"Under the Table" - July 9, 2021
- Joe Ross
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Not to mention B, Ba, C, *H, *I, N, O, P, Pr, Re, U, & *W!
* elements without a letter under their 'tables'
* elements without a letter under their 'tables'
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024
PLATELET ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ENORMOUS ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ:
๐ฐ๐ฌ% ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ,
๐ฏ๐ฌ% ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ,
๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ & ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ฎ. ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐!
PLATELET ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ENORMOUS ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ:
๐ฐ๐ฌ% ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ,
๐ฏ๐ฌ% ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ,
๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ & ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ฎ. ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐!
- Bob cruise director
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You forgot - how long does it take to test the code to make sure that you did not screw something else up?mntlblok wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 8:25 am This reminds me of the time management decided they needed to figure out how much time it took to write each line of code so they could better estimate projects. This might be possible when youโre writing a new program, not so much when youโre fixing old ones.
How long does it take to change > to>= ? Not long at all. How long to find that it needs to be changed? Totally depends on the rest of the program. Could be minutes; could be weeks.
>>>>>>>>>>
Found it fascinating back when my wife explained to me that she enjoyed programming because "it's like working puzzles".
As one of my friends said "mechanical things work until they don't. Software does not work until it does"
Bob Stevens
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- HeadinHome
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Pretty much my exact thought & stuckness for several days. Maybe ShenValley people think alike? (I am from that areaโฆ know about every acre and back road of the triangle formed by H-burg/Staunton/Waynesboro .. and BTW, Gaffney lives in that area too!)
The (false) path: CASH in bottom right, lots of money things in the grid & clues, AND the IRS was even there, watching for an ILLEGAL (ILL EAGLE) cash transaction โฆ ILL and EAGLE being directly under the word GRID, which is a table!! I ran that by a couple early solvers who politely did not spew coffee and laugh at me (I knew it seemed unlikely, since it only used one area of the grid), but REALLYโฆ coincidence? I think not.
A โno thatโs not itโ and a gentle nudge to look elsewhere finally got me to the chemistry theme. And yes, LEAD had eluded me because even when I read silently with my eyes, my ears still โperk upโ because I love the *sound* of language โ so I saw โLEADโ and strongly โheardโ LEED not LED. (I think that is a reading/decoding phenomenon that some people just have more strongly.). But I say thatโs a fair Shenk trick.. why not?
By the wayโฆ who agrees that using โleadโ for the past tense of the verb โto leadโ is a prevalent and extremely irritating misspelling?? Makes me go back and have to re-read, about every time. Itโs L-E-D!!
The other Wendy.
- Bob cruise director
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I put Al and others (go to https://xwordcontest.com/ and check out some of those times) in the same category as someone who can throw a baseball 100 miles per hour or throw a football 80 yards in the air. Possible because I have seen it done but far beyond my ability so I watch in awe and admiration.woozy wrote: โMon Jul 12, 2021 11:47 pmMe too. I don't even *try* to think about the meta until I have a full grid and then ... I don't *try* I just look and feel and feel... and then I start to think. And I'll never get anything above a page 12.... (then again that *isn't* my goal).
But if someone is going to accuse someone of lying and claim its impossible to do it in eight minutes.... Well, no, it's *not* impossible. It's not easy and its utterly remarkable but accusation of lying are... well... libelous.
And if the complaint is you can barely get the grid much less the meta in eight minutes.... well theoretically you don't need to get the grid...
Bob Stevens
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- Bob cruise director
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In case anyone was wondering, from the beginning of written records (April 29, 2016), the solve percentages by constructor are:MikeMillerwsj wrote: โMon Jul 12, 2021 2:17 pm A tough puzzle, with a turnout slightly below the blockbuster level, but also an above-average rate of correct responses. We had 1172 entries, about 83% correct (75% is closer to typical). Incorrect answers seemed to be inspired by the title, with a few sniffing around the trail of elements: ILLEGAL (30), METALLIC (9), ICONIC (8), PERIODIC (7) and many others.
Congrats to this week's winner: Donald Sebo of Pocatello, Idaho!
Matt Gaffney - 72.4% for 132 metas
Mike Shenk - 78.0% for 109 metas
Peter Gordon - 82.1% for 6 metas
Patrick Berry - 85.6% for 16 metas
Overall average of metas is 74.8%
Weighted average (total solves/total entries) is 79.7% - A lot more submissions on the easier contests
Bob Stevens
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- HunterX
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Interesting. My percentages are close for Matt Gaffney, though slightly higher for the others.Bob cruise director wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 11:38 amIn case anyone was wondering, from the beginning of written records (April 29, 2016), the solve percentages by constructor are:MikeMillerwsj wrote: โMon Jul 12, 2021 2:17 pm A tough puzzle, with a turnout slightly below the blockbuster level, but also an above-average rate of correct responses. We had 1172 entries, about 83% correct (75% is closer to typical). Incorrect answers seemed to be inspired by the title, with a few sniffing around the trail of elements: ILLEGAL (30), METALLIC (9), ICONIC (8), PERIODIC (7) and many others.
Matt Gaffney - 72.4% for 132 metas
Mike Shenk - 78.0% for 109 metas
Peter Gordon - 82.1% for 6 metas
Patrick Berry - 85.6% for 16 metas
Overall average of metas is 74.8%
Weighted average (total solves/total entries) is 79.7% - A lot more submissions on the easier contests
Matt Gaffney - 75.8%
Mike Shenk - 90.0%
Peter Gordon - 100.0% (only 1, listed as PG "and Matt Gaffney")
Patrick Berry - 100.0% (only 4)
"And the rest" (a la Gilligan's Island cast listing) - 100.0%
Overall average of metas is 84.3%
My weighted average is about the same since my weight really hasn't fluctuated at all since I started these. (Regardless of the extra drinking, no less!)
- KayW
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My sentiments exactly!! Back when I worked, I was mostly a maintenance coder because I knew languages - COBOL, FORTRAN, SAS... Modifying or debugging existing code is often just like solving a meta. And even more frustrating/rewarding (depending on which side of the solution I'm on). They paid me to solve puzzles!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
- sharkicicles
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Making new things is cool, but debugging is where the real fun is.
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Interesting data! Thanks for sharing.Bob cruise director wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 11:38 amIn case anyone was wondering, from the beginning of written records (April 29, 2016), the solve percentages by constructor are:MikeMillerwsj wrote: โMon Jul 12, 2021 2:17 pm A tough puzzle, with a turnout slightly below the blockbuster level, but also an above-average rate of correct responses. We had 1172 entries, about 83% correct (75% is closer to typical). Incorrect answers seemed to be inspired by the title, with a few sniffing around the trail of elements: ILLEGAL (30), METALLIC (9), ICONIC (8), PERIODIC (7) and many others.
Congrats to this week's winner: Donald Sebo of Pocatello, Idaho!
Matt Gaffney - 72.4% for 132 metas
Mike Shenk - 78.0% for 109 metas
Peter Gordon - 82.1% for 6 metas
Patrick Berry - 85.6% for 16 metas
Overall average of metas is 74.8%
Weighted average (total solves/total entries) is 79.7% - A lot more submissions on the easier contests
Iโd love to see the Gaffney puzzle success rate by โwith parentheses in the cluesโ vs. โsans parentheses.โ I bet those parentheses puzzles are what make his puzzles the most difficult.
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Raising hand here. Apparently at some point we stopped teaching and grading spelling in school because it hurt the kids' feelings, so instead they internalized the lesson that spelling doesn't matter. The latest crop of "journalists" and "editors" putting out content on the websites of my local news stations and "newspaper" use the construction "X lead to Y" on a daily basis.HeadinHome wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 11:27 am By the wayโฆ who agrees that using โleadโ for the past tense of the verb โto leadโ is a prevalent and extremely irritating misspelling?? Makes me go back and have to re-read, about every time. Itโs L-E-D!!
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Does it strike anyone else that there is a suspicious coincidental (???) resemblance, in certain fonts, of "Al" (big eh, little el) and "AI" (big eh, big ai)?Bob cruise director wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 11:30 am I put Al and others (go to https://xwordcontest.com/ and check out some of those times) in the same category as someone who can throw a baseball 100 miles per hour or throw a football 80 yards in the air. Possible because I have seen it done but far beyond my ability so I watch in awe and admiration.
*Not to be confused with this guy:
- boharr
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Siriusly?hoover wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 3:32 pmRaising hand here. Apparently at some point we stopped teaching and grading spelling in school because it hurt the kids' feelings, so instead they internalized the lesson that spelling doesn't matter. The latest crop of "journalists" and "editors" putting out content on the websites of my local news stations and "newspaper" use the construction "X lead to Y" on a daily basis.HeadinHome wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 11:27 am By the wayโฆ who agrees that using โleadโ for the past tense of the verb โto leadโ is a prevalent and extremely irritating misspelling?? Makes me go back and have to re-read, about every time. Itโs L-E-D!!
- SReh26
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I laugh every time I see someone (often a WSJ commenter) write boogieman when they mean bogeyman. But I can use a laugh so itโs okay.boharr wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 3:58 pmSiriusly?hoover wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 3:32 pmRaising hand here. Apparently at some point we stopped teaching and grading spelling in school because it hurt the kids' feelings, so instead they internalized the lesson that spelling doesn't matter. The latest crop of "journalists" and "editors" putting out content on the websites of my local news stations and "newspaper" use the construction "X lead to Y" on a daily basis.HeadinHome wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 11:27 am By the wayโฆ who agrees that using โleadโ for the past tense of the verb โto leadโ is a prevalent and extremely irritating misspelling?? Makes me go back and have to re-read, about every time. Itโs L-E-D!!
- Bob cruise director
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If you go back through the puzzles the Joe Ross has posted and tell me which ones had parentheses vs sans parentheses, I can give you those statistics.zach wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 3:22 pmInteresting data! Thanks for sharing.Bob cruise director wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 11:38 amIn case anyone was wondering, from the beginning of written records (April 29, 2016), the solve percentages by constructor are:MikeMillerwsj wrote: โMon Jul 12, 2021 2:17 pm A tough puzzle, with a turnout slightly below the blockbuster level, but also an above-average rate of correct responses. We had 1172 entries, about 83% correct (75% is closer to typical). Incorrect answers seemed to be inspired by the title, with a few sniffing around the trail of elements: ILLEGAL (30), METALLIC (9), ICONIC (8), PERIODIC (7) and many others.
Congrats to this week's winner: Donald Sebo of Pocatello, Idaho!
Matt Gaffney - 72.4% for 132 metas
Mike Shenk - 78.0% for 109 metas
Peter Gordon - 82.1% for 6 metas
Patrick Berry - 85.6% for 16 metas
Overall average of metas is 74.8%
Weighted average (total solves/total entries) is 79.7% - A lot more submissions on the easier contests
Iโd love to see the Gaffney puzzle success rate by โwith parentheses in the cluesโ vs. โsans parentheses.โ I bet those parentheses puzzles are what make his puzzles the most difficult.
Bob Stevens
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- Joe Ross
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Betcha @BarbaraK has that number at her fingertips.Bob cruise director wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 4:28 pm If you go back through the puzzles the Joe Ross has posted and tell me which ones had parentheses vs sans parentheses, I can give you those statistics.
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P.S. Speaking of speed-solvers, someone (in this thread, I think) posted a link to a video from the 2017 crossword championships. It's worth watching. I won't spoil it except to say that the folks doing the color commentary didn't get a chance to finish their chitchat before the winner laid down his headphones. Also, having watched an interview with MS and MG that someone linked in the "how to solve these !@#$ things???" thread, I think that looks like Mike Shenk in the bottom left of the 2017 video.
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hoover wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 8:42 pm P.S. Speaking of speed-solvers, someone (in this thread, I think) posted a link to a video from the 2017 crossword championships. It's worth watching. I won't spoil it except to say that the folks doing the color commentary didn't get a chance to finish their chitchat before the winner laid down his headphones. Also, having watched an interview with MS and MG that someone linked in the "how to solve these !@#$ things???" thread, I think that looks like Mike Shenk in the bottom left of the 2017 video.
- BrianMac
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That video is from the 2018 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. That is Mike Shenk sitting next to the commentators.
The following year (2019), he was awarded the Merl Reagle award for lifetime achievement in crosswords. This video was shown in his honor that weekend:
The following year (2019), he was awarded the Merl Reagle award for lifetime achievement in crosswords. This video was shown in his honor that weekend:
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Thanks for the correction re 2018, not 2017. Please refer to the upthread message re off-by-one errors.
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However, she *did* just inform me that the language most used in programming is profanity.KayW wrote: โTue Jul 13, 2021 1:05 pmMy sentiments exactly!! Back when I worked, I was mostly a maintenance coder because I knew languages - COBOL, FORTRAN, SAS... Modifying or debugging existing code is often just like solving a meta. And even more frustrating/rewarding (depending on which side of the solution I'm on). They paid me to solve puzzles!