The Friday Question Set — 21-09-2012

Oh, well, now … 

That’s a result.

I’ll be frank, this has been something of a long week for me.

What with ONE thing and another.

But, I have to say that, as a result of putting my CV in the Brentwood branch Argos, had a phone interview, earlier today.

OK, it’s only for a Christmas temp job: and knowing my luck, I’ll get no-where NEAR it.

But that did put a nice shine on my day.

But enough burbling, already.

Let’s get moving on, shall we?

÷÷÷÷÷

After all, today is Friday.

Which — obviously — means that I release this week’s Friday Question Set.

Here it is, covered, as ever, by the usual Creative Commons License.

Online 169   ROUND ONE.   GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) Which shop first opened in Rochdale, in 1844?   A1) The Co-op.

Q2) Which children’s author is the most borrowed from the UK’s libraries: Jaqueline Wilson, J. K. Rowling, or Lewis Carol?   A2) Jacqueline Wilson.

Q3) From which language does the word ‘Steppe’ originate?   A3) Russian.

Q4) How many kings are there, in 3 packs of playing cards?   A4) 12.

Q5) What type of bird of prey gives its name to a Native American axe?   A5) A hawk.

Q6) What colour is the Taj Mahal?   A6) White.   (India.)

Q7) Alice, Victoria or Mary: which of those names has not been given to a reigning queen of England?   A7) Alice.

Q8) Which Russian city does a Muscovite come from?   A8) Moscow.

Q9) Acupuncture involves what, needles, nails, or axes?   A9) Needles.

Q10) A lasso is usually made out of what?   A10) Rope.

ROUND TWO.   SO HIGH, IT’S FASHIONABLE.   

Q11) Which snake has given its name to a frivolous fashion garment worn round the neck?    A11) A boa.

Q12) What is Manolo Blahnik famous for?   A12) Shoes.

Q13) What is a bumfreezer: a jacket, a pair of trousers, or really patchy underwear?   A13) A short jacket.

Q14) What name is given to a pad or frame worn to puff out a woman’s skirt at the rear?   A14) A bustle.

Q15) Which couple designed the wedding dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales?   A15) The Emmanuels.

Q16) Who markets the Obsession, Eternity, Escape and CK One fragrances?   A16) Calvin Klein.

Q17) What kind of goods does the Louis Vuitton company specialise in?  A17) Leather bags.

Q18) With which colour was Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli particularly associated?   A18) Pink.

Q19) In a Harvey Nichols poll conducted in 2005, what emerged as Britain’s favourite fashion item ever?   A19) The miniskirt.

Q20) Which 1960s model was known as ‘the Shrimp’?   A20) Jean Shrimpton.

ROUND THREE.   ON ISLANDS.   

Q21) What is Lindisfarne otherwise known as: Holy Island, Easter Island or Christmas Island?    A21) Holy Island.

Q22) Fair Isle is part of which island group: the Shetlands, the Faroes or the Orkneys?      A22) The Shetlands.

Q23) Which medal was awarded to the island of Malta for its heroic defence during World War II?   A23) The George Cross.

Q24) Which Caribbean island is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti?   A24) Hispaniola.

Q25) On which Hawaiian island would you find Pearl Harbour?   A25) Oahu.

Q26) On which South African island was Nelson Mandela imprisoned for many years?   A26) Robben Island.

Q27) On which island is the volcano Mount Etna?   A27) Sicily.

Q28) On which Mediterranean island might you view the Blue Grotto: Capri, Sicily or Tasmania?   A28) Capri.

Q29) What is the name of the island on which the Statue of Liberty stands?   A29) Ellis Island.

Q30) What animals were the Canary Islands named after; – dogs, cats or birds?   A30) Dogs. (their name in Latin is 1nsulae Canariae, meaning ‘Island of the Dogs’).

ROUND FOUR.   NAME THAT TUNE.   

Q31) “What we gonna tell your pa, what we gonna tell your friends when they say ‘ooh la’”?   A31) Wake Up Little Susie The Everly Brothers.

Q32) “No more dreaming about tomorrow, forget the loneliness and the sorrow”?    A32) Especially For You Kylie & Jason .

Q33) “You took a mystery and made me want it, you got a pedestal & put me on it”?   A33) Chain Reaction, Diana Ross.

Q34) “Gimme little bass, make me wine up me waist.”   A34) Up Town, Top Ranking Anthea & Donna.

Q35) “Here I lie, in a lost and lonely part of town”   A35) Tragedy, by the Bee Gees.   (And covered by Steps)

Q36) “I see trees of green, red roses too.”   A36) What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong.   

Q37) “There goes my love, rocket red.”   A37) Love Missile F1-11, Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

Q38) “Where did you come from, where did you go.”   A38) Cotton Eye Joe, The Rednex.

Q39) “In world war two, the average age of the combat soldier was 26.”   A39) 19, by Paul Hardcastle.

Q40) “You’re weird, in tears, too near and too far away.”   A40) Ready to Go/i>, by Republica.

ROUND FIVE.   TV DINNERS.   

Q41) When did Jackanory, first go on air: 1955, 1960, or 1965?   A41) 1965.

Q42) In which television series did Katie Holmes star, between 1998 and 2003?   A42) Dawson’s Creek.

Q43) Which television detective series starred Cybil Shepard and Bruce Willis?   A43) Moonlighting.

Q44) Where did the characters in Friends” live: the Upper East Side, Manhattan or SoHo?   A44) Manhattan.

Q45) On which daytime show, would you find ; Coleen, Kaye, Carol and Jane?   A45) Loose Women.

Q46) In Fawlty Towers, which Spanish city did Manuel come from: Madrid, Seville or  Barcelona?   A46) Barcelona.

Q47) Which television character, comes from the planet Gallifrey?   A47) Doctor Who.

Q48) After much criticism on adoption, which television chat show host did Madonna choose to be interviewed by?   A48) Oprah Winfrey.

Q49) In which TV soap was Trevor Jordache buried under the patio?   A49) Brookside.

Q50) In The Simpsons, what was Marge Simpson’s maiden name?   A50) Bouvier.

ROUND SIX.   GENERAL IGNORANCE.   

Q51) The International car registration ET stands for which country?   A51) Egypt.

Q52) Until 1971, Bangladesh was called what?   A52) East Pakistan.

Q53) During the 1980s, two bands had a drummer called Roger Taylor: name one of them.   (Two points for both.)   A53) Queen, or Duran Duran.

Q54) Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday to which US president?   A54) John F. Kennedy.

Q55) In cockney rhyming slang, what are ‘plates of meat?’   A55) Feet.

Q56) The character, Michelle Fowler appeared in which soap?   A56) EastEnders.

Q57) What does the C stand for, in CBE?   A57) Commander.

Q58) What’s the capital of the Falkland Isles’?   A58) Port Stanley.

Q59) What word can go after ‘monk’ and before ‘cake?’   A59) Fish.

Q60) Which planet is named after the Roman god of war?   A60) Mars.

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

Mixed Feelings

OK, granted, the Watchmen* take on the old Smiley icon.

But I’m blowed if I could find one that meant ‘mixed feelings’, I really couldn’t.

You remember that I’d had an interview, yesterday, with a little telesales company, out in Brentwood’s equivalent of the proverbial sticks … ?

Well …

I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t get it.

I’m …

Well, I’ll be honest, I’m having mixed feelings about that, as I’m sure you’ve probably guessed.

On the one hand … ?

It’s the first actual interview I’ve had for a while: and, while I’m alway’s uncertain of how well I did — I’m ALWAY’S uncertain about these things — I think the fact that I was offered a try out, almost on the spot, tells me that I was impressive enough.

Or that the company concerned were desperateº.

At ANY rate, the try-out was scheduled for this morning.

Then re-scheduled — late yesterday — for tomorrow morning.

I was mildly grateful: it gave me a chance to check on the bus timetables, and whether the company that operated the sole bus route to Doddinghurst offered season tickets, and what kind of help my local benefits office could offer me.

THEN I got cancelled, this morning, not long after I’d got out of the shower and posted up today’s Teaser.

Hmmm …

Frustrating …

You can imagine …

»»•««

At any rate, I’ll confess, this is exactly where the mixed feelings came in.

The job was offering what — to me — was a very good basic salary, plus commission on top, for a job that seemed well with-in my abilities: or, if not within them, then certainly easy enough to learn.

All I had to do was make sure of the bus route and time table, pass that try and …

And supply me bank details as needed, so any pay could go through, on payday.

So, as you can imagine … ?

As you can imagine, getting the proverbial elbow, before I’d actually been hired was both frustrating …

And something of a relief.

After all, getting there would have been something of a chore, I think: as much of a chore as getting to central London.

And …

Well, there’s something else, as well.

I know SOME of the land in this part of the world‘s fairly cheap.

But having an office on a farm in seriously rural Essex … ?

Well …

There’s something odd there …

* I’ve got to admit, the 2009 film version was one of the few times a film managed to stay close to it’s source material: what’s more, I think Jackie Earle Haley as Roschach was something else …

º I’m inclined to the latter, to be frank …

L-Space … And The Thing In Chelmsford …

WHAT a morning … !

Seriously, I’ve think I’ve had a bad one.

And one that’s partly no one’s fault, bar mine!

Did I mention, in today’s Teaser, that I’d an interview lined up?

In Chelmsford?

Yeah, THAT was the one …

You know, one of these day’s, I’m going to really have to invest in a sat-nav, or something like it. Because I managed to get myself lost …

Lost … !

I mean, it’s not as if I’m completely clueless …

§§§§§

Tim, Adrian, Don’t! I can hear the silly remarks from here!

§§§§§

But, at any rate, I’ve phoned the company concerned: and they’ve happily rearranged the interview, for this coming Monday.

Here’s hoping …

•••••

But let’s get moving on, shall we?

Yes …

The handy thing about the job I’m going for is that it’s one I managed to find in the hallowed pages of the Brentwood Gazette.

And this weeks issue … ?

Well, this week’s issue had a little announce about the fact that Essex Library service is to introduce Wi-Fi to all Essex Libraries.

To quote the Jack Nicholson version of The Joker, “It’s your Uncle BINGO!”

Well, it’s not like the Gazette keep’s up, now is it?

So what I’ve done …

Is what I usually do, when something in the Gazette catches my eye.

I sent them an email, obviously …

Oh, and told them about the previous two posts.

Well, I was kind of obliged, I think …

At any rate, here’s the text of what I sent to the Gazette.

Dear Editor …

I’ve got to admit, I read this weeks issue, with a great deal of interest.

Especially the small article about wi-fi access at all the Libraries in Essex.

Oh, boy, wi-fi access in libraries!

Now, can I admit that I’ve made something of a pest of of myself, with Essex Council’s library service, over the past couple of weeks? Mostly on the back of the fact that — as things stand — both Brentwood and Shenfield Libraries computers have are notoriously bad at dealing with USB flash memory sticks. Those little thingies that are slowly replacing blank CD’s and floppy disc as a way of storing pictures, Word documents, and other files.

You probably wouldn’t believe that amount of times I’ve needed something printed and taken it to the Library on a flash drive … only to NOT have the thing recognised by their machines.

So, I’ll happily admit that I wrote to Susan Carragher, Essex County Council’s Director of Adult Learning and Libraries, and Joanna Killian, the Chief Executive, to ask about this: and a few other things, as well …

Which is when Ms Carragher told me about the planned upgrades.

And about a planned ‘new software build’ that the council was planning.

Being as aware of the choices in software available as I am, I jumped.

I’m a Mac fan, so I of course asked if that’s what they’d be replacing the library’s ageing machines with Macs.

Apple usually offer a hefty discount for educational establishments. And if a clever purchaser can’t argue that a library is an educational establishment … ?

•••••

But if they weren’t going to be replacing the machines would they be replacing the software?

I actually went and had a look at Microsoft’s prices for a copy of Windows 7: for the professional version — paralleling the version of Windows XP Professional, currently used — it’s £219.

For a copy for one library computer.

£219 of Essex taxpayers money.

The alternative I mentioned to Ms Carragher was what’s called an open source operating system: in this case, one called Ubuntu.

One which I’m familiar with, as it’s one used by several friends of mine. One that’s user-friendly, usable for the exact same emailing, websurfing, letter writing and online gaming as any other operating system.

And added a good two to three years worth of usable life to their machines.

And what’s more, one that the makers — Canonical Ltd — make available at no cost to either businesses or home users.

A double saving, you might say, considering they won’t have to spend money on new software or hardware, for a while, yet …

•••••

Now I realise reading about this sort of thing probably isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

But with all the parties in the up-coming general election all arguing about the state of the economy, and how they’re planning on saving public money, I’d like to know what — and how — Essex County Council are doing to save money on this important upgrade.

After all, that’s taxpayers money being spent.

I’d hate to see mine being wasted, wouldn’t you?

Hmmm …

Actually, can I ask you a favour?

If that’s ok?

Here’s what I’m gonna ask.

I’ve installed Ubuntu on various friends systems.

And I’ve also met quite a few other people who’ve used it.

And quite a few Mac users, as well: one or two of whom have bought on the basis of me enthusing about the platform at them.

In either case, I’ve know a few people who’ve used various forms of open source software: whether it’s applications like NeoOffice, OpenOffice, GIMP, or whole operating systems, like Ubuntu, or NetBSD.

Which I think is sort of my point.

There’s alternatives: and not just between one type of machine running Windoze, and another, or MS Office and … MS Office.

There’s choices.

What I think I’m going to ask you — if you think it’s something you’d like to do — is either email the Brentwood Gazette, telling them what you use as your choice of machine, why you use it, and whether our libraries have provision to use them wirelessly. And what sort of operating system Essex Council’s going to be using. (Emails to editorial@gazettenews.co.uk)

Or — OR —would you rather send an email to Susan Carragher, herself, to ask about the proposed changes? (You can contact her on Susan.Carragher@essex.gov.uk)

Either way, I think I’d be happy to hear from you, about what you choose to do.

Leave me a comment, folks.

After all, that’s our money being spent!

Those BLOODY trains!!!!!!!

Hmmmmm …

No, that’s the wrong way to start this post, I think.

I’m thinking that the right word is …

Well …

Nothing else for it …

AAAAAAAARRGGHH!

Those BLOODY trains!

I ASK you!!

You may — or may not — remember that I said I had an interview, this morning?

In Chelmsford?

For a company called Appliance Warehouse?

I was heading off to it, this morning! On what was a wet, rainy, bloody miserable day, I’ve got to go to an interview. Still, it was one that I was fairly hopeful about, even though the company’s office was quite some distance from Chelmsford station.

And guess what happened … ?

The train — the 9•12am, that would’ve given me plenty of time to get there — got delayed.

DELAYED!

•••••

I …

WAS …

FUMING!

And, in the frantic ring-roundª to try and get a contact number for Appliance Warehouse — which was futile, as I couldn’t get one that was accessible from a mobile — I missed another train.

Now, as you can imagine, I was — and still am — MIGHTILY hacked off!

In part at myself.

After all, I could’ve salvaged the day, by making damn sure I had the contact number to let Appliance Warehouse know I’d be late, but was on my way.

Which was exactly what I’d done, a couple of weeks ago, when I’d had the interview at the Chelmsford Co-Op.

But I’m also annoyed that the train was delayed in the first place.

And also very much annoyed that — on getting back to Brentwood Station — I was point blank refused a refund.

What I’d been planning to do was get home — after getting a refund for the ticket — re-arrange the interview, go back to Brentwood Station and then repurchase a ticket for the relevant day.

Not the best compromise, I know, but at least it would’ve shown my prospective employer that I was capable of improvising around a set-back.

The refund was refused.

Or, at least, I was told to refer that complaint to National Express’ Customer Services department*.

Near enough identical, to my way of thinking.

I can’t help but think that going that route would lead to a bureaucratic run-around, that would’ve seen the passing of weeks, before I got any sort of cash back.

THAT’S the thing that’s really annoyed me: the £6•30 I spent on the ticket is a lot of money to someone on Jobseekers Allowance.

It’s meant that I’ve had to come home, and phone the chap who’s supposed to have been interviewing me, this morning, to let him know that there’d been problem’s with the trains, and that I’d not be able to make it into another interview until this coming Monday, at the earliest.

That’s when my next benefit check comes in.

I don’t think he was especially impressedº, going by the tone of his voice, but he did, at least, promise to try and phone me back with an alternative date.

Which he hasn’t done.

Can’t say I blame him.

After all, given the rates of unemployment in the UK, today, companies have their choice of prospective employees: ones that can actually make it to an interview stand a better chance of getting the job in question.

•••••

So, right now?

Right now, I am still angry about this morning’s events.

Like I said, earlier, in part at myself, for not thinking of a simple thing like taking a phone number along with me: which tells me that’s something I have to make sure of, in future.

But, BOY am I annoyed at National Express!

•••••

* By a chap who’s name badge identified him as ‘Nacer’ — or possibly ‘Naser’ — , if the quick glance I had of it was correct.

º I know — in his shoes — that I’d not be. To be frank, at the moment, I’m thinking I’ve blown my chances of either getting the job, OR another shot at an interview with the company. Especially as the interviewer hasn’t phoned me back.

ª Actually, I owe a BIG ‘Thank You’ to Sue, Ruth, Simon, Elizabeth, Maggi, Lorna, Anna and especially Gwen, Stef and Adrian, for trying to help out, finding the contact number.