Bob Stepno
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bobstep.bsky.social
Bob Stepno
@bobstep.bsky.social
380 followers 480 following 980 posts
Former journalist, tech writer, academic, media historian, now retired in sw Va, playing oldtime-style music (mandolin, uke, guitar), exploring the Blue Ridge, writing a little, including https://jheroes.com
https://boblog.blogspot.com
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bobstep.bsky.social
Finally got to Connections...
Connections
Puzzle #964
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨
January 31, 2026 at 4:25 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
@devorahleah.bsky.social or should I say "our last three words?" 😉
January 30, 2026 at 6:47 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
I really like my last three words . Wordle 1,686 6/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜🟨🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 30, 2026 at 6:42 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Five for me... Doing two Wordles and two Connections between 11:30 and 12:15 generally does not come out well. And telling myself "one more before I shut down the computer" has echoes or "one more (chapter, radio show, comic book) before bedtime" excuses 70 years ago.
January 29, 2026 at 5:35 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Did something similar a half hour later... Connections
Puzzle #963
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🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟦🟪🟪
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January 29, 2026 at 5:22 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Kept at it, having done 1,684 at 11:30, did 1,685 at 12:10, going for the wild crazy first two words before deciding to get lucky. ;-) Wordlebot said my choices left 525, 109, 9 and 1 possibilities.
Wordle 1,685 5/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 29, 2026 at 5:13 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Then I rushed on Connections and (yellow) red herringed myself. Funny, this pattern looks familiar from earlier this week. Connections
Puzzle #962
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January 29, 2026 at 4:35 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Really good first word, maybe my favorite band in 1966, but then two bad choices.
Wordle 1,684 4/6*

🟩🟩🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 29, 2026 at 4:30 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Been there. :-)
January 26, 2026 at 7:45 PM
bobstep.bsky.social
... I hurried through this and was surprised that the Times rated it "extremely tricky" -- and that *green* was the category least often found first (1%) while the purple connection was the most common found first!
January 26, 2026 at 7:44 PM
bobstep.bsky.social
... except for yellow squares in Connections.. should have been more patient and gone for purple first...
Connections
Puzzle #960
🟨🟨🟨🟨
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🟪🟪🟪🟪
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January 26, 2026 at 7:31 PM
bobstep.bsky.social
Got there... still not seeing any yellow squares recently.

Wordle 1,682 5/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

WordleBot
Skill 95/99
Luck 41/99
January 26, 2026 at 7:30 PM
bobstep.bsky.social
Over at connections, "average difficulty," said the bot, but I snagged blue early dodging some red herring jargon.
Connections
Puzzle #959
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Skill 96/99
Uniqueness 1 in 34
January 25, 2026 at 5:57 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
A four with no yellow... Wordle 1,681 4/6*

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 25, 2026 at 5:48 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Wordlebot said my first word left only two possible solutions, then it said my second word wasn't likely to be one of them based on its experience. (Maybe an alternate spelling for a six-letter word?) Neither yellow or green letter in my first line was a vowel. Wordle #1,680 3/6*

🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 24, 2026 at 3:10 PM
bobstep.bsky.social
Meanwhile, my worst connections in ages. Sleepy and stubborn. And *not* alone (or even "one in a million!")
Connections
Puzzle #957
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Skill 50/99
Uniqueness 1 in 1,411
January 23, 2026 at 6:00 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
No two here, but tied Wordlebot
Wordle 1,679 4/6*

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
🟨🟩🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
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January 23, 2026 at 5:50 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Better day for making categories... even without major insights.
Connections
Puzzle #956
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🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Skill 95/99
Uniqueness 1 in 5
January 23, 2026 at 12:48 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Not the best start... Wordle 1,678 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
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January 23, 2026 at 12:47 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
And symmetrical too !
January 20, 2026 at 5:16 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Like i said, better than yesterday! Wordle 1,675 6/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 20, 2026 at 5:15 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Much better than yesterday... logic is what tells me i was simply inspired 😉

Wordle 1,676 2/6*

🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
January 20, 2026 at 5:14 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
I saw a rainbow of red herrings first, then decided one word of that line matched better with three others that turned out to be the blue ones. Then green and yellow were pretty obvious, so the four I hadn't put together had to be purple, so I played it second 💜 .. not a reverse rainbow, but ok.
January 19, 2026 at 4:32 AM
bobstep.bsky.social
Did much better on Connections, 98 out of 99 for putting blue and purple together, even without the reverse rainbow effect.
Connections
Puzzle #952
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January 19, 2026 at 4:20 AM