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Since it seems to be de rigueur to have something to boast about at the moment, crossword enthusiasts may like to know that my third contribution to the Listener series (most difficult crossword in the world for solvers, they say) is published in tomorrow's Times. Many are submitted but few are chosen so it's always a source of chuffment.
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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A person of many words yet has a number for their name? Hmmm...... 
Congrats. I actually started to write a program once to generate crossword puzzles. I gave up pretty quickly. 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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RyanDev wrote: a program once to generate crossword puzzles.
ArmoredPenguin.com - Create puzzles and other diversions[^]
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Oh, I know they exist. It's my brain that couldn't concentrate long enough on something complex like this.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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All crossword generators are basically rubbish in that they produce puzzles which pretty much break all the rules with regard to symmetry, number of checked letters and so on.
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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So - explain to me what the importance or any value added is to symmetry ?
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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I don't know whether there is any added value. It's simply the convention as it has been since the very first crosswords appeared in 1913. Advanced, barred grids are occasionally allowed to forego the convention to account for thematic elements (my previous Listener puzzle being a case in point) but they are very much the exception that proves the rule.
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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Congratulations on your crossword being accepted for publication ! 
Being a crossword-playing fan, I find all this fascinating. You've made me want to learn more about the "conventions."
thanks, Bill
«There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you don’t want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it.» Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008
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How do you teach your kids they must not recurse?
... such stuff as dreams are made on
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By catching them when they curse the first time?
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Kids are smarter these days, just try catching them. Of course there'll always be exceptions.
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Finally, an appropriate use of puns. 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Play the Ten Commandments on a loop ... oh!
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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Give them a healthy vocabulary of swear words so they don't have to repeat themselves.
This space for rent
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This, it appears, is Mrs Wife's approach. The Hungarian language and cursing live a fruitful life of symbiotic fulfillment. Such innocuous phrases as "your mother"* can lead to extreme bouts of violence! Another twist is not saying "I am hot" as it means the same as an Englishman saying "I am gay". The only way around that particular anomaly is to say "It is hot for me"/"It is making me hot".
The other great hungarian tradition is to string one curse into another so you can find yourself on the receiving end of a ten minute tirade of filth without - to quote Mr N Parson - hesitation repetition or deviation.
* You would always include a complimentary adjective when saying it so "your [sweet|lovely] mother" is fine. Also "your mum" and "your mummy" are okay, but not "your mother". It stems from a phrase beginning "Your mother is a ..." but no one bothers with the bits about horses, God or negotiable affection.
veni bibi saltavi
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I once had a half English, half Russian girlfriend who claimed - and more than once seemed to demonstrate - that she could vituperate in Russian for up to 30 minutes!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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That's easy. By teaching them not to recurse.
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Nothing to fear - we sent a battleship (11)
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Dreadnought - don't know if I can do Mondays as I might not have a computer 
Just thought if you were to curb your worrying you would have another one (8)
We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP
modified 6-May-16 4:07am.
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You're up monday - so you have another incentive to get it all working!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Yes... did you download an iso and install it that way ?
We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP
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Yes.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Sorry to keep on but do you do a disk or system backup ?
We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP
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Disk - it saves everything to an image file, and you can restore the image, or mount it it as a virtual drive to get at the bits you want if you need to instead.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Ok thanks - one final question ? does AMOEI work ok with SSD's ?
We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP
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