"AP English" - January 8, 2021

[BeTheLight]

On shore and a pretty smooth ride in. Oddly the first thing I noticed about the puzzle had nothing to do with the solution, but it still helped me get there. Really good one!

[JennyByrd]

Solved! Hope everyoNE is having a warm and safe weekend. I thought of Lady Bird when I sNappEd this shot in the volcano national park.

Jg

[Sara Dacus]

Ashore! That was a wicked grid, but loved the meta! Dry January for me so sadly just a ginger ale!

What a horrible year for a dry January!

I'm participating in dry January, too. Been challenging but great so far!

Also, I am lost at sea.

[JoeS]

On shore. Quite clever. Natasha got us going and made the breakthrough. Then the construct revealed itself quickly. Took about an hour to understand how the title fit, but it was all downhill after that. Two heads are better than one!

[LadyBird]

Solved! Hope everyoNE is having a warm and safe weekend. I thought of Lady Bird when I sNappEd this shot in the volcano national park.

Jg77F32BBF-4DBD-415A-BBC4-69D8773B7178.jpeg

You're definitely warm if you are in Hawaii now! Although I read that the volcano was acting up again recently.

[LadyBird]

Forget the junco, you need to come to New England in the winter to PURsue your PLEasure and stay on the SANDs and PIck up another PERsonal life bird.

I wish I could be on my way! I wouldn't normally think of New England as a winter destination, but if birds are involved....

You need to see this video. All bird lovers should.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzKsfhalAPo

Oh my--I love this. Nature is amazing!

[DrTom]

Well bless my soul, as someone who appreciates the reverence of a well-crafted beverage, the kind in which you might make an in-vestment, and certainly would want to drink at the advent of a communion with family and friends, I wouldn't altar your description of the act of indulgence one bit. But I must say, 2020, and the 2020 OT we are in now, has circumcised the Acts of wine drinking to 1) Pop cork, 2) Slosh into nearest glass, 3) Down, 4) Repeat.

(Take it away, Dr. Tom!)

BTW: Haven't started the puzzle yet. Still in port, waiting on the gangplank for my kids to tell me when they have time to zoom. (How long does Counter-Strike take?)

Well I like wine foreplay as much as anyone (kind of why, even though I know they are a superior closure I don't like the Stelvin because they are just grab and screw off) but I am always in a hurry to solve the META. I think part of that is because it usually comes quickly or it does not come at all and then I have to ask for help. So, if I jump on it early I can start getting to the AHA and perhaps even have the rest of the week-end to try another.

Still, as shown in the clip, and emphasized by Hunter, it can be a religious experience that you can get alb tied up with. I confess that there are times I will attempt a Hail Mary and our further paths at the same time, particularly if I have a lot going on and cannot consecrate. I liked this week, but I also like those puzzles that have intersecting lines and the letters at the stations of the cross. The whole META puzzle undertaking was a baptism by fire but I have confirmed my love of the process, and besides if I were to stop admit it, you'd missal me. I hope my positive experience continues because they have to be funeral quit.

2 Hours and 6 minutes? Dr. Tom... And I had such high, holy hopes.

BTW: On shore. Grid was tough. Took almost 50 minutes! But the meta came to me (in a shaft of light, a burning bush, and a dream...) after a minute or two.

Sorry I was delayed while becoming invincible....I had to go get my second Covid-19 shot today, it has been 3 weeks since my first so I had to go to the hospital and finish the series. Delighted to say no AEs or SEs so far, my arm doesn't even hurt as much as the first time. However, I expect (actually hope a little) that I do feel a little crappy tomorrow just to show me it worked. I mean it is like drinking LOTS of really good bourbon. If you wake up the next AM feeling fine you have to wonder what it was you consumed.

Anyway, the dose was at 3:30 so by the time I got back it was 5 something so I solved the META and then started reading the forum. I guess I will just have to do better in the future. I'll keep looking tomorrow to see what is posted while I wait to see if I get and adverse effects. So if I get sweaty psalms of something, and unless I have a memory apse, I'll report it - and that is the gospel truth.

Oh, and leftover wine....

I have to confess I have in the past had left over wine. We had a party once where I bought a group of themed wines for a tasting/bacchanal. I had purchased 36 bottles of various wines from Southern France (the theme was "There's no place like Rhone") and put brown paper bags around them so the tasting was blind. Two interesting outcomes: (1) People rated the wines and the hands down winners were the two least expensive of the lot, confirming the oft stated "cost doesn't make it better only more expensive" (2) when trying to "taste" wines people drink less so that (and here is where we get to the "left over" part) there were at the end of the night 8 unopened bottles, mainly representing the upper end of the Rhone offerings (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Cornas, Hermitage) and by definition, left over. Luckily I was able to persuade some of the stalwarts to return the following evening and rectorfy that unnerving and unnatural situation).

I guess it goes to show that if you do not want anything left over from the last supper you need a pack of good disciples. (Oh, and the tale is true, not a set up for this ending, I just could not resist....

[meowmiao71]

On shore. Took a while for it to click, but it finally did! Very clever.

[LadyBird]

As many have already commented, I found the grid in this weeks meta trickier than the last several months! My first thought was does this auger well for the meta?

I noticed a sharp transition in the discussion toward ornithology, so I thought I would also add my observations of the unusual sightings at my backyard feeder in New England. My local supplier, who pushes product in 10 kilo bags, had alerted me that many users had reported a surplus of unususal sightings of species displaced from Nova Scotia because of weather patterns. One stunner, is the red breasted nuthatch, shown below, ( photo by the Cornell bird site, my cell phone camera is not that good.) These now outnumber the usual white breasted nuthatches 5 to 1 at my feeder.

The diversion cleared my head and made the start to the meta far more transparent. I'm now ashore working on the MGWCC.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red ... 040881[img][/img]

I had one coming to my feeders all winter a few years back--never again repeated. But I am hopeful every winter. Enjoy--they are lovely birds!

[DBMiller]

We had a bird feeder for a few years, but a bear trashed it. Tried again the following year, and found the bear in our front yard, shaking the bird feeder, and the pole that the feeder was on was bent over nearly 90 degrees. Haven't had a feeder since.

But for those the orniphiles out there, some pics from way back. Don't know if I identified the birds correctly or not.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/62702868@ ... 9606220469

[debbierudy]

Ashore! Great to have new talent join the ranks. Thanks, Pete & Michael, for a challenging grid and a fun meta!

[Colin]

Blah. Blah. Blah.

Gimme a bucket of ice & a bowl of Splenda®.

Hmmm. You have a point. Some people just don’t appreciate the reverence of well-crafted beverages...
https://youtu.be/_akYdDIqYiE

Well bless my soul, as someone who appreciates the reverence of a well-crafted beverage, the kind in which you might make an in-vestment, and certainly would want to drink at the advent of a communion with family and friends, I wouldn't altar your description of the act of indulgence one bit. But I must say, 2020, and the 2020 OT we are in now, has circumcised the Acts of wine drinking to 1) Pop cork, 2) Slosh into nearest glass, 3) Down, 4) Repeat.

(Take it away, Dr. Tom!)

BTW: Haven't started the puzzle yet. Still in port, waiting on the gangplank for my kids to tell me when they have time to zoom. (How long does Counter-Strike take?)

Speaking as an engineer... if your need is speed, why bother with step 2? ;}

[KayW]

Solved! Hope everyoNE is having a warm and safe weekend. I thought of Lady Bird when I sNappEd this shot in the volcano national park.

Jg77F32BBF-4DBD-415A-BBC4-69D8773B7178.jpeg

Favorite bird of cruciverbalists ...of a certain age Is it just me, or has the poor NENE gone extinct within crossword grids? I think it's been years since I ran across one there. But that might be because I migrated more to metas than standard puzzles.

[Bob cruise director]

Ashore.
This old person still in pajamas was finally able to establish the meta beyond a reasonable doubt this morning. But not before tussling with a sly rabbit.
F3E054AD-BA92-4E7B-8768-95D457CBBE8F.jpeg

Like this old guy, who has been known to slip me a few meta answers while on guard duty here by the pond. His sidekick, Louie the goose is standing on the seating bench that houses the big pond pump.
Full disclosure will reveal that we call this “the coffin”, as that’s exactly what it looks like. Its boards are from the deteriorated silo at my childhood farm. Its marble top from a garden bench that no longer had a leg to stand on.
As the world turns...What a fun garden.
Early May photo

Just beautiful.

[JennyByrd]

Solved! Hope everyoNE is having a warm and safe weekend. I thought of Lady Bird when I sNappEd this shot in the volcano national park.

Jg77F32BBF-4DBD-415A-BBC4-69D8773B7178.jpeg

You're definitely warm if you are in Hawaii now! Although I read that the volcano was acting up again recently.

I was just there for the holidays and now I’m back in Houston where the city is freaking out because we might get a dusting of frozen precipation tonight. The volcano was active, but the activity is confined to the crater at this point, so not much when I was there to see except smoke and steam. (and NENE’s)

[HunterX]

Hmmm. You have a point. Some people just don’t appreciate the reverence of well-crafted beverages...
https://youtu.be/_akYdDIqYiE

Well bless my soul, as someone who appreciates the reverence of a well-crafted beverage, the kind in which you might make an in-vestment, and certainly would want to drink at the advent of a communion with family and friends, I wouldn't altar your description of the act of indulgence one bit. But I must say, 2020, and the 2020 OT we are in now, has circumcised the Acts of wine drinking to 1) Pop cork, 2) Slosh into nearest glass, 3) Down, 4) Repeat.

(Take it away, Dr. Tom!)

BTW: Haven't started the puzzle yet. Still in port, waiting on the gangplank for my kids to tell me when they have time to zoom. (How long does Counter-Strike take?)

Speaking as an engineer... if your need is speed, why bother with step 2? ;}

Good gawd man! You think me uncouth? If we do not reach for the nearest used coffee mug or juice glass, society would descend into barbarism!!!

(Oh wait.... That already happened on Wednesday.)

[fstadler]

A few head-scratching passes were needed before the clever solution emerged for me. Impressive that PM & MM could fit that in a 15x15 grid.

[HunterX]

Well I like wine foreplay as much as anyone (kind of why, even though I know they are a superior closure I don't like the Stelvin because they are just grab and screw off) but I am always in a hurry to solve the META. I think part of that is because it usually comes quickly or it does not come at all and then I have to ask for help. So, if I jump on it early I can start getting to the AHA and perhaps even have the rest of the week-end to try another.

Still, as shown in the clip, and emphasized by Hunter, it can be a religious experience that you can get alb tied up with. I confess that there are times I will attempt a Hail Mary and our further paths at the same time, particularly if I have a lot going on and cannot consecrate. I liked this week, but I also like those puzzles that have intersecting lines and the letters at the stations of the cross. The whole META puzzle undertaking was a baptism by fire but I have confirmed my love of the process, and besides if I were to stop admit it, you'd missal me. I hope my positive experience continues because they have to be funeral quit.

2 Hours and 6 minutes? Dr. Tom... And I had such high, holy hopes.

BTW: On shore. Grid was tough. Took almost 50 minutes! But the meta came to me (in a shaft of light, a burning bush, and a dream...) after a minute or two.

Sorry I was delayed while becoming invincible....I had to go get my second Covid-19 shot today, it has been 3 weeks since my first so I had to go to the hospital and finish the series. Delighted to say no AEs or SEs so far, my arm doesn't even hurt as much as the first time. However, I expect (actually hope a little) that I do feel a little crappy tomorrow just to show me it worked. I mean it is like drinking LOTS of really good bourbon. If you wake up the next AM feeling fine you have to wonder what it was you consumed.

Anyway, the dose was at 3:30 so by the time I got back it was 5 something so I solved the META and then started reading the forum. I guess I will just have to do better in the future. I'll keep looking tomorrow to see what is posted while I wait to see if I get and adverse effects. So if I get sweaty psalms of something, and unless I have a memory apse, I'll report it - and that is the gospel truth.

Oh, and leftover wine....

I have to confess I have in the past had left over wine. We had a party once where I bought a group of themed wines for a tasting/bacchanal. I had purchased 36 bottles of various wines from Southern France (the theme was "There's no place like Rhone") and put brown paper bags around them so the tasting was blind. Two interesting outcomes: (1) People rated the wines and the hands down winners were the two least expensive of the lot, confirming the oft stated "cost doesn't make it better only more expensive" (2) when trying to "taste" wines people drink less so that (and here is where we get to the "left over" part) there were at the end of the night 8 unopened bottles, mainly representing the upper end of the Rhone offerings (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Cornas, Hermitage) and by definition, left over. Luckily I was able to persuade some of the stalwarts to return the following evening and rectorfy that unnerving and unnatural situation).

I guess it goes to show that if you do not want anything left over from the last supper you need a pack of good disciples. (Oh, and the tale is true, not a set up for this ending, I just could not resist....

Congrats on the booster! May you have the AE you want, and nothing more. Go for the bourbon AE's.

As for the theme of your wine tasting being "There's no place like Rhone," I would have expected no less. Gotta have a pun, or people would just get bored-oh the party.

Starting the timer....

[SewYoung]

Solved! Hope everyoNE is having a warm and safe weekend. I thought of Lady Bird when I sNappEd this shot in the volcano national park.

Jg77F32BBF-4DBD-415A-BBC4-69D8773B7178.jpeg

You're definitely warm if you are in Hawaii now! Although I read that the volcano was acting up again recently.

I was just there for the holidays and now I’m back in Houston where the city is freaking out because we might get a dusting of frozen precipation tonight. The volcano was active, but the activity is confined to the crater at this point, so not much when I was there to see except smoke and steam. (and NENE’s)

Our weatherman went ibn for 15 minutes last night because we "might" get a little bit Monday. If he keeps on, we will not get any. Whenever they talk it up like that it doesn't happen. On the RARE occasions that it does happen, it comes as a complete, unpredicted surprise.

[Gman]

Epiphany! Found it. On shore.