The Daily Teaser — 28-5-2013: Alan Turing

You know, I have to admit, I’m listening to to a documentary I recorded last night: the first episode of the new series of Mastertapes.

This opening episode … ?   Features  Wilko Johnson*, founder member and original singer-songwriter for Dr Feelgood, discussing their debut album, Down By The Jetty.

The band were possibly the one band that had the biggest influence on Britain’s punk movement of the 1970s.

Hmmm … You know, I mite just have to see if that’s available on iTunes.   I always think it’s important to have one definitive album in one’s collection.

Hmmm … Let’s get moving on, shall we … ?

~≈†≈~

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting her answers in: along with putting up this post, she also bagged five out of six†.

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

Q1) 28th May, 1936, saw Alan Turing release the paper that defined the computer: it’s commonly known as ‘On Computable …’ what …?

Q2) How did Turing refer to computers: as universal, global or ubiquitous machines … ?

Q3) During World War 2, Turing worked at the Government Code and Cypher School, in Bletchley Park.   In which English county is Bletchley Park … ?

Q4) Bletchley Park is also the home of Britain’s National Museum Of Computing.   The Museum opened in which year … ?

Q5) Modern computers are all said to be Turing what: total, complete, or entire … ?

Q6) And finally … Turing eventually committed suicide by eating a poisoned  what …?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers … 

Q1) 27th May, 1995, saw which actor paralysed from the neck down, after a horse riding accident in Virginia … ?

A1) Christopher Reeve.

Q2) 27th May, 1937, saw the Golden Gate Bridge open to pedestrian traffic.   In which US state is the Golden Gate Bridge … ?

A2) California.

Q3) More to the point, the northern end of the Bridge is in which US city … ?

A3) San Francisco.

Q4) 27th May, 1934, saw the birth of which famously contentious science fiction writer … ?

A4) Harlan Ellison.

Q5) 27th May, 1968, saw which Canadian city become the first to host an official National League Baseball team … ?

A5) Montreal.

Q6) And finally … 27th May, 1919, saw the ending of the world’s first transatlantic flight: in which Portuguese city … ?

A6) Lisbon.

I’ll leave you with this quote from I’ll leave you with this thought from Dr Turing, himself …

“A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine.”

Alan Turing.

With this tune from Kraftwerk … 

Oh, and as I’ve mention Wilko and the guys … ?

Here … 

*        I actually saw Johnson playing at the Essex Arms, when I worked there: back when he was touring with Salvator Ramundo and occasional Blockhead Norman Watt-Roy.   Watt-Roy could make you weep, as a bassist: I always watched him play, with despair, thinking I’d never be that good at something.   Wilko, on the other hand … ?   Inspirational: I watched, thinking “I could do that … ”

†        Hmmm … Don’t know if I needed THAT much detail, Debbi! :D