DEAR SUN SPOTS: You are No. 1, with Dear Abby and the comics in a tie for second.

I notice “Nancy’s” writer always has something touching that fits whatever is going one. On Sept. 11 it was a touching tribute to 9/11 victims and families; sometimes it is a memoriam to someone who just passed away.

I find it so touching in this day and age that he or she is not afraid to offer a prayer, etc. Do you know the background of this person? I really appreciate seeing that.

I also wonder why the author of “For Better or Worse” went back in time. I so enjoyed it before. Elly was exactly my age and so often I could relate.

Also I remember reading somewhere that you could skip the previews on DVDs by pressing something. Unfortunately, I forgot.

Thank you, Sun Spots our mysterious lady, we love you. — No Name via email

ANSWER: Sun Spots had a question about “Nancy” on June 6, 2011, from a reader who noted that Nancy was wearing the Sea Dogs logo (sunjournal.com/sun-spots/story/1040633). It turns out that the cartoonist, Guy Gilchrist, designed that logo, as well as some other minor league logos.

According to Wikipedia, Gilchrist, who was born Jan. 30, 1957, is a cartoonist/poet/songwriter and author, and lives in Nashville. He also created the cartoon “Mudpie.”

He has his own website, www.guygilchrist.com, too, but Sun Spots didn’t find an explanation of his philosophy, just lots of evidence that he is a very creative “guy.”

As for “For Better or Worse,” Sun Spots addressed the changes in that comic on Jan. 16, 2010 (sunjournal.com/content/allspotssat011610). Cartoonist Lynn Johnston decided to end the running story line and go back to the beginning and touch up that old art to make it more modern. There was no indication in her blog post that she’d return to drawing Elly as middle-aged.

DVD players are all a little different, but most remotes have two sets of buttons for jumping ahead and going back. Often they are arrows pointing to the left and right, with the fast forward buttons more prevalent (perhaps double arrows) and the “skip” buttons being smaller, single arrows.

Movies are broken into “chapters” or “tracks,” and the skip button lets you move ahead a whole chapter. Each opening movie trailer is generally its own track, so if you hit the skip button, you can avoid that trailer.

However, Sun Spots has noticed that some of the newer movies have disabled that feature, forcing you to either fast forward through it (which means you still see some of the trailer) or just watch it.

You can fast, fast forward by hitting the fast forward button multiple times, often three or four time. The trailer goes by pretty fast if you do that.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I’m another who really enjoys your column. Not sure this is the forum for this, but would like to know if it’s possible, since there’s quite a blank space under the puzzle’s solution, to leave a good-sized space between the cryptoquip puzzle and yesterday’s solution. It would allow the puzzle to be worked more efficiently. Thanks! — Crypto-hooked via email

ANSWER: The comics page arrives at the Sun Journal as a fait accompli. A company that serves newspapers puts the elements — cartoons and puzzles that arrive as PDFs — together on the page and then sends it to the Sun Journal, ready to publish.

Sun Spots’ editor took the time to look into this and was told that the cryptoquip is designed to be worked above the words, not below. That leaves enough space to write, but certainly not any extra for trial and error. Sun Spots has no answer for why they leave that gap between the current puzzle and yesterday’s answer.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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