"Endnotes" - January 22, 2021

[billkatz]

Safely on shore...

[MajordomoTom]

Toes in the sand,
Cold Drink in hand,
They're playing my favorite band.

On shore again, later all.

[Dave C]

Ashore and would love to have the Founders KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge, since I live in Michigan, but I'm in Texas for the winter and can't find it here...

[Al Sisti]

Well now I'm 100% (my original answer was right, but now I know why). I'm sorry I ever doubted Mike Shenk.

[rosiegirl]

I am like several that have posted previously - have an answer, but am not sure if it is "the" answer. I have a feeling I may be one of the previously mentioned individuals who skipped a step, but found the answer. Not going to submit it yet and may be asking a fellow Muggle if my answer is correct before I do.

[steveb]

After a lot of red herrings and rabbit holes, I am onshore. Good puzzle!

[FKelly]

I had all the important stuff in about 30 minutes, even though I know little about this area. The answer, however, was elusive.
Went out to the gym for a workout. After 5 miles and 18,000 lbs, I came back and bingo saw it immediately.
Oxygen + transport to brain = meta answer
If it always worked this way, I would to go the gym more often! Well maybe, if I weren't so damn lazy.
Clever and original mechanism that doesn't show any margin of error or pageant potential. Absolutely a 100%-er.

[FrankH]

On shore finally.

[Joe Ross]

I believe that some people who found the path to shore rough and inelegant may have taken a shortcut. Landed in the right place, but missed some of the sights along the way.

That was me...got the right answer but was a little confused (really, annoyed) at the brute force of it. And then you showed me why the swim was so rough. Thanks!

I am ashore.

However, out of sheer paranoia, I can't help but have a pageant-y feeling. Partly because I have no music knowledge, but mostly because I generally need a lot more fluids in me, and rabbit-hole time, to finally see the method emerge. We shall see.

YO! HERE!

However, this wormhole (shortcut in space-time) seemed so glaringly obvious, that I wonder how anyone wouldn't take it. Some BRUTE FORCE CYBERNETICS ('creating a need, then filling it'*) must be called upon, from time-to-time.

EDIT 1: "Brute force," "cheatery,"and "shortcut" labels are taken as poetic license. This week's solution may set a number of characters record & require a 2nd page be added to Monday's PDF, because I don't see it fitting in the bottom-right corner. I've had a few kind muggles attempt to explain the "elegant" method. So far, only one person has shown me the full path to 2 of the 6 letters of the meta answer. Other explanations only involve one or two letters (& those aren't fully-explained), then trail off with "etc.," "and so on," "you get the idea (I don't, but that my failing)," or "I'll type out the rest when I have the time. There's not a thing wrong with the long-winded intended mechanism. The "shortcut" is a much more obvious path & is laid out clearly for solvers to see & deduce. The obvious method involves a less-than-desired mechanism (including to me) as part of its solution, but that mechanism has been used in the past and will be, again. Is a solution "more elegant" if it requires a college-ruled notebook to fully explain it (poetic license, please)? Maybe, but the creator left a simpler path to follow, so the inelegance is his, not the solvers' For solvers that have followed the simpler path, you've done nothing for which you need to apologize. [ The first 2 likes were pre-EDIT 1. ]

Miss the Party Parrot

*Any '70s-era WEBN fans out there?

[RDaleHall]

On shore. Tougher grid, but knew what to look for early on and that helped smooth out the swim. Turns out crosswords go well with Destihl Haze of the Dead while watching Bridgerton.

[Scraps]

I'm back home after two weeks at scuba instructor school.

This puzzle initially challenged my underwater navigation skills, but I made it ashore using only about a half tank of air.
No morning cocktail for me today--I'm going spear fishing today, so the alcohol must wait until later.

I almost regret solving it because I had Inspector Reneault's "Serves me right for not being musical" excuse all ready to go:

[LittleGood]

I'm ashore. I liked it a lot.

[Schmeel]

Ashore, but I think I also took the shortcut - I'll have to look at it again later.
I wouldn't want to miss the sights along the way!

[WSJosh]

Finished the grid and then took a long trip down a rabbit hole, will continue to work on the meta tonight.

[Plymouthrock]

Sprinting on the beach. Hope it’s not another swim of shame early Monday morning. Now what’s a girl to do the rest of the morning?
Holding off on the IPA. It’s not ten am anywhere.
Hope all you muggles get the vaccine soon.

[JimJim]

Ashore. Stepped away from it this morning. Saw the light upon return. Sand is cold.

[SeanS]

Ashore-- perfect level of difficulty, my paper looks like I solved the mystery of Pepe Silvia.

The aforementioned article (and Shoo-Fly Pie recipe, for those who have already tapped out on their resolutions): https://spectator.us/life/dutch-treat-p ... o-fly-pie/

[Cosmo]

I'm on what I believe is the correct shore! I think the mechanism just wasn't quite as elegant as I was hoping for. Still enjoyed the journey though!

Thanks to BarbaraK, I now see that I took the shortcut others have mentioned! Awesome meta when viewed in full!

[JRS51]

Ashore! Fun one!

[rexthree]

on shore. finished grid last night. slept on it and everything was clear in the morning.