53 seconds for a Saturday and at a computer. Rareties abound!
NYT Mini Crossword 5-21-22 (contains spoilers)
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NYT Crossword Puzzle 2-18-22 Complete (contains spoilers)
I pulled out 4D Japanese watch brand: SEIKO because I have picked up watch repair as a hobby. I have been gravitating toward Citizen and Seiko that I can get for not that much and then work on them. Recently I bought two used Seiko watches that looked great in the pictures. They were described as not functioning, though that can just mean needs a battery. I opened one of them up and saw that the battery had leaked.
The leak got into the movement, so it seized. Yes, it turned a Seiko into a seizedko. I researched the Seiko 8123 movement (coincidentally I finished this puzzle in 18:32) to see how I could do a straight swap. But they no longer make the 8123 movement. I kept looking and found two possible replacements. The Seiko 7N43 movement is the same size and has one jewel, compared to the 8123’s five jewels. The 7N43 also has SAB/SAT in blue like the 8123 has. But then there’s the Hattori VX43 that has zero jewels and doesn’t have the SAB/SAT in blue. For cheaper the 7N43, I got a busted watch that has a 7N43 movement. There was an inscription on the back of the watch: “CHARLES STANLEY MARSHALL GOD’S SAINTLEY [sic] GIFT TO ALL HE MEETS.” I’m waiting for the battery to arrive, but if it doesn’t, I’ll replace the movement with a VX43.
No theme for this Friday puzzle.
Finished this one in 18:32.
NYT Mini Crossword 2-4-22 (contains spoilers)
NYT Crossword Puzzle 1-21-22 Complete (contains spoilers)
I pulled out 30D Helps finish a nursing program?: WEANS because Calah is finally in the last semester of her doctorate of nursing practice program. Completion of the program was delayed due to covid. Hospitals were (and still are!) in desperate need of nurses due to pandemic-related shortages, but since hospital settings were so extra-dangerous and hospitals didn’t have enough PPE for their regular people, nursing schools told their students that they were prohibited from working at hospitals for school credit. They could work for money on their own, but school was staying TF out of it. So it was a year of no clinical hours. Calah used that time to learn to code in Python by taking a Python class through school and by taking classes on udemy, and she learned how to edit video in Adobe Premiere through udemy. She made the best of the situation, but I find this clue to be tone-deaf. If they got a good NYTXW editor, maybe this clue wouldn’t have made it in. So, bad clue, Kyle Dolan. And a no-surprise bad editing job by Will Shortz.
No theme this Friday, so here are answers to some longer clues.
17A Swarmed by mosquitoes, say: EATENALIVE. Story of my life. Ugh. But there was one time when there was a mosquito flying around in our bedroom while we were watching TV. I saw it land on the wall near me, so I slowly rolled to my left and slammed the wall with my open palm. Big splat. What a relief. When I do woodworking, I use my vacmaster to suck up mosquitoes. I’ve stopped trying to catch them in my hands or obliterate them by smacking wherever they’ve landed on me. Given the vacmaster’s 3 horsepower, they never had a chance.
28A Pastry appropriate for a camping trip?: BEARCLAW. Terrifying.
32A One with lots of pull?: BLACKHOLE. Lame.
36A Has a 4.0 average: GETSALLAS. Gets all A’s.
51A What an old car might be sold for: SCRAPMETAL. I originally had SCRAPVALUE, but it was never value.
54A Song title following the lyric “Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli …”: THATSAMORE.
10D Amulets: MAGICCHARMS. As a magician, I can tell you they really work! #misdirection
11D “Sister Outsider” essayist/poet: AUDRELORDE.
22D Antismuggling device: BODYSCANNER. There’s an invasion of them.
27D Means of domestic pest control: RATTERRIER. Are they rats or are they terriers?
32D Grouse: BELLYACHE.
Finished this one in 33:17.
NYT Crossword 1-7-22 Complete (contains spoilers)
I pulled out 13D _ vide (culinary technique): SOUS because Calah put together dinner tonight, and the entree is chicken that she’s cooking sous vide. We have an Anova pro cooker and a Coleman cooler whose top I had cut a hole in to fit the immersion cooker. Actually we have two Coleman coolers. Sometimes we’re cooking a lot, so we need the big one, and sometimes we cook a little, so we don’t need so much volume of water to warm up and keep at temperature.
No theme for this Friday puzzle.
Finished this one in 24:51.
NYT Crossword Puzzle 12-31-21 Complete (contains spoilers)
I pulled out 45A One of the Coen brothers: JOEL because I have friends who are brothers whose names are Joe and Avi Cohen. The Coen Brothers are Joel and Ethan. Different names. I know. Joel and Joe are close, though, and recently I learned that Abraham and Ethan are the same. Not like how Theodore and Nathaniel mean the same thing but in different languages. Rather, Biblical Abraham was also known as Ethan. So there you have it.
No theme for this Friday puzzle.
And quick update from yesterday: The rainfall total at LAX yesterday was 3.12″, which is more than the 3.09 listed partway through the day. Dry on New Year’s Eve, though.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
Finished this one in 23:12.
NYT Crossword Puzzle 12-24-21 Complete (contains spoilers)
I pulled out 32D Question that cannot be answered if its answer is “no”: YOUAWAKE because I’ve come home from the Magic Castle and asked Calah that question when I have stories to share. Like there was one time when I performed for a bunch of people who were at the Castle for the first time, and I impressed them. It took many times of asking her, but it turned out that Calah was awake after all!
No theme today in this Friday puzzle.
Finished this one in 21:09.
NYT Crossword Puzzle 12-17-21 Complete (contains spoilers)
I pulled out 24A Quarters feed into them: SEMIS because parking meters are accepting quarters and dollar coins but not dimes anymore. I remember when I would put a coin into a meter and turn that crank and have the mechanical indicator show how much time was left. That was fun. But those days are long gone.
No theme today for a Friday.
Finished this one in 18:16.
NYT Crossword Puzzle 12-10-21 Complete (contains spoilers)
I pulled out 15A Heading for: ENROUTETO because it reminds me of when I would take Amtrak frequently. Rather than the signs in the train cars reading, “En Route To,” for the next stop, they read, “Enroute To,” even thought there was space on the dot matrix screens near the doors for the space between the words.
No theme for this Friday puzzle.
Finished this one in 31:02.
NYT Crossword Puzzle 11-26-21 Complete (contains spoilers) #nytxw
Tomorrow I’ll be back to my computer. Still on my phone today.
I pulled out 5A Onetime chain that offered Free Battery Club memberships: RADIOSHACK mainly because I love this 2007 article from The Onion: Even CEO Can’t Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business.
Finished this one in 33:24.