S12D9: Where is the spine, O India?

 

"My spine is everywhere and nowhere!"

(c) Disco Amoeba by Jimi Bush

Somewhere in the afternoon yesterday, Namibia all of 5 games in a #T20WorldCup were spirited in at least two of the two departments of cricket. However as the evening petered out, the only thing that the Indians did with courage and intent was promoting Ishan Kishan up. Thereafter it was as if they were sulking after the headmaster gave them a dressing down. Perhaps VK got it from the powers-that-be for his press conference outburst while defending Shami? #ShellShocked

Guess Section

While there were many hopefuls of an Indian revival ('it was just a bad day!'), the truth was anything but. Results showed. KP seem to be having a direct line ;-)

Today's game

ENG vs SL @ Sharjah

Will it be another 'The Hundred' finish by England? Let us see.

Quiz Section

The question did stump quite a few. But there were others who got back with nice explanations.

Which was the word that the teacher gave to the students in the previous post? GOD

Here is a colourful explanation by Sivamani.

Others who came up with some good cogent explanations are: ES🏆N, Shankar Tugga.

All three get 13 points.

ArunJ, SivaJ, Rambo and Adarsh gave the right answer; but I would have preferred more clearer explanations. 10 points each. [Pls don't fight with me? 😇 QMDF.

Someone asked for a geometry question and here it is.

There is a right triangle with a hypotenuse of 12 cm. The perpendicular to the hypotenuse is 7 cm. What is the area of the triangle? [3 points]

One small thing. For each wrong answer, I will deduct one point. But I will give you a point for the correct answer anyways. Multiple attempts possible. So, if you get the right answer in your second attempt (first time wrong; second time right), you get two points. From the third attempt onwards only one point.

Have a great time!

S12D8: T20 minus 20!

 

"Please Jos Buttler! Leave us Ozzies alone!"
(c) John Singleton Copley (Tate museum)
The Death of Major Pierson 1783

There is something beastish about this England team. So much aggression. So much don't-even-think-of-it attitude! And on top of it, I think they have embraced the fact that a game must be finished in 100 balls and not 120! #StickToTheHundred

"Don't worry! Swim with me; I shall get you food!"

(c) Ocean Wanderers, Blue Shark and Pilot Fish

While the Sri Lankans faffed around (no, not that Faf!), David Miller and Shamsi sharked them nicely to finish in the end. Well, he did follow MSD's template to the T - bad pitch or not, 16 of the last over is well and truly possible. #Shar(k)jahAttack

Guess Section

We had a healthy set of guesses. Funnily, the options are so varied, that only a couple usually get all the picks right.

Here is the current status summary.

Today's matches:

AFG vs NAM @ Abu Dhabi
IND vs NZL @ Dubai 

(Sir, what is the procedure to book a flight to Mumbai/Auckland by 8th Nov?)

Quiz Section

I realised that a lot of us had good fun in attempting the Suko puzzles.

Puzzle 1 answer:

Puzzle 2 answer:

Many got it.

SivaG, Hardy, Sivamani, Guru (thanks for the photos), Anand Re, Shankar Tugga, Arjun, Raghav, Maanasa, Adarsh got both the solutions. 20 points each.

Ajay could get the first one only. And was just a flip away from getting the second one. 10 points.

As promised the quiz position after the above Sukos is:

Now for today's question.

A logic puzzle.

A teacher shares the following 6 words with three of her students: Ahmad, Bala and Christina. (We are from a racially harmonious Singapore, you see!)

ACT GOD LAM MID TAG ASH

She then picks out a word and shares only one alphabet of that word with each of the three students. Obviously, the children do not know which word she has picked up. They have only a chit with an alphbet written on it.

The teacher then asked Ahmad whether he knew the word. He said, 'Yes!'

She then asked Bala whether he knew the word. He said after hesitating a bit, 'Yes!'

Shen then asked Christina whether she knew the word. She said after a bit more hesitation, 'Yes!'

What is the word?

[10 points]

I need clear explanation of how you deduced it. The clearest explanation gets 3 bonus points.

Keep them cells working.

Have fun!

S12D7: Errors & Asif Excepted

"Ok, let us not err in making errors!"

"Oh, hitting four 6s is as easy as drinking tea!"

(c) Error on Green 1930 Paul Glee

(c) Joe Leathers - Ramrod of the Outfit (6666)

There can be errors in a game. But the game itself cannot be an error. 5 dropped catches; missed runouts and stumpings; countless misfields. Perhaps #BANvsWI was what Shakespeare had in his mind when he wrote #ComedyOfErrors

The Afghani machine is motoring nicely. Yesterday was a bit of sputtering caused by wrong choice at the toss & the power that Pakistan possesses presently (PPP!). And Asif Ali proved to be the angel for the second time with his 6.6.66! #PowerPackedPakistan (another PPP) 😉  

Guess Section

A reasonable turnout. Interesting to note that each game is cleaned up by fewer number of people than a general consensus thingy. Nice!

Today's games are mouthwatering!

SA vs SL @ Sharjah
AUS vs ENG @ Dubai

Get your guesses in.

Quiz Section

This was probably the question that I had to work hard the most!
There were 16 entries. Total of 316 words submitted. 98 unique words. 58 acceptable words.

The reduction was either due to duplicate alphabets OR no 'L' in the word OR plain and simple the words were not there in dictionaries: MW/Collins. 

Pls don't come back and ask me for additional points. I have given bonus points for all except one. #QuizMasterDecisionFinal

The list of 'good' words are: (I am sure there are a few more out there!) You can compare yours with this. No, 'Luny' is not acceptable. 😒

The funny part was that no one wanted to try more than 20. Max was 22. Human mind gets limited by the limit that someone sets, doesn't it? If someone had asked me on whether I would have given more points for more, perhaps I would have. Never die wondering! 😁

Good show to the 16 who had come up with their findings. Here is the list (including the bonus points). I will publish the quiz standings tomorrow.

Now, for today's question(s). Since it is the weekend, you have two Suko puzzles to solve.

Rules for those who are new to these addictive puzzles are:

1. Fill the grid with numbers from 1 to 9.

2. Each cell can have only one number (duh!)

3. You cannot repeat the numbers (meaning all the 9 numbers must be used! Remember bada bhai Sudoku?)

4. The sum of the numbers in the four cells that a blue circle touches must be equal to the number in the blue circle.

5. The sum of the numbers in the cells of same colour must be equal to the number in the corresponding coloured circle given in the left hand side.

Very simple. Each puzzle carries 10 points. Enjoy. Send in the correct one. Please be legible 🎅

Enjoy the weekend!

S12D6: OzaLanka!

 

"Wait! We were having fun! How could you burn it all down?"

(c) Amir Mohtashemi Gallery

As long as Asalanka was having fun and Kusal was killing them Ozzies, Sri Lanka was on song. Then Starc produced that scorching yorker. 88/2 in 11 became a middling score. Unless Sri Lanka produces the goods against England, the long flight back is beckoning. #ItaDuskara

Guess Section

Another bumper crop for a few. Just goes onto show that if  you put your mind to it (and pray hard), Goddess Mahalakshmi will bestow! 😉

Today's jumma matches:

BAN vs WI @ Sharjah 
AFG vs PAK @ Dubai 

Keep them coming.

Quiz Section

Despite the clues, no one picked it up yesterday.

The quesiton was:

I love my roman numerals. When will sqrt(iii+dclxxii/iii)-i be equal to l?

Well. x can be 10 or x can be the multiplication symbol. Using the brackets liberally and wisely, we can write the equation as:

=sqrt ((iii+(dcl*xii))/iii)-i 

= sqrt (3+(650*12))/3-1 

= sqrt ((3+7800)/3)-1 

= sqrt (7803/3)-1 

= sqrt (2601)-1 

= 50 

= l

#BODMASpower #WhoIsX

Only Anand Re, ArunJ, Rambo & Shankar Srinivasan got the right answer. Others tried decimalizing the answer and all that stuff. Sorry, ah!

So much for lateral thinking.

For today's question. This, I am sure, will keep you busy for several hours. Have fun.

Rules are simple. 

Make words. Minimum four letter words. All words must have the central alphabet. Each alphabetcan be used only once in a word. No duplicates allowed.

There are twenty words in this ring of fire! For 20 points, enjoy! You will know whether your answers are right once you find them. They are from standard dictionaries anyway. Send me in one lot, please!

Be good until tomorrow!

S12D5: Of On-Point Oryx & Toothless Tigers

 

"We are tigers but will meow when needed to roar!"

"We are Oryx. We lock horns and drink scotch!"

(c) Paper Tiger by Yuan Chin-taa & Clashing of Horns by Danie Marais

There was so much of inevitability in the way Bangladesh played last evening. One runout was fine. But having almost three runouts in three balls, mindless! At this stage, Group 1 which was supposed to be the death group is sorting itself out nicely. #GrassEatingTigers

There is so much of South Africa in Namibia. Wait, they do have a few players from South Africa in their team, don't they? But that should not stop them from being credited for a spirited performance yesterday. They may not go far. But they have come closer - to our hearts! #NammaNamibia

Guess Section

Good turnover. Four people managing to cleanup.

Interestingly NAMvsSCO managed to have a rarity - equal number of boundaries.

Let us see what happens today.

Only one game. Grudge match - once upon a time! 

AUS vs SL @ Dubai

Keep them coming.

Quiz Section

I shall keep the quiz open for one more day, though a few have already answered it. But with only 2 points at stake, as here are a few clues for you to sort out.

I love my roman numerals. When will sqrt(iii+dclxxii/iii)-i be equal to l?

Clues:

The quesiton to ask is, what is x?

Use additional brackets.

Standard roman math rules apply. So, no 'vv = 10' is possible.

And no decimals/rounding etc.

Have fun.

S12D4: Wind(less)ies & Fragrant chamPAK

 

"We tried hard to blow. But the tank is so empty!"

(c) Windless Evening by Jerzy Werbel

Defending champions are defenseless. They lived and died by the sharp sword in the first game. This time, it was a blunt blade. At least it was swifter a few days back. #WindOutOfSail #SAvsWI

"Whatever be the case, our game must smell good!"

(c) Pot Pourri Painting by Herbert James Draper (1897)

Misfields crept in. Bad balls happened. But the shape was never lost. Even the oldies Malik & Hafeez contributed. And that faaasst Rauf - Oooof! Pakistan is definitely smelling good. #Fresh&Raring

Guess Section

Regular service kind of resumed with more guesses coming in. Current status below.

Tomorrow's games are:

BAN vs ENG @ Abu Dhabi

NAM vs SCO @ Abu Dhabi

Keep them coming.

Quiz Section

Naturally an easy one did get many responses. 16!!!

Here are the good souls that tried and got it. Some took a few minutes; some took a few hours and one even got the grid size wrong. Each one of us is made differently, after all!

And the people who got the answers right in the order of me receving the pictures are:

Arjun, Tukka, Rambo, Sivamani, Adarsh, SivaG, Shankar Hari, Anand Re, Shankar, Reuben, Ajay, Guru, Ganesh Kumar, Raghavan Mohan, Annie SivaG, Arun Jayaraman

The last one gets 4 while all else get 5. Good show folks.

Here is a rough collage of all your answers. I was too lazy to label them. You can choose the one that looks nice and cute. Have fun. Thanks for the high degree of participation.

Now for the next question.

I love my roman numerals. When will sqrt(iii+dclxxii/iii)-i be equal to l? [3 points]

For clarity: sqrt stands for the square-root function. 

Have fun. Stay Safe. Stay Masked.

S12D3: Afghani Spiders!

 

"Oh spiders! When will thee stop spinning?"
(c) Ichinaka Sanjin Yūsa 's Jorōgumo (Spider Woman) (1732), print in Taihei-Hyakumonogatari 

When the Afghani boys (no, not Shahzad 😉) & even the Scots (at least for the first three overs) were thumping the ball around, one thought, 'Oh! here it goes!' Of course, it went - only in the familiar route. So much so, the scorers were having an indigestion of eating so many eggs! India at #3 in the group, anyone 😑? #ProteinRichAfghaniDiet

Guess Section

When I set the margins, I thought that T20 is a game of narrow margins. Not a 130 run difference, mate! NRR calculations are a waste for all the other teams now!

I think Hardy sent in two entries by mistake. But a lucky mistake 😊 & Shankar is on a roll. 

Today's matches - some mouth-watering clashes...

SA v WI @ Dubai

PAK v NZL @ Sharjah

Quiz Section

Only three could get the answer to yesterday's question.

Complete the sequence: X, D, R, ?, T, G, B, H, ?, ? [3 points]

You can find them on your standard keyboard. Ha!

So, the answers are: 5, U, 8.

Start from X and move diagonally up and down. Can't think straight, can we?

Arjun, Raghav and ArunJ got it right. Shankar did try an alternate method. But no, sorry!

Here is today's question.

You have the grid below.

Divide it into blocks of squares and rectangles.

Each block must have only one number.

Each block must have the number of cells as indicated by the number inside it.

For five easy points, send me the (neat!) photo of the blocks!

Have fun.
Stay safe and see you tomorrow!

S12D2: Surgical Strike with GA!

 

'Bowl exactly at 5m from stumps!' 'Run not more than needed!' 'Slide exactly at the right time!'

(c) Surgery 1900 by Todd Cooper

There was IPL fatigue. There was Hardik Pandya (actually he wasn't there!). There was Shaheen Afridi. And then there was BABAR AZAM. Calm. Collected. Clinical. So much so, India did not even know that it was under a surgical strike. Complete General Anaesthesia! There was a bit of Australia in how Pakistan played today. Or should I say how Liverpool trounced ManU! Kudos Pakistan! I might not be surprised if IPL owners pressurise GoI for buying Pakistan players now! #ScaryPakistan

And suddenly Sharjah curators woke up and dished out a belter. Result? A well-equipped Bangladesh was easily trounced. Well, I only know that NFL/Rules Football type tackle must have shaken Liton Das so much that he was compeltely off on the field. #SharjahSurprise

Guess Section

There was a bit of a twist in the SL vs BAN game when Bangladesh scored more boundaries than Sri Lanka and yet lost. And the IND vs PAK game did favour the brave :-)

A few new rich fellers!

Tomorrow's game:
AFG vs SCO @ Sharjah

Keep them guesses coming!

Quiz Section

It seemed to be an easy one. However people were stumped by the 4Xs ;-) 

In the end, Guru, Raghav and Sivamani got the answer without any prompting. 3 points to them. 

Anand Re, Shankar, Arjun, ArunJ, Reuben, AngelAsh got it after prompting. 2.5 points to them.

Rambo & Hardy got the first part and did not get back on the second portion despite getting the title right. 2 points each.

Answer to yesterday's question:

What is the set of same four words that precede these? Also, give me what the XXXX stands for?

• SS, COS, POA, GOF, OOTP, XXXX, DH

The preceding four words are: Harry Potter and The

The XXXX is H-BP (Half-Blood Prince). Now you can figure out the rest ;-)

Now for today's question.

Complete the sequence: X, D, R, ?, T, G, B, H, ?, ? [3 points]

Be good and stay safe!

S12D1: Blind Leading Blind!

 

"It is a spinning wicket! We will hit everything out! We don't need FAF! 120 is an easy score!"

(Source: WikiCommons - Oil after Pieter Bruegel)

South Africa with its infinite wisdom gained from those diamond mines, left out one diamond that they could ill afford to leave. F.A.F. Result? They hardly made his individual score from a few days ago. #SelectionChoke

Australia is still sticking to Warner. At this stage, only hot air is coming through the pipe, David!

#StutteringPace

West Indies' range hitting was so out of whack yesterday; they seem to have forgotten that they must hit #LongerNotHigher!

England are thanking all the stars - too flattering a win. If Ali Bhai can do what he did, then something is really wrong.

#EasyPickings

All in all, it was a day when CSK was not missed; two of its stars returned with 4-0-17-2 & one star was very much present due to his absence! #Yellove

Guess Section

A fabulous start to the tournament. A few cleanups 😁

Here are the details.

Good start Raghavan Mohan, Girish & Hardy. More fun today in the Day 2 games:

SL vs BAN @ Sharjah 6 PM SGT

IND vs PAK @ Dubai 10 PM SGT

Keep them guesses coming.

Quiz Section

Now for the first question. For 3 points.

What is the set of same four words that precede these? Also, give me what the XXXX stands for?

• SS, COS, POA, GOF, OOTP, XXXX, DH

Answers through DM please.

See you tomorrow!

GQ2021 is here!

(Well, if Byju's can sponsor National anthems, why can't Bebo unveil the trophies?)

Hi there!

T20 Cricket World Cup is here.

The 2021 version of Guesses & Quizzes - GQ2021 is also here.

So, here are the rules.

1. For the semi-final line up, give the top two teams (with their positions) from each group - as per your inebriated guesswork. The guesses are across both the groups and together it costs SGD 5. Before you ask, you cannot escape by guessing only one group. :-)

For your benefit, the teams in the Super-12 groups are:

Group 1

England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh 

Group 2

Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Namibia, Scotland and New Zealand

2. Individual match guesses - each of the Super-12 game costs SGD 2

You have to provide five guesses for each game.

• Who will be the winner?
• What will be the run margin if the winner bats first? OR  What will be the balls-to-spare if the winner bats second? (yes, I had to throw the wickets margin away as it does not make much of a difference anymore!)
• Which team will hit the maximum number of boundaries (4s & 6s)?
• What will be the total number of 6s in the game?

Please note that our guess work stops before Super Over(s) if any.

3. All settlements will be done on a netted basis at the end of the tournament.

4. Only the guesses submitted through the respective Google Form will be accepted. (I am lazy, you see!)

5. First quiz question on Sunday morning, after the first two Super-12 games are done!

That's all, system is ready!