Sunday, August 04, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 4, 2019): Synonyms and Antonyms

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 4, 2019): Synonyms and Antonyms:
Q: Think of a two-letter and a five-letter word that are synonyms. The two-letter word and the last syllable of the five-letter word sound like new words that are antonyms. What words are these?
If today is Day 1, I'll definitely give you the answer before Day 6.

Edit: The South Korean boy band Day6 has a song named Hi Hello on their 2017 Moonrise album. Also in the picture, the big bee is higher and the small bee is lower.
A: HI, HELLO --> HIGH, LOW

184 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via a chain of thought, or an internet search) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.

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  2. Yet another synonym anagrams to a little article of clothing.

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  3. I have two answers. I'll give you my second answer here: OK = ROGER → GER sounds like GRRR (not OK)

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  4. I think I have an answer, but I'm confused by the wording of the puzzle. Does "new words" mean "words that are different from the original words", or does it mean "words that were recently added to the dictionary"? If it just means "different words", then my answer seems pretty straightforward.

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  5. This week is my vacation, maybe next week too.

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  6. I was convinced that I had the right answer...

    PI ---> RATIO
    PAY (sounds like PI when spoken with a Cockney accent) ---> OWE

    ...but the accent twist seemed far too capricious for a Sunday Puzzle.

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    Replies
    1. To OWE is not to PAY unless you have a really strong credit rating.

      Delete
    2. Except if we were to allow that accent then OWE and PAY (Remember, pronounce that like PIE.) would be ACCEPTABLE as the requirement is that OWE and PAY be ANTONYMS!

      Delete
    3. Except if we were to allow that accent then OWE and PAY (Remember, pronounce that like PIE.) would be ACCEPTABLE as the requirement is that OWE and PAY be ANTONYMS!

      Delete
  7. Blaine, for some reason, the last few weeks, my posts aren't successfully going through.

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  8. Oh I may have figured it out! Welcome back.

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. I would imagine SDB can solve this one in his sleep.

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  11. Here's another Puzzle. Think of an American City in six letters where twenty people are killed by a sociopath with an assault rifle.


    Change four of the six letters and rearrange to get another American City in six letters where twenty people are killed by a sociopath with an assault rifle, just twelve hours later.

    And do it again and again while congress still supports military-grade gun rights for sociopaths. That's your puzzle. (Sorry to hijack your blog, Blaine.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Next Summer’s puzzler: Name the only American city with a population over 10,000 not to have a mass shooting.

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    2. We have had mass shootings for many years now. Most of the time this has been blamed on our lax gun laws. Little or nothing has been done to address this problem. The mass shootings are now even increasing at an alarming rate, but I don't believe the culprit now is as much our lax gun laws as it is our Hatemonger, Bigot, Racist in Chief. This strategy worked for Hitler in the beginning. When will Americans wake up?

      Delete
    3. The University of Texas Tower shooting in 1966 is generally considered the first mass shooting of random people (gang killings in the 1920's and 30's were not random).

      But for decades those shootings were few and relatively far between; the current surge seems to have started in 2012 or 2013, obviously because we elected a black man to the White House (sarcasm, in case you are really dense). The Orange blob did not start nor cause it, but he has seized on that racist rage, and fanned the destructive flames.

      Bitter irony: a friend and former client has the same last name as Patrick Crusius; yesterday afternoon I emailed her a note hoping that she wasn't related. She wrote back that she wasn't, but she would have to spend the rest of her life explaining this. I wrote (cynically) that she should be optimistic and that another mass shooting would make people forget El Paso.

      Remember when people went to the mall for "shopping" sprees, and 1 am at the bar you were worried about having too many whiskey shots?

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    4. Reassure her in 6 months no one will remember the name. And the hate runs deep in Amerikkka, very very deep.

      Delete
  12. Is it true WS's show is changing names to Good Morning, California?

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  13. Raindrops keep falling on my head/But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red/Crying's not for me/.
    Hard to keep focused on the puzzle with all the death in the news this weekend

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  14. Antonyms leave me hot and cold.

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  15. I initially had a hard time figuring it out, but I rolled with it until I got it.

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  16. Got the real answer in less time than it took to dry my hair (what there is left of it).

    Alternate answer?: NO, NO-WAY => NO and AY

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    Replies
    1. I thought of that also, but the second syllable of "noway" is "way" not "ay."

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    2. NOWAY can be written as one word as well as two...

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    3. But it looks as if it is an answer to eco's Bonus Puzzle (see below. The "last part" would be the last two letters, as oppose to . But as ron says, the last syllable is "way" so it is not an answer to WS' original puzzle.

      Delete
    4. ...as opposed to the last syllable (per WS' wording).

      Sorry the last post got posted during edit.

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    5. Similar, but that's not my intended answer.

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  17. I had to search really hard for this answer! Kudos to those who got it so quickly. --Margaret G.

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  18. A horrifying weekend.
    Murder has always been, but to kill strangers at random must be new.

    I just added a post to last week's discussion.

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  19. Not an inspiring puzzle, but I got there.

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  20. I thought SuperZee might send us back to the funny papers.

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    Replies
    1. GB-I’d considered that as an option, but didn’t want to be to appear haggard.

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  21. I came up with an answer almost immediately for this, but now this pronouncement is giving me second thoughts.

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    Replies
    1. Okay, this is what happens when I try to do a puzzle at 6 am after staying up until 2.

      While I now have what I'm pretty sure is WS' intended answer (not obvious from your obscure clues) there is an alternate answer that involves some liberties in pronunciation, and no new words.

      Delete
    2. eco, hope you are vacationing somewhere fun, staying up til 2 a.m. Send
      us reports from the road.

      And, speaking of bees, this is definitely a ho-hum puzzle.

      Delete
    3. Not on the road yet, it was part of a clue to the wrong answer, which is now a Bonus Challenge: (yay?)

      Think of a two-letter and a five-letter word that are synonyms. The two-letter word and the last part of the five-letter word are antonyms. What words are these?

      Delete
  22. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  23. Thinking of previous campaign. Will explain Thursday.

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  24. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  25. Had to write to sf chronicle today as error in Doonsbury.

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  26. Hmm, Natasha, my comment is independent of yours, though...

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  27. Reminds me of what must be one of Will's favorite places, 5018 miles from me.

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    1. Pretty close, Jan. A lot closer than GJ 357 d.

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    2. Jan, do you miss New Jersey? I can't think of a place with a more ideal beach culture.

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    3. Beach? Oh, you must mean down the shore!

      No, I'm really getting into city life, having my car sit in the garage, walking 20,000 steps a day, and, most of all, not working. Though, after joining Paddle Boston and spending several hours canoeing and kayaking on the Charles, I could do without all the Cyanobacteria reports.

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  28. Yes, that was my reference at end of last week’s thread.

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  29. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  30. What’s up with the puzzles lately? Both last week and the week before I solved them while still at the breakfast table. Usually it takes me a good day to figure out the answer.

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  31. Luckily, there was no intense searching to get the answer this time.
    Musical Clue: The Beatles

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    Replies
    1. "I wanna hold your hand."... "Um, I too, would also like to hold your hand." "Yeah, what he said..."

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    2. Or The Doors or Lionel Richie or Adele or Temple of the Dog or CCR...

      Delete
  32. Trump calls mass shootings ‘a mental illness problem.’

    I just saw the above headline. So when is he going to see a shrink?

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    Replies
    1. I see that Mitch McConnell fell and broke his shoulder. He is now recuperating peacefully at home.

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  33. I solved it in 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 5 is like a high five.
      30 (thirty) has "hi" in it.

      Delete
  34. This puzzle makes me think of a children’s instrumental ditty.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe Pretty in Pink, as sung by Phish? Still, life goes on.

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  35. https://www.gregpalast.com/tee-jay-james-cousin-of-our-producer-murdered-in-dayto...

    It wasn't about guns, nor was it about mental illness. It was about hate mongering intended to activate those with mental health problems and access to guns. Bad things happen when good people do nothing. Why is a nation that insists its mission is to uphold the rule of law and accept everyone so afraid to do anything?

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    1. On the face of it the El Paso shooter's motives seem pretty clear, especially if the manifesto is verified as his.

      Dayton seems more confusing, why did he kill his sister? I read his high school "hit list" (that got him expelled?) was apparently revenge against girls; my immediate thought is those who spurned his attentions. An incel.

      Or have you read things I haven't?

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    2. I hope I have, but I haven't paid much attention to the Dayton shooting. I would not put too much attention on any single case, especially if it is ambiguous. Just as no single climate occurrence is in itself proof of climate change being the cause. That being said, one would have to be blind to reality not to understand that Trump is using hate to protect his power, and it is for his, and his alone, gain. We are all headed down a very dark and dreary path.

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    3. "Hate is like drinking salt water. It only makes the thirst worse." Kwai Chang Caine

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    4. There were plenty of mass shootings in this country when we had normal presidents. There's plenty of hate in other developed countries. The difference is all the guns and ammo in private hands here.

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    5. Time for the Australian solution?

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    6. He- DT- just said - on the radio- "Hate had no place in America. Hate corrupts the soul." Who wrote that for him? HOTY award winner.

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    7. SDB: The climate change analogy doesn't really work - weather patterns happen, there is no intention to those phenomena. Our activities (according to 97% of scientists) are "enhancing" the normal patterns.

      Shootings are choices of individuals and occasionally small groups. Domestic disputes are the leading cause of murders, and in previous times mass shootings were often related to personal situations - e.g. the various workplace shootings, Sandy Hook started with his mother, etc.

      There is a recent phenomena of shootings inspired by ethnic/ religious hatred (though mob massacres of minorities, especially blacks, have been happening >100 years - Rosewood, Wilmington, Tulsa, Chicago, Washington. Perhaps even more so for the indigenous folks.) At the moment we don't know where Dayton fits in the spectrum.

      Reducing access to guns has reduced the murder (of strangers) rate throughout the world, there is no questioning that.

      I doubt that the rates of rage and dissatisfaction are significantly worse in the US, nor is mental illness higher. It's what people are able to do in those mental states that is different here.

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    8. There is also an undue sense of entitlement which, if not met, sparks act of revenge. We must to more to teach people to reject “pride” in favor of humility – and that “the world owes me a living” simply does not apply.

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    9. So I take it you are not a fan of U.S. Senator James Rood Doolittle of Wisconsin.

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  36. Now if only my family could see that. Too many Conservatives in my home state, if you ask me. It's tough being apolitical in this day and age. You can smell the BS coming a mile away, but they can't.

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  37. Or exercise the right to arm bears?

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    1. If you mean establishing "well-regulated militias" (defined elsewhere in the Constitution as being regulated by the States) then maybe.

      If you mean everyone should try to play Dirty Harry and single handedly try to take down the bad guy, I can only imagine the carnage. Good guys shooting each other and innocent bystanders, and cops shooting the good guys because they now shoot whoever has a gun in their hands, especially if that person is brown or black.

      Would help with overpopulation....

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    2. Neither. As suggested - arm bears. Add them to Jan's boxing kangaroos, and. . . . who knows.

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    3. Years ago I was camping in the backcountry of the Sierras - at 2 am some bears decided to sharpen their claws on a nearby tree. They're already well-armed.

      They also know how to break into houses, though their piano playing is not even-handed.

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    4. How did the security camera pan to follow the bear as it started to move off-screen to the right? And what's depicted on the wall hanging you see at the left edge in the beginning? Is it a stylized bear?

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    5. I had a similar experience with a bear a number of years ago in Maine. The claws part, not the piano playing or - fortunately - the break in part. I'll leave the serious discussion of the current events to others here. I do applaud you for being a Constitutional Originalist though.

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    6. I liked Jefferson's idea of a Constitutional Convention every 17 years to reevaluate the document.

      Jan, some home security cameras have motion tracking. I hadn't noticed the wall hanging, but I like the idea that the bear is visiting a gallery of self-referential abstract art.

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    7. ortune.com/2018/02/20/australia-gun-control-success.
      Australia

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    8. Yes.
      fortune.com/2018/02/20/australia-gun-control-success.

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    9. I am not sure murder is always a choice. There is a big dif between crimes of passion and pre-meditated murder. Also is suicide always a choice too? Since half the gun deaths are suicides there is probably no way to stop that. But access is a starter. Lets just confiscate the assault weapons to start with.

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    10. Congress isn't going to pass such a law, not to mention the difficulty and danger in implementation. But nothing in the Constitution says anyone has a right to sell ammunition.

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    11. It lends a new meaning to creating a PowerPoint presentation with bullet points.

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    12. Plantsmith, I think you lend more reason to reduce gun availability. Suicides (I've read 2/3 of gun deaths, but that might be handguns only) are a quick and much more effective means of committing suicide. You don't have to be an expert to be "successful." Women have a lower success rate in suicide attempts because they more often try to overdose, and they are more often saved. Other means of suicide - jumping, hanging, etc. involve some amount of time, and I suspect many rethink their actions.

      Same with crimes of passion - guns make it easier to act on those moments of rage. For all those people who cut me off in traffic I have to say it's a good thing I don't have a gun in my car (or bazooka on my hood).

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    13. Excellent point. And I just read an article about how the Israeli army decreased suicides in young recruits after they made them check in their guns when they left their base. Would smart guns limit access? Probably not.

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    14. Smart guns might reduce thefts of guns, or at least their lethal use (though not threatening use) by thieves. Probably the best thing would be fewer children accidentally shooting each other.

      Might help with suicides with people other than the owner.

      Delete
  38. In his speech this morning meant to unify the country, President Trump asked for God's blessings on the cities afflicted by the shootings last weekend. He specifically asked for blessings on El Paso and on Toledo, Ohio.

    I live in Dayton, and I am concerned that in the confusion, God may send Toledo the blessings that my own city should have gotten.

    My wife saw the president's speech in real time, and she told me she thought, "Oh, no, there's been a shooting in Toledo, too?"

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  39. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Natasha:

      I believe if you search via Google you may find a tool you can use that will immediately delete anything you post right after you hit send. Then you won't need to spend all your spare time deleting your posts right after you post them. I think it is called The Lack Of Self Confidence Tool.

      Delete
    2. Sdb: The deleted post was about dt's speech this morning and realized an error so deleted it.

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    3. Natasha - sadly, some overuse their Unwarranted Overabundance of Self Confidence Tool. They overcompensate for short comings born in childhood.

      Delete
  40. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Thanks for moving with what the great Walt "Clyde" Frazier would call "feline quickness."

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    2. When I noted that Blaine had dealt with the TMI post "with feline quickness," it was a shout out to everyone's friend, HELLO KITTY!

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    3. Apparently I wasn't fast enough. I was set to do so, and the original author felt it best to delete it themselves.

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  41. The answer can be found in two or three places in most newspapers.

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  42. Did anyone else here notice Snuffleupagus was having trouble breathing during his talk today?

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    1. He always does that when he tries to read what someone else has written for him.

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    2. I also think that he has partial dentures.

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    3. I didn't think you were one to look a grift whore in the mouth.

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    4. There some things that just stick with you!

      http://www.thescoopnews.com/news/articles/701/trump-had-spinach-stuck-in-teeth-for-two-weeks

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  43. Geez, the stock market is down nearly 900 points and all because DT thinks he knows what he is doing.
    I want to know what his poll numbers are going to do after this week's tragedies.

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    Replies
    1. Unchanged. His base owns no investments. They’re angry because they’re largely poor.

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  44. Movie clue...

    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

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    1. In at least two Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse scenes, you can see in the background an ad for Hi, Hello, which is a take on Oh, Hello, the BroadWAY show starring my fellow Hoyas John Mulaney and Nick Kroll.

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  45. Eco - have you seen this work across the Bay from you? I may have the opportunity to build in Cali in coming years and I wonder if people are using these techniques, or even if the building codes allow them?

    https://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/october/shakehouse-quake-engineering-101614.html

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    1. As the article notes seismic isolators (I've heard the term base isolation pads) are used on civic and large commercial buildings, they're terrific for high rises. And expensive, but that cost is largely diminished by other savings.

      I haven't seen or heard anyone doing it for small residential construction; +/- 12 years ago there was a company offering a residential version at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) but I haven't seen them since. I've never researched the codes on it, usually if there's an ASTM or UL certification, and a licensed engineer signs off on it, the local building department will permit it.

      It does add certain complications: gas, water and sewer lines would need some form of flexible connection to allow for the movement. But that can be overcome.

      Delete
  46. Data breeches are for smarty pants.

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  47. I finally got the answer, but I can't get the submit function to work on the NPR website. Any one else having this problem?

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes you must check the Captcha box at the bottom for it to send.

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  48. I searched again and it finally worked.

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  49. I just walked into the house and heard Trump on the radio in the background call the shooter "a puppy."

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    1. Just curious about the kind of receptions DT will get in El Paso & Dayton tomorrow??

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  50. Something I've said before many times regarding other puzzles: Here it is the third day when I happen to think of the answer and I realized that there are probably many people out there who solved the puzzle in two seconds yet they were still angry with themselves for not having solved it in less than one second!

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    1. Yes and two weeks ago I I totally failed, If you solve on Monday it kind of blows your week. It is more about the journey than the destination and developing these important problem solving skills.
      LOL/

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  51. I tried to get at to work with it, but i am still at it.
    Frustrating.

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  52. I don't think this gives anything away, but if you change the word "last" in the instruction to "second," then the puzzle has two answers.

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    1. Good one! I think that ties nicely to some earlier posts by me, Jan and others.

      Delete
  53. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  54. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  55. To all those of you out there besides me who DO know the answer to this week's puzzle: Do any of you know what relevance to the answer there was with Blaine's clue at the top?

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    1. Hopefully he'll explain because I certainly don't get it. :)

      Delete
    2. HI, HELLO >>> HIGH, LOW

      "Good point, Paul." referred to the boiling point of water, i.e., putting the pot on HIGH. [ We can readily say pot and high in the same sentence here in Colorado. ]


      "Smart" =  this short clip from The Big Bang Theory:  

      https://youtu.be/4PwMWyu8BcU


      jan's alternate answer in 3 syllables: HI, ALOHA

      Delete
  56. HI, HELLO (HIGH, LOW)

    > Reminds me of what must be one of Will's favorite places, 5018 miles from me.

    Hilo, HI. Home of crossword favorites Mauna Kea and Mauna Lea, plus you've got the state postal abbreviation right there at the start. He's even used "Hilo hello" as a clue for "aloha".

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  57. Synonyms Hi/Hello
    Antonyms High/Low

    Alternate puzzle – (second vs. last syllable)
    Synonyms Hi/Aloha
    Antonyms High/Low

    I enjoyed GB’s kidding me about making a funny paper reference. I assume he was referring to Hi and Lois, developed by Mort Walker and Dik Browne. Dik Browne also drew Hagar the Horrible, hence my comment about not wanting to appear, “...too haggard.”

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  58. 1. HI = HELLO → HI & LO sound like HIGHLOW.

    2. OK = ROGER → OK & GER (as in: Gertrude or anger) sound like OKAYGRRR (“That's not OKAY”).

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  59. Hi, Hello → High, Low

    I initially got stuck on In → Out → About per the meaning of "here", as in "the doctor is in" or "the doctor is about". Vacation clue referred to the antonym. But the words didn't change, and thus that was the Bonus Challenge.

    Pretty close, Jan. A lot closer than GJ 357 d. I thought this was close to tmi, as you can trace a 5018 mile loop around Boston in Google Maps. Hilo is in that, as is Togo. GJ 357 d is a recently discovered earth-like planet just 31 light years away, conversation on the PEOTS blog.

    Jan → New Jersey → ideal beach Ideal Beach in Keansburg NJ has a 07734 zip code, bringing back happy upside down digital alarm clock memories for us all....

    Pretty in Pink, as sung by Phish? Still, life goes on "Still life with pink fish" is a painting by Australian artist Margaret Olley, a near alarm clock name.

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  60. HI, HELLO

    Roll With It was the second song on the Oasis album What's the Story Morning Glory. The initial song was Hello.

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  61. Got the real answer in less time than it took to dry my hair (what there is left of it).

    Hair dryers often have a HI and a LO setting (often even spelled that way).

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  62. I wrote, “Yet another synonym anagrams to a little article of clothing.” GREETINGS / GEE STRING

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Rob- Your hint didn't help me, but I truly enjoyed it once I did get the answer and look back on it.

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    2. Oh, gosh - that describes what I think is the perfect hint for Blaine's place. Thank you.

      Delete
  63. I normally don't explain my clues, but I thought this one was kind of clever:
    *WHAT'S UP* with the puzzles lately? Both last week and the week before I solved them while still at the breakfast table (*CHEERIO*). Usually it takes me a *GOOD DAY* to figure out the answer.

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  64. Hi, hello, high, low

    It is interesting that many of the posts had words with "hi" in them like "think" and "this". They were good "hints".

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  65. My clues -

    “Revisiting the answer” referred to Hilo HI, a place I would like to revisit.

    The children’s instrumental ditty was reference to “High Low Piccolo”.

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  66. HI, HELLO, HIGH, LOW
    "I mean it must be high or low"---Strawberry Fields Forever
    The Beatles also recorded "Hello Goodbye".

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. BTW, today is the 50th anniversary of "The Beatles" famously crossing the sidewalk in front of Abbey Road Studios. (About 1 1/2 years after "Magical Mystery Tour").

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  67. I wrote "I had to search really hard for this answer!" In other words, I had to search high and low! :) --Margaret G.

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  68. I stated earlier that the puzzle reminded me of a campaign. I was referring to thia: "Former first lady Michelle Obama said Thursday that her campaign slogan urging Democrats to remain civil when facing Republican slights -- "when they go low, we go high" --"

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  69. I couldn't post earlier today because I was in Eastern Oregon, camping along the Columbia River. My hint was: Trini Lopez and this alluded to his Limbo song and how low can you go?

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  70. Attorney General William Barr has initiated an investigation into the apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein. Is this an example of Epstein–Barr virus?

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    1. ... which causes chronic fat ego syndrome?

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    2. There must be lot of people in high authority who are very happy today.

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    3. I didn't think I'd feel sorrow hearing about Jeffrey Epstein's death. But he had so many tales to tell.

      Fortunately there are the lives of many girls he left untouched.

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    4. Just think of the insight his testimony would have provided to the real movers and shakers of government, foreign & domestic.

      Delete
  71. This week's challenge: Think of a common 5-letter word. If you insert an E after the second letter, you'll get a common 6-letter word. If instead you insert an E after the fourth letter, you'll get another 6-letter word. And if instead you insert an E at the end, you'll get still another 6-letter word. What words are these?

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  72. I wonder if there is more than the 1 answer I have so far....

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  73. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Self-censorship so early? I thought it was okay.

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  74. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Oops, looks like it was my turn to get to close to the edge.

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    2. After some thought, I hypothesized that the third letter of the 5-letter word was likely an A, so I went to crossword-dictionary.com, typed in "..ea..", scanned the list until I found what I was looking for, and then posted "I hope Blaine doesn't have to delete this comment" above. It occurred to me that someone might paraphrase that remark as something like "I hope Blaine refrains from deleting this comment; so I deleted it myself. I later reposted it in altered form, and now I guess I've posted it ... a third time.

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  75. What's that website where you enter a word and it returns an MD5 hashing of that word? I'm thinking that one of us who has an answer could post the MD5 hash of it and see if anyone posts a different hash!

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    1. The only problem with this idea is that there are reverse MD5 hash lookup programs for common dictionary words and passwords. So we would need to add some "salt". My initial thought was to take the MD5 hash for "blainesville-xxxxx" (where xxxxx is the word in lowercase). But then the problem is someone could just write a program to generate all the MD5 hashes for the common 5-letter words.

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