google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, February 1, 2020, Brian E. Paquin

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Feb 1, 2020

Saturday, February 1, 2020, Brian E. Paquin

Saturday Themeless by Brian E. Paquin


Is it really already February and this is my seventh Brian Paquin themeless Saturday puzzle to blog? Yes, on both counts. I last blogged this Kingston, Ontario resident's puzzle on the 2019 Winter Solstice where I included this bio info Brian was kind enough  to share with me: 


So, I am a retired computer systems developer.  My first interest in crosswords was in figuring out how to write a program to fill grids. I didn't try solving one until I was 40, so this isn't a lifelong thing with me, as it is with many constructors.  I still get distracted by playing around with my software rather than writing new puzzles. That's about all that I have for now!


Brian's 12/13/12 side-by-side verticals in the middle are very cool and greatly helped in the solve!


Across:

1. "I Love a Rainy Night" singer Eddie: RABBITT - This goes along with our tradition of saying Rabbit, Rabbit on the first day of the month plus I love this song and rainy nights




8. Rattletrap: BEATER - Be careful if you 7. Test-drive: TAKE FOR A SPIN.

14. TV screen-bottom banner, perhaps: IN LINE AD Info


16. Bond girl Andress: URSULA - I pictured her in Evan's puzzle last Saturday! Beats a deranged DR NO in rubber gloves!


17. Clapping game: PAT-A-CAKE.



18. Vitamin B3: NIACIN WebMd's info

19. Reliable omen: SURE SIGN - Old Sam Clemens hit it on the head




21. "Krazy" comics feline: KAT 




22. Modify: ALTER.


25. Murky milieus: FENS - Yeah right, I was the only one who put FOGS!




26. Handle carelessly, with "with": MESS 


27. Jamaica's Ocho __: RIOS - This cruise lands at Ocho RIOS (eight rivers) like Columbus did in 1494. 




28. Rocky peaks: TORS
54. Reg.: STD - REGular and STandarD cwd fill

29. Coordinate-based calc.: DIR - Non-math peeps, skip!! If you know the  change in horizontal and vertical map coordinates (Δx and Δy), you can calculate the distance, r, and  𝛉 degree DIRECTION required for the move on the plane




30. French wine term: CRU Here ya go!


31. They can't be prevented: CERTITUDES - We went to the Moon, get over it!


34. What human flight was once thought to be: HARE BRAINED IDEA - "Hey Wilbur, this guy says it'll never get off the ground"



37. Secondary matters: SIDE ISSUES Electricity generating wind mills have SIDE ISSUES

38. Possess: OWN.


39. "Yes, __!": SIR  and 56. Threatens with bared teeth: SNARLS AT.




40. Not wing it: PLAN.

41. "__ giorno!": BUON - Looks like a great way to start the day!




42. Ship's post that secures cables: BITT - I'm betting Spitz could tie these lines!




44. Largest Italian automaker: FIAT - Fix It Again Tony! 😏


45. Big name in health care: AETNA.


46. Big name in home security: ADT - Does a fake American Distance Telegraph sign in the yard deter crime?




47. Most curious: FUNNIEST.


49. Best Actress winner for "The Queen": MIRREN - Helen




51. Longtime Arctic transportation methods: DOG TEAMS 


55. Crossed the lake, say: BOATED - My Google search disliked this word so much it replied "Did you mean BLOATED?"


57. Drives: IMPELS - Boated?


58. Emulated Gene Kelly performing "Singin' in the Rain": SLOSHED - Among the most iconic movie images of all time





Down:


1. Copy, as a CD: RIP - An aggressive (and possibly illegal) synonym for copying digital info from one CD to another digital place


2. Santa __: ANA - $650,000 will get you this 1,238 sq. ft. unit in Santa ANA, CA



3. Diner order: BLT - Without home-grown "T's", it's just not the same

4. Statistical distortions: BIASES Nonreponse BIAS in 2016 polling


5. Bring on: INCUR - Don't INCUR the wrath of a Gunnery Sergeant 


6. Natural eye cleaner: TEAR.


8. Keg stoppers: BUNGS.

9. St. Patrick's home: ERIN.

10. Quiet-mouse connector: AS A.


11. Exhausted: TUCKERED OUT.


12. __ Sports Bureau, statistics giant: ELIAS - The keeper of very ESOTERIC records like: August 2018 - Michael Fulmer - First Tigers pitcher to throw a four-hit shutout (or fewer) with no walks and nine strikeouts since Mickey Lolich against the Angels, Aug. 18, 1972.


13. Diatribes: RANTS.


15. Stereotypical shipwreck sites: DESERT ISLANDS.


20. They're usually not helpful hints: INSINUATIONS - LBJ's campaign made a very famous INSINUATION with this ad in 1964 (1:07)




22. Foot part: ARCH.


23. Turkish coins: LIRAS - Turkish merchants will also take Euros 


24. Magnet for rubbernecking: TOURIST TRAP - After hours of driving on the flat South Dakota Plains, this TOURIST TRAP looks might good!




26. Skirt length: MIDI.


28. She was Lois on "Lois & Clark": TERI - TERI Hatcher is, uh, super!




29. Clothing: DUDS.


31. Talking trucker: CBER - A phenomenon enhanced by OPEC Oil Embargo 


32. Many a "Buffy" character: TEEN - Many of Vampire Slayers only played TEENS




33. Attach, as a patch: SEW ON.


35. Tighten, in a way: EDIT - My chore here when I write this blog


36. "X-Men" actress Paquin: ANNA - Constructor Brian Paquin's comment on this fill: The Anna Paquin clue was definitely by design, and I'm glad to see that it survived.  She does look like a Paquin, but I don't think we are all that closely related.   She is part of the Winnipeg Paquins, who moved there from Quebec 300 years ago.

41. Addictive Asian nuts: BETELS - Closely associated with cancer of the mouth and jaw. Google pictures at your own risk


42. Tale of a whitetail: BAMBI.


43. Down in the dumps, say: IDIOM - Or "High as a kite"


44. Sponsors: FUNDS - I sponsored two daughters through college and am very glad I was able to


45. 2019 World Series runner-up: ASTRO - Will MLB take away their World Series title?


47. Intuit: FEEL 


48. Alike, in Avignon: EGAL Trente-deux Fahrenhiet est ÉGAL à zéro Celsius (Thirty two Fahrenheit is equal to Zero Celsius)


50. Itinerary abbr.: RTE - My neighbors usually takes the longer RouTE to Minneapolis to see their daughter because the diagonal RouTE has lots of two-lane highways




52. Tough, elastic wood: ASH.


53. West of the movies: MAE.







Comment at will on our Canadian friend's puzzle:

39 comments:

  1. Hello all,
    I always look forward to reading Gary's posts, Owen's poetry and everyone's comments.
    I seem to have drifted back to using a lot of proper names, over a dozen in this case. I'm interested in finding out how people react to that. To me, familiar names like Ursula, Erin, Teri, Anna, Bambi, Mirren and Mae are just as good as ordinary words and expressions. Yet they do seem to bother some people. Names like Rabbitt, Elias and ADT are much less familiar, but a puzzle should be puzzling, especially on a Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RABBITT, rabbit is an old tradition,
    But don't you call it a superstition!
    It's an affirmation
    For motivation
    That HARE-BRAINED IDEAS are crosswordian propitiation!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good morning!

    No FOGS this morning, but I did try BOGS before FENS became obvious. Also tried MORENA (don't ask) before MIRREN dropped in. That grid-spanner in the center and the vertical 11s really helped with the solve. It all came together in good Saturday time. Thanx, Brian (I saw what you did at 36d) and Husker.

    TOURIST TRAP: Every midwesterner is familiar with Wall Drug. You start seeing the roadside signs about two states away. In the southwest it's those signs for the teepee roadside "attractions." The only one worth stopping at was the meteor crater just off I-40 east of Flagstaff.

    TUCKERED OUT: Gabby Hayes improved on it with his "Plumb Tuckered Out."

    ReplyDelete
  4. FIR, but erased HAirBRAINED IDEA, DOG sleds, eire and LIReS.

    Lots easier than yesterday's puxzle, which I'm still grinding.

    You should never put a sign on your lawn for the alarm company you actually use. But if you use Simplisafe, it's fine to put up your ADT sign. If the bad guys know what kind of system you have, they have a big hint for how to defeat it.

    Spitz has explained how the term "BITTer end" came about, so I won't repeat it. At least on recreational boats, a similar device is called a "sampson post".

    I've heard folks going boating, and about a guy who boats. Never heard that someone BOATED for a while, but it makes sense. And I guess if that guy had a jet drive, the boat had an IMPELler.

    Singin' in the Rain evokes one of the ultra-violent scenes in A Clockwork Orange. Great movie, but don't watch it just before bed time.

    Loved seeing the lovely ANNA today. I'm glad Brian isn't related so I don't feel that I need to apologize for my thoughts about her. (I saw a tee shirt at the Marion County flea market that declared "Guns don't kill people, fathers with beautiful daughters kill people".)

    Thanks to Brian the Brain for the fun Saturday puzzle that was easy enough for even me to solve. And thanks to Gary for the fun review. Just wish that TERI and Dean would have switched positions in that shot.

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  5. Hi Brian, I thought your puzzle was great! Fun clues, smooth solve. My personal view on proper nouns is that they should either be fairly well-known, or guessable through crosses, and I think yours are all fine. I had never heard of ELIAS but could get with crosses. I had never heard of INLINE AD or BITT, either, but got those with crosses as well.

    A couple things I really liked: 1) having the long clues in the middle avoided the problem of having isolated islands in the corners, where some puzzles have only one square connecting the island to the rest of the puzzle. So if you can't get a toehold, you can't get any help from bridges to the mainland. 2) very few abbreviations, and those that you have are specific. My personal pet peeve, more than proper nouns, is stuff like, "Mil. rank," with an answer that's 3 letters, and you can't do anything until you have some crosses in there.

    ReplyDelete

  6. Good morning. Thank you, Brian. You too, Gary.

    Fun and challenging puzzle today. Took longer than normal to work out. CERTITUDES took too long to work out. Actually fit in CERTainties by misspelling it but saw it immediately.

    In that vein, also had HAir before HARE.

    No idea on BITT, but perps insisted.

    No Gary, I did not "put FOGS" but I did think of it before FENS.

    Brian, I thought you had a great mix today. I wouldn't worry about the names. True, every once in a while we get a crossing of really obscure names, but usually the answers are perpable with a little logic. Some people don't like any names and would complain about AETNA or URSULA, while other people will complain about sports clues. I almost always need perps for author names of unknown books that many here have read.

    Getting the taxes done this morning. Gotta run. See yinz later.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Crunchy enough for a Saturday, but very doable. Quite a nice challenge and very enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  8. At first I thought this was going to be a bear - but a few longish answers dropped in and it was smooth sailing from there. Learning moments BITT, INLINE AD. I had heard of Eddie RABBITT but I couldn't have told you any of his songs - thanks for the link Gary - I knew that song but wouldn't have known who performed it!
    I think it's funny that you can see signs for Wall Drug not just a few states away but all over the world!

    Thanks Brian for dropping in and adding color commentary and HG for the fun blog!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jinx, unlike you, I did better yesterday when I FIR. Today the Natick at the RI in RIP did me in. I didn't know RABBITT or IN LINE AD, which I still do not understand. I tried ONLINE, but what is ROP? Or what is RIP? Not in my wheelhouse. I know CHYRON, an electronically generated caption superimposed on a television or movie screen, but it is too short. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the puzzle.
    MIRREN is one of my favorite actresses. She was superb in "The Queen."
    BOATED seems common enough me, and BOATING even more common.
    Although FOG did not fit with perps it was on the tip of my tongue because it was very foggy when I went to pick Alan up today.
    Betel reminds me of Bloody Mary with the red teeth from South Pacific.
    Bloody Mary's chewin' betel nuts
    She is always chewing betel nuts
    Bloody Mary's chewing betel nuts
    And she don't use Pepsodent!
    Now ain't that too damn bad!
    34A I had a teacher in HS who said in 1955 God never intended us to go to the moon. 14 years later Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.
    I know someone who calls the actress Ursula Undress.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning everyone.

    For a while I wondered what with RABBITT and HARE………… if there was a sub-theme in the themeless puzzle.
    Slow start but slowly climbed out of the bottom. The 3 long center downs helped glue the puzzle together. Had 'même' before EGAL. NW was last and still needed help to suss IN-LINE AD. Sigh. I did like Brian's puzzle - a good Saturday work-out.
    URSULA - I had a cousin with that name.
    BITT - Not me, Gary. I was in the Engineering Dept. and could parallel a generator and split the electrical load. A tough junkyard dog and I could even open MS #15 (600 psi system main steam valve, to cross-connect the plant.)

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sorry for my goof yesterday. Quite a slip between my original thought and what I typed. My mind is fully occupied elsewhere.
    Alan spent Monday night in the emergency room with a panic attack. I would have stayed with him and waited until morning because this often resolves itself. By 10:00 PM the staff said regs demanded they take him to the ER. I sat on my hands and let them handle it because hey needed experience with this while I am still available. The doctor finally saw him after 5 hours at 3:00 AM. By then he was okay and was sent home. Since last weekend his cold has gotten heavier and heavier and he feels miserable.

    I am researching my next step my life. I went to see a continuing car retirement community this week. I understand that quite a number of CCRCs become insolvent and the residents lose their life savings which they have to pay upfront. I also am researching other options, including aging in place..
    David calls me often, very upset, because his wife is in bad shape.
    Solving the puzzles and my virtual friends here keep me sane, even if what I type doesn't always make sense.

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  12. BUON Giorno ad amici cruciverbisti.

    After yesterday's not so "MINI" disaster, today's puzzle was like a walk in the park or SLOSH in the FENS.

    Knew Ursula "Undress" from the Bond movie.

    Was there a connection between Eddie RABITT and HAREBRAINED...?

    Thoughbthe letter count was correct award winning Olivia Colman's name wouldn't work as the answer to "The Queen" clue because it had to start with an M...then realized it was Helen Mirren's film performance and not the TV series "The Crown" (highly recommended BTW)...both about QEII.

    "Bloody Mary's chewing BETEL nuts!" a line in a fun song from one of my favorite golden era musicals: "South Pacific"

    FIAT was not Henry Ford's Lombardy cousin Enrico but << Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino>> ...along those lines St Patrick was born of Roman parents in Britain. ERIN not originally his "home". According to our guide during our Irish tour the Romans avoided Ireland as being "wintry" hence Hibernian. He also saw leprechauns behind trees...so...

    Alas the snow has accumulated around the base of my bird feeder to such a level that the squirrels can jump passed the baffle and are polishing off all the seed.

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  13. Good Morning:

    I sailed through a good portion of this pretty quickly, thanks to the easily discernible long fill such as Takes for a spin, Desert Islands, and Tuckered out. However, the SW corner did me in, but good. I stubbornly refused to let go of Colman (Olivia) as the award winner for "The Queen." I conflated her Oscar win for "The Favourite" and her Golden Globe win for the PBS series, "The Crown." In addition, Bitt was totally unknown and Bambi was off my radar with my misinterpretation of the clue. I saw Tail instead of Tale and was thinking of Forked, Split, etc., instead of an actual "Tale." I Canoed across the lake, and was Hair before Hare brained and Sec-ish before Cru-ish. Besides Bitt, Elias and Rabbitt needed perps. Bottom line: DNF. Cute entries: Dog teams above Snarls at and the referential clue for Miss Paquin.

    Thanks, Brian, for a challenging Saturday, despite my self-inflicted DNF and thanks, HG, for the impressive commentary, visuals, and links. Betel nuts always evokes images of Bloody Mary and "South Pacific." (Not so benign, though, as you noted)

    FLN

    Bill G, sincere thoughts and prayers for Barbara's successful treatments and recovery.

    Have a great day.

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  14. Stupendous Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Brian (hello fellow-Canadian) and HuskerG.
    This CW required P&P but it is Saturday and it was doable. But like YR, I arrived here to discover I FIWed on my personal Natick of RABBITT and RIP. I had Zip for copying that CD (but it did not say anything about compressing the file!), and Zabbitt was as good as the unknown to me RABBITT.
    Several inkblots: hand up for Hair before HARE; I had ETA or ETD before RTE;
    the usual CW seesaw between Eire and ERIN, and Mini or MIDI (we're modest today to counteract those thoughts of URSULA!);
    I wanted Adapt before ALTER perped; Paty before PATACAKE;
    my "tighten in a way" was Rein before EDIT.

    I wanted to use my "call-a-friend" to contact Spitzboov to give me BITT. It finally perped.
    Some patches are iron-on but that would not fit the spot.

    I agree about those home-grown tomatoes for BLTs. It will be late July or August before I can make mine. AnonT will be sooner! (I gather from last night that WC doesn't want Mayo on his. No kale on mine so Picard is OK.)
    Speaking of Picard, I think I have some photos somewhere of a visit to Wall Drugs back about 1995. I remember one with a horse. But not digitalized so I won't share. (I need to reply to Picard about CUSMA before looking at old photos!)

    YR- thoughts and prayers on your hard week. Don't worry about your typing - we will figure it out!
    Wishing you all a great day.

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  15. I actually didn't even notice the Rabbitt-Harebrained connection until I read it here. Same with Dogteams-SnarlsAt. It amazes me what I don't notice.

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  16. Brian Paquin thank you for stopping by. Since you asked, I do not like proper names. I much prefer clever cluing of familiar words to create a challenge. What may seem well known to you is usually utterly unknown to me. The cross of TERI and TORS was a WAG since TERI was utterly unknown.

    That said, I enjoyed today's challenge and FIR. Thanks!

    Did anyone else try GROK before FEEL? Learning moment about BITT which was unknown. Same for ELIAS and ANNA.

    CanadianEh since you brought it up...

    Here I was at the Wall Drug TOURIST TRAP in 1997.

    Husker Gary I agree it was a welcome stop. I first learned of Wall Drug when I saw a Wall Drug bumper sticker in Boston in college. My college girlfriend was from Indiana and she explained it to me. Thanks as usual for all of the wonderful illustrations!

    CanadianEh I will look forward to your email reply!

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  17. From yesterday:
    Wilbur Charles glad you understand! Yes, Mayo and KALE are matters of personal taste. Our objection is having it forced on us with no way to opt out. KALE has the addition annoyance of being claimed to be a "super food" which is just nonsense. Chocolate is my super food!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hola!

    Thank you, Brian; I really enjoyed this Saturday solve. Gary, thank you for the graphically pleasing review.

    URSULA started me in the east and the whole corner filled quickly. Surprisingly, I remembered BUNGS. In fact, corner by corner they filled.

    Yes, I had FOGS but that finally changed to FENS and once DESERT ISLAND emerged, the entire center bloomed though my eraser had a good workout and no look ups were needed.

    I knew most of the names and though I knew the song did not know who sang it but Eddie RABBITT perped.

    MIRREN immediately came to mind and with the M in place, BAMBI jumped out.

    YR:
    Please know that positive thoughts are going to you.

    Have a fine day, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  19. This was actually fun. For me the best puzzle of the week. The thing with proper names is either you know them or you don't and if the crosses are obscure you're stuck. This puzzle was fair and the names could be easily sussed. There are many L.A.Times puzzles lately with way more proper names in them than this puzzle at times 15+. Thanks Brian for this nice puzzle.

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  20. What a great Saturday puzzle - tough but fair. I knew most of the names, and the others fell to perps. My one goof was ROP for RIP - I only know burn for copying CD’s.

    As a sailor, I am familiar with the term WINCH rather than BITT. Displaying my ignorance, I‘Ve never heard Bitt. Are they synonymous?

    Thanks , Brian and Gary for the fun.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well, I'm always daunted by Saturday puzzles, but this morning I gut URSULA right away and that got me off to a surprisingly good start. So, to answer your question, Brian, names are often a huge help to me. URSULA helped me get both ERIN and AS A, and getting KAT got me started on TUCKERED OUT. Of course I eventually needed help with some of the longer answers, but a lot of fun. I liked getting TEAR for that natural eye cleaner. But I put GROWLS AT before some of the downs made me change it to SNARLS. Husker Gary, thanks for posting that great picture of Gene Kelly SLOSHing around in "Singin' in the Rain. Fun Saturday puzzle, thanks again, Brian.

    Have a great weekend, everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I loved this puzzle and the long downs. Last to fill was the RI in RIP. I also had to fiddle around with BUTT (as in scuttlebutt) and BATT (as in batten the hatches) before settling on BITT. DOGSLEDS had to be ALTERed to DOGTEAMS because of those BETELS.

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  23. Hi All!

    It's always nice to get off to a good start with a gimme at 1a; more so on a Saturday!

    Thanks Brian for the puzzle and for stopping in at The Corner. I didn't know ANNA, URSULA, TERI but they are all common spellings for the names and guessable w/ only a few perps.
    C, Eh! almost said it... add to RABITT/HARE, DOG/SNARL, ALTER/EDIT. I'll add FIAT / LIRA (which is double: both Italian and/or both currency)

    Great Expo TTP; loved the homage to Click-n-Clack w/ Fix-It-Again-Tony. Interesting article on the impact of windmills [but nothing about cancer(?) :-)]

    WO: YEW b/f ASH had Gene Kelly ----WET b/f SLOSHED; Hair/HARE, started siCK and Tired b/f realizing too few squares. PATyCAKE
    ESPs: EGAL, TORs, BITT, among others, I'm sure.
    Fav: Normally, I'd say ASTRO... Let's see what Dusty Baker can do to polish this turd.

    {A}

    YR - your eFriends are here. I'd never heard of CCRCs but here's what AARP says about evaluating them.

    WendyBird - I think these are music CDs at 1d; I've RIP'd most of mine to MP3s. Data CDs one 'burns' a copy of. My $0.02

    Y'all have a great Saturday afternoon!

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  24. I once heard you could get “everything “ at Wall, but when we got there on a x-country trio found we couldn’t replace the crochet hooks my 12-year-old had forgotten. Finally found some at Mt Rushmore

    The top Tourist Trap in the East is South of the Border. Counted almost 200 billboards on I-95 in South Carolina northbound, almost as many southbound in NC. It may be halfway from NY to Florida, but we’ve found better places to stop.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wendybird:

    BITT: A shipboard mooring fixture, comprised of cylindrical posts similar to BOLLARDS, mounted in pairs.

    Winch: A mechanical device for pulling on a rope (such as a sheet or halyard), usually equipped with a pawl to assist in control. It may be hand operated or powered.

    They are not synonymous.

    ReplyDelete

  26. This Saturday puzzle was a lot easier than Friday, IMO.

    Write-overs....ONLINEAD/INLINEAD, LIRES/LIRAS, YEW/ASH.

    No sense in discussing the proper names, everyone has a different strength so names are great with some and not for others.

    One day til the Big Game...all I (ever) ask of a SB game is to keep me interested until the 4th quarter. If it turns into a route then no problem. But when it’s a runaway from the get go it’s a waste of time.

    I’m thinking the Niners are a more complete team....but KC is a scoring machine.

    See you Monday.

    ReplyDelete

  27. YR....forgot to add...You couldn’t pay me to retire to one of those places. I personally plan to age in place. Maybe not THIS place, but I’d much rather have someone have to come to me rather than being warehoused. Plus your concern about losing your money is a valid one, and why risk it? I’ve told my family I have one good move left, and it won’t be to a facility. If I have to build another home complete with the wider doors for a walker or a chair I will do so. Just my 2 ¢.

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  28. Finally came together when the V-8 can smacked me in the head: not hairbrained. At least I wasn't alone.

    Fun puzzle.

    JB2

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  29. Wendy, this type of BITT is more common on sailboats. The end of the anchor line that is supposed to stay on the boat is called the "bitter end".

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  30. BP thank you for your comments here as well as reminding of the many assets of distant cousin Anna. Did you ever think to send in one of the DNA kits? They are fun, I learned a fellow congregant at our synagogue is a 4th cousin.

    I thought this was one of the fairest Saturdays, nicely balanced and entertaining.

    Today is the 75th anniversary of the day my parents snuck off and got married at the County seat.

    Thank you gary and brian

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anon PVX and TTP, continuous care retirement communities, CCRCs, like where my friend lives, specialize in independent living where you have a small or large apartment depending on price. There are continuous delightful activities of your choice or none at all if you wish, great meals with much choice, local transportation, parking for a car, etc. I have visited my friend there. It is a most pleasant, small village with the privilege of being out and about in the neighborhood. As your skills fail you transition to assisted living and then to 24-7 nursing care. They seem to put more effort into the independent community than into the more disabled population. IMO the independent living facilities are wonderful, but the assisted living and 24-7 nursing are more like what you must be picturing.
    I am very self-sufficient now, but if I can't drive or even help myself while living here, which I prefer, what happens then? I live alone. Moving in with my elder son with all his problems is not an option.
    I am worried about having to pay almost all my life savings and home sale assets upfront to a CCRC, which they require, only to have the company go into bankruptcy. The CCRC I am thinking of has an excellent CARF certification. Even with a certified CCRC, I would need an elder attorney to review the complicated contract. Thanks TTP for the AARP info concerning this aspect. Their website was very helpful.
    I have had several friends who stayed in their homes well beyond their capacity to cope with it well. They left their progeny and themselves in a huge bind. Having no plan for this is not an option.
    Thanks for letting me vent.

    ReplyDelete
  32. DNF.
    Too bad: I didn't have enough spare time to get it right.
    I suspect it was a good one.
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR:
    One diag, NW to SE.
    The anagram reminds us that the last heir to the Russian throne was the underweight, hemophiliac son of the Romanoff dynasty, considered by the monk Rasputin to be too much of a "Mama's boy," or a...
    "TSARINA RUNT"!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I had a similar experience regarding direct route between locations and using interstates. We were going to a second house in the Phoenix area from Colorado with some furniture.WE were in Winslow, AZ and my son was driving a U-Hual truck while I drove our car. He wanted to use I-40 and I-17. I said " We'll wait for in the HOA clubhouse and used Route AZ 87 which is mountainous. He beat us by 30 minutes.

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  34. D'Oh! I knew it was Husker w/ the expo but typed TTP anyway. Sorry guys.

    Changing tracks...
    Anyone else get The New Yorker? OKL, I think you mentioned you did. Do you ever feel like "another? already? But..."

    I do.

    Well, last night while watching The Good Place w/ DW, I LOL'd at this diabolical method of torture.

    Cheers, -T

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  35. Just saw Singin' in the Rain again--and find it simply amazing that Gene Kelly was suffering from a bad, bad cold whole singing and dancing his way through all those glorious takes!
    ~ OMK

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  36. This HARE BRAINED solver was about to say "rabbit" on this one because I was stuck on Eddie MONEY for 1A and about to MESS it up. The NW was white except ANA & TEAR, and not knowing BUNGS was a SURE SIGN that it would be a DNF. But the V8 moment hit for RABBITT (didn't know it was "TT") and everything fell into place.

    Never hear of ELIAS Sports or BITT (and I've had three sailboats). TERI, ANNA, & TEENS perps.

    BIASES- no way there would be any INSINUATIONS that our news media would ever have them. No RANTS from them, yuk yuk.

    Ray-O-Sunshine-FIAT, aka "Fix It Again Tony"

    Jinx- unless you have a cellular alarm system (I do) any thief can disconnect your phone, DSL, cable, or fiber optic. Then they drive away for a little while, pass by, and see if there was any response; if no police or owner shows up, they can break in without any fear of the police or owner showing up. Those that work on an internet connection only work if there IS a connection.

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  37. Re. DIR: Then there's the Back azimuth Good example provided.

    My FIR was dashed on the "IN"LINE* ADS. I actually changed "IN" to ON. RIP is another term for burn I assume. But..
    I originally had HAIR and INCH. But I managed to grok that they were talking about Alice's March HARE.

    Re. ASTROs… I gave the analogy to the periodic table displayed for any and all to see during chemistry testing. Was I supposed to NOT look?. Were the ASTROs supposed to NOT use the CF camera info? Blame MLB itself.

    Actually, it was the "I" at the end of five letters that got BAMBI which opened up the whole West. Some poor grandmother in Maine was concerned about children being nearby to hunters. To get their attention she waved her hanky.

    The alibi: "I thought it was a White-tail deer!". RIP, Grandma

    WC

    * As I see YR , Wendy and others did

    Moi?? I love Sports clues, duh
    PS. in FLA you have I10->I75 or alternatively 301 diagonal through (shudder) Stark( the ultimate speed trap City)
    Finally...
    YR, there may be insurance policies (independent) that would protect your money. Ideally it would be paid upfront before the facility gets there's

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  38. Hi Y'all! Great puzzle & expo, Brian & Gary!

    Hadn't thought of Eddie RABBiTT in years. When that rain song was just becoming popular, I was passing the free pavilion at the state fair and heard it over the loudspeaker. I slipped into a seat and enjoyed Eddie RABBITT in afternoon concert. With him in place in the CW, most of everything else fell into place for me.

    Wall Drug was a welcome rest stop after hours on a bus tour. Other than the restroom and leg-streacher walk-thru, I didn't see anything worth writing home about there. However, some of my bus-mates got back on with sacks of stuff. I did have a Pepsi.

    YR: sending you a big hug! I'm thinking of a CCRC now too. There is a lovely one at the end of my street. The cost boggles the mind. No real equity, but you can get back a pro-rated portion of the investment anytime in the first 5 years. My son has a lovely "mother suite" in his basement, but his wife designated it for HER mother who is younger & healthier than I. Can't imagine living happily ever after with DIL. I no longer drive very often. As long as the grocery store will deliver & I can run the microwave, guess I'll stay where I am.

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