google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: February 29, 2024, Thursday, Margi Stevenson

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Feb 29, 2024

February 29, 2024, Thursday, Margi Stevenson

 

Have it Both Ways

Psych: The Musical is a spinoff from Psych,  
a detective comedy-drama TV series (2006 - 2014).
(currently streaming on Prime)

Today constructor Margi Stevenson presents us with a theme about what is arguably everyone's favorite conjunction: AND [why settle for just OR?].  Here are her themers (no stars, circles, or reveal) --

17A. Tap options?: HOT AND COLD.  There doesn't seem to be a convention for which is on the left and which is on the right.

25A. Poker options?: SHOW AND TELL.  Or an elementary school introduction to public speaking.

37A. Flower options?: CUT AND DRIED.  Teri is very adept at the keeping the former from becoming the latter.  However deliberately drying flowers is also a means of preserving them.

52A. Mouth options?: OPEN AND SHUT.  I need to work on the second option.  😀

61. Boxing options?: DOWN AND OUT.  If you go DOWN you've got until the count of 10 before you're OUT.

This theme explication is now OVER AND OUT. Which could be clued: "CBer communications options?".

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Caught wind of: HEARD.  You can experience this  after the next clue ...

6. Helpless?: SOLO.  As today is Gioachino Rossini's 56th birthday it was a no-brainer to play what is arguably the most famous SOLO of all time.  Here's Ettore Bastianini  singing the aria Largo al factotum from the Barber of Seville ...

10. French friends: AMISAND, if this were tomorrow or the next day it might be clued "Kingsley ___", novelist, poet, and critic.

14. Get along: AGREE.

15. Rotten to the core: EVIL.  Like Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) in John le Carré's The Night Manager

16. Fender flaw: DENTAND, if this were tomorrow or the next day it might be clued "Arthur ____, anti-hero of HGTTG" ...

AND that will be all of that.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Disney princess whose gown is adorned with snowflakes: ELSA.  She didn't mean to do it ...

20. "I'm so dumb!": IDIOT.  I resemble that remark!.

21. Lessen, as pressure: EASE UP.

23. Slumber party wear, for short: PJS.

25. [Theme clue]

28. Time-stamp component: DATE.

30. Like oyster shooters: RAWHere's a recipe.  I prefer mine neat with a dab of hot sauce and a vodka chaser on the side (a half dozen of these and you'll be floating in the Chesapeake! 😀).
Oyster Shooter
31. 90° from sur: OESTE.  Today's Spanish lesson: "West".  As it's 5 letters, it couldn't be ESTE -- Spanish for "East".

32. Start of many long weekends: FRIDAY.  Also the start of the hard puzzles.

35. Academic figure: DEAN

37. [Theme clue]

41. German automaker once owned by General Motors: OPELOpel Automobile GmbH, usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group prior to its merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to form Stellantis in 2021.

42. Emotional baggage: ISSUES.  A common problem between "ITEMS". 😀

45. Hawk's claw: TALON.

49. __ Speedwagon: REOREO Speedwagon, or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. Their best-selling album, Hi Infidelity (1980), contained four US Top 40 hits and sold more than 10 million copies.  Here's Keep On Loving You from that album ...

51. Upgrade a gravel driveway, say: PAVE.
.
52. [Theme clue]

56. SoCal airport: LAX.

57. Big citrus: POMELO9 Health Benefits of Pomelos -- but be sure to read the caveat at the end if you take statins for high cholesterol.
Pomelo
58. Lipstick mishap: SMEAR.

60. Luminescence: GLOW.  E.g the GLOW of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).  A celestial event is due to happen this year that may cause them to be seen at much lower latitudes.
Aurora Borealis
61. [Theme clue]

66. Forearm bone: ULNA.  Can also be clued as "Radius partner" ...
Radius and Ulna
67. Field of study: AREA.

68. Huevos rancheros condiment: SALSAHere's a recipe.
Huevos Rancheros.
69. Overly inquisitive: NOSY.

70. Baking amt.: TBSP.

71. Fix, as text: EMEND.

Down:

1. Scoffer's laugh: HAH.

2. Psychoanalysis subject: EGO.  Today's Latin lesson: I.

3. Like one who can really draw a crowd?: ARTISTIC. For example ... 

4. Audition (for): READ.

5. "Tree of Smoke" novelist Johnson: DENISTree of Smoke is a 2007 novel by American author Denis Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) which won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2007 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It is about a man named Skip Sands who joins the CIA in 1965, and begins working in Vietnam during the American involvement there.
Denis Johnson
6. Pie chart slice: SECTOR.

7. Ab __: from the beginning: OVO.  But what came before the OVO?

8. Short, for short: LIL.  E.g. apparently many rappers are height challenged. 😀

9. Of yesteryear: OLDEN.

10. "__ Fideles": ADESTE. More Latin: "Oh come all ye faithful" ...
11. Wild brawls: MELEES.

12. Slight: INSULT.

13. Rice, in some cuisine: STAPLE.

18. "I'm so dumb!": DOH.

22. Mortal lover of Aphrodite and Persephone: ADONISADONIS was an exceptionally handsome young man. He was so handsome, in fact, that the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone competed for his love. Though they were ultimately forced to share the young man, Adonis favored Aphrodite and was best known as her lover. 
Adonis
23. Common email attachment: PDFPortable Document Format, a de facto standard developed by the Adobe, Inc.

24. Preserves preserver: JAR.

26. Imitates a penguin: WADDLES.  A PSA from our Antarctic friends ...

 Stay safe on ice - walk like a penguin!

27. Wowed: AWED.

29. Part of a 35-Across's address: EDU.

33. Lacking a musical key: ATONALThis does not appear to be a well-defined term.  While it is associated more with music of the 20th century, atonality was used as early as 1885 in Franz Liszt's Bagatelle sans tonalité, S.216a, here played by Yulianna Avdeeva ...
34. Terrier's bark: YAP.

36. "Midsommar" filmmaker Aster: ARISorry, even the trailer is rated R.

38. Unhip type: NERDDWEEBS, but not GEEKS.

39. Uncanny ability, for short: ESPExtra Sensory Perception, a scientifically unhip thing to believe in. 😀

40. Job for an actor playing identical twins, say: DUAL ROLE.

43. "Hadestown" Tony nominee Noblezada: EVA. Hadestown is a 2010 sung-through  musical (i.e. an opera -- but it's probably best not to call it that 😀) with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial version of the Greek underworld to escape poverty and the cold, and her poor singer-songwriter lover Orpheus comes to attempt to rescue her.  Here's a recent review in the Guardian of the London staging.
Eva Noblezada
44. Possible reason for an R rating: SEX.  This film was rated R for SEX and nudity but this trailer is rated PGEmma Stone won a BAFTA for Best Actress for her performance ...

45. 1986 movie partly filmed at San Diego's Air Station Miramar: TOP GUNTOP GUN is a 1986 American action drama film inspired by an article titled "Top Guns", written by Ehud Yonay and published in California magazine three years earlier. It stars Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.  "Top Gun" is the name of the United States Navy's Fighter Weapons School at Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.  For some reason this school was moved to the Nevada desert in 1996.
46. "The Trials of __": Rick Riordan series based on Greek myths: APOLLOThe Trials of Apollo is a pentalogy of fantasy adventure and mythological fiction novels written by American author Rick Riordan that collectively form a sequel to the Heroes of Olympus series.

47. Small citrus: LEMONS.

48. Like freeway ramps: ONE WAY.

50. "Nice burn!": OH SNAPOH SNAP is a slang expression of surprise. It is similar to whoa and woah and also used when someone is insulted in an embarrassing manner.

53. Greet silently: NOD AT.

54. Actress Thurman: UMA.  For obvious reasons I've never seen this film ...

55. On edge: TENSE.

59. "Ferrari" actor Driver: ADAMFerrari is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film directed by Michael Mann and written by Troy Kennedy Martin. Based on the 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by motorsport journalist Brock Yates, the film follows the personal and professional struggles of Enzo Ferrari, the Italian racer and founder of the car manufacturer Ferrari S.p.A.  What better actor to play the star than ADAM Driver?
62. Scepter top: ORB.

63. Director Anderson: WES.  One of my favorite directors.  Here's a trailer for his most recent film Asteroid City, which can best be described as -- "quirky".  The cast includes Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, and Adrian Brody ...

64. Gp. featured in 45-Down: USN.

65. Skosh: TAD.

Cheers,
Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

56 comments:

Subgenius said...

I got the gimmick from the first themed fill, and that helped me solve the rest of the puzzle. But once again, there seemed to be a few too many obscure names. Oh, well, it as fun, anyway, and the “paraphrases” were cute and clever. FIR, so I’m happy.

Subgenius said...

I note a “typo.” Not “it as fun” but “it was fun.” But I’m sure you already knew that.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Lotsa unknown names today, but the perps were helpful, so no foul. Even d-o was incapable of missing the theme. Nicely done, Margi. Nicely explained, waseeley and Teri. (Took me some time to understand 58th. D'oh.)

TTP said...

Happy Leap Year Day!

One of our nephews is getting married today.   He's a joker. His soon-to-be bride shares his sense of humor. So they decided, "why not?"  

Any leaplings out there?   Do you celebrate your bithday on March 1st in non-leap years?

Thank you, Margi, and thank you Waseeley.

No problems.   No Sturm und Drang (turmoil) because the unknowns easily perped in.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but took a wrong turn and had to erased norte for OESTE.

Today is:
NATIONAL LEAP DAY (unlike leap seconds, leap days are always added, never removed)
NATIONAL TOAST DAY (started in 2014 by The Tiptree World Bread Awards. But this isn’t the dumbest “day” today – that’s reserved for…)
NATIONAL TIME REFUND DAY (H&R Block founded National Time Refund Day to encourage people to make the best of their time refund on Leap Day)

For me, the excessive A&E content was a fun sink. But I did like "helpless?" for SOLO.

I knew that OESTE was Spanish, but didn't know it was also Fwranch.

\My parents bought an OPEL for my sister. I remember that it had a four-speed transmission with a column shifter, and that the gauges were labeled in German. I think they sold it because it was hard to get it worked on in our little town.

Can't believe I still haven't seen the sequel to TOP GUN. Loved the original.

FLN, TTP - thanks for the memories in that old post. Fun to remember the names that aren't around any longer. Also, everyone has to remember that this the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. That makes Topanga, Marina del Rey, and Playa del Rey fair game. We're just voyeurs, peeking into their world.

Thanks to Bill 'n' Teri for the fun tour through today's puzzle.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

The folks who put together the main "today is" list I use snuck in an additional "Day" since yesterday. It is also RARE DISEASE DAY. The standard in the United States is 1 in 200,000. You're welcome.

TTP said...

Jinx, I wasn't complaining, just observing.   I don't complain.  My wife wouldn't agree.

Anyway, I looked back through the blogs for puzzles published on this day.   Here's the one puzzle that was day appropriate:

C.C.'s Leap Day Puzzle, 2016

waseeley said...

TTP @ 5:37 AM Sounds like a good way to economize on Anniversary presents!

Here's DAB's fortnightly crossword puzzle, about which he has this to say ...

That’s right, relax! Take it easy! Keep your shirt on! Cool off! Kick back! Lighten up! Simmer down! We’re just crossin’ some words and keepin’ it real! God forbid anyone should suppose that, because of our proclivity for making complex linguistic structures, we mean thereby to pretend to some off-putting level of literary or intellectual proficiency. We’re just chillin’.

KS said...

FIR. Took some time for me to get my footing up top, but when cut and dried fell into place, I was off to the races.
The theme was clever and fun. I found this to be about right difficulty-wise for a Thursday, despite the many proper names.
(By the way, W, the convention in this country is to have the hot side tap on the left.)

waseeley said...

TTP @6:14 AM Thank you for the Argyle review! She is the best. If it weren't for C.C. we wouldn't be here.

Anonymous said...

Took 5:14 today for me to get rid of the flotsam and jetsam.

I didn't know one of today's actresses (Eva), but I did another (Uma). I didn't know some of the other proper names: Ari, Denis, and struggled with my Greek mythology (Apollo & Adonis). I didn't know Oeste (nor which language it is), nor ovo, and was unsure of the spelling of Adeste.

Yellowrocks said...

Typical Thursday. I filled from the bottom up. After getting the first themer the rest were easy and provided perps. There were enough perps to suss the many names, but IMO words are much more interesting.
I have never seen or heard NICE BURN. My computer says OH SNAP when there is a problem processing.
Oyster shooters? Not for me. I love clams and oysters, but not raw. I prefer a Bloody Mary or even a Virgin Mary.
Plumbers say, "Cold water should always be on the right side of the faucet and hot on the left. This is an industry standard throughout North America." We stayed in a motel where the taps were reversed. We always opened the wrong one.
We are having a Leap Day social this afternoon, with music, wine and snacks. We have one person out of 200 or so residents who has a birthday today. She usually celebrates it on March 1. The price of staffing and groceries has risen so much that food at our parties has become much less elaborate these days. The wine and warm fellowship make the parties fun regardless.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...


Typical on-the-cusp midweek puzzle. After the first clue/answer AND was a freebee.

Happy Leap Day. My dear Aunt Mary who passed away 15 years ago was born February 29, 1912 would technically be 28 today . We celebrated her birthday on the non leap years on the 28th.

OESTE is Spanish for west, Ouest is French, (Est is French for East)

EMEND only see in CWs.

Had no idea for AB OVO. Perped all letters and figured O for SOLO as kynov an odd answer for “helpless”. After finishing the puzzle found the phrase “ab ovo usque ad mala” (from egg to apple = “from soup to nuts”

Inkovers: starch/STAPLE, jam/JAR,

ADESTE Fidelis or as my father thought was soooo funny every Christmas “Oh come all ye fat folk”

ARTISTIC (adj) not artist. too short anyway. Didn’t realize LEMONS clue was plural. Have no idea what a POMELO is but recognized this CW favorite citrus clue. Stopped myself from trying Apollo for the “mortal lover” ADONIS cuz he’s a god not a mortal. But then APOLLO pops back in later

Isn’t “OH SNAP” what shows up on your computer when an APP etc. temporary fails? Not sure how it relates to “nice burn!” 🤔

Tuesday it was high 60s sunny with all traces of snow melted. Today in the 20s a snowstorm, schools closed and roads a mess. I like the NE for its 4 seasons but not every other week .😳

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I enjoyed the cute theme but found the solve was over too quickly. It didn't feel like a Thursday at all, although I needed perps for Denis, Eva, and Ari. No w/os, though. Also, compared to many other recent puzzles, I wasn't really aware of there being lots of proper names.

Thanks, Margi, and thanks, Bill, for a witty and wise review. I, too, missed the 58th pun until DO mentioned it. Enjoyed the musical interludes and the voluminous photos and links. Thanks to you and Teri for the time and effort you so generously spend keeping us informed and entertained. 👏

BTW, for all you word puzzle lovers, Jeff Chen has developed a fun word game which can be found at imsqueezy.com. It took me a while to figure out the ins and outs, but I've been enjoying it very much.

Have a great day.

Big Easy said...

How many proper names were in this puzzle? Too many. But even the unknowns-ARI, EVA, DENIS and a others were easy because the "ANDs" were easier. A few other ANDS could have been LEMONS & POMELO and APOLLO & ADONIS for 'citrus & Greek'.

Does anybody have a hot DATE on FRIDAY?
ATONAL could describe most people's bad singing.
DUAL ROLE- The Patty Duke Show comes to mind

Ray_O- "Nice burn?!" Never heard of it but then I've only seen OH SNAP in crossword puzzles. Definitely not a saying in the SOUTH, especially NOLA.

RosE said...

Good Morning! Slow going and smooth sailing through today’s puzzle resulted in no WOs! Thanks, Margi, for the fun.

ESP: DENIS, EVA, ARI – that movie sounds awful. I’d rather my movies to be entertaining….
OH SNAP perped easily although I’ve never heard the expression “nice burn.”

Thanks, Bill & Teri, your recap summed it up nicely, AND also for the lovely Enya noel.

Anonymous said...

Out of 15 proper nouns I knew 6. There were some clues that left me clueless, 31 across, 7 down, and 50 down. 18 down: doh, I always thought was spelled duh.

waseeley said...

Ray - O @8:35 AM Thanks for the correction. As "sud" is French for SOUTH I should have caught that. The review has been EMENDED for posterity.

Monkey said...

I’m ambivalent about this CW. Maybe my mood today. It’s dreary and cold outside. Anyway, I too found a few too many proper names I wasn’t familiar with, but perps came to the rescue.

The clues for SOLO and ARTISTIC are really clever. The theme was easy to figure out.

I’m a fan of WES Anderson’s movies.

I like my raw oysters with just a squirt of LEMON on them.

Thank you to Waseelee and Teri for a nice recap. I like those musical interludes.

Charlie Echo said...

Fast, smooth, FIR this morning, despite the names. The only really obscure ones were ARI, DENIS, and EVA and they perped nicely. Jinx, you should definitely see the Top Gun sequel. I thought it was better than the first! Today is DW and my 8th wedding anniversary!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-ESP: Irish read my thoughts yet again! :-)
-I searched in vain for another level in this obvious gimmick but, nope, not necessary
-NFL fan me thought of this DENT
-Some coaches get a bad reputation because they do not EASE UP their full court press when they are ahead by 30+ points
-ISSUES: Our principal’s credo was, “That explains the behavior, it does not excuse it.”
-When Jason Alexander was asked to READ for the George Costanza role, he said he just did a blatant Woody Allen impersonation and Seinfeld and David loved it.
-America’s Moon program was Project Apollo. The return trip is named for Apollo’s twin: Artemis.
-ONE WAY: Have you ever turned onto a two-lane street and noticed both lanes are driving toward you? I’m asking for a friend. :-)
-Nice job, Bill and Teri!

CanadianEh! said...

Happy Leap Day. Thanks for the fun Margi, and waseely and Teri.
I FIRed in good time and saw the theme (although I was looking for a day-appropriate theme).
Once again, a plethora of names, but perps were fair.
I had several vowel changes. A to O for OVO, U to O for DOH, I to A for YAP.
Older changed to OLDEN.
I’m not familiar with Nice burn or OH SNAP.
HOT tap on left and COLD on right here. (We Canadians aren’t backward LOL)

Charismatic was too long; ARTISTIC brought a smile as I saw the literal meaning of draw.
Edit was too short; EMEND fit.

Wishing you all a great day.

Lucina said...

Hola!

What a drag! I don't understand why I have to prove it's me every time I start this process.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this puzzle from Margi Stevenson; thank you for that and of course, wasseely's always colorful commentary is fun to read.

Helpless? SOLO. I found the clue and fill amusing.

Yes, OESTE is west in Spanish.

My youngest granddaughter is very ARTISTIC, always drawing something and she is better and better all the time.

I had ISSUES at EVA but it soon emerged.

I agree that there were many names but all were sussable and I even knew some, i.e., UMA, ADAM driver, and WES Anderson.

My co-worker with whom I car-pooled for many years drove and OPEL.

Have a lovely day, everyone! And please stay out of harm's way all you who live in stormy places.

waseeley said...

Lucina @11:13 AM Glad to see that you got your profile back.

Irish Miss said...

Charlie Echo @ 10:20 ~ Happy Anniversary to you and Mrs. Echo. 💘

HG @ 10:21 ~ Great minds . . . 🤣

TTP said...

Lucina, are you there?

unclefred said...

FIR, but took 28 minutes. I got the theme immediately, which for me is unusual, at the least. Getting the theme early helped but some obscure names slowed me down. Is every Disney princess named Elsa? Wanted to write "Semper" where "Adesta" finally filled, and W/Os TSPS:TBSP and ANG:ARI slowed things down a bit. Thanx MS for the fun CW. And thanx too to Bill for the terrific write-up. Well, I'm off to see the wizard: Downtown Computer's Steve. I have two HP laptops. One needs a battery, the other keeps overheating in spite of replacing the fan several times. I'm always told "These are old computers! Just buy new ones!" but I resist trashing a device where 99% of the components are functioning perfectly, only one needs attention. So...pay up, Unclefred.

YooperPhil said...

Managed a FIR in a little over 11 minutes, knowing there would be an AND in every themer helped with those, and that helped the perps. Good Thursday level puzzle, thank you Margi. I always thought of “I’m so dumb” as DUH, but I think Homer Simpson popularized DOH. ESTE is ESTE And OESTE is OESTE and never the twain shall meet, Rudyard Kipling.

I took my road test to get my driver’s license at 16 in my sisters yellow OPEL, standard 4 on the floor transmission, I passed.

Smoked oysters yes, cooked on the half shell yes, raw no, like a big blob of, never mind.

Bill and Teri ~ your Thursday expos are always a treat, informative and entertaining! Liked the quote from DAB, reminds me of what HG has said on occasIon, “remember it’s a game, not a test”.

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR; thanks to Margi, Bill, and Teri

Finished DAB's puzzle, too, although it was more of a slog than the one here

TTP @ 6:14 ==> I opened the link to C.C.'s 2/29/2016 puzzle. What struck me was seeing all of the names of those who used to post here (some are now deceased; others, ???). Does anyone know if this blog keeps track of those who have passed away? Should we have a list, sort of like a memorial to them?

The "short" list of names/posters I noticed from the 2016 Leap Day blog are:

SwampCat (??)
Spitzboov (deceased)
Argyle (deceased)
Abejo (deceased)
Old Man Keith (deceased)
Tinbeni (??)
oc4beach (??)
Avg Joe (??)
Lemonade714 (alive)
Fermatprime (??)
Dudley (??)
thehondohurricane (??)

TTP said...

Chairman Moe, not that I know of.   It sounds like a task for someone else.  

TTP said...

Lucina, please answer these questions that I have asked you twice before.
1) Are you using a MAC or a PC?
2) What browser do you use?

The problem is at your end.

Now that you have verified today, do not turn off your computer tonight and do not shut down your browser or close Blogger. Leave them all running. Then tomorrow, see if you have to verify before you can post your comments. Let me know.

Anonymous said...

You folks using Wite Out to deal with corrections should check out Frixion Ball pens from Pilot. They use an erasable ink which is removed by the heat generated by rubbing the rubber cap over the area to be removed.

Monkey said...

Happy anniversary Charlie Echo.

Anonymous said...

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this would actually be Rossini's 56th birthday, as 1800 and 1900 were not leap years. Leap years are every year that is evenly divisible by four, unless the year is also evenly divisible by 100, unless the year is also evenly divisible by 400. So, 2000 and 1600 were leap years, but 1900, 1800, and 1700 were not. If the Gregorian calendar is still around in 76 years, those with leap day birthdays will have to go 8 years without a party at the turn of the 22nd century!

waseeley said...

Anonymous @2:44 PM By George I think you're right! Just as I read your post I got a notification from my Calendar where I had originally saved the date. When I was composing the review I made the mistake of just subtracting his BD from 2024 and dividing by four. I'll go fix it for posterity. Thank you!

Lucina said...

TTP
I'm so sorry I have not responded. After I posted I went on to other things and had not returned to my computer until now. I use a desktop computer and yes, I do know that the problem is likely on my computer. What happens is that when I initially start my computer after it has been shut down, I have to verify my identity anew and then after that it's accepted.
Therefore, I'm sure that if I were to leave the computer on all night, my post would be accepted. It seems to happen only after a shut down. I suppose it's some kind of security process.

TTP said...

Lucina,

1) Are you using a MAC or a PC?
2) What browser do you use?

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle.

Irish Miss said...

Moe @ 4:01 ~ I believe CC had word from Fermatprime not too long ago. oc4beach comments every now and then and AvgJoe commented not too long ago. I know nothing about the others you mentioned. 😉

Chairman Moe said...

IM @ 4:01 => thanks. Glad to hear that those folks are still among us! ;^)

To any of the other posters: might you know the whereabouts of those that I put a "??" next to their name (in my post @ 12:46)

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Lucina, if you use a PC, select "sleep" instead of "shut down." You get nearly all the energy savings and save all the wear and tear. Just restart it once a week or so, just to ward off evil spirits. (Sorry, TTP. Guess I should stay in my lane.)

Yopper Phil, Jonathan Swift said "He was a bold man that first ate an oyster."

U.Fred, just be sure your laptops can go to or are already on Win 11. Wouldn't want to spend a hundred or two to fix laptops that will be too dangerous to use online in 18 months or so. (OK, TTP. Am I still outta my lane?)

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Yooper. not Yopper.

TTP said...

Chairman Moe, I don't know.   I communicate with very few of the commenters outside of the blog.  You can add TxMs and ATLGranny to your list.   I don't know if people have left because they don't like Patti's editorial style, or because they don't like the constant complaining from some of the people that have joined in the last year or so, or if they have passed.   C.C. may know.   Husker Gary has had contact with with those that have shared their city locations.   Maybe he knows.

Lucina, I'm going to guess that you are an Apple iMac user and that you are using the Safari browser.

You are most likely having this issue because your browser is deleting cookies when you power down or close your browser.   All advanced browsers have a setting to determine what should be done with cookies when you shut it down. The default is to not remove them.   Someone changed the setting to remove them.

The cookies from Google are updated when you sign in and verify.   If the cookies are present the next time you try to post your comment, you will have no problem.   If they have been deleted, you will have to verify again.

I would guess that when you had relatives over, and someone else was using your computer, he or she changed your browser settings so that browsing history and cookies would be removed at closure.   Apple didn't push that change onto your computer or we would many other blue commenters having the same issue.   Someone changed the settings at your end.  

You need to find the setting and change it back.   I am not an Apple user and I don't know Safari, but surely someone else here can tell you how to access it.   The browser setting will be under Privacy, in some form or fashion.

TTP said...

Jinx, no worries.

TTP said...

Jinx, the funny thing is that during my career I never used PCs for anything other than being smart terminals at the end of host systems.   They sure beat the green screens, didn't they?

Lucina said...

TTP
No, this is not an Apple or iMac. It is an ACER PC which I've had for a few years. No one has used my computer lately. My granddaughter moved out a couple of months ago and I am the only one that uses this computer. I may have inadvertently clicked on something that I didn't realize. I'll have to have my daughter or her husband look at this. They are all experts on the computer as is my granddaughter. In the meantime, I'll put up with this.

Oddly, it only happens with this site and when I try to log onto the Google site. My email is from Century Link and I can easily access it. Thank you for your advice.

TTP said...

Lucina, to be blunt, I asked you four different times what computer and browser you were using since you started complaining about this problem in early to mid January.

You have now finally responded that you have a PC and not a Mac, and still haven't answered which browser you are using.

Regardless, the issue is cookies. Your browser is deleting them when you shut down. Depending on your browser, you can give "permissions" to the Google/Blogger site, but since you still haven't answered which browser, and you have experts to help you, I will bow out as they should know what to do.

Lucina said...

TTP
I'm sorry about all this. When you say "browser" I'm not sure exactly how to answer. Do you mean, chrome or something like that? As you can see, I am not sure how to answer. You can contact me by e-mail if you wish. I'm going to be preparing dinner and then eating, so I'll be away from the computer for a couple of hours.

unclefred said...

Jinx @4:44: Thanx for your comment re my two HP laptops. They are both already running Windows 11, but what happens in 18 months that I need to be concerned about?

Tehachapi Ken said...

I'm glad that several of you have remembered that today, February 29, is a date we experience
just every four years.

So I'm going to take the occasion of Leap Day to point out a couple related nuggets of information that may help you win an argument or two.

A U.S. President's term is four years, or 1461 days (consisting of three years of 365 days each, plus one leap year of 366 days).
We have had thirteen one-term Presidents, and one of them served only 1460 days! Zut alors! What gives?

The answer--and your argument-winner-- is John Adams. He had the misfortune of being President during the year 1800. As an earlier contributor here pointed out earlier today, for leap years evenly divisible by 100, only those that are also divisible by 400 are leap years, such as 1600, 2000, 2400... So 1800 was not a leap year.

The "divisible-by-400" leap year has only occurred once in American history: the year 2000, which was the last year of Bill Clinton's second term. So 2000 being a leap year, he served the normal two- year term.

If anyone is interested in winning other bets, I can give you a President who served only 1418 days, instead of the standard 1461 days, and another who served only 1404 days.

And no, these are not Presidents who died in office.

TTP said...

Lucina, I am sorry too.   You are one of the commenters that I always take time to read, and it pains me that you have been having this solvable problem.   I was only trying to help.   If you don't know what a browser is, it is better that I step aside and let you get local help.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

TTP, I didn't mind the green screens nearly as much as the key bounce. Type in a "t" and you might get "ttt" or "tttttttt." And those little buggars were more expensive than a PC clone (although more expensive than a true-blue IBM PC, which, of course, GTE bought.)


U.Fred, you are OK. Windoze 10 support will expire then, with no Microsoft support (unless someone foolishly pays for subscription support - I'm lookin' at YOU, Department of Defense.) It will be very risky to expose a Win 10 machine on the internet after support ends. I don't remember the exact date, but it's about 18 months from now.

Tehachapi, is it RMN? (I know I've been to Tehachapi. Is it on the way to Lake Elsinore from the beach cities?)

sumdaze said...

Thank you Margie for the Fun and Games! FAV today was Cut & Dried.

Thanks to waseeley for the Movie Trailer Thursday review. Coincidentally, it was finally my turn for Asteroid City at the library so I brought it home today after my volunteer gig.

H-Gary @ 10:21. I spent 3 years driving on the LH side of the road in Japan so, yes, I have turned and noticed cars coming toward me. Yikes! That also happened when I returned to the U.S. because at that point the LH side felt normal.

Happy #8 to C-Echo!!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

🚗
Driving on the left side of the road doesn’t seem to make sense intuitively as most people are right handed and more clumsy doing tasks using their left hand such as shifting gears. Adjusting the radio and climate control, giving their kid a smack etc.

🤔



Tehachapi Ken said...

Jinx,

1. No, Nixon is incorrect. Both these Presidents served out their full terms. And their terms were short for different but compelling reasons. I'll tell you (and everybody else on the blog) who the two are, and change the challenge to identifying why the terms of these two--FDR and George Washington---were shorter. Hint: in both cases, it was their first term.
2. Tehachapi is located in the Kern County mountains, which is the southernmost part of the Sierra Nevadas. We are a wine-growing region, like a town near Lake Elsinore called Temecula. Methinks that might be the town you had in mind. It's much cooler here, and of course we boast superior wine.

Anonymous said...

A lilting little Thursday puzzle theme, quite fun; mucho grac, Ms Margi! And Happy Anniversary to the Echos (am I hearing an Echo in here? 😎).

How many of the ex-jarheads on this blog wanted to put Semper into 12D? Obviously the perps killed it, but still…

A contractor friend once told me the four tenets of plumbing: “Hot is on the left, cold is on the right, s**t flows downhill, and payday is Friday”…oh-kay-eee. And as long as we’re on goofy gags, Swift may have said that line about oysters, Mr. Jinx — but I’d like to know the first guy who said “Hey, I’m gonna try eating that thing that just came out of that bird’s butt!” 😆

Do take in “Ferrari” if y’all haven’t seen it; very engrossing look into an extremely complex man’s obsession with racing.

Happy Leap to all !

====> Darren / L.A.