"Variety Show" - March 20, 2020

[LaceyK]

I've been keeping Isaac busy for a while. Thanks for the suggestions of looking at old Mike Shenk puzzles. It's not revealing the magic yet. I'm interested in dissecting the mechanism come Monday, as last week's was one of my fastest solves, and this rather easy (according to others) one eludes me. There must be some methods that stand out more to some than others.

[Joe Ross]

Gave blood a couple days ago, which seems not to have done great things for my meta acuity. Didn't I try that mechanism at least a few times?

Red Cross nationally is eager for blood donors. SF do-gooders, though, are flooding the donation sites here.

Also, a nurse friend is taking gloves and masks I stocked for woodworking to a place they can do much more good. Shortages all around, endangering heroes. Apparently you can also just literally drop such things from your car window outside an ER.

http://redcross.org

Thank you!

Being blood type A+, donating platelets every two weeks maximizes my value. Recovering from flu and am 2 full days without symptoms. Will be calling my local blood center, tomorrow, to inquire about protocols and testing required, if I am to keep my next appointment this coming Friday.

A lot is being asked of younger adults during this crisis. Another opportunity for their generations to lead is to become regular blood & apheresis donors.

Give multiple gifts in 2020.

[Patty]

My meta solving mojo seems to have fizzled out. Am hoping that something might jump out at me but will otherwise plan on keeping Isaac company. At least the view is good!

[Bob cruise director]

I realized I've been commenting here all year without saying the magic words, so there we go: Ashore If I had to summarize my experience with this one, I'd say "hard until easy".

I wonder how working from/staying the eff home is going to effect the number of submissions and correct answers (of course we wouldn't have any reliable data to make a sound analysis, but maybe the average difficulty rating here combined with the moving average of submissions through the years and some other factors could tell us a story in a couple of months).

Burak
Good question. Difficult answer. The number on shore has been steadily going up over the past couple of years as much because our muggle clan has gone up as anything. The six week average has gone up from 30 per week in August 2017 to 110 per week now. Similarly the number of submissions to the WSJ has increased from about 700 per week in August 2016 to about 1500 now. There is a lot of variability from week to week so I take a 6 week average. Unless this staying at home lasts a lot longer than any of us want it to, it will be hard to tell the effect unless it is very pronounced.

[Commodore]

Landed. Planting the Kas2 Flag and laying claim to this square meter of sand in the name of God, Country, and Social Distortion.
(Our stop at Marie Kelly island proved fruitful. Enjoyed the WSJ story and the shots of you beautiful mugs.)

[LittleGood]

Ashore.

The meta was impossible until I figured it out.

[Zobo37]

Got it. Nice one. But what does 28A mean or signify?

Opposition research

[Abide]

Fell quickly Thursday night. MGWCC still at bay.

Stay safe everyone !

[Geezer Weezer]

solved

[Wendy Walker]

solved

But can we believe you?

[Colin]

In the bar with Isaac - easier to stay 6’ apart!

[jag]

Still on the boat with Isaac, but staying at the outdoor bar. Seeing some shallow rabbit holes in the puzzle, but nothing of substance so far. My daughter and I got a nice giggle out of 12D, of course!

[Deb F]

Nary a clue. Hanging with the LAS crowd at Isaac's.

[Janet P]

Leaving for the beach.
Finally caught the rabbit.
Social distancing.

[Geoduck]

On Shore!

The only mystery left is... well Mr. Bob leave me in the water for a 4th week in a row?

I think not!

You are officially on the shore (hopefully as a clam not to be picked up by a gull and dropped onto something hard). And unless I forget you will be so noted tomorrow at the stroke of noon.

Generally, I'm not worried about gulls. There are other critters I fear, though. But the most annoying are those %#^@& starfish that try to eat my exposed parts.

Nasty!

[Bob cruise director]

Good Sunday morning

We have had a lot of motion since yesterday. We are up to 107 on the shore and 18 on the ship.

And we welcome our newest muggle Christopher Barbee on the WSJ site

New to the ship are:
joe
the Thurman8er
Susah H
Fred F
DrTom
LaceyK
Patty
Diane
jag
Colin Christopher
and Deb

Joining the very large but crowded shore - spaced 6 feet apart are:
tim1217
Rad26
ImOnToo
TPS
Peter L
boharr
STL-D
Lacangah
howardl
Ksoav
NuYear68
Richard
Lucksta
Brian
TomWi
Nlobb
Burak
bobbydeee
SewYoung
Ed S
Carla
David Wa
LittleGood
Peter
Bulls********
and Janet P

For those still struggling, this is a classic Mike Shenk. Study his style and the nuances of how he creates puzzles.

[Geoduck]

What is this "Kas-2" I keep seeing?

[sphorning]

On shore. Duh!! Made that way too hard...

[DBMiller]

What is this "Kas-2" I keep seeing?

forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=35

[howardl]

Maybe everyone here as already seen this. But as if we don't have enough trouble, now they are coming for our crossword puzzles. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/arc ... ve/608212/