Hi, my name is Rick. I was born and raised in central Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State. After grad school at UMass Amherst, I moved to Nahant, Massachusetts (smallest town in the state). I worked as a Systems Analyst and Project Manager for the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife.
My wife and I own a boat - a 26' Seaswirl Striper WA - and we fish recreationally and commercially for striped bass and bluefish in and around Boston Harbor. The fishbones avatar is also my boat logo, and "WI-FI" is short for "Wicked Fishah!" - my boat name. I'm thinking about getting a Captain's license someday and possibly running small fishing charters.
I've been doing crosswords for many years now, and I used to construct them for our (now defunct) town newsletter - "Nahant Harbor Review". The meta puzzles take crosswords to a whole new level, and I began constructing them in January 2022. So far I've been having a lot of fun with them.
Below are the metas that I've published to date:
A Warm Fuzzy Feeling
◆ · By guest constructor Cap'n Rick and Schmeel · Published 2026-02-14T22:01:03.315Z
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Now, I know what you're thinking - "Today's not Sunday! Why on earth is the Cap'n posting on Saturday?" Well, I'm happy to report that for this meta I teamed up with my good friend @Schmeel, and in his home country…
Ahoy!
While in Northern Ireland last summer, Mrs. Cap'n and I had a chance to take a couple of Game of Thrones tours. We had so much fun visiting the many shooting locations and studio sets that I just had to make this meta. And tonight, a new GoT…
Ahoy!
New Year's Eve is quickly approaching, but you won't find Mrs. Capn and me out on the town. Instead, we'll be sharing a tender moment together at home by the fire watching the Boston fireworks across Broad Sound. I think it was my anticipation…
Congrats to last month's Midi Contest winner @wmesard! Great choice for this month's theme! I love trees!
Happy holidays, everyone!
Hint: So, you've seen the FOREST through the trees, but which FOREST???
Hint: That "well-known region" is in Europe.
Ahoy!
It's been a crazy couple of weeks around the Capn's quarters. In addition to hauling and winterizing the boat, I've been working with four other constructors on meta puzzles. It's a good thing I had plenty of "Post-it Notes" to keep me on task!…
Ahoy, everyone!
Whew! I almost forgot to post today's SSS meta, but fortunately I remembered to attach a sticky note to my computer. Some days I feel like that guy in the Progressive Insurance ad who's being followed around by a "to-do list monster…
Do you remember that old TV game show called "Concentration" that was hosted by such notables as Hugh Downs, Ed McMahon, and Alex Trebek? Well, this show was the inspiration for today's meta, so put your thinking caps on and concentrate really hard…