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Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:31 pm
by Bob cruise director
jbird wrote: Fri Oct 08, 2021 1:58 pm Hello All,
My name is Jason. I live in Maryland with my wife and two children. I've been doing crosswords for some time now. I always remember seeing my grandmother doing crosswords growing up and would always try and fill in the blanks for the clues she didn't solve. I started doing them on my own shortly after she passed away. I started out with WaPo crosswords and recently started doing cryptics. I think I mainly do these puzzles to help calm some of my anxieties.

I found this community when I started doing the MMM puzzles. I solved my first meta last month and thought that gave me enough credibility to join the group!

-J
Jason -- first welcome to the group. It is always great to have new people.

next thing - you do not need credibility to join. This is the most nonjudgmental group you will ever find. We are all here to have fun, to learn and to help others learn. Over the years we have found that no matter what mistakes or wrong turns you make (we call them rabbit holes), there are many more doing the same thing. One of the great thing about the forum is that you can send a private message to any other muggle with any question and you will get pointers to get you in the right direction. That is true whether it is the WSJ contest, MGWCC, MMM or any other. One of the great thing about the MMM is that they are done by muggles and periodically there are clues or answers that reference muggles.

Under Come Aboard/FAQ's community there is a wealth of good stuff everything from the past WSJ contests with answers, to some of our terms and phrases to guidance on how to ask for hints/nudges

Again if there are any questions you have please feel free to ask

Bob Stevens - Cruise Director (and look under Muggle Overview to see where this and other came from)

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:52 pm
by Smiley
Hi,

My name is Stephen and I live in Denver, CO with wife. We are expecting our first child in November, gender will be a surprise! I am the VP of Accounting for a software company and my wife is an engineering tech for an O&G company. I like to play chess, go, ride my bike (road), golf, ski, run, hike and all the other Colorado things… I started attempting crossword puzzles about 2-3 weeks ago and am still getting the hang of it but I am enjoying the challenge. I like the idea of the contest puzzles and I’m hoping to learn a bit more about them through this forum.

Cheers,
Stephen

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:26 pm
by Relic
My name is Alan. I live in Fort Worth, TX. I'm married (43 years) with 3 adult children, all of whom live in the DFW area with their spouses, no grandchildren but 7 granddogs (at last count). We also have an English Bulldog (Maggie), our pride and joy!

I retired in 2017 after working 31 years as a back-office director for a well-known investment firm.

Due to a stroke in 2012, I had to trade in my physical hobbies - bicycling, drumming - for armchair hobbies - crosswords, Greek-Hebrew Language translations - and exercising - walking a mile daily, exercise bike 3 miles daily. I love our hometown sports teams (Cowboys, Rangers, Stars, Mavs) and follow them closely.

I started working the WSJ contest puzzle 6 months ago and started reading posts on this forum soon after. I decided to join because the group interactions are collegial and fun-loving. And I'm all about having fun, especially since I don't have to work tomorrow!

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:37 am
by Bob cruise director
Relic wrote: Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:26 pm My name is Alan. I live in Fort Worth, TX. I'm married (43 years) with 3 adult children, all of whom live in the DFW area with their spouses, no grandchildren but 7 granddogs (at last count). We also have an English Bulldog (Maggie), our pride and joy!

I retired in 2017 after working 31 years as a back-office director for a well-known investment firm.

Due to a stroke in 2012, I had to trade in my physical hobbies - bicycling, drumming - for armchair hobbies - crosswords, Greek-Hebrew Language translations - and exercising - walking a mile daily, exercise bike 3 miles daily. I love our hometown sports teams (Cowboys, Rangers, Stars, Mavs) and follow them closely.

I started working the WSJ contest puzzle 6 months ago and started reading posts on this forum soon after. I decided to join because the group interactions are collegial and fun-loving. And I'm all about having fun, especially since I don't have to work tomorrow!
Welcome to the group. Great to have you

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 11:18 am
by rjy
Greetings folks -

I stumbled into this group about a month ago, thinking someone, somewhere would be discussing the MMMM that I was struggling with. What a great find!

I'm in Gaithersburg, MD, an indie iOS developer after 20+ years with a supply chain software company (I imagine they're burning the midnight oil these days...)

For 3 or 4 years now, my wife's and my Saturday afternoon diversion has been Evan Birnholz's puzzle in the Washington Post, and through those we discovered the concept of the meta puzzle, of which many of his were quite brilliant. It was a short jump from there to the MMMM, which recently led me here.

An introvert by nature, it took me awhile to surface over here and formally say hello, but it's the warm camaraderie of this group that compelled me to. I've reached out to a number of folks over the past month for confirmations of answers, or to see if I could back out of a gnarly rabbit hole, and have been amazed that not a single DM has gone unanswered. What a nice corner of the interwebs!

Cheers!
Ray

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:38 pm
by Hammertime
I’m Joe, longtime devotee of NYT crosswords and only discovered “meta” in yesterdays WSJ when I had spare time and ventured to follow the WSJ link to xwords. I’m elated and disheartened at the same time. 4 full hours into figuring out a “proper name” and I am hopelessly lost. But now determined to crack this puzzle medium eventually. I love it and hate it, and it’s making me miserable, sounds like an addict already doesn’t it? Anyone wanting to DM me hints for 11/19/21 feel free, I’m fine with spoilers at this stage.

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:41 pm
by Hammertime
Hammertime wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:38 pm I’m Joe, longtime devotee of NYT crosswords and only discovered “meta” in yesterdays WSJ when I had spare time and ventured to follow the WSJ link to xwords. I’m elated and disheartened at the same time. 4 full hours into figuring out a “proper name” and I am hopelessly lost. But now determined to crack this puzzle medium eventually. I love it and hate it, and it’s making me miserable, sounds like an addict already doesn’t it? Anyone wanting to DM me hints for 11/19/21 feel free, I’m fine with spoilers at this stage.
Oh, BTW, I’m a 59 year old NJ resident, cybersecurity professional from the banking world, moving to Wyoming soon (I hope).

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:31 pm
by Joe Ross
Hammertime wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:38 pm I’m Joe, longtime devotee of NYT crosswords and only discovered “meta” in yesterdays WSJ when I had spare time and ventured to follow the WSJ link to xwords. I’m elated and disheartened at the same time. 4 full hours into figuring out a “proper name” and I am hopelessly lost. But now determined to crack this puzzle medium eventually. I love it and hate it, and it’s making me miserable, sounds like an addict already doesn’t it? Anyone wanting to DM me hints for 11/19/21 feel free, I’m fine with spoilers at this stage.
Welcome, Joe!

You've got the emotions for this medium down pat. That counts!

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 10:15 am
by Adajeo
Greetings Fellow Muggles. I have been solving WSJ crosswords since 2016, a past time I picked up from my Mom. She would complete the grids in ink and if you disagreed with her answers - "you could do your own puzzle". :D

I have been known to take a Saturday afternoon nap with a printed puzzle resting by my side or wake up at 3:00 AM with an "AHA" idea, only to come up empty. I will never appear on page one, as I like to print out the puzzles, and fill in the grid manually. My fastest time was 30 minutes and even then it was Friday morning before the meta bunny hopped into my basket.

The Muggles have come a long way since 2016 and although I am not into zoom or group solves, I do enjoy the banter of the forum. Great job on the website and much appreciation for all it takes to moderate it.

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 4:07 pm
by drbockel2
Hello all. I'm David. Have been doing the WSJ crosswords for a couple of months now and have been confounded by the meta puzzles! You all seem like a nice community. Every time I've vistsed the WSJ puzzle page I've wondered what all of the On Shore, In the Water, On the Ship, etc. references mean. I think I'm starting to (slowly) understand.

Cheers!
David

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:28 pm
by Bob cruise director
drbockel2 wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 4:07 pm Hello all. I'm David. Have been doing the WSJ crosswords for a couple of months now and have been confounded by the meta puzzles! You all seem like a nice community. Every time I've vistsed the WSJ puzzle page I've wondered what all of the On Shore, In the Water, On the Ship, etc. references mean. I think I'm starting to (slowly) understand.

Cheers!
David
David
Welcome to the group. The details of the background on the Shore and ship are here viewtopic.php?t=34

but the quick summary is that when we started most of us had never done a meta so Sally Schott coined the idea that we were lost at sea when we did not have the answer. And when you are lost at sea, you need a drink so the obvious place was at the bar on The Love Boat Tv show. The bartender on the Love Boat was Isaac played by Ted Lange. So if you don't have the answer you are on the ship. It followed that if you got the answer you must be on the shore - preferably on the beach with a nice tiki bar nearby. Getting from the ship to the shore can be quick or may involve much struggling and a variety of assistance (nudges)

Under the Come Aboard/FAQ's Community/Solving resources there are a large number of topics to help you with the meta learning curve including all the past WSJ contests and solutions, some hints, nudge etiquette and a bunch of others.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me. Make sure under preferences you have it set to receive emails that you have a Private Message

And again, welcome to the group.

Bob

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:37 pm
by AlsoJanet
Hello,
My name is Janet. I'm a recovering lawyer in New Jersey, now getting a PhD in Jazz Information Retrieval at Rutgers. I can't remember a time when I wasn't doing crosswords. My dad started me on Puns and Anagrams when I was too young to know better . . . I've been solving cryptics ever since, and even written a few cryptic clues in some online forums. I once tried creating a (not very good) standard crossword that was understandably rejected by the editor. I have been checking the WSJ puzzle page on Saturdays for quite a while, for the variety and cryptic puzzles. I got into the contest from the "Contest 101" post and solved my first meta this past week. (I'm afraid, though, that those, including me, who guessed that seven-letter phrase are dating themselves . . . I doubt if it's a current meme!) Alas, the week before . . . I'm a baseball addict but I literally would not know one end of the football from another . . . How much fun this is. I hope to win a mug some day!
Best regards from new Muggle,
Janet

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2021 3:33 pm
by Bob cruise director
AlsoJanet wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:37 pm Hello,
My name is Janet. I'm a recovering lawyer in New Jersey, now getting a PhD in Jazz Information Retrieval at Rutgers. I can't remember a time when I wasn't doing crosswords. My dad started me on Puns and Anagrams when I was too young to know better . . . I've been solving cryptics ever since, and even written a few cryptic clues in some online forums. I once tried creating a (not very good) standard crossword that was understandably rejected by the editor. I have been checking the WSJ puzzle page on Saturdays for quite a while, for the variety and cryptic puzzles. I got into the contest from the "Contest 101" post and solved my first meta this past week. (I'm afraid, though, that those, including me, who guessed that seven-letter phrase are dating themselves . . . I doubt if it's a current meme!) Alas, the week before . . . I'm a baseball addict but I literally would not know one end of the football from another . . . How much fun this is. I hope to win a mug some day!
Best regards from new Muggle,
Janet
Janet
You came to the right place. This forum is filled with fun and help to get better on metas. And, either fortunately or unfortunately filled with puns also (be wary of DrTom). A few places to look. Under this Come Aboard/FAQ Community/solving resources there are a large number of topics that can help including all the past WSJ contests and answers as well as tips for solving metas. And under Other Meta Crossword puzzles, there is the link to Matt Gaffney's subscription service ($3/month), the Muggle Meta Monday (done by muggles for muggles and anyone else), Benchen's MOAT on Tuesdays, Madhatter's MEOW on Wednesdays and the Muller Monthly Music Meta (MMMM).

Also under FAQ Community, there is background on where all this ship/shore came from as well as the etiquette that has evolved for asking for help which we call nudges.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Make sure that under Profile "private messages" tab, you have enabled getting private messages.

Great to have you

Bob Stevens (Cruise Director)

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:57 pm
by mntlblok
Joe Ross wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:31 pm
Hammertime wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:38 pm I’m Joe, longtime devotee of NYT crosswords and only discovered “meta” in yesterdays WSJ when I had spare time and ventured to follow the WSJ link to xwords. I’m elated and disheartened at the same time. 4 full hours into figuring out a “proper name” and I am hopelessly lost. But now determined to crack this puzzle medium eventually. I love it and hate it, and it’s making me miserable, sounds like an addict already doesn’t it? Anyone wanting to DM me hints for 11/19/21 feel free, I’m fine with spoilers at this stage.
Welcome, Joe!

You've got the emotions for this medium down pat. That counts!
That's just hateful.

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 2:09 am
by vandono
Hello!

My name is Donnie and I live in the DFW part of Texas. I've worked mostly in IT over the past 25+ years, except for a couple stints in financial services. If I'm ever able to retire, I'd like to spend time traveling, learning languages and reading the books I should've read when younger.

I picked up a love for crosswords from my Mom, who did the puzzles in the local paper religiously. She loved word puzzles in general and also enjoyed writing poetry and short stories. (From my Dad, I have a love for logic puzzles.) When my wife and I were dating and still in college, we would race each other in the small crosswords in the student paper. These were the only competitions with her I won with any regularity; in cards, video games, etc. - she always kicked kicks my fanny.

I'm glad I found this corner of the interwebs where people with a common interest can encourage each other and chat.

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 11:53 am
by Elizabeyth
Hello and happy holidays! I'm Elizabeth from Alexandria VA. I have been into puzzles and word games all my life (I'm guessing there are a fair few fellow Games magazine subscribers here?) but only did occasional weekend crosswords until recently. I just turned 50 on the 19th :shock: and have read so much about how crosswords help keep you sharp - my mom might be living proof of that (she's 82 and has done at least one a day for the last 20 years)! I definitely prefer pen and paper but have started doing the WSJ daily puzzles online over lunch.

As for the contest crosswords, I've tried the last six puzzles or so and have yet to come ashore but I'll keep at it! Looking forward to digging into some older ones for more practice. Happy New Year everyone!

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 12:50 pm
by MikeM000
Elizabeyth wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 11:53 am Hello and happy holidays! I'm Elizabeth from Alexandria VA. I have been into puzzles and word games all my life (I'm guessing there are a fair few fellow Games magazine subscribers here?)
Are you just an adult subscriber, or did you, like me, spend your 1980s childhood looking for fake ads and hidden contests with a puzzling mom's subscription?

There's a long-dormant thread on GAMES here:
viewtopic.php?t=293

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 2:26 pm
by Elizabeyth
MikeM000 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 12:50 pm Are you just an adult subscriber, or did you, like me, spend your 1980s childhood looking for fake ads and hidden contests with a puzzling mom's subscription?
Definitely the latter!! :) Those were great features. Every once in a while I check the website for their vintage issue packs but haven't seen any available in a while.

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 11:56 pm
by tmk
hey yall
i'm tōnya, 39, from seattle but moved to denver right before lockdown:( my folks and i do the wsj xword daily and a couple of nyt per week. mom often gets them by herself in her fourth language (english.) i will never be that smart, but can often do early weekdays under 15min and thurs-sat in under 30, but have never successfully gotten the meta/friday secret answer. cant wait to start learning all your muggle tricks and one day get that sweet sweet mug myself!!!!!
i enjoy hiking/backpacking, skiing, sailing, picking up foreign languages, travel, listening to symphonic music, *occasionally* practicing violin or guitar, painting, my houseplants, classic tetris on NES, jeopardy!, art/musea, film criticism, standup and improv comedy, cooking/baking and in the Before Times, hosting dinner parties. pandemic has been extremely isolating and i'm looking forward to getting to know some fellow nerds. what is the tuesday zoom all about? are there any other zooms? anyone in denver, please PM me!

Re: (RE) Introduce Yourself

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:55 pm
by MarkWoychick
Hi all,
I’ve been on this forum for a while, originally for the WSJ meta. Eventually another Muggle mentioned the other meta puzzles, and now I try to do them all every week. As I’ve looked around more, I found this board and figured I should provide a belated introduction. I live in Boise, ID, with my wife of 25+ years, and our three kids are all living in Salt Lake City, UT - they all ended up going to University of Utah for college (wish I’d bought a fourplex in SLC!). Two have graduated and are working there now, and our youngest is in her second semester of her first year.

I am a clinical faculty member for the College of Innovation + Design at Boise State University, and I’ve worked there for 4.5 years. Before that, I had several careers working at HP in difference functions and capacities for 17+ years, and before that, I had a bunch of jobs too insignificant to mention.

In addition to doing crosswords, I enjoy running, which I usually do 5 days a week - we live very close to the Boise River Greenbelt and foothills trails, so there’s always somewhere interesting to go. Pre-covid, I used to bike commute to work, which I miss. Instead, my wife and I now go for a walk every evening no matter the weather, which I enjoy. On and off, I’ve been trying to learn photography, but I haven’t been practicing nearly enough to improve - if I come up with anything worth sharing, I’ll do so.

I really enjoy this community and all your witty and wise comments, and I am wowed by the many solvers who are SO fast and seem to be able to solve every week. I learn from you every day!