Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 17th September, 2021.

17th September, 2021.

Drat is definitely the word, I think.

The bulb in my lamp has gone.

I think I’m going to have to buy a new one … as it’s a screw-in bulb, rather then a bayonet one.

In other words … ?

It’s a bulb I don’t have!

Oy!

~≈💡≈~

A hero died yesterday.

I grew up in the 1980s: back when home computers — cheap computers aimed at the home user — were invented.

They were everywhere: the Oric, the BBC, the Commodore 64 … 

The ZX Spectrum: the computer I grew up on, and the computer that taught a generation of British programmers to code, in much the same way that people are now learning on the Raspberry Pi.

Especially the games programmers.

At least one old friend owes his career to the Spectrum: and to the man who invented it.

It was cheap, available, and comparatively easy to use.

Yesterday … ?

Yesterday saw the death of inventor, Clive Sinclair: the man behind Sinclair Research, and the ZX Spectrum, died.

The man could, famously, be difficult to work with … but also was possibly* the biggest influence on the British computer industry, today.

He’ll be missed: and hard to replace.

~≈🌈≈~

Let’s move on, shall we?

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

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

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

Q1)        17th September, 1849, saw Harriet Tubman escape from slavery.   What biblical nickname did she use, when helping others to escape: Moses, Aaron or Solomon?

Q2)        17th September, 1939, saw the Soviet Union begin its invasion of where: Poland, Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia?

Q3)        NASA rolled out OV-101 on 17th September, 1976.   OV-101 was which of the Space Shuttles: the Enterprise, Discovery or Challenger?

Q4)        17th September, 1923, saw the birth of singer, Hank Williams.   Who played Williams in 2015 biopic, I Saw the Light?

Q5)        The late great Roddy McDowall was born on 17th September, 1928.   He played Dr Cornelius in which 1968 film?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers … 

Q1)        16th September is Malaysia Day: marking the day the Malaysian Federation was formed. In which year was it formed: 1963, 1964 or 1965?

A1)        1963.

Q2)        16th September is the UN sponsored International Day for The Preservation of what: the Oceans, the Ozone Layer or the Giraffe?

A2)        Ozone Layer.

Q3)        Tomás de Torquemada died on 16th September, 1498.   Famously, he was the leader of the Spanish … what?

A3)        Inquisition.   Ernesto Jiménez, one of the character’s in El Ministerio del Tiempo, is Torquemada’s father. 

Q4)        W. O. Bentley was born on 16th September, 1888.   Which car company did he found: Rolls-Royce, Bentley or Aston Martin?

A4)        Unsurprisingly? Bentley.

Q5)        Finally … ?   16th September, 1968, saw the UK’s Post Office introduce its new, first class, stamps.   How much did those stamps cost: 5d, 6d or 7d?

A5)        5d.   (The d stood for denarius: the old Roman equivalent to a penny.)

Here’s a thought … 

“A good song is a good song, and if I’m lucky enough to write it, well … !”

Hank Williams, September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953.

And a song …

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

The quizmaster’s decisions about scores are final.

Thank you for coming: have a good day.

*        The reason I say possibly the biggest influence?   Is simply that Sinclair Research’s business rivals at the time were Acorn: the people behind the BBC computer.   Acorn eventually turned into ARM: the company behind the chips in your phone.

†        I’ll tell you what, Olga, Juan Gea put some overtime in on that episode!   I still think that, if they ever make a Spanish version of the work of Terry Pratchett, he’d be perfect as Lord Vetinari.   He’s got the eyes.   Mind you, so would Jaime Blanch, given the way he plays Salvador!

        Oh, the church doubles as a food bank?   So does one of Brentwood’s: but it’s awkward to get to, unless you drive.

        You know, I’ll have to keep an eye open for a Christie novel or two: not doing so seems mildly wrong … 

‡        It’s official, Trevor: you can now wander around the High Street making baaaaa noises.

        At any rate … ?   I think I’d be able to sell those for you, regardless of the state of the keys: a potential customer can always attach a USB keyboard.   The fact that they’re running a recent version of Windows is a selling point: MUCH as I’d hate to say it.   (The last one was running XP, and had no WiFi!   It sold.   I got £27 for it: so I’d expect newer models to do much better.)

        So long as you can give them a factory reset, and can drop them off with the chargers, we can come to some arrangement.

^        It’s the old saying applies, there, Debbi.   “Good artists borrow.   Great artists steal!”

        Mind you … Steve Jobs is supposed to have said “Great artists ship!”   (Did I mention the ZX Spectrum, Debbi?   The chap who invented it, died yesterday.)

º        Experience tells me, Trevor, that — so long as customers are told about these things — they’re usually fine about them.