Important issues

[venta]

I have two questions. And I expect you, my minions, to answer them correctly for me. Is that OK?

Does this logo look familiar to anyone:



To me, it looks as if it's a warning that something could be loud - 89dB or higher. It's not like dB is some other unit, because there's the logo for an audio speaker right next to it. So it must surely be deciBels.

Except... this sticker was photographed on my wheelie bin.

I conferred with wimble about this, and it seems that his wheelie bin has exactly the same sticker. Further more, so does his compressor - even down to it being 89 dB rather than any other number.

Compressors make a noise, I admit. I have very little concept of how loud 89 dB is, but Wimble assures me it's "about as loud as standing over the road from a pneumatic drill". That is to say, pretty loud. Considerably louder than the noise made by a home compressor.

Despite careful attention for several days, I've heard not so much as a peep out of my wheelie bin. It's really a very quiet bit of garden furniture. Does anyone know why it comes furnished with a volume warning ? Is it more of a cautionary note the user ? Should I be careful not to throw away anything which might be too loud for the bin ?

On entering The Station Inn (né Tap and Spile) in Whitby, I noticed the following on the wall:



Being a curious sort, I went over to peer at it. Apologies for the awful photo, the reflective glass made it really difficult to get a reasonable picture. If you can't tell, the "clue" is For a polar bear, worse than being left-pawed (2, 6). If you can't see correctly, the top rightmost letter is a Q.

Now, this isn't quite laid out like a crossword - in that the stray letters filled in appear to be, well, stray and not party to already filled-in words. Am I just being dim ? Is there an obviously crossword-like solution ? Or is it just nailed to the wall to confuse potential drinkers into buying another few pints while they ponder ?

Thank you. You know how I rely on you.

Comments

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

It's not the Q, it's the lack of two-letter-words ending in Z that's getting me.

[marjory.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I decided that the left-pawed middle word must be 'sinister', but that totally screws up everxthing else and now it's stuck in my head...

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

If it's (2,6) it's an anagram of sinister that goes into two words.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Hmm, then the down clue would probably have to be "iz".

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

Or NZ, as an abbreviation of New Zealand.

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

Ah - but that would give us 'Ni' or 'Ne' as the first word in the main clue.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, I'd ruled that out already. Although "ne" might be the first word of a Latin phrase or "ni" of a French, the rest didn't work.

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

In Sister, that well known polar bear beat combo.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I think I'm warming towards my theory of its being insoluble/nonsensical and merely intended to provide a pub talking point.

At least, until addedentry or verlaine come along and solve it for me :)

[hughe.livejournal.com]

probably Oz, as in wizzard of, or australia.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that works. I guess crosswords != Scrabble :)

[venta.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I keep making that mistake :)