google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, November 29, 2022 Jared Goudsmit

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Nov 29, 2022

Tuesday, November 29, 2022 Jared Goudsmit

The Princess and the Pea.  Each theme answer is a two word phrase where each word begins with the letter "P".  Today's puzzle is theme-heavy.  There are 6 theme answers: 4 in the Across position and 2 in the Down position.


17-Across. Big name in crossword magazines: PENNY PRESS.


28-Across. Wet blanket: PARTY POOPER.


47-Across. Challenging yoga asana named for a showy bird: PEACOCK POSE.  Nope, can't manage this pose.


61-Across. Electricity facility: POWER PLANT.

3-Down. Noodles often served alla vodka: PENNE PASTA.  Yummers!


30-Down. Picnic dinnerware: PAPER PLATE.


Across:

1. Word before and after against: HOPE.  Against Hope and Hope Against.  Hope can also be a woman's name.  [Name adjacent.]

5. Bite: CHOMP.


10. Credit card option, familiarly: AMEX.


14. Above: OVER.

15. Sound transmission: AUDIO.

16. Rain gutter site: EAVE.



19. Wreak havoc on: RUIN.

20. Concave belly buttons: INNIES.

21. Dramatic declaration during an unveiling: ET VOILÀ.  Today's French lesson.

23. Cave-dwelling fish: EEL.


24. Yuletide songs: CAROLS.  Why Christmas songs are called Carols.  Carol is also a woman's name.  [Name adjacent.]

26. Egyptian cobra: ASP.  The snake that did in Cleopatra.


33. Ancestry.com sample: DNA.


34. "__ the front door!": SHUT.

35. Look daggers (at): GLARE.


36. Blu-ray __: DISC.

38. One-named singer whose four studio albums have numerical titles: ADELE.  Her given name is Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (b. May 5, 1988).  The four referenced studio albums are numbered 19, 21, 25, and 30.  The numbers refer to her age in which she started working on the album.  [Name # 1.]


41. Go in circles: SPIN.

42. Actress/model Kate: UPTON.  Kate Upton (née Katherine Elizabeth Upton; b. June 10, 1992) began  her modeling with Sports Illustrated in 2011 and was a cover model in 2012.  [Name # 2.]


44. First word for some babies: MAMA.

46. __ out a living: EKE.

50. Uncooked: RAW.  Some uncooked foods are delicious.

Sashimi

51. Shoelace tips: AGLETS.  I learned the name for the shoelace tips from doing the crossword puzzles.



52. Indy 500 sponsor: STP.

54. Digital currency: BITCOIN.


57. Pro at net working?: GOALIE.  Cute clue.


60. Empty hallway sound: ECHO.

64. Sci-fi author Stephenson: NEAL.  I don't generally read Science Fiction, so am not familiar with Neal Stephenson (né Neal Town Stephenson; b. October 31, 1959).  [Name # 3.]


65. Like the humans in "WALL-E": OBESE.

66. Director Preminger: OTTO.  Otto Preminger (né Otto Ludwig Preminger; Dec. 5, 1905 ~ Apr. 23, 1986) was born in Austria-Hungary.  He started his career in Austria before moving to the United States.    He was known for pushing the boundaries of censorship by dealing with themes that were taboo, such as drug addiction (The Man with the Golden Arm) and rape (Anatomy of a Murder).  He also directed the 1960 film Exodus.  [Name # 4.]


67. Oscar winner Catherine __-Jones: ZETA.  Catherine Zeta-Jones (b. Sept. 25, 1969) is married to  Michael Douglas (b. Sept. 25, 1944).  They share the same birthdate, albeit he is 25 years her senior.   [Name # 5.]

68. Nash of "The Rookie: Feds": NIECY.  Niece Nash (née Carol Denise Ensley; b. Feb. 23, 1970) also portrayed Deputy Raineesha Williams on the television sit-com Reno 911!  [Name # 6.]


69. Gas in an eye-catching sign: NEON.



Down:
1. Grand Canyon people: HOPI.

2. Brick __ pizza: OVEN.  Yummers!


4. Orange half of a "Sesame Street" duo: ERNIE.  [Name adjacent.]


5. Bottle tops: CAPS.


6. "Ben-__": HUR.  The novel Ben Hur, by Lew Wallace was first published in 1880.  It was adapted into a movie starring Charlton Heston in 1959.  It was an influential Christian novel when it was published and was a best seller until 1936 when Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind was published.  [Name adjacent.]


7. Laudatory poem: ODE.  A crossword staple.

8. Great woe: MISERY.  Also the title of a novel by Stephen King.


9. Hospital recovery area, for short: POST-OP.

10. Some spray cans: AEROSOLS.



11. Haleakala National Park island: MAUI.  The park is named after a dormant volcano.


12. Profoundly bad: EVIL.

13. Warrior princess played by Lucy Lawless: XENA.  Xena: Warrior Princess was an adventure television show that ran from 1995 until 2001.  [Name # 7.]


18. Shrill cries: YELPS.

22. YouTube journal: VLOG.

24. "Dang it!": CRUD.  Really?

25. Basketball shot: ATTEMPT.  Why an attempt?

26. Make logical sense: ADD UP.

Cartoon logical sense.

27. Long-billed marsh bird: SNIPE.


29. "I see now!": AHA!

31. "Get Out" actress Alexander: ERIKA.  Get Out is a 2017 psychological horror film.  Erika Alexander  (née Erika Rose Alexander; b. Nov. 19, 1953) played a TSA detective in the film.  [Name # 8.]


32. Continue to subscribe: RENEW.

37. Pepsi rival: COCA~COLA.


39. Country between Thailand and Vietnam: LAOS.  Laos is landlocked.


40. Ambulance letters: EMS.  As in Emergency Medical Services.  Emergency motorcycles can be seen all over cities in Israel.  They are the first responders and can provide medical assistance until the ambulance arrives.

43. Canceled, at Cape Canaveral: NO GO.

45. Greek fable writer: AESOP.  You can find his fables here.  [Name # 9.]


48. Like some earrings and ties: CLIP-ON.  Are clip-on earrings even available anymore?

49. Obi-Wan __: KENOBI.  Alec Guinness (né Alec Guinness de Cuffe; Apr. 2, 1914 ~ Aug. 5, 2000) portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in some of the Star Wars movies.  [Name adjacent.]


53. Bird of prey's claw: TALON.
54. Mercedes-__: BENZ.  I was shopping a month or so ago and there was an older woman in the shop who was wearing a Janis Joplin tee shirt.  The clerk asked her if she was a Joplin fan.  The woman replied, "oh, yes, but I was her babysittter."  [Name adjacent.]


55. Frozen drink brand: ICEE.


56. Not this: THAT.

57. Lady __ tea: GREY.  This must be the phrase of the week.  This tea appeared in Sunday's puzzle.  I knew of Earl Grey Tea, but was not familiar with Lady Grey Tea.  The difference seems to be that citrus peels are an addition to the Lady Grey Tea

58. Keen about: INTO.

59. Prestigious British school: ETON.  Prince William (b. June 21, 1982) and Eddie Redmayne (b. Jan. 6, 1982) were classmates at Eaton.


62. Tiny: WEE.

63. Keyboard key for exiting full-screen mode: ESC.


Here's the Grid:



חתולה

Many thanks to Sumdaze for filling in on Tuesdays while I was in Israel.

At the Market in Jerusalem

At the Market in Jerusalem

Chagall Windows at Hadassah Hospital

Chagall Windows at Hadassah Hospital

Nothing beats an Israeli breakfast



43 comments:

unclefred said...

Welcome back Hahtoolah! I always enjoy your comments and ‘toons. Fun CW, but it took 20 minutes to FIR: too many names, by my count 12! W/Os OAHU:MAUI, STARE:GLARE. When I finished the fill I looked at it and thought, “The theme is pee-pee? It’s a CW with a urine theme? Interesting!” Thanx JG for the entertaining CW, and thanx too to Hahtoolah for the fun write-up.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, with NeECY x KENOBe. Bad spelars of the world, UNTIE!!! Erased stilt for SNIPE and emt for EMS. DNK PEACOCK POSE, NEAL, NeECY, and ERIKA.

Finally finishing our migration to Florida today. I was disappointed with last night's campground. It must be under new ownership. One of the things they have started doing is making all streets one way. That makes what has always been an easy exit an exercise of jockeying back and forth to negotiate an acute angle, instead of pulling out with a slight obtuse angle. I don't think I'm going to obey, and probably won't come back. Bu they do offer free waffles for breakfast, so they've got that goin' for 'em.

Thanks to Jared for the fun early-week puzzle. And thanks to Ha2la for the fun write up. The best were the pictures from your trip.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Unclefred, not only was it a pee-pee theme, WEE also made an appearance. D-o only needed his trusty Wite-Out to change CRap to CRUD. Dw often cuts the aglets of the laces of her walking shoes -- she calls 'em "clackers." MAUI was timely after Mauna Loa came to life yesterday -- different Hawaiian island, though. Enjoyed the outing, Jared, and your well-illustrated expo, Hahtoolah. (Very nice photos of your trip. Why aren't you in any of 'em?)

LAOS: One of my Navy tasks aboard ship was to plot the locations where ordnance had been dropped. If the location was in Vietnam, we included it in the press release. If in LAOS, it never happened.

CAPS: Several refills back, the pharmacy put adult-friendly caps on my maintenance meds. I've been moving them to the refill vials ever since.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Crossword friends. I was a bit surprised by the pee-pee theme, but ...

Off to my yoga class where I will NOT be attempting the Peacock Pose.

QOD: The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts. ~ C.S. Lewis (né Clive Staples Lewis; Nov. 29, 1898 ~ Nov. 22, 1963), British writer and lay theologian

inanehiker said...

This was a fast Tuesday with a fun recap from Susan - welcome back!

Like D-O - thought of the first eruption in 38 years of Mauna Loa when I put in MAUI. Last time I was on the Big Island it was a contrast of the frequently erupting Kilauea compared to the green grassy dormant mountain that was Mauna Loa.

I have done an eagle pose but never a PEACOCK POSE in yoga - and I can confidently assert that I never will.

Have a good day! and thanks Jared!

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Hahtoolah and welcome back! This puzzle was a walk in the park and I'm not even fully awake yet.

In yoga I never heard of the PEACOCK POSE.

CSO to my niece, CAROL, whose birthday is December 23rd.

One of my friends wears CLIP ON earrings; they are not too hard to find. Apparently not everyone has pierced ears.

I'll continue this later. Suddenly I'm sleepy.

KS said...

FIR. Had blog before vlog, and couldn't remember how to spell Kenobi since Niecy was a complete mystery to me. But got 'er done in the end.

Anonymous said...

Took 4:15 to put pen to paper (that's a lie - I did it online).

I didn't know the female actress named Erika, though I am a fan of that movie. I think she had one scene, maybe two.

I wanted "voila." Wasn't familiar with "et voila."

Welcome back, Hahtoolah.

Wilbur Charles said...

Dredging up AGLETS from xwords of the past needed perps. Lemony could tell us when we last had it

Lew Wallace in his spare time was Governor of New Mexico

I needed EH VOILA for the VLOG. Tricky if one doesn't know the French

My buddy from Quantico had his Huey shot down in LAOS*. They kept searching and 10 days later picked him up. By a miracle his pay record still existed as his next of kin had already received the 10k SGLI

The copious pop-cul made an easy xword tricky. They were workable(fe. ERIKA)

WC

* I may have told this one before . As Jinx said, we weren't supposed to be there(nor were the NVA)

Subgenius said...

I agree with Lucina that today’s puzzle was “a walk in the park.” The only white-out I had was “vlog” instead of “blog.” FIR, so I’m happy.

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Jared and Hahtoolah (welcome back & thanks for the photos).
I FIRed in good time, and saw the P & P theme. ( I smiled to see POSTOP with P on the ends and AESOP).
All the unknown names perped easily.

Several inkblots, as blog changed to VLOG (Video to go with AUDIO), yells to YELPS.
Noels was too short, but CAROLS fit.
Hand up for EMT before EMS.

Hand up for learning AGLET long ago doing CWs.
Thanks Hahtoolah for saving me from LIU re Lady GREY tea.
I posted a while ago about the vanity licence plate that I saw - MRSOBI1. Did anybody get it??
Technically the Pepsi rival is Coke, but COLA could not be in the clue.

I noted HOPE crossing HOPI.

Think twice before having your DNA results shared. Arrests were made just the other day in two cold cases from 1983 using posted DNA results and family tree info!
ColdCases

Wishing you all a great day.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

A NOGO, the reveal revealed I FIW with KENOBe like Jinx... theme PP, PP, PP over and over again..uh oh 😳... hold on ...I'll be right back..😰

Inkover: Easton/UPTON.

HOPI/HOPE, OVEN/OVER, PENNE/PENNY, share a letter. VOILÁ maybe but ETVOILÁ not unless vous êtes français. Earl Grey, Lady GREY, sheesh, are there "Fifty Shades of Grey"?? VLOG? Like Vlad the Impaler: 😯.

It's been awhile since we've seen AGLETS in a puzzle so I forgot and hadda perpwait. NEAL, UPTON, and NIECY today's unknowns. Catherine ZETA Z is now an X Douglas

A local Utica favorite is called Vodka Riggies made with Rigatoni not PENNE, which work better with Vodka sauce.

EELs live in caves? And I always thought they lived in water 🤔.

I thought this was a PENNY PRESS

Where ACLs are found.....INNIES
You don't know how she copes because you've never Ben ___ HUR
Corn for ethanol..POWERPLANT
Baby docs....OBESE
MO....MISERY

Mauna Loa, a CW favorite recently erupted on the big island of Hawaii. 🌋

CrossEyedDave said...

(I blame UncleFred for giving me the idea...)

I believe it is called "the pee pee dance."

if fish were like swimmers at the beach...

with apologies to CanadianEh.

And, it's not an aglet! it's called a "flugelbinder!"

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A nice puzzle on a cold, windy day with a snow and rain mix on the prairie
-My farmer father-in-law worked hard and called me a PENCIL PUSHER with utter disdain
- I quickly put in a perfectly respectable “E” at KENOB_/N_ECY. Uh, not so much.
- I toured our coal-fired POWER PLANT with thousands of kids before OSHA put the kibosh on it
- D I S [K/C] and E R I [C/K] A resolved themselves
- BITCOIN – If something seems too good to be true…
- We ate at a new pizza place with a BRICK OVEN last month. The pizza cost $30 and was no better than the $8 one at one of the many franchise ones we have in town
- The violence, cruelty and leprosy of BEN HUR made a big impression on me in 1959
- Oops, add another speedy mistake. I went right by VLOG and put BLOG and VOILA
- RENEW – Be careful when you get those $1.00 for three month offers…
- NO GO and Abort are legitimate but my fav NASA phrase when something goes wrong is NO JOY
- Susan, your write-up and pictures also brightened my day!

ATLGranny said...

This puzzle was fun, Jared, and I managed to get a FIR with only one WO! That was caused by a slip of my brain when I wrote CAPS, first putting the A in the P space. Immediately corrected but a WO all the same. I couldn't fill any squares until I got to the NE corner where I had better success. Is this your debut here? If so I look forward to your next puzzle.

Hahtoolah, it's nice to have you back on the job. I too enjoyed the pictures of your trip as well as your excellent review today. No rustiness due to being away two weeks noticed.

We have a sunny day again to make today's walk enjoyable. The red maples continue to have amazing color this year, adding to the pleasure. Hope you all have a sunny aspect today!

Anonymous said...

The Hualapai are Grand Canyon people not the Hopi.

Lucina said...

Anonymous is correct about the Hualapai. If the clue had been "Grand Canyon state" people, it would be more accurate.

The HOPI Reservation is in the middle of the Navajo Reservation.

I have no idea who ERIKA Alexander the name perped. The same for NIECY.

Ray-O
You say Catherine is X-Douglas. Is there something we don't know about them?

Monkey said...

Nice alliterative puzzle this morning. No big problems in spite of a few unknowns. I too was proud to remember AGLETS from past CWs.

Hahtoolah: thanks for the pictures and that lovely quote from C S Lewis.

desper-otto said...

Husker, did OSHA put the kibosh on the power plant, or on the tours?

YooperPhil said...

No Pet Peeves about this puzzle, even with a few unknown names the perps were kind again today, managed a FIR in 9:33. Wasn’t really familiar with VLOG, but a B didn’t work. Thank you Jared for your fine construction on this one.

Hahtoolah ~ welcome back, and another great write-up you provided us with today! As you know, Sumdaze was a very capable temp in your absence, so much so that she now has a permanent gig on Monday’s ( although the circumstances around that are a little disheartening). Really enjoyed your photos, the glass is beautiful and the array of food is quite something, they eat good in Israel! Will take a CSO at your mention of “Anatomy of a Murder” as it is based on a true story that happened in the small town in Michigan I reside in.

CanadianEh ~ still trying to decipher the license plate, the only thing I can come up with is probably not printable on here 😂

desper-otto said...

Yooper, I took it to be Mrs. Obiwan. Can you decipher this one. Used to belong to a guy I worked with: RMADLO

unclefred said...

Seems like some time ago I said I'd post the travel of my jet-set friends David and Carmela....then forgot to do so. So since then they have been to: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bologna, Barcelona, Montserrat, and are in Istanbul now, just now leaving for Thailand. Yet another world tour for them.

Acesaroundagain said...

Thanks for sharing the picks and welcome back.

YooperPhil said...

d-o ~ looks like armadillo to me?

Misty said...

Delightful puzzle, many thanks, Jared. And thanks for posting your great pictures, Hahtoolah, great you had such a neat trip.

Coming out of POST OP, PENNY was in MISERY until she discovered she was no longer OBESE. So she now became more careful not to CHOMP when eating PASTA, and watchful when drinking COCA COLA. She now HOPEs she'll soon be able to travel again, and have a great trip to MAUI. Congratulations on a good recovery, PENNY.

Have a great day, everybody.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Lucina

My bad. I googled Zeta-Jones and didn't realize I was taken to an old site describing what turned out to be their temporary split a few years ago. Apparently it had to do with how Douglas contracted oral cancer.

Since you are an ex-religious I'll leave out how...🤭

sumdaze said...

FIW because I was PerPlexed by the AGLoTS/KoNOBI crossing.
Thank you for the Prizeworthy Puzzle, Jared!
FAVs: ADD UP and CHOMP (Everyone calls the Community Hospital Of the Monterey Peninsula "CHOMP". I always thought that was a funny acronym for a medical facility.)

PEACOCK POSE is more challenging (but not impossible) for women due to our girl parts. Just saying....

Thank you, Hahtoolah, for your Perfectly Picturesque write-up! FAVs: EAVE comic, DNA comic, and your Israel pics

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIW as I had RAIN/REIN before RUIN, and never paid much attention to the crossing word (which turned out to be MAUI, duh!). Solving the puzzle on my laptop is still not as much fun as doing it on a newspaper page. I would print them out, but have you seen the cost of inkjet printer ink these days??

PITT PANTHERS would have been a nice "PP" to use (my alma mater)

FLN to Wilbur Charles --> when you mentioned thoughts/prayers to Andy, to whom were you referring? Tinbeni? I hadn't seen anything so was just curious ...

From yesterday --> as others so eloquently mentioned, I too, am going to miss seeing Boomer's blogs here at The Corner. May you not suffer much longer, Doug

Word from the wise: it might be a good idea to go back to wearing a mask when in close contact with strangers, as it appears that the number of Covid, RSV, and flu cases are on the rise. I am about 85% recovered from my Covid after about 2 weeks from when the symptoms first occurred. Looking back I wish I had A) taken the Omicron booster and B) worn a mask whilst shopping and/or being in crowds. Hindsight is always 20/20 ...

AnonymousPVX said...


No complaints, but isn’t the phrase 1-Across refers to is “hope against hope”?

Irish Miss said...

Good Afternoon:

Late to the dance due to appointments, errands, and a late lunch. We haven’t seem this type of theme in a long time and while it’s very basic and pretty obvious, it’s perfect Tuesday material. The only unknown was Erika and there were no w/os. The clue for Crud was a stretch, IMO.

Thanks, Jared, for a fun solve and welcome back and thanks, Hahtoolah, for sharing the beautiful photos and for picking up right where you left off, without missing a step in your uncanny and well-honed knack for finding the perfect puzzle pictorials. My favorite today was the Swiss Goalie. The Caps/Pharmacy one was timely, inasmuch as one of my errands earlier was a stop at CVS. My purchase consisted of 1 prescription, 6 greeting cards, and 3 Gift Cards and my receipt was 3 inches shy of 4 feet long. I also had to digitally confirm that I was not being forced (duped) into purchasing the gift cards. Sometimes, in today’s wacky world, I think I have fallen down the rabbit hole, ala Alice.

Have a great day.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Great fun puzzle, Jared.

Great expo & pictures, Hahtoolah, Thanks. Interesting about the medical motorcycles. Glad to see the Chagall windows of which I had heard.

No wonder we had not heard of PEACOCK POSE. If I were thinking of starting yoga classes and saw that, I'd for sure chicken out. It's best kept secret.

DNK: UPTON, NEAL, VLOG, ERIKA.

Ben-HUR: My great-great grandmother in my maternal line was a cousin of Lew Wallace. I am told she made sure everyone knew that she was proud of him. So Lew & I have common ancestry thru a 19-yr-old named Oliver Wallace who fought in the American Revolution and lived to draw a veteran's pension in old age. Ironically, Oliver couldn't read or write while his descendent Lew wrote a great novel.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Hahtoolah brings us a Goudsmit PZL...

DNF because of NIECY. And I see I wasn't the only one who didn't know how to spell the perp KENOBI.

Happy to see the U.S. beat Iran 1-0 today. I did not expect that, On to the Netherlands on Saturday!
~ OMK
____________
DRR:
One diagonal, near at hand.
JACKPOT!!
I can only suppose its anagram (a full 15 of 15 letters!) is the product of a vivid imagination, the fevered fantasy of an overworked person trying too hard to relax in a warm enclosure and believing they have spotted their own great beasts--several "Moby Dicks" coming to torment the poor soul.
Yes, I mean ...

"SAUNA LEVIATHANS"!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Nice puzzle, Jared. Good job stuffing six (6!) themers in there w/o turning the fill to cruft.

Great expo, Hahtoolah. Welcome back. LOL Sponge Bob washing dishes. Cartoon physics dictate you don’t fall until looking down and see there's no ground :-)
Thanks for sharing your snaps - really cool.

WO: Ever finish filling a letter and realize immediately you're wrong? Ben HeR
ESPs: ET VOILA, NEAL, ERIKA, NICEY, OTTO
Fav:

AGLET I learned from Phineas & Ferb.

ATLGranny - This is Jared's second LAT. First one was also blogged by Hahtoolah on 11 OCT 22.

D-O: my Rx bottles come with a reversable cap. Screw-it in upside-down and it's no-longer child-proof.

C. Moe - I have something similar this. No frills but fairly cheap to print.

I thought it was KaNOBI but AGLETS was already filled. I remember the OBI part (OBI KENOBI) 'cuz that's a Japanese sash and Star Wars is a sword-fighting fantasy ;-)

PK - Interesting connection to Lew Wallace. Cool!

Traffic is starting to clear out a bit (only 50 min now from office to house) so I'm heading out.

Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

C-Moe, Andy is CC 's brother in China having a tough time with lockdowns. And for PP how about Pleasantly Plump

IM, gift cards are a fav scammers money transfer Thang
And…
IM, 36 years ago on this date Cary Grant died in Davenport, Iowa

WC

TTP said...


Good morning. Thank you, Jared, and thank you, Hahtoolah. Welcome back.

EMt before EMS, stARE before GLARE and bLOG before VLOG.

That's all I had before I got distracted and forgot to comment. OTOH, I got a lot of other CRUD, er um, crap done today.

Yooper, so well stated - in re disheartening.

CM, I planned on getting my 5th covid shot in mid Oct which would have been six months after my second booster. But then I contracted covid for the second time in the first week of Oct. So now I have to wait to get it, but I did get this year's flu shot yesterday.

Dash T, I drove in that traffic and dreamed of the days when I wouldn't have to. I learned to navigate the surface streets and did my best to avoid the peak traffic times. Then I relo'ed to the city of broad shoulders and initially it was worse... if you can imagine that. Fortunately telecommuting led to work at home. I feel for you bro. Perhaps I could get a friend to show you a nice little bungalow in River Oaks ? :-) You would be close and she would be reverse commuting.

Or do what my nephew did in the silicon valley. Just buy a condo in town, and then have a work week home when needed and a weekend home. Let time work on your side. He leveraged it, and financially, it worked out for him. He's now bought some properties near Joshua Tree and is building them out. Not for everyone, but you are also Type A, so it's something to think about...


LEO III said...

Second day back for an FIW. Didn’t know ETVOILA which might have been fixed, had I spelled AEROSOLS correctly --- or caught the error when proofreading, or if I had caught the VLOG/BLOG error.

There is NO rival to PEPSI! Unfortunately, I drink too much of it.

Story #1: My mother’s family all drank Coke. When I was ten years old, my sister and I spent the summer at our grandmother’s, while our parents were packing up the house for my dad’s latest military transfer. Every afternoon, our grandmother would give each of my cousins and me (my sister was too young) a nickel to walk up to the store and get our daily Coke. All of them spent their nickel on a 6-ounce Coke. Being smarter than the average bear, I spent MY nickel on a 10-ounce Pepsi.

Story #2: While our dad was recovering from his first hip replacement surgery, my sister and I took our mother downstairs to the hospital sandwich place for lunch. Mom ordered a Coke and got the “Pepsi OK question” from the server. NO!!!! (I think she ordered ice tea and complained all through lunch. Next day, we left her in the room and brought back a Pepsi for her. Never knew the difference!

NOGO??? I thought it was always a SCRUB.

Thanks, Jared! Great expo, Hahtoolah, and I loved the photos!

Lucina said...

Ray-O
Thank you for the information about Catherine and Michael. As for his ailment, I have a fairly good imagination and know one or two things about some diseases so I believe I can guess.

Today I accomplished more of my shopping and was hoping to finish tomorrow but my sister told me we are going to buy ingredients for the tamales. Sunday is the target date to make them. I also bought Christmas cards today so addressing them is another job that awaits.

Suddenly social invitations have arrived and we have a big one Saturday night. Saturday morning is the ornament exchange lunch with our book club. Busy. Busy. Busy. I love it!

Also my artificial Christmas tree has kicked the bucket, so to speak, so that's another task for tomorrow, going out to buy one.

Lucina said...

When I came home today I discovered that my granddaughter had decorated and set the holiday table. Sometimes she exasperates me but right now I'm grateful to her for her boundless energy and for taking the initiative on decorating.

Chairman Moe said...

Tom, sorry to hear you got COVID, too. I'm in the same boat; wait another 3 months to get my fifth shot since I tested positive. How soon did your symptoms end? I'm two weeks in and still feeling it

C-Moe

Chairman Moe said...

Tony, thanks for the info on the Brother printer. I'll have to check that out ...

Anonymous T said...

C.Moe: a) glad the printer idea might help. Note: The toner cartidge that comes with the unit is usually only 1/2 full so you'll have to shell out another $70 after 1000 or so pages. That $70 will last you ~5000+ pages. //I've had my printer since '08(?) and have only purchased 9 toner cartridges (I do print at work oft ;-))

Re: Covid - DW had it again two or three months ago. Took her 4 weeks to get back to 100%. She's scheduled the 4th shot as soon as the 90 days are up. //I'm still fuzzy on why one has to wait so long.

No one called me out on leaving Fav: blank. I started drafting as soon as I finished the puzzle (and I like to really ruminate on Fav) and was eager to get out of the office after 10 hours...

Fav: I'll go with GOALIE. USA! USA! USA! //futball not hockey ;-)

Lucina - Take it! DW's Aunt wants me to move closer 'cuz I was fixing anything needing it and making sure the kitchen was spotless before and after meals. I don't sit still :-)
//you want to talk to me? I'll do something while we chat.

LEOIII - glad to see you back 2-days in a row! Pepsi is too sweet - I grew up on it #Midwest and, once I tasted the bitterness in Coke, switched. Of course, I also started drinking coffee when I was 9 (cheapest warmest drink at the C-Store on my wintery paper-route).

Cheers, -T

TTP said...


Chris, obviously covid affects people differently, and both times I got it were comparatively mild. I looked back at my logs. Oct 5th through the 9th was the worst of it for me, pretty much not getting out of bed the first four days. Then on the 9th, I recorded "Finally feeling half decent" but I'm not sure at what point in the day I logged that. The joint, bone and muscle aches tapered off over the next few weeks, but the headaches lasted until early Nov.

When I got the flu shot Nov 28, the tech asked if I also wanted the covid shot. I let her know that I was only approximately two months out from having covid. She asked the pharmacist and then he and I spoke. He said I could get it now, or wait another month or two.

In early 2022, the CDC's guidance was that you could get the covid shot or booster as soon as you were no longer testing positive and beyond your isolation period. It appears that in September, the CDC changed their post-covid guidance, to what it says now, and I quote "... you may consider delaying your next vaccine (primary dose or booster) by 3 months from when your symptoms started or, if you had no symptoms, when you received a positive test."

May wait, not should wait. Some outside articles are stressing should, based on some studies that suggest you will get a heightened immunity response if you wait 90 days, which is the period of time that other studies have shown is typical for the amount of time your antibodies are (somewhat) protecting you from reinfection. However, those studies were based on the earlier Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants. The new shot targets the more prevalent BA-5 variant. And since other studies are suggesting that reinfections within 90 days are becoming more common, I have been vacillating whether to get it at two months out or waiting until three months out.

Since there are no absolute certainties, I've been leaning towards not waiting the full 90 days, and the consult with the pharmacist a couple of days ago is pushing me to get it earlier rather than waiting.

Chairman Moe said...

Tom, thanks. I hope others will see this and benefit from your experience