Quick Cryptic blogging (Week 2)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Well, I think we had a very successful week, considering the short notice and influx of new bloggers. In fact that “considering” seems inappropriate – it was just a very good week of blogs, with twice as many as usual. Huge thanks to new volunteers ianb21, macavity123, nick_the_novice and william_j_s for taking the plunge, and special thanks to jackkt for tackling No. 1 for us. It’s a shame that the Times have not seen fit to include the new puzzle in the Crossword Club, although I can see why as it only has a few months to live anyway. They probably got rid of all the guys who’d know how to reconfigure the legacy software.

So the schedule for Week 2 looks like this now:

Monday: mohn2
Tuesday: chrisw91
Wednesday: allan_sidcup
Thursday: OliviaRhinebeck
Friday: pipkirby

Can I ask a favour of all bloggers of the Quick Cryptic – to make searching easier in the future, I’d like to suggest a title format for blog entries (similar to that used at fifteensquared for puzzles with named setters):

Quick Cryptic N by Pseudonym [- some optional comment]

I imagine after a few weeks/months certain Quick setters will get their own followings, or somebody’ll want to track down puzzles by certain setters, and this will just make that easier. Thanks to Niall MacSweeney (former blogger here, now a regular setter at the Independent and FT) for the suggestion.

22 comments on “Quick Cryptic blogging (Week 2)”

  1. Well done Andy too, for getting all this organised in double quick time..

    Now might be a good time to review some of the supporting pages for TfTT. The bloggers biogs need expanding to include the new ones, and maybe should be separated out onto a page of their own, with their own link at the top of the page, and perhaps on the rhs as well ..

    1. I’ve been looking at that this morning, wondering a) what to do, and b) how I’m going to find the time to do it!
  3. I still think blogging the quick cryptic’s a bit of an anthill. Still, if people get something from it…
    1. What is your problem? It needn’t affect you, so please leave others to do as they see fit.

      Edited at 2014-03-17 08:48 am (UTC)

  4. No problem. Do you have one with an innocent comment merely drawing attention to a pattern of behaviour?
    1. I do when it seeks it seeks to pour cold water on the efforts and enjoyment of others.
  5. I just wonder if there isn’t something a little compulsive about the blogosphere in general. I know this sounds superior and I apologise for that. But it may be worth taking a step back now and then to look at our efforts, and enjoyment in them. After all, the global fraternity spell cast by the net needs a bit of standing back from, at times, and even making the odd comment, doesn’t it?
    1. You may have a point, Joe, but give us a break. It’s clear that, so far at least, the new puzzle has brought new life and commenters to the forum, and I know several people who for years I’ve been trying to get interested in the Times Cryptic but always considered it too daunting to attempt, who are now doing the new puzzle daily, and I hope in time will feel confident enough tackle the big one.

      I’m sure there are many more deserving targets for your scepticism. There are lots of activities that the masses enjoy but I consider a complete waste of time so I simply choose to avoid or ignore them.

      1. I’ve been really enjoying the blogs. I’ve never been able to do the Times cryptic but I hope with the blogs for the quick cryptic and time I should be able to build up to it. So thank you!
        1. Thanks for your support and I hope you will feel encouraged to join in the discussions. It would be nice if you registered with Live Journal (it’s free) and acquired a user name, but if you don’t want to do that you could put a name or initials at the foot of your Anon messages so that we can distinguish you from other Anons.
  6. I’d be prepared to volunteer blogging for alternate Fridays, but haven’t yet located an online version to solve, it’s not in the Crossword club yet?
    1. Well I have found it now after logging in to the real TImes site, but can’t see how to print it except by screen capture, which is messy. Am I missing something obvious?
      1. Unfortunately, no, you’re not. That’s what it is at the moment. There’s another way which jackkt has mentioned before, but I don’t have access to that myself. If you have a full paid sub to the Times Online, you should be able to get it from the facsimile edition of the paper, where there is a print option.
        1. They are apparently still working on the software, so hopefully a print option will become available soon. Are you willing to start blogging this Friday, trusting that access will become easier over time?
  7. Yes. Is there a time by which the blog has to be posted? Is there anything I need to do except log into LJ as me? To start a new title?
    I can do this week but not March 28th.
    1. Ok, can you send me a personal message with your email address and I’ll send you some more details. I’ve now added you as a posting member of the Community. You’ll get an email from LiveJournal which you’ll have to reply to. Once you’ve done that, when you login you’ll see a “Post to Community” link at the top.

      Welcome to the team.

    1. Nothing happened to them. It’s a live prize crossword – the blog for 25735 will appear on Saturday morning.
  9. I’m really enjoying the blog and have finally given myself a name. I’ve been trying to crack cryptic crosswords for years and finally this quick format has given me a way in. I was so pleased to have finished my first one last Wednesday only to fail miserably the following two days. It was good in a way that others found the same although I still feel very inadequate when people write it was harder and took as long as, say, 10 minutes! I hope practice really does help…..!
    1. Welcome, xeno. It’s the enjoyment of the solve that’s most important so don’t worry too much about the time taken, although you’ll undoubtedly see an improvement with regular practice. Looking forward to seeing more of you around here.

      Edited at 2014-03-22 08:36 am (UTC)

    2. Welcome aboard – you’ve come to the right place! One of the great features of this forum is the extensive range of abilities and experience in play here.

      I am a relative newcomer (just been hanging around here for a couple of months) and very much at the bottom end of the solving capability spectrum – hence my handle! – but enjoying it enormously and benefiting from the insights and encouragement of the senior pros.

      Like any leisure activity, it is ultimately about enjoyment and the feeling of satisfaction when you solve a tricky clue. I’ve also recently taken up golf, and there are some close parallels. I know I will never become a single digit handicap player, but when I play a couple of holes to par I’m dead chuffed. My aspiration is to get to a handicap of 18 (which in crossword land might equate to getting the main cryptic out every other day – and on the days where you don’t, getting maybe half of it done). That, for me, would be a great achievement.

      By the same token, there are some folk here who are the crossword solving equivalent of Tiger Woods. But the great thing is we all belong to the same club, chat together, and respect and encourage each other. Wonderful thing.

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