home
table of contents
March 2002 TOC
Archived letters
email


Letters to the Editor, March 2002


This a traditional letter column. You are encouraged to write a letter of comment on anything that you find worthy of comment. It will (may) be published in this column along with my reply. As editor I reserve the right to delete material; however I will not alter the undeleted material. E-mail to me that solely references the contents of this site will be assumed to be publishable mail. All other e-mail is assumed to be private. And, of course, anything marked not for publication is not for publication. Oh yes, letters of appreciation for the scholarly resources provided by this site will be handled very discreetly. This page contains the correspondence for March 2002.

Index of contributors

Other Correspondence Pages


From: Warwick Wise
Date: 03/15/2002
Subj:
Piltdown man

…just a quick (and uninformed) query: what happened to the Piltdown Man fossils? Are they still in existence somewhere?

They are still in existence in the British Museum. They are, after all, historically important artifacts.
Return to index of contributors

From: Marie Pacha
Date: 02/27/2002
Subj: soul of the dragon

i just love the world the puter has opened to me….found your site and poetry on google…

my site is http://www.pagerealm.com/dragonsaerie/

my friends call me emme…………..

these are some of my poems…i hope you will enjoy them as i enjoyed yours

I always wonder how people find my site. Some things in it are standard reference pages but not, I would imagine, poetry.

I liked your site and I hope that you (?) the new life you are building for yourself. The question mark in parentheses signifies that I do not know what verb to use. Indeed, the right verb is one for you to discover.

I liked your poems.

Return to index of contributors

From: Miroslav Provod
Date: 03/06/2002
Subj: New conception megalithic culture

Menhirs and their development

Apart from the generally familiar places where menhirs had been constructed, they can be found in many various parts of the world, such as in the mountain plains of India, in the La-Chung Plain of Tibet at an elevation of 6,000m; there is the 60-ton Ha-Heun dolmen in Korea, or the Arab, Palestine, Abyssinian, Caucasian and other dolmens. Pyramids, which are also menhirs from the standpoint of our research, have also been found in China and Australia. It would perhaps be simpler to list places where menhirs have not been found. Archaeologists date the age of megalithic monuments to the period following the neolith, that is 1500 to 2000 years B.C. Palestinian megalithic structures are probably among the oldest ones, as their age is estimated at 4500 to 5000 years. According to the prevailing assumption, menhirs had been utilized for iconic, calender- and farming-related and astronomic purposes. Such an explanation appears not very convincing, and archaeological literature has presented numerous challenging arguments on the issue.

Our research has shown that stones and boulders of all sizes, as well as agglomerations of artificial soil mounds that the ancient man had placed in the countryside, had an energy generating function. This follows from the finding that flowing water is a source of a so-far unknown kind of energy, which is also accumulated by rocks (see http://www.pribram.cz/centrum ) .The new concept of the utilization of menhirs allows their development to be classified according to the types occurring in nature.

[The remainder of this interesting and informative letter deleted.]

Thank you for writing. Your thesis is not just in the ordinary way of things passing my desk.
Return to index of contributors

From: Anthony R. Lewis, PhD, FN
Date: 03/12/2002
Subj: Whimsy

I call your attention to http://www.ladonia.net/content/content.htm

Thank you, sir. Perhaps I should alert the SD Secretary of State. I am certain that a trade agreement between Ladonia and South Dakota would be to the mutual benefit of both parties.
Return to index of contributors

From: Becky O’Day
Date: 03/12/2002
Subj: Story re elephant trainer shat to death

Where is that story about the elephant trainer with the mania for suppositories? I think that’s my favorite one of all time. Thanks in advance.

It sounds vaguely familiar but I don’t have it (or if I do I can’t find it). I did some searches and can’t find it on the web. Maybe I will find it later.
Return to index of contributors

From: Sqeeky123
Date: 03/12/2002
Subj: (no subject)

when did u think of it and how.

Which “it” are we talking about?

… continued on next rock …

who r u

I am Richard Harter. The question I have is:
Who are you and why are you sending me strange email?

… continued on next rock …

i have not been sending u strange mail

how did u get my email adress

I am replying to email that you send me.

… continued on next rock …

r u the person who invented the kittylitter cake

No. My source for the recipe is Carolyn Wyman’s “The Kitchen Sink Cookbook: Offbeat Recipies From Unusual Ingredients”. I don’t know where she got it from.
Return to index of contributors

From: Giggles101862
Date: 03/13/2002
Subj:
mountain oysters vs. calf fries

i am in need of some help.i was raised to believe that mountain oysters were from pigs,and calf fries are from bulls.i have a bet on this.if you can clarify this,i would really appreciate it.thank you.please reply even if you dont know the answer.

I’d be interested in knowing where you were raised; I’ve never heard of anybody making that distinction. As far as I know, mountain oysters, aka prairie oysters, are testicles from any domesticated meat animal, i.e., goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle. I’ve never heard of the term “calf fries”. It doesn’t seem terribly accurate since bulls are definitely not calves. Mountain oysters gathered from calves are tenderer (and much smaller) than those gathered from bulls.
Return to index of contributors

From: Alyxandra
Date: 03/06/2002
Subj: Fonny Stuff !

Just a note to say how much I have enjoyed your site! Question: what is the origin of the posting A jaundiced look at military history ?

Thanks for having such a great collection of genuine humor out there ! I have shared the link -w- many others and all have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it.

I’m pleased that you like the selection. I don’t know the origin of “A jaundiced look at military history”. I got it from a friend about twenty years ago – it was one of those things that circulated by xeroxed copy. I had originally planned to use it in my fanzine, Personal Notes. When I decided to make the move from print to the web I lifted it out of my files.
Return to index of contributors

From: Anthony R. Lewis, PhD, FN
Date: 02/22/2002
Subj: Distaff

the male line of ascendency is technically referred to as “spear” just as the female line is “distaff.” I know your liver would be constricted until you learned this.

My liver now senses a great feeling of freedom and thanks you profusely.
Any evidence of pedigree collapse in your family tree?
None that is official; the records don’t record the irregularities. I wouldn’t expect that there would be until you go back quite aways – my ancestors moved about a great deal. I will take it kindly if you do not inquire too closely in the circumstances that impelled those moves.

I expect to be at Minicon. I may be travelling a fair bit after that. I haven’t yet decided what I am going to do when I grow up.

Tell Suford to inspect the Reincarnation Game to see if she can spot where I stole from the Seven Samauri, Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, and Cinderella. It’s a pity I didn’t think to put them all in one life.

Return to index of contributors

From: Danny Hartney
Date: 02/25/2002
Subj: Bill the Conqueror

My response to the history prof would be:

William would not have acquired the name “William the Conqueror” had he lost the battle. Not a hard question, if you think about it.

It does seem like a big, glaring clue, doesn’t it. There are people, though, that really don’t feel that it is necessary for history professors to know history.
Return to index of contributors

From: Carl Schroeder – GeoStrategies
Date: 02/25/2002
Subj: research

i’m doing some research and stumbled across your site, and I’m hoping you can help me out. I’m trying to assemble some information on 2-celled animals. I don’t know what your specific specialty is (if microbiology is one of your disciplines), but could you point me to any information on currently-living 2-celled animals. At the moment, it appears that there are none.

in advance, thanks for your help.

I’m not sure what you mean by a 2-celled animal. Quite a number of bacteria form clonal colonies. Some protists have a two cell form although it is not obligatory. If you are really want two celled life-forms in the kingdom animalia my thought would to be to look at a “tree of life” site.

My apologies for not being of more help.

Return to index of contributors

From: Rubye Maxwell
Date: 02/28/2002
Subj:
5 year diary

My husband has kept a 5 year diary for over 20 years. We can no longer find a 5 year diary. Do you know where a source is?

Try http://www.stardesk.com/diaries.htm.
Return to index of contributors

From: Yasir Ghalani
Date: 02/27/2002
Subj: Algorithm

I need help on building an Insertion Sort algorithm using Pseudo code only, which has 6 numbers to be sorted. The algorithm has to keep the original array (unsorted) and also a new array with the numbers sort (in ascending order).

This sounds like homework; my reply will probably be a bit too late to help you. Rather than give you some pseudocode let me outline a way to approach the task.

Tasks like this often have four major aspects. These are the steady state component, the boundary conditions, initialization, and termination. In this case the steady state component is inserting an element into an existing array; there are two ways this can be done, pushing up or pushing down. Boundary conditions arise when the element to be inserted lies outside the boundaries of the existing array, either because it is bigger than the biggest or smaller than the smallest. Initialization requires that the data be brought to a condition where the steady state component may be applied. In this case you have to worry about inserting into an array with 0 elements and possibly 1 element. Finally, in this case, the termination is simple. However you must ensure that the steady state component leaves the array being built in a proper state for termination.

Return to index of contributors

From: Russell T. Arndts
Date: 02/25/2002
Subj: Evolution sites

I would like to visit the place where the Piltdown bones were “found.” Is there a marker or a museum or something to see while we are there?

The Piltdown marker is on the property of the Barkham Manor vineyard. I’m not sure what the status of the gravel pit is these days. The bones themselves are still in the British museum but AFAIK they aren’t viewable by the public. My website has a map of the Piltdown region.
… continued on next rock …

Thanks so much for the information you sent. We do plan to visit the Piltdown cite. Your web page indicated that you are interested in the topic of origins. You may know of other Evolution sites in England. If so I would appreciate it you would clue me in.

We plan to got to Cambridge and see what they have there about Darwin and we have visited Shewsbury and Down House on a previous trip. But if you know of others, I would appreciate knowing about it.

That rather depends on what sort of sites you would be looking for. If it were me I would write to the British Museum, a place you should visit in any event.
Return to index of contributors

From: Herb Thiel
Date: 03/03/2002
Subj: Mate Match

Is the audio file on that “Mate Match” available anywhere? The written scenario is down right funny and I’ll bet to actually hear it would be even funny yet. Do you know where I can get it?

Apparently it is an urban legend and never really happened. I’d like to think that it did, though.
Return to index of contributors

From: Benjamin Tepolt
Date: 03/03/2002
Subj: A Critique of Creationist Propaganda

Perhaps you are familiar with the comic book “Big Daddy?”, authored by Jack Chick and co-authored by Kent Hovind. In it, a debaucherous image of an Evolution professor is portrayed. Since it is in comic-book form and it is displaying a debate between a Creationist and a biology professor, and since this comic book was written by rather vindictive Creationists, it makes an attempt to make those who believe in Evolution look cruel and heartless and make Creationists look brave and triumphant. I have critiqued this comic book, though, in a medium sized essay. It can be found here. Since your website has to do with Evolution, if you would post a link to it on your website, I would be much appreciative.

One problem with trying to seriously refute a Chick comic is that the sort of mind that can take them seriously and not burst out laughing is almost immune to reason. Be that as it may a link to your essay will appear on my web site.
Return to index of contributors


This page was last updated March 16, 2002.
It was reformatted and moved November 29, 2005.

home
table of contents
March 2002 TOC
Archived letters
email