The Daily Teaser — 12-08-2012

You know, I have to admit, I was up rather late, last night.

Believe it or not, put next weeks Teaser videos together.

I think I’ve managed a good job on them: although I’ll let you tell me whether I’ve succeeded.

I do know I’m thinking that this year’s Left-Hander’s Day video isn’t quite as good as last years.   That was definitely a bit special, that one … 

Either way … ?

Either way, I think we should get moving on, shouldn’t we: my brain is already — mentally — eyeing itself up in the bathroom mirror, muttering incoherently to itself … 

☱☲☴☲☱

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting in her answers: along with mentioning what I could pick up from a good manual*, and bagging 5 out of 6ª.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 12th August is the traditional start for the Grouse hunting season, in the UK:  exactly what species of Grouse is usually hunted … ?

Q2) More to the point, what’s the name of the old, Narrow Gauge, railway line that transported hunting parties to the relevant parts of Scotland.

Q3) 12th August, 1981, saw the release of the IBM PC: what does IBM stand for … ?

Q4) 12th August, 1851, saw Isaac Singer patent his sewing machine.   His first patent, in 1839, was for what: a gramophone, a rock drilling machine or a stamp perforator … ?

Q5) 12th August, 1964, saw the escape of which of the Great Train Robbers … ?

Q6) And finally … 12th August, 1964, saw which country banned from the Olympic Games … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 11th August, 1999, saw the last Solar Eclipse of the 20th Century.   These occur when what comes between the Earth and the Sun … ?

A1) The Moon.

Q2) More to the point, what was the only county of the UK to witness the total eclipse … ?

A2) Cornwall.

Q3) Equally to the point, this was the first eclipse visible in the UK, since which year … ?

A3) 1927.

Q4) Moving on … 11th August, 3114 BC, is the start date for the Meso-American Long Count calendar.   How many days does each year have in this calendar … ?

A4) The main year has 360 days: or 365.   Whereas the ritual one has 260.   (21st December of this year — which is when the world’s supposed to end — is 13·0·0·0·0, in the calendar.   Seemingly, today is 12·19·19·11·6 13 Kimi 9Yaxk’in G1. Apparently, we’re not allowed to gut anyone … )

Q5) 11th August, 1971, saw a British team led by whom, win the Admiral’s Cup … ?

A5) Prime Minister Edward Heath.

Q6) And finally … 11th August, 1929, saw whom become the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career … ?

A6) George Herman Babe Ruth.

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

After we’ve celebrated Sparks keyboard player, Ron Mæl’s birthday with the following … 

And a quote from Erwin Schrödinger …

“No self is of itself alone. It has a long chain of intellectual ancestors. The ‘I’ is chained to ancestry by many factors … This is not mere allegory, but an eternal memory.”Erwin Schrödinger, 12 August 1887 – 4 January 1961

*        Which is how I originally found out about the .plist problem, Debbi: through O’Reilly/Pogue Press’s Missing Manual range.   Actually, if you get the chance, the relevant one for the version of Windows you’re using is a good investment.

ª        It’s not really a trick one, Debbi: there’s actually a couple of definitions …