I was pleasantly surprised to see that several Syracusans participated in the annual NY Times Crossword solving contest, which has gained considerable visibility from the fun movie about it, Wordplay. Not having any friends in the area who are similarly addicted to difficult crossword puzzles, I considered trying to call these people, but decided not to – I can’t assume that anyone would want unsolicited puzzle geek calls. Awhile ago I did have a pleasant conversation with a friendly gentleman in Panera who was doing some tough puzzles, but I didn’t get his contact information.

So I’ll put the word out here: to potential friends who like doing the tougher Times puzzles, let’s talk sometime! I’m not looking to form a club and get super-geeky or anything, but would enjoy exchanging ideas and maybe hanging out a little bit. And don’t worry about competition – I’m not up to a Tyler-like speed level at all. My time for the Sunday puzzle is gradually improving, but I’m happy to get it done in 2 hours, and the speed demons in Wordplay could probably get it in 3 minutes.