Out behind 400 Parnassus Ave in #SanFrancisco is a fine sheltered balcony from which to observe storm clouds blow past.

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2026-04-12T16:43:19.242494

Today, I once again participated in an Upper Haight-area trash pickup event which I found out about through Bay Resistance.

I thought of this as the "Safe & Healthy Haight" pickup, but when I got there, organizer Eric said that S&HH hasn't done much trash-pickup-wise lately. Their name is on old flyers, but not on new flyers. Lately, he's been getting supplies from Refuse Refuse.

That said, Eric doesn't run his event much like that Refuse Refuse event I went to a couple of weeks ago. Instead of expecting all volunteers to show up ~at once and work together, Eric had supplies available for a two-hour stretch. So: show up when you want, pick up trash for a while, then stop when you want. Since nobody else showed up at around the time I did, I picked up trash on my own this time. (I wasn't patient enough to wait for a "buddy")

(I wonder if the everyone-at-the-same-time approach might have some advantages, community-building-wise: it meant the organizer could pair up volunteers. Remember that I picked up trash with a guy who got into it when he moved to SF and wanted to make friends. If he makes friends through an organization, maybe he's more likely to keep showing up.) (I wonder if the everyone-at-the-same-time approach might have some disadvantages, community-building-wise: if you wake up late on Sunday morning, instead of thinking Ah, I'll be a little later than usual, but I can still pick trash for an hour, you might instead think I guess I'll skip it this month.)

I noticed some residents and passers-by thanking me. Maybe more than than last time?

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2026-04-05T20:06:32.146174

On my morning's walk in #SanFrancisco at 20th and Irving, I once again noted a Kal Zakzouk sidewalk chalk piece of art: a lady with an umbrella kneeling by a pond. Was the artist inspired by news articles wondering if we were in for a drought this year? I know it was on my mind.

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2026-04-04T21:05:37.488634

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "home".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump needs a place to live in 2029, when his term ends! Sure, he'd like to stay in power longer, but it's not clear that he has the clout to pull that off.

I think he should live at home. I have a couple of ideas on the specifics, as seen in the linked crossword.

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2026-03-31T20:47:02.854071

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "fill".

Can you fill in the surnames below? To help you out, the full list of surnames (not in order) is below the grid. If you're still having trouble, you might consult Wikipedia's handy List of people named in the Epstein files, the info source for this puzzle. When you're done, the circled letters should spell out another person who appears many times in the Epstein files, especially the redactions.

Last names: Allen, Ariely, Back, Bannon, Barak, Blaine, Brende, Brin, Chopra, Clinton, Dershowitz, Gates, Ito, Jagland, Kennedy, Lajčák, Lauder, Lutnick, Mandelson, Maxwell, Musk, Phelan, Pierce, Poole, Pritzker, Ratner, Richardson, Starr, Summers, Thiel, Wexner, Zuckerberg

Hints:

• Fill in the names you can figure out from the clues
• Maybe now you can fill in some long names; e.g. if you filled in the Facebook founder and the Weinstein lawyer, the remaining 10-letter surname must be the N.M. governor
• These names and more appear in the handy List of people named in the Epstein files

Solution, rot13'd:

G / ovyy / pyvagba / HF Cerfvqrag
U / ovyy / evpuneqfba / Arj Zrkvpb Tbireabe
R / oergg / engare / Svyz qverpgbe bs Zrynavn (2026)

H / ubjneq / yhgavpx / HF Frpergnel bs Pbzzrepr
F / crgre / znaqryfba / Oevgvfu qvcybzng
N / wbua / curyna / HF Frpergnel bs gur Anil

P / nqnz / onpx / Oybpxfgernz pb-sbhaqre, pelcgbpheerapl rkcreg
Y / jbbql / nyyra / Svyz qverpgbe
B / wbv / vgb / ZVG Zrqvn Yno urnq
J / nyna / qrefubjvgm / Ynjlre gb Rcfgrva, Gehzc, Jrvafgrva
A / eboreg s. / xraarql / HF Frpergnel bs Urnygu naq Uhzna Freivprf

C / qrrcnx / pubcen / Arj ntr theh
E / ruhq / onenx / Vfenry Cevzr Zvavfgre
R / crgre / guvry / Cnynagve, CnlCny pb-sbhaqre
F / ovyy / tngrf / Zvpebfbsg pb-sbhaqre
V / fretrl / oeva / Tbbtyr pb-sbhaqre
Q / gubeowøea / wntynaq / Abejnl Cevzr Zvavfgre
R / tuvfynvar / znkjryy / Oevgvfu fbpvnyvgr
A / fgrir / onaaba / Juvgr Ubhfr puvrs fgengrtvfg
G / xra / fgnee / Ynjlre, Juvgrjngre pbagebirefl vairfgvtngbe

Q / oøetr / oeraqr / Jbeyq Rpbabzvp Sbehz PRB
B / puevfgbcure "zbbg" / cbbyr / 4puna sbhaqre
A / yrf / jrkare / Ongu & Obql Jbexf pb-sbhaqre, Ivpgbevn'f Frperg vairfgbe
N / qna / nevryl / Npnqrzvp jub jebgr nobhg uhzna veengvbanyvgl
Y / qnivq / oynvar / Zntvpvna, rfpncr negvfg, oerngu ubyqre
Q / ebanyq / ynhqre / Pbfzrgvpf urve

W / zvebfyni / ynwčáx / HA Trareny Nffrzol Cerfvqrag

G / gubznf / cevgmxre / Urve, Ulngg PRB
E / znex / mhpxreoret / Zrgn (Snprobbx) pb-sbhaqre
H / yneel / fhzzref / HF Frpergnel bs gur Gernfhel, Uneineq cerfvqrag
Z / ryba / zhfx / Urve, vairfgbe
C / oebpx / cvrepr / Grgure pelcgbpheerapl svez pb-sbhaqre    
  

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2026-03-30T16:35:26.963991

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "down".

What goes up must come down. All men are mortal. About some people perhaps the best you can say is "Well, at least they died." Can you match these historical despots and fiends to their death dates? The name of each historical horror has one or two circled letters. Write them into the circles by their dates. When you're done, the circled letters should spell out a meme about a USA clown president's death date.

Despots and other fiends:

Hints, rot13'd:

• Gur zhgvarre qvrq va 1629. Gur dhrra qvrq va 1861. Gur Pnanqvna qvrq va 1936
• Gur vavgvnyf bs gur nafjre cuenfr: V P U G

Solution, rot13'd:

G / Vin / 28 Znepu 1584 / Vina gur Greevoyr / Svefg Gfne bs Ehffvn, vzcyrzragrq gur bcevpuavan
P / Pbe / 2 Bpgbore 1629 / Wrebavzhf Pbearyvfm / Qhgpu Rnfg Vaqvn Pbzcnal zrepunag, zhgvarre
BH / Prn / 25 Qrprzore 1989 / Avpbynr Prnhșrfph / Yrq Ebznavn ivn znff fheirvyynapr, ercerffvba
YQ / Yrb / 17 Qrprzore 1909 / Yrbcbyq VV / Orytvna xvat xabja sbe ngebpvgvrf va gur Pbatb
UN / Err / 21 Qrprzore 1936 / Unlgre Errq / Pnanqvna cbyvgvpvna oruvaq Crnfnag Snezvat Cbyvpl
CC / Qhi / 21 Ncevy  1971 / Senaçbvf "Cncn Qbp" Qhinyvre / Yrq Unvgv ivn qrngu fdhnq
R / Ena / 16 Nhthfg 1861 / Dhrra Enanybin V / Yrq Znqntnfpne, unyirq vgf cbchyngvba
A / Zra / 7 Sroehnel 1979 / Wbfrs Zratryr / Urnq qbpgbe ng Nhfpujvgm "Natry bs Qrngu"
G / Fgn / 5 Znepu 1953 / Wbfrcu Fgnyva / Yrq Fbivrg Havba qhevat Terng Chetr
BQ / Mrq / 9 Frcgrzore 1976 / Znb Mrqbat / Yrq Puvan qhevat gur Phygheny Eribyhgvba
N / Uvg / 30 Ncevy 1945 / Nqbys Uvgyre / Yrq Treznal qhevat gur Ubybpnhfg
L / Xvf / 29 Abirzore 2023 / Urael Xvffvatre / HF Frpergnel bs Fgngr, qrfgnovyvmrq angvbaf    

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2026-03-29T16:15:35.815234

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "together".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump got so mad at his vice president for refusing to overturn the results of a lawful election that he incited an insurrection and called upon his followers to punish his vice president! And those followers set up a gallows with a noose and chanted that they wanted to hang the vice president! And then a few years later, some politician thought "Nevertheless, I want to be that clown's next vice president." I think about that sometimes. I thought about it more since they got elected.

Anyhow, if you enjoy cryptic crosswords, I hope you like this one. It includes some two-letter entries to anger the purists.

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2026-03-28T16:11:49.932083

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "different".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump can't get any of his sycophants to say what he wants! So he just pretends to be different people and gives a fake name when talking/writing to the press!

Can you figure out which of the following quotes were originally attributed to Donald Trump vs one of his alter-egos, John Barron? Some would say it's impossible to see, but you can get a feel for it: he tries to take it down a notch as "John". Bonus difficulty: There's also a quote from "Carolin Gallego" when Trump wanted to pretend to be a woman. Attribute the quotes. For Trump quotes, fill in the left bubble; for Barron quotes, the right; leave the Gallego quote unmarked. When you're done, you should have a four-letter imperative.

Hints:

• Use the totals. E.g., since the first set of three quotes contain a total of three Trump quotes, you can fill in the DT bubbles for all of them.
• Read as Braille.
• Since you will never mark both bubbles for a quote, you can rule out many Braille letters.

Solution (after some buffer space so that people don't see it accidentally.)

(Why
not
use
rot-
13?
The
Braille
dots
were
just
as
read-
able
so
I
gave
up
on
that.)

L
x  / They're killing the beauty of our scenery
x  / I don't want to say it. Disregard that statement
x  / Plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars
O
x  / You look up and you see windmills all over the place
 x / You have Hakeem Jeffries who is, he's a dope
x  / They're made in China, all of them
O
x  / Every day, the guy's falling down stairs.
 x / Of course, these people are happy, but true Americans will not be happy
x  / Died and are right now walking around with no legs
K
x  / You know, the polls are rigged. Of course lately they haven't been rigged
   / The most beautiful women, the most successful women—all women love Donald Trump
x  / Wokeness is bad. It's gone. It's gone

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2026-03-26T15:18:56.864858

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "file".

I contemplated some of the Epstein files and was impressed by the work of FBI redactors. As I looked at huge swaths of black, I couldn't tell which protected the identities of victims-as-in-victims vs victims-as-in-men-who-have-power-over-the-feds. Here's a puzzle:

• ....#.....#..............#.........................
  
• .#....................#....................#.#...#...........
  
• ..................#.....#......................#.....
  ..................#...................#.....
  
• ......................#.........#...#....................
  .........#.............
  
• .#..............#....
  
• ...............#......#......#.....#..............#....#.....
  ..................
  

Hints, rot13'd:

• Pbhag oynpx fdhnerf. N eha bs whfg bar oynpx fdhner vf N. Gjb oynpx fdhnerf vf O. Guerr vf P, rgp. Rnpu yvfg vgrz vf bar jbeq.
• Gur svefg gjb jbeqf ner: qral, nggnpx.
• "Qral, nggnpx," ner gur svefg gjb jbeqf bs na npebalz gung nevfrf va nyy gbb znal nohfr ercbegf.

Solution, rot13'd:

Qral nggnpx erirefr ivpgvz naq bssraqre

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2026-03-25T16:44:23.231105

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "cozy".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump wants to sell a drink cozy in his online store, but can't bring himself to use the word "cozy!" So he calls it a "koozie" instead! Since I already made puzzles about the Trump store kitchenware section and Trump-adjacent beverages (srsly who buys a Vodka branded by a non-drinker who likes Diet Coke?) this month, I guess I'll focus on the difference between "cozy" and "koozie." OK, how about this:

The clue-pairs below nudge you towards pairs of words. The first word in each pair has a long O sound as in "cozy;" the second word swaps it for a long U sound as in "koozie." Write words in blanks; when you're done, the circled letters should spell out the USA professional sport whose players tend to lean Republican for some reason.

Hints: rot13'd:

• Gehzc'f 1990f cnegvrf jrer ehzberq gb unir pbpnvar be "oybj"
• Fbzr "B" jbeqf: Qbzr, Qbfr, Ubzr, Zbqv
• Fbzr "H" jbeqf: Qrhpr, Qbbz, Zbbql, Jubz

Solution, rot13'd:

pbml / xbbmVr / Pybgu pbire sbe n qevaxvat irffry / Jnl gb fnl vg gung'f fbzrubj Gehzc-vre, V thrff?
pbny / Pbby / "Pyrna ____" cbyyhgrf zber guna angheny tnf / Qevax grzcrengher jbegu znvagnvavat
oybj / oyhR / Pbpnvar (fynat) / Pbybe
ubzr / jUbz / 🏠️ / Cebabha
qbzr / qBbz / Vfenry zvffvyr qrsrafr: Veba ____ / Sngr bs ohvyqvat arireguryrff uvg ol n pyhfgre obzo
qbfr / qrhPr / 💉 nzbhag / Pneq
pbxr / Xbbx / Gehzc zbfgyl qevaxf Qvrg … / ESX We vf n ____
ebfr / ehfR / 🌹 / Gevpx
zbqv / zbbqL / Vaqvn'f CZ / Gehzc'f grzcrenzrag

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2026-03-24T15:07:24.154094