Amy Andersen (1965–2002)
odinthorloki

I'm 34, and have been doing crosswords for 20+ years. Pretty much as far back as I can remember, it was something my dad got me started on. I remember us fighting over the NY Times Sunday puzzle as a kid (as in me trying to get him to let me do some!). In college I remember going to the newspaper distribution site to see if they had any extra Sunday NYT magazine sections, so I could get my puzzle! I wasn't a regular (daily) NYT solver until the service came on-line, and now I don't miss one! I love puzzles of all types, but crosswords are definitely my favorite.

I do have a math/cs background, gravitated to marketing, as I found I'm much more of a "people person". Now I have my own home-based business selling fabulous children's books (Usborne Books), and am in school to become a whole health educator. I'm a native New Englander, but don't care much for snow (go figure).

I enjoy this forum, and the wealth of knowledge I find here! The pointers to various net sites are great! My friends sometimes tease me about my extensive vocabulary of otherwise arcane words and trivia! But personally, I was thrilled to actually get to see a Nene when in Hawaii! :^)

Oh, and my id here is/was the names of my three ferrets! Sadly, we lost Odin in January, 2000.

Jim Conklin (1944–2007)
jimconklin

Graduated from San Jose State University in 1967

My wife Judy and I are avid crossword solvers. We download, print and copy at least 5-6 puzzles per day. We have built up a backlog of puzzles which are clipped together in a pad with a cardboard backing.

We complete 2 or 3 puzzles each morning (with our coffee) and then the daily NYT and CrosSynergy puzzles at lunch. We do the puzzles in ink and no longer use any type of reference material. We each have our own pad and compete against each other. The emphasis is on perfection (no errors, no strike-overs) rather than speed. The exception is that we do the Friday and Sunday NY Times puzzles as a team.

During the day, we work together at a wholesale insurance brokerage that I have owned for the past 12 years. We specialize in liability insurance for corporate Boards of Directors and the company officers (D&O Liability Insurance) as well as miscellaneous professional liability insurance, and employment practices liability. When not doing puzzles or earning a living, we love to play golf together.

At 7:30 each night, we watch Jeopardy while consuming an adult beverage. Lots of times, we know the "question" because of the "crossword knowledge" that we have acquired through solving.

On a few occasions we have attempted to construct puzzles for our own enjoyment. As a result, we have a tremendous appreciation for the skill, creativity and sense of humor that it takes to have puzzles published in the NYT or elsewhere. Our hats are off to Manny, Harvey, Nancy, Martin, Rich, Bob, Fred, and all of the other constructors that we admire. Thanks.