tmcay

A new crossword puzzle, "Two-Faced," is on the site.

Just a reminder: the crosswords are .puz files so you will need Across Lite to access them. You can download Across Lite for free here.

A new crossword puzzle, "Forgeries," is available (in AcrossLite format) here.

Need another Tuesday crossword puzzle? I uploaded one (in AcrossLite format) here.

I got an infection on my laptop computer yesterday. After a consultation at Microcenter, I decided that it would be a better to perform a factory-new system recovery as opposed to attempting to find the problem with a virus scan. I completed the recovery last night, and my laptop is running smoother than it has in years--A lot of processor-hampering garbage has accumulated over in the hard drive apparently.

Reloading software and drivers will take a day or two, but it's not a major hassle. The recovery was an opportunity to buy the CCWIN 8 upgrade which I had been meaning to do for a while. I also need to remind myself how to install supporting code for the handful of perlscripts that I run.

I could use some input on security software. Any recommendations re Norton or McAfee or something else? Is Spybot still worthwhile auxiliary download?

Need another Tuesday crossword puzzle? I uploaded one (in AcrossLite format) here.

Need another Thursday crossword puzzle? I uploaded one (in AcrossLite format) here.

Need another Monday crossword puzzle? I uploaded one (in AcrossLite format) here.

One of the regular posters to the Ryan and Brian do Crosswords weblog has tracked down an audio archive of a "Superman" radio adventure from the 40s titled "Crossword Puzzle Mystery." Ryan and Brian are posting the 13 episodes (each 15 minutes long) as a serial in their daily blog posts. The sound quality in the first episode is pretty bad, but it seems to be improving in subsequent installments. It's a fun diversion--campy, nostalgic, and just enough dubious crossword references to raise a smirk. I'd love for someone to track down a script to this adventure and arrange a readers' theater for ACPT. I can imagine stellavision or saxikath taking the part of Lois Lane and dramatically uttering, "Pardon me, but can you think of a nine-letter word starting with F meaning 'an ancient musical instrument'? It's terribly important!"

NPR's coverage of a political news story this week included a spolier for a current television series that I don't watch.

A number of listeners complained. NPR responded by running a navel-gazing piece about the spoiling of plot points in television shows after they air. A television critic brought on to comment about the subject used an example that included a spoiler for a non-current television series that I do watch.

Grr.

I caught up on DVR recordings this weekend and finally saw the episode of "Jeopardy!" featuring Will Shortz and the New York Times crossword constructed by BEQ. I noticed that the video clues featured Will at his computer working on the puzzle, and that portions of previously revealed grid entries were visible as the category progressed.

There was no guarantee that the players would have selected the clues in top-to-bottom order, so I figured that the video segments used in the broadcast were made in post-production once the selection order in the game was known. Though it would have been funny if the producers asked Will to do 120 different video clips.

I caught an episode of the new "Electric Company" on PBS.

Positives: I think the structure of an adventure story intercut with the short skits, animation clips, and musical numbers is workable. I found the intercuts more interesting, perhaps because they related more to the style of the original series. The reading/phonics/punctuation exercises were fairly traditional, and the silhouette sketch (with modern music replacing the "old soft shoe") was featured. There were a few pop culture references (An animated "24" parody with a husky-voiced dog named Jack Bowser), and the songs, written by "In the Heights" composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, were clever.

Negatives: The cast, mainly children, appears to have strong singing and dancing skills (and beatboxing skills in one case), but not much range for humor or comic character creation. I don't expect anything as strong as J. Arthur Crank or Julia Grownup to emerge from the ensemble. The writing, aside from the songs, struck me as a bit thin, with not enough to engage the parents viewing with their children. The strong hip-hop influence of the music background was solid, but left me wanting a bit more variety. Maybe I would need to see more episodes to make a fair criticism on that point.

Oh, and Paul the Gorilla makes appearances, apparently.

Mom and I went out for dinner last Friday. While leaving the house, I had some trouble with the door. I tried several times but couldn't get it to close. Then I got an idea. I stood beside the door and asked mom to try closing it. She managed to close it on her first try.

Mom was a bit surprised that she had succeeded where I had failed, but then I explained to her why I initially had trouble and how I indirectly helped her while she closed the door. With the situation fully explained, mom commented, "Maybe we should have planned a later dinner."

[Part of a conversation from last weekend, featuring Martha and Ian]

Martha: What premium channel TV series are you watching now?

Todd: I only have basic cable, but through Netflix I've been watching "Big Love" and "Rome" and "Dexter."

Ian (jumping in): I like "Dexter."

Todd: Uh..you watch "Dexter," Ian?

Ian: Yes

Todd (dubious): What is the show about?

Ian: Dexter works in a lab, and he does stuff with his sister.

Todd (a bit disturbed): Uh, do you watch "Dexter" at your dad's house?

Ian: No. He doesn't have the Boomerang Channel anymore.

I really should have figured out our communication mix-up a lot earlier, but I'm very impressed that Ian was able to come up with a plot synopsis that works for both "Dexter's Laboratory" on Cartoon Network and the very-not-appropriate-for-a-seven-year-old series on Showtime.

Last night's Oscar telecast was good--not great, but good. I liked most of the musical sequences, especially Queen Latifah singing "I'll Be Seeing You," but found the "movie musical" tribute disjointed and weird. Other postives: the opening number, Fey and Martin, and the Apatow film. Other negatives: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and the lack of any upsets.

Unlike most of my colleagues, I had mixed feelings about the acting-award presentations by the former winners. I was initially excited to see a new approach, and while many of the orations were moving others struck me as generic and treacly. Melissa Leo and Richard Jenkins got the "you're not going to win, but you're wonderful and now at least people know who you are" treatment. I think the idea would have been more successful if the orations were all focused on the specific performances with fewer allusions to the actors' personalities and previous work.

I've put all five best picture nominees in my Netflix queue. I'll probably be able to see all of them by mid-May, when I can personally decide if "Slumdog Millionaire" deserved its laurels.