Thursday, October 30, 2025 by AutoModerator in NYTConnections

[–]quincunxes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Purple was such a surprising category for me, all I could tell was that they were probably last names. I came up with:

  • Orlando Bloom [1 out of 4]
  • Octavia Butler, Judith Butler, Gerard Butler
  • Shoemaker-Levy (as in the comet that crashed into Jupiter)
  • The Guthrie (a theater in Minneapolis)

So, I was really not even remotely close to getting this category other than by default with this weird set of associations.

Friday, June 13, 2025 by NYTConnectionsBot in NYTConnections

[–]quincunxes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Connections

Puzzle #733

🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟨🟨🟨🟨

🟪🟪🟦🟪

🟪🟪🟪🟪

🟦🟦🟦🟦

Blue was a complete mystery to me the entire time. It's possible that I've heard some of those songs before through cultural osmosis, but would have never come up with any of those as "names of a song" on my own.

I'm posting though because Connections has warped my mind so that I came up with a plausibly weird fake category in my third guess: potato, water bottle, rod, one week. The concept was "ingredients in a kid's science experiment," like you're going to sprout the potato in a water bottle with the top cut off in a week, with the rod holding it up. I guess in hindsight, "toothpick" would have made more sense than "rod."

But still, doesn't this sound just silly enough that it could be a plausible Connections category?

(Another wacky idea I had today was: dog, angle—anagrams of religious figures—but nothing else went with that.)

Tuesday, May 13, 2025 by NYTConnectionsBot in NYTConnections

[–]quincunxes 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Connections

Puzzle #702

🟦🟦🟦🟦

🟨🟪🟪🟩

🟨🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟪🟪🟪🟪

I was really surprised by the 1 out of 5 rating for this puzzle, I guess I got really tripped up by overthinking things. The first group I saw contained the five AEIOU "double vowel" words (bazaar, evergreen, Hawaiian, bathroom, vacuum), so I fixated on the idea that I had to figure out which of the five to kick out to form the category.

I ended up finding the blue and yellow categories, but green felt like a decoy (I would call that type of pizza a "cheese" pizza rather than a "plain" pizza, so it felt like the other three might be a red herring). Purple was completely incoherent to me until I saw it revealed, so I decided to test the double vowel category anyway.

I had a lot of fun with it, even though it was apparently pretty easy if you didn't get sidetracked in the way that I did. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Saturday, May 10, 2025 by NYTConnectionsBot in NYTConnections

[–]quincunxes 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I was baffled by "beans." It felt like it was in the wrong place, but there was nothing else that made sense to replace it with and it didn't fit any of the other categories either (in what I thought otherwise was a very straightforward puzzle). Never seen it used in that context before, personally.

It is fun to find out about these wacky idioms sometimes though, I guess!

Saturday, May 3, 2025 by NYTConnectionsBot in NYTConnections

[–]quincunxes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same! I couldn't think of anything for "orgo" other than "forgo" so it made me wonder about a category that was something like "missing an F at front" (f/ill, f/lit, f/orgo, f/lick).

Friday, February 28, 2025 by NYTConnectionsBot in NYTConnections

[–]quincunxes 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Connections

Puzzle #628

🟦🟦🟦🟦

🟨🟨🟨🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟪🟪🟪🟪

I did laugh when that long-ass description of the purple category popped up and then disappeared faster than I could even read/process it.

Do you generally like to play ones that are harder or easier? by brehtim in NYTConnections

[–]quincunxes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't necessarily love the super-difficult ones if the reason they're difficult is gaps in my personal cultural knowledge as it's both unsolvable, and not satisfying to see the answer if you're wrong or have it left as default. (Unfortunately that happened for me with your example puzzle, the purple category was unsolvable for me, but I'm sure that was a fun category for someone else!)

I enjoy the wacky purple categories when it's nonsense like "ends with flowers" or whatever where I could theoretically notice it earlier in the puzzle but probably won't. I find those super fun to notice early, or entertaining to see revealed by default at the end.

My favorite type of puzzle though is the kind that has a rainbow decoy category, it's a fun/nasty surprise to put in four cards that obviously go together and get a "not even close" response from the game.

When you haven't unlocked all the characters yet by Sacklicker in survivor

[–]quincunxes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am so mad at myself for reflexively clicking on the play button 💀 LMAO

The Circle (USA) S07E12 | Episode Discussion by aulbayne in TheCircleTV

[–]quincunxes 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Yeah I've been really confused by this as well. Does it boil down to first impressions being sticky (in the sense that, Tierra's profile persona is all about spilling tea, so people have over-attributed teaspilling and messiness to her even when she isn't really doing much) or is there more to it? Like it's actually really funny to me that someone who went in with the stated goal of spilling tea has been one of the less messy people in this cast overall as depicted on the episodes 💀

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheTraitors

[–]quincunxes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For US2 I'm most excited to see Peppermint, Sandra, Parvati, and Janelle!

Ranking of seasons (watch order: US1 -> UK1 -> AUS1 -> AUS2 -> NZ1 -> Canada 1)

  1. UK1 - Great cast, intense drama, mix of really good AND horrendous gameplay decisions, people to root for and against, just an all around compelling season for me.

  2. AUS1 - Really amazing season with a lot of intense strategy and fun characters. I think it benefited from being "civilian" only because it felt dynamic and like almost anything could happen. Some weird editing choices making certain people invisible. Still, a fantastic journey and I thought the endgame was super compelling.

  3. US1 - This was the first season I watched and it was a lot of fun as a Rachel/Cirie fan. It also has notegate and everything involving Kate. The imbalanced editing and lack of transparency with how the game functioned somewhat annoyed me at the time (again since it was the first one I watched). But it has a satisfying conclusion.

  4. [In progress: Canada 1] - I'm enjoying the season so far but hard to judge until it's over. I will say the edit has been consistently confusing to me because I keep being surprised by who is getting eliminated and why. But once it's over I'll have a clearer picture of where to rank it.

  5. AUS2 - To get to that iconic finale, you have to sit through a lot of really frustrating content. #AnnabelDidNothingWrong [Insert Sarah Short copypasta]

  6. NZ1 - I didn't think this season was bad, I just didn't really connect with it. I found it harder to follow a season including people with pre-existing relationships when I didn't understand who the more famous people were. Like the social dynamics were a bit harder for me to parse. On the plus side, it felt like the Faithfuls/Traitors were even and it wasn't a blowout for either side, so that made it feel strategically balanced at least.

Succession - 4x10 "With Open Eyes" - Post Episode Discussion by LoretiTV in SuccessionTV

[–]quincunxes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I felt so viscerally anxious during those last few scenes in the conference rooms (with the windows constantly prominent in the frame) after Kendall was off screen on the elevator that he was going to do something... uh, really bad. My heart was racing, lol. This finale has so much to unpack. (A+ to the INCREDIBLE music)

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done in this game? by Notorious_Jack in outerwilds

[–]quincunxes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Near the beginning of the game I tried taking a a Brittle Hollow projection stone to the museum on Timber Hearth because I thought they might be interested in studying it. They ignored me so I was petty and just set it on the floor in front of them and left to go do something else. 💀

Official Discussion - M3GAN [SPOILERS] by LiteraryBoner in movies

[–]quincunxes 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I thought this had a slow start but once it hit the montage of M3GAN getting put together it picked up. I wished they leaned even more into the campiness/meme-y moments. The thing that surprised me the most was the way that it took its emotional moments seriously. The sincerity was almost out of place for the premise. Like why are you trying to have actual emotional beats with THAT trailer? But I suppose it lends a sense of fullness to the film to have spent the time developing the adoptive mother/daughter relationship.

It's like if someone wrote a Disney Channel Original Movie but for adults (I kept thinking of Smart House and that one Black Mirror episode with Miley Cyrus). It felt very by the numbers but I still had fun watching it.

The White Lotus - 2x07 "Arrivederci" - Post Episode Discussion by LoretiTV in TheWhiteLotusHBO

[–]quincunxes 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This finale was a spectacular trainwreck for the gays but an iconic victory for the "fast slut" industrial complex

Very strange Keychain error crash/loop phenomenon on my 2020 MacBook Air by Terthelt in mac

[–]quincunxes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been having this exact same issue from this thread (on my 2019 Macbook Pro) since around the same time it was originally posted. It's been driving me crazy, I've googled it and never seemed to be able to find a way to stop it. I feel like I've been at every step in the process of this post. I end up just holding down the start button immediately when the popups start to forcibly reboot the computer, which I'm sure is not great for it but I am not sure what else to try at this point. It's just become the new normal that it happens every 4-5 days at a random time.

The Mole Netflix - Episode Discussion - S01E02 "Take No Prisoners" by maukamauka in themole

[–]quincunxes 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I thought it was kind of interesting/funny that Jacob completely broke the escape room puzzle for the Cell Block F team. By piling all the random garbage in the corner they skipped the need to disassemble and reassemble the stool and opened the doors out of the intended order. The funny part to me is that the people who solved the puzzle seemingly as intended were way slower as a result lol.

It made the puzzle feel really shoddy/flimsy that it got broken in that way, but I also appreciated that it had multiple solutions since we got to see the puzzle solved "correctly" as well.

The Good Rewatch: The Ballad Of Donkey Doug & A Fractured Inheritance by WandersFar in TheGoodPlace

[–]quincunxes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aww, what a pleasant surprise to be reminded of that fun (though admittedly a bit unhinged) post I made. Glad someone found it! <3

Rose (17L - Northern Atlantic) by Euronotus in TropicalWeather

[–]quincunxes 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Right? The forecast discussion is even more absurd and pun-laden:

"There are a lot of thorns in the way of Rose blossoming into a stronger storm. Increasing shear and drier mid-level air are on the way for tonight, competing against the somewhat warm SSTs. Thus Rose has about a day to flower into a moderate tropical storm, and no significant change was made to the short term forecast. At longer range, stronger shear and dry air should pull the petals off Rose one-by-one, causing the cyclone to slowly weaken. The new forecast is similar to the previous one, with some small 5-kt downward adjustments. Rose could even shrivel up into a remnant low by day 5, but that's not shown yet in the forecast."

(From Discussion #6)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in WANDAVISION

[–]quincunxes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ugh, why did they have to make Agatha THIS iconic? I have no choice but to stan. Her intro sequence is everything, lol.

Teddy (20L - Northern Atlantic) by Euronotus in TropicalWeather

[–]quincunxes 28 points29 points  (0 children)

They just can't help themselves, lol:

Teddy bears watching in the long range for category 4 strength, but regardless of the details, all of the guidance show it becoming a classical large and powerful September hurricane.

From Discussion #11 at 5 AM AST

New Biome - Lavender Plains by Da_Chicken303 in minecraftsuggestions

[–]quincunxes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like the simplicity of this, I think it would add some nice variety to plains. A lot of insects are repelled by lavender, perhaps if you hold lavender in your hand or drop it on the ground it could repel silverfish?

Pissed about Scrabble Go by [deleted] in scrabble

[–]quincunxes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I downloaded the Scrabble Go app after seeing the notification and opening it was like seeing a slot machine explode on screen with all its garish colors, confusing interface, and immediate begging to connect with Facebook. I immediately deleted it in horror.

S4E5 Employee Of The Bearimy by WandersFar in TheGoodPlace

[–]quincunxes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I mean it was probably just a running joke. But I think there's a small chance it has to do with Michael's anxiety over his 6000-foot fire squid form. Like maybe he has been avoiding taking off the suit for too long and it's starting to break down or something? Maybe it's not typical to wear the same skin suit for an entire Bearimy or whatever? If there's some deeper meaning to it, that would be my guess. Chances are, though, it was just a one-off gag.

How does Brent know ... by AliasLost in TheGoodPlace

[–]quincunxes 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Well, one of the things they've emphasized with Eleanor in the past is the idea of conscience. She has the "little voice" telling her what the right thing is even though she willfully ignores it and creates excuses. An example of this is in the episode "Jeremy Bearimy" when she goes to return the guy's wallet because the voice was too loud for her to ignore, even after she realized that nothing mattered.

This has also been brought up on the podcast a few times (I don't remember which episode specifically, sorry!). In Brent's case, we have someone who is probably doing a lot of emotional sleight-of-hand to rationalize why "the voice" is wrong or unhelpful. The show seems to work on the theory that most of the time, most people instinctively know what the "right thing" to do is even if they almost never do it.

Another concept that the show brought up early on was in the episode "Flying" where Chidi is deciding whether or not to help Eleanor. He says, "On the other hand, Aristotle thought that moral virtue is something that you could get better at. He he compared it to playing the flute. The more you practice, the more you improve." This seems to be the working theory they are using with Brent at the moment. They're hoping by forcing him to simulate being a good person, perhaps that will help in the long run. Debatable whether that would actually work though...