Introduce Yourself

Please come in and say hello and tell us something about yourself.
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BrianMac
Site Admin
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Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:45 pm
Location: Connecticut

Introduce Yourself

#1

Post by BrianMac »

Well I have made the first major GOOF of the new Forum! :oops:

I am trying to reorganize this section to include FAQs and other helpful information, and while trying to include the Introduce Yourself thread, I'm afraid I have deleted the entire thread and it cannot be recovered. :cry:

I am terribly sorry about this. I have started this new introduction thread. Feel free to re-introduce yourself, if you are so inclined.
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BrianMac
Site Admin
Posts: 787
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:45 pm
Location: Connecticut

#2

Post by BrianMac »

Hi I am Brian, and as you can tell from the post above, I am an EXPERT website developer! :roll:

I live in Stamford, CT with my wife and children. I've been doing crossword puzzles daily since the early 1990's. Mostly the New York Times, but in 2017, I started doing the Wall Street Journal's daily puzzle. Before long, Friday and the WSJ Crossword Contest was my favorite day of the week. Through the WSJ Blog, I was turned onto to Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest, the Muller Monthly Music Meta, and others. I really enjoy the meta puzzles and do them whenever I can.

I also enjoy going to crossword puzzle tournaments. I regularly attend the ACTP (Stamford, March), Lollapuzzoola (NYC, August), the Westport Library Crossword Tournament (February) and the Westchester Crossword Championship (September / October). Even if you are not a fast solver (I am not fast at all), tournaments are a lot of fun and a great chance to meet other xword fans in person.

I hope you enjoy this website. Please let me know if you have any issues or questions.
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Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#3

Post by Bob cruise director »

BrianMac wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 12:40 pm Well I have made the first major GOOF of the new Forum! :oops:

I am trying to reorganize this section to include FAQs and other helpful information, and while trying to include the Introduce Yourself thread, I'm afraid I have deleted the entire thread and it cannot be recovered. :cry:

I am terribly sorry about this. I have started this new introduction thread. Feel free to re-introduce yourself, if you are so inclined.
I feel better that a pro can do something that us mere hacks do all the time. :)
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
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BrianMac
Site Admin
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Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:45 pm
Location: Connecticut

#4

Post by BrianMac »

Bob cruise director wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 1:34 pm I feel better that a pro can do something that us mere hacks do all the time. :)
Believe me, I'm no pro!! :lol:
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Meg
Posts: 2136
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:41 pm
Location: St. Petersburg, FL

#5

Post by Meg »

Well, Brian, my first reaction was sort of relief. Whatever dumb mistake I make on this forum, it won’t be like losing an entire thread!! Sorry, but it’s so true.🙂

My name is Meg, and I’ve been doing crosswords for a long time. I also enjoy cryptics and rows gardens. About 10 years ago I started doing the MGWCC. I still remember one of Matt's early metas which involved texting your last name to him. I used my flip phone! You'd think that metas would come easier now, but no. I teach English to international students, which is a bunch of fun!
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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Al Sisti
Posts: 2037
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:28 pm
Location: Whitesboro NY

#6

Post by Al Sisti »

Hiya. Al Sisti here, LuckyGuest in solver circles. I'm 66...whoops, 67...and I'm a musician, wood carver, reader, Sherlock Holmes and Hardy Boys collector, gardener, father, grandfather and meta addict. I am seldom seen without a pipe in my mouth and a sarcastic comment on my lips. I enjoy a Guinness or two... whoops, three... and I look forward, like clockwork, to WSJ, MGWCC, MMMM, Fireball, PGWCC, ChrisWords, AVX and anything else that I learn about. Incidentally, how soon do you suppose it'll be before these awesome constructors join this forum?
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Cindy
Posts: 1247
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:39 pm
Location: Matthews

#7

Post by Cindy »

I’m Cindyrom the WSJ. Kitchendiva most anyplace else...MGWCC, MMMM, etc. My avatar is how I feel when I try to explain my meta fascination with a non-muggle. By day I am an accountant. And I love to cook and travel. I will have a milestone birthday this year that starts with six and ends with zero. My claim to fame is that I have solved 103 MGWCC in a row and have never won a weekly or monthly prize. I’ve never won a mug either. I have won the Fireball. The moral of this story is don’t take me to Vegas with you. I love the camaraderie of this group and am happy to have a venue for discussing the other metas as well. Thanks to Brian and Bob for all they are doing!
Last edited by Cindy on Fri May 03, 2019 2:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Joedbee
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 3:12 pm

#8

Post by Joedbee »

I'm Joe from eastern PA, about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia along the Schuylkill river. I'm a retired aerospace engineer/manager. Been doing newspaper crossword puzzles almost daily for many years. I started following and then doing the WSJ metas in early 2017 and have been hooked ever since. I enjoy reading the friendly comments and learning the various approaches to solving a meta. It continues to amaze me that about the time I may be printing the puzzle, some Muggles have already solved it! My avatar is a reminder to stop and smell the roses.
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FrankieHeck
Posts: 839
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 8:57 pm
Location: West Virginia

#9

Post by FrankieHeck »

I'll reintroduce myself, since I wasn't part of the original WSJ forum. I just started attempting metas a couple weeks before the change to the comments, and had never posted. I am a very boring, introverted mom in West Virginia. I have a husband and two sons (one in college, one out of college, but both still in town.) My husband doesn't do puzzles ,aside from the NYT mini, but he humors me. I never seem to keep a hobby long enough to get very good at it, but crosswords are my latest interest. I've been doing the NYT puzzle regularly for less than a year, and just recently started dabbling with metas. Counting the MGWCC free trial I had in January, I have now tried exactly a dozen metas, and have solved eight, so I'm hopeful that I'm getting better!

I'm so thankful for this board. The format is exactly the same as a parenting forum I participated in when the boys were young, so I feel right at home here. And you all have helped me find some great puzzle sites! I now have bookmarks for WSJ, MGWCC, PGWCC, and MMMM, and have made myself a note of the days they come out and when they are due.

My real name is Karen, but I have a long history of not using my real name online, and usually default to Frankie these days.
Inca
Posts: 828
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:55 pm

#10

Post by Inca »

FrankieHeck wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:29 am I am a very boring, introverted mom in West Virginia. I have a husband and two sons (one in college, one out of college, but both still in town.) My husband doesn't do puzzles ,aside from the NYT mini, but he humors me. I never seem to keep a hobby long enough to get very good at it, but crosswords are my latest interest. I've been doing the NYT puzzle regularly for less than a year, and just recently started dabbling with metas. Counting the MGWCC free trial I had in January, I have now tried exactly a dozen metas, and have solved eight, so I'm hopeful that I'm getting better!

My real name is Karen, but I have a long history of not using my real name online, and usually default to Frankie these days.

Frankie, heck, a Mom with a husband and 2 sons (who still want to be nearby in town) who does NYT puzzles and does metas and solved 8 out of her first 10 is NOT boring.
BTW, my online "presence" dates back to when internet was fresh and new and my paranoia was huge (which it probably still should be and is too a certain extent), but by now I just think of myself as Inca.
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hcbirker
Posts: 1985
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:24 pm
Location: Studio City, CA

#11

Post by hcbirker »

Hi all! I live in Studio City, CA (near Burbank and Hollywood), have three grown children, and started doing crosswords when my nest was empty. I work in Parent Education and volunteer at the Los Angeles Zoo. Thanks again to Brian for creating this forum! (Heidi)
Heidi
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Bob cruise director
Cruise Director
Posts: 4511
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Any golf course within 500 miles of Littleton MA

#12

Post by Bob cruise director »

Hello again
My name is Bob Stevens and I am honored to be the Cruise Director. For those new to the Muggles, when Brian gets the FAQ part going, I will post the history of this group as well as the background behind the Kas scale and being Pageanted.
My wife and I live in Littleton, MA which is 25 miles west of Boston. We also have a home in York Maine where we spend a lot of time. We are both retired and enjoy traveling - having been to all seven continents. When I am not doing the WSJ contest, I enjoy golf, skiing, photography, working around the house and spending time with the two kids and two grandkids.
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
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Tom Shea
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:37 am
Location: Freedonia, NH/VT/HI/Earth

#13

Post by Tom Shea »

Tom Shea

Primary residence in NH by the coast. Grew up in southern VT where my wife and I own a cabin on top of a mountain. Traveled for work (too much) for years and did crosswords to pass the time waiting for dinner to arrive. Addicted to rows gardens and subscribe to several. Don't subscribe to Mr. Gaffney's due to not wanting to be stumped that often.

The Mrs. and I retired last year. (I ditched my WSJ subscription around the same time.) I was a Chemical Engineer and the Mrs. was (still is) a R.N. We spent the winter in Hawaii (3 months) and plan to spend next winter in Australia and Hawaii (4 months). Having both grown up in New England, we really want to avoid the snow and cold as much as possible. Plus, we like to scuba dive. Would like to match Cruise Director Bob's feat of visiting all seven continents, but have three to go (two if you count Dubai as Asia). My wife has told me to enjoy myself when I visit Antarctica without her. Have visited 23 foreign countries and want to do more, but don't know if that will happen. Need 9 more states to complete the circuit. That will take some doing since most are plains or interior northwest and will take a lot of driving to hit multiples in one trip. As far as traveling, I like to say that I like being other places, but I *hate* getting there.

My avatar is Rufus T. Firefly, just because he's a smart Alec, and I like to quote him when I can. Also fond of H.L. Mencken and Dorothy Parker to steal their quotes.
Rufus T. Firefly
Laura M
Posts: 1384
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:49 am

#14

Post by Laura M »

Ah well, these things happen. I'm Laura Mendyke, creatively screen-named Laura M here, MGWCC, and MMMM. I always liked crosswords, but had never heard of metas until I stumbled onto the WSJCC close to two years ago, and was instantly hooked! Thanks to the great comments section there (and now here) for making me feel welcome when I finally started posting after lurking for many months, and for alerting me to more great crosswords and metas. I live in Oregon with my husband and 17-year-old daughter.
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BarbaraK
Posts: 2591
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:37 pm
Location: Virginia

#15

Post by BarbaraK »

Hello again. I'm Barbara Koehler. I've been doing crosswords as long as I can remember and have been reading the Wall Street Journal for over 20 years. I was thrilled when they started having crosswords six days a week, but I didn't immediately get the appeal of the metas. It seemed like just a gimmick or a way to collect email addresses for marketing. After a couple months of ignoring that part of the Friday puzzles though, I started getting drawn in and rapidly became a total addict. Now I do WSJ, MGWCC, MMMM, Fireball, and I seem to be getting pulled into PGWCC too even though I really don't need any more in my life.

I live in Virginia, and my husband and I are retired. We also enjoy traveling, but unlike Tom we like getting there as well as being there. We've driven to the west coast several times and covered all the big east-west interstates. We've been to all 50 states. Only 4 continents though, and that only if you're willing to count Aruba as part of South America.

I also write goofy song lyrics which you can find in the Acapulco Lounge. I've got the seed of an idea for another one. If it works out, it will be there later this weekend.

And one more thing I like about this new forum - no 1000 character limit. I can be as wordy as I want. Thanks again, Brian, for setting it up.
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Janet P
Posts: 553
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:29 pm

#16

Post by Janet P »

Most people call me Jan, but in the interest of ease for our cruise director I kept the Janet P for my user name here.
I've lived in Cleveland, Ohio, for almost 30 years now after growing up in Wisconsin.
Like many others I've been doing crosswords and other word puzzles for as long as I can remember. I can't recall exactly when I started the WSJ metas but I think it was right about the time of the PAGEANT.
I enjoy the blog/s very much and hope to one day be a winning MUGgle!
Last edited by Janet P on Tue Feb 18, 2020 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ky-mike
Posts: 1942
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:22 pm
Location: Near Louisville Ky

#17

Post by ky-mike »

I'm Mike from Kentucky. From Kansas originally, but living in the Bluegrass State for about 20 years. A crossword puzzle fan. I've been doing the WSJ puzzles for quite some time now. There is a prize mug in our kitchen, but it belongs to my daughter. First time for her entering the contest and beat the odds.

Retired accountant. Living the dream!
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Jeremy Smith
Posts: 970
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:45 pm
Location: Tampa Bay area

#18

Post by Jeremy Smith »

My real name is Frank, but I’ve used Jeremy Smith as a pseudonym since I was a teenager. I’m 68 years young and retired. I live with my wife in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I became acquainted with metas during the summer of 2017, and quickly became a meta-holic, currently solving WSJCC, MGWCC, and MMMM. Other interests are cooking on my Big Green Egg, scuba diving, fishing Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, woodworking, ham radio, cruising, riding my road bike, and especially playing the piano. When did I ever find time to work? Thanks and kudos to Brian Mac for setting this up, and Bob Stevens for his difficult and selfless work as cruise director.
Last edited by Jeremy Smith on Fri Apr 26, 2019 4:01 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Cindy
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Location: Matthews

#19

Post by Cindy »

ky-mike wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 6:11 pm I'm Mike from Kentucky. From Kansas originally, but living in the Bluegrass State for about 20 years. A crossword puzzle fan. I've been doing the WSJ puzzles for quite some time now. There is a prize mug in our kitchen, but it belongs to my daughter. First time for her entering the contest and beat the odds.

Retired accountant. Living the dream!
Non retired accountant but still living the dream.
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oldjudge
Posts: 1623
Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:16 am
Location: Pasadena, CA

#20

Post by oldjudge »

Hi! I’m Jay from Pasadena, CA. Apparently, for many years my wife and I lived just down the road from BrianMac in Darien, CT. I am a retired oil trader and we moved to SoCal about five years ago to be closer to my younger son and his family. I am a long time WSJ reader, but used to only do the New York Times crosswords. About two years ago I gave up the Times and started doing the WSJ puzzles. Pretty soon afterward I took a shot at the Contest Crossword, and since then I have become hooked. I’m embarrassed to say that between the Contest Crossword and episodes of Blue Bloods Friday has become my favorite day of the week. Otherwise, my interests are reading, studying early baseball history, and woman’s college (Go UCONN) and pro (Go Sparks) basketball. I am also as much of a gym rat as a sixty-eight year old can be.
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