A cat has taken up residence in our storage garage across town. It likes to lie in the sole window upon a box of books and shred curtains. I even know that cat.
He was probably stuck in there. He disappeared profoundly the instant I entered the building. I'll have to leave the doors open an hour and hope he has the sense to leave.
I drove to a nearby town to visit my bank because the branch in my village closed down. I was walking up and down the town's high street looking for it - I couldn't find it although I went there once before a few years back. I saw a postman and asked him where it was. He said they've shut down that branch too, and the nearest one is in Stratford-upon-Avon. Parking in Stratford is a nightmare, so I gave up and drove back home.
Blasted banks! I do nearly all my banking on line now, but maybe once or twice a year I need to visit a branch and it looks like in future it will be a half-day expedition to do that.
John Gill, a "cultural observer" from the Federation, is missing on a planet, where it turns out he's become the local Fuhrer, and then turns out he's under some kind of drugged control from a puppetmaster.
Quote:
John Gill [televised speech]: Ekosians, the road ahead is difficult. It requires courage and dedication. It requires faith. The Zeon colony has existed for nearly a half a century. If we fulfill our own greatness, that will all be ended. Working together will at times be difficult to reach that goal. And we will reach that goal!
Spock: Captain, the speech follows no logical pattern.
Capt. Kirk: Random sentences strung together.
McCoy: He looks drugged, Jim. Almost at a cataleptic state.
Five cars are driving round a roundabout. In order, the drivers are Akira, Basho, Chie, Daichi and Etsu. The cars have licence plates numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, but not necessarily in that order. Each driver can see only the licence plate of the car in front of them and the car behind them, but not of the car they are driving. All the drivers can speak to and hear each other via headphones.
A voice comes into their headphones and asks: “Is your licence plate a square number?”
They all reply in unison: “I don’t know”
The voice repeats: “Is your licence plate a square number?”
They reply in unison “I don’t know!” except Etsu, who pipes up saying: “Erm, no”.
The voice asks: “Is your licence plate number bigger than the number of the plate behind you?”
After Etsu says he knows he's not square, they know that Basho and Chie must be either 1 or 4, because the two squares must be next to each other since nobody was between them and thus able to know for sure at first that they were not a square.
Daichi knows he's not 1 or 4, but if Etsu were a 5, Daichi would know he can't be higher than Etsu. If Etsu were a 2, Daichi would know that he must be higher, since he can't be 1. Since Daichi doesn't know, we can conclude Etsu must be 3.
If Akira were 2, Etsu would say he's larger, since he must be 3 (your solution would imply 2>3). So Akira must be 5 and therefore Daichi is 2. And Basho knows he's a square, and 4 is Chie, therefore he must be 1, and 1<4. This also lets Chie know that he's 4.
The last step is unnecessary for information, but is consistent with my solution. Since I'd note that your solution would have Chie claiming to be higher than 5, even though 5 is the highest number.