Crossword 15:57
That's about 10 minute faster than Thursday.
So, careful what you wish for. Was running another Zelda random seed, and fuck this seed. I was getting nowhere fast, so I finally turned to the spoiler, which tells you where everything is. Look:
Progressive Sword Locations:
Swamp Palace
Master Sword Pedestal
Mimic Cave (the one inside Turtle Rock)
Ganon's Tower
Mirror location: inside Turtle Rock.
You can't get into Turtle Rock without a sword (you need a sword to use medallions) and you can't get into Swamp Palace without the Mirror. Which means the first sword you can get is on the goddam Pedestal! Two pendants were in the Light World and I got them, but the the third is Ice Palace. I hate Ice Palace, and it's not made more fun by not having a sword. I have everything else I need: Bow & Silver Arrows both Rods, both Canes, Hookshot, Boots, Book, Flippers, Lamp, Cape. It would have been fun to watch a professional take this on, to see at what point they realized they were going to pedestal. Even if you find out a sword is there with the book, you really want to find a different one somewhere else. In all the races I've seen, Pedestal was only forced twice, and it was for something much more mundane than your first sword. Eventually, you get pushed there. You also find Cape in Ice Palace,and you need that to get the Boots, which are needed to clear Desert Palace, a Crystal. That fact might cause people to jump out of Ice as soon as they found that, hoping that the locations opened by Boots got them their sword. So, troll of a seed to play, but watching someone else struggle would be fun.
Friday, July 6, 2018
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
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.
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.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Crossword: 20:44 (1 Google)
5:40 a.m.
Pretty good Saturday time. Felt more like a Friday. I spent an amount of 4/20 drifting a bit. I fell asleep for s few hours, woke up at 9:30, made a throwaway post, and I'm up still.
I used to run the midnight prerelease. In New York City, it was never a real problem, with 24-hour eateries and 24-hour transportation. It was also easier when I was in my twenties. I still ran a few when I first moved out here, but I cnt really handle that shit anmore. I'm really looking forward to Dominaria, but if I went to a midnight prerelease, it would probably be finishing up right about now. And then what? Walk home? Go back 4 hours later and do it again? I lose my whole week. A midnight movie, I can still handle. A midnight tournament, forget it. Even with free cookies.
5:40 a.m.
Pretty good Saturday time. Felt more like a Friday. I spent an amount of 4/20 drifting a bit. I fell asleep for s few hours, woke up at 9:30, made a throwaway post, and I'm up still.
I used to run the midnight prerelease. In New York City, it was never a real problem, with 24-hour eateries and 24-hour transportation. It was also easier when I was in my twenties. I still ran a few when I first moved out here, but I cnt really handle that shit anmore. I'm really looking forward to Dominaria, but if I went to a midnight prerelease, it would probably be finishing up right about now. And then what? Walk home? Go back 4 hours later and do it again? I lose my whole week. A midnight movie, I can still handle. A midnight tournament, forget it. Even with free cookies.
Friday, April 20, 2018
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Monday: 6:21
Tuesday: 7:17
Wednesday: 11:12 (16 x 16 grid)
I should just not watch the Mets. When I first checked the game, we were down 3-0. I looked again later and it was 3-2, so I tuned to a stream. The Nationals promptly hit a lead-off triple into a sac fly. I wandered off to the store for a bit, and returned to the fading cheers from Yoenis Cespedes hitting a grand slam, capping a 9-run 8th inning. I missed everything.
Tuesday: 7:17
Wednesday: 11:12 (16 x 16 grid)
I should just not watch the Mets. When I first checked the game, we were down 3-0. I looked again later and it was 3-2, so I tuned to a stream. The Nationals promptly hit a lead-off triple into a sac fly. I wandered off to the store for a bit, and returned to the fading cheers from Yoenis Cespedes hitting a grand slam, capping a 9-run 8th inning. I missed everything.
Monday, April 16, 2018
Crossword
Sunday 53:22 (I did this one-handed, lying on my side in bed because I was lazy or high or something)
So, mostly good puzzle. Nothing too bad, and then you come to 39-Down: Proceed well enough. Answer: GO OK. See, but there's no space in the puzzle. It would have been trivial to turn those squares into MOOK, changing the linked AGENT to AMEND, and the OCT linked to the end to OCD, and avoid having a straight-up racist slur in your puzzle.
Sunday 53:22 (I did this one-handed, lying on my side in bed because I was lazy or high or something)
So, mostly good puzzle. Nothing too bad, and then you come to 39-Down: Proceed well enough. Answer: GO OK. See, but there's no space in the puzzle. It would have been trivial to turn those squares into MOOK, changing the linked AGENT to AMEND, and the OCT linked to the end to OCD, and avoid having a straight-up racist slur in your puzzle.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Crossword
Saturday 24:42 (1 Google)
Whew. Solved this one just a touch faster than Thursday and Friday, so a weird week for times all around. This puzzle worked pretty well. Nothing too obscure (I had to look up Urania, one of the Muses) or forced. If I were in charge, I would have swapped this week's Friday and Saturday. But they like to show off flashy grids on Fridays (because many fewer people attempt the Saturday puzzle), and yesterday did have a neat grid and a very low word-count.
Saturday 24:42 (1 Google)
Whew. Solved this one just a touch faster than Thursday and Friday, so a weird week for times all around. This puzzle worked pretty well. Nothing too obscure (I had to look up Urania, one of the Muses) or forced. If I were in charge, I would have swapped this week's Friday and Saturday. But they like to show off flashy grids on Fridays (because many fewer people attempt the Saturday puzzle), and yesterday did have a neat grid and a very low word-count.
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