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September 25

UK Crossword Puzzles

Pogo.com has a US and UK version of it's crossword puzzles, and the UK versions seem far easier (the clues are simple definitions of the words, as opposed to ambiguous clues and puns in the US version). So, is this just a Pogo idiosyncrasy or are crossword puzzles typically easier in the UK ? If so, why ? StuRat (talk) 14:40, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Certainly not. UK newspapers typically run two crosswords, a "Quick" variety which tend to be definitions of words, and a normal (cryptic) version which can be incredibly difficult. I find US crypticism actually easier than the UK which can frankly be devilish in some newspapers. That's probably a product of which end over here, though. I imagine there are probably setters like Araucaria and Ximenes in the US.Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 14:46, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That's Araucaria and Ximenes, by the way. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:54, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See cryptic crossword for the British test of intellectual mettle. --Colapeninsula (talk) 13:26, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

and see guardian.co.uk/crosswords for decent free cryptic crosswords where you can 'reveal' the answers. Very useful as a learning technique. ny156uk (talk) 19:02, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Star Trek: The Animated Series on Blu-Ray?

Does anyone know if it will happen (Star Trek: The Animated Series on Blu-Ray). I'm think about buying all 22 episodes on DVD, but if Blu-Ray version will come out, than I just wait. 65.66.126.217 (talk) 16:38, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Captain Kirk computer query

I'm looking for a script from an episode of Star Trek in which Captain Kirk uses the computer to search for information, similar to how we currently use Google. I know the Enterprise's computer provided a far better interface and response than any web search engine, but that isn't the point. I just don't want to have my presentation sidelined by some Trekkies snorting that my made-up example isn't actually from an episode of Star Trek. -- kainaw ™ 17:26, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This happened surprisingly little in the original series. (In Star Trek TNG it happened all the time.) Usually he would just ask Spock or Uhura and they'd look it up for him.

IMDB only credits Majel Barrett as "Enterprise Computer" in seven episodes. (Plus two animated episodes, but if you quote those the trekkies will get up and walk out.)APL (talk) 21:31, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Here are a couple from IMDB's quotes :

"Mudd's Women"

Captain James T. Kirk: Computer, go to sensor probe. Any unusual readings?

Computer Voice: No decipherable reading on females. However, unusual reading on male board members. Detecting high respiration patterns, perspiration rates up, heartbeat rapid, blood pressure higher than normal.

Captain James T. Kirk: That's sufficent. Strike that from the record, Mr Spock.

"A Taste of Armageddon"

Scotty: Computer, last message received and recorded from Captain Kirk.

Enterprise Computer: In place.

Scotty: Run it through analyzer. Question: is it or is it not the Captain's voice?

Enterprise Computer: Negative. A close copy.

Scotty: A voice duplicator?

Enterprise Computer: 98% probability.

Scotty: Well, they've got them, doctor. And now they're trying to get us.

APL (talk) 21:43, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There's also this scene from "The Conscience of the King", which might fit the bill :

Enterprise Computer: Library computer.
Captain James T. Kirk: History files. Subject, former Governor Kodos of Tarsus Four, also known as Kodos the Executioner. After that, background on actor Anton Karidian.
Enterprise Computer: Working. Kodos the Executioner, summary. Governor of Tarsus Four twenty Earth years ago. Invoked martial law. Slaughtered fifty percent of population Earth colony, that planet. Burned body found when Earth forces arrived. No positive identification. Case closed. Detailed information follows. On stardate 2794.7,
Captain James T. Kirk: Stop. Information on Anton Karidian.
Enterprise Computer: Director and star of travelling company of actors sponsored by galactic cultural exchange project, touring official installations last nine years. Has daughter, Lenore, nineteen years old,
Captain James T. Kirk: Stop. Give comparative identification between actor Karidian and Governor Kodos.
Enterprise Computer: No identification records available on actor Anton Karidian.
Captain James T. Kirk: Give information on actor Karidian prior to Kodos' death.
Enterprise Computer: No information available, Anton Karidian, prior to twenty years ago
Captain James T. Kirk: Photograph Kodos. (an image of a red-haired man with a beard comes on the monitor) Photograph Karidian. (the grey-haired man with a small moustache) Now photograph both.

(Door opens)

I like how Kirk has to keep interupting the computer. How much easier it'd be if he was just reading the data on a screen. APL (talk) 21:55, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

More dramatic this way. And especially so with the Redjac discussion. (It appears that "Red Jack" was indeed a contemporary synonym for Jack the Ripper). ←baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:21, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Outstanding! That's exactly what I wanted but didn't have the endurance to watch a bunch of episodes to get. -- kainaw ™ 21:58, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Another instance, excerpted from "Wolf in the Fold":

Spock: Computer, linguistic bank. Definition of following word: redjac.
Computer: Working. Negative finding.
Spock: There is no such word in the linguistics bank?
Computer: Affirmative.
Spock: Scan all other banks.
Computer: Working. Affirmative. A proper name.
Spock: Define.
Computer: Redjac: Source Earth, nineteenth century; language, English; nickname for mass murderer of women. Other Earth synonym, Jack the Ripper.
. . .

Kirk: Computer. Criminological files. Cases of unsolved mass murders of women since Jack the Ripper.
Computer: Working. 1932, Shanghai, China, Earth: Seven women knifed to death. 1974, Kiev, USSR, Earth: Five women knifed to death. 2105, Martian colonies: Eight women knifed to death. 2156, Heliopolis, Alpha Eridani Two: Ten women knifed to death. There are additional examples.
Spock: Captain, those places are aligned directly between Argelius and Earth.
Kirk: Yes. When man moved out into the galaxy, that thing must've moved with him. Computer, identify the proper names Kesla and Beratis.
Computer: Working. Kesla: Name given to unidentified mass murderer of women on planet Deneb Two. Beratis: Name given to unidentified mass murderer of women on planet Rigel Four. Additional data: Murders on Rigel Four occurred one solar year ago.

— Deor (talk) 02:41, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

He's also searching with the computer in Tomorrow is Yesterday, when it has been replaced with a sexy lady voice. (I can't seem to find any quotes at the moment though...) Adam Bishop (talk) 06:45, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

When was boxing legalized?

Boxing says that R v Coney ended bare-knuckle boxing in England in 1882. I was under the impression that boxing in general was illegal in the UK, but I heard on the news that there will be boxing at the London Olympics. Was boxing re-legalized at some point by law or by courts? Or is bare-knuckle boxing still illegal but treated differently than boxing with gloves? The section Prohibition in Boxing said it was also outlawed in the United States; was that nationwide, and when did that end? -- Beland (talk) 20:49, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If it wasn't legal in England, why would there be a British Boxing Board of Control? It is likely illegal for people to get together and start their own clubs, but legal for the officially sanctioned group. Similar in the U.S., there is an official group that runs fights out of Nevada. It is illegal to try and start your own boxing group. Of course, schools can have boxing (though very few do). That gets into the amateur vs. professional status - just complicating the answer to your question further. -- kainaw ™ 20:55, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This article published by De Montfort University called "Better and Safer Boxing: Ringside and Boardroom Medical Control of Boxing Careers in the Twentieth Century" says "...following the deaths of some boxers during fights, there were a number of legal challenges to boxing in the early part of the 20th century. These were based on the question whether a boxing match constituted a contest or a fight: fights were illegal. In fact, boxing in Britain has never been declared legal, but by 1914, partly due to its popularity, its position was secure. In New York, the legal status of boxing was not firmly established until 1920." Alansplodge (talk) 21:23, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This paper published in the 1990s by the British Medical Association agrees; "It is interesting to note that even in the 1990s the legal status of boxing in Britain remains questionable". Alansplodge (talk) 12:33, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, the boxing glove exists not to cushion blows to the opponent, but to protect the fist, so the fight can go longer. Bare-knuckle boxing bouts result in fewer head injuries, because the fighters' fists give out earlier. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:31, 25 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a bare-knuckle fight that went 75 rounds:[1] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:24, 27 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You Yanks are a lot of old softies - here's one from England in 1839 that went 185 rounds. An Australian fight in 1856 lasted 12 minutes longer at 6hrs 15mins but the number of rounds isn't recorded - they probably didn't bother with such niceties. Alansplodge (talk) 19:58, 28 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, things which have not, under common law, been illegalized (to make up a pedantic synonym for outlawed) are considered legal. A better question might be, when was boxing first regulated. μηδείς (talk) 03:06, 27 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Would "proscribed" have been better? Alansplodge (talk) 20:00, 28 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well, maybe, but I don't know enough of the sport's history to know if it was at first simply outlawed or regulated. My totally unsupported guess would be someone would have tried to outlaw it and the resultant compliants would have led to its being allowed under certain regulation. But that speculation is worth what you've paid for it. μηδείς (talk) 23:18, 28 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Looking at the 1882 case R v Coney, it seems that "a bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm, despite the consent of the participants." Presumeably, there has never been a case proving that regulated boxing fell into the same category and therefore, it has not been "illegalized" as you say. This is also worthless speculation. Alansplodge (talk) 01:23, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]