Things that Bansai left for us

[Fudi]

He was a man with a lot of obscure facts in his head, a quality that I applaud:

"If it helps to make people think a little bit more about what those ideals are, then I'll keep wearing this uniform."
— Barbara Adams

bansaisequoia
December 16, 2009, 7:01 pm
Barbara Adams was an alternate juror in the Whitewater Case in the '90s. She was the one who wore a Star Trek:TNG uniform every day to the proceedings. I thought this might shed some light.

[mistyswiss]

"There are two great pleasures in gambling: that of winning and that of losing. "
— Proverb

bansaisequoia
July 28, 2013, 2:11 am
Losing weight is a pleasure. Losing a game of checkers to your kid is a pleasure. Losing your marbles can be a pleasure.

[mistyswiss]

"Give me a child and I'll shape him into anything. "
— B. F. Skinner

bonsaisequoia
February 5, 2010, 7:22 pm
I can make little doggies out of balloons.

[Eureka]

(Bansai has held the record of 12 seconds on this puzzle since November 13, 2009.)

"Peace is freedom in tranquility - servitude is the worst of all evils, to be resisted not only by war, but even by death."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero

cheryljean777
December 17, 2010, 11:58 pm
Can anybody beat this guy, bansaisequoia?

bansaisequoia
January 22, 2011, 2:37 am
JCarlosCuevas, Lurker, LiveLoveLaugh, countessofmontecrypto, gryhnd51, cknapp329, kat, Altoid701, digirl28, Laura, rhaydon, peaceandluv87, ferrym85, bassood, 4pouncers, LilyH, claireann, ernests, gsull424, jimdgar, maradnu, MoreMadMunch, MSM, nanrich, opallady, pootie49, Prime22, rattletrap, toeprint, and several others have done so many thousands of times.

Harmiger
May 12, 2013, 8:57 pm
But not very often or as regularly

marnita
February 27, 2016, 1:20 pm
You remain our idol and our target, bansai.

blueladyblue
August 13, 2019, 5:32 pm
I just think it's funny that cheryljean777 called out bansai and a month later he gets the puzzle (again) and responds. Oh to be included in that list, but it will never be.

oddcouple
November 19, 2019, 10:00 pm
I beat a bansai record once last year. Even more than winning a trophy, I've never been more satisfied.

Synonymous
April 25, 2020, 12:03 am
You're right blueladyblue, those cryptogrammers are persons to aspire to. I'm a long, long way from even catching a bansai, nanrich or gryhnd51 record. I'm giddy when I get close to average.

[Eureka]

"Neatness begets order; but from order to taste there is the same difference as from taste to genius, or from love to friendship."
— Johann Kaspar Lavater

sainthood23
December 17, 2009, 10:44 am
What is he talking about?

bansaisequoia
August 20, 2012, 7:11 pm
I think he means "neatness" looks like "baseball." You solved it in... which order?

[Eureka]

"We cannot despair of humanity, since we are ourselves human beings."
— Albert Einstein

bansaisequoia
July 18, 2009, 10:35 pm
Not me, I'm a Tralfamadorian exchange student.

agatha
March 14, 2011, 1:56 am
With a phony visa in the suspiciously glowing Tralfamodorian suitcase, no doubt.

Catgirl
November 25, 2013, 9:10 am
Does that explain your crypto solving abilities, Bansai?

marnita
October 20, 2015, 11:46 am
I always suspected as much, Bansai.

[opallady]

"Politics is the science of getting more power than anyone deserves to have."
— Kirk Brothers

bansaisequoia
May 2, 2010, 7:30 pm
Kirk Brothers? Does that mean James Tiberius and George Samuel? (Check my high nerd quotient!)
montyb
August 5, 2012, 10:38 pm
Through the roof, Bansai.
skeeter
September 30, 2015, 2:43 pm
Kirk Brothers? The only ones I know are the guys who made fabulous sterling silver products long ago in Baltimore, Maryland -- Old Maryland Engraved and Mayflower patterns, for example -- and they were the best at their craft.
montyb
November 11, 2016, 1:25 pm
Bansai's comment is especially funny tonight as I sit here watching that very episode on SyFy.
Synonymous
September 3, 2020, 12:31 am
Proof in 2020.

[abra]

Today I noticed for the first time that Bansai was a Premium Player, and that his little star is still there. For some reason that made me
feel so sad.

[Eureka]

I know what you mean, abra. I wish he was still with us, playing his best and breaking records left and right.

[Eureka]

"It is better to finish something than begin. "
— Proverb

marnita
June 12, 2014, 7:25 am
Only twice Bansai's time! Woo-hoo!

Quizzical
December 29, 2014, 10:21 am
Only three times Bansai's time, Marnita. For me that's a woo-hoo-too.

marmot
July 14, 2016, 3:14 pm
A three times Bansai, a woo-hoo-too too.

Spellbinder44
September 27, 2016, 7:49 pm
My average speed is generally 1/7 Bansais. That is a new unit of speed (like Warp Speed, but for cryptograms). "Go to Bansai Speed , Sulu". "Yeah , like that's going to happen Captain Slowpoke"

badbob
May 28, 2018, 8:31 pm
i'm afraid to type fast because i don't want my fingers to catch fire from friction. that's why i never challenge bansai ever, not even close.

abra
June 6, 2018, 5:19 pm
Ummm, 4 times bansai, but under 30 seconds so I'm happy

marnita
January 15, 2019, 8:12 am
Once again, twice Bansai's time.

(Bansai’s time on this puzzle was 6 seconds.)

[Eureka]

"Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared."
— Jack Handey

bansaisequoia
May 4, 2010, 5:20 pm
That's because you left out the part about the guy with the hook on the end of his arm in the back of the car.

rage
December 24, 2011, 3:37 am
Captain Hook has been stealing all of the topsoil?!? Devious!

bansaisequoia
February 8, 2012, 4:25 pm
And Smee is ruining the spotted owl habitat. And his call is coming from somewhere inside your house!

montyb
January 2, 2013, 10:15 pm
You guys are funnier than Handey.

abra
July 4, 2013, 10:07 pm
Best comments EVER!

[xenia]

That is a very good question. I don't know the answer. But can you tell me the name of a classical Greek shoemaker? "
— Arthur Miller

bansaisequoia
May 27, 2009, 7:03 pm
Let me put this in context: "Some 30 or so years ago,I spoke at Brandeis College in support of some kind of subsidy for theater in the belief that sooner or later the bottom line attitude would serve us badly. (And in fact, last year on B'way there was one non-musical play that survived current astronomical production costs-Angels in America-and even this much-praised work could not pay back its investment.) A man rose in the audience: 'I manufacture shoes: if the public won't buy enough of them, why shouldn't I demand government support?' Hard to answer that one. I could only think to ask him a question in reply. 'Can you name me one classical greek shoemaker?'"

thresa
July 5, 2012, 3:48 pm
Thank you for providing us with the context; for without the context, it made Arthur Miller seem silly, which is far from the truth. With the context, we see him as a thoughtful man who cared enough to speak up for cultural gems even when they are not making money in the marketplace.

cindidido
March 17, 2014, 6:58 am
Thanks for the context.

abra
June 3, 2014, 11:14 am
27seconds, this time, I'm starting to remember this one.

Barnabas
August 2, 2015, 4:41 am
Achilles Heels. The shop was a block and a half from the Parthenon.

wvwoman
September 14, 2015, 6:02 pm
good one, barnabas!

munchlet
March 29, 2016, 1:22 pm
LOL, Barnabas. Pity you weren't in the audience at Brandeis.

skeeter
June 5, 2017, 7:34 am
So THAT'S where Mercury bought his winged sandals!

Eureka
November 29, 2018, 2:38 am
Thanks for the background info, bansai. And thanks for the laughs, Barnabas.

vintage38
January 27, 2019, 1:27 am
29 seconds

Elephino
November 30, 2019, 4:00 pm
Interestingly, one of Arthur Miller's daughters, Rebecca Miller, is married to Daniel Day-Lewis (the actor) who took a number of years off from acting to study and become a shoe cobbler!

Jrdad
September 6, 2020, 10:31 pm
Easy: Nike

[xenia]

"This land is your land and this land is my land, sure, but the world is run by those that never listen to music anyway. "
— Bob Dylan

bansaisequoia
September 7, 2009, 12:01 am
(link)

LiveLoveLaugh
October 12, 2011, 2:48 pm
I love the picture, banny

bansaisequoia
January 11, 2012, 6:08 pm
Well, since that image of Bill Clinton playing the sax is now dead, let's try this new one of Harry Truman: (link)

[Cirella]

"I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed."
— James Thurber


Wow.

bansaisequoia
June 13, 2011, 4:23 am
I think I've disturbed at least four psychologists, and two of them had Ivy League doctorates hanging on their walls. And I only went to these sessions at the behest of my family. Eventually, I refused to go, when I realized that they had spent as much as it would have cost to pay room, board and tuition at a state school to earn a Bachelor's Degree in engineering.

[TimmyTee]

Bansai probably did what I'm about to ask:

What is the fastest time anyone has ever gotten on ANY puzzle? I just saw a 3 second record. Is there a 2 or a 1 out there someplace?