"Under the Table" - July 9, 2021

[Joepickett]

Nope. No idea on this one. I've had brain fog all week so I've got that going for me

[SReh26]

For those wondering what has become of me - this may sound like the dog ate my homework, but my grid got erased on my smartphone half way through so I‘ll pick it up tomorrow on the laptop.

I used to be very smug because I’d been spared that so far.

But it can happen to you....

And chin up, everyone! You’re not stupid just because you didn’t solve it by Thursday.

[lbray53]

I’ve said it before, I'll say it again... I hate the puzzles everyone calls "easy" because those never are for me. I must look at these oddly because the more obtuse I often see relatively quickly.

So, on the ship and waiting for a drink.

T

Thank you! Now I do not feel so alone. I need to start solving before reading the posts.

[Cuse]

On the shore, Manhatten in hand with an extra maraschino.

[NDStegs]

Ashore.

[edot]

Ashore!

[ImOnToo]

I’ve said it before, I'll say it again... I hate the puzzles everyone calls "easy" because those never are for me. I must look at these oddly because the more obtuse I often see relatively quickly.

So, on the ship and waiting for a drink.

T

Thank you! Now I do not feel so alone. I need to start solving before reading the posts.

I hate the “That was easy!” posts!
Everyone keys into different triggers.

[BrennerTJ]

Ashore. 🏖

[Franklin.Bluth]

Made it to shore. I'd call this a 3 in difficulty — the initial "aha!" requires some lateral thinking, but it's pretty straightforward once you get past that.

[Laura M]

On shore! Late because I went into my actual workplace for a meeting.

ugh! what was that like?? Scary?

Oh, it was fine! I mean it was annoying because it was a meeting, and I had to wear outside-the-house clothes and drive to get there, both things that I've rarely done for 16 months. And I couldn't work on the crossword during the meeting :-) It does feel weird to be around people, but I'm willing to work on that.

I have no doubt that Covid-19 and its variants will continue to be a (hopefully minor) threat for years, maybe forever, but we're in a much better place than we were a year ago. We have vaccines! And the processes are in place so that vaccine development/testing/manufacturing/distribution might not be so huge a task when we need more. Vaccines aren't perfect, and there are variants, but breakthrough cases are likely to be less serious. If you do get sick, a lot more is known now about how to treat this virus. We have more PPE now for health workers, and even enough medical-grade masks for regular people to keep a stash. (I'm not a prepper but yeah, I have a couple dozen KN95s.) I'm very ready to stop treating it like the bubonic plague and start treating it more like the flu.

(Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or a microbiologist or an infectious diseases scientist, so I have no idea what I'm talking about. Also, since children younger than 12 can't be vaccinated yet, I admit that my logic is flawed there. I'm hoping that this will change soon. Basically I'm looking for reasons to have hope!)

I think that there are a lot of good things that came out of this past year that I hope stick around:

• Improved technology for working from home, where possible, and we've been forced to get used to it. I mostly hated it at the start, but now I'm hoping to keep working from home three days a week.

• Improved technology for, and availability of remote events. I love being able to meet up with far-flung family on a regular basis, attend an east-coast friend's kid's piano recital, participate in a crossword tournament, all from my chair in the living room.

• More common and efficient pickup/delivery services. Sometimes it's nice to get a nice restaurant meal without having to get dressed up and go to a restaurant! And I may never do my weekly shopping in person at the grocery store again.

• Normalized mask wearing. I'm still going to wear a mask (probably two) on planes, or anywhere if I have any illness or am worried about getting one. We all had to wear our T-shirt masks in order for them to be effective, but with high-quality masks people can choose their own level of safety.

• This place! And other online groups that give the feeling of a gathering of friends.

(There are also a lot of not-good things that came out of the past year, but I'd prefer not to dwell on those.)

Anyway, here's hoping for more normal things, even (ugh) in-person meetings!

[Joe]

I'm still on the ship. At least there are lots of great folks here at the bar with me. I got nothing. But I'm hopeful.

[MikeM000]

Safely on shore... I would say to the people struggling to not worry much; you'll go from 0 to 100% in a blink on this one.

Took me awhile as I had the proper idea but hadn't molded it properly into shape until just now.

[hoover]

On shore! Late because I went into my actual workplace for a meeting.

ugh! what was that like?? Scary?

Oh, it was fine! I mean it was annoying because it was a meeting, and I had to wear outside-the-house clothes

And shoes!

[M and M]

Fun and clever. We are on the beach.

[Hidden in 3D]

On Shore! Yay - now I can devote the entire weekend to pet-sitting. Our daughter and SIL have two great boxers (one of whom is all PUPPY!) and an awesome cat. I'll try to get a group photo of the three if they will ever hold still at the same time...

[BarbaraK]

How wonderful to live in a world where puzzles like this are possible and to have clever constructors create them for us to solve!

I’m ready for a drink with a little paper umbrella and some of the chopped up fruit from Meg’s cabana boy.

[ky-mike]

Got a late start due to travel, but a quick swim to shore. Tequila sunrise is my drink du jour

[meowmiao71]

I don't know how fast I would have gotten this on my own, because my partner's super-smart nephews are visiting us and they looked over my shoulder and said "Oh, so (meta redacted)?"

So, solved...I guess!

[Dannyvee]

Ashore!

[grwinski]

Ashore!

Another fun construction by Mike!

We think the cheesecake for dessert helped!

Rita and George