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Author Topic: Win $1,000 if you can finish this crossword puzzle  (Read 633 times)

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Offline Neil Obstat

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Win $1,000 if you can finish this crossword puzzle
« on: November 13, 2018, 08:52:10 PM »
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  • .
    Actually there are 2 puzzles.
    One for Skunkworks Blackbird SR-71 & F-117A Stealth Fighter, and one for Lockheed B-2 Stealth Bomber.
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    https://www.coasttocoastam.com/pages/michael-schratt-files
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    Links to each puzzle on that website page, OR just click on these, below, OR download the 2 attached .pdf files, below.
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    PUZZLE 1

    PUZZLE 2
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    Offline Neil Obstat

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    Re: Win $1,000 if you can finish this crossword puzzle
    « Reply #1 on: November 13, 2018, 10:03:03 PM »
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    Sorry, I tried to make the crossword puzzles appear on the CI thread but couldn't make it happen.
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    But they're uploaded as attachments so you don't have to rely on the source website;  they're now on Matthew's server.
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    The clues are all too difficult for me. There was just one clue I thought I would know the answer for, but it's 3 letters too long for the 18 spaces.
     The given clue is "UFO" and I thought it should be UNIDENTIFIEDFLYINGOBJECT but it would have to be UNIDENTIFIEDFLYINGOBJ I guess.
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    But I have no idea what the intersecting words would be:
     HB WINDSHIELD WAS COATED WITH THIS  --- 10 letters long (Do you know what "HB" means? That's a drafting lead hardness designation! )
     BEN'S FRIENDLY RIVAL  --- 10 letters  (Ben refers to Ben Rich, Lockheed Skunk Works General Manager from 1975 - 1991)
     WE CO-LOCATE _______ _______   --- 27 letters  (Co-locate? Is that like bilocation? Or beam me up, Scotty?)
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    I thought 66 Down would have been "BUILD" but it needs 6 letters:
     "IF YOU CAN THINK OF IT, WE CAN ______ IT"
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    ETC.
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    The clue numbers are in order in their lists, Across and Down, but on the puzzle grid they're all mixed up.
    Don't know if there has ever been a CROSSWORD PUZZLE published that has this much confusion inherent in the puzzle grid.
    All the Crossword Puzzles I've ever done had answer boxes numbered from top left to bottom right, like you read a book in English.
    I thought about this problem when I was driving on the freeway today, while traffic was boring.
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    Solution I came up with:
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    1)  PRINT OUT A COPY OF THE CROSSWORD GRID ON OVERSIZE PAPER, 11 x 17 (DRAFTING SIZE B STANDARD SIZE USA)
    2)  FILL IN THE FIRST BLANK SQUARE FOR EACH FIRST LETTER OF ANSWERS WITH STANDARD NUMERALS BEGINNING AT THE TOP LEFT
          CORNER AND PROCEEDING ACROSS TO THE RIGHT FOR THE FIRST GRID ROW, THEN GO THE THE SECOND GRID ROW, ETC., ALL THE
          WAY DOWN THE PAGE TO THE 53RD ROW (THERE ARE 53 ROWS IN PUZZLE 1) -- WHEN FINISHED YOU WILL HAVE EVERY CLUE'S 1ST
          LETTER ACCOUNTED FOR
    3)  MAKE A 3-COLUMN PAGE ON "A" SIZE PAPER (8-1/2 x 11) WITH NUMBERS 1 - 39 ON THE LEFT, 40 - 79 IN THE CENTER AND 80 - 116 ON
          THE RIGHT -- THIS IS YOUR REFERENCE SHEET
    4)  FIND THE CLUE NUMBER FOR SQUARE #1 ON THE PUZZLE GRID (IT IS 95D FOR 95 DOWN) WRITE IT AFTER "1" ON YOUR REFERENCE
          SHEET, THEN SQUARE #2 (IT IS 46A FOR 46 ACROSS) WRITE IT AFTER "2" ON REFERENCE SHEET, THEN SQUARE #3 (100D), THEN #4
          (67D), THEN #5 (109A), THEN #6 (112D) -- THAT'S THE END OF GRID ROW 1 -- NOW MOVE TO GRID ROW 2, WHERE SQUARE #7 IS
          15A, #8 IS 78D, #9 IS 76D, ETC., UNTIL ALL 116 CLUES ARE ASSIGNED A REFERENCE SHEET LOCATION
    5)  USE THE REFERENCE SHEET TO LOCATE WHERE THE ANSWER TO EACH CLUE IS FOUND ON THE PUZZLE GRID -- YOU CAN ALSO 
           RECORD THE NUMBER OF LETTER BOXES THAT NEED TO BE FILLED IN BY EACH ANSWER ON YOUR REFERENCE SHEET.
     
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    All of this listing won't help you if you have no idea how to answer clues like "BUILT THE '_____' FOR THE GLOMAR EXPLORER" or "MAN WHO FOUND THE STEALTH 'ROSETTA STONE'" or "IF THEY SENT OSHA TO THE ______ THEY WOULD GO TO JAIL."
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    BTW, OSHA is an acronym for Occupational Safety & Health Administration, which is a federal inspection authority within the Department of Labor, that sticks its nose into manufacturing and construction operations to write citations for safety violations, for stuff like not having a grounded third conductor on the office clock on the wall, or for a guard rail being one inch too high or too low along a workman's scaffold system, or for having the surface of a concrete floor too smooth so a worker might slip and fall if it ever gets wet. Contractors and assembly system managers hate OSHA like you cannot describe with decent language.
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    .--. .-.-.- ... .-.-.- ..-. --- .-. - .... . -.- .. -. --. -.. --- -- --..-- - .... . .--. --- .-- . .-. .- -. -.. -....- -....- .--- ..- ... - -.- .. -.. -.. .. -. --. .-.-.


    Offline Neil Obstat

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    Re: Win $1,000 if you can finish this crossword puzzle
    « Reply #2 on: November 13, 2018, 11:33:58 PM »
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    If you think you can find out the answers to these clues, and you want to have a shot at the prize money, don't delay. 
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    You only have until Sunday, Nov. 18th, that is, 11:59 pm Sunday evening PST (6:59 am Monday Nov. 19th, UTC). 
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    If you have the answers right now, type them into an e-mail and send them to Michael Schratt at his given address, right away. 
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    Whoever submits the correct answers first wins the $1,000 cash, or perhaps both prizes.
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    .--. .-.-.- ... .-.-.- ..-. --- .-. - .... . -.- .. -. --. -.. --- -- --..-- - .... . .--. --- .-- . .-. .- -. -.. -....- -....- .--- ..- ... - -.- .. -.. -.. .. -. --. .-.-.