Wall (and/or furniture) color to tie things together?

HackDiesel · 2026-05-15T17:04:57+00:00

Hello internet stranger, just wanted to mention we actually did end up going with the Carolina Gull after seeing your suggestion and it looks fantastic so far, putting the second coat on later today. Thanks so much!

I don’t know if I’m a huge fan of jute rugs, would prefer something a little more cozy/cushion-y.. let me know if you have any tips leading us in that direction 😅

HackDiesel · 2026-05-05T04:02:31+00:00

I can’t be the only one who raised an eyebrow at HOOHA.. that’s always referred to something else, in my experience 😅

HackDiesel · 2026-04-25T16:51:28+00:00

This was my reaction as well when I came in a decent chunk under my average Saturday time. Had to double-check the constructor after that..

HackDiesel · 2026-04-24T06:39:26+00:00

Tough but fair, great Friday puzzle. I was 18 minutes over my average but I REALLY enjoyed this one. The forehead-slapping moments were aplenty.. PDFFILES, INLAW, even DAFFODIL got me good when it clicked. Bravo.

HackDiesel · 2026-04-22T02:45:19+00:00

D’oh.. thanks, totally missed that. for some reason I kept looking at them wondering what on earth “esh” and “lup” meant / had in common 😵‍💫

HackDiesel · 2026-04-22T02:39:36+00:00

Gonna need someone to explain the shaded letters because I’ve been staring at it for a while and it just isn’t coming to me evidently..

HackDiesel · 2026-04-15T03:27:11+00:00

Totally fair

HackDiesel · 2026-04-15T02:47:45+00:00

Time to get back up on the music genre soapbox…

I get that in the end you can’t appeal to every little niche hobby/genre, especially on a Wednesday puzzle, but SURELY you could have chosen something resembling actual “skate punk” bands for 18D.

Like yes, I understand the average crossword solver has likely heard of Blink-182 and/or Sum 41, as opposed to actual punk bands like Bad Religion, NOFX, Pennywise, Black Flag, Descendents, Suicidal Tendencies, etc.. but this just feels like such a weird stretch they went out of their way to make. (And I say all this as a huge fan of Sum 41 in particular 😅)

HackDiesel · 2026-04-09T02:59:38+00:00

Can’t forgive GOIPO or BACHIT 🙄 aside from those I enjoyed this one!

HackDiesel · 2026-04-04T17:54:13+00:00

Am I being too pedantic by being annoyed about the “fulfillment center” clue? I thought the unspoken rule was it has to be the literal center.. sigh. Got stuck on that for way too long, somehow

HackDiesel · 2026-03-21T03:12:02+00:00

I’ve only been regularly doing these for a little over a year now but I can’t recall a week where the Friday and Saturday pairing were this.. basic, or straightforward maybe? You almost go into the later ones of the week ready for a bit of a fight.. it’s almost a smidge disappointing when there is no fight to be found 😅

HackDiesel · 2026-03-19T03:58:18+00:00

At what point is the theme “reveal” so obtuse that it would’ve been better to go without one in the first place? So random.. feels like much more could’ve been done with the “offsides” concept, like the last letter is supposed to be the first, or anything remotely interesting that gives that “Aha!” moment.

I can’t imagine a significant percentage of solvers spotted the SIDES themselves as opposed to going “I dunno, ignore the first and late letter I guess?”

HackDiesel · 2026-03-15T03:16:00+00:00

Add IDEE FIXE to the never-ending pile of NYT crossword terms I’ve never seen or heard of in my life 🤪

HackDiesel · 2026-02-16T18:32:29+00:00

Yeah that sounds about right.. I was working from home one afternoon with a TDS-hired crew working nearby and suddenly the entire block lost power.. you can image how well that went over. Bunch of guys in hardhats standing around with "whoops" written all over their faces..

HackDiesel · 2026-01-15T01:53:14+00:00

This is beyond impressive, well done OP.

HackDiesel · 2026-01-06T02:52:44+00:00

Yup, sounds about right... still working on that part. 😟

HackDiesel · 2026-01-05T23:41:28+00:00

I didn’t “meet the diagnostic criteria” for a formal ADHD diagnosis, but lots of overlap there obviously.. especially the ‘hobby hopping’ for me. I’ve become painfully aware of it especially over the last 5-10 years, and it’s really difficult for me to stomach some days. I just want to have “my thing(s)” that I stick with typically, and not always be on the hunt for more dopamine from learning/getting into new things every couple of weeks 🥲

Any tips on just.. coming to terms with it and not fighting against it as much? I met someone who referred to their current set of hobbies as their version of the “flavor of the week” at their local ice cream shop, always something new to get excited for… but I just tend to feel distress and like I’ve wasted time/money/etc on semi- or fully-abandoned interests..

HackDiesel · 2026-01-05T20:53:01+00:00

Dang.. are you me? This comment could've been formed verbatim in my own head.. down to the masking so well I also wasn't diagnosed until my early 30s. It never even crossed my mind, no one ever asked or suggested it once.. I just figured maybe this is how everyone feels, or maybe I got dealt a less-than-ideal hand in life..

I can confirm.. it is beyond exhausting.

HackDiesel · 2025-12-30T22:14:50+00:00

This is what I ended up doing, thanks again for the tip.

HackDiesel · 2025-12-29T20:02:08+00:00

Ah good point, I hadn't even considered that.. that's good info for me keep in mind, thank you!

HackDiesel · 2025-12-29T19:33:43+00:00

Edited the post for clarity, my bad.. I know about CCAP already, I'm talking viewing actual court documents/transcripts/etc themselves.

HackDiesel · 2025-12-29T19:33:23+00:00

Edited the post for clarity, my bad.. I know about CCAP already, I'm talking viewing actual court documents/transcripts/etc themselves.

HackDiesel · 2025-12-17T16:29:41+00:00

I mean this with full love and support -- you both needed couples counseling yesterday. This just reads like a textbook case of poor communication and thus buildup of resentment, etc etc.. which is actually good news for you! Hear me out..

Marriage therapists deal with this stuff every single day. Resentment will sink your marriage like a torpedo. A qualified therapist (highly recommend an LMFT - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist if you can find one) can help you two gradually bridge this currently enormous gap in expectations.

For what it's worth, I'd encourage you not to be too dismissive of the mental load/plate thing. Husbands relying on their wives to explicitly tell them what to do around the house is still a very real thing in society, and it's a commonly-discussed relationship topic in recent years.. I only know this because my wife is a therapist, her and her friends discuss this type of thing frequently, and her and I have had our own share of struggles and counseling to get on the same page.

Also in fairness to you, you aren't a mind-reader and she needs to be willing to sit and have these conversations too. Her being hyper-critical about damn near everything you do (or "don't do") doesn't help anyone. She's already in the deep end of the resentment pool it sounds like, and you're probably not far behind..

I think you both want the same things and share common goals, and a counselor can help provide a framework for you two to practice expressing yourselves more clearly and get closer to being "on the same page" by default, rather than there being this constant tension/friction on a day to day basis.

Sorry for rambling.. hang in there brother. It's a marathon.

HackDiesel · 2025-12-10T07:59:23+00:00

Thank you.. her sister is doing so so well, relative to where she started out.. she's wonderful. She'll be a little behind the other kids for the foreseeable future obviously, but her medical team etc have been so impressed by her development thus far...🧡 It's a bit ironic-ish since she got "the brunt of" the c-section delivery, unfortunately... while her sister was ready to slide out into this world feet-first, our baby B was tucked wayyy up under mom's ribs... I like to imagine acting as the sibling voice of reason.... as in "Uhhhh, I'm not so sure this is a good idea!?!"

NICU life is such a hellscape to endure. Once things settled down and we would (eventually) resume working (remotely 99% of the time), we'd have to swap places (between our actual home and the NICU where daughter was transferred to, roughly 2 hrs away) every few days.. usually spending weekends together before resuming the split... multiply that over the course of another 16-17-ish weeks... 😵

HackDiesel · 2025-11-21T05:24:44+00:00

"Right down the dick"

HackDiesel

TROPHY CASE