MGWCC #775 — Examples Abound

[ZooAnimalsOnWheels]

Beamed aboard. This was a fun Week 1.

[MikeM000]

Got on the board last night at 241. This was a fun one...I generally don't like week 1s as puzzles as they are oftentimes a bit too obvious but this one hit the mark... easy and straightforward without being too much so.

The one blip I had was due to my mentally misreading the 19 in the prompt as a 10 and spending half a minute in "why the heck? " mode until I re read it.

[Barney]

Doesn’t quite seem like a week 1.

Out of patience and taking a pass. Week One, Heaven forfend.

[Orsys]

I’m stuck…on a week one! Can I run something by someone to see if what I am seeing is on the right path. I am suspecting that it is not, so may also need a nudge.

[HoldThatThought]

Week one, week five; we don't judge. The most frustrating metas are the puzzles that are supposed to be easy. Reach out to any of the many gracious and helpful contributors here, and you're sure to find help!

[woozy]

It's only easy if you you see it. And Matt is very good at hiding things in the open so you don't see them.

Then again, if you have to run something by you probably don't have it. This is one where it's either completely hidden or out there and done with nothing more to do.

Still, I'm open anyone wants to run something by me.

[Al Sisti]

Sitting at #403, but more importantly, I've got the Grand Slam of achievements! I was sweating though...I held off until midnight, then as my computer clicked over to 12:01, I submitted. That done, I went to get off the computer, and so grabbed my phone. I noticed it was getting low on power, so I went to charge it, and when I plugged it in and looked at the time, it said...12:00! So which was right? The time on the computer (which now said 12:02) or the phone that said 12:00? And if the phone was right...did I send in my answer at 11:59? Turns out the computer was correct, as I'm on the board as of 12:01. But... how does a phone get the wrong time? It's not like I set it, right? Breathe, Al; breathe. Oh, and Happy Easter, all...

[docison]

I didn't cut it as close as you, @Al Sisti , but I have now joined you with the Gaffney EGOT. (Though you will always be able to say you got there first!). Should we establish a secret handshake? How many members does this club have, anyway? And why do we care so much? So many questions...

[Bob cruise director]

Sitting at #403, but more importantly, I've got the Grand Slam of achievements! I was sweating though...I held off until midnight, then as my computer clicked over to 12:01, I submitted. That done, I went to get off the computer, and so grabbed my phone. I noticed it was getting low on power, so I went to charge it, and when I plugged it in and looked at the time, it said...12:00! So which was right? The time on the computer (which now said 12:02) or the phone that said 12:00? And if the phone was right...did I send in my answer at 11:59? Turns out the computer was correct, as I'm on the board as of 12:01. But... how does a phone get the wrong time? It's not like I set it, right? Breathe, Al; breathe. Oh, and Happy Easter, all...

@Al Sisti and @docison Congratulations on a remarkable achievement. One that most of us will probably never get to. I thought of posting right after midnight to get the Easter Egg but had the same concern about exactly when was midnight and did not want to wait 1-2 more years to get the easter egg. So dozed off and woke up and posted at 12:30. I will be content to get my hundred weeks of solvitude in another 5 weeks and celebrate Tilghman's birthday in October (which I checked is a Monday this year)

[Leslie]

So I checked my MGWCC achievements and the only ones I don’t have are the two Halloween ones, including solve a week 5 puzzle on Halloween. Then I looked at the calendar. The next time October has 5 Fridays isn’t until 2025. Oops!

[TMart]

@Al Sisti and @docison - congrats to both of you. By my count there are only 12 solvers who have gotten all of Matt’s achievements, and speaking from experience, it takes a special kind of crazy (and holiday planning) to get there. (And speaking of crazy, I got that number from going one by one through the 1-Across list.)

[Al Sisti]

@Al Sisti and @docison - congrats to both of you. By my count there are only 12 solvers who have gotten all of Matt’s achievements, and speaking from experience, it takes a special kind of crazy (and holiday planning) to get there. (And speaking of crazy, I got that number from going one by one through the 1-Across list.)

Thanks Craz... I mean Tom. One thing in my favor (for taking a shot at "First Solver") was that I didn't have any kind of streak to speak of; i.e., nothing to risk if I was wrong. If I had a three-digit streak, I think I might consider letting the first solver achievement go. Of course, not all first solves occur within 2 or so minutes of the start; I'm betting there are more than a handful of first-time first solvers at, say, 12:50 on a Week 4.

[Joe Ross]

@KayW is another muggle with 100% of achievements.

Who else? Don't be shy!

[docison]

@Al Sisti and @docison - congrats to both of you. By my count there are only 12 solvers who have gotten all of Matt’s achievements, and speaking from experience, it takes a special kind of crazy (and holiday planning) to get there. (And speaking of crazy, I got that number from going one by one through the 1-Across list.)

I believe that when I first became aware of the achievements, there were only 2 (or maybe 3) that I hadn't attained yet. It was sometime last year so I knew I would need to wait for now until I could get the Easter one. The other one - which I found more stressful because of my streak - was the "solve in the last 5 minutes" badge. I was quite nervous I would forget... Anyway, maybe more badges will be added (though maybe that will only happen if Matt has another child!).

[HeadinHome]

apparently I forgot to post when I solved. Beamed up at the impressive spot #295 ! I already had that achievement (Easter) but didn’t get to the puzzle on time as we were covered up (at times literally) with grandkids!

[Qmark]

Enjoyed this one...but missed the Easter solve.

[mkmf]

Matt describes the origin of last week's meta "Examples Abound" (MGWCC #775) in a comment to Joon's blog post of the puzzle at CrosswordFiend. Do not miss it!!

https://crosswordfiend.com/2023/04/11/m ... /#comments

Joon gives the puzzle high marks in his blog above Matt's comment - and that's even before reading about how - and when - the meta came to be.

[MikeM000]

Matt describes the origin of last week's meta "Examples Abound" (MGWCC #775) in a comment to Joon's blog post of the puzzle at CrosswordFiend. Do not miss it!!

https://crosswordfiend.com/2023/04/11/m ... /#comments

Joon gives the puzzle high marks in his blog above Matt's comment - and that's even before reading about how - and when - the meta came to be.

Hang on a second here ..............

So he wakes up at 3AM with the idea in his head.
He sits at his desk and from 3-5:30 AM bangs out a grid and clues with the 19 pieces all in place.

3AM to 5:30AM, people. 2 1/2 hours. In the dead of night.

Maybe Kim Jong Un really does get 5 holes in one in an average round of golf....