• My “Squares” cartoons, starring Ashen and Noir, appeared in 34 posts. All of them are here.
• “A Day with Will Shortz” (I joined him for a day of puzzle editing) appeared over six consecutive days. Here’s a compilation.
• The Doodle Pad debuted near the end of my run. Graphic representations of complex Sunday themes was another late idea: Hope for Clear Skies and On a Roll.
• I started “Ask Will” with this post at the end of 2009. Here’s a compilation, with Jim and I trading off on the question-asking duties.
• The first “guest solver” chimed in March 2010, with 14 more to follow, including one for Jim Horne. Here are all the posts.
• Also in March, there was a moving tribute to Dan Naddor when a puzzle of his ran three months after his death. The Los Angeles Times crossword editor Rich Norris had more to say when Dan’s final puzzle ran in Oct.2010.
• Two Times crossword firsts were featured (with download files):
the first Sunday puzzle from 1942 and the first daily puzzle from 1950.
• Bernice Gordon, at 96, broke her own record as the oldest constructor of a Times crossword.
• My favorite interview consisted of a two-sentence answer by Henry Hook.
• All you ever wanted to know about Mr. Happy Pencil.
• These posts, three months apart, featured two terrific versions of the song "Poinciana": Ahmad Jamal and Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette (recommended by Jim Horne). I also like this theme from "Spirited Away" by Joe Hisaishi.
• We learned more about the first crossword blogger, Curtis Yee.
• I matched wits against The Islanders in a crossword face-off. A follow-up interview was conducted by John Batchelor on his ABC radio show.
• Sally Bliumis-Dunn shared an original crossword poem with us … once … twice.
• Dan Piraro stopped by as a guest cartoonist … once … twice.
• Ever wonder how a wide-open themeless puzzle is constructed?
• On Nov. 14, 2010, the game of Crossword Golf was introduced.
• And finally, here’s my fairly unremarkable debut, proving that Jim’s announcement the day before, on Halloween, wasn’t some kind of trick.
