My name is Reverend_Smitty and I'm a crossword puzzle addict

[Reverend_Smitty]

For series I can't stop doing them. I re-discovered the habit a few months ago when I had some down time at work and now a day doesn't go by when I'm not working on the daily puzzle. It's a great way to kill time at work because I put it on a clipboard and if an administrator walks in it just looks like I'm doing paperwork. Hell I even have a "dealer", one of my co-workers brings me a puzzle every day without fail.

But I won't do a crossword puzzle on the computer, there's something about using the pencil and the feel of the newsprint that a computer can't replicate.

Any other crossword puzzle addicts out there?

[SallyMander]

1. Hi Reverend_Smitty

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem... :D

j/k!!! I am also a total crossword addict. I love love love them. And -- in case you need to justify your habit -- people who do crosswords are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease!

http://www.newstarget.com/004403.html

:hi:

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. woo hoo

and if my boss has a problem with it, I can tell him that I am just trying to prevent Alzheimer's disease...surely he doesn't want me to develop such a horrible illness?? :P

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. I dunno about 'addict,' but...

I do at least one every day, usually from the Washington Post. I print 'em, too, because there's just something more... I dunno, satisfying about actually writing the solutions on paper.

Note: If Bob Klahn designed the "Sunday Challenge," it's gonna be a mofo.

I e-mailed him once. Called him a "magnificent bastard." He took it as a compliment. :)

[Reverend_Smitty]

4. I must try some of these Bob Klahn puzzles you speak of...

I loves me a challenge. They are perfect for this time of year when all that is going on is basketball and wrestling practice and yet I'm stuck inside the training room for 8 hours all alone. Sometimes I feel like the Maytag repairman

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. Klahn's the trickiest bastard I've encountered

There was — dammit, there's gotta be a word for "crossword puzzle designer" — someone who designed 'em years ago for the San Francisco Examiner's Sunday magazine who was almost as eee-vill, but Klahn knows all the gambits and employs them with singular expertise. I dunno how many times I've chuckled in appreciation after finally getting one of his particularly vague clues. Dude's the master, far as I'm concerned.

[SallyMander]

6. Sounds like fun!

Have you guys seen Wordplay? Totally dorky documentary about crossword puzzles. Interviews with famous puzzlers (the Big Dawg and Jon Stewart among them), Will Shortz, and some crazy footage of competitive crossword tournaments. You should check it out!

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. Was that on PBS or somethin'?

I saw somethin' like that a month or so ago. I think they interviewed Klahn, too, but I may be mistaken.

[SallyMander]

8. It could have been

We actually rented it because we're dorks :D

http://www.wordplaythemovie.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492506/

[Reverend_Smitty]

10. I went and saw it in the movies

yep, I'm a dork too. But it was a really good movie!

[VenusRising]

14. I totally wanted to see that!

Thanks for reminding me.

Wow, do we have lots of things in common. :hi:

[SallyMander]

16. Series!1!1!!!!1

Separated at birth...??? :D :pals:

You should definitely rent Wordplay -- it's funny to see the celebs talking about crosswords, and the competitive people are UNREAL!


This weather is making me want to sleep aaallllll daaaaay...

[VenusRising]

22. I know it.

We just started a fire in the fire place. That's not going to help my sleepiness much. :eyes:

:pals:

[Oeditpus Rex]

24. Well, you're just a lazy butt, aren't you?

:P

[VenusRising]

25. Not as much of one as you are.

I still haven't gone to sleep. :P

Did you get any work done today? Huh? Huh? Huh?!?!?!

:hug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

26. As a matter of fact

I just finished painting the street. :P



Wait — you've been up since last night? :wtf:

[VenusRising]

27. You painted the street?!

What color does one paint the street? Does it have an accent color? Or is it just monochrome?

No, I went to sleep last night, got up this morning, and have not been back to sleep.

In other words.....No NAP! :P

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. ...Color...?

Shit. x(

[VenusRising]

31. All that wasted time and energy.

I was going to ask how you handled the intersections.

It seems like a good place for plaid.

[SallyMander]

32. "It seems like a good place for plaid."

:spray:


:yourock: :loveya:

[VenusRising]

33. I would definitely take notice of plaid intersections.

Wouldn't you?

:rofl:

[SallyMander]

36. Absolutely!

But it would be SOOOO embarrassing if my car clashed with the color scheme... :rofl:

[VenusRising]

40. White or Black goes with everything.

I'm screwn!1!111!!!1!

I have a commie CRV. It's red.

[Oeditpus Rex]

35. I was gonna do plaid

But when I went to Ace and asked for five gallons of plaid paint, they just looked at me funny. :shrug:

[VenusRising]

38. You were wearing polka dots weren't you?

They probably thought you would clash with the paint.

[Oeditpus Rex]

39. I haven't worn polka dots since 1969

They clash with paisley. x(

[VenusRising]

41. Ooooooohhhhh.

I like paisley.

But not with plaid.

[Oeditpus Rex]

42. You weren't around much in the '70s, were ya?

[VenusRising]

45. I was born in '76.

My memories of the 70s are barely congnizant.

[SallyMander]

29. Good idea!

We have a fireplace but not much wood right now... hmmm... perhaps i will send MrMander to get some. }(

I think we're gonna stay in and watch The Nightmare Before Christmas tonight! :woohoo:


Edit for smilie disfunction :silly:

[VenusRising]

30. If you send him for wood...

don't forget the marshmallows!! :bounce:

We're staying in for sure. We already ventured out. Sawmill was a PITA today!

I have no idea what we're doing, but I'm sure we'll find something fun to do. :evilgrin:

[SallyMander]

34. Double good idea!

You are on a roll! :D

Talk about PITA... i had to go out to Easton last night for a friend's b-day dinner. Took us 30 minutes just to park! :grr: That place is a creepy faux-town hellhole of consumerism...

[VenusRising]

37. You are a Saint!!!

I never ever ever go to Easton. It freaks me out to no end. Just the amount of people! :eyes:

Yum for marshmallows! :9

[Reverend_Smitty]

9. Even trickier than Will Shortz the "don" of the puzzle world?

That dude's Sunday NY Times offerings make my head hurt

[Oeditpus Rex]

11. I haven't seen a Times crossword in years

They tend to be too uppity for my tastes, with clues such as "Gregorian-style recipe for crab cakes described in chapter six of 'Paradise Lost'."

[Reverend_Smitty]

12. lol that's why they make my head hurt!

[triguy46]

13. I love the sunday NY times...

During the week I work collections of old ones as practice. When I get a new one I know I'm going to have a good evening. Don't work any others, just the Sunday. I'm very close to this level of committment with the Mepham group Sudukos. The others just don't stack up, even though Michael Mepham died a year ago, his legacy lives.

[VenusRising]

15. I love them, too.

When we moved I found about 10 crossword puzzle books scattered around the house. :rofl:

:hi:

[graywarrior]

17. I'm an internet mahjong addict.

What a colossal waste of time.

[Reverend_Smitty]

18. I play majong on pogo.com all the time

I swear I could earn a PhD in time wasting :)

[graywarrior]

19. It has gotten more frequent lately.

I'll stay up til 2 am playing the free ones, which probably repeat the same set up over and over and over. And I never win. Well, maybe once.

[Reverend_Smitty]

20. my "addiction" flares up right around the time a paper is due

I'm not sure if it is a coincidence or not but my desire to visit time waster game sites increases right at the same time I need to sit down and get work done :P

[graywarrior]

44. Yeah, mine flares up when I have to make decisions.

[deucemagnet]

21. I do the Yahoo daily crossword every day,

as well as their sudoku and word find puzzles. I actually like doing them on the computer more than with a pencil. I think that the timer appeals to my competitive side. :)

[hippywife]

23. Here, too.

But I do them on-line at the Washington Post, Newsday, and LA Times. I usually don't do them until I have some down time on Sundays because I like the more difficult puzzles. I do have a puzzle book next to the bed that I work sometimes, tho. :hi:

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

43. NY Times. Every day.

I've been addicted since 1990. It's so bad that when we moved to Ohio for two years, and the local paper didn't carry it, my mom mailed them to me every month. I don't find the Sunday crossword nearly as hard as Saturday's--just longer! Always fun to meet fellow addicts!