Leftover Chinese and the Logic Puzzle

The crossword dieties are plotting against me, so I haven't completed one in a while. I'm close, but as they say...close only counts in horseshows and hand grenades.

So I give you the cheap substitute:



The answer is: NOT Y. It's X.

I was originally wrong.

Why? I can't count letters while sitting on the train.

In a warped mind like mine, everything usually gets reduced to numbers. I'm guessing the number of letters between the clues define the pattern. The chart forms this pattern:

A b C d e F
1 letter between A and C. 2 letters between D and E.
B c d e F g h i j k L
Hence, 3 between B and F. 5 between F and L.
C d e f g h I j k l m n o p q R
5 -> 8
D e f g h i j k L....?
7 then...

So I reduce that to the following sequence:

1 2
3 5
5 8
7 ?

What's the question mark? I'm going to say it's eleven. First line: 2-1=1. Second line: 5-3=2. Third line 8-5=3. So the forth line, should be x-7=4. Eleven.

D e f g h i j k L m n o p q r s t u v w X

That's possibly why...or ex. Whatever.

...I defnitely spent more time thinking about how to explain this puzzle than solving it. Will I be correct? Was it worth it? Stay tuned.

. . [~] . 1 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese and another classic Halloween Weekend

Why?


I worked from home on Friday and saw Bill Cosby take a bass clarinet lesson.


Then I dressed up all funny and played songs you love to dance to. (pic by miss b)


Not to be outdone, I followed up the Friday night with a 30 mile venture to a certain Steakhouse/Buffet on Saturday...and it was good (enough).


...and finally. Lil' Jack wanted my eye socket to drink water. We all had a good laugh.

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Leftover Chinese Does Commissioner

Yahoo Basketball. Ten Bucks to play. Weekly maintenance. At stake is bragging rights and a fraction of the total league pool. Send message if you're interested. I'm game.





Click here to see a cat train a human.

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Leftover Chinese Continues the Cat Tour

I bet the 10/24/96 version of me would beat up the 10/24/06 version of me if he ever found out the answer to "where will you be in ten years?"

Yep. Web logs. Crossword Puzzles. Cat themed web logs. This next one is a real treat:

Fuzzy (from yesterday) has a favorite blog: The gaggle. Thirteen Cats. One owner. Plenty of love. I advise you to get acquainted to the cast of characters before reading a story or two.

But...in case you don't have the time, I'll pick out my favorites:

Theseus - He showed up as a stray, extremely shy. I enticed him with food, had to use a trap to catch him, and slowly won him over. He doesn't give his trust easily, but once you have it, he's a sweetheart and very affectionate.

Translation: I took him and dominated him until he gave up.

There's also bios for the deceased:

Tribble [RIP] - There's a story behind the name. David Gerrold is the scriptwriter who wrote the famous "Trouble with Tribbles" episode of the original STAR TREK series...second batch of kittens when David happened to be in town and visited my house...taken with with the fluffy orange kitten of the litter...I promised to save the kitten...gave the kitten the name "Tribble" as a placeholder...for one reason or another, the swap never happened. He was my Tribble ever since.

Check out the stories sometime...and if you're curious, hit a random archive:

Deciding we wanted to live together. There was one significant problem with this...allergic to cats. This would seem like a disaster to a woman with (at the time) 18 cats. But we have actually made this work...

So yeah. Plenty of imagination and alot of cats. Enjoy.

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Leftover Chinese Finds Cat BLOGS

Not to say that I have too much time on my hands and a strange obsession with felines, but I did find myself perusing cat-themed websites. It started with a quick search on separation anxiety on behalf of a friend and turned into a few minutes of chuckles.

Case in point: Fuzzy. It's basically a caption blog with pictures of the same cat. Some of pictures/captions emulate a famous portrait and others are simple photoshop effects. The result? You begin to actually hate the cat after a few minutes with statements like:

Scientists keep track of properties for just about everything, and I'm just guessing, but I suppose fuzziness is probably something they keep track of... Again, I'm just guessing, but I suppose they compare unknown samples of fuzziness to the established fuzziness of a cat's neck...

- and -

Now, I'm rather certain that Kitty knows absolutely nothing about Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Almighty George W. Bush... But I'm also rather certain that Kitty wants peace...

That, my friends, is a true Cat Bolg...and that kicks off Cat Bolg week where I uncover some of the crazy dedications to what is basically a walking sack of guts. Wait until the next blog...you won't be disappointed.


Easy one today


Messy one today. Contrary to my logic, 10 - down (Put on the stove again) is not Reheat, but Rewarm. and 46-down (Worshipful One) is not Idoler, but Adorer. Yeah...that's about all worth writing about.

Other news of note: A brother of mine turns 36 today, his age is the easiest to figure out with such a round number to subtract with. Good times....

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Leftover Chinese Doesn't Need any Fixing



The 'easy' crossword puzzle on page 81 of today's paper was the jokiest joke of a puzzle yet. Perhaps it's a hump-day gift from the crossword warlords, but I like puzzles more difficult later in the week. I can only hope the NYT puzzle proves to be more difficult if I get to it. No words to note...just a nice, clean answer key.

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Leftover Chinese Wishes The NYT Puzzle was like the People Magazine Puzzle

Actually that would mean I routinely pine for picture-clues with my crossword puzzles. Nah. Just today.

So I put a friendly reminder on my front window to hopefully ensure that the delivery person knows exactly where the paper should be tossed. So far none have been taken. Back in the Madison days, I would find the Financial Times across the street. I'm sure they're more accurate with paper delivery in this city, but anyway...



Easy monday one. Ever wish they would give lame picture clues found in People Magazine's puzzle? Such as:

5 - Across:

"Exodus" Author Leon

- or -

32 - Across:

Abba Singer

The best part would be that the pictures wouldn't be so obvious...

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Leftover Chinese Celebrates the Fall



Taken from the conveniently placed pumpkin patch in the produce section of my local grocer, one of the above 'jack of lanterns' was made by me. I think the rest were mined in a real pumpkin patch. Can you tell which one was mine?

hint: it's not the lantern with the moustache.

Over/under on when it gets smashed out there?

Let's say three days. I'll take the under.

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Leftover Chinese and the Erroneous Telephone Call

I just got caught in one of those 'Who's on First?' conversations...

[unfamiliar number on caller ID]

Leftoverchinese: "Uh, hello?"
Caller: "Somebody called my phone and hung up and I was just calling back."
Leftoverchinese: "Um it wasn't me. I didn't call you."
Caller: "I know you didn't call me, but my phone rang and you didn't say anything."
Leftoverchinese: "I don't understand why you're calling me back...because I didn't call you in the first place."
Caller: "I know you didn't call me, but the phone rang and nobody was on the other line."
Leftoverchinese: "Yeah. But I didn't call you. It must have been a mistake or someone else."
Caller: "I know you didn't call me, but you probably got the wrong number and just hung up."
Leftoverchinese: "I never called you, and I don't understand why we've been talking about this for over a minute now. When did I call you?"
Caller: "Well, I just got this new phone and have only three numbers on it and one of them is yours."
Leftoverchinese: "I don't see how that's possible since I never even dialed your number in the first place. When did I call you?"

[...Repeat the last four lines a few more times...]

Caller: "ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SAY SOMETHING...ADMIT THAT YOU CALLED THE WRONG NUMBER!"
Leftoverchinese: "Yeah. I know. So when did I call you?"
Caller: "About five minutes ago. Somebody called me at 773-xxx-xxxx."
Leftoverchinese: "That makes no sense since you're calling me from 773-529-xxx."
Caller: "Well somebody called from 773-307-wxyz."
Leftoverchinese: "You're calling 773-330-wxyz."
Caller: ".........Somebody called from 773-307-wxyz. What number is this?"
Leftoverchinese: "773-330-wxyz you must have pressed the 'three' twice."
Caller: "Oh. I see. I somebody from 330-wxyz -"
Leftoverchinese: "yeah. um..."

[end call]

*sigh*

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Leftover Chinese Spectates Traffic

Twice in the past five evenings, I've heard a *tire-screech* followed by a *crash*. Last night a car appeared to either be crossing the street or turning left when struck by an eastbound car. Tiny fender benders are common along my street and it's to the point I don't get startled. I might feign a flinch but the sound of crashing metal doesn't disturb me like it once did. The internal monologue just says: "That can't be good" and I'll glance outside to make sure nobody's screaming for help. The upstairs neighbor was heard running across the apartment...but I guess that's about right considering their vocations.

Why am I telling you this?

I guess I don't want to turn this in to crosswords only web log. Three in a row this week. Page 85 if you're playing the game at home.



- The answer for 45 across (Insistent) looks like Adam Ant if you focus on the spot between the 'm' and 'a'. Was the artists name a play on this word? If so, I guess I was born yesterday.
- 42 across (Gaelic Pop Star) is becoming more common. She could be the next Alec Baldwin.
- yeah...that's about it.

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Leftover Chinese Eats Breakfast Now

Long gone are the days I'd show up at the office hungry for Cheeto-Red Hots, a damp paper towel sheet for my fingers, and a mug of tea. For the past month or so, I've been enjoying this crazy meal they call breakfast. Almost regularly. It's a funny thing. I find myself with a lot more energy, focus, and attention to detail before lunch. I haven't had a regular breakfast routine this consistent since my parents stopped waking up early to get me ready for elementary school. Yep...it's been that long.

I was even up early enough to watch half an episode of Lost. I don't remember the last time I ate an early morning breakfast in front of the TV. It was probably elementary school.

Today's puzzle was fairly clean as a result of the hash browns and sausage.



- 1 Across ('Commuters' homes') is a place I would never, ever want to live. Imagine saying you lived in the exurb of Hoffman Estates, IL.
- 48 Across ('Hammett sleuth') was back-filled. Who the hell is Spade?
- Vocab word of the day: 33 down (Trinket). I'll let you pronounce that one.

BONUS


I won't get to the NYT puzzle tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure I'll get about 30% done on the next NYT puzzle this week. These first two have been farily easy. Anyway, this puzzle features a theme that forces you to think outside of the proverbial (and literal) crossword box. The highlighted clues refered to other clues . For example 53 Across (With 47 down, crucial decision point) ties in with 47 down (See 53-across). Half the answer does not get written down, but in order to incorporate the answer in some form (in this case, visually), they doubled the clues to form a cross. Add 'cross-' to each of the duplicate answers and you've got your theme. Clever clever, NYT.

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Leftover Chinese Has a Theory

Quinn asked me recently:

How many Madison/Milwaukee bands want to be U2/Coldplay?

Our band's myspace account got a few recent "friend requests" from Milwaukee bands who sound like tired versions of Coldplay and U2. I won't name names, but I did have a theory: Milwaukee radio could be stuck in the past.

While in the car this weekend driving home, I tuned into WLUM, the city's most forward thinking (non-college) radio station. The station's slogan: INDEPENDENT. ALTERNATIVE. RADIO.

After having that slogan pounded into my head during a 45 second promo, I took note of what was played on the cutting-edge "all independent alternative weekend." This is what I remember hearing in the span of about 30 minutes: Smashing Pumpkins, Tonic, Beastie Boys, Candlebox (!), and only two "new bands" i.e. The Killers and Guster. There was another band deemed 'buzzworthy' but I forget who they were promoting. I wish I could do better to prove this point, but playlists aren't posted on the station website...presumably because they don't want anybody to find out what they're doing to the casual listener. Let's check what's on now as I write this:

NOW PLAYING: SUBLIME - WHAT I GOT

My point is, the city 90 miles north of here insist on keeping their radio stations 10 years in the past (that's if you don't count the Top 40 station). The city's highest rated radio station The Hog plays ONLY classic rock (and 50% of that is Metallica).

Wait...Click on that link and your head with spin over the use of term 'hog' and pig-related puns.

What was I saying? Oh yeah, when the main radio stations in a smaller city like Milwaukee don't really push anything new on people, music created by residents will reflect that. You know it's bad when the biggest band in Milwaukee, the Gufs, released their last album seven years ago and nobody outside of the Milwaukee area has even heard of them. With all due respect to established groups like the BoDeans, The Gufs, and Pat McCurdy (a regional favorite), nothing is going to happen to unknown bands trying to break out if they take their cues from Milwaukee radio.

Let's check the radio station one more time...

NOW PLAYING: STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - VASOLINE

I rest my case...


My brother threw the proverbial gauntlet and solved this in 18 minutes. I took a little bit more time than that and had to look up a few spellings on the interweb. He's good.

BONUS PUZZLE

The NYT puzzle on today's suntimes. I completed this on the way home from work today without the help of the interweb or the jerky train operator. When you catch the "theme" clues, the rest just falls into place.

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