Thursday 23 July 2015

The Daily Teaser — 23-7-2015: Telstar

Well, it’s official: the high capacity internal drive I bought has been delivered.

And safely installed.

That NOW means I’m a step nearer to rebuilding my lost media library.   TV series are being worked on, so you know: as are various family photos.

But I now have an internal drive to put the library on: including series I’ve already managed to get hold of.

There’s a satisfyingly large amount.

There’s only one thing that DID surprise me.

The bubble wrap it came in.

As you can see from the photo?   It’s not bubble wrap.

It’s a bloody lilo … !

~≈Ê≈~

But let’s get moving on, shall we?

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her answers, scoring five out of six in the process.   The day also saw Olga† letting us know about her DVD player.

Shall we see how everyone does with today’s questions?   Shall we?   Yes, let’s!

Here they are, along with the How ToLicense and video

Q1) 23rd July saw Telstar relay the first transatlantic TV broadcast.   Across which ocean?
Q2) The relay was in which year of the 1960s?
Q3) A picture of a well known New York landmark was included in the broadcast.   Which landmark?
Q4) Which Parisian landmark was included?
Q5) Which US President made a brief appearance in the broadcast?
Q6) BBC stalwart, Richard Dimbleby, also featured in the broadcast: speaking from which European city?
Q7) The ‘most trusted man in America’ spoke in the Telstar broadcast: who was that man?
Q8) Which European broadcasters handled the European end of the Telstar relay: the BBC, Ireland’s RTE or French broadcaster, France 2?
Q9) The four North American broadcasters involved in the relay were NBC, CBS, ABC and CBC.   Which of those broadcasters is Canadian?
Q10) Finally … Which agency launched Telstar?
Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …
Q1) 22nd July, 1992, saw Pablo Escobar escape from a prison in Columbia.   He’d been head of which drug cartel?
A1) The Medellin Cartel.
Q2) Some call the 22nd July, Pi Approximation Day: as the fraction the date resembles, is a common approximation of Pi.   What IS the fraction?
A2) 22/7.
Q3) More to the point, Pi represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its … what?
A3) Diameter.
Q4) 22nd July is — for many churches — the feast day of Mary Magdalene.   How many demons is Jesus said to have cast out of her?
A4) Seven.
Q5) Singer-songwriter and drummer, Don Henley, was born on the 22nd July, 1947.   With which US band did he find fame?
A5) The Eagles.
Q6) Finally … FBI agents shot and killed Public Enemy Number One: on 22nd July, 1934.   Who WAS Public Enemy Number One?
I’ll leave you with this thought …
“To understand how quickly we're cooking the planet, we need good data. To have good data, we need good satellites.”
Jeff Goodall.
And the only tune I could use … 


You have a good day.   I’m going to get a price for this internal drive … 







*        Niska, you mean, Debbi?   I’ll try not to say TOO much, but there’s a scene between her and Dr Millican — the William Hurt character — that’s riveting to watch.   It’s sort of old school UK science-fiction: dialogue based, nicely ambiguous and establishing the two characters relationship.   The fact Niska punches like Mike Tyson only adds to the tension.   And yes, I’m sympathetic.   As I recall, the scene in episode one — I think! — that did it for me is after she’s … um … ‘used’ … and then, in the interest of health and safety, gets hosed down … … …   (Oh, sorry about the score: but I was interested in the fraction, rather than the decimal …)

†        You know, Olga, I really should look up my saint’s day!   I couldn’t even tell you if I or any one in my family’s named for one!   Although I know Saint Jude’s Day is late October: the Saint Jude’s Day storm, a couple of years ago, knocked out the aerial in my block of flats.   I happened to remember it because it took my landlords a dog’s age to repair it: I missed the Dr Who anniversary as a result.   And because the storm — and the saint — happen to share their name with my four year old nephew, Jude.   (Oh, and those multi-region players can be so handy, if we can afford them!   Mind you, I’m like you: I’m renting more and more movies via iTunes.)

1 comment:

Debbi said...

Yeah, mighty sh*te treatment that! :) If I may use the UK/Irish vernacular. I hope I'm not being offensive.

1. the Atlantic
2. 1962
3. the Statue of Liberty
4. the Eiffel Tower
5. John F. Kennedy
6. Brussels
7. Walter Cronkite
8. the BBC
9. CBC
10. NASA