Theme: COLD SHOULDER
20A. *Monday NFL contests, e.g.: NIGHT GAMES. WINTER NIGHT/ WINTER GAMES.
11D. *View from the Oval Office: ROSE GARDEN. WINTER ROSE/WINTER GARDEN.
12D. *Granny Smith, e.g.: GREEN APPLE. WINTERGREEN / WINTER APPLE
27D. *Multi-field athletic venue: SPORTS PARK. WINTER SPORTS / WINTER PARK
28D. *Crunchy salad add-in: WHEAT BERRY. WINTER WHEAT / WINTER BERRY
50A. What happens on March 20, 2022, at 11:33 a.m. ... and what both parts of the answers to starred clues are: WINTER ENDS.
Melissa here. Timely theme, and interesting that there are three down theme answers and one theme answer and the reveal are across (see grid at bottom). Scrabbly with J, K, V, W & Y - but no F, Q, or Z.
Across:
1. Semi-hard cheese: EDAM. Along with gouda, the two cheesiest crossword words.
5. Windows navigation aids: TABS.
14. Block party item?: LEGO. Cute.
15. Memo abbr.: ASAP. As soon as possible.
16. Atlanta campus: EMORY. Emory University has been cited as one of the world's top research universities.
17. Heaps: A LOT. Noun, not verb.
18. Baby Moses' river: NILE.
19. "Check it out!": GO SEE.
23. Boo: JEER.
24. Seemingly forever: EON. An indefinite and very long period of time, often a period exaggerated for humorous or rhetorical effect.
25. Architect's work: DESIGN. Architects design structures such as office buildings, businesses, stadiums, schools, malls, and homes. They might also design outdoor spaces. An architect will collect all information for a project to include site selection, environmental impact, zoning laws, building codes, and access to buildings for the disabled.
27. "12 Days" septet: SWANS. In the popular holiday tune, The Twelve Days of Christmas, there are "seven swans a-swimming." (It's over five minutes but HIGH-larious.)
30. Drink with formaggio: VINO. Italian for cheese and wine. Yes, please.
31. Spa sound: AAH.
33. Garden pest: APHID. All about aphids.
34. Keto and South Beach: DIETS. Wonder what the next popular diet will be?
35. Tech sch. near Albany, N.Y.: RPI. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private research university in Troy, New York, with additional campuses in Hartford and Groton, Connecticut.
36. Transvaal settler: BOER. History - South African 'Boer' War.
37. Newspaper VIPs: EDS. Editors.
38. Econ. barometers: GDPS. Gross Domestic Products. GDP measures the value of the final goods and services produced in the United States (without double counting the intermediate goods and services used up to produce them).
39. Front-end car cover: BRA.
40. First stage: ONSET.
42. Skins: PEELS. Works for verb OR noun.
43. ABA member: ATT. ABA=American Bar Association. ATT=Attorney.
44. Quarterback-turned-analyst Tony: ROMO.
45. "A Gallery of Children" author: MILNE. A collection of twelve children's fantasy stories by A. A. Milne. First published in hardcover in 1925, the collection was the author's second children's book and first book of prose for children.
46. Food court pizza seller: SBARRO. First opened in Brooklyn in 1965 by Carmela and Gennaro Sbarro.
48. Grafton who wrote 25 "Alphabet Mystery" books: SUE.
49. WWI German vice admiral: SPEE. Wikipedia.
56. Analyze in a grammar lesson: PARSE.
58. Perth put-offs: NAES. Australian no.
59. Joint malady: GOUT. According to the Mayo Clinic it is a form of arthritis.
60. Symbol for turning traffic: ARROW.
61. Snake River jumper Knievel: EVEL. We see him a lot.
62. Stare in wonder: GAPE.
63. Video call option: SKYPE. So many now.
64. "Hey" assistant: SIRI. So much easier to say than "Okay, Google."
65. 53-Down's firstborn: SHEM. Along with Ham and Japheth.
Down:
1. Verve: ELAN.
2. Sub contractor?: DELI. Clever. Submarine sandwiches, in a delicatessen.
3. Visibly awed: AGOG. With 62A.
4. Light-loving flier: MOTH. The Gypsy Moth Is Now the Spongy Moth.
5. Dances like the one seen in "Evita": TANGOS.
6. Thai or Laotian: ASIAN.
7. Pain soother: BALM. Not aloe.
8. Like a sprint winner: SPEEDIEST.
9. Bit of RAM: MEG. 1GB ram = 1000 MB. Computer memory (RAM) is typically installed in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB), typically in some combination of 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB or 4 GB.
10. Face with tears of joy, for one: EMOJI. 😹
13. Observer: EYER.
21. Mind: TEND.
22. Email tab: SENT. More precisely, your sent folder can be opened in it's own tab.
26. Palindromic 33-Down hit: SOS.
29. __ guitar: AIR.
30. Vintage MTV staple: VIDEO. Vintage is right - I haven't watched MTV in EONs, but they stopped showing music videos forever ago.
32. Villain's welcome: HISS. Haha.
33. 26-Down group: ABBA.
34. State capital on its own river: DES MOINES. Iowa.
38. Toothpaste choice: GEL.
40. The Boston Bruins retired his #4 in 1979: ORR. Canadian American professional ice hockey player who was the first defenseman to lead the National Hockey League (NHL) in scoring. He was considered one of the sport's greatest players.
41. Swed. neighbor: NORW. Don't usually see Sweden and Norway abbreviated that way.
42. Berth place: PIER. Nice clue.
45. Granola relative: MUESLI. What's the difference between muesli and granola?
47. "Zeus and the Tortoise" storyteller: AESOP.
48. Texas ranger?: STEER. Another nice clue.
49. Massage spots: SPAS.
51. "Avatar" race: NAVI. In the movie Avatar, the Na'vi are an indigenous species that live on Pandora. They are humanoid in appearance and are 9 to 10 feet (2.7 to 3.0 m) tall, having pairs of eyes, ears, arms, legs and feet like humans, as well as a nose, a mouth, and expressions recognizable to humans.
53. Biblical builder: NOAH.
54. Hornswoggle: DUPE. To get the better of (someone) by cheating or deception.
55. Originate (from): STEM.
57. Lea grazer: EWE.
39 comments:
The only reason I know "Sbarro" is from previous cw puzzles. And before I got "edam" I tried "brie." Other than that, I didn't find the puzzle terribly difficult. FIR, so I'm happy.
Good morning!
Placing two-word themers side by side where all four words have to work with "winter" -- that's quite a feat. I'm impressed. Noticed the CSO to IM at RPI, near where she lives. No real stumbles today; the Wite-Out got a rest. Thanx for the outing, Darryl, and for the expo, Melissa Bee.
MUESLI -- Before reading that article, d-o would have said that MUESLI and Granola were like the difference between a duck, one foot is both the same. Learning moment.
SIRI -- In the car I address my GPS as "Hey, TomTom." Very convenient, except when it's not. Sometimes Grizzelda just doesn't understand, and tries to direct you a spot thousands of miles from your intended destination. I've learned that usually means that the street/path/trail/road is incorrect. But if you omit it, she still doesn't understand. Grrrrr. Unless it's an FM road, when you must say Farm-to-Market 1485 with no road/highway/etc. Double-Grrrrr.
Taxing day...gotta run.
Interesting and fun, and easier than yesterday. Thanx DG for a relatively quickly done CW, which I managed to FIR in 16. I’m not familiar with the terms SPORTSPARK or WHEATBERRY, but perps were firm. Only W/O WINTERSEND:WINTERENDS. Nice write-up, too, Melissa, thanx. Retrieved my taxes from my CPA yesterday and was surprised at how much I still owed, in spite of having sent the IRS estimated taxes each quarter of 2021. And had to pay income tax on the Medicare premiums that were taken from my SS payments!! It’s money I never got….but I hafta pay income tax on it? How does THAT come to pass?? (O.K., enough rant, I’ll stop).
Unclefred, back in '78 the guvment decided that rich people should pay tax on a portion of their Social Security benefit. At its lowest tier, 50% of the benefit would taxable, but it would quickly rise to the max 85% taxable. In their infinite wisdom, lawmakers never indexed the tax for inflation (just as they never indexed the paltry $0.14/mile charitable mileage deduction). Initially, very few taxpayers were subject to the tax. Today, I'd guess that more than half SS beneficiaries have to pay income tax on their benefit. Welcome to the club. You're "rich."
My walk through Wonderland took 7:05.
I've heard of wheat, and berries, but not "Wheatberry". Also never heard of a vice admiral for the Germans in in the first World War.
Today there's the "spa sounds" clue and (different) answer of "spas."
FIR, but erased unite (not UNTIE!) for MERGE, and ache for GOUT. Waited for gnp/GDP.
With the demise of enclosed malls and popularity of Keto DIETS, I wonder how SBARRO is faring.
Off to get our Honda's complimentary oil change. The dealer's "free oil changes for life" is a good deal, as long as you reject rotating the tires, changing the air and cabin air filters, and other unnecessary come-ons. (Costco rotates the tires, and I change the air filters, coolant, transmission fluid and air freshener.)
Thanks to Daryl for the fun puzzle, with the typical Wednesday level of difficulty. And thanks to Melissa B for another fun tour through the fills.
FIR, but not much of a fan of the theme answers.
Ironically finished in a palindromic 13:31
Anon at 7:30, you may not have heard of the Admiral, but maybe the WWII German battleship Graf Spee that was named for him.
Good Morning:
I had no clue about the theme until filling in the reveal answer which is just fine by me. I thought the cluing was clever and playful but I wasn’t keen on Norw or Eyer, small nits in an otherwise enjoyable solve. Some of the themers were not quite as strong as others but, again, small nit as they were close enough to be acceptable. My two w/o were Nava/Navi and In Re>Attn>ASAP and the only unknown was Swans. Lots of fun duos with Spas/Aah, Aesop/Milne, Noah/Shem, Stem/Shem, Steer/Ewe, and Sbarro/Arrow. Lots of CSOs, too: ATLGranny (Emory), Ray O and Anon T (Vino), Dear Spitz and Moi (RPI, Hi, DO), Hahtoolah (Sue, for short), Wilbur (Orr and Naes), and Lucina (Tangos).
Thanks, Darryl, for a challenging Wednesday and thanks, Melissa, for a very entertaining and informative write-up. Any recent photos of Jaelyn and Harper that you’d like to share?
UncleFred @ 7:04 ~ Speaking of expenditures, is your new roof completed?
Speedy Solver @ 7:30 ~ Enjoyed your cute Wonderland reference. I think the (Unwritten?) rule on using the same words in the clue and the grid has gone by the wayside. I’ve noticed this occurring for quite sometime. Personally, it doesn’t bother me anywhere near as much as late week circles and a preponderance of three letter words.
Have a great day.
billocohoes: I've not heard of the ship either, but thank you for the suggestion. I read the Wiki and saw that the ship survived 5.5 years. I don't know anything about the average lifespan of a WWII battleship, and seems that its (her) captain improvidently scuttled it/her.
Ms. Irish Miss: I agree with you that the (former?) (unwritten?) rule(?) on not repeating a word is no longer (if it ever were). Don't get me started on circles....
And, let me wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve.
Musings
-Just back in from a fire drill on a breezy, 45F day. Brrr…
-“Hey” assistant stumped me (no idea on NAVI) despite the fact that I use “Hey SIRI” a lot! Duh!!
-Ten themers and I still needed the reveal! Duh!!2
-ROMO ERRED big time this past season
-Children’s author _ _ _ N E was STINE for a while
-I better remember Al Pacino’s fabulous blind TANGO scene in Scent Of A Woman
-I learned GRAF SPEE doing these puzzles.
Well,
1st things 1st....
When I was young, winter would be sledding, skiing, snowball fights etc...
Now that I am a grumpy old man, winter is shovelling, earaches,frostbite, and horrible driving conditions...
I have learned to live with it by becoming "a snowbird!"
Meaning: spend 6 months of the year in Florida!
I learned of Spee as a kid building model battleships,
the Graf Spee is in the shelves of every hobby shop.
Until today, I never knew what the "Graf" part meant.
Apparently in German it it is "Count" or nobleman.
In English it is closer to Earl....
A FIR today with almost no WOs. Near the finish line I stumbled. Definitely not the SPEEDIEST solve for me but lots of fun, Darryl. Thanks. Theme worked for me, though I too needed the reveal to get it. Also thought WINTERs END first but perps saved me. So all's well....
Thanks, Melissa B, for your expert review. The placement off the themers was different. I liked "block party item" LEGO. Picked up plenty of those years ago. And of course was happy to see EMORY, which is just around the corner from me.
I have made granola for years and yes it is baked with honey and oil. Plenty of calories, if you are counting. I have also had overnight MUESLI in Europe which sometimes has cut-up raw apple in it.
Hope you have had a good breakfast to start your day!
I have opined here about my favorite food, "Pizza!" Many times...
But not specifically "Sbarro."
My only complaint is that it is difficult to spell...
I love that it is thicker and breadier and softer than most pizzas,
But some people hate it. Preferring Ny style thin crust for its crispiness.
I have tried many times to recreate it at home, and YouTube has many opinions.
But if you want mine..
Starting with a standard pizza dough,
NY Style crispiness requires high heat and a pizza stone.
Sbarro style can be achieved with the same dough by docking the dough
With a fork and prebake for ten minutes without sauce on a sheet pan.
Allowing the dough to rest and rise before sauce and baking will achieve thicker bread like pizza.
Interesting things to try is substituting milk for water in the dough
And even adding instant potato flakes to taste.
Using barley malt syrup
Instead of honey or sugar increases depth of flavour, as well as refrigerating dough over nite before baking.
(Don't get me started on poolish)
Use a good olive oil!
For more of a challenge,
Try doing all the above while camping in the woods....
And, of course,
If you don't try each and every one of the above
Without your favorite beer, you are just wasting your time...
Oooh!
Try beer instead of water in the dough!
(Nah, that would just be a waste...)
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Darryl and melissa bee.
I’m back after lurking for the past few days while grandchildren were visiting. Recovering today!
I FIRed in good time, saw the theme, no inkblots,
Some WAGs or Canadian disadvantage with EMORY, SBARRO, but I knew ORR.
Actually ORR was a defenceman on this side of the border ( but no offense to Ray-o; thanks AnonT for the Brit link yesterday- yes, I am actually pretty fluid about the spelling differences, but like to keep Americans aware LOL).
I’ll add to Irish Miss’s duos with GAPE and AGOG, HISS and JEER, and a trio of PIER, STEER, JEER.
Plus an O game with LEGO, VINO, ROMO, SBARRO, VIDEO, TANGOS, GO SEE and maybe ARROW?
I had the AAH at the spa; yes the dupe rule is dead - I had a massage at the SPAS.
SOS and ABBA are both palindromes.
Wishing you all a great day.
I was expecting the word SPRING or EQUINOX when I saw that date. But the WINTER ENDS eventually came through. Hand up with Subgenius only ever heard of SBARRO in these puzzles. I had heard of GRAF SPEE.
Here I photographed a huge Luna MOTH at our Butterflies Alive exhibit.
From Yesterday:
AnonT, Wilbur Charles, Ol Man Keith Thank you for the appreciation for the challenge of the UZIS photo. Not sure what the law is in Israel. Some countries explicitly forbid photographing soldiers. I was once approached by armed soldiers for photographing the Israeli embassy, I think in Ecuador.
Vidwan Sorry you are having such challenges. I am honored that you went back and found my message to you about naturalized citizens having the same rights as natural born citizens. Does it set your mind at ease that you no longer have to look over your shoulder?
Irish Miss @ 8:37 Roof not even started yet. They are still waiting on some materials. I signed the contract last August!! This is one reason I was SO UPSET to discover I still owe another $6,215 for my 2021 taxes!! I still have the roof to pay for; then, the solar panels. I thought I'd break even on the taxes, and was not expecting to hafta come with so much more money by Apr 18. Oy.
Hola!
Thank you, Irish Miss, for the CSO at TANGO but I accept the WORD only, not the act. I would not even know how to start!
Fun to see EMOJI in this puzzle. I think that's a first. For me, anyway.
APHID and ROSE GARDEN. Hmmm. Luckily they are far apart.
I have not been to DES MOINES but on a farm somewhere in Iowa for the family reunion of a friend. That was a long time ago in my nun days and we were on the way to Dayton.
There was once a TONY ROMO restaurant here in Scottsdale and a SBARRO's Pizza at the mall. Both are now gone. Great ribs at Tony ROMO's. They would spread newspaper on the tables which were park tables with benches.
Love the clue for STEER!
Good job, Darryl and Melissa, too! Thank you, both.
Have a great St. Pat's Eve, everyone!
Nice work on this one Darryl G, especially liked the 10 letter themers and the clues for DELI and LEGO. Typical Wednesday feel as I FIR in just under 15 mins, my one WAG being the A in NAVI/NAES. I Thought NAE was a Scottish no/refusal/turndown, not Australian.
Melissa B ~~ thank you for your fine synopsis!
Lucina ~~ might you be confusing Tony ROMO with Tony ROMA’S restaurants? Some of the best ribs I’ve ever had btw.
Hi All!
WINTER ENDed Tuesday; we're over 70F and I don't think we're going under 45F again 'till November. Tomatoes go in this weekend!
Thanks for the timely puzzle Darryl. Thanks for the link-y expo, mb; LOL 12days.
WOs: Started Aloe b/f BALM, BOoR, ATy, MUsSLI
ESPs: SPEE, NAVI
Nits: TABS & 5a Tab in 22d clue; 31a clues SPA which is answer for 49d; MEG is not a bit of RAM but many bits
//I think, in general, DUEPs are unintended and end up in a grid after multiple edits.
Fav: Y'all remember (in the 80's) when folks would get a Le BRA for their Le Car.
WHEAT BERRY? You mean "crouton"? :-)
====
My breakfast this morning (standard WFH [work from home] fare):
Scrambled EGGS
1/2c cottage (not EDAM) cheese w/ cracked black pepper
Bowl of granola & MUESLI mix* w/ whole milk & blue berries
Banana
Orange JUICE
V8 tomato JUICE
Coffee
Ice water
====
*I always buy a box of both and then mix it in a pantry-container
Unclefred / D-O: I had no idea SS is taxed like that. What bunk.
CED - letting the dough rise a second time gives you a thinker Sicilian-crust. I personally like Neapolitan style thin crust w/ olive oil, mozzarella, tomato & basil. Or! Just basil pesto. Beer (or wine) is a must.
Enjoyed reading y'all!
Cheers, -T
Muesli (Bob's Red Mill with no sugar added), diced apple and plain yogurt here for breakfast.
Thanks for the write-up, Melissa.
It is supposed to start snowing here in about two hours.
Anon T @12:31 I didn't know that either until after I started getting SS. I figured it's MY MONEY that I and my employers put in over 40 working years. I was equally surprised to discover I had to pay a premium to get Medicare. Once again, I (and my employers) had been taking money out of my paycheck over all those years. I really did think Medicare was pre-paid during my working years. To see money taken out of my meager SS payment to pay to get Medicare was a very big surprise. But to hafta now pay income tax on the money deducted from my SS check every month to buy Medicare....WHAT? I'm being taxed on money I never got!! (Is this "politics"? I'll shut up now).
SS @ 8:57 ~ Thanks for the St. Paddy’s Day Eve wishes. ☘️☘️☘️
HG @ 10:16 ~ Scent of A Woman is one of my favorite movies and the scene you posted is my favorite of the whole movie. I think I mentioned before that the campus scenes were all shot at Emma Willard School which is right up the road from me. Thanks for brightening my day. 🤗
UncleFred @ 11:49 ~ I’m sorry I brought up such a sore subject. ðŸ¤
Lucina @ 12:16 ~ Anything Spanish related brings you to mind! 🥰
Anon T @ 12:31 ~ That’s some healthy breakfast, in more ways than one! 🤣
MalMan @ 1:02 ~ Have fun on the slopes. ⛷
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR
GAZE/GAPE; DAZE/DUPE; SEND/SENT; misspelled MUESLI, MUSCLI
Didn't see the theme until the reveal. We barely have WINTER here in the SW AZ desert. When I saw the clue for 50-across I immediately thought of the beginning of SPRING, not the END of WINTER
Thanks MB and DG for the hump day hilarity
Unclefred, you could look at it that the 15% of your SS that isn't taxed is what pays for the Medicare you thought would be free.
UncleFred@1:50
rant noted and agreed,
The mills of the gods grind slowly...
They just now (possibly) agreed to keep daylight savings time.
Possibly they will stop taking taxes from income we already paid taxes on
(When we are dead and buried...)
Perhaps if we all attacked congress with our walkers and canes
They might listen to us!
Malodorous Manatee,
Your bio says LA,
Weren't you just in Hawaii?
(I think it was you)
It's gonna snow?
Where the heck are you?
Lastly,
Anon-T
(Ah, today's youth...)
Scrambled eggs?
(Trying to lose weight, i have them up for a beer in the afternoon)
Cottage cheese?
(Gave it up for 1/2 a beer with dinner)
Granola/muesli + blue berries?
(I put the blueberries in a beer for extra vitamin C)
Banana? That's 150 calories! = one beer!
Orange juice? (See banana above)
Coffee? (Ok, gotta have coffee, but no milk or sugar!'
V8 tomato juice?
(Well,,, if ya add Tabasco and a shot of tequila...)
And Ice Water!?!?
(Tinbeni would never approve...)
So to make it short and sweet,
my breakfast...
Thanks for the PZL, Mr. Gonzalez! And for the response, MelissaB!
I got stuck at 28D. Not familiar with WHEAT BERRY.
I loves me some croutons.
I too was trying to cram SPRING into 50A. I guess that was the near-universal misdirection.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Two diagonals, one per side.
The near-side diag offers an anagram (14 of 15 letters) that tells of an old-fashioned way to glean your bookie's latest odds.
Yep, I am referring to a...
"MODEM DOPESHEET"!
Thanks, Melissa, for the recap and for the funny 12 Days of Christmas. I've never see it, and, by the end, the poor guys were visibly tired and bordering on giddy.
YooperPhil @12:28 - You're correct; there is a Perth, Scotland, which was settled in the early 12th century. I too was puzzled as I've been to Australia, and I never heard a "nae" there, so I googled.
I've never SEEN it - rats.
Nifty puzzle; I enjoyed solving it. As desper-otto said, "Placing two-word themers side by side where all four words have to work with "winter" -- that's quite a feat. I'm impressed."
Oh, my. Bad news on my return from California. My toilet didn't flush and the plumber has been here twice with the result that I need a new one. That one is the original. I've already had to replace the one in the hallway which was cracked by my ex-son-in-law who is quite hefty. I guess that is what tax refunds are for: home expenses!
CED; inre* coffee...
Gotta be like my friends - Black and Strong.
//read: No Sugar [I love this song... Guess Who]
Cheers, -T
*my thought b/f ASAP
CED, you have not misplaced your marbles although perhaps I have lost mine. The bio is correct- Los Angeles. I was in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago visiting a friend who had received a diagnosis ending in oma. Presently, I am in Colorado. I used to travel quite a bit pre-pandemic but have forgotten some of my chops. With this recent spate of travel activity some things are beginning to slowly bubble up through the tar.
Thank You Darryl Gonxalez for a nice and crunchy Wednesday puzzle, that I enjoyed very much. I did not wait for the theme because I had some other chores and visits due to places outside the home. But the winter add-on to somany double entries , both across and down is very impressive indeed ... as other people have already noted.
I loved the LEGO clue and the one for SWANS, which I finally got.
Melissa Bee, Thank you for your lively and instructive summary. I enojyed all your links especially the Tango scene from The Scent of a woman ...
A few stray non-crossword comments .....
1. GDP is supposed to measure and quantify stuff actually made in the country. I just learnt that WalMart markets their prop brand EQUATE ... and marks it Made in USA, EVEN THOUGH it may be imported fron China, Taiwan or India ( Equate Protein Supplement, which I drink 3 times a day .... made from whey).
Im just saying ... even if it is their proprietary product, they should still follow the rules...
2. I've seen Sbarro in some food courts, but I never checked them out ... Ok, they sell pizza slices.
3. The Graf Spee was named for a german admiral Adm Maximillian Von Spee who was Killed in action in WW One, near the Falkland Islands. BUt the socalled pocket battleship was active in WW II, it was in fact a flag ship of its class ... and captured over 20 allied ships and destroyed them. It was seriously damaged in the Battle of the Platte, near Montevideo, Uruguay. and to prevent capture and internment by either the Uruguay or Argentina, the captain decided to scuttle the ship in the Rio Platte.
4. The word 'Gypsy' is actually a misnomer ... it was because the europeans and the british thought the Romani peoples or the Roma people were from Egypt....
5. GOUT ... GOUT ....GOUT ... Ok, i've had this more times than I care to remember....
This is a form of inflammation and arthritis ... it is the result of an overload of Uric acid and its crystallzation of Sodium Ureate.
It happens to people whose kidneys are
1, not efficient at doing their job, ... ( like mine)...
2. those who are over weight ...
3. drink too much alchohol, eat too much red meat and certain seafoods ,,,
4. certain other genetic factors that you cant control.
The pain is sometimes / oftentimes ... unbearable, I hope none of you ever get it.
Have a great evening all, tomorrow is Thursday !
To UnCleFred, and others (?) ... on the taxation of Social Security benefits, including Medicare contributions ...
The theory of Taxation is NOT based on EQUITY .... OR on LOGIC.
It is based on getting the maximum amount of feathers from the goose, with the least amount of hissing ...( Ben Franklin.)
There are lot of monies that a taxpayer may not actually "receive" that is still considered 'Income' to be taxed under the IRS regulations and the code .... merely because that is the law ...
1. State and Local taxes withheld, which are not in your paycheck,
2. FICA taxes
3. phantom interest on Zero coupon bonds
4. recapture of certain ACRS depreciation and depletion allowances,
5. imputed income on certain tax shelters ...
6. Imputed income on certain discharge of bankruptcies ...
I could go on and on.
The way I look at this stuff is ....
I live in a great country ....
...and I am privileged to have an income high enough that I have to pay taxes on it.
It could have been much worse, I could be living in a lousy country, and have to pay bribes all over the place to survive. At least the tax administration is non-discriminatory and fair for all, and efficient, and not corrupt.
The american IRS and the Treasury is probably the most efficient dept of its type in the whole world.
What more could we ask for ?
Vidwan - I, too, happily pay my taxes. Yes I know some of the money goes to s*** I don't like but some does [even in TX!].
//there's no politics in discussing tax unklefred [unless going for more ;-)]
To your health Vid - you just underwent some serious... I'm glad you're finding the gumption to play and post. Stay strong eFriend.
Lucina - LOL the "big kid" cracked the pooper.
Reminds me of a time...
A few years ago I was on the phone w/ Sis,
"Hold on, [nephew's name] is calling down. I think he just clogged the 'can' again."
//My nephew is a big corn-fed boy that played 1st string offensive line.
He's huge. I think 6'4" and 220lb [@16yrs] might be an under statement.
Lucina again... Kinda not the same but: (I hope you get your h2o issue squared away)
We have bathroom faucets that look like someone painted them (came w/ the house).
Hot-water tap on "his" sink is dripping. Plumber didn't have a clue.
I found the home-owners' 3-Ring with a sleeve and it had the faucet manual! I texted plumber a pic.
Turns out, the tap is a high-end piece of equipment and they back up their brass-work with a life-time replacement (--shipping). The new cartridge will be here in 10 days.
Where's Waseeley?
Cheers, -T
Dear Vidwan @ 10:10:
You ask, "What more could we ask for ?"
The answer is, state taxing systems that work in parallel with the Federal one. Case in point: Uncle Sam has a standard deduction of $18,800 for me. Oregon, OTOH forces me to do a full equivalent of 1040 Schedule A, all just to prove I don't owe anything. This is just a waste of time and paper. Oregon's equivalent to Form 1040 is SEVEN pages long. (I won't even tell you about the half hour it took find Oregon's Schedule OR-A on their horrid website.)
Sorry, I just got done with all the tax blather, so my karma is still 'taxable.'
Anon-T:
That was my daughter's first husband; he is 6 ft tall and now sadly weighs at least 300 lbs maybe more, the last time I saw him. Likely cracking more johns. That is where my granddaughter inherited her height but she works at keeping her weight in check.
Vidwan:
I am sorry you are experiencing so many health problems and hope you can find some relief. I feel just as you do about living here and don't mind when I do have to pay taxes for the reasons you cited.
Post a Comment