Tuesday: 13:53 (15x16 grid)
A little slow, even with the oversize grid. There was a gun theme, and the author of the official Times crossword blog recused herself from writing about it (geez, it's just a puzzle), so Will Shortz filled in. He actually talked about the clues that he changed, which almost never gets talked about. Shortz says that usually about half of clues get reworded or reclued completely, although the number for this puzzle was low enough that he was able to talk about specific examples. Interesting stuff, if you're into that kind of thing.
My obsession with Link to the Past Randomizer has not abated, to the point that I just recently played my very first. There's an easy mode, but I played normal, similar to the tournaments I watch on YouTube. The seed I got was pretty swift. I was hoping or something a little tougher, to be honest. Not that I cherish a seed with a wicked forced route, but after Uncle gave me the Cane of Somaria, I found the first sword in the very first chest. The first guard I killed after that gave me an 8 bomb drop, so I didn't need to worry about that either.
By the time I left Kakariko, I had the Master Sword, Book, Flippers, and over 400 rupees. The Floodgate got me both Tempered sword and Boots. Mini-Moldorm got me money for Zora, and Zora sold the Flute. I fluted up to Death Mountain, and the Ether tablet had Hookshot, right on time so I could explore the whole thing (got mostly nothing but money and hearts). I got the Gold Sword in Desert Palace, the first dungeon I went to. The Gloves did troll me for a while. I was forced to defeat Aghanim to access the Dark World, but once I muddled my way over to the Village of Outcasts, Thieves Town had the Gloves, and Skull Woods had the Mitts and the Hammer. Bow was in the Mire Shed, while Silver Arrows were right next door in the Checkerboard Cave, right on time for wrecking the boss (although Gold Sword is pretty effective too) I was never forced to double-dip (although I did so with Eastern Palace, when looking for the Gloves). I suppose I'll finish this seed up tomorrow, but I want to try again, get a little more of a challenge.
