Friday, December 23, 2005

Round Trip

Even across generations of quizzers, a subset of common knowledge exists. There also exists some consensus on the question: what is quiz-worthy and what is not.

I find it rather strange when names like Dag Hammarskjold roll off the tips of the tongues of young quizzing neophytes (quizzerlets?). And everybody seems to answer by reflex to questions like "Who killed the man who killed JFK?" !

1) Magazines/Newspapers keep repeating stuff
a. When records get broken, the same lists are published. The same goes for awards, which are annual affairs.
b. They focus on the same set of personalities, embedding their names and activities in the collective subconscious- laying the foundation for "imaginative, brilliant guesses"
c. Events are regularly commemorated with special issues - serving as time-machines with

2) Quiz masters
a. QMs often repeat questions that they like from other quizzes they might have attended in the past. Repeats become part of the quizzer's armoury - the so-called "chestnuts".

3) Books
Quiz Books and GK books can only get you to the banks of the river.
a. There exists a set of quizzer must-reads. And there is always a "current fad book" - examples from the present would be books like Freakonomics, The World Is Flat. If you keep abreast of the fad books, you're sure to get some points in some quiz or the other, sooner or later. You don't need to read the book; sometimes just reading the review suffices! :-)
b. Science-fiction and pseudo-historical fiction ('fact'ion :-)
Wild, interesting and entertaining theories, generally correct, abound in these books making them gold-mines for quizmasters.

So,

* READ (ABOUT :-) THE FAD BOOKS.
* ATTEND AND OBSERVE QUIZZES.
* PUT THE QUIZ-MASTER'S HAT ON.

* IT'S OK EVEN IF YOU DON'T PORE OVER THE NEWSPAPER EVERY SINGLE DAY.... THE IMPORTANT THINGS WILL REPEAT.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Old Man And The Puppies

Reflection on the nature of human kindness

Last Saturday, my friend Shimjith and I were returning to our house after buying some eggs and some biscuits to have for breakfast. It was a cloudy, gloomy day and we had gotten up rather late; it must have been 11 o' clock or so.

We were just a couple of buildings from home when a litter of puppies came running towards us. The neighbourhood stray had given birth to four puppies a couple of weeks back. There were only three of them left now though; one had been killed in a road accident. Of the the remaining three, one was tan (cute and chubby), one was black-and-white (the most energetic of the lot) and the other white (the cutest one). The puppies started nibbling at my toes, which stuck out from my slippers.

Till that day though, I'd just admired the puppy-pack from a distance. I had not befriended them or given them food previously, so I was a bit surprised. Why should they have come to me and not to Shimjith? He was the one holding the food-packets. Why should they be nibbling at my toes and not his?

Shimjith hypothesized 'Freud'ulently, later, that it was probably because his feet were covered and because my toes would have seemed like their mother's nipples to them and they were hungry! I scoffed at his wild conjecture and said smugly that it was because "the innocents know goodness and abhor the evil; they just know.". (Though I knew very well that it was probably because of my smelly feet and puppies love yuckiness!)

The puppies dispelled the gloom of the day with their exuberant playfulness and lifted my heart. I was amused, so I decided to give them some biscuits. Now, they were very young and had not yet been weaned and it was unlikely that they would eat it. Even so, I opened a pack of biscuit and crushed three pieces and laid them on the pavement. The trio sniffed at it and playfully licked the biscuit-powder but largely left it as it was. Stranger's Biscuits? Mother's milk better anyday! Thanks, but pooh! They returned to their play.

All of a sudden, I noticed that an old man, a vagrant, was observing this 'extravagant' splurge on thankless puppy brats, with wistful forlornness. I'm hungry too, he seemed to be thinking, but I'm not cute, I'm not young. Who will bother?

I wanted to help. Should I go and offer the pack of biscuits to him? That could be insulting - I would be equating him with dogs. Maybe a new pack? Eggs? I was confused. What if he hadn't been thinking what I'd thought he'd been thinking? Maybe he was just sad because he wanted to feed the puppies too? Too many ifs. I took the easy way out. I decided to turn a blind eye. But just before getting into our compound, I spied that the old man was gathering the biscuits and was, ostensibly, trying to feed the puppies, but the helpless pang of hunger in his manner was unmistakable.

I asked Shimjith what I should have done. He hadn't noticed it seemed, he had been observing the puppies. I explained to him and Jeswin (another friend) what had been said in unspoken glances, and my reasons for doing what I had (not) done. They said that we should go and offer a pack of biscuits to him. I told them that I would be too ashamed to come, that the regret of not having done the same earlier embarassed me greatly - my shame turned my feet to stone.

They went. I stayed back - the same reason why people don't really like to go for funerals - it's kind but very sad.

"Did he take it?", I asked him.
"Yes...but...," Shimjith replied, "He refused it at first. He said no. But when we turned back towards the house and started walking, he called us back and asked for it."

Why did the old man refuse the biscuit initially?
Why didn't I go along?
Why was I unhesitant to feed the puppies (another species!) who didn't want it but so hesitant to feed the old man who desperately needed it?

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Friday, December 09, 2005

Sigh-O-Nara

I bid adieu to my first company Ushustech in June 2005. This was my farewell letter, in verse!
(The annotations were not there in the original)

SIGH-O-NARA
-------------------------

Two years ago
When I joined Ushus
I saw myself becoming
the US in UShUS.

Sayonara means goodbye in Japanese.
The company had a lot of Japanese customers.
Ushus, by the way, means morning.


But I saw that
the going was tough and
the tough were going!
I reassured myself that
They were just panickers!

When I joined, the company was having a rough time.
Panicker is also a common surname in Kerala, this led to some confusion! :-)

Might be a long way to the top
but with desire-fuel
lit by the fire in our bellies
We were the 'get-there-surely' s.

I kept my faith
in Ushus
Somehow I knew
that to the top,
Fate would push us
and not crush us.

My hopes were not belied
Business accelerated (!)
and the HP-era dawned.

The company was merged with Accel, another company which was owned by a Mr.Panicker. Prior to this, we had landed major deals with Hewlett-Packard and things were sunny again.

When the sun rises,
time for the twinkling stars
To take a break.

A little bit of self-congratulation! :-)
Now as I am leaving,
I see the U
in UshUs!
But if night should again fall
I'll be there
For U again!

- Thomas Jay Cubb
-------------------------------------------

Queuriest - V

-------------------------------------------------------
QUEURIEST - V
Keep Guessing - Johnnie Guesser
-------------------------------------------------------

1. You've heard about the Big Bang. But what's the Interrobang?!?
*

2. A very un-Gentile question, possibly un-gentle as well. What is the Bat Mitzvah? (There has been no misspelling.)
*

3. What is iatrophobia the fear of? Cryptic clue: This might make you eat apples!
*

4. If Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the Moon, who was the last?
*

5. Hesperus & Phosphorus. What's the connection? Real beauty this one, if you know the answer . . .
*

6. In 1982, TIME Magazine chose the PC as the Man of The Year. The next time TIME chose a thing rather than a person for the honour, what was chosen?
*

7. Computers. What is a `frugal floppy'?
*

8. In HG Wells's The Invisible Man, what's the invisible man's name?
*

9. The guitarist of this band lost the tips of his right-hand fingers in an industrial accident just before the release of their debut album around 1970. However he readjusted his style & guitar to give this band its characteristic sound. Which band?
*

10. Which ball-game invented by Niko Brokehysen includes (necessarily) both men and women on a team? Cryptic Clue: Expectorate, maybe?
*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strange things cease to be strange on repetition...
------------------------------------------------------------------------


From: "SonOfDelphi"
Date: Fri Jan 3, 2003 2:10 pm
Subject: Queuriest - V

hi folks!

here's the fifth edition of Queuriest.

questions are slightly tougher this time around, i think. but the hints should be helpful. . .MAY THE CLUES BE WITH YOU!. . .USE THE CLUES. . .- QM Yoda

a new year's resolution in case you don't have one yet: Say No To Google :-), while answering these quizzes. hey, what's so new about 2003?- i'm still preaching, ur still searching...well? :-) just kidding!

Happy New Year everybody!

luv
thomas


ANSWERS

--------------

From: "SonOfDelphi"
Date: Thu Jan 9, 2003 12:16 pm
Subject: Answers to Queuriest - V


hi there!

am early with the answers. my apologies to those of you who were planning to write in today..

fabulous reponse this time. 31 in all.

thought this was kinda tougher but was surprised. Strange things cease to be strange on repetition...and of course, maybe on googling also! :-( . . .really, lots of you googled which has forced (reluctant) me to reissue the dread(ed/ful) DISCLAIMER, which was in the cupboard for some episodes now...sorry...

when the going gets tough, the tough get googling?

anyway, here are the answers...

luv
thomas

-------------------------------------------------------
QUEURIEST - V
Keep Guessing - Johnnie Guesser
-------------------------------------------------------

1. You've heard about the Big Bang. But what's the Interrobang?!?
* combined symbol of ? and !
It didn't catch on at all. That's why I was surprised it was so popular among all of you...
RK: ?! by martin spector head of ny ad agency
AJ gives you http://www.interrobang-mks.com/ . Honesty appreciated, you get 0.5
Somebody told me that I was getting predictable, incorporating the symbol in the question a la tittle etc.

2. A very un-Gentile question, possibly un-gentle as well. What is the Bat Mitzvah? (There has been no misspelling.)
* It's the coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish girls. Bar Mitzvah is it for the Jewish boys. Bar Mitzvah for girls is good enough. It means daughter of the commandment literally.

a couple of you corrected me that it was __bar__mitzvah in spite my claims of 'no misspelling'...without that, it'd have done in more of you I guess... :-)

3. What is iatrophobia the fear of? Cryptic clue: This might make you eat apples!
* The fear of doctors.
The clue which was not at all cryptic made it pretty obvious, I guess.
SS said it is the fear of doctors induced by circumcision: I don't know about that, perhaps you're pulling my leg here by connecting it to the previous question?? Jews... ;-)

4. If Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the Moon, who was the last?
* Eugene (Gene) Cernan.
He went on the Apollo-17 in 1972.
Most people got it right.

5. Hesperus & Phosphorus. What's the connection? Real beauty this one, if you know the answer . . .
* Venus. That's why that was a real beauty! :-) Goddess of beauty-Venus...ZZZZ...
Hesperus= Morning Star and Phosphorus=Evening Star, both of which refer to planet Venus
SS adds Gottlob Frege used them as examples for his theory on usage of words
TU: Hesperus = Phosphorus...the object model used by Gottlob Frege in his work 'Of Sense and Nominatum'.
Full points only if you have mentioned Venus. A bit controversial this, but then, `the real beauty' part of the question should've guided you...

6. In 1982, TIME Magazine chose the PC as the Man of The Year. The next time TIME chose a thing rather than a person for the honour, what was chosen?
* The Endangered Earth in 1988
Possibly the sitter of the quiz

7. Computers. What is a `frugal floppy'?
* Frugal floppy is an 8" floppy drive/disk.
Anybody seen one? Biggest I've seen is the 5.25". Lots of you must have, judging from the number of correct answers...well...:-)

8. In HG Wells's The Invisible Man, what's the invisible man's name?
* Griffin gets you credit. The first name is not mentioned in the book though SC said Hawley Griffin and some others Jack and yet others James. I think the first names came only with the movies

9. The guitarist of this band lost the tips of his right-hand fingers in an industrial accident just before the release of their debut album around 1970. However he readjusted his style & guitar to give this band its characteristic sound. Which band?
* Band: Black Sabbath.
Guitarist: Tony Iommi
+I is that He was left-handed.
+I: Def Leppard's drummer lost a hand in an accident.

10. Which ball-game invented by Niko Brokehysen includes (necessarily) both men and women on a team? Cryptic Clue: Expectorate, maybe?
* Korfball is the answer. There was a major tournament in India some time last year, that's when I first heard about it. Easily gettable from the clue, ehhem ahhem.....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strange things cease to be strange on repetition...
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The scores (in chronological order):

1. Mamatha Balasubramaniam - 2 (early bird gets 2 worms! ;-)
2. Shiraz - 9 (great show boss)
3. Sylvia - 1 (and...,u thought right!)
4. Sukhamaya - 6.5 (kemp is the doctor)
5. R.Krishna - 8.5 (no venus=0.5)
6. Shash Shekar - 8.5 (thanx for the +Info)
7. Syam Prasad - 7 ( am a lithomaniac though)
8. Satyajit Chetri - 5 ( advice:better vague than incorrect)
9. Biswabijoy Sen - 3 (pentapploformula=gastric trouble?)
10. Venkateshwar KR - 2 (enjoyed ur effort as always)
11. Sujith Vijay - 6 (Superb effort, nice tries)
12. Debashree Mitra - 6 (think you got venus q mixed up but it's all right)
13. Ankur Jain - 6.5 (ray of light in a net of darkness)
14. Anish - 4.5 (not specific enough on q1)
15. Mahesh M Nair - 7 (bat mitzvah answer not good enough)
16. Venu Gopal - 6 (good going)
17. Pauline Daniel - 5 (run-a-ball effort)
18. Bharat Jayakumar - 2 (pretty cool)
19. Thejaswi Udupa - 6.5 (thanx for the comps)
20. Usha Ramaswamy - 1 (keep the posts coming in)
21. Rajiv Rai - 5 (nice guessing,appreciate that)
22. Vimal Vikrant Vardhan M - 1 (more tries please!!!)
23. Rahul Jayanthi - 8 (keep it up)
24. Ajay Sahoo - (blank mail was what i got)
25. Kunal Malhotra - 4 (nothing about girls in Bat Mitzvah)
26. B. Sreeram - 5 (getting too predictable, huh?)
27. Shrijit Plapally - 1 (enjoyed the answers)
28. Kewl_Kittein - 2 (0.5 each for 1 & 2)
29. Vilayannur Viswanathan - 4 (who comes of age in q2?)
30. Stephen Mathew - 3 (enjoyed ur guessing)
31. Satish K - 5.5 (solid effort boss)


--------STATS ----------------------------------------------

Funnest!-
Mr.Glass on Invisible Man
Floppy which refuses to give information! on Frugal Floppy
Mouse on TIME's MoY
Interrupted net connections on Interrobang
Batman's Birthday on Bat Mitzvah

Ridiqulest!-
E.T on TIME's MoY
Paper Clip on TIME's MoY
The day Waugh learnt to bat (Bat meetsWaugh) on Bat Mitzvah

Guessest!- nice guessing
Spitball on Korfball
New key on Apple keyboards on Interrobang
Mixed Doubles on Korfball
Bar Mitzvah party where women are present on Bat Mitz
Internet on TIME's MoY
First ever floppy on Frugal floppy
Fear of diseases picked up in hospital on iatrophobia
Circumcision etc on Bat Mizvah

* Most popular wrong answer: Invisible Man has no name
* All questions were answered
* Shiraz tops the quiz with 9 points
* Average score : 4.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------

DISCLAIMER - Not applicable where void

The QM's congratulatory remarks regarding the maintenance of the state of elevation* conditional to the respondent's abstinence from the use of deprecated extraneous assistance - automated or otherwise. All responses accepted as accurate transcriptions of the respondent's cranial contents. Reponses not matching aforementioned description, if any, constitute breach of trust and are deplored.

*=keep it up etc

Any inconvenience/distress to genuine respondents as a result of this disclaimer is regretted.

Monday, December 05, 2005

To The Book Borrower - II

Again because nobody ever returns books they borrow...
You can read Part I by clicking on the following link - TTBB-I.

In the beginning, ownership is remembered. Then, slowly, it becomes an illusion. Finally, it comes to rest with the borrower!

---------------------------------------------
TO THE BOOK BORROWER - II
---------------------------------------------

This is Tom’s tome.
Used to be Tom’s tome?
Hey you, are you Tom’s tome’s tomb?

-Thomas Jay Cubb

Notes
-------
1. A Cryptic Explanation
L1 - Statement of possession
L2 - Statement post-prehension
L3 - Statement of new position (and possession)

2. Line three used to be Hey you, you's to be...? but changed it later on, because it made it too cryptic, defeating my intent behind writing it on the book!!

3. TTBB-I was more efficacious - with this, the reason was sometimes lost in the rime!


------------------------------------------
JUST-IN-CASE LEXICON
------------------------------------------
Tom - me, the owner of the book
Tome - a book
Tomb - the final resting place
----------------------------------------