Sunday, 11/1/09

NYT (p) 9:06 ... LAT 4:58 ... ND 3:52 ... MR (p) 7:18 ... BG (p) 9:43 ... CS 2:35 ... Vowel Play untimed

(Can someone send me the NYT Second Sunday PDF? Can't get to it for some reason.) ... got it, thanks!

Saturday, 10/31/09

NYT 5:39 ... LAT 2:09 ... CS 1:59 ... ND 7:23

I was ready to note the disappointingly easy Stumper after the top half took me 2-3 minutes... but the SW and especially SE were nice and sticky!

Friday, 10/30/09

NYT 4:04 ... LAT 2:05 ... CS 2:04 ... ND 2:48 ... CHE 3:03 ... BEQ 4:48 ... WSJ 4:57 ... DB 4:00 ... MGWC 11:30 (with an error somewhere)

You can make fun of me for (sometimes!!) solving the Parker puzzles, but few of those are as awful as today's Newsday. Talk about a gimmick doing nothing for solver enjoyment. Meanwhile, the LAT puzzle doesn't seem to have gotten any more difficult, as promised -- but at least the clues are much more interesting than they were.

Thursday, 10/29/09

NYT 3:46 ... LAT 1:52 ... CS 1:52 ... ND 1:36

Wednesday, 10/28/09

NYT 2:44 ... LAT 1:45 ... CS 2:05 ... ND 1:40 ... BEQ 2:47

Tuesday, 10/27/09

NYT 1:59 ... LAT 1:32 ... CS 2:20 ... ND 1:25 ... BT 2:54 ... TO 3:08

Monday, 10/26/09

NYT 1:57 ... LAT 1:44 ... CS 2:31 ... ND 1:28 ... JON 2:29 ... BEQ 4:55

Sunday, 10/25/09

NYT 5:45 ... LAT 3:58 ... MR 5:55 ... BG 4:01 ... ND 4:21 ... LATB 6:22 ... CS 2:50 ... Acrostic 11:55

This is approximately my two-year puzzling anniversary -- Wordplay aired on PBS on 10/16/07 (according to Orange's archives), but it was a week or so before I watched it and went online to discover all the wonderful crossword websites and free puzzles. Now that I think about it, if EW hadn't spotlighted that broadcast in their "What to Watch" section, I might not be here with you all today...

Sunday NYT: oh that BEQ, always at the bleeding edge! I had an advantage because I remembered his blog about the quote -- but then again, everyone else reads his site too.

Saturday, 10/24/09

NYT 5:33 ... LAT 2:49 ... CS 1:54 ... ND 3:34

As usual, I was not really on Paula's wavelength, but definitely on Doug's! Can't believe I've never seen Doug's super-fresh 8-Down in a puzzle before.

Friday, 10/23/09

NYT 3:59 ... LAT 2:19 ... CS 1:36 ... ND 2:46 ... CHE 2:25 ... BEQ 3:40 ... WSJ 6:31 ... DB 5:26 ... MGWC 7:45

Now that I've got a new computer, I'll probably go back to doing most solving online.

Thursday, 10/22/09

NYT (p) 3:15 ... LAT (p) 2:48 ... CS (p) 2:43 ... ND (p) 2:34

Wednesday, 10/21/09

NYT (p) 2:51 ... LAT (p) 2:40 ... CS (p) 2:28 ... ND (p) 2:03 ... BEQ (p) 3:58*

And now to check my guesses on the BEQ puzzle...

... 0-for-3! But I suppose that was the point.

Tuesday, 10/20/09

NYT (p) 2:20 ... LAT (p) 2:08 ... CS (p) 2:08 ... ND (p) 1:52 ... BT (p) 3:55 ... TO (p) 3:44

Monday, 10/19/09

NYT (p) 2:17 ... LAT (p) 2:13 ... CS (p) 2:06 ... ND (p) 1:44 ... JON (p) 3:41 ... BEQ (p) 3:39

Sunday, 10/18/09

NYT (p) 7:49 ... LAT (p) 4:54 ... ND (p) 5:10 ... MR (p) 7:32 ... BG (p) 7:00 ... CS (p) 2:45 ... Cryptic (p) 10:50

Finally got under 5 minutes on a 21x21!

Saturday, 10/17/09

NYT (p) 6:14 ... LAT (p) 2:29 ... CS (p) 2:11 ... ND (p) 7:16

So I heard a rumor at Lollapuzzoola that the Newsday Saturday Stumper would be easing up in difficulty, starting in October. Can't remember who told me, but he'd heard it from Stanley Newman. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be happening. Maybe there are a few more gimme clues to get started, but overall I haven't noticed much of a change.

Friday, 10/16/09

NYT (p) 6:14 ... LAT (p) 2:45 ... CS (p) 2:19 ... ND (p) 2:42 ... CHE (p) 3:06 ... BEQ (p) 4:07 ... WSJ (p) 6:31 ... DB (p) 6:12 ... MGWC (p) 7:10

Thursday, 10/15/09

NYT (p) 3:05 ... LAT (p) 2:29 ... CS (p) 3:08 ... ND (p) 2:23

Wednesday, 10/14/09

NYT (p) 2:40 ... LAT (p) 2:25 ... CS (p) 2:32 ... ND (p) 2:06 ... BEQ (p) 4:27

Sorry I've not been very chatty. I feel like, if I have something to say, I should post it where it will be read a bit more widely! So far I've managed to keep traffic here nice and low. However, I may start trying to write something more substantial (about crosswords, or the speed-solving thereof) once in a while. First up: How barreling through the Simon & Schuster series has made me a better solver.

Tuesday, 10/13/09

NYT (p) 2:25 ... LAT (p) 2:01 ... CS (p) 2:21 ... ND (p) 2:00 ... BT (p) 4:23 ... TO (p) 3:17

Monday, 10/12/09

NYT (p) 2:06 ... LAT (p) 1:55 ... CS (p) 2:21 ... ND (p) 1:58 ... JON (p) 3:08 ... BEQ (p) 3:38

Sunday, 10/11/09

NYT (p) 8:35 ... LAT (p) 6:02 ... MR (p) 7:45 ... BG (p) 7:01 ... ND (p) 5:55 ... LATB (p) 6:11 ... CS (p) 4:27 ... Acrostic 17:05

Saturday, 10/10/09

NYT (p) 4:04 ... LAT (p) 2:56 ... CS 2:01 ... ND 5:57

Friday, 10/9/09

NYT (p) 5:06 ... LAT (p) 2:33 ... CS (p) 2:10 ... ND (p) 2:52 ... CHE (p) 3:31 ... BEQ (p) 3:45 ... WSJ (p) 6:48 ... DB (p) 5:50 ... MGWC (p) 3:21

Thursday, 10/8/09

NYT (p) 3:18 ... LAT (p) 2:22 ... CS (p) 2:19 ... ND (p) 2:28

Wednesday, 10/7/09

NYT 2:28 ... LAT (p) 2:02 ... CS (p) 2:15 ... ND (p) 1:57 ... BEQ (p) 3:44

Tuesday, 10/6/09

NYT (p) 2:29 ... LAT (p) 2:19 ... CS (p) 2:26 ... ND (p) 1:58 ... BT (p) 2:57 ... TO (p) 5:13

Monday, 10/5/09

NYT (p) 2:08 ... LAT (p) 1:53 ... CS (p) 2:49 ... ND (p) 1:49 ... JON (p) 3:17 ... BEQ (p) 4:07

Sunday, 10/4/09

NYT (p) 7:09 ... LAT 4:09 ... ND 4:18 ... BG (p) 7:39 ... MR (p) 7:32 ... CS 2:30 ... Diagramless (p) 7:10

Saturday, 10/3/09

NYT 4:50 ... LAT 2:06 ... CS 1:58 ... ND 5:55

Friday, 10/2/09

NYT (p) 4:07 ... LAT (p) 2:38 ... CS (p) 2:20 ... ND (p) 2:26 ... CHE (p) 3:52 ... BEQ (p) 3:45 ... WSJ (p) 8:02 ... DB (p) 6:48 ... MGWC 2:31 PB2 (p) 5:15 ...

Tonight's the night! Tune in tomorrow to find out how much of my crossword skill resides in my hair.