Anybody else hear Nick Offerman’s voice in their head while reading his comments? Bravo and brava to our authors.
@CookieWookiee Yes. I did! He writes so much like he talks that it just happened.
@CookieWookiee Yes, and only that would eclipse hearing David SEDARIS's voice after 41D. "Little elf, little elf..." "Away in a manger..."
Best constructor’s notes of the year? Nick Offerman FTW. (Oh yeah, and he hammered out an awesome puzzle, too.
@Sam Lyons AWL-time best constructor's notes!
A hard Wednesday for me. Like others mentioned, too much trivia, proper names, and clues that didn't flow like normal.
@Martin I'm sorry if I'm being something that rhymes with the most foul thing you can think of, but "...clues that didn't flow like normal." Isn't that the very essence of a puzzle? It doesn't flow like normal? In baseball it's called a curve ball.
ANTEGG crossing with GOB was my sticking point. Had MOB And had never heard of Thai tidbits anywhere near the right letters.
@LY I had MOB first too but once I had ANT I had to reconsider what three letter ant part they might eat and outside of ARM couldn’t think of anything, so found another option
@LY For me as well. I searched long and hard for my mistake(s). The final one was changing mOB back to GOB, which was my original guess. I thought ANTEmG certainly sounded Thai enough, to my linguistically challenged ear.
@LY Me too, but I finally found it thanks to Nick Offerman's notes!
Great puzzle! And really great constructors' notes. I did this puzzle while having a screwdriver and boy did I get hammered! Don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but Nick Offerman is also a master carpenter, and that crack of his about making a Greene & Greene inspired thingy for your Craftsman bungalow wasn't just him blowing wind up your pantaloons, he actually can! And does! He's even said that all that acting and film stuff gets in the way of his being a carpenter. Dude!
@john ezra That really fits with Offerman's small role in "The Good Place", where he appears in the final episode as one who teaches Tahani to make beautiful furniture. "I have nothing else to teach you." No laughs (that I can remember) but just perfectly cast. Offerman has an amazing on-screen presence. His turn in the second season of "Fargo" was incredible. I can't seem to get into "Parks and Rec", but his character was indelible.
@john ezra yesssss! I loved the competition “Making It” that he had with Amy Pohler!
Well DRAFTBEERS and DPLUS made perfect sense to me…
@Marcus Oh, wow! That is a scary reasonable combination.
@Marcus A D plus is a middling grade? Okay then.
@Marcus Yup, lost my streak after scouring the grid for mistakes and not finding this one.
@Marcus that was my last square to fall, on flyspecking. I have to admit that "C" makes both answers better than "D", but it took me too long to see it.
@Marcus it was the thing I had to correct to get the music in the end.
Much harder than a typical Wednesday. Too much gamer slang for me. Am I going to have to become a gamer to do crosswords now? Crosswords are what I do INSTEAD of gaming.
@Matthew in WeHo If we can do it without taking up baseball, you can do it without taking up gaming. :)
Mesmerizing tool with which to measure twice before you cut once? MAGNETIC TAPE Love it when the puzzle is funny and the constructor’s notes even funnier!
@Cat Lady Margaret brilliant themer!!
I've been at it for 23 minutes now - that's my usual Thursday/Friday time - and the grid is still 30-40% empty. I have to go to work in a few minutes. I wonder if I will be able to complete the grid, especially without lookups. Dotted with trivia, clued on a wavelength my brain just can't tune into, with a theme that still eludes me after getting one of its entries - it's proving more of a challenge than some Saturdays. I'll get back to y'all on my progress or lack thereof. For now here is Lucek the puppy on his longest walk yet, in Warsaw's Las Kabacki (Kabacki Forest; Kabaty is a place name, once a village, now a subdivision of the Ursynów district): <a href="https://imgur.com/a/LF8ZZwP" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/LF8ZZwP</a>
Ok, finished now. It took just 2 more minutes - looking at the grid after a break made all the difference. Still... Sheesh! Personally this was way harder than a typical Wednesday, for reasons described above - multiple trivia entries and clues that didn't work perfectly for me, plus a theme that had a random element to it, making it hard to deal with it. Did I like it? Not really. I didn't hate it either though, which is high praise from me 🤣
@Andrzej. Beautiful dog, if a bit serious looking
@Susan He is 5 months old so still in his "I'm learning about everything around me" phase - this is his "intense concentration" face. He's looking towards a slightly odd old man pushing a buggy. Even I'm intrigued by the scene 🤣 That being said, he is quite serious for a puppy, at times. He does have crazy moments, when he gets the zoomies, say, but he is much calmer than Jorge the Lab was at this stage. The breeder warned us about this: "There is nothing wrong with him. That's just what poodles are like - calm and collected." Well, she was not wrong 😃.
@Andrzej As I was filling up the grid, I was thinking you and me would not be on the same wavelength as Nick Offerman for this puzzle. It's somewhat comforting to see that I was right. Thank you for the photo of your puppy, it is always appreciated!
@Andrzej King of all he surveys, I would say! What a lovely scene!
@Andrzej Gorgeous pup! Thanks for sharing the pic. As far as the puzzle goes, I can't imagine trying my hand at a puzzle in Polish, filled with Polish cultural trivia and misleads. Hats off to you for your fortitude and skills, and keep the pup pics coming.
Great collaboration! A fun and punny puzzle that had me groaning and laughing out loud. Nick Offerman is a national treasure. Nick for President! His slogan can be “Vote N.O. For Less Drama, More Comedy.”
[Exemplary utensil for getting the angle right?] PERFECT SQUARE
@Lewis Instrument for not being such a square in marriage? LOVE TRIANGLE
@Lewis I thought you were still MITERing..
An abbreviated version of David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries" was a staple of NPR's "Morning Edition" every year around Christmas for at least a decade. (Just as Susan Stamberg's cranberry relish recipe was featured on "All Things Considered" every year around Thanksgiving). But the full 30-minute version of "Santaland Diaries" is worth hearing. It's by turns sardonic, witty, and moving (and definitely racier than the version played on NPR). Here's a link to the full version from the podcast "This American Life" back in 1996: - <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/47/christmas-and-commerce/act-two-22" target="_blank">https://www.thisamericanlife.org/47/christmas-and-commerce/act-two-22</a>
@RichardZ I will never forget the day in December, early in the morning, when my family and I were driving from Vermont to Michigan for Christmas and Santaland Diaries came on. A complete unknown to us and most of the world, he gave us one of those rare moments when everyone in the car was laughing so hard I almost had to pull over to maintain control of the car. (The other such incident was hearing Bob and Ray's visit to a paperclip factory. <a href="https://youtu.be/H_J5i-7D7PY?si=_txzVs9_jy35ViWq" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/H_J5i-7D7PY?si=_txzVs9_jy35ViWq</a>)
Solved it but it was a slog. ANTEGG, crossing INRUN, LORDJIM crossing EAMES and JIGGETYJIG. Very natticky.
Never ran into more terms I didn’t know than today! I’m exhausted
Love Nick Offerman. Appreciate the work done by Christina Iverson. This puzzle largely Wasn’t It™️ The theme was inane and its answers were largely unsolvable on their own merit (heck, even with the crossing clues, how was one meant to decipher some of those). And before you comment, dear readers — hi, yes, I’m sure you had no problem. Cookie for you. It’s still bad. :) LIBRA is a CRAZY answer for that clue. Scale works much better. That whole middle top box felt largely impenetrable. Again, hi, hello, you want another cookie? The majority of this was fine, if a little uninspired. But the lows lowed for me in a way that the highs never highed. 🍪🍪🍪
@D Not to demean your overall opinion at all, but I thought the “sign” part of the LIBRA clue (“sign” of justice) made it a pretty inspired answer. Otherwise I can see how this puzzle could be a bit polarizing. I was definitely off-put by a few things but overall enjoyed it.
This workmanlike puzzle was quite apt after Sunday’s measure twice, cut once themed extravaganza. At first I thought I was screwed and that the puzzle was going to drive me nuts, and that didn’t auger (yes I know it’s spelt differently) well, but I chiseled away, and voila success. I’ll file this one away for future reference. Crosswords are my only vice. I loved noted chairman for EAMES. My parents had an EAMES chair knock off in our living room when I was growing up. In an odd decorating choice our living and dining room were mid century modern, while the rest of the house was Ethan Allen colonial.
@Marshall Walthew I'm parked at the computer in an EAMES chair knock off! I enjoyed this puzzle quite a lot. I got almost to the end, and thought I was going to need to cheat. But I sweated out the intersection of "FRONTLINE" and "BOSS LEVEL" and heard the loud triumphant music (forgot to turn the volume down after last night's audio streaming). (I'd wanted to put in 'faultline'.) I love the creator's witty commentary, (and your witty comment, too!)
I've traveled to Thailand. I live a few blocks from Thai town in LA. I've eaten at dozens of Thai restaurants. I can't say that I've ever encountered ant eggs. I'm not saying they're not a thing. I'm just saying that "popular tidbit" might be a slight overreach.
@JD It depends on the part of the country. While living in the northeast region as a peace corps volunteer I did have my fare share of “ไข่มดแดง”/red ant eggs.
A lively word-playing fun theme, a revealer that brings a “Hah!”, the magnificent JIGGETY, its abutting splendid NERFED, another tool (AWL) in the box to echo the theme, and as icing, Nick’s fabulous frenetic notes – what a GAS! When the outing goes beyond being a satisfying fill-in and brings joy into the equation, when it jumps from being not only clever, but entertaining as well, it’s one of those moments where I’m not joining a standing-O because everyone else is doing it, rather, it’s one of those moments where I’m the first to rise and begin the standing-O. Brava and bravo, Nick and Christina! You took me from neutral to vroom, from chill to jiggety, and set me bounding into my day. Thank you so much for this, and encore!
me: nick offerman? wait, do they mean THAT nick offerman? wordplay: Nick Offerman (yes, that one) bro get out of my head ( ˶°ㅁ°)!!
Regarding the LLAMA controversy, an earlier comment got eaten by emus so I’ll try again: let’s go to the definitive source, Ogden Nash: The Llama Ogden Nash The one-l lama, He's a priest. The two-l llama, He's a beast. And I will bet A silk pajama There isn't any Three-l lllama.
@SP Just FYI- THEONELLAMAHESAPRIEST is 21 letters. And, so is... THETWOLLLAMAHESABEAST And those were both answers in a Sunday puzzle from February 3, 1991 by Jeanne Wilson with the title: "Want Tibet? Peruve it!" And.. OGDENNASH was also an answer. Here's that xword info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=2/3/1991&g=40&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=2/3/1991&g=40&d=A</a> ....
Love ya, Nick, but don't quit your day job.
@Dan aww really? I loved it!
New category for WordPlay's end-of-year best-of awards: Constructor Notes?
Chewy for a Wednesday. Good stuff.
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig, Home again, home again, JIGGETY JIG! Thank you, Grandma V for that nugget.
@Grant I see 24A as a cheat, because the first word is, as far as I can tell, is never used in a different context than the nursery rhyme and without the second word. MODEL, BOSS and QUITE our full real words with versatile lives. Good luck typing JIGGETY with spellcheck on without having it turn it into Jiggery. Otherwise, a puzzle of great fun, with one of my favorite clues in a long time,3D. Also, Mr. Offerman‘s brief essay here was delightful, reminiscent of early Woody Allen.
@Grant Dang never heard that nursery rhyme... no wonder that one took me forever.
Guess I’m alone here - I thought this was miserable. LIBRA (sign of justice?) crossing INA and ANTEGG (which also crosses NERFED, JIGGETYJIG, and GOB). So many obscure proper nouns - ELIHU, IBSEN, AEGIS, ONSTAR, EAMES. It’s no fun when nothing “clicks” and you’re just relying on guessing letters for blank squares.
@Cody You're not alone. I managed to complete the puzzle but it brought little joy. The fill was full of arcana, the theme seemed a bit meh. I feel for you.
"So many obscure proper nouns - ELIHU, IBSEN, AEGIS, ONSTAR, EAMES." Cody, If you found all of them obscure, I too feel for you.
@Cody AEGIS is not a proper noun.
-- continued from earlier -- Pardon the observation, but there’s a fair share of complaining about generationally biased clues, as though “how dare they reference something before my birth year!” So? As a younger baby boomer I’m mildly annoyed by the terms relating to memes, internet, texting, gaming, rap artists, and woke-ism. But it all contributes towards understanding my Gen Y kids and their kids, and gives me that false sense that we “boomers” are actually relevant. And it keeps me from shaking my fist at the sky. During my last few years in the tech industry, I found myself working with lots of GenX and GenYers. I couldn’t help notice their lack of historical knowledge, movie trivia, literary quotes, who Jimi Hendrix or Miles Davis were, etc. It felt like they were saying “Life started with me, why should I care what happened before me?” Why not do what we all do and learn the past and you’ll appreciate the present more, and build a better future. One day, you too will no longer be relevant and nobody will have ever heard of yeet, yassify or nerfed. On a positive note, watch S2 of Fargo, Nick does Nick very well… true to form. Well, lemme go chase these kids off the lawn. Again, I mean no harm, I’m B+
@Jerry All the fad talk for every generation washes over us in waves. Some of it sticks and some of it doesn't, and where you are and when you're there has a lot ot do with it. There was a gap for me between high school graduation when I was 16 and the university when I was 21. I titled my first freshman English theme "The Orange and the Yellow," for the ad scheduling sheet at the newspaper where I had worked as a general slave, and I had never heard of Stendhal's "The Red and the Black," much less read it. The prof who was teaching the class was excited about what I had written, and said, "It's like Kafka!" I had no idea who he was talking about. Those five intervening years had taught me a lot about the workaday world, and the university taught me more about the rest of it, and it was all different. A vast span of artists, their periods, their palettes,their styles, from Giotto to Giacometti, were the gift of a brilliant high school art teacher and far outstripped anything my new university pals knew about art. On the other hand, for other reasons, I was a complete dolt about so much, from differential equations to a lot of hot music, and I still am. But I love words like yeet, yassify and nerfed, even when I don't know what they mean.
@Don Vito Very well-crafted, Don Vito. My parents’ generation were all about Jackie Gleason, Marx Bros, Abbott&Costello, Lawrence Welk (gag), Spike Jones, Mitch Miller and Gang, Andrew's Sisters, Les Paul/Mary Ford, Isaac Stern, James Cagney movies, you get the drift. I was fascinated by most of their “stuff,” and still am. Technically, Elvis and Carl Perkins weren't my generation, nor was Bogey/Bacall, Victor Mature, Johnny Weissmuller or Errol Flynn. Still in all, great pioneers of their craft. I didn't balk at the significance of “their” culture, I was enamored by it and just accepted it. Of course, later on in life, “my” generational stuff took its place. It’s all part of the landscape we build for ourselves. The high school teachers (class of ‘74), God bless them! The professors, eh, bless most of them, but great learning tools. (That didn’t come out right, sorry) A few observations by my former workplace GenX/Yers: The Eagles: “Why would I listen to music by a bunch of birds?” (I didn't mention Byrds, lest their heads spin ala The Exorcist. Raiders of the Lost Ark: “Why would I watch a movie about some random guy with a whip?” I heard one of them play a Led Zeppelin song, and I gave props. The response: “Led who?” Me: “The Imigrant Song… Led Zeppelin.” Them: “SRSLY? It was in a movie I saw. Never heard of them.” Dig? Dig what? No, yadig? Ooooohhh okaaaaaay boomer. Peace, brother, and thanks for the perspective.
Longest Wednesday solve for me in ages, and the most I've struggled on any day for many months. ELIHU and ANTEGG were real problems for me, as I was happy with MOB for 30A, never got comfortable with the answer for 24A though I had it correct, and kept going between SWORD and SCALE for 4A which is fairly amusing. I like the idea of the theme, but the prefix words kind of threw me for a loop, particularly 24A and 36A, leaving me without confidence that I knew what was going on. All that said, it is fun to imagine Nick working on this, and the tool theme is a great nod to him!
Since the Eames couple were a team, only a clue of "Chairman or Chairwoman" would seem acceptable.
@Hugh A more devious clue (but probably inscrutable to most) would be [Ray Charles combo], as his name was Charles, and hers was Ray.
I saw the constructors names and immediately went to Xwordinfo to see if it was “that” Nick Offerman with our beloved Christina Iverson and lo and behold it was! Then of course I read Deb’s column upon completion and she confirmed my suspicions as well 🤓 I believe Parks and Recreation was the brainchild of the staff of our Parks and Rec department in El Segundo where I used to live and the real director at the time was Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman’s character namesake). One of my favorite shows. My husband is also a fan of Nick in The Last of Us. As for the puzzle, I’m seriously impressed. Is there nothing that Nick can’t do?! Cheers to Christina for taking him under her wing. This really made my day. 🤩
@Jacqui J I meant I read Sam’s column… Deb had commented that the link had been fixed and then her name got stuck in my head. Proofreading helps 🤦🏼♀️
watch me now! watch me now! orderly formation to smooth a rough edge: SINGLEFILE global network to get into a groove: INTERNETROUTER alcoholic hole puncher: VODKAGIMLET this crossword construction stuff is easy peasy.
@Matt All cute but the tricky part was to find entries that expressed superlative features (JIGGETY JIG being a little stretchy that way, admittedly).
was so excited to see that Nick Offerman contributed to a puzzle! …and then I tried to play it. I legitimately looked at my calendar wondering if I somehow had the date wrong, because I thought surely this couldn't be a Wednesday crossword. so. much. trivia.
Being a connoisseur of history WWIIVET was a gimme. Enjoyed 17a QUITE A BIT. For some reason unknown to a lover of CRAFT BEERS it took me a while to figure it out. Also enjoyed M(lies) P(er) G(allon) crossing the gas in Amigas and model plane. A bit of irony there. Very well crafted puzzle.
I can't ever remember throwing in the towel on a Wednesday, but there were enough obscure (to me) answers--"inrun," "eames," "brb," and even "antegg" (I suck at food questions)--that I had to hit Reveal and not feel too bad about it.
@Jeff Z Here's my advice: hit Google instead. No one will ever know. I found ANT EGGS there. Yuk.
Worst puzzle in weeks! Not fun at all.
Brutal for a Wednesday. I was pleasantly surprised when I filled in the last letter and didn’t have to hunt down any errors. Ended up finishing almost 5 minutes over my average. Really enjoyed the puzzle, though, except maybe for “jiggety jig.”
Hi all, The link from the puzzle page to the Wednesday column has now been fixed. Please refresh the puzzle page and click away to your heart's content.
@Deb Amlen What about the link under the NOTES in the Android Games app? (On the same page as the date and constructors' name.)
In re: the mini, 1A is just plain wrong. In computing if you are differentiating laptops, Macs run MacOS and PCs run Windows. Chromebooks run neither, so the clue (“Chromebooks but not MacBooks”) is nonsensical.
@Chet I agree 1A is not valid but for a different reason. All MacOs, Windows, ChromeOS devices are PCs (Personal Computers), but only Windows devices would be referred to as IBM PCs in the old days.
@Chet While both being "personal computers", the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" commercials from 2006-9 featuring Justin Long (Mac) and John Hodgman (PC) differentiated the separate computers/OSs over that time frame, and popularized the separate Mac and PC labels, even though both systems were using Intel processors at the time. Chromebooks came along later, and use ChromeOS, but use the base Intel/AMD processors and the computers that use it are stripped to basic functions PCs. I think the clue is good enough—they don't have to be completely accurate, accurate enough for most people to get the right answer.
@Chet I agree, Chet, and I don't quite understand how the constructor and editor got it so wrong. If a Chromebook is considered a "PC" because it is a Personal Computer, then so is a MacBook. If a MacBook is not a PC because it doesn't run Windows, then neither is a Chromebook.
Fun puzzle! Loved the clues and the constructor’s notes. So kudos to Nick Offerman and his Sherpa, Christina Iverson. Of course, Parks & Rec will remain a favorite of mine. Does anyone else remember his Nick, the plumber, character on a 2001 episode of Will & Grace? He and Karen Walker (Megan Mullally, now is real life wife) played a hilarious scene. Chemistry.
Haven’t even started the puzzle- but I had to come to the column to confirm the co-constructor was indeed *that* Nick Offerman. Was already looking forward to this solve as it’ll be my 2000th Times puzzle solved (not as a streak- that’s in the mid 600’s). Will come back post solve to see how I fared!
@Jessica just shy of 15 min and what a fun solve that was. I was massively helped along by knowing Nick was a skilled woodworker (largely thanks to Making It!) and being relatively familiar with the wood shop I was able to get the theme pretty quickly. Refreshing, but I could see this becoming a slog for those unfamiliar with the referenced tools.
Clue: Noted chairman? Me, without hesitation: RON SWANSON!!! Since I couldn't make any variation of his identity fit, I could only conclude that this was the original answer but was changed after he demanded that any personal information be redacted. Classic Ron!
Following up on yesterday’s soccer/futbol/football/fussball and Rx zealots, my imagination places me in a doctor’s office/surgery. The doctor is treating the patient with a serious injury from a recent match on the field. You see, the player was a victim of a slide tackle, and is very upset that the referee produced no card. The doctor reminds the athlete “That was a penalty and didn’t require a card.” A much heated discussion ensues. The doctor finally concedes and proceeds to write out a Rx for pain medication. When asked “What’s this?” The doctor replies “It’s a scrip for some pain meds.” Player: “A what? You mean script!” Doc: “No, a scrip. Player: Everyone knows it’s a script!” Doc: “Read the script, it’s a scrip!” Apologies, there was no way to end that one, much like yesterday’s lunchtime learning session. I mean no harm. Carry on.
@Jerry, Thanks for this! 😂😂😂
I’m a big Nick Offerman fan, but I’m an even bigger David Sedaris fan! I certainly hope that it was Nick who decided to incorporate Mr Sedaris in this puzzle. I recalled that the unlikely duo collaborated on the audiobook version of Lincoln in the Bardo. And David Sedaris has mentioned in several of his essays his love of crossword puzzles.
@The X-Phile I saw a live performance of The Santaland Diaries. It was basically a recitation of the whole thing by an actor. I couldn't believe his memorization skill!
@The X-Phile I read "Lincoln in the Bardo" on the recommendation of several friends. It was the worst book I've read in many years and I read /lots/ of books. What did you find to like?
I've enjoyed the occasional episode of Parks and Rec, but I'm a member of team Offerman thanks to his stunning Emmy-winning appearance on The Last Of Us. I still remember this paragraph from the NYT recap of the episode: ====== It’s frankly remarkable that what is ostensibly an action-horror series could make time — in its third episode, no less — for an alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking short film about companionship. It’s as though the opening montage from the movie “Up” were extended to about 45 minutes and then dropped into the middle of “World War Z.” ======== Who would have guessed he could also co-construct a crossword? It seems like he can do anything he puts his mind to. Thank you, sir. For all of it.
@Bob T. Excellent observation. I loved Parks & Rec (skip season one, imo) and Offerman’s beautiful character portrayal in Last of Us is even better when you have the comparison. I loved season one of the Last of Us, but Offerman’s focal episode is the one that sticks with me. For this crossword however, Ron’s voice is loud & clear. IF he would ever tease about woodworking!
Like other folks mentioned, this was much, much tougher than usual for a Wednesday. That said, it was fun, and learning Nick Offerman collaborated on this one was an extra treat. Sam Corbin's intro and Nick's humble commentary were entertaining too! I'm looking forward to more collaborations like this one!
So much fun and a bit of a challenge for a Wednesday And here's an unlocked link to an article about Nick that was posted a few days ago. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/style/nick-offerman-woodwork.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tk8.QuIC.U7korArU8HPc&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/style/nick-offerman-woodwork.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tk8.QuIC.U7korArU8HPc&smid=url-share</a>
LeveR/aRttext seemed plausible for way too long.
@Jessie That cost me my gold star. And I think it's a legit Natick. Art Text sure sounds like an image description, and a lever is definitely a tool. And oddly, this year I've blue-starred one Thursday and one Friday, but today was the third time a Wednesday defeated me.
@Jessie Looked all too plausible to me also. That's the mistake that did me in.
I was very intrigued this morning when I saw one of the puzzle’s authors. Such a renaissance man! I’m a newby to NYT CW (had to work my way to the top!), and certainly not a crossword expert like some of these guys, but I really enjoyed the puzzle. I had to look up a few, but I generally do. Thanks for a fun exercise!
@Diann Welcome to what can only be considered the most interesting forum on earth! Jump in anywhere.