Patterico's Pontifications

2/11/2019

Acrostic Number 1

Filed under: Acrostics,General — Patterico @ 7:59 am



I made a puzzle! Scroll down to solve it.

My father in law is a genius, and one of the most interesting people I have ever met. Over the years he has created different computer games and puzzles as a hobby. He has started sharing acrostic puzzles with the family. When he visited this past weekend, I asked him to show me how he does them. He has invented his own spreadsheet, which formats your puzzle, lets you know what letters you have and have not used, and has all kinds of formulas that provide you with useful information on how you are doing (like the consonant/vowel ratio). I got a copy of his spreadsheet and created my first one yesterday. Here it is (link to printable version below):

[pdf-embedder url=”https://patterico.com/app/uploads/2019/02/Acrostic-Number-11.pdf” title=”Acrostic Number 1″]

It’s two pages, so use the arrows at the bottom left to turn the page back and forth. (They appear when you put your cursor over the puzzle.)

If you’re unfamiliar with these puzzles, here are the rules.

The bottom part consists of clues, designated A through I. You read the hint for each clue and solve it. There are blanks with numbers under them, and each number corresponds to a number under the corresponding blank in the top part of the puzzle. Solve a clue in the bottom part of the puzzle, and you can start filling in the corresponding blanks in the top part of the puzzle.

For example, the first space in clue A has the number 132 under it. If the answer for clue A were “bedazzlement” (it’s not) then you would write in “bedazzlement” in clue A on the bottom, meaning you would write a B in the blank with the number 132 under it, an E in the blank with 101 under it, and so forth. Now you can find the blank with the number 132 in the top part, and fill in a B. You can find the blank with the number 101 in the top part, and fill in an E. And so forth.

The top portion of the puzzle is a quotation or saying, using the same letters as are used in the clues at the bottom. The top part is what you’re trying to solve. As with the bottom part, there are blanks with numbers under them. In the top part, each number is preceded by a letter, corresponding to the clues on the bottom part. This way, when you complete a word in the top part, it is easier to find the corresponding blank below.

For example, we established that 132 is the first letter of the answer to clue A. That means the number 132 in the top part is preceded by an “A” — just to tell you which clue has blank number 132.

For the top part, if there is no break in the numbering, the spaces connected by consecutive numbers are all one word even if they scroll to a new line. For example, 26G-33F here is an eight-letter word even though it scrolls to a new line. For the bottom part, each clue may consist of multiple words even though there are no blanks. (Clue A could be “bedazzlement” or it could be “ibetyoudowin” — or any combination of 12 letters, no matter how many words it is.)

Here’s a fun extra hint: the first letters of each correct clue in the bottom part, read in order starting with clue A on down, spell out the name of the person who said the quote in the top part.

Have fun!

P.S. I have displayed the puzzle above to intrigue you and get you to do it, but the best way to actually solve it is with pencil and paper. You can print it out by clicking on this link and printing the .pdf: Acrostic Number 1.

First to tell me the full exact quotes in the comments wins. Assume the comments section is filled with spoilers.

NeverTrump Conservative: Trump Has Earned My Vote In 2020 Election

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:36 am



[guest post by Dana]

This is rather surprising coming from Erick Erickson, who adopted the hashtag #NeverTrump in 2016 and subsequently voted third party in the presidential election. While admitting he still has concerns about Trump’s character (which hasn’t changed), he explains why he will be voting for him in the next election. He now says “there is much to like” about Trump and his policies.

President Trump delivered on tax reform. He delivered on regulatory rollbacks. He delivered on undermining Obamacare. He delivered on moving the embassy in Israel. He delivered on withdrawal from the Paris Accord. He delivered on withdrawal from the Iranian agreement. He delivered on shifting American foreign policy focus to the Western Hemisphere to deal with Venezuela, Cuba, and other hotspots. He delivered on solid executive appointments, including to the judiciary.

I have ongoing concerns on tariffs, the national direction on North Korea, and other issues, but even with George W. Bush I had issues. No President is perfect. Some are badly flawed. In 2020, we’ll be asked to choose between a set of sinners and must decide which direction we want to go as a nation.

I chose a third path in 2016 and the nation decided otherwise. Now, as we head into 2020, it is clear the paths forward are still between the Republicans and Democrats. The path of opting out or protesting now to me seems irrelevant as we have a President who is no longer a hypothetical against any of a host of Democrats who too extreme for the nation.

The contrast that he sees between the current administration’s direction for the country and that of the Democrats was significant in making his decision:

We have three years on which to judge President Trump’s administration and vision for the country. We also have lots of real world examples of where the Democrats want to head.

We have a party that is increasingly hostile to religion and now applies religious tests to blocking judicial nominees. We have a party that believes children can be murdered at birth. We have a party that would set back the economic progress of this nation by generations through their environmental policies. We have a party that uses the issue of Russia opportunistically. We have a party that has weaponized race, gender, and other issues to divide us all while calling the President “divisive.” We have a party that is deeply, deeply hostile to large families, small businesses, strong work ethics, gun ownership, and traditional values. We have a party that is more and more openly anti-Semitic.

The Democrats have increasingly determined to let that hostility shape their public policy. They are adamant, with a religious fervor, that one must abandon one’s deeply held convictions and values as a form of penance to their secular gods.

This seems to go to the heart of the matter for Erickson:

My friends in the center-right coalition who are flirting with Democrats are, more often than not, not really socially conservative. But I am. That party offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The President has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the President has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them.

I could stay home or vote third party as I did in 2016. But what will that get me? The ability to say “not my problem” or the self-assurance that I didn’t get dirty in having to choose? I have many Christian friends who, when I have discussed this, tell me I should just stay home and turn my back. Both parties, they tell me, are profoundly corrupt. And they’re right. But I am not looking for a messiah in politics and don’t have some religious sentiment tied to my vote. While I understand and accept the sincere conviction of some of my friends who have decided they will just sit out the process, I have decided otherwise. In 2016, we knew who the Democrats were and were not sure of who Donald Trump was. Now we know both and I prefer this President to the alternative.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0606 secs.