN (Virtual Private Network) for your mobile devices. If you have an iPad or iPhone, the best one I've seen is NORD. For 3 bucks a month, you will have piece of mind that the chances of you getting hacked are about 1 in 10,000. And it's simple, simple to set up on your mobile device.

Anonymous T said...

Abejo - so sorry to hear about your Sister - we will be pulling for her (and you).

Picard @1:17 said "...I used to skip the Monday and Tuesday puzzles, but now I find them challenging enough to be interesting. Except when they include too many impossible Natick crosses..."
A while back, I commented to C.C. that Rich does this to us on purpose - to prep us for later in the week / a week later c/as. She said I was Nuts!* I say look for ADIA, EGOT, MAORI, or PROLE later this week. Rich likes to teach and test us. #CrosswordConspiracy [TTP @3p Sees it Too! (see: Edie)]

Lucina - apparently it was a bad year for Tree Farmers. The nursery we've gotten our tree from for the last 10 years had nothing but what DW described as "Charlie Brown" ones. We did find a little guy (only ~6' tall) who was full. I built a 2' platform for him so he can stand tall - that's my best Linus move all year :-)

Cheers, -T
*not in so many words, C.C.'s nicer than that...

billocohoes said...

Mike Sherline, it was Pat Paulsen (slogan We Can't Stand Pat) who ran for president six times, the first two on the Smothers Brothers show

I mostly used my DVD recorder to copy and save old VCR tapes.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Michael, Theodore and TTP!

Cute puzzle! Had to perp: ADIA, EGOTS, PROLE, PBS, ON SERVE and BUCK.

Pretty day here!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Picard said...

OlManKeith you made my day by noticing my little ape joke! Thanks! I really do always think of apes when we pass that town! I have been to Hearst Castle a number of times. Perhaps someday I will share some of those photos.

Yes, I also looked up BUCK HENRY and was impressed with how many wonderful shows and films he created.

Michael glad that you were also tripped up by Hank/HENRY AARON. But the crosses made it clear and HENRY was his given name.

xtulmkr I also was confused about the TRISECT clue and had to re-read it many times.

Lucina don't worry that the Skywalk would scare you. It is not as amazing as I had hoped. As I said, a helicopter ride costs about the same and I think it is more memorable. Still, I am glad I was able to support the Natives.

Mike Sherline thanks for pointing out the one device that was supposed to replace the VCR: The DVD recorder. I actually have one and it does serve a similar purpose. But it is impossible to buy a new DVD recorder with a TV tuner.

So, my question stands: There is no current device that you can buy that can record TV programs onto permanent media that can be shared.

I went into Best Buy after things went digital and I asked if they sell such a device that is a digital version of the VCR. The young salesman said "a lot of OLD people come in here and ask for that". I pointed out that young people missed out on a time when you could record things for free off the air and not have to pay for it. He had not realized that. But the answer was the same: There is no such device.

I know exactly what such a device would be like because I actually do have one. But that is a whole other story.

OlManKeith and Mike Sherline thank you very much for taking the time to look at my photo and video of Katie SAXON directing our Christmas concert. The religious issue of the music is diminished by the fact that this music is about 500 years old. There is no doubt that religion has inspired some great art and music. I would hope that in the future people could find other such inspiration.

Anonymous said...

Picard, I would point out where you are wrong and share with you the advantages of many new devices that are superior to the VCR but I have observed that debating with you is an exercise in futility. You merely move the goalposts or refuse to accept alternative thinking until the argument ends or you merely ignore the process and just move on to your next display.

Jayce said...

Picard, check out the TiVo Bolt OTA.

Lucina said...

AnonT:
My Christmas tree is artificial. It comes out of the box already prelit.

Anonymous T said...

Lucina - Oh! That is so handy. We spent all day Sunday (and will again tomorrow night) putting up lights and what-nots. //I keep trying to convince my family we should be Jewish -- stick a Minora in the window and call it done :-)

JJM - While I agree w/ you on public WiFi (folks, do you know(?) who you're really connecting to?), I would advise against VPN services. Just the one you cited, Nord, had three major vulnerabilities this year. These vulns are worse for your computing safety than just jacking in naked.*

My advice, just use your data plan (with tethering if on a laptop) when out and about. Of course, you never know if there's a Stingray around.

Cheers, -T
*Hack Naked: playing on the internet with no protection.

Picard said...

Jayce thank you for the suggestion. I just looked up the TiVo OTA.

Perhaps I am not understanding, but I don't think this does what a VCR could do. A VCR:
1) Has no monthly fees
2) It allows TV shows to be stored on a permanent medium that you own (a tape)
3) That permanent medium (the tape) is removable and can be shared with others

Can this TiVo device do those things?

Picard said...

Abejo I am so sorry to hear about your sister. Strokes used to result in unrecoverable losses. But there are new techniques that can be used in those first hours that can greatly reduce those terrible losses. I do hope your sister is able to benefit from these newer techniques and that she is able to return to a normal life.

You indeed have had a tough week. I do hope things turn around for you soon.

I also am happy you enjoyed my TEA PARTY ship photos! It is a fun visit if you are in Boston!

Lucina said...

Abejo:
I am so sorry to learn about your sister's stroke. You definitely have had a bad week. Please be assured of my prayers for her and you, too.

AnonT:
Up until a few years ago I did the entire tree trimming and house decorating ritual but then it just got to be too much work so I bought the little tree, put up wreaths on the door and gate and that's it.