tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post7413957106829088191..comments2024-03-28T22:14:27.877-05:00Comments on L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday, March 4, 2018 John GuzzettaZhouqin (C.C.) Burnikelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750267554729853785noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-15534242180700260202018-03-09T14:44:23.981-06:002018-03-09T14:44:23.981-06:00a capella fans should check out
the mighty echoes ...a capella fans should check out<br />the mighty echoes at genghis cohen in la this sat 3/10 @ 8<br />they’re funderful and pretty decent chinese food too Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-74009327817600950212018-03-07T10:14:53.387-06:002018-03-07T10:14:53.387-06:00Very clever, challenging puzzle. Loved it!Very clever, challenging puzzle. Loved it!valpomachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18426632909213884288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-6715684725243360432018-03-05T06:00:58.826-06:002018-03-05T06:00:58.826-06:00I see that somewhat obscure actor Gary Oldman has ...I see that somewhat obscure actor Gary Oldman has just received a Best Actor Oscar for playing Churchill in Darkest Hour.<br /><br />Some of you will know why I posted this - if you read really late posts like this one.<br /><br />Clever puzzle. WEES about ethyne - never heard of it. Actually did some acetylene welding decades ago.<br /><br />I hear that Taos has an unusually high number of steep runs - intimidating for beginning skiers.RetFizzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06808090259947239260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-30212308855921136932018-03-05T02:30:14.194-06:002018-03-05T02:30:14.194-06:00Midnight and gave up after eleven hours (off and o...Midnight and gave up after eleven hours (off and on) of struggle. Not feeling well, computer off line, so I tried the "old way" using my two sets of encyclopedias and my two most recent almanacs. . impossible! Why, oh why make puzzles with so many twists and ifs?? Word knowledge, history knowledge, scientific knowledge, geographic knowledge doesn't count any more, just the ability to log into an on-line "cheat site" (and there are dozens - I've counted. What's the value of a puzzle if it only measures your computer skills?? Please don't lecture me - as some have before when I expressed my concern before - about looking for "easier" puzzles. How demeaning is that?? why do puzzles need silly gimmicks and un-clever guises to get published?? As I go to bed unfulfilled, I think I might cancel my subscription to the LAT after over a half century of faithful readership Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-71493303885062293412018-03-05T00:09:47.189-06:002018-03-05T00:09:47.189-06:00Gee, Picard, you say you're glad I'm not m...Gee, Picard, you say you're glad I'm not moving to your town. My feelings are hurt. LOL! As for not having anything in my profile, I've had some strange people in my past who precipitated happenings I wouldn't want repeated so I'd rather leave people guessing. One of them died last week, but there are still a couple more somewhere out there.PKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14570575955563406341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-90637077451964301992018-03-04T23:30:49.258-06:002018-03-04T23:30:49.258-06:00Thanks, Michael. I was hoping some knowledgeable p...Thanks, Michael. I was hoping some knowledgeable person would shine some light on that. I didn’t exactly excel at chemistry.<br /><br />Picard - I suspect you’d have enjoyed one of last night’s orchestral pieces particularly. It was the full suite built around the simple, pretty flute melody played by Capt. Picard on The Inner Light and subsequent episodes. Since they didn’t have a Ressikan flute available, a good quality penny whistle was substituted. One of the orchestra’s three usual flutists took up the challenge of learning the unfamiliar instrument and turned in a splendid performance. She got a solid round of applause! Lots of Trekkies in that audience.Dudleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07587399549104728305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-78622693888928611772018-03-04T23:00:33.402-06:002018-03-04T23:00:33.402-06:00Organic chemistry notes: Carbon has four attachme...Organic chemistry notes: Carbon has four attachment points possible, for any single carbon atom.<br /><br />If you have two carbon atoms attached together, and hydrogen for the rest, you can have <b>ethAne</b>, C2H6. This is called a saturated bond. (Remove one -H and replace it with an -OH, and you have Tinbeni's Solution, ethanol.)<br /><br />But you can also have the two carbons bonded TWICE to each other: C2H4, an unsaturated bond. The formal IUPAC name for this is <b>ethEne</b>, but it is better known to us as ethylene, or minus an -H, as vinyl, which become many differing plastics.<br /><br />And if the two carbons have three bonds to each other, C2H2, then it is formally called <b>ethYne</b>, but almost universally known as acetylene. <br /><br />The reason for the odd names here, is that when chemistry was starting to take off around 200 years ago, a handy starting point was "acetum", vinegar in Latin.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13270740184766230842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-40244374274947542672018-03-04T22:43:29.493-06:002018-03-04T22:43:29.493-06:00AnonT, I think I saw every episode of WKRP once an...AnonT, I think I saw every episode of WKRP once and, I'll bet, many of them twice. Some even more often. Brilliant stuff. What a great ensemble. <br /><br />Jimmy Kimmel taking some of the Hollywood elite across the street to meet some movie-goers inside a theater. More brilliant stuff. Bill Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04495413609545426668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-77565649546231776862018-03-04T22:15:42.768-06:002018-03-04T22:15:42.768-06:00Picard - see email. it's a real c/a I'm t...Picard - see email. it's a real c/a I'm thinkin' about.<br /><br />OK, who has Amazon Prime? Bill G. - I got Season One of WKRP on Prime for $10 today. Youngest & I are binging. See you after S1E7 (Turkeys away! :-))<br /><br />C, -TAnonymous Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459563526290288425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-8315249928893902662018-03-04T21:08:51.030-06:002018-03-04T21:08:51.030-06:00Dudley: Way cool you thought of "Make it so!&...Dudley: Way cool you thought of "Make it so!" before BEAM ME UP. I did, too, of course!<br /><br />AnonT: Sorry, but I am not getting the inside joke. Please do let us all in!<br /><br />PK: Glad to know you were joking about moving here for our community activities. And glad to know your community has such activities, too! Where do you live? Your profile seems to be blank.Picardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17401317669146538447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-29542646409120675192018-03-04T20:47:18.522-06:002018-03-04T20:47:18.522-06:00- clues totally ridiculous.- clues totally ridiculous.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07493090490925025463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-73502380504531161352018-03-04T18:51:30.587-06:002018-03-04T18:51:30.587-06:00It is wonderful to note the recognition of our fou...It is wonderful to note the recognition of our founder, C.C., with such a nice award. I also want to acknowledge John Lampkin and Roger and Kathy Wienberg who have their LAT work nominated. I also want to congratulate all mentioned in the recap for their continuing contributions to crossword construction.Lemonade714https://www.blogger.com/profile/13642909374639570868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-39047688171826331192018-03-04T16:48:58.111-06:002018-03-04T16:48:58.111-06:00PK:
Are you satisfied that you know the meaning of...PK:<br />Are you satisfied that you know the meaning of VADE MECUM? Someone earlier translated it, "come with me"; it's a small compendium that you take along with you.<br /><br />Irish Miss:<br />Thank you for informing us about C.C.'s award. Congratulations, dear C.C.!!!!<br /><br />I'll have to check on that puzzle now.Lucinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16278649651081244724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-40694779489380250982018-03-04T16:22:11.975-06:002018-03-04T16:22:11.975-06:00Hi Y'all! Wow, wow, wow! Tricky layers of a pu...Hi Y'all! Wow, wow, wow! Tricky layers of a puzzle without circles. Thanks, John. I finally caught on to the hop up to capture a crucial letter and was satisfied that was the island. Then I came here and learn that in addition there is an island name, from C.C. Thanks so much and congratulations on the ORCA Award. So brilliant, our darling!<br /><br />No idea what Vade MECUM could be or that ROMCOM wasn't a technical computer term. Romantic Comedy. Why can't people say what they mean anymore instead of speaking in abbreviations? <br /><br />I kept books for and processed all invoiced purchases in three garages as well as having a husband who did a lot of welding. I never saw the word ETHYNE gas. Acetylene, I know.<br /><br />ALATEEN is, of course, associated with Alcoholics Anonymous and a great learning experience.<br /><br />Picard, thanks for the information on city event planning. Actually, I was kidding about moving to your town although it sounds like a lovely place to live. The city in which I live has some really good events which I enjoyed when I was still able. Loved the authentic Mexican Fiesta with costumed dancers & music. Can't go anymore.<br /><br />PKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14570575955563406341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-8567229456745449692018-03-04T16:18:01.071-06:002018-03-04T16:18:01.071-06:00I still have no idea of what this puzzle is about....I still have no idea of what this puzzle is about. My printout had neither title or circles. I finally cut my losses and took a DNF<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-35641785873743437222018-03-04T15:58:19.534-06:002018-03-04T15:58:19.534-06:00IM - Thanks for the heads-up. That's awesome ...IM - Thanks for the heads-up. That's awesome and Congrats C.C.! //that <i>is</i> a cool puzzle. Y'all check it out... just, um, neat-o!<br />C, -TAnonymous Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459563526290288425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-44483931221864483242018-03-04T15:27:05.986-06:002018-03-04T15:27:05.986-06:00Congratulations to our CC are in order. She won th...Congratulations to our CC are in order. She won the ORCA Award for Best Free-Style Puzzle of 2017 for her puzzle that appeared in The New York Times on June 16, 2017. Brava, dear CC! (Complete list of awards is on Crossword Fiend web site.)Irish Misshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12527047622731333304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-19854417393374972782018-03-04T15:17:33.711-06:002018-03-04T15:17:33.711-06:00Well, I averted an afternoon filled with frustrati...Well, I averted an afternoon filled with frustration and gnashing of teeth. My upstairs (main) TV was inoperative. It's connected through a DVR and cable box. It was unresponsive to DVR commands. Just a dark screen. The only diagnostic fix I could think of was unplugging the box and letting it reset itself. That solves almost everything. But no. Still nothing. A call to the cable company resulted in their opinion that it was a problem with my TV. I normally control everything with the DVR universal remote. I hunted up the TV remote and found it unresponsive. Taking off the battery cover revealed two AAA batteries, one of them badly corroded. I cleaned out the battery container and got two new batteries. I reset the input to the TV and voila! Teeth gnashing avoided. In the olden days, I could often fix things. These days, it's try unplugging something. If that doesn't work, then it's buy a new one. Bill Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04495413609545426668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-53315647119270509082018-03-04T15:01:46.110-06:002018-03-04T15:01:46.110-06:00How well I remember VADE MECUM! In our daily spiri...How well I remember VADE MECUM! In our daily spiritual instructions we were often told "make this your VADE MECUM today" meaning, whatever the reading or instruction consisted of, take a word, phrase or thought from it and mull over it throughout the day. Often it was Scripture or readings from the vast convent library.<br /><br />OwenKL;<br />I thought of you at TAOS and Canadian Eh! at LOONIES, Kazie at UNI and Dudley I already mentioned.<br /><br />Lucinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16278649651081244724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-27882592940471230382018-03-04T14:57:52.348-06:002018-03-04T14:57:52.348-06:00Sunday Lurk say...
Wow! I can see, sans circles,...Sunday Lurk say...<br /><br />Wow! I can see, sans circles, how John's puzzle would be a doozie. But, it's quite a brilliant concept. Thanks, C.C., for letting me play vicariously.<br /><br />{B+,B-,A}<br />Good to see you Fermat. What's your standing in the game?<br /><br />//nothing puzzlepropos follows:<br />IDA, I've have known but not as clueed: Georgism is new to me. I like the ideal; quite egalitarian and in-line with what little I think I know about Native Americans' philosophy - that is: 'the land is for all.'* This too would apply to natural resources like wildlife, ore, and oil.** <br />This would make sense with the tax paid by the land-holder. And, for a resource-extraction play, the %x on resource would be passed on to the users of said product; e.g. %x on oil would make plastic go up but only significantly for those constantly nursing water from a 12oz plastics.<br /><br />While this kinda sounds ideal (and I'm sure we could do the maths to get the %x right to balance what we had paid on labour), our Congress Critters would surely muck it up. Especially, if the tax is 'weighted' based on the supposed scarcity of said resource. Eg. We've lots of sand but oil, as a resource, was on a decline (we're running out!) until we learnt fracking - then we's ain't gots enough sand (which is needed to frac). <br />You can pick any two natural resources and make a similar comparison.*** Fun ensues and we still gets screwed. :-)<br />//end<br /><br />Back to xwords... 'Beam me up' gave me an idea for a common word that could be clue'd as: Picard's "Step on it" //don't shout it out Picard :-)<br /><br />Cheers, -T<br />*Oh, Com'on - there's a little <b><a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s" rel="nofollow"> Guthrie in us all, no?</a></b> <br />**shhhhh - don't tell my boss<br />*** <b><a href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-ridiculous-example-of-the-proof-is-left-as-an-exercise-to-the-reader-in-a-mathematics-book" rel="nofollow"> Proof is left as an exercise for the reader </a></b> :-)Anonymous Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459563526290288425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-77325709824435290042018-03-04T13:47:17.987-06:002018-03-04T13:47:17.987-06:00Brilliant puzzle!Brilliant puzzle!maripronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-2509021572104618262018-03-04T12:39:12.280-06:002018-03-04T12:39:12.280-06:00 Sure could have used the circles! Sure could have used the circles!fermatprimehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06391014624435192426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-19758547574285044512018-03-04T11:56:15.369-06:002018-03-04T11:56:15.369-06:00WEES about everything! For some reason this was th...WEES about everything! For some reason this was the most difficult Sunday puzzle for me in months. I can usually finish one in half an hour or less, but this one took about 50 minutes. I did FIR, but what a struggle. I don't know why, but the theme took ages to filter into the little grey cells. Once it finally cleared up for me, things began to go much better. <br /><br />I know that I have read before (several times/places) that while Shattner did say "beam me up," it was most often "beam us up," and was never "beam me up, Scotty."<br /><br />Sunny here in NE Illinois today. Looking forward to a little more of this, but definitely NOT looking forward to Daylight Saving Time, which I detest!<br /><br />Have a good week, all!WikWakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14873144164842777944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-48369560662151390192018-03-04T11:49:35.272-06:002018-03-04T11:49:35.272-06:00This was a struggle for a long time as I groped fo...This was a struggle for a long time as I groped for the theme. With so many unknowns I had lots of scattered bits, but no completed theme answer for quite awhile. Then I got INFORMAL TALKS/MALTA and I smiled! Very creative theme! And mostly fair.<br /><br />A few Natick crosses: CARA/NEALON and TROMP/MECUM. Otherwise the unknowns had comprehensible crosses. Hand up with Big Easy I know ACETYLENE; did not realize this is also called ETHYNE. Learning moment! My welding experience is limited to spot welding for physics experiments. Maybe someday I will graduate to gas welding.<br /><br />I have done ISLAND HOPPING in Southeast Asia.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://swt.org/events/tubbataha/" rel="nofollow">Here I was DIVING in a WRECK at the Tubbataha Marine Reserve.</a></b><br /><br />The WRECK offered more marine life than the surrounding reef, which sadly was mostly killed off. It was the first time I was diving with sharks around me which was exciting. My favorites were the sea turtles, though.<br /><br />CC: Did you do anything special for Chinese New Year? Sorry if I missed a previous post about this.<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.edhat.com/news/sino-west-chinese-new-year" rel="nofollow">Here is my article about our beautiful SINO-West Chinese New Year performances.</a></b><br /><br />SINO-West is the name of a local dance school. The teachers are Chinese, but you can see they mix in some dance of the West, too!<br /><br />Learning moment about the TESLA COIL at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. I was thinking of Sue the T Rex at the Field Museum.<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.edhat.com/news/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-launch-video-and-photos" rel="nofollow">Here is my article about our recent SpaceX Falcon 9 LAUNCH!</a></b><br /><br />Frustrating that we still depend on the former USSR to get Americans into space. But glad to see this LAUNCH may be getting us closer to a return.<br /><br />Learning moment about IDA B WELLS being a Georgist. Thanks, OwenKL for sharing the information. The concept of Georgism is to tax consumption/pollution rather than creation and production. A carbon tax and a road user tax are similar ideas.<br /><br />His idea was that if we taxed the use of land we would make more efficient use of it. It would eliminate taxes on income which would encourage more innovation. A little something for everyone on the political spectrum.<br /><br />Yes, Lemonade, it is true that BEAM ME UP, Scotty was never actually said in any Star Trek episode. But BEAM ME UP was said quite often and made for some exciting moments!<br />Picardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17401317669146538447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995532066584316410.post-59092205811821733572018-03-04T11:24:05.348-06:002018-03-04T11:24:05.348-06:00This started easily enough and I sashayed along qu...This started easily enough and I sashayed along quite well, caught on to the circles, then I hit a big time Natick at the intersection of two soccer teams and the unknown TESLA COIL. Yikes! Google, here I come! That finished me, or so I thought. <br /><br />I had FLAPS for the airplane wings (Hi, Dudley) and I garbled ETHYNE with LIRa.<br /><br />Sports and I do not mix!!!!!!<br /><br />Time to go. Thank you, C.C. for explaining it all.<br /><br />Have a delightful Sunday, everyone! It's gorgeous here.Lucinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16278649651081244724noreply@blogger.com