Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 29th June, 2018

29th June, 2018.

Yep: ‘strange mood’ is one way of putting it.

I think I’m getting a sense of general malaise: caused by the simple fact today is payday … 

And the money I get … isn’t going to last much beyond today.

Wouldn’t you know it … ?

I do know that — last year — I got a tax rebate.   An honest to God, tax rebate.

Enough to put a chunk towards my rent, and get a new pair of glasses.

I’ve not had the form that tells me if I’m due another, this year.

And, frankly?   Much as I’d LOVE a great big chunk of money landing on my doorstep, I’m also realistic enough to realise I’ve never had a tax rebate, two years in a row.

I should coco … !

~≈§≈~

The Daily Teaser — 19-3-2015: Mars Needs Women … !

Do you read the Brentwood Gazette, at all … ?

Then you’ll know I write a weekly brain teaser for them.

And … ?   Well I mentioned in yesterday’s weekly Teaser — all about the Tolpuddle Maryrs — that I was looking out for a new phone.

Well … I managed to have a look in my carrier’s local shop: in Brentwood High Street.

As you can imagine?   FRANKLY, I’d prefer an iPhone: you’d possibly guessed, hadn’t you?

But right at the moment … ?

Right at the moment, I’ll be happy to get whatever cheap Android phone’s going.   So long as I can Tweet from the thing … !

~≈Ê≈~

The Daily Teaser — 13-09-2012

You know, I have to admit, I’ve now got a chance to say ‘Well, finally’.

For one thing … ?   Apple’s released it’s new iPhone and iPod Touch.

And I have to admit, I’m enough of an Apple fanboi to admit I WANT one.

NOW!

I’m so very tempted to mug the nearest person holding £250 … !

But on a more serious note … ?

On a more serious note, yesterday also say the release of the complete set of papers on the Hillsborough disaster.

Which has confirmed what the victims’ families have been saying for many years.   That the police had altered witness statements, to shift the blame from the emergency services, to the victims.

I’ll let you work out the implications of the Hillsborough papers … 

~~~~~

Moving on … 

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her answers: and, along with admitting A Town Called Mercy looks goo, also bagged either 5 out of 6 or 6 out of 6, depending on your sources.

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) In non-leap years, 13th September is the 256th day of the year: how is 256 shown in binary … ?

Q2) 13th September, 1994, saw the Ulysses probe pass the south pole of what … ?

Q3) More to the point, Ulysses is the Latin translation of the name of which Greek hero … ?

Q4) Moving on … 13th September, 1788, saw which city become the temporary capital of the USA?

Q5) 13th September, 1953, saw Nikita Khrushchev elected as General Secretary of the USSR: what was his full title … ?

Q6) And finally … which New York prison was stormed by National Guardsmen, in order to end a prison riot, on 13th September, 1971?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 12th September, 2001, saw President George Bush declare a war on … what … ?

A1) Terror.

Q2) 12th September, 1846, saw Elizabeth Barrett elope with Robert Browning: in which European country did the two poets live much of their married life … ?

A2) Italy.

Q3) More to the point, in which town did they initially live … ?

A3) Pisa.

Q4) 12th September, 1910, saw the premiere of the last of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies to be premiered during his lifetime.   Which symphony was it … ?

A4) His 8th Symphony in E♭ Major.   (If you follow that first link, to a performance of the symphony, you can see why it’s been nicknamed Symphony of a Thousand.   When Gustav said “Let’s go BIG”, he didn’t muck about!)

Q5) 12th September, 1977, saw the death of which activist … ?

A5) Steve Biko.

Q6) And finally … 12th September, 2003, saw the death of legend, Johnny Cash: what was the name of the last UK Top Forty single he released, while he was still alive?

A6) Hurt.

Enjoy those, everyone.

Given it’s Arnold Schœnberg’s birthday, today, we’ll have something classyº, shall we?

I’ll leave you with this though from playwright, J. B. Priestley.

“In plain words; now that Britain has told the world she has the H-Bomb, she should announce as early as possible that she has done with it, that she proposes to reject, in all circumstances, nuclear warfare. This is not pacifism. There is no suggestion here of abandoning the immediate defence of this island...No, what should be abandoned is the idea of deterrence-by-threat-of-retaliation. There is no real security in it, no decency in it, no faith, hope, nor charity in it.”

J. B. Priestly, 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984

*        I know you’ve probably got access to a lot more of the original records, Debbi: and memories, as well.   But I had to depend on the BBC’s report … 

º        And that’s one of his less way-out compositions … 

Steve Jobs: Chairman of the Board … !

Blimey …

THAT’S a bit …

Sudden … !

Now, I don’t know if you‘re anything of a technology fan, but I am.

Well …

More of a gadget fan, let’s put it that way.

And I’ll happily admit that I’m a Mac fan, been one for years, and intend to keep being, for as long as the budget holds out.

AHEM!

But at any rate … ?

At any rate, I’m as aware as any one of the influence of one particular member of Apple’s management team .

The Big Kahuna, himself, Steve Jobs.

Who announced, late last night … ?

That he was stepping down as Apple’s Chief Executive Officer, becoming Apple’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, and handing the CEO position to former Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook.

I was … shocked, to say the least.

After all, Jobs has been, along with Bill Gates of Microsoft, one of computing’s most recognisable figures: and, as Apple’s public face since 1997, the spokesman for the company’s much vaunted kit*.

»»·««

So this kind of shocked me.

Shocked …

But didn’t exactly surprise me.

After all, his health has been notoriously iffy, for quite some time: and in a way that famously influences Apple’s share prices, whenever changes to it are announced.

But personally … ?

Well, I shocked — and mildly worried — to hear it …

But I’m thinking the company will still do well, despite Jobs’ absence from day-to-day running of the company.

He has, after all, made sure it’s in a VERY good position …

* Which I’ll happily admit, I’ve been recommending to people, ever since I got my first Mac, back in about 2002.

Head’s Up

Yes, a Head’s Up!

And literally a quick one, at that.

After noticing a couple of things on the Technology section of the BBC’s news site.

First off … ?

And one that grabbed me, after switching on the first Safari extension I installed … ?

Was all about how extensions and add-ons for modern-day browsers can — potentially — interfere with the Private Browsing feature.

Not a big worry for me, as Safari’s Private Browsing feature isn’t something I use often, but something to be aware of, I think.

‹‹‹•›››

The second … ?

Was the news that a worm aimed at jail-broken iPhones — ones owned by users in the Netherlands, with accounts with Dutch bank, ING and that had SSH (secure shell) installed — that directed them to a fake version of the banks website.

Then stole their details.

I know at least two iPhone users: and I’m willing to bet you know at least one.

And am going to suggest you and I put the word around.

Someone over here will think “THAT’S a good idea,” at some point …

‹‹‹•›››

The News Zoo

Oy Veh!

Wouldn’t you know it, Apple are having MORE trouble with their latest model of iPhone, the iPhone4. Seemingly, some customers are having trouble with the antenna on the latest model.

Which could give the company trouble, but hopefully is something that can be fixed, fairly soon.

Apple, after all, do have a reputation to maintain.

‹‹‹•›››

Oh, there’s another piece of technical news, that’s caught my attention, as well.

Icann — the regulatory body who oversee the net — have announced that they’ll be creating and overseeing a new domain name — the .com/.net/.mac/.org/.co.uk parts of the end of a web address — called ‘.xxx’.

I can’t help but think that’s a good thing.

After all, I, like a LOT of other single guys — straight, gay, bi, and all points in-between — like looking at pictures of naked women. (Or men, in the case of my gay, bi, and whatever friends)

So it’s nice to know there’s a specific something to look for, out there.

It’ll probably also be handy for those of us with families: those of my friends that do have kids will probably appreciate being able to set up their machines to block this sort of sites, for particular account holders.

Oh, granted, there’s probably ways of getting around that, already.

That’s how’s fast these things go, after all.

But at least it’s a start!

The News Zoo

OK, this is going to be as quick as I can possibly get it to be, but I’ve had a couple of things wander across me attention.

First off, I’ve been having a float ’round both the BBC teletext service, and their online news page.

Seemingly, Adobe have admitted that there’s a “critical security vulnerability” in its Reader, Acrobat and Flash Player products.

And that these are cross platform: in other words, the vulnerability affects versions of the software on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux distros.

Understandably, I’ve warned as many of my friends as possible.

It’s also why I’m telling you … !

If I’ve understood things correctly, by the way, Adobe are advising people to update to the most recent versions of the relevant software, AND update what virus protection we’re using.

Well … ?

Don’t just SIT there, this could be a bad one … !!!

•••••

Second into bat, is the news that — as most Apple developers will be able to tell you — today sees the start of Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference.

And my cynical side is turning ’round and wondering who’s complaining about the lack of iPhone support for Flash, now?

But I’ve got to admit, I’ve just had a look at some of Apple’s bumf about the new generation of iPhone, announced by Steve Jobs, at that conference.

It does look impressive.

But I can only hope that’s the boys from Cupertino have managed to clean up that water-damage problem Watchdog mentioned, a while back …

•••••

Finally, and with all due thanks to the team at Life, Dr Who and ComBom for mentioning this … !!

It looks like the BBC has commissioned a fourth series of Torchwood.

No guarantees, of course, as it’s in partnership with a US channel called Starz, but it looks like Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner will be in charge.

Which, for those of us who are missing them, could be fun … !!

⌫⌧⌦