"Consider the Alternative" October 6, 2022

[Guy]

Ah…through a glass darkly..aboard yet

[Toby]

There was something I could not believe was a coincidence and that led me to spend way too much time on a path that actually worked...until it didn't.
(If I did not know that Matt G is really a lovely guy I would suspect some sadism here.) So if you are, as I was, continuing to hit your head against a wall of gibberish, re-think it. Once I got on the path, it was a lot of fun to solve.

[EVJ]

In the bar with Isaac.
Like others have said, I see things that seem to be “the way” but coming up with gibberish. I’m going to sleep on it and in the morning I’ll sharpen my pencil. And have a stiff cup of coffee!

[rjy]

…but my gibberish seems waaaaay too logical to be gibberish. Another stiff pour, Isaac!

[Magistra]

Made it ashore.

[MajordomoTom]

Goodbye Isaac, my liver can't take it anymore - I've been on the boat for 3 or 4 weeks now.

100% and submitted,
Tom

[DrTom]

Another one where I thought sure I’d see the way home and of course now do not. This small screen stuff is for the birds (and those MUCH younger than I). Can’t see all the clues and all the grid at the same time, I’m going to just take the bye and enjoy my last few days of vacation, not hard to do here:

[femullen]

The adage holds, and rightly so,
"Pride comes before a fall."
How smug I was a week ago!
This week? No clue at all.

But it's early yet, so I have time. I also have a secret weapon: The Smarter Half is smuggling herself south of the border, so I will have in-person assistance from a livelier mind. On the other hand, we are departing Sunday for our Extra Week of Summer, seven days on a sunny beach next to a tiki bar. The synapses will race between two solutions: one, the answer to the meta, the other containing ethanol.

[ship4u]

Ashore4us. Exhausted, crawling in the sand, spitting out seawater. Black coffee, please! This one was alternative mental torture and kept me up all night!

[LittleGood]

I declare myself on the beach, though not 100% for me this week.

[Onaquest]

I’m half way. I know I’m half way. I can tell I’m half way from the comments here. I’m going to keep going…

[ship4u]

I’m half way. I know I’m half way. I can tell I’m half way from the comments here. I’m going to keep going…

To quote a British nursery rhyme: I'm h-a-pp-y, I'm h-a-pp-y, I know I am, I'm sure I am, I'm h-a-pp-y.....

Keep going!

[rjy]

Gibberish de-gibberized, thanks to a nudge confirming I was in the right rabbit-hole. More gibberish to follow w some much needed tiki drinks on shore. Cheers!

[ship4u]

REMINDER: If you would like to be H-A-PP-Y, please join us for the great Muggle Zoom get together today at 4:30 pm Eastern Time! All are invited whether you have solved this week's meta or not. Share your thoughts and rabbit holes and say hello to other muggles! See you there. To join, simply click on the MUGGLE ZOOM ROOM icon at the top of the page.

[flaringnostrils]

I'm either on shore or I've drowned. Kind of a Schrodinger's cat thing. Guess I'll know for sure Monday.

[ky-mike]

On shore after a nudge to look at things differently (isn't that always the case?). Though, I do have an alternate answer, but it is not as buttoned down as what I now have.

[Bob cruise director]

Good Friday morning muggles

A clever and well constructed meta by Matt this week. We have 14 on the ship and 48 on the shore.

If you want a fun and challenging meta, take a shot at this week's MEOW "Rock The Boat" by whimsy (not Lord Peter but Claudia). Find it under Other Metas

And for those tired of banging their heads against the wall or some other alternative, don't forget the 4:30 pm ET Zoom call today.

[Cindy]

Solved

[mheberlingx100]

Got an answer, but I think I’ll wait until Sunday to submit. I don’t feel 100% on it, and experience has shown if I don’t feel 100%, my chances of being correct are 0%.

[woozy]

Phooey. Got it. It's .... leggy.