Category: Ryan Patrick Smith

Bill’s time: 12m 35s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Classic sci-fi collection whose title should not be construed as any sort of statement from me, the human author of this puzzle : I, ROBOT

Science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a marvelous collection of short stories titled “I, Robot” that were first published together in 1950. In the stories, he makes repeated reference to the Three Laws of Robotics, which he introduced in the story “Runaround”, first published in 1942. The three laws are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

11 “2001” computer who honestly got a bad rap for standing up for himself : HAL

In Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” (famously adapted for the big screen as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) the computer system that went rogue was called HAL 9000, or simply “HAL”. HAL stands for “Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer”. Even though Clarke denied it, there’s a good argument that can be made that the acronym HAL is a veiled reference to IBM, the big player in the world of computing at the time of the novel’s publication (1968). The acronym HAL is just a one-letter shift from the initials “IBM”.

14 “Night of the Living Dead” director : ROMERO

George A. Romero was a film director noted for making satirical horror films such as “Night of the Living Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead” and “Day of the Dead”. Ugh …

15 Adam’s apple locale : EDEN

There is mention in the Bible of both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Apparently there is some debate over whether or not the two trees are one and the same.

17 What this puzzle is definitely not, having been created by me, a real and true human being : AI GENERATED

Artificial intelligence (AI)

20 Headwear for Indiana Jones : FEDORAS

A fedora is a lovely hat, I think. It is made of felt, and is similar to a trilby, but has a broader brim. “Fedora” was a play written for Sarah Bernhardt and first performed in 1889. Bernhardt had the title role of Princess Fedora, and on stage she wore a hat similar to a modern-day fedora. The play led to the women’s fashion accessory, the fedora hat, commonly worn by women into the beginning of the twentieth century. Men then started wearing fedoras, but only when women gave up the fashion …

The title character in the “Indiana Jones” series of movies was born Henry Jones, Junior in Princeton, New Jersey. He adopted the nickname “Indiana” because that was the name of his dog when he was growing up. George Lucas, who created the character, used to have an Alaskan malamute dog named Indiana.

21 Two, for the binary number system : BASE

We use a base-ten numbering system, with ten digits (0 – 9). The binary system, or base-two, uses just two digits (0 & 1). The binary system is used at a fundamental level in computing, because the number 0 and 1 can be represented by microcircuits being switched “on” or “off”.

22 Member of a raunchy chorus, in some ancient plays : SATYR

The satyrs of Greek mythology came with a very high sex drive. They are the “rude” male subjects drawn on the side of old Greek vases. The nubile maidens known as nymphs were often an object of attention for the satyrs.

28 Financial report abbr. : YTD

Year-to-date (YTD)

43 What often has a heart beat? : SPADE

In most trick-taking games, especially bridge, the suits are ranked from highest to lowest, i.e. spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs.

45 Draw alternative : STUD

“Stud poker” is the name given to many variants of poker, all of which are characterized by the dealer giving each player a mix of cards face-down and face-up. The cards facing upwards are called “upcards”. The cards facing downwards are called “hole cards”, cards only visible to the individual who holds that particular hand. This gives rise to the phrase “ace in the hole”, a valuable holding that only the player with the ace is aware of.

46 New Haven collegian : ELI

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest university in the US. Originally called the Collegiate School, it was renamed to Yale University in honor of retired merchant Elihu Yale, who made generous contributions to the institution. Yale University’s nickname is “Old Eli”, in a nod to the benefactor.

48 Portugal’s ___ Miguel Island : SAO

São Miguel Island is the largest island in the archipelago known as the Azores. It is known locally as “the Green Island”.

50 T or F: Abbr. : ANS

An answer (ans.) might be true (T) or false (F).

51 Data processing framework inspired by (and honestly, arguably superior to?) the human brain : NEURAL NET

It used to be that “neural network” was just the name given to a network of nerve cells in an organism. In the modern world, the term “neural net” (short for “neural network”) also applies to virtual or electronic devices designed to mimic the function of the human brain, and in particular learning from past experiences.

56 Howler Down Under : DINGO

The dingo is a wild dog of Australia. It is thought to have originated from domesticated dogs that were brought to Australia with humans that settled the land centuries ago.

Apparently, indigenous Australians would sleep in a hole in the ground alongside their tame dingoes. On a cold night, they would huddle up to two dingoes, and if it was really, really cold, it was a “three-dog night”.

58 Little hellions : IMPS

A hellion is a mischievous and wild person. “Hellion” is a North American term, one probably derived from the word that we use for the same thing on the other side of the Atlantic, namely “hallion”.

61 “The Matrix” character who pretty much ruins everything : NEO

Neo is the character played by Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix” series of films.

62 Assessments I would pass with flying colors — if I had anything to prove, which I don’t, since I’m human : TURING TESTS

Alan Turing created the Turing test in 1950 as a way of checking a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from a human. The essence of the test is an evaluation of a text conversation between machine and human. The evaluation is carried out by someone who only knows that one of the conversants is a machine, but not which one is which.

66 “Dawson’s Creek” character Lindley : JEN

The television show “Dawson’s Creek” is described as a teen drama. The story revolves around a group of teenagers and follows them through high school and college.

68 Bologna is a part of it : ITALIA

Bologna is a city in northern Italy. It is home to the University of Bologna that was founded way back in 1088. The University of Bologna is the oldest existing university in the world.

70 What British humans call a waistcoat : VEST

Here’s another word that often catches me out. What we call a vest here in the US is a waistcoat back in Ireland. And, the Irish use the word “vest” for an undershirt.

Down

1 Plan for later yrs. : IRA

Tax shelters are methods used to reduce taxable income, hence reducing tax liability. Tax shelters can be legal or illegal. The most common example of a legal tax shelter is a sanctioned retirement plan, such as an individual retirement account (IRA).

2 Père d’un prince : ROI

In French, the “père d’un prince” (father of a prince) is a “roi” (king).

3 “No way!,” in a text : OMG!

“OMG” is text-speak for “Oh My Gosh!” “Oh My Goodness!” or any other G-words you might care to use …

5 Cantankerous : ORNERY

Back in the early 1800s, the word “ornery” was an informal contraction for the word “ordinary”, and meant commonplace, but with a sense of “poor quality, coarse, ugly” as opposed to “special”. Towards the end of the century, the usage “ornery” had evolved into describing someone who was mean or cantankerous.

6 Three-___ sloth : TOED

All four of the extant species of three-toed sloths are native to South and Central America. Cousins of the three-toed sloths are the two-toed sloths, of which there are two species still living.

7 Cultured sort? : PEARL

Pearls form in oysters because of a reaction that is similar to an immune system response in higher animals. The pearl is formed as the oysters lay down successive layers of calcium carbonate around some microscopic foreign body that has penetrated the shell.

9 Actor Liam : NEESON

Irish actor Liam Neeson got his big break when he played Oskar Schindler in the Spielberg epic, “Schindler’s List”. Neeson was in the news some years later when he lost his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, in a tragic skiing accident in 2009. Earlier in his life, in the 1980s, Neeson lived for several years with Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren.

12 Users of buggy technology? : AMISH

The Amish are members of a group of Christian churches, and a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish church originated in Switzerland and Alsace in 1693 when it was founded by Jakob Ammann. It was Ammann who gave the name to the Amish people. Many Amish people came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century.

21 Prejudiced people : BIGOTS

“Bigot” is a French word that back in the late 1500s meant “sanctimonious person, religious hypocrite”. We use the term today to describe someone who is biased towards his or her own group, and who is intolerant of those outside of that group.

23 “Hercules and the Wagoner” writer : AESOP

Aesop is remembered today as a fabulist, a writer of fables. Aesop lived in ancient Greece, probably around the sixth century BC. Supposedly he was born a slave, somehow became a free man, but then met with a sorry end. Aesop was sent to the city of Delphi on a diplomatic mission but instead insulted the Delphians. He was tried on a trumped-up charge of stealing from a temple, sentenced to death and was thrown off a cliff.

26 Compositional framework in Indian music : RAGA

Raga isn’t really a genre of music, but has been described as the “tonal framework” in which Indian classical music is composed. Ravi Shankar was perhaps the most famous raga virtuoso (to us Westerners). Western rock music with a heavy Indian influence might be called raga rock.

29 Skosh : TAD

“Skosh” is a slang term meaning “a little bit”, and was originally military slang that came out of the Korean War. “Skosh” derives from the Japanese word “sukoshi” which translates as “few, little, some”.

32 Non-conifers that bear “cones” : ALDERS

Alders are deciduous (i.e. not evergreen) trees with fruit called catkins. The tree carries both male and female catkins that look very similar to each other, but the male catkin is longer than the female. Alders are pollinated by wind usually, although bees can play a role.

34 German granny : OMA

The German for “grandpa” is “Opa”, and for “grandma” is “Oma”.

35 New York senator Gillibrand : KIRSTEN

Kirsten Gillibrand is a US Senator from New York, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gillibrand was serving as a member of the US House of Representatives when she was appointed to the Senate by Governor David Paterson in 2009 after Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton left office to serve as Secretary of State.

37 Largest moon of Saturn : TITAN

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. Titan is unusual in many ways, including the fact that it is the only known satellite in the solar system that has its own atmosphere (our own moon does not, for example). It is the second largest moon in the solar system, after Ganymede that orbits Jupiter. Titan is so large that it has a greater volume than Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet.

41 Paris’s Place ___ Concorde : DE LA

“Place de la Concorde” is the largest square in the French capital of Paris, and lies at the eastern end of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The square was built in 1755 and was originally called “Place Louis XV” after the king at the time. It was renamed “Place de la Révolution” during the French Revolution, and was the place where King Louis XVI and many others were guillotined. The name “Place de la Concorde” was adopted soon after the French Revolution.

47 Despotic ruler of 68-Across, once : IL DUCE
[68A Bologna is a part of it : ITALIA]

“Duce” is Italian for “duke”. The most infamous dictator known as “Il Duce” was Benito Mussolini.

49 Spellbound ballet character : ODETTE

“Swan Lake” is such a delightfully light and enjoyable ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The ballet also features Odile, Odette’s “evil twin”. Odile is disguised to look like Odette with the goal of tricking the prince to fall in love with her. In the ballet, the roles of Odette and Odile are played by the same ballerina. Odette’s love interest is Prince Siegfried, the only character in the ballet to appear in all four acts.

51 Japanese sneaker? : NINJA

The ninjas were around in Japan at the time of the samurai, but were a very different type of warrior. The ninjas were covert operatives, specializing in the use of stealth to accomplish their missions. As they were a secretive cadre they took on a mystical reputation with the public, who believed they had the ability to become invisible or perhaps walk on water. We now use the term “ninja” figuratively, to describe anyone highly-skilled in a specific field.

54 “Horsefeathers!” : NERTS!

“Nerts” is a slang term, a corruption of “nuts!”

55 “The Mill on the Floss” author : ELIOT

“The Mill on the Floss” is an 1860 novel by Mary Anne Evans, published under the pen name George Eliot. Evans opted to publish using a male name in order to distance herself from the perception that female authors only wrote lighthearted romances.

60 “Goodbye, workweek!” : TGIF

“Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF)

62 “Mazel ___!” : TOV

“Mazel tov!” is a Yiddish phrase meaning “Good luck!”