Hello Cornerites!
Theme: Fire Drill
sumdaze here. I cannot believe we are already in October! We are entering the time of year when a cozy chair, an afghan, a good book, a cup of hot cocoa, and a pumpkin-flavored biscotti are all we need for a satisfying afternoon. Did I forget anything? Oh, yes, you might want a warming fire. To do that, you will need three things: oxygen, heat, and fuel.
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| This is the "fire triangle". The fourth element is a chemical reaction. If you take any of these four things away, you will not have a fire or the fire will be extinguished. |
Katherine Baicker and Laura Dershewitz have built a snug puzzle for us based on this fire triangle. If these constructors' names sound familiar, that is probably because you remember their Herding Cats puzzle from Friday, September 22, 2023 -- which was expertly blogged by the charming Chairman Moe.
Let's look at the three themed clues, followed by the reveal:
20 Across. Talks things out to resolve tension: CLEARS THE AIR. Oxygen
28 Across. Slumbers soundly: SLEEPS LIKE A LOG. Fuel
47 Across. Applies more pressure: TURNS UP THE HEAT. Heat
54. Jack London short story set in harsh winter conditions, and what the ends of 20-, 28-, and 47-Across can be used for: TO BUILD A FIRE.
I had to rework the South a couple of times while I was trying to recall the title. TO light A FIRE? bzzt. TO start A FIRE? bzzt. The third time was a charm.
Let's pause for a bit of silliness before we move on to the other 74 clues:
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| This short story was first published in Century Magazine in 1908. Read the full PDF here. Or read the Cliffs Notes version here. |
Let's pause for a bit of silliness before we move on to the other 74 clues:
Tompall Glaser sings Put Another Log on the Fire (1974)
Across:
1. Symbol on the Texas state flag: STAR. Do we have any vexillologists on The Corner?
5. Central point: GIST. My brain searched for a more precise, mathematical answer. Sometimes perfect is the enemy of good enough.
14. Muted, as colors: PALE.
15. Cuatro y cuatro: OCHO. 4 and 4 = 8
42. Arrived by air: FLEW IN. The past tense in the clue required an answer in the past tense.
44. Push-up bra feature: PAD. Were you hoping for a pic? Will this one do? 
46. __ Diego Padres: SAN. As of this writing, they are standing 3rd in the NL West with 19.5 games back. How They Came to be Called the Padres
51. Paramount channel: CBS. and 52. Paramount channel: TMC.
29. Crossbred big cats: LIGERS. and 58 Down. Stadium sound: ROAR.
32. Take steps: ACT.
33. Component of cider but not cola?: SOFT C. Meta clue. "Cider" begins with an /s/ (SOFT C) and "cola" begins with a /k/ "hard C".
37. Hold the deed to: OWN.
38. Twists, as data: DISTORTS. When looking at a graph, always look to see if it starts at zero.
40. "Nope": NAH. Both are slang for "no".
43. Pink Floyd's "Comfortably __": NUMB. Here's the song. It was released in 1979 on their 11th studio album, The Wall. David Gilmour's guitar solo is legendary.
48. Many a laptop owner: PC USER. Hand up for this one.
49. Condo management gp.: HOA. "Group" is abbreviated, so is "Home Owners Association".
1. Symbol on the Texas state flag: STAR. Do we have any vexillologists on The Corner?
5. Central point: GIST. My brain searched for a more precise, mathematical answer. Sometimes perfect is the enemy of good enough.
9. Sailboat poles: MASTS.
14. Muted, as colors: PALE.
15. Cuatro y cuatro: OCHO. 4 and 4 = 8
Yesterday's clue for OCHO was much more difficult.
16. To no __: without success: AVAIL. As a noun, AVAIL means "an advantage toward attainment of a goal or purpose".
17. North Carolina university: ELON. ELON University is a private school. It was founded in 1889.
18. Clothing part that might split: SEAM. That seems likely.
16. To no __: without success: AVAIL. As a noun, AVAIL means "an advantage toward attainment of a goal or purpose".
17. North Carolina university: ELON. ELON University is a private school. It was founded in 1889.
18. Clothing part that might split: SEAM. That seems likely.
19. As of late: NEWLY.
23. Miss Piggy's favorite pronoun: MOI.
24. Spice amt.: TSP. "Amount" is abbreviated, so is "teaspoon". "Five" would not fit.
25. Post for an MBA, maybe: CFO. Master of Business Administration and Chief Financial Officer
33. Ecol. or geol.: SCI. Ecology, Geology, and SCIence
34. Catch a glimpse of: SEE.
35. Digital camera insert, briefly: SD CARD. and 26 Down. Word processing menu heading: FORMAT. and 54 Down. Cassette: TAPE.
23. Miss Piggy's favorite pronoun: MOI.
24. Spice amt.: TSP. "Amount" is abbreviated, so is "teaspoon". "Five" would not fit.
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| The (5) Spice Girls performed at the 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony. |
25. Post for an MBA, maybe: CFO. Master of Business Administration and Chief Financial Officer
33. Ecol. or geol.: SCI. Ecology, Geology, and SCIence
34. Catch a glimpse of: SEE.
35. Digital camera insert, briefly: SD CARD. and 26 Down. Word processing menu heading: FORMAT. and 54 Down. Cassette: TAPE.
We're going old school technology today!
These 50 old school tech products changed industries, improved lives, set trends, connected people, and eventually got passed over for newer products.
36. "Good Lord!": OH GOD.
39. Food drive donation: CAN.
41. Familiar "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME. "Familiar" in the clue refers to a dictionary's explanatory notes. It indicates that the words are suitable for informal contexts but would not normally be used in formal writing or speaking. In this case, the formal reply would be, "It is I," or, preferably, "It is <name>."
36. "Good Lord!": OH GOD.
39. Food drive donation: CAN.
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| Also ... you can drive around CANada and eat these delicious foods. |
41. Familiar "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME. "Familiar" in the clue refers to a dictionary's explanatory notes. It indicates that the words are suitable for informal contexts but would not normally be used in formal writing or speaking. In this case, the formal reply would be, "It is I," or, preferably, "It is <name>."
42. Arrived by air: FLEW IN. The past tense in the clue required an answer in the past tense.
Brown Pelicans might seem like awkward birds but they are adept flyers.
I never tire of watching them glide along the breakers. They FLY IN like a squadron of F-18s in a
V formation and know exactly how the air moves over the waves.
51. Paramount channel: CBS. and 52. Paramount channel: TMC.
ESP...TV channel clues are not my strong point.
53. Web pioneer: AOL.
60. Green energy category: SOLAR. CSO to unclefred!
53. Web pioneer: AOL.
60. Green energy category: SOLAR. CSO to unclefred!
63. Tend the soup: STIR. This is me. I make big pots of soups, stews, and beans.
64. Big celebrity: IDOL.
65. Learn to fit in: ADAPT.
66. "__, Brute?": ET TU.
67. Sizable bodies of water: SEAS. We often hear about the "Seven SEAS", but according to National Geographic, there are about 50 SEAS on Earth.
68. Formally hands over: CEDES. Russia CEDEd Alaska to the U.S. on October 18, 1867. This ended Russia's presence in North America and gave the U.S. access to the Pacific northern rim.
69. Amy of "The Wire": RYAN. I have not seen this show.
70. Rabbit kin: HARE.
Down:
1. On __: how much freelance work is done: SPEC. "On SPEC" means "without having a definite buyer or customer but with the hope or expectation of finding one when work is completed". This describes crossword puzzle construction, no?
2. Like many supermodels: TALL. I asked Splynter for his expertise with this one. He sent me three pics and one is from me. Can you guess which are his?
64. Big celebrity: IDOL.
65. Learn to fit in: ADAPT.
66. "__, Brute?": ET TU.
67. Sizable bodies of water: SEAS. We often hear about the "Seven SEAS", but according to National Geographic, there are about 50 SEAS on Earth.
68. Formally hands over: CEDES. Russia CEDEd Alaska to the U.S. on October 18, 1867. This ended Russia's presence in North America and gave the U.S. access to the Pacific northern rim.
69. Amy of "The Wire": RYAN. I have not seen this show.
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| Amy as Beadie Russel (lt.) and as herself. |
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| HAREs are distinguished from rabbits by their larger size, longer ears, and longer hind legs. Both have cute whiskers. |
Down:
1. On __: how much freelance work is done: SPEC. "On SPEC" means "without having a definite buyer or customer but with the hope or expectation of finding one when work is completed". This describes crossword puzzle construction, no?
2. Like many supermodels: TALL. I asked Splynter for his expertise with this one. He sent me three pics and one is from me. Can you guess which are his?
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| 4 TALL models |
3. Sunburn soother: ALOE. I need to repot my ALOE plant. It has grown so big that it tips over its current pot.
4. Change the title of: RENAME.
5. Deals in dirt: GOSSIPS. "Dirt" is slang for GOSSIP -- usually of a scandalous nature.
6. Rapper who plays Fin on "Law & Order: SVU": ICE-T.
7. Toppled Iranian leader: SHAH.
8. Black Lives Matter co-founder Ayo __: TOMETI.
9. Nail treatment at a salon, informally: MANI-PEDI. I looked up the trendy colors for this Fall (so you don't have to). One expert recommended deep browns, regal blues, and rusty orange polishes. Another recommended earth tones and all shades of greens from bamboo to dark olive.
10. State definitively: AVER.
11. Toothed tool: SAW.
12. Up to, briefly: 'TIL. unTIL
13. Underhanded: SLY.
21. Fish eggs: ROE.
22. Inquires: ASKS.
25. Top-grade: CLASS A.
27. "Happiness is having a scratch for every itch" poet Nash: OGDEN.
28. Disheveled clod: SCHLUB. Def.: (slang) a stupid, worthless, or unattractive person. >>> Ouch!
4. Change the title of: RENAME.
5. Deals in dirt: GOSSIPS. "Dirt" is slang for GOSSIP -- usually of a scandalous nature.
6. Rapper who plays Fin on "Law & Order: SVU": ICE-T.
7. Toppled Iranian leader: SHAH.
8. Black Lives Matter co-founder Ayo __: TOMETI.
9. Nail treatment at a salon, informally: MANI-PEDI. I looked up the trendy colors for this Fall (so you don't have to). One expert recommended deep browns, regal blues, and rusty orange polishes. Another recommended earth tones and all shades of greens from bamboo to dark olive.
10. State definitively: AVER.
11. Toothed tool: SAW.
12. Up to, briefly: 'TIL. unTIL
13. Underhanded: SLY.
21. Fish eggs: ROE.
22. Inquires: ASKS.
25. Top-grade: CLASS A.
27. "Happiness is having a scratch for every itch" poet Nash: OGDEN.
Paul the Cow* gets his itches scratched (36 sec.)
*"Cow" is a female bovine who has had a calf, but I looked past this egregious error because the video is pretty cute.
You can see Paul's happiness at having his itches scratched.
28. Disheveled clod: SCHLUB. Def.: (slang) a stupid, worthless, or unattractive person. >>> Ouch!
29. Crossbred big cats: LIGERS. and 58 Down. Stadium sound: ROAR.
For the most part, big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars) can ROAR but they cannot purr. Cougars and smaller cats (bobcats, ocelots, lynxes, and house cats) can purr, but they cannot roar. I asked Google if LIGERS can roar. It said, "The faintly striped, shaggy-maned creatures are the offspring of male lions and female tigers, which gives them the ability to both roar like lions and chuff like tigers -- a supposedly affectionate sound that falls somewhere between a purr and a raspberry."
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| LIGERs average 1,000 lbs. (463.6 kg.). |
30. Brief time, briefly: SEC. kinda fun clue
31. Cleared a hurdle: LEAPT. and 45 Down. All-out sprint: DEAD RUN.
31. Cleared a hurdle: LEAPT. and 45 Down. All-out sprint: DEAD RUN.
In this video Sydney McLaughlin gets a world record and a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 400m. hurdles. Wow! (NBC will let me link the video but not embed it.)
32. Take steps: ACT.
33. Component of cider but not cola?: SOFT C. Meta clue. "Cider" begins with an /s/ (SOFT C) and "cola" begins with a /k/ "hard C".
37. Hold the deed to: OWN.
38. Twists, as data: DISTORTS. When looking at a graph, always look to see if it starts at zero.
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| At first look, it appears the percent of Democrats 'who agree with court' is three times that of the other two parties. Look closer. This graph does not start at zero! The difference is between 62% and 54%. Not quite so shocking now, is it? |
40. "Nope": NAH. Both are slang for "no".
43. Pink Floyd's "Comfortably __": NUMB. Here's the song. It was released in 1979 on their 11th studio album, The Wall. David Gilmour's guitar solo is legendary.
48. Many a laptop owner: PC USER. Hand up for this one.
49. Condo management gp.: HOA. "Group" is abbreviated, so is "Home Owners Association".
Each is different, but basically, HOAs maintain building exteriors, landscape common areas, establish rules, and provide amenities, e.g., a swimming pool. The average HOA fee in the U.S. in 2021 was $286 a month. Hawaii came in with the most expensive at $762 a month. West Virginia was the least expensive state at $37 per month.
50. Mischievous: ELFISH. Def.: relating to or characteristic of an elf or elves; lively and slightly mischievous; impish.
55. Teeny: ITTY.
56. "Close My Eyes Forever" singer Ford: LITA. IMDb page
57. Brain wave: IDEA.
59. "Who __ knows?": ELSE. I am wondering the same thing.
60. Cul-de-__: SAC.
61. Rhyming tribute: ODE.
62. Young fellow: LAD.
Two things before I go:
50. Mischievous: ELFISH. Def.: relating to or characteristic of an elf or elves; lively and slightly mischievous; impish.
Will Ferrell was hilarious in Elf (2003). One gets the feeling that James Caan was thinking this crazy movie was going to ruin his career -- but now it is one of the top 10 Christmas movies of all time.
55. Teeny: ITTY.
56. "Close My Eyes Forever" singer Ford: LITA. IMDb page
57. Brain wave: IDEA.
59. "Who __ knows?": ELSE. I am wondering the same thing.
60. Cul-de-__: SAC.
61. Rhyming tribute: ODE.
62. Young fellow: LAD.
We're burning daylight. I better get on with it and post the grid.
- Thanks to Splynter for collaborating with me on 2 Down!!
- I blogged a Rebecca Goldstein puzzle on March 13, 2023 with this same reveal. It is impressive how different constructors see new ways to use solid themes.
45 comments:
Good morning!
No coffee yet. We had a 3-1/2 hour power outage last night. Generator kicked in, but not before the coffee maker forgot its settings. Had to manually start it this morning. Grrrr.
If digital cameras no longer use SD CARDs, what do they use? Thought they were still high tech. D'oh. Noticed the CSO to Lucina at MANI-PEDI. My Wite-Out got a chance to contribute with ELvISH. Any other LOTR readers make this mistake? Thanx, Katherine, Laura, and sumdaze.
Took 6 minutes exactly today for me to get a spark.
Thought of our dear Unclefred with solar and, if I recall correctly, "Comfortably Numb" (great tune).
I've heard of today's actress, but did not know she was in "The Wire."
Seemed like a tough one for a Monday, but could be that I'm up trying to do the crossword earlier than usual.
This puzzle had a bit of a “bite” for a Monday but not too bad. On the whole, it was another Monday “walk in the park.” FIR, so I’m happy.
Good Morning:
This was a typical Monday outing with a bit of crunch and a few unknowns, i.e, Tometi, Ryan, and Lita. Not familiar with To Build A Fire but I'm really not familiar with Jack London's other works, either, only by their titles. Always think of Lucina at ManiPedi. Overall, a pretty straightforward solve and newbie friendly with good perps.
Thanks, Katherine and Laura, and thanks, sumdaze, for the usual fun and interesting tidbits. Enjoyed the clip from Elf with the inimitable Will Farrell and the late, great James Cann. Who could ever forget his portrayal of Sonny in The Godfather? The "distorted" chart example was eye-opening and the comparison rates of HOAs struck a nerve with me. Our monthly fee is $426.00 and I'm sure an increase will be announced at the upcoming Annual Meeting. We have no amenities but as there are only 42 units, due to years of mismanagement, inept board decisions, and a costly, catastrophic landslide repair, the fee is considerably higher than comparable developments.
FLN
Darren, glad to see you're now "Blue". Any interesting story behind your new screen name, Art Speed?
Have a great day.
FIR. This was a little on the crunchy side for a Monday. And the use of schlub as an answer annoys me, and also spell check.
There were way too many proper names, and when they cross, like Lita and Ryan, that is just wrong.
Seems like Wednesday come on a Monday this week. I did FIR but took literally twice my usual Monday time. I wanted THIN for 2D, it took perps for TALL to appear. DNK = SCHLUB or any of the names except OGDEN. I did see the theme, but not until the reveal, so no help there. Thanx for the entertainment, KB&LD, though I wish your nice CW would have been presented to us on a Wednesday. Thanx for the (as always) outstanding write-up, and the solar CSO, Sumdaze. Special thanx too to Anon @5:45 for the solar CSO and even remembering my fave group is Pink Floyd and my theme song is “Comfortably Numb”. It is near PERFECT for when one gets old. The lyrics are incredible. Anyone not familiar should give it a listen. Sumdaze, I love that illustration of “good enough vs perfect”.
FIR without erasure. Waited for IT'S ME / it is i.
Today is:
NATIONAL FRIED SCALLOPS DAY (w/cocktail sauce, please)
NATIONAL CHILD HEALTH DAY (no kidding!)
NATIONAL CONSIGNMENT DAY (rehome your junk)
NATIONAL CUSTODIAL WORKER'S RECOGNITION DAY (cleanup in the chemistry lab, please)
NATIONAL NAME YOUR CAR DAY (Otto, of course)
NATIONAL SMARTIES DAY (the candy)
Sailboat poles could have been spars or booms.
On SPEC - SPECulation.
Why haven't RICO (or at least fraud) charges been filed against BLM leadership?
I don't think that being SLY is underhanded. Sneaky maybe, but not underhanded.
Motor home CLASS A is a type identifier, not a grade indicator. CLASS As are built on a bus or truck chassis. CLASS bs are basically camper vans. CLASS cs have an RV body added to a truck cab.
The big question in college football is which SEC team will win the national championship.
In Florida, an independent management company, hired by the HOA, actually manages the condo property. Not a great arrangement in some cases.
Don't blame us - We Didn't Start the Fire.
Thanks to katherine and Laura for the easy Monday fun. And thanks to Sumdaze for the colorful tour.
Build a fire?
Maverick Monday. Thanks for the fun, Katherine and Laura, and sumdaze.
I thought I might have to TITT (as I did in both weekend CWs), but perps and guesses saved the day. Plus, I got the FIRE theme.
This Canadian doesn’t know your Paramount channels. (Hey, I needed a couple of letters for the STAR on the Texas flag to appear - sorry AnonT)!
And the cross of RYAN and LITA was a potential Natick.
I had Spy before the simpler SEE, Newer before NEWLY, and ITSY before ITTY .(Slight nit here since I think the whole expression “itty bitty” is needed to properly mean “teeny”.)
SLEEP LIKE A Baby was my first IDEA but it wouldn’t fit the space or the theme. LOG did.
Hand up for being misdirected by that SOFT C clue.
I had no hesitation entering AVER. The clue was clearly not for Avow.
Thanks to sumdaze for the Canadian food illustration. It fits the stereotypes for the provinces, although B.C. and Ontario both have great wineries, and Ontario has blueberries and maple syrup too.
Wishing you all a great day.
Hi All!
Thank you Katherine & Laura for a quickISH Monday romp. Thank you Sumdaze for the warm review.
My top half filled quickly (I like when 1a is a gimme) but I got bogged down in the south...
Call of the Wild was right out.
WOs: Thin->TALL, SCHLoB
WAGs: LITA | RYAN
Fav: I'll go w/ CBS - Colbert returns tonight!
FLN - Thanks TTP for confirming why, with the same record, H-Town one-ups the Big-D (again ;-))
D-O: I just got two Wyze cameras (one controls the garage door!). They both take micro-SD CARDs for recording data. //It also uploads to the cloud so I can see on my iThing if DW left the bay-door open. And then!, with a tap, close the door. #CoolBeans.
Welcome to Blue, DarrenLA. I assume your moniker is due to your time in the studios (didn't you say you worked on music videos w/ Hall & Oats?)
IM - That's crazy HOA fees! x2.1 is my annual contribution to flowers in the median.
Unclefred - I guess I missed that you were a Pink Floyd fan. I like The Wall but, IMHO, Dark Side of the Moon is 10x better -- even if there was no movie for it - just planetarium light shows (with a distinct smell of weed ;-))
Jinx - CLASS-As are dress uniforms in the army. Cleans us grunts up but good, they do.
I really thought LIGERs were mythical... [cite]
C, Eh! I was surprised by the fantastic sushi in BC. And that was in the late '90s.
CED - LOL Terry Pratchett.
Cheers, -T
oops... Wyze Garage Door toy.
FIR in spite of a few unknowns like SCHLUB, NUMB, TOMETI, RYAN. I thought there was an error when I saw the repeated clues for Paramount Channel. Who knew?
For too long I had nORMAl instead of FORMAT, not knowing CFO. I finally got it when the HEAT got turned up.
I read a few Jack London novels as a child. Loved them and his portrayal of dogs.
Thank you Sumdaze for that neat info on the various cats and their roarings and purrings.
Good Morning! Lotsa DNKs & WOs to get it all to come together today.
Sumdaze, your review was the best part of today’s CW excursion. I loved the pelican clip and the tie-in to OGDEN Nash – “A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than this belican…”
Musings
-I had to stop trying to use the first words for the gimmick
-Grandson was taken aback when he was asked “What are your pronouns?” in a college class
-Some boosters will TURN UP THE HEAT soon if their multi-million dollar coaches start settling for “good enough” on the football field
-Columbia did not exactly, uh, CEDE Panama to the U.S.
-I had no idea Splynter loved giraffes! :-)
-I have a template I use when I sub to copy, paste and send info to the teacher after the day is done. I RENAME the file each time for the teacher and date when I save it so I don’t have to start over the next time.
-Wow, I know I had to have solved that March 13 puzzle because I commented but I have no memory of it!
-Lovely job, Renee!
And it is itsy bitsy, too.
Did my normal solve today and FIRED. Liked the theme.
50D I left out the EL_ISH until I figured out the clue. vIRE didn't cut it. 36A Tried myGOD until it wasn't. 54A Tried on until it was UP. Also Spy rather than SEE. The rest all came out in the wash.
My gratitude extends to Katherine and Laura for a superior Monday puzzle and to Sumdaze for her well done analysis.
Looking forward to the week.
Good morning. Thank you, Katherine Baicker and Laura Dershewitz, and thank you, sumdaze.
Let's first clear the air, when someone else in this household turns up the heat, I can't sleep like a log.
My typing issues continue after replacing my laptop keyboard. I had TiRNS UP THE HEAT.
LITA crossing RYAN needed a guess for the A. It seemed most likely, but ya never know.
Very fun review sumdaze.
I suspect you pictured the giraffe.
5A Gist: "Sometimes perfect is the enemy of good enough." Six Sigma was too much for too long in many environments. Good enough is so very often good enough.
43D, "Comfortably NUMB" --- Gallagher Explains Pronunciation: "That's just dumb.".
This Mondays offering packed a little heat. An enjoyable solve. Thanks sumdaze for the recap. Fav cartoon was “solar panelled tanning salon”…. kkFlorida
unclefred Hand up THIN before TALL. Learning moment that CBS is now owned by PARAMOUNT. Hand up cross of utterly unknown LITA/RYAN a WAG to FIR.
AnonT Hand up wanted CALL OF THE WILD. I have been to JACK LONDON Square in Oakland.
From Yesterday:
sumdaze, Christina D I did some more searching regarding NOODLE and NOB. I think I found the definitive answer here:
https://thesaurus.plus/related/noodle/nob
Noodle noun - The upper or front part of the body that contains the brain, the major sense organs, and the mouth.
Nob noun - The upper or front part of the body that contains the brain, the major sense organs, and the mouth.
I am very familiar with NOB Hill in San Francisco, but never knew the name origin. Your point about NOBility seems to be the thing there, sumdaze. This article explains the history of NOB Hill and says it comes from NabOB, which is actually derived from an Indian word for sovereign ruler. Nothing to do with NOODLE.
https://www.realsanfranciscotours.com/nob-hill-sfs-posh-neighborhood/
Many learning moments.
A Monday offering which required a bit of sweat to get the FIR. Ogden, I knew, but Ryan, Lita, and Tomati were all perps. Nice to see Jack London, one of my all-time favorites along with his contemporary, Robert Service. "There are strange things done, in the midnight sun, by the men who moil for gold..." DW has always claimed "Comfotably Numb" as her theme song. Great review, Sumdaze! Nice giraffe!
Bayou Tony said: "...planetarium light shows (with a distinct smell of weed ;-)" I've found that the scent fades if you Don't Bogart That Joint.
I enjoyed reading everyone this morning!
IM@7:02. I hear you with the HOA fees. Mine went up 20% last year (not a type-o!) and have gone up 102% from when I purchased the property in 2008. Insane. They never go down.
AnonT@9:49. I had that Napolean Dynamite clip in my write-up but decided to do the Coco Channel thing and removed it before going out the door. I'm glad you linked it!
RosE@10:00. Nice verse!
H-Gary@10:00. Splynter/giraffes...a for real LOL!
TTP@10:32. I looked up Six Sigma. Interesting. I wonder if Gallagher applies it to get such spot on timing in his act.
Picard@12:22. Thanks for the noodle/nob link. Now "A" is my 'final answer'.
Jinx - LOL bogart song. I don't partake but some of my best buddies do. And they get silly.
TTP / Sumdaze - Six Sigma is, as Pop would say, "over complicating a fart." His $0.02. #ExcuseMeWhileIoverThinkThis
Sumdaze - great minds and all that re: Napoleon Dynamite :-)
-T
sumdaze Thank you for reading my two references regarding NOB and NOODLE. Sorry for being dense. Can you please explain what you meant by "Now "A" is my 'final answer'."
Regarding HOA fees, ours are closer to Hawaii than to West Virginia. But ours includes earthquake insurance and insurance on the building itself.
Because of the Climate Crisis, most insurers are pulling out of California. At our HOA meeting this month we were warned that the skyrocketing insurance fees are the main thing driving our HOA fees. We are going to need a lot more GREEN ENERGY if we want to keep these fees under control.
Hola!
Whew! Is it really Monday? This seemed more like Thursday or Friday but I enjoyed the challenge. Thank you, Katherine and Laura!
My age is certainly showing here as I had several mistakes and did not attempt to correct them. First, I've never read a Jack London book so did not know the title of his book; second, had TURN ON THE HEAT instead of UP. Inkblots galore! Also, I had TBS instead of TMC. All these errors have left me NUMB!
DEAD RUN? Who knew? RYAN was pure guess. And why RITA Ford when there is RITA Moreno and RITA Hayworth?
Thankfully I do know MANI PEDI!
IrishMiss
I am shocked by your monthly assessment! Ours is $200 and is likely to increase to $225 next year. I expect a hue and cry from the owners/residents about that. We have 57 units. If we need to embark on an expensive project we assess a one-time fee for that. Our main expenses are maintaining the swimming pool, paying the landscapers and paying the management company. Of course, we pay utilities for the club house, water for the lawns, and a long list of small, necessary jobs such as pest control and waste management.
I wish you all a wonderful day! Fall temps here have overtaken the harsh, summer ones.
Sumdaze...we built a home in a new subdivision with a HOA back in '98. After the village took over road maintenance, and the park district took over our park, DW and other like-minded neighbors canvassed for weeks to get required 80% of owners signatures to do away with the HOA and its incompetent, arrogant board. Huzzah!
Picard@1:05. "Final answer" was a riff off of that game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? I was saying that (after reading your link) I am now choosing my first answer (A) from yesterday, "head/brain" @5:01. It seems more likely that is what Rebecca had in mind.
BTW, what do you call a fake noodle? an impasta!
Charlie Echo@1:09. Well done!
I have been on the HOA Board for about 30 years and we try to be as competent as possible because the bills have to be paid and decisions must be made about maintenance. So far we have not had any complaints.
When we bought our present home back in '07, the fact that there was no HOA was a big selling point. We still don't have one. Of course, we also don't have much in the way of amenities...or sidewalks.
Thank you Katherine and Laura FIR a truly HOT theme and a great start to the week!
And thank you sumdaze for another STELLAR review. That Glaser clip was definitely pre-2006 right?
Some favs:
5A GIST. Loved the graph. IT management used to NAG us with that phrase until we finally shipped.
9A MAST. A CSO to Jinx.
17A ELON. Also the name of a genius, of whom I am not a big fan.
35A SD CARD / FORMAT/ TAPE. I remember when CD's first came out and one of WBJC FM's DJ used to wax rhapsodic about never having to put a quarter on the tone arm again. NOT! If they're digital then they will have BUGS -- CD's don't skip they flutter and warble!
44A PAD. You've got my support for that pic sumdaze! 😁
53A AOL. BERNERS-LEE wouldn't fit.
54A TO BUILD A FIRE. This can be done in the snow if you have an axe (always carry one when camping in the snow). Find some DEAD WOOD, split off the wet outsides and cut the core into small pieces to use for tinder and kindling. You can also usually find what the natives called "squaw wood", dead wood which falls from trees and hangs in the branches -- it will be drier than the wood on the ground.
66A ET TU. I think we'll skip a salad tonight.
1D SPEC. I always thought that ON SPEC meant a SPECIFICATION supplied by the customer for a fixed bid, as opposed to TIME & MATERIALS, i.e. a hourly rate charged until the job was done. We rarely bid on the former, as most customers couldn't write SPECIFICATIONS.
2D. TALL. DOH? Number 3!
9D. MANI-PEDI. A CSO to Lucina.
29D LIGERS. We saw some LIGERS (and TIGONS) in a WHITE TIGER preserve which we visited 15 years ago in Northern China to adopt our 2nd grandson. He recently entered the John Paul II seminary in Washington, D.C.
Cheers,
Bill
Lucina @ 2:20
I wish you were on my HOA board! 30 years -- wow! -- your homeowners must be happy with your work!
Bill, in real estate is is ON SPECulation. Build a house as a speculative investment. Leave things like carpet and tile out. You end up with a house that will be fast to complete, but still customizable by the buyer. I bought a SPEC house in Phoenix, my (then) dw selected the inside stuff, and I worked out the requirements for the pool and landscaping. Only problem was that all my ocotillos died.
Could have waited until after we moved in and bid out the pool and landscaping separately, but it was nice to move in with the only projects being unpacking. Or so we thought - I didn't live in the house - I slept there, but I lived in the nearby Home Depot.
I was expecting a very easy Monday, and it was, but somewhat crunchy at places ... which was a lot of fun.
'Somewhat' reminds me, .... sumdaze, is there a reason why your avatar or screen name, does not start with a capital letter, Renee .... ? I enjoyed your commentary and personal comments on the puzzle, in your blog. You write like a professional ... if I may say so.
Thank You. I never even thought of the theme unifier ... that alone, made coming to this blog worthwhile.
Also thank YOu to Katherine and Laura for a very nice, slightly crunchy Monday puzzle, which I enjoyed.
'Mani-Pedi' reminded me of Lucina ... Once, a coupla years ago, I was attending, an important wedding, out-of-town, and I decided to get a Mani-pedi. It was not cheap. I guess the womenfolk look at things differently.
Have a great week ahead, you all.
sumdaze @ 12:48 ~ When I purchased my townhome in 2004, the monthly HOA fee was $160.00 and, as mentioned, it is now $426.00, soon to increase to Lord knows what. I'll let you do the math. On top of this, we have had several special assessments over the years. Even though I love my place and the location, I would move in a heartbeat if there were a viable alternative but there isn't one.
Lucina @ 1:07 ~ The only amenities that our development has is the beautiful setting and convenient location. No pool, no clubhouse, no pest control, no waste management, etc. Poor management on the part of several different boards over the years and inept property managers, plus aging structures and some very costly repairs due to ground water damage (landslide) and infrastructure failures have put us in a very deep hole.
I got my COVID shot today and am hoping any reactions are mild and brief. My other arm is still mildly sore from the flu shot I got this past Thursday.
Actually, Six Sigma and other quality disciplines have their place. Demming was correct, but he drank too much of the kool- aid, and over-sold the benefits.
For instance, if you are producing pharmaceuticals, manufacturing pacemakers, or IC chips, you would want to eliminate all possible escapes that could lead to defective products. A Six Sigma Quality discipline can lead you to near perfection. Six Sigma works well in many manufacturing processes, unless you are Takata, and then you keep building automobile airbags that are recalled for quality issues.
Applying Six Sigma concepts to all other processes in a business may lead you to improvement, but there's a point where diminishing return doesn't warrant the investment to achieve near Six Sigma results. Documenting and accounting for all possible exceptions or escapes does not necessarily create a better output.
For instance, a skilled artist or craftsman can use training and experiences to compensate for variations in materials and environmental conditions. A competent vinyl siding contractor would compensate for ambient air temperature to allow for expansion or contraction as the seasons change. The panels of sheathed exterior house wall may not be perfectly and precisely cut to within 1/32nd of an inch, but as long as they don't buckle or show gaps as the seasons change, they are fine.
My issue was that Six Sigma became the "next big thing" in corporate America, and it was erroneously applied to all disciplines of the business. My organization wasn't manufacturing widgets. There was some room for improvement in standard processes for what my part of the organization did, but mostly it was a big time suck. That, and what really got my goat was that I was appointed the Six Sigma lead, so I had to sell it to the managers and troops and constantly present the results to my higher ups, who in turn had to present the results to their higher ups. We invested far more time and than was ever merited to create presentations, speak to progress and improvements, and address the one-offs.
Vidwan827 @ 3:31. "sumdaze, is there a reason why your avatar or screen name, does not start with a capital letter"
Answer: style points
;-)
BTW, Vidwan827, I so enjoy your gentlemanly posts. Sometimes one just doesn't know how much things are appreciated on the other side.
Sumdaze does a great job guiding us through today's Baicker/Dershewitz XWD.
But how embarrassing! --to register a DNF on Monday!!
I could not get 48D because I did not think not to try a multi-word fill (PC USER), nor did I recognize the perp at 52A (TMC--which would have given me the "C").
Thank you,Sumdaze, for the brilliant choice of a photo to illustrate ET TU!
I shall have a hard time eating my next Caesar Salad!
~ OMK
____________
DR: Three diagonals on the near side.
The center diag, over-rich in vowels, gives us a weak anagram (10 of 15 letters), referring to a clumsy wearer of a revealing swimsuit ...
"A SPEEDO OAF"!
Desper-Otto, before I took the relocation from Houston to Chicago, I was home hunting for an established neighborhood with tall trees on the NW side near Spring Branch. The area was close in, and I wanted to avoid long commutes and traffic congestion. I made some really low ball offers on some really nice FHA foreclosures when the bottom of the oil barrel fell out, but never got a counter. Just as well, because I found the deed restrictions and/or home owners associations covenants and fees prohibitive.
I went through a couple of realtors here that kept showing me places I had no interest in, mostly in incorporated areas, and many with HOAs. On a whim, I popped into the office of a small realty office one day, told the husband-wife team what I was looking for, and within the hour they led me to the house and home that I've had for over 35 years. Unincorporated, private well and septic, larger lots, and like you, no sidewalks. No one minds not having sidewalks. Great neighborhood.
sumdaze @4:36 PM Yeah, if you can shave a pica here and there, you don't have to kern. 😊
IIRC, six sigma and lean are different ways to the same goals. Motorola developed six sigma as a top-down approach to improve the predictability of their products AND lower cost. Toyota developed lean as a bottom-up approach to eliminate unneeded processes, and to improve (not perfecting) necessary processes to improve the quality of their products AND reduce costs. Both were successful. Problems occurred when senior management in other firms were sent to short seminars and returned to their companies mandating the implementation of one or both of these measures, without any budget for doing so, because "quality is free."
One problem is that many companies try to measure quality against specifications their braintrusts come up with. The efforts have to be laser-focused on what attributes customers are willing to pay for. If I order 100,000 ball bearings that are 1/2" +- .001 inch, and my acceptance criteria is no more than 50 rejects, spending money to provide only 10 rejects is a waste. That doesn't happen with pure lean, and will result in losing bids in six sigma.
It's been a while, so if I'm missing the gist please let me know.
Jinx, you got it. I could site specific examples, but don't want to get too specific about my work and parts of my career. But yes, different leaders from here and from other locations had sessions with Motorola locally, and we were an early adopter of Six Sigma. And you know, stuff rolls down hill (gets delegated), and some of us took the brunt of it. By the time the discussions started with lean, my roles and responsibilities had changed, so I was able to avoid it. Maybe that's a bad view, but I was so disenchanted by the waste of time and effort that we spent on Six Sigma, I wanted no part of it.
My wife loves her job and continues to work. Her company started implementing lean teams a few years ago when an outsider quality manager was brought on board after a retirement.
DW is process oriented, and customer centric, so she was asked to participate on a couple of subset lean teams that were mainly focused on improving customer apps and interactions. Some of her suggestions were quickly accepted, but have yet to be implemented because they would require some IT changes to user screens, and their IT department has been bogged down with recent more pressing projects, as well as still recovering from unexpected IT costs (think Covid, skill departure, the and massive work-at-home implementation). I know she's become frustrated. She's told me she doesn't want to participate in any more lean teams.
"I could site" D'Oh!
Its pretty late, but I would like to thank sumdaze for her very generous comments.
We, as posters, are also .... 'on the other side' .... when we post our comments and sometimes wonder if sumbody/ or anybody... even bothered to read them.!!
I often make comments on my Iphone on other unrelated blogs ... and my wife who reads... one of those blogs, constantly berates me, because nobody bothers to comment on my 'contributions' ...
And I keep telling her, that ... as the good book ( from ones from the the Far East Asia ...) says ... 'Keep your aim(s)on your dedication and efforts, and not the goal which was to be achieved.'
TTP and Jinx, thank you for a small dissertation on Six Sigma.
One of my nieces teaches Six Sigma, some online, some in person, to some professionals around eastern US. The biggest group she has, is made up of officers and soldiers of the US Army ... though I can't imagine what lessons they could learn from Six Sigma analysis ... probably on how to 'pick off' the enemy, in rigid statistical order. ... ;-)
I enjoy reading everyone's posts and return several times a day to check on new ones.
Vidwan
For a very long time the price of a mani-pedis stayed stable and relatively low but suddenly, with new ownership it greatly increased. The result for me is that I go less often and since I don't work or go anywhere significant most of the time there is no rush. If I do have to go somewhere, such as the two weddings coming up I will make the exception and go more often.
RE: the HOA Board. I believe that as long as some of us are willing to serve others will not make the effort.
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