The Daily Teaser, and the Friday Question set …

I’ll be honest, I think Google’s managed to shoot me in the foot, after yesterday’s Teaser. Trevor’s answers managed to get lost, yesterday …

And, frankly, I now it’s nowt my end, nor his; not given experience in the industry; with the level of comment moderation I have, Google email’s me when someone post’s a comment, which is what I usually rely on, when announcing who’s got the First-In Clap.

I think I’m going to have to do a little digging …

At any rate, because of that, whilst Simon got the Clap, yesterday, technically Trevor beat him to it; with both them, Andrea and Tim getting 6 out of 6.

Lets see what happens today; here’s today’s questions, along with the ‘How To’ and License …

Q1) 4^th December, 1961, saw what made available on the NHS, for the first time?

Q2) 4^th December, 1872, saw which abandoned ship discovered drifting towards Gibraltar?

Q3) 4^th December is a track on The Black Album: which rapper is this album by?

Q4) 4^th December, 1791, saw the publication of the world’s first Sunday paper; which paper is it?

Q5) 4^th December, 1949, saw the birth of which actress and clinical psychologist?

Q6) 4^th December, 1971, saw the Montreux Casino burn down, during a Frank Zappa concert; which rock song did this inspire?

Q7) And finally; which rock band announced their break-up, on 4^th December, 1980, after the death of their drummer?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 3^rd December, 1967, saw Lewis Washkansky become the first patient to receive what?

A1) A heart transplant.

Q2) One year later, the Comeback Special was aired on US television; whose comeback was it?

A2) Elvis Presley’s.

Q3) 3^rd December, 1952, saw the birth of comedian, Mel Smith; what was the first TV show he appeared in?

A3) Not the Nine O’Clock News. (Cue a quick rousing chorus of Ayatollah, Don’t Khomeini Closer …)

Q4) 3^rd December, 1894, saw the death of Robert Loius Balfour Stephenson; what was the name of his first successful novel?

A4) Treasure Island

Q5) 3^rd December, 1984, saw a leak of toxic pesticides from a Union Carbide plant; in which Indian city?

A5) Bhopal.

Q6) And finally, today in 2004, saw ETA bomb which Spanish city?

A6) Madrid.

And here — as usual — is the 60 question set, for struggling quiz masters, again covered by the Creative Commons License …

Online 33

Round One. General Knowledge.

Q1) ‘Tracy’ is a short form of which girl’s name?

A1) Theresa.

Q2) Fingal’s Cave is on which Scottish Island?

A2) Staffa.

Q3) Which French actress ended her career with one leg?

A3) Sarah Bernhard.

Q4) In the Winnie the Pooh stories and cartoons, what sort of animal is Eeyore?

A4) A donkey.

Q5) Cobalt is a shade of which colour?

A5) Blue.

Q6) What kind of fruit is a Satsuma?

A6) An orange

Q7) How many members does a hockey team have?

A7) 11.

Q8) The Abbey Theatre is in which Irish city?

A8) Dublin.

Q9) Dana Owens is the real name of which rap star?

A9) Queen Latifah.

Q10) What is Angus Deayton’s real 1st name?

A10) Gordon.

Round Two. Sporting Chances.

Q11) Clive Branson was the 1st Welshman to win the World Championship at which sport?

A11) Freshwater Angling.

Q12) Mike Agassi, Andre’s father, competed in the ’48, & ’52 Olympics. But in which sport?

A12) Boxing.

Q13) In which Olympic event did an individual win first win 4 successive gold medals?

A13) Discus.

Q14) Who scored Brazil’s 100th international goal, in football?

A14) Pelé.

Q15) Mick the Miller excelled at which sport?

A15) Greyhound racing.

Q16) Sugar Ray Robinson was World Champion at which two weights?

A16) Middleweight, and Welterweight.

Q17) What was England’s score, when the 1st test against the West Indies, in 1998?

A17) 17 for 3.

Q18) In the 2001/2 FA Cup, who did Millwall beat in the third round?

A18) Scunthorpe United. (Sorry, Trevor …)

Q19) In which year was golfer Hidemichi Tanaka born?

A19) 1971.

Q20) How many goalless draws were there, in the 2002 World Cup?

A20) Three.

Round Three. Science.

Q21) In distant pre-history, Earth’s continents were all joined together; - what name do scientist’s give to this super-continent?

A21) Pangea.

Q22) The mother of all bees in a given colony is called what?

A22) The Queen Bee.

Q23) The giant sequoia is the world’s longest living what?

A23) Tree.

Q24) Altocumulus is a type of what?

A24) Cloud.

Q25) Prior to becoming an astronaut, US Senator John Glenn was in what, the Marines, of the Air Force?

A25) The Marines.

Q26) Castor and Pollux are stars in which constellation?

A26) Gemini.

Q27) What name is given to a stellar object so dense that light cannot escape from it?

A27) A black hole.

Q28) What is a puffball?

A28) A fungus. (Accept mushroom, or toadstool.)

Q29) What part of the body does scabies affect?

A29) The skin.

Q30) What do most sharks live on?

A30) Fish.

Round Four. TV.

Q31) What organisation were Blake’s 7 fighting against?

A31) The Federation.

Q32) What car features heavily in the opening credits of cult 60’s show, The Prisoner?

A32) The Lotus 7.

Q33) Peter Fluck and Roger Law were the creators and producers of which TV show?

A33) Spitting Image.

Q34) On which TV channel did The Kenny Everett Show, first appear, ITV, BBC1 or BBC2?

A34) ITV.

Q35) Maddy Magellan was one of the partners of which TV detective?

A35) Jonathon Creek.

Q36) HMS Ark Royal featured in which TV show?

A36) Sailing.

Q37) In Inspector Morse, who played Sergeant Lewis?

A37) Kevin Whately.

Q38) The late Richard Whitely presented which long running Channel 4 quiz show?

A38) Countdown.

Q39) Who, technically, is the only Irish character, in Buffy The Vampire Slayer?

A39) Angel.

Q40) Which character did Paul Nicholls play, in EastEnders?

A40) Joe Wicks.

Round Five. At The Movies.

Q41) Which US actor/director died in 1985, after finishing his career in commercials?

A41) Orson Welles.

Q42) The theme tune to The Third Man was played on which instrument?

A42) The balalaika.

Q43) Anna Chancellor played which character, in Four Weddings & A Funeral?

A43) Duckface.

Q44) Which trilogy of films features Michael J. Fox, and a DeLorean?

A44) The Back To The Future trilogy.

Q45) Trainspotting is set in Edinburgh, but was filmed where?

A45) Glasgow.

Q46) What was the second Bond movie with Sean Connery?

A46) From Russia, With Love.

Q47) Which 70’s movie is set in & around Berlin’s Kit Kat Club?

A47) Cabaret.

Q48) Postcards From the Edge is based on the life of which Star Wars actress?

A48) Carrie Fischer.

Q49) Which 1992 film stars both Dana Carvey and Mike Myers?

A49) Wayne’s World.

Q50) Which blonde country singer has a cameo role, in The Beverly Hillbillies?

A50) Dolly Parton.

Round Six. The Media.

Q51) In 1991, what type of broadcast was added to the BBC World Service?

A51) Television.

Q52) Which independent radio service started broadcasting in 1973?

A52) Capital.

Q53) In the magazine title, what does GQ stand for?

A53) Gentlemen’s Quarterly.

Q54) Border TV is on the borders of which 2 countries?

A54) England and Scotland.

Q55) The Times and The Guardian are broadsheets. What type of newspaper are both The Sun and The Mirror?

A55) Tabloids.

Q56) On what shelf would you usually find ‘adult,’ magazines?

A56) The top shelf.

Q57) Which long running comic featured Rogue Trooper, Judge Dredd and Nemesis?

A57) 2000AD

Q58) Roy of The Rovers plays for the Rovers; - which fictional town are the Rovers from?

A58) Melchester.

Q59) Which left wing group had a newspaper called Militant?

A59) Militant Tendency.

Q60) Which UK Murdoch paper has the longest name?

A60) News of the World.

Enjoy those, folks: I’ll catch you later!

The Daily Teaser …

Oh, bless, Andrea’s just posted Monday’s answers.

A touch late, but she is in Las Vegas!

At any rate, Tim, Trevor and Simon, all got 5 out of 5, with Simon getting the Official First-In-Clap, yesterday.

Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions; here they are, along with the ‘How to’ and License …

Q1) 3^rd December, 1967, saw Lewis Washkansky become the first patient to receive what?

Q2) One year later, 3rd December, 1968, the Comeback Special was aired on US television; whose comeback was it?

Q3) 3^rd December, 1952, saw the birth of comedian, Mel Smith; what was the first TV show he appeared in?

Q4) 3^rd December, 1894, saw the death of Robert Louis Balfour Stephenson; what was the name of his first successful novel?

Q5) 3^rd December, 1984, saw a leak of toxic pesticides from a Union Carbide plant; in which Indian city?

Q6) And finally, today in 2004, saw ETA bomb which Spanish city?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) December 2^nd, 1867, saw which author make his first US public reading?

A1) Charles Dickens.

Q2) Seventy-five years later, 2^nd, 1942, saw Enrico Fermi demonstrate the first nuclear fission reaction, in an unused basement what, at the University of Chicago?

A2) Basement Squash court. (The first actual nuclear pile was literally that; the pile of Uranium used to generate the reaction.)

Q3) 2^nd December, 1954, saw the US Senate condemn who for “ … bringing the Senate into dishonour and disrepute”?

A3) Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Q4) 2^nd December, 1995, saw Nick Leeson jailed for his part in which bank’s downfall?

A4) Barings.

Q5) And finally, today in 2001, saw which US company file for bankruptcy?

A5) Enron.

Enjoy those, everyone: I’ll catch you later.

Oh Dear!!

Hmmm …

Looks like I’ll combining two of my favourite subjects on this one …

But, suffice to say that — Life Saver and news hound that he is! — ComBom, of Life, Doctor Who and Combom, has managed to do a touch of investigating, and found a press release.

From the BBC.

With the transmission times of parts one and two of The End Of Time …

I believe I’m correct in assuming the usual words, in the Internet Age, is something along the lines of “Whoop, Whoop” …

Apparently …

Hopefully, these are fairly fixed.

And also — if nothing changes — means I’ll be pre-programming my dvd recorder, well ahead of time …

•••••

At any rate, some thing I do know is that — after doing a bit of digging around on Google — that I may have problems with the vintage iMac.

Not serious ones, just tricky ones to deal with.

Something I know it has trouble with, is keeping accurate time, when not connected to the Net.

In fact, having chewing it over with Movie Night Adrian – no mean streak when it comes down to computers – he thinks that inability may — in part — be the root of the restart problem it seems to be suffering, under Xubuntu 6.06. Dapper Drake.

Suffer it didn’t seemingly suffer with, under Mac OS 9.2.2.

But with both OSes, it did seem incapable of keeping accurate time, whilst offline.

Something I know others in the same shoes have had trouble with, from reading through the Ubuntu forums.

But what really got me thinking it through, was nattering with Tim, the other day, who’d been browsing through eBay, for potential Christmas presents, the other day: he’d noticed a cheap laptop on there, that was described as being in fine working order, apart from a ‘Flat CMOS Battery’.

Which meant, it seems, that the little watch battery the computer had on it’s motherboard, to power the computer’s internal clock, was dead*.

Dead …

But easily replaceable …

Which got me digging around Google, again: as I know I had to reset the PRAM — the Mac version of the relevant part of a PC motherboard — as part of installing Xubuntu on there …

What I’ve managed to find tells me that I need to find a ½ sized AA battery.

Which, after a quick walk to the local shops in the pouring rain, I’ve found come in three different voltages; shame I hadn’t thought to check on what was the right one.

Turns out, after I looked around again, it was the 3.6v …

With the result that it sounds like I’ll be posting stuff about about it, at some point; especially as it means disassembling it.

Tim, I think I’m gonna need to borrow your neighbour’s angle grinder …

* Apparently, this is a component common to all modern home computers.

The Daily Teaser …

Whoooah!!

Think we’ve got a tie …

For Second …

Tim, Trevor, I did ask about the virus, yesterday, rather than the actual condition!

Which means that Simon’s earnt the Official Smug Git award: he’s the got both the official Clap, and 7 out of 7 … !!

Phew!

Gonna be fun, seeing what happens with today’s!!

Speaking of which, here’s today’s questions, along with the ‘How To’ and License …

Q1) December 2^nd, 1867, saw which author make his first US public reading?

Q2) Seventy-five years later, 2^nd, 1942, saw Enrico Fermi demonstrate the first nuclear fission reaction, in an unused basement what, at the University of Chicago?

Q3) 2^nd December, 1954, saw the US Senate condemn who for “ … bringing the Senate into dishonour and disrepute”?

Q4) 2^nd December, 1995, saw Nick Leeson jailed for his part in which bank’s downfall?

Q5) And finally, today in 2001, saw which US company file for bankruptcy?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers, everyone …

Q1) 1^st December saw the (then) British Government accept the Beveridge Report, which recommended the establishment of the Welfare State; in which year of the 1940s?

A1) 1942. (It was actually published the following day.)

Q2) Which US company introduced the first moving assembly lines, on 1^st December, 1913?

A2) Ford.

Q3) 1^st December, 1949, saw the birth — in Columbia — of the world’s one time seventh richest man*; who was he?

A3) Drug baron, Pablo Escobar.

Q4) 1^st December, 1955, saw who shoot to international prominence, after refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus?

A4) Mrs Rosa Parks

Q5) 1^st December, 1981, saw the first official recognition of which virus?

A5) The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, which leads to AIDS.

Q6) Today in 1990, saw the last drilling work completed, in which Anglo-French construction project?

A6) The Channel Tunnel.

Q7) And finally … ! 1^st December, 2001, saw the ending of entrance fees in 13 major British museums. Name any of them …

A7) The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum, The Victoria & Albert, The National Railway Museum in York, The National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, the National Maritime Museum, the National Railway Museum, The Imperial War Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, The Museum of London, The Royal Armouries and the Theatre Museum.

Enjoy those, folks!

* Or, at least, seventh Richest man, in 1989, according to Forbes Magazine, who generally know about these things.

Episode 2 …

Can I make a confession?

I’ve started writing this with episode 2 of Paradox, currently playing.

So if I’m a touch distracted, I have an excuse.

And it’s riveting stuff.

As with last week’s episode — set the previous day, in the story’s timeline — the good Dr King has received a series of eight photo’s, via the satellite he operates on behalf of the MoD.

Except, with this set, he’s only been ordered to pass on seven to D. I. Flint.

As one seems to be of her (occasional) lover, DS Holt …

And, as you can imagine, DI Flint went a touch … ballistic … about that …

As it adds a personal twist to the pictures of a drowned school boy called Jack, trapped in the flood pit of an abandoned — and booby trapped — garage.

Phew!

DI Flint and DC Callum Gada have just found and saved the kid.

WOOOOOAH!

NELLIE!

But they’ve not … …

WOOOOOAH!

Correction, they have managed to warn Ben — DS Holt —about the live wires in front of the garage … !

Now, this episode’s just changed things!

I’m thinking, here, that tonight’s episode has altered the directions of things, a bit.

I watched last weeks, and have to admit to being pleasantly entertained, with a doomed race against time.

By contrast, whilst tonight’s episode was a race against time, it wasn’t the doomfest last weeks was.

Oh, no …

It was a bit more triumphant.

Especially as it sees the team apparently defy the future that the picture predicted for them.

The schoolboy, Jack, is rescued, Ben Holt’s alive, Rebecca Flint and Christian King seem to be on better terms than they were, last week.

This could get nasty.

•••••

I’ve got to admit, I’m thinking Eddas, here though.

Which I don’t know that much about; you’d have to ask Sean, over in Georgia, or Movie Night Adrian, who both know more about them than I do.

But the little I’ve picked up over the years about the ancient Scandinavian tales gives me the impression that one of the themes of them is that when the hero — or heroine, in the case — tries to avoid their pre-ordained fate, it gets messy.

Extremely, I’m told.

So these first two episodes have intrigued me enough to see what happens.

•••••

And I also thinking something else, as well …

I’m wondering how much — stylistically — Paradox is influenced by Torchwood.

Weellll …

Lot’s rooftop shoots, beepy background music, shakey camera work …

Oh, and a format that’s obviously designed to be shown over five nights …

•••••

Anyway, let’s move on, shall we?

Yes …

Remember me mentioning that Kevin was on the look out for transcription software?

I don’t think we’ve found him an exact match.

But we did find him a copy of NoteEdit, a composition app that will let him write simple melodies, and than save them as either a document, or — equally handy — as a Midi file.

There’s also a Mac equivalent, called Senór Staff, as well.

Hmmm …

Might just be tempted to have a go, myself …

And I think it’s maybe about time Graham seriously looked at getting a Mac … !