Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 19-12-2020: Édith

19th December, 2020.

It’s official: I’m having a BAD morning.

It looks like either I’ve left my freezer open, over night … or it’s popped open, over night.

Either way, the contents of my freezer have defrosted.

This far from payday … ?

I’ve not exactly got food!

~≈¥≈~

So frankly?

I’m sat here, in a mood that Orwell — or, at least a fluent speaker of Newspeak — would potentially describe as doubleplusannoyed.

What has helped?   Is the laptop saga!

Frankly, I’ve decided to hand the thing back in, and cancel the course for now.

I spent a lot of yesterday morning … ?

Trying to get the thing to work, with help from my landlord’ IT guy, so that I could do the opening test.

It turns out the course could happily be done with the online free version of MS Office: but the test I needed to do first, needed the desktop version of Office 2013 or 2016.

The laptop had Office 2010, which wouldn’t work with it.

And an unregistered version of 2016 that would … once it was registered!

To top that lot?

I’d signed up for a free Outlook email account: so I could access the web version of Office.

But, when I tried using it, yesterday?

I found I’d been locked out for violating the terms of service*.

How?

I don’t know!

I think I reached my limit, there!

And emailed both my tutor and my landlords: to cancel the course, and hand the laptop back.

My intention, right now?

Is to reapply for course, later in the year.

By then?

The COVID-19 situation will have died down, and I could do the course at the local adult education: the people running it.

Even if I DID still have to do it at home … ?

I’d know what I’d need to ask for, from my landlords.

I’d avoid a lot of palaver!

~≈¥≈~

Let’s move on, shall we?

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Olga†, Trevor‡, Mum^, Debbiª and Edithº putting in their answers: with Olga, Trevor and Debbi scoring five out of five, Mum on four, and Edith on two.

Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the How To, License and video … 

Q1)        19th December saw the birth of Édith Piaf.   In which year of the 20th Century?

Q2)        She was born in Belleville: a suburb of which French city?

Q3)        Édith was known as La Môme Piaf. In other words, the Little … what?

Q4)        Her first appearances were in Le Gerny’s.   What was Le Gerny’s: a night club, cabaret or coffee bar?

Q5)        Finally … ?   Who played Édith in the biography, La Vie en rose: Marion Cotillard, Cate Blanchette or Róisín Murphy?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers … 

Q1)        18th December, 1963, saw the birth of actor, Brad Pitt.   In which Ridley Scott film does he play J.D?

A1)        Thelma and Louise.

Q2)        18th December, 1946, saw the birth of Steven Spielberg.   His first TV work — on Rod Serling’s Night Gallery — saw him directing whom: Betty Davis, Marilyn Monroe or Joan Crawford?

A2)        Joan Crawford.

Q3)        The USA adopted the Thirteenth Amendment on 18th December, 1865.   What did the Amendment abolish: slavery, war or crime?

A3)        Slavery.

Q4)        Kellingley Colliery, the UK’s last deep coal mine, closed on 18th December of which year of the 21st century?

A4)        2015.

Q5)        Finally … ?   18th December, 1870, saw the birth of writer, Hector Hugh Munro. He was better known how: Chuhai, Saki or Umeshu?

A5)        Saki.

Here’s a thought …

“I want to make people cry even when they don’t understand my words.”

Édith Piaf.

And a playlist …

Today’s questions will be answered in tomorrow’s Teaser.

Feel free to share today’s video Teaser.

Have a good day.

*        I’ve managed to regain access: after — HA! — getting a series of code numbers sent to my mobile phone by SMS.   Text messages are about the one thing it can receive, with the phone mast still down.

†        Well … right now, I’m handing the thing back, Olga: I can have another try, later in 2021.   Even if I do have to do it from home, I’ll have a better idea of what needs doing.   Actually, I’ve set up a diary entry for it, in next August.   You should see the notes: they’re extensive.

Your patient possibly had his own Windows laptop: that would be easier, as he’d already have the admin password, which was the initial thing I needed.

Yes, I remember you saying about changing the drive.   A clean reinstall, after that, should be easy: as most Windows laptops have the product key on the bottom.

As for Office … ?   I wish more places used OpenOffice!   I wouldn’t need the key for it!   (Looking at it right now?   I’m convinced that’s all that’s needed … !)

Which remained me, I’ve never actually seen Raging Bull … !

‡        Morning, Trevor!   Please don’t mention Windows!

^        Morning, Mum.   Can you thank Anna for me, please?

ª        Should I have added an alarm, for that pun, Debbi?   😀

Can you poke me, when that interview comes up?   Please?   (Oh, remember I’m boycotting the BBC America take on The Watch?   The first review’s out: and the reviewer wasn’t impressed.)

º        I’ll have to check that out at some point, Edith!   I do know there’s a few Dire Straits tunes that are Story songs as well.   Money for Nothing’s two delivery men having an argument.   Private Investigation’s a private eye.   Romeo and Juliet is the love song!  Sultans of Swing, now I think about it?   It’s about about a man who stops who stops at a pub for a pint on the way home from work … only to find there’s a rather bad Jazz band playing!   (Oh, and Tina Turner’s Private Dancer is another story song: one written by the lead singer of Dire Straits!)