"Stress Test" - July 3, 2020

A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
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Streroto
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#441

Post by Streroto »

Hopped on the zoom briefly so cool to put faces w names. Great idea whoever started it!
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BrianMac
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#442

Post by BrianMac »

Streroto wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:52 pm Hopped on the zoom briefly so cool to put faces w names. Great idea whoever started it!
I couldn't get a good connection on my phone, so I signed off. Nice to see everyone, however briefly. I will join again next week when I'm back on my regular computer.
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TPS
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#443

Post by TPS »

I had to hop to another Zoom meeting but it was nice listening to everyone again! Thanks again for having.
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Bob cruise director
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#444

Post by Bob cruise director »

CPJohnson wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:02 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:55 pm
MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:41 pm Greetings--we are still waiting to confirm this week's winner, but here's a report on the turnout. We had 1142 entries, about 78% correct (including one who added "mea sulpa"). Our favorite incorrect guess was MUG!, with 43 (including variants, eg COFFEE MUG). 13 get partial credit for DNALSI. Plus 9 for RELIEF, 6 for GOLD STAR, and many others.

Stay tuned...
In the category of useless information

Since April 29, 2016 (when we have records), there has been 241,112 submissions of which 189,737 have been correct for a weighted average of 79%.

Hey, since there is no baseball season, what else do we have to apply analytics to. Next we will calculate WAR for each of us.
WAR?
Wins Above Replacement. One of the metrics of how good a player is.
Bob Stevens
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Meg
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#445

Post by Meg »

Thanks, Sal, for hosting! It was great to see fellow solvers and hear you play the shofar. Next time we’ll sing along!
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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Bob cruise director
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#446

Post by Bob cruise director »

tori.l wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:04 pm
MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:41 pm Greetings--we are still waiting to confirm this week's winner, but here's a report on the turnout. We had 1142 entries, about 78% correct (including one who added "mea sulpa"). Our favorite incorrect guess was MUG!, with 43 (including variants, eg COFFEE MUG). 13 get partial credit for DNALSI. Plus 9 for RELIEF, 6 for GOLD STAR, and many others.

Stay tuned...
Out of curiosity, how do you handle spelling/punctuation variation? For instance, this week I entered "A+" as my answer instead of A-PLUS. I assume you use a computer program to sift through the submissions.
Tori
From what we have been told, they pull out one submission at random and look at it. If it is correct, they stop there. So there is a human in the loop.
Bob Stevens
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hcbirker
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#447

Post by hcbirker »

Thanks again to Sal for hosting! Fun to see everyone and discover different interests. You guys were probably glad I was inadvertently muted for most of it!

And note to Al. The only reason I said I did too many crosswords is because of Covid. I can’t volunteer or work at my school, and I miss that!
Heidi
Laura M
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#448

Post by Laura M »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:41 pm Greetings--we are still waiting to confirm this week's winner, but here's a report on the turnout. We had 1142 entries, about 78% correct (including one who added "mea sulpa"). Our favorite incorrect guess was MUG!, with 43 (including variants, eg COFFEE MUG). 13 get partial credit for DNALSI. Plus 9 for RELIEF, 6 for GOLD STAR, and many others.

Stay tuned...
Hey, there were 12 other people on my backwards island! Also, I love "mea sulpa."
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pddigi
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#449

Post by pddigi »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:41 pm Greetings--we are still waiting to confirm this week's winner, but here's a report on the turnout. We had 1142 entries, about 78% correct (including one who added "mea sulpa"). Our favorite incorrect guess was MUG!, with 43 (including variants, eg COFFEE MUG). 13 get partial credit for DNALSI. Plus 9 for RELIEF, 6 for GOLD STAR, and many others.

Stay tuned...
When you say you are waiting to confirm a winner, does this mean that the winner needs to be on the lookout for an email from wsj.com? I am not in the habit of checking email regularly (I used to be, but it has become overwhelming); I’d hate not to win a mug because I didn’t know to respond to an email in a timely fashion. Any tips on what we should or could do to assist with confirmation?
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sanmilton
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#450

Post by sanmilton »

It was so great to meet several of you on the Zoom call this evening! It made me even happier to be a (relatively) new part of this community! I shall look forward to our next virtual get-together!
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hcbirker
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#451

Post by hcbirker »

pddigi wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:08 pm
MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:41 pm Greetings--we are still waiting to confirm this week's winner, but here's a report on the turnout. We had 1142 entries, about 78% correct (including one who added "mea sulpa"). Our favorite incorrect guess was MUG!, with 43 (including variants, eg COFFEE MUG). 13 get partial credit for DNALSI. Plus 9 for RELIEF, 6 for GOLD STAR, and many others.

Stay tuned...
When you say you are waiting to confirm a winner, does this mean that the winner needs to be on the lookout for an email from wsj.com? I am not in the habit of checking email regularly (I used to be, but it has become overwhelming); I’d hate not to win a mug because I didn’t know to respond to an email in a timely fashion. Any tips on what we should or could do to assist with confirmation?
Check your email!
Heidi
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BarbaraK
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#452

Post by BarbaraK »

WSJ is taking a survey about their puzzles and the app on their site. There's a link to it on the page with the Wednesday puzzle:

https://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/2020/07/07 ... rd-july-8/

just below the "Download PDF" link.
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MarkL
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#453

Post by MarkL »

pddigi wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:08 pm
MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:41 pm Greetings--we are still waiting to confirm this week's winner, but here's a report on the turnout. We had 1142 entries, about 78% correct (including one who added "mea sulpa"). Our favorite incorrect guess was MUG!, with 43 (including variants, eg COFFEE MUG). 13 get partial credit for DNALSI. Plus 9 for RELIEF, 6 for GOLD STAR, and many others.

Stay tuned...
When you say you are waiting to confirm a winner, does this mean that the winner needs to be on the lookout for an email from wsj.com? I am not in the habit of checking email regularly (I used to be, but it has become overwhelming); I’d hate not to win a mug because I didn’t know to respond to an email in a timely fashion. Any tips on what we should or could do to assist with confirmation?
If memory serves, they want to confirm your city for the write up next week, and your address to mail the mug.
'tis... A lovely day for a Guinness!
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sanmilton
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#454

Post by sanmilton »

BarbaraK wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:06 pm WSJ is taking a survey about their puzzles and the app on their site. There's a link to it on the page with the Wednesday puzzle:

https://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/2020/07/07 ... rd-july-8/

just below the "Download PDF" link.
I completed the survey. FYI, it takes no more than five or six minutes, depending on your thoughtfulness with the one "essay" response!
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lacangah
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#455

Post by lacangah »

sanmilton wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:03 am
BarbaraK wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:06 pm WSJ is taking a survey about their puzzles and the app on their site. There's a link to it on the page with the Wednesday puzzle:

https://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/2020/07/07 ... rd-july-8/

just below the "Download PDF" link.
I completed the survey. FYI, it takes no more than five or six minutes, depending on your thoughtfulness with the one "essay" response!
Thanks for the heads-up about the survey; I completed it as well.
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FrankieHeck
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#456

Post by FrankieHeck »

BarbaraK wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:06 pm WSJ is taking a survey about their puzzles and the app on their site. There's a link to it on the page with the Wednesday puzzle:

https://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/2020/07/07 ... rd-july-8/

just below the "Download PDF" link.
Oh, thanks! Could they have made that link any smaller? Normally "we are planning improvements" makes me very nervous, but it would be cool to have a leaderboard or some other stats available!
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boharr
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#457

Post by boharr »

sanmilton wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:03 am I completed the survey. FYI, it takes no more than five or six minutes, depending on your thoughtfulness with the one "essay" response!
At least it didn't pose questions requiring specialized knowledge of advanced math, grammar intricacies, or bird habitats. I did miss the preferred libation section though.
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spotter
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Location: SLO, CA

#458

Post by spotter »

I'm on shore! That is, I successfully completed the survey
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spotter
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Location: SLO, CA

#459

Post by spotter »

MikeMillerwsj wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 6:41 pm Greetings--we are still waiting to confirm this week's winner, but here's a report on the turnout. We had 1142 entries, about 78% correct (including one who added "mea sulpa"). Our favorite incorrect guess was MUG!, with 43 (including variants, eg COFFEE MUG). 13 get partial credit for DNALSI. Plus 9 for RELIEF, 6 for GOLD STAR, and many others.

Stay tuned...
Here I am, confirming my win. Feel free to PM me with instructions on receiving my mug ;)
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Hector
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#460

Post by Hector »

This may be our chance to press them for a less horrible app.
BarbaraK wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:06 pm WSJ is taking a survey about their puzzles and the app on their site. There's a link to it on the page with the Wednesday puzzle:

https://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/2020/07/07 ... rd-july-8/

just below the "Download PDF" link.
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