Comments on Blaine's Puzzle Blog: NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 19): Periodically Mixed Up

Ben, nice! I didn't catch that.

2009-04-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ben, nice! I didn't catch that.

My clue -- I wrote "Nice one. Always deftly said....

2009-04-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

My clue --

I wrote "Nice one. Always deftly said."

It spells out NO ADS.

- Other Ben

Actually, Blaine's clue "Keep a Lid on Things" wor...

2009-04-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Actually, Blaine's clue "Keep a Lid on Things" worked for this week's Will Shortz Puzzler as well as the Car Talk Puzzler.

On second thought, I bet his chore is to mow the l...

2009-04-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

On second thought, I bet his chore is to mow the lawn.

Natasha, That was quick. Still, no one bit on how ...

2009-04-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Natasha, That was quick. Still, no one bit on how my clumsy bypass of the true solution. There was a theme, one of many which shows how any sequence sample can be hijacked.

As for the car talk puzzle, Curtis's hint is good, but I'm still trying to figure out if the son has his own car.

Curtis, the Car Talk Puzzler was pretty easy, too....

2009-04-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Curtis, the Car Talk Puzzler was pretty easy, too.

Natasha, this week's car talk puzzler is hard to g...

2009-04-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

Natasha, this week's car talk puzzler is hard to give a clue for without giving the answer. It has to do with something that would prevent fuel from exiting the car in a non-standard way.

Hugh, I wrote a comment on the sequence puzzle for...

2009-04-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hugh,
I wrote a comment on the sequence puzzle for you. Check it out. My digital clocks do not work that way either. Would never have gotten the answer. Have you tried this week's car talk puzzle? I am stumped!!

Natasha, Thanks for the puzzle pointer. I checke...

2009-04-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

Natasha,

Thanks for the puzzle pointer. I checked it out and learned something about digital clocks. I keep batteries in mine, and they don't act that way.

For me, the hints here are tougher than the puzzles (I generally have to resort to Google). I shouldn't have had to Google Blue of Central Iowa's clue, a good word rather than music reference.

Did you try Blaine's sequence puzzle at:

http://puzzles.blainesville.com/2009/03/friday-fun-whats-next-number-in.html

He didn't get many bites and hasn't posted the answer because no one needed it. I got a kick out of the fact that William made sure that I wasn't blowing smoke by simply agreeing with him.

FREE CONE DAY TODAY AT BEN & JERRY'S FROM ...

2009-04-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

FREE CONE DAY TODAY AT BEN & JERRY'S FROM NOON TO 8:00 P.M.

Lorenzo, check out the tune. It's a great one.

Dave, I was not familiar with TCD until reading yo...

2009-04-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

Dave, I was not familiar with TCD until reading your post. You're right. Blaine's clue was really clever.

Blaine, that's a great clue!!! You did, baby, you...

2009-04-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Blaine, that's a great clue!!! You did, baby, you did. Did anyone else get what Blaine was alluding to? Coincidentally, I listened to the tune just yesterday in my car.

Hugh, I appreciate your comments. Perhaps someone ...

2009-04-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hugh,
I appreciate your comments. Perhaps someone needs to write Will concerning his dumbing down of the puzzles. Car talk's puzzles are now my cup of tea these days.

Curtis is a master of understatement. When answer...

2009-04-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Curtis is a master of understatement.

When answers were submitted by postcard, it was a lot of work for Will to evaluate and count correct answers. Perhaps the trick was to make the puzzles difficult to hold down the volume.

Later, when email kicked in, the puzzles could still be on the difficult side requiring Will to do some reading and to put up with email attachments like the one which once took his computer down. (I was proud of my contribution to that.) That was "The Ship's Biscuit Problem", and I still believe that my answer was better than Will's.

It appears that out of self defense Will went to the present scheme which requires answers in text only that can be evaluated automatically. (Goodbye to geometric puzzles and some others, and hello to easy answers that spoilers can use without much difficulty.)

He has also switched to selecting listeners' puzzles which aren't as interesting as his mathematical and geometric doozies. (My efforts here have been lame by comparison to his.)

He's getting his participants, but at the cost of dumbing things down. I can remember working for days on some puzzles and still not coming up with an answer. I think, as with crosswords, he has become the editor rather than the constructor.

Just my opinion, but I think Will's puzzles have b...

2009-04-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Just my opinion, but I think Will's puzzles have been a little on the easy side lately, hence 2300 correct answers. Maybe someone could do a comparative study with previous puzzles.

Dave,We're heading to Portland THIS Thursday the 2...

2009-04-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Dave,We're heading to Portland THIS Thursday the 23rd and then to Eugene Friday-Sunday...I hope to make it to the Saturday Market...

JR, how was Eugene?

2009-04-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

JR, how was Eugene?

Luckily, I had already figured out the puzzle befo...

2009-04-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Luckily, I had already figured out the puzzle before I saw everett's answer.

I am disappointed. I came to read the puzzle, sinc...

2009-04-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

I am disappointed. I came to read the puzzle, since I was making breakfast when it aired, and saw the answer. Bummer......

Thanks Dave! Your clue helped me, while everett ra...

2009-04-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks Dave! Your clue helped me, while everett ralphed up a response not acceptable to this blog.

Coincidentally (or perhaps not?), this magazine wa...

2009-04-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Coincidentally (or perhaps not?), this magazine was the focus of today's page on Stephen Colbert's Page-a-Day Calendar version of his book, "I am America and So Can You". Maybe Will is a fan.

Blaine, sorry, couldn't resist. Feel free to remov...

2009-04-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

Blaine, sorry, couldn't resist. Feel free to remove my post when you remove everett's.

Thanks everett! Now you can go look for puppies to...

2009-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks everett! Now you can go look for puppies to kick...

2009-04-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Another easy one. I think that Will has reached a...

2009-04-19T09:23:00.001-07:00

Another easy one. I think that Will has reached a nader (sp?) in his puzzles.