There's only one puzzle left in the Tournament before the finals and I'll have lots to say about the experience when I get back to Seattle. The short version is that it's been fascinating and I'm met many extraordinary people. It's really opened my eyes to a universe I've only glimpsed from afar, and I completely understand why so many people get hooked.
I raced through the Sunday NYT puzzle, Forward Thinking by Patrick Blindauer and Tony Orbach (answers) which means I may still have some bugs in my solution. I've already re-posted after the first error. The answers sure look professional with the new design, though, so perhaps I'll regain some of the lost marks with a Good HTML Penmanship award or something.
The funniest clue of the tourney so far comes from Merl Reagle who pushed the envelope with an Ella Fitzgerald song style clue that wouldn't make it into any of the major dailies. I'll leave the details for later in case you're working on these from home.
I don't want to jinx anybody but some people whose names you probably know are doing very well heading into the final rounds. These people really are the best in the world at what they do, and if you read this blog, at what you do too. It's a thrill to watch them at work.
Update: I checked the Sunday answers and also circled the key squares to make it easy to see how the theme logic flows down the page. It's a clever and original gimmick. In a nice coincidence, co-constructor Patrick Blindauer walked away with the E Division championship trophy at the tournament today!
