This is Alexander Liebeskind's 4th appearance on the Corner, his most recent being on October 21, 2022
blogged by the Chairman. And this is his third collaboration with Jeff
Chen, who needs no introduction. Today they explore different ways to
LIFT OUR SPIRITS
17A. Mexican tradition that will 62-Across?: DIA DE LOS MUERTOS. Today's Spanish lesson: "The Day of the Dead", is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2 (AKA All Saints and All Souls days) to commemorate the spirits
of departed loved ones. It is widely observed in Mexico, where it
largely developed, and is also observed in other places, especially by
people of Mexican heritage. Here the Tempest Quartet performs La Martiniana, a folk song popular during this celebration (lyrics):
27A. Celebratory moments to 62-Across?: WEDDING TOASTS. These spirits are decidedly more animated than those in 17A, particularly after a few glasses of bubbly. Here is soprano Zoryana Kushpler in the "trouser" role of Count Orlofsky toasting in the New Years Eve with the "Champagne Song" from Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus ("The Bat")
47A. Shopping outing that may 62-Across?: RETAIL THERAPY. But you have to be careful not to get too much therapy or it may end up dampening your spirits:
And the reveal hinted at by each themer:
62A. See 17-, 27-, and 47-Across: LIFT ONES SPIRITS.
Here's the grid:
Across:
1. Colbert's network: CBS.
4. Chris of "Knives Out": EVANS. Great flick. Keeps you in suspense to the very end. Here's a scene with Chris:
9. Organic jewelry source: AMBER. CORAL and PEARL would have fit, but didn't perp. You can have this AMBER pendant for only $558.
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| Baltic Amber Deposits |
15. Search engine name: YAHOO.
16. Singer's asset: VOICE.
17. [Theme clue]
20. "This meeting could've been an __": EMAIL.
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22. Monopoly payment: RENT.
23. The "N" of the actor known as NPH: NEIL. Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout his career, including a Tony Award, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for a Grammy Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. And he's the only actor I know who is monoacronymic. Is that pronounced "nymph?".
25. Tetra- minus one: TRI.
27. [Theme clue]
33. Axe thrower's asset: AIM. ARM didn't perp. My oldest grandson has a pretty good AIM. Here's a video of him hitting a target with an axe at 75 ft, ending with his proud father pacing off the distance ...
Here's a tutorial for noobs (this guy is throwing from 12'):
34. Sleep soundly?: SNORE. [ ... zzzzz .... wake up Bill!] Oh yeah, we had this last week.
35. End of a piece by 65-Across: MORAL. The Miser could have used a lesson in RETAIL THERAPY.
37. Espy: SPOT.
39. Balances (out): EVENS.
41. "Paper Girls" actor Corddry: NATE. Paper Girls is an American science fiction drama television series created by Stephany Folsom. It is based on the 2015–2019 comic book series of the same name written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang. The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on July 29, 2022. In September 2022, the series was canceled after one season. Nate Corddry plays Larry, a farmer and member of the "STF Underground" (nowhere defined). We may see Nate again, but I doubt there is much danger of "Paper Girls" becoming crosswordese.
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42. Thompson of "SNL": KENAN. Kenan Thompson (born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. Here he is on Late Night with Seth Meyers:
44. Devour with gusto: EAT UP.
46. At most: MAX.
[Theme clue]
50. Key above ~: ESC. Seems to me that people who solve online have a distinct advantage when it comes to keyboard character position clues.
51. Karate school: DOJO. It's more than that. A dōjō (Japanese pronunciation: [doꜜː(d)ʑoː]) is a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the Way" in Japanese.
52. Mix things up: STIR.
55. Place whose state quarter features an astronaut: OHIO.
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| Malia Obama |
65. Greek fabulist: AESOP. Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to modern times through a number of sources and continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media. See clue 35A for an example.
66. Coach Jill who won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015 and 2019: ELLIS. Jillian Anne Ellis (born 6 September 1966) is an English-American soccer coach and executive who is currently the president of San Diego Wave FC. Ellis coached the United States women's national soccer team from 2014 to October 2019 and won two FIFA Women's World Cups in 2015 and 2019, making her the second coach to win consecutive World Cups.
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| Jill Ellis |
68. Brings (out): TROTS.
69. Sierra __: LEONE. Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president serving a five-year term with a maximum of two terms. The current president is Julius Maada Bio. Sierra Leone is a secular nation with the constitution providing for the separation of state and religion and freedom of conscience (which includes freedom of thoughts and religion). Muslims make up about three-quarters of the population, though with an influential Christian minority. Religious tolerance in the West African nation is very high and is generally considered a norm and part of Sierra Leone's cultural identity.
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| Sierra Leone |
Down:
1. Morse __: CODE. Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called dots and dashes, or dits and dahs. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of the inventors of the telegraph.
3. Creature that may shelter clownfish: SEA ANEMONE. Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrates of the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant. Some species of sea anemone live in association with clownfish, hermit crabs, small fish, or other animals to their mutual benefit, AKA symbiosis:
4. Shadowy places?: EYELIDS.
5. Kilmer of "Top Gun: Maverick": VAL.
6. "Oh, I got it now": AH OK.
7. Wine quality: NOSE. Here's a little help on how to make scents of wine. Perhaps the Chairman will stop by and give us a sip of his wisdom on the bewildering vocabulary of wine aromas.
9. "__ Maria": AVE. AVE MARIA is the Latin title for a song originally written in German by Franz Schubert in 1825 entitled "Ellens dritter Gesang" ("Ellen's Third Song"). It is a setting of one of seven songs from Walter Scott's narrative poem The Lady of the Lake. The song was Ellen's prayer to the Virgin Mary popularly known as the Hail Mary, with the words originally taken from 2 sections of the Gospel of Luke. The song is often sung at Catholic WEDDINGS (before all the TOASTS at the reception afterwards!). Here is Luciano Pavarotti singing it in concert (lyrics):
10. "Song of Solomon" writer Toni: MORRISON. Song of Solomon is Morrison's third novel and one of her most commercially successful. Published in 1977, the novel — tentatively titled Milkman Dead — was condensed in Redbook. It was later chosen as a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, which had not selected a novel written by a black author since Richard Wright's Native Son in 1940.
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| Toni Morrison February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019 Pulitzer Prize 1987 Nobel Prize 1993 |
The novel explores the quest for cultural identity.
Based on the African-American folktale about enslaved Africans who
escape slavery by flying back to Africa, it tells the story of Macon
"Milkman" Dead, a young man alienated from himself and estranged from
his family, his community, and his historical and cultural roots.
Milkman is mentally enslaved and spiritually dead, but with the help of
his eccentric aunt, Pilate, and his best friend, Guitar Bains, he
embarks on a physical and spiritual journey that enables him to
reconnect with his past and realize his self-worth.
11. Light snack: BITE.
12. MBA course: ECON.
13. Take a breather: REST.
18. Lost power: DIED.
19. "Do __ others ... ": UNTO. "... as you would have them do UNTO you." A fragment of the Gospel of Matthew (7:12), often called The Golden Rule. By and large I find this to be the rule around here.
24. One-third of a haiku: LINE. Or of a MOEKU.
26. Aries symbol: RAM. Aries (♈︎) is the first astrological sign in the zodiac, spanning the first 30 degrees of celestial longitude (0°≤ λ <30°), and originates from the constellation.
28. "Song of Solomon," for one: NOVEL. See 10D.
29. "Two thumbs up!": GREAT.
30. Sophomore's grade: TENTH.
31. Springy backyard apparatus: TRAMPOLINE.
32. Kebab often served with peanut sauce: SATAY. Here's a recipe. Superbowl finger food.
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| Satay Chicken |
36. NYC ave.: LEX. Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street.
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| Lexington Avenue Looking Northward from the top floors of the Chrysler Building |
40. Took to court: SUED.
43. "Old Town Road" rapper Lil __ X: NAS. As Lil has finally achieved the status of crosswordese, I've decided to riff his middle name for the acronym for the prestigious National Academy of Sciences (NAS), a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. New members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors in the scientific field.
 | ||
| National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C. | |
48. Image on a menu bar: ICON.
49. Cracked open: AJAR. Dad: "When is a door not a door?" "When it's A JAR"!
52. Shutter board: SLAT.
53. Arena level: TIER.
54. "Assuming that's true ... ": IF SO. An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments.
56. Stiletto, for one: HEEL. A readily available weapon of self-defense should one encounter a HEEL while afoot.:
58. Norwegian capital: OSLO. Not the EURO and not the KRONE, OSLO is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of 702,543 in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, and the metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,546,706 in 2021
60. Object: ITEM.
61. Regarding: AS TO.
63. Special __: commando tactics: OPS.
64. One of 10 in a lane: PIN. A CSO to a Dear Soul. And our constructors (or Patti!) even got the name of his favorite venue right!
Cheers,
Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, d-o muddled through to victory. Hooray. If Harris hosted Saturday Night Live, would it be promoted as NPH on SNL this SAT? Interesting that Morse's longest symbol was the one for zero. Well done, Alexander, Jeff, Waseeley and Teri.
I am not fond of CWs with cross-referencing clues, of which this CW had several. Also ten proper names. All-in-all I found this CW to not be much fun to trudge through. Eventually I did manage to FIR, but no fun in the process. Oh well. Terrific write-up, Bill, thanx!
ReplyDeleteI found the first themed fill a little difficult to suss, since I don’t know Spanish. However, the rest of the puzzle came together fairly easily. FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteOther than the slightly familiar, but difficult to parse correctly, Dia de Los Muertos and the new-to-me phrase, Retail Therapy*, I found this to be easier than the usual Thursday. The only unknown was Ellis and I had no w/os which made for a smooth and easy solve. (*I have an ex SIL who could be a poster child for Retail Therapy. I’m pretty sure that penchant is one of the main reasons why she is an Ex.) Referential puzzles are my least favorite type, so this was more of a chore than a challenge. The number of proper names and nouns was way too high for my taste, compounded by several unnecessary clues referencing proper names for common, ordinary words.
Thanks, Alexander and Jeff and thanks, Bill, for the potpourri of fun, facts, and observations, particularly the beautiful Pavarotti rendition of Ave Maria. I think we all thought of Boomer at Pin. RIP, dear friend. In my area, this is often performed as part of the wedding ceremony in church and, also, at many funerals. Thanks, also, to your faithful sidekick, Teri.
Have a great day.
Please excuse the out of order sentence sequence in my second paragraph.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but the Mexican tradition was beyond me, since I know no Spanish. Also, too many proper names for my liking, and several quite obscure.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but erased trampolene for TRAMPOLINE. UNTIE!
ReplyDeleteLike Fred I found all the pop-cult/A&E crap to be fun sinks. I'll put Jeff on my "probation" list instead of the "don't bother" list, because I don't remember his previous puzzles being like this one.
Thanks to Bill and Teri for adding value to what was otherwise a (crossword fill-favorite) dud.
Have any of you cornerites been watching Cunk On Earth on Netflix? It's history through the eyes of Philomena Cunk. The language is sometimes raunchy, but it's laugh out loud funny. The five 30-minute episodes take you from prehistory to the space age, laughing all the way.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alexander and Jeff! Seeing Jeff Chen's name I expected this puzzle to be much harder but was pleasantly surprised that it was otherwise.
In Poland AMBER jewelry was found in every store and souvenir shop.
I spent several summers in Dayton, OHIO and attended UD.
Before Sierra LEONE I had MADRE but the perps corrected that.
The few times I've watched SNL I have enjoyed KENAN Thompson's antics.
Yesterday I started another NOVEL, The Book of Everlasting Things, which takes place in India. I'm stumbling over the names but the story is intriguing.
LEX as in Luther or Latin for law.
When I lived in San Diego we spotted many an ANEMONE at the beach.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Took 5:13 for me to find my spirit animal today.
ReplyDeleteThought it was fairly easy for a Thursday, but yet I didn't see the theme until I finished.
But hey, no circles!
FIR and easier than expected is my report for today. Thanks, Alexander and Jeff. The themers didn't slow me down particularly and since I know a little Spanish, the first was fine. We had information about that DIA not so long ago last autumn. I did need the reveal to understand what all the themers had in common.
ReplyDeleteThanks, waseeley and sidekick Teri, for an excellent review. I had figured out the fill although several WOs were needed: eye/ArM/AIM, five/LINE (OK, I was thinking of the syllables used, although two of the three LINEs have five syllables each), and NEaL/NEIL. The rest of my grid is unusually pristine looking!
Lucina, I liked the sound of your poetic phrase "we spotted many an anemone." And yes, we had a nice CSO to our Boomer today.
Well it's gym day and it's stopped raining so hard, so I need to change clothes and get going. I'll check in later. Have a good day, everyone!
FIR. I found the reveal after all the theme answers were filled. So the self referential clues were no biggie and their connection was not needed. I liked that all the spirits had different meanings. I liked WEDDING TOAST the best. Lift one's spirits. Lift your glass.
ReplyDeleteI have often heard of retail therapy, but it is not for me. I find shopping a chore. That's why I prefer etail.
I really like the taste of wine, but I do not find that it has hints of raspberry, vanilla, mocha, etc. Nor do I agree with the adjectives for its aroma. It is in its own category.
Neil Patrick Harris was the precocious doctor on Dougie Houser MD back in the day.
Interesting that NOT ALL is SOME and NOT AT ALL is NONE.
I know only a little Spanish, but living in a multiethnic area one picks up a lot of Spanish words. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS is often mentioned on TV and in the newspaper.
Keenan Thompson is one of my favorite characters on SNL. I like sections of that show and not others, so sometimes I fall asleep and miss the best parts. My favorite is Weekend Update which comes near the end while I am asleep.
Lucina, I'm surprised to learn that you're a Superman fan and aware of Lex Luthor.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who found Alexander and Jeff's puzzle not quite Thursdayish enough, you might want to try David Alfred Bywaters' latest: Wild Animals.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Bill
Musings
ReplyDelete-An incredible theme! A doable inference at NA_E/SA_AY and I’m good to go.
-A mosquito trapped in ancient amber played a big role in the wonderful Jurassic Park, one of the most amazing, absorbing movies I’ve ever seen.
-Subbing starts an hour later every Friday because teachers must attend a meeting. They echo the sentiments of an E-MAIL would have been equally effective so try to sit in the very back and at try to at least get some papers corrected.
-KENAN hosting Black Jeopardy on SNL is a hoot! It makes fun of stereotypes in a hilarious fashion.
-Who replaced ELLIS Island with an uber obscure soccer executive? Alexander, Jeff or Patti?
-If I got ANENOME in a spelling bee, I’d ask to have it pronounce several times before I began.
As a matter of fact, Yellowrocks, I initially read “not all” as “not at all” and kept trying to put “none” or “nary” in that space until I came to my senses!
ReplyDeleteHusker, you should've asked one more time... :)
ReplyDeleteI think I was misled by the DIA DE LOS MUERTOS being followed by WEDDING TOASTS, so I followed an erroneous tangent. I did FIR however.
ReplyDeleteNice double link to Toni MORRISON.
desper-o
ReplyDeleteIn my youth when comic books cost 5 or ten cents, Superman was one of my favorite characters. I could go around the corner to the drugstore and buy one or two, share them with my siblings, then trade them afterwards.
ATlGranny:
Thank you for that compliment. I do love alliteration.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Alexander and Jeff, and waseeley and Teri.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time for a Thursday, and saw the SPIRITed theme.
I was somewhat discouraged when I saw the seven unknown-to-me names, one American network, and a choice of President’s daughters (both with same location A S); but perps were friendly. (NAS I know by now!)
VAL and EVANS was almost a Natick cross; but I WAGged the V and corrected Oh OK to AH OK too.
Hand up for Arm before AIM and thinking of Pearl before AMBER.
Our musician yesterday needed an ear, but a singer needs a VOICE (and ear!).
I wondered about SEA horse, but ANEMONE filled the spot.
I smiled at the clue for SNORE, but favourite was those shadowy EYELIDS.
I noted EVENS and EVANS, ORE and TATER TOTS (IDA in the grid would have been a bonus!)
Multiple CSOs today. Lucina with 17A (I had to come here to parse correctly!), Boomer (RIP) with LANE, OMK with that haiku (pop over to the Jumble site to read some of his great ones), CMoe with NOSE.
I don’t like any other search engine but Google!
Wishing you all a great day. (We have sun and our local groundhog saw its shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter. But Wiarton Willie disagrees. Who knows?)
Greetings! Jeff Chen and Thursday puzzle, I knew what was coming! Thanks Alexander and Jeff for the challenge.
ReplyDeleteBut alas, DNF. Botched the whole upper middle. Knew of the first themer, but did not suss that it was in 4 words. DNK EVANS or NEIL, so never got 4D or 7D.
Perps for UKNs KENAN, NAS and ELLIS.
Pure Country is one of my fav movies. My heart melts every time I hear George Strait sing this song.
Thanks Bill and Teri for your review.
ReplyDeleteTerrible Thursday.
The puzzle and review were fine, but I got locked out of the house when I rolled the bins out to the street for garbage pickup. The 9V battery in the keyless remote went kaput. At least the temp warmed up to 24 and the sun was shining while I waited for DW to come home from work.
TTP @11:33. Yikes! I Hope you’ve gotten to warmed up by now.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTante Nique, yes, still warming up. My tootsies got really cold !
FIW. I had SAmAY as I was trying to remember a recent, similar clue . I had no clue as to ____ Cordry(nor the other pop-cul). For the Ave I had L_X and tried LiX for 59th Ave
ReplyDeleteI spent a lot of time in 60s ND 70s in NYC but I only dare take my CBD smart pill for Saturday xword
Contrary to Lucina (for whom the Spanish was cake) I found it difficult and had an AHA moment when I noticed Jeff 's byline. fe. PIN,LINE(I was thinking syllable count), NOVEL and the clever EYELIDS
TTP, good grief
WC
ReplyDeleteWilbur Charles,
Yeah, I know, good grief, but I said something more explicit than good grief as soon as it happened.
Then I caught hell for not wearing a coat to take the garbage out.
TTP
ReplyDeleteIs there a place where you could hide a key in case that happens again? I feel really bad for you. Cold, especially extreme cold, is one thing I can't abide and don't wish it on anyone.
ReplyDeleteLucina, I don't want it to happen again either. My neighbor across the street has keys to the house as do we have for hers. She's out for a doctor's appointment. I guess I could hide another pair of keys near the front or back door. Good idea.
Fun Thursday puzzle, many thanks Alexander and Jeff (Alex, I love your last name: you must have been such a sweet child!). And thanks for your always delightful pictures, Bill, and for your help with his commentary, Teri.
ReplyDeleteWell, as you know, I always look for food in the crossword puzzles, and this morning it was the TATER TOTs that LIFTED my SPIRITS--easy to EAT UP in a BITE or two. But the REST of the puzzle involved lots of different activities, like the couple who enjoyed their WEDDING TOASTS, but whose guests ended up needing RETAIL THERAPY after buying all those expensive wedding gifts. So it may be time to lower our VOICE and pay our RENT and send some EMAILs, maybe with a CODE, and get some exercise on the TRAMPOLINE, and read some AESOP tales and hang out with MALIA, maybe doing down to the beach to check out those SEA ANEMONES? Yep, time to get some REST, although I'll do my best not to SNORE.
Have a good afternoon too, everybody.
TTP,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear, (wait a sec, what were you wearing?) you got locked outside.
My 1st thought was to link some "where to hide keys video."
My 2nd thought, was "that's dumb," you tube is the 1st place burglars would look...
Anywho, I looked anyway, and quite honestly, there are so many places most burglars just would not have the time to look...
I love the 1st comment in this video.
"I hide useless keys all around the house just to mess with people."
PSA!
Maybe instead of a key, you should hide a wire coat hanger around the house!
Note: if you really want to lock yourself out of the house, cut the garage door release rope...
TTP, I can relate, years ago while taking out the garbage, I got locked out of my house. It was the middle of the day and none of the neighbors were home. I had left a pot of spaghetti cooking on the stove, so I was panicked to get back in. Out of desperation, I pushed the dumpster to the 6 foot block wall, climbed on top, and climbed/fell to the other side. Thank heaven, the back slider was open,or I would have had to try to crawl through the doggie door. My luck, I would have gotten stuck.
ReplyDeleteA few too many names for me, otherwise OK puzzle.
Thank you Bill and Teri, fun informative preview.
Addendum,
ReplyDeleteJust remove the ropes handle,
Nothing for the coat hanger to grab, and you can still release the garage door in a power outage.
But it doesn't matter anyway, if you have a keyless car FOB hanging on a hook in the mud room.
Burglars just remotely open your car, and press the car garage opener in your car, while you are sleeping...
( jeepers, this is starting to sound looked an Elm Street movie... )
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteOy! Having ARM b/f AIM really held things up, like, forever!
Thanks Alexander & Jeff (you evil cruciverbalist, you*) for the Thursday grid to RAISE my SPIRITS.
As par, a mighty informing (LEX Ave shot, and a nod to Boomer ta'boot!) post-game, waseeley. Glad you're on the team.
WO: ArM -> AIM
ESPs: whatever 17a is (thanks waseeley!) and I can never spell ANEMONE (animoney?, animony, alimony?) :-)
Fav: This bit has NATE Corddry threatening NEIL PH (and Nate's brother, Rob, slapping him).
YR - KENAN has the longest run of any cast member of SNL. He is a master of straight-man sketch.
I try to end every night with Colbert's monologue on CBS (well, on YouTube 'cuz it's usually later than it ran live).
I hope anyone here north of Houston is staying warm. I was on a call this morning with a guy from Austin and, after he dropped, he texted that his powerline snapped.
TTP - wait a minute, there's a battery in that key-pad thing? We just bought this house in August and I never thought about it (and only carry my car key!). Thanks for the PSA and now I know what I'm going to look into this weekend.
//that also reminds me, I should change the code. The previous owners were cool but who did they give the code to? I had a weird dream three weeks ago where their kid came home drunk from college and kept screaming "What did you do with my family?" (kinda Elm Street, CED). I really should NOT eat spicy after 9p. Oh, and the whole idea of having a loaded weapon bedside is out.
Lucina / TTP - all good thieves know all the hiding spots for house keys. Not a Good Idea (TM). #H4ckTh3Planet!
CED - LOL! I'm going to put the keys I have no idea what they go to under the mats :-)
Cheers, -T
*I'm kidding - I'm sure Jeff is a really nice guy.
ReplyDeleteDave, if you must know, sweatpants and a short sleeve shirt. Wasn't planning to be out very long :-( Thanks for the addt'l ideas. The coat hanger trick/hack wouldn't work on my garage doors. I do have what seems like hundreds of keys that could be spread around :-)
Yuman, yesterday morning I made a skillet breakfast and had it in the oven. Glad it wasn't today ! Or tomorrow morning. You recall Chicago weather ? Tomorrow AM real temp is -5 or lower, and wind chill will be -22 or so.
Dash T, so you are saying that a key under the welcome mat or potted plant isn't a good idea ?
Yup, 9V. I metered the Duracell I took out. 7.4V. Dec 2019 expiration date. Replaced it w/ a new Energizer 9V I found in a drawer. Dec '22 expiration date. A full 9V. Works like a champ.
Yes, sister in Temple Texas area lost power last night and is still out. Brother a few miles away never lost power.
I agree that Knives Out is a great flick. It’s a classic whodunnit. My wife, son and I watched it for the second time this past New Year’s Eve. I loved it even more the second time.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMaybe just keep a spare battery hidden…not a key.
@3:38 - Knives Out [Trailer] was great (second one was Minnesota "ok") and watching James Bond [Danial Craig - he's great!] try out a Southern accent was really cute. I despised Chris Evans & Jamie Lee Curtis [love her!] every step of the way.
ReplyDeletePVX - If one could change the batter from outside, um, security issue.
TTP - Pop just texted me a very similar weather report for SPI. I bet Tinker's (his Lab) walk will be very short.
I have plenty of 12v around on my work bench to blow things (how much can this capacitor take?) up. I really do appreciate you making me think about the keypad lock's power-source.
Cheers, -T
I liked the theme of this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHere in San Jose, California, DIA DE LOS MUERTOS is celebrated by many people, so I was familiar with it. I am not, however, familiar with the term RETAIL THERAPY.
To loosely paraphrase Shakespeare, shall I count the names? Nah.
Sorry you got locked out, TTP.
Thanks for the informative write-up, waseeley.
Good wishes to you all.
Jayce - RETAIL THERAPY is buying something to bring you joy when you're sad / feeling down.
ReplyDeleteA trip to Lowes and a $100 usually does it for me. [I could really use a 40lb sledge or this tape measure that won't bend until 25' goes out]
//DW only needs 1/2 as much and hits Ross or Off-Saks 5th Ave - she's a good catch, her :-)
Cheers, -T
FIR so my SPIRITS are LIFTed. Thanks, Alexander & Jeff! I liked how you tied together the themers. Other FAVS: Blade... and SATAY.
ReplyDeleteHand up for ArM before AIM.
Thank you, Waseeley, for all the info. I especially liked the ANEMONE video.
CED @ 1:34, "hiding useless keys" so funny! That is going on my to-do list for tomorrow!
The trouble with hiding the key behind the license plate, is you need to have a #2 Phillips with you all the time, or else.
ReplyDeleteMichael @9:52 PM Swiss Army Knife.
DeleteTTP: sorry you had one of my worst nightmares. Today was trash day here, too. Took me much longer to put on coat, cap, gloves, make sure I had cellphone, make sure I didn't accidently lock door behind me, grab bag of trash, then take off coat, cap, gloves, dig out phone & lock door when I got back in. Took one minute to haul trash can down the drive & scoot back up. Then it was all to do over after the trash men emptied the can. Sun shining brightly. 20 degrees. I was tempted to go coatless. Didn't.
ReplyDeleteAh, waseeley, some of us were never in the Swiss army! [g]
ReplyDeleteYour point is well taken, yet Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives shows that just when you need, you left it in the other pants for the first time ever....
ReplyDeleteJayce, thanks.
PK, that's just it. It was just going to be a minute or so, so I didn't bother with the coat. D'oh !
I opened the garage door to take out the recycling, and noticed the cover door on the keyless remote was open as I was wheeling the bin out and walking by it. Without looking, I reached back to flip the door down and brushed the enter key which closes the door. In that moment, I could have turned around and tripped the safety sensor to reverse the door and make it go back up. But no big deal, or so I thought when I let it go down.
Here's the thing. With the door open, that 7.4 voltage was just enough to send the signal to the receiver board on the actual opener at the ceiling. But with the door closed, the signal was too weak. My garage doors are 2 inch thick R-18 insulated, so that made all the difference. I had no idea the battery was weak.
Lesson learned. The hard way. The keyless remote battery will now be changed each fall when I change the 9V batteries in the smoke/carbon monoxide detectors.
So far, my brother and other family members have fared well through the damage from the ice storm. Not so for my 81 year old sister. She finally called last night, but still doesn't have power. Her great granddaughter's husband brought her a power pack so she could charge her phone a few times. She has family she can go to, but she said she's bundled up and coping with it, and managing just fine. Her natural gas is on so she can cook on the stove top, and she's on city water so she can flush the toilets, draw water for the two big dogs, and also let it drip so the pipes don't freeze.
I just checked the outage map a few minutes ago and still no power, but those crews have made tremendous progress since last night. Down to just over 3550 active outages and about 74,000 customers affected in that Oncor Electric service area. 79 outages in her neighborhood area of Temple. Three more homes on her street had power restored in the last hour, so they are still at it.