text:
Ford Territory (Australia)

The Ford Territory is a mid-size crossover SUV built by Ford Australia that was introduced in April 2004 and produced until 7 October 2016. It was the only SUV built in Australia and Ford's first large three-row crossover SUV. It was originally based on the EA169 platform introduced by the EA Falcon and its internal project codename was E265. It won various automotive awards and was the first SUV to win the Australian title of Wheels Car of the Year in 2004, due to its acceptable handling and child carrying capacity.

Ford Australia reportedly spent A$500 million on developing this vehicle over a four-year period. Many Australian toolmakers were lauded for their cost competitiveness in keeping this cost so low, not as cheap as the Japanese, but much lower than Detroit-based cars. Apart from being the first and only Australian-made SUV, it was also the first local vehicle to feature electronic stability control.

Design
Both rear-wheel drive (RWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) configurations were available for the Australian market. AWD models had an optional anti-lock braking system to control the car's motion downhill.

Reflecting its SUV design, seating capacity in the Territory was for either five (two rows) or seven (three rows) passengers, making it excellent for large families with children. All seating rows were arranged in a "theatre style", whereby the first row was the lowest and the last row was the highest. The middle and back rows folded flat into the floor to maximise cargo volume.

Ford introduced the Territory alongside the existing Falcon wagon, which was built on the same Broadmeadows Assembly Plant production line. Ford Australia senior executives had expected the Falcon wagon to be discontinued soon after the introduction of the Territory, surmising that Falcon wagon sales would substantially decline as fleet buyers migrated to the Territory. However, this did not happen because the Falcon wagon retained much of its fleet sales base and the Territory appealed mainly to large families. The production of the Falcon station wagon was terminated in September 2010. The Territory was never a serious replacement for it due to higher fuel consumption and increased weight.

Ford R7 concept

The Ford R7 was a concept SUV which was developed by Ford Australia under the auspices of the late Geoff Polites and was revealed at the 2002 Australian International Motor Show held in Melbourne. So great was the reception of the R7, that Ford fast tracked the development of the R7 into a full blown production model just two years later as the Ford Territory and it previewed the new front styling of the donor Ford Falcon (BA) range.

Model range
Between 2004 and 2016, the Territory had been manufactured adopting the same chassis and sold in a total of five series (SX, SY, SYII, SZ, and final SZ II). The launch of the FG series Falcon, however, resulted in the Territory undergoing a major redesign inside and out, and unlike the donor sedan, receiving a turbodiesel powerplant, citing high fuel consumption of the 6 cylinder engines due to the high curb weight.

SX:

The first series, known as the "SX", was produced between April 2004 and September 2005.

Appearance-wise, the Territory adopted styling cues from the North American Freestyle/Taurus X, which proved to be a defining factor for the support of Ford executives at the head office in Dearborn, Michigan. Simon Butterworth, who was behind the major restyling of the Falcon that resulted in the 2002 BA series, styled the Territory. Marcus Hotblack worked on the Territory's interior, inspired by a knife. As a result, the Territory had such convenient features as flexing cup holders and a handbag holder to the side of the seat for female drivers.

The SX Territory was the first Australian-built vehicle to be fitted with an electronic stability control system. In addition, Territory was the first SUV to have won the Australian Wheels Car of the Year award, in 2004.

Its platform was available in RWD or AWD, solely powered by the 182 kW, 380 Nm 4.0-litre DOHC straight-six Barra petrol engine from the BA Falcon albeit slightly detuned via software, paired to a four-speed automatic gearbox. All models were renowned for very high fuel consumption, averaging between 14 and 18 L/100 km.

At launch, the SX range of models (and Australian retail prices ) were:
 * Model range
 * TX: base package (RWD: A$38990; AWD: A$42990);
 * TS: family safety package (RWD: A$44790; AWD: A$48790);
 * Ghia: luxury package (RWD: A$49290; AWD: A$53290);.

An Alpine DVD entertainment system for rear passengers, with 10.2-inch screen and infrared headphones, was offered as standard or optional depending on the model variant.

Australian and New Zealand SX series models were slightly different visually: all models sold in New Zealand had body-colour bumpers and alloy wheels, including the base model. Front light detail resembles that of women's jewellery in a black box. In New Zealand, the only RWD model was the base version and all other models had AWD; while in Australia, all models were available with both traction setups.

The colour range included: Indiana, Envi, Mandarine, Offshore, Silhouette, Winter White and Zesty.

SY:

The SY, primarily a mechanical upgrade with no significant visual differentiation, was introduced in October 2005. Its key features included increased engine power 190 kW, new automatic transmission for AWD models, and as a first for an Australian-built vehicle, a reverse parking camera (optional on the TS and standard on Ghia). The TS now featured standard reverse sensors. All models received a new key design, and on cars built after May 2006, the plastic rear cladding along the bottom edge of the rear tailgate changed to be pressed into the sheet metal.

Again, this Territory was solely powered by a revised 4.0-litre DOHC straight-six engine now producing 190 kW and 383 Nm. The previous DSI four-speed automatic transmission was retained with minor updates for RWD models; AWD models now featured the six-speed ZF 6HP 26 automatic transmission that contributed to slightly improved fuel consumption.

The 2006 Territory Turbo was AWD-only and its turbocharged version of the base model produced 245 kW and 480 Nm. Being AWD, it was only available with the then-new six-speed ZF automatic transmission.

The range remained unchanged except for the introduction, in mid-2006, of a Territory Turbo available in standard trim or luxury Ghia. It was powered by a turbocharged 4.0-litre DOHC straight-six version of the Barra engine that, due to costs considerations and the Australian market preference for performance variants, took priority over the introduction of a mooted diesel variant to curtail the high 6 cylinder fuel consumption.
 * Model range

At launch, the original SY range of models (and Australian retail prices ) were:
 * TX (RWD: A$39490; AWD: A$43990);
 * TS (RWD: A$46330; AWD: A$51330);
 * Ghia (RWD: A$51820; AWD: A$56320).

At its subsequent launch, the AWD-only standard Turbo and Ghia models instead cost A$53990 and A$65490, respectively.

The first Territory TX-based limited editions emerged:
 * SR – released in February 2006, and re-released in June 2008
 * SR2 – released in October 2008

The initial colour range was: Winter White, Wired, Lightning Strike, Silhouette, Mercury Silver, Kashmir, Dejavu, Icon and Indiana. It subsequently included: Steel, Grace, Flare, Conquer, Silk, Ego, Seduce, Neo, Velvet and Sensations.

FPV F6X:

On 29 February 2008, Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) launched the "F6X", which was the first and only non-Falcon vehicle sold by this Ford subsidiary.

Effectively a high-performance version of the Territory Turbo, it was only available in AWD and with a six-speed automatic transmission. It was badged "F6X 270" due to its engine output of 270 kW and 550 Nm, shared with the similarly engined and Falcon-based FPV F6 sedan. This resulted in this SUV being the most powerful SUV available at the time, with a fast 0 - 100 km/h acceleration time of 5.9 seconds.

FPV foreshadowed its intention to enter the SUV scene with the "P-SUV" concept car displayed at its Open Day in February 2007. This vehicle featured a pick-up body style and aggressive off-road styling. The final F6X concept was otherwise displayed at the October 2007 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney.

Aside from its high-performance engine, its other key features included 18-inch wheels, upgraded front Brembo brakes, and fittings such as seating (optional third row seat) and instrumentation styled to mirror those of the FPV sedans. Despite this, the lack of sufficient external differentiation with the donor Territory Turbo, its high price of A$75990 and poor fuel consumption translated into a low sales success, with a total of 251 units built. As a consequence, production ceased in February 2009 and it was no longer available with the SY II series launched in June 2009.

The F6X colour range included: Ego, Winter White, Lightning Strike, Nitro, Seduce, Sensations, Silhouette and Velvet. Depending on the exterior paint chosen, each had the option of one of two stripe packages in metallic Azure Blue, Pewter or Silver and matte Black. It also featured datadot paint technology.

SY II:

The SY II series was a facelift revealed at the 2009 Australian International Motor Show held in Melbourne and went on sale that May. It featured a mildly restyled front end and other minor exterior changes, improved interior trim (with the previous upholstery colour schemes replaced by more contemporary ones) and improved suspension design. Powertrains remained unchanged, except for the axing of the 270 kW "FPV F6X". The BA/BF Falcon centre console and Interior Command Control (ICC) was again reused for the SY II despite the newer FG Falcon having a completely redesigned console and ICC.

The SY II received a revised front suspension to address a well-documented weakness in the front lower ball joints. Specifically, the original design had the ball joints under constant tension, which resulted in some catastrophic failures of the joint (causing the wheel to detach from the suspension and steering at high speeds) and premature wear requiring lower control arm replacements after as little as 30000 km. With the new design, the lower ball joints were now under compression, thus eliminating the premature wear issue.

The SY II Territory range and upgrades (plus Australian retail prices at launch ) were:
 * Model range
 * TX: with body-coloured bumpers and alloy wheels standard (RWD: A$39490; AWD: A$44490);
 * TS: body-coloured bumpers, new alloy wheels, seven-seater with third-row standard (RWD: A$44490; AWD: A$49990).
 * Ghia: external mirrors mounted side indicators, new alloy wheels, privacy glass for the rear passenger and cargo windows (RWD: A$52490; AWD: A$57490).

The Turbo was now available only in the latter luxury specification (for A$66420).

A TS Limited Edition was marketed in December 2009 and October 2010 to stimulate sales by providing Ghia-derived fittings.

At launch, the colour range included: Silhouette, Lightning Strike, Velvet, Harmony, Sensations, Steel, Ego, Seduce, Mystic, Winter White and Kashmir.

Through the addition of a front passenger seatbelt warning chime implemented on cars produced from 11 January 2010, the entire Territory range qualified for a full five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program crash test score. Models produced prior to this date only had a four-star rating.

SZ (major redesign):

The SZ series Territory was released in April 2011. Ford Australia released official photos of this facelifted edition on 8 February 2011. Its development cost was some A$230 million.

In line with Ford's internationally adopted Kinetic Design, the car features a large lower air intake and thin upper grille. It has an estimated. Titanium models feature LED "position" lights, in lieu of the fog lights fitted on the mid-spec TS. At the rear, the car features horizontal tail lights, replacing the vertical lights on previous editions. On the inside, courtesy of the FG Falcon upgrades, the higher-range Territory models also inherited an eight-inch colour touch screen, which is central to the "SYNC" in-car entertainment and control system. New safety features include a driver's knee airbag and updated stability control system, now version 9.0 by Bosch incorporating an anti-roll-over function.

Mechanically, the SZ series introduced for the first time in Ford Australia's locally made vehicles, a diesel powerplant (whose cost and development in previous editions was postponed in favour of the turbo petrol variant of 2006). It also introduced an electric power-assist steering system used on the American Ford Mustang, which was also poised for introduction on the Falcon.

The engines range of the SZ series comprised the usual but further upgraded 4.0-litre DOHC straight-six petrol engine only for the RWD Territory, and a turbocharged, direct injection 2.7-litre 60-degree V6 diesel engine marketed as "Duratorq" for the RWD and AWD Territory models. Petrol-engined AWD models are no longer offered. The petrol engine, now compliant with Euro 4 emission standards, generates 195 kW and 391 Nm. At launch, the diesel engine was a seven-year-old Ford AJD-V6/PSA DT17 engine, which debuted in Australia with the Jaguar XF and Land Rover Discovery 3. It reportedly emits up to 25% less compared to the petrol engine.

Across the range, two types of six-speed automatic transmission became default depending on model variants. For petrol-engined RWD—the ZF 6HP26 transmission; for diesel-engined RWD and AWD the ZF-based, 6R80 transmission produced by Ford in the United States is used.

Interior-wise, finally the new Territory gained the centre console and ICC of the FG Falcon. Up until this time the Territory had continued to reused the 2002-2008 BA/BF Falcon interior and ICC.

The range remained the same except for the Titanium replacing the Ghia, reflecting a similar changes made to the related Ford Falcon (FG) range.
 * Model range

The SZ range and key features or upgrades (plus Australian retail prices at launch ) were as follows:
 * TX: 17-inch alloy wheels, iPod/USB integration, Bluetooth phone connectivity and cruise control). Available in RWD petrol (A$39990), RWD diesel (A$43240), AWD diesel (A$48240);
 * TS: as above but with 18-inch alloy wheels plus four-way power adjustable driver seat, 8-inch colour touch screen, front fog lights, dual-zone climate control, premium audio system and reversing camera, standard 7-seat capacity. Available in RWD petrol (A$46990), RWD diesel (A$50240), AWD diesel (A$55240);
 * Titanium: as above plus different 18-inch alloy wheels, LED "position" lights, external mirrors mounted side indicators, chrome detachable front grille, 6-way power adjustable driver seat with three memory settings, glass for the rear passenger and cargo windows, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, satellite navigation with Traffic Message Channel, Alpine DVD entertainment system for rear passengers with 10.2-inch screen and infrared headphones, leather seat trim (in "Shadow" black or "Cashmere" beige). Available in RWD petrol (A$54990), RWD diesel (A$58240), AWD diesel (A$63240).

The Titanium model has proven to be the most popular variant and the SZ series led Ford Australia to reach a significant manufacturing milestone by building 150,000th Territory (a white TX TCDi RWD model) in 2012.

The Titanium (in AWD 2.7-Litre TCDi specification) was also the only variant for exports to Thailand that resumed in late 2012.

A TX Limited Edition was marketed in August 2012 to stimulate sales by providing TS-derived fittings.

The colour range included: Havana, Vanish, Lightning Strike, White, Edge, Chill, Smoke, Seduce and Silhouette.

SZ II:

After 10 years of production, the SZ II series represented the Territory before Ford Australia's full production (which also included the FG X Falcon sedan) ceased in October 2016.

The SZ II began production alongside the FG X Falcon on 20 October 2014 and went on sale in the Australian market in December 2014. Its model range remains unchanged relative to the SZ series but, externally, it features subtle styling revisions consisting of a new fascia and alloy wheels, with the Territory losing out its LED "position lights" in favour of more traditional foglights. Mechanically, the engine range also remains unchanged apart from transmission tweaks and aerodynamic improvements that deliver around 0.5% better fuel consumption. Inside, new trims colours feature along with an updated "SYNC2" touchscreen in-car entertainment and control system with voice command, Wi-Fi connectivity, DAB+ radio, and emergency call functionality.

New Zealand
The Territory was sold in New Zealand, with 12,000 units sold there.

South Africa
Exports to South Africa were made in 2005. Sales of the Territory were unveiled on June 22, 2005. The TX and Ghia AWD/RWD models were sold there. Prior to its debut, a Territory was sent to South Africa in 2004 for assessment by Ford's South African branch.

Around 2,300 Territorys were exported.

Thailand
Exports of the Territory to Thailand was announced to go on sale in April 2006 with the Ghia 4WD model. Prior to that, the SY Territory appeared at the 2005 Bangkok Motor Show. A Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement was also in place at the time the exports started after 2005.

Around 100 Territorys were sold to Thailand in August 2012 after Ford Australia showed interest in a diesel-powered version at the 2012 Bangkok Motor Show held in March 2012.

Concerns were raised that the Thai export program Ford Australia participated in could collapse due to high taxes imposed on imported vehicles. This was pointed out in 2013 after taxes were raised that it was expensive to purchase a Territory.

Available safety features
The Ford territory had safety features such as driver or passenger airbag, ABS and seat belt.

title: Ford Territory (Australia)


text:
Talk:Beyond the standard Big Bang model

I think that this page can serve good purpose, but should not include non-standard cosmologies that are based around discounting the Big Bang.

merge+delete
There is no ecological niche for this article between the Big Bang article and the specific articles like ekpyrotic. --Pjacobi 18:39, 2005 Jan 2 (UTC)

Duly noted and merged. Joshuaschroeder 03:31, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Beyond the standard Big Bang model


text:
Brown (crater)

Brown is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southeast part of the Moon, to the southwest of the prominent ray crater Tycho. Northwest of Brown is the crater Wilhelm, and to the west is Montanari. This crater was named after Ernest William Brown, and is distinct from crater D. Brown, a satellite crater of the Apollo crater.

The rim of Brown is mis-shapen from a typical circular formation, most notably due to the intrusion of the satellite crater Brown E into the southeast of the formation. The northern rim is polygonal in shape, with a flattened northern rim. There is also a small gap in the western rim which protrudes to the west.

Satellite craters
There are eight satellite craters of Brown that are recognized by the International Astronomical Union. The official designation of these features was approved in 2006.

title: Brown (crater)


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Matthew Torby

Matthew Torby
Delete - As far as I can tell, this guy doesn't exist. No Amazon books listing. The cartoons exist, but not all that author bullshit ...

Delete. Indrian 01:32, Oct 25, 2004 (UTC)

Delete. Contrary to what the history tells you, I didn't write this. Once I edited it, somehow the other entries in the history disappeared. All I did was take what was written at face value and did some minor cleanup on it. Mo0 01:36, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * It looks like it got speedy deleted while you were editing it, and when you hit Save, you actually re-created it. Not a problem.  RickK 00:48, Nov 4, 2004 (UTC)

 * Lost/unresolved VfD. Delete, doesn't seem to have factual basis. Cool Hand Luke  01:10, 31 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete unless verifiable evidence presented, such as the ISBN numbers of the books or the dates of the 60 minutes intervals. Only two Google hits, one of them being a Wikipedia VfD discussion and one being a Queens Tribute listing—I can't make out what it's about but it's a very long list of gradeschoolers. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 02:06, 31 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete nonsense, unverifiable, and rife with fraud . Make an account if you want to vote, and cite evidence of notability if you have it. Gazpacho 02:14, 31 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Delete. This person doesn't seem to exist. jni 15:29, 31 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Guy doesn't appear to exist, and if he does, he's a nobody. Delete. - Vague Rant 03:24, Oct 31, 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete, idiocy and lies. —Stormie 09:55, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC)

 * A "world famous writer" who only gets one Google hit that isn't Wikipedia. The fact that there are so many sock puppet votes show how unimportant he is -- he's working hard to keep his article here, isn't he?  Delete.  RickK 00:32, Nov 2, 2004 (UTC)

Sock puppet votes: Keep
 * Comment: The unsigned vote above was entered by User:Gary123, who has contributed four edits to Wikipedia, three of which are related to Matthew Torby. jni 05:53, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep, The only mistake I found was the NY times bestseller everything else is vertified. User:redforest29

 * The above is the only edit from User:redforest29. Sockpuppeteria today! --jpgordon{gab} 22:24, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep, If any of you have a script of the shows it does list Matthew Torby as a producer User:grapefruit23

 * Keep, I'm a big fan of evil con carne and I know Matthew Torby worked on it User:yogurtb9

 * Keep, Maxwell Atoms mentioned Matthew Torby in a interview User:frogbert77

User:blackmagick
 * Keep, I've worked with Matthew Torby's foundation the books listed are given out for free at his charities.

User:jackolantern
 * Keep, I have a copy of one of the books listed
 * "one"... which one? Who is named on the title page as the publisher? Gazpacho

User:sovietangel
 * Keep, I have a transcript of the 60 minutes interview
 * Oh? what date? who was the interviewer? can you put an exerpt on the talk page? Gazpacho

User:bloodandguts
 * Keep, If you want to delete Matthew Torby you should delete Maxwell Atoms

User:foundation21
 * Keep,  Matthew Torby is cool and I know he exists because I donate money to Laughter for Kids so kust shut up and don't delete. He should get an wikipedia article about him and anyone who objects hates America
 * Just call me Michael Moore. Gazpacho

 * Keep, Vote for Torby he's been on TV. He's the man look what he began. Don't delete he's an elite. He created charity for the unpopularity. I watch his cartoon every afternoon.

User:DDman11

 * Presumably these similarly-formatted entries by people with no other edits are sockpuppets. I take that as further evidence of non-existence and vote to delete. -- Jmabel | Talk 00:37, Nov 2, 2004 (UTC)

Dont Delete. From what I've found it looks like the guy really is the creator and producer of the cartoons mentioned

DONT DELETE My research says this guy exists

 * Six billion people exist, but that doesn't mean we write articles about them, making up books and pretending they wrote them. (I wrote the first item and forgot to sign it, so I've already voted delete) - DavidWBrooks 15:19, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

User:joesmoe
 * Keep,Look i don't know about the other voters being sock puppets or whatever. But i'm a real voter. I worked as a volunteer in the laughter for children project. I've never watched the cartoon or read the books but I assume they exist. I've used wikipedia before but all my minor edits up to now have been anonymous. Well I cant be anonymous for this I think creating a cartoon show, helping to produce another cartoon show and founding a charitable foundation is a good enough reason to be on wikipedia. Thats why I just created an account and I'm voting to keep Matthew Torby. I think what the so called sock puppet said was right. If you want to delete Matthew Torby you might as well delete Maxwell Atoms also.

 * "assume they exist" ... aha! the cartoon does, the books don't, the person doesn't. ... I've already voted, by the way

 * Delete WhisperToMe 02:16, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete Sjc 11:39, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete Terrapin 17:49, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete — Bill 23:45, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete This VfD is a mess... Ashibaka ✎ 20:14, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete Jordan Langelier 20:36, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I've been unable to get to VfD for days to double-check ... can somebody remind me how long we have to wait since the initial posting before deleting this idiotic page? Two weeks? - DavidWBrooks 02:07, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * One week. -- Cyrius|✎ 23:38, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)


text:
Buch (crater)

Buch is an old, worn crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon. It was named after German geologist Leopold von Buch. It lies to the northeast of the large crater Maurolycus, and the comparably sized crater Büsching is attached to the northeast rim. The crater rim is slightly elongated in the northeastern direction, and forms an egg-shaped depression in the surface. The rim has been eroded by many lesser impacts so that the edge is rounded and worn down, and the crater forms only a low depression in the ground. Within the crater the floor is relatively flat and featureless, with no central peak at the midpoint. There is only a small craterlet near the northwest rim.

It has been noted (by Shoemaker and others) that the satellite crater Buch B is unusual in that it possesses both a dark halo of material around the rim and appears to have formed some dark rays. Early speculation was that this may be volcanic in nature, but it was later demonstrated to be a typical impact crater that was formed over a pocket of darker material.

Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Buch.

title: Buch (crater)


text:
Talk:GE U25B

Roster
I tweeked the roster a bit. Wabash had 15 units, not 13. Pennsylvania's last unit was 2558, not 2559. The Burlington's six units were left off the roster and were added. The revised roster now reflects 478 units, this is correct as the two XP-24 Demonstrators were never sold. GE Demonstrators #753-756 went to the Frisco as their #804-807. GE #2501-2504 were sold to the UP as their #633, 635, 634, and 636. Three NYC U25Bs were rated at 2750 horsepower for test purposes in 1965.--SSW9389 22:35, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

New Haven #2525 is at the Railroad Museum of New England in Waterbury, CT. --SSW9389 23:02, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

Milwaukee #5057 is at the Portola Railroad Museum in California. Believe this one was used at Western Nebraska University as a training aid until its donation to Portola. --SSW9389 23:08, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

There is NYC #2510 parked in the weeds south of Albany, New York at the Glenmount Power Station. --SSW9389 23:08, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

L&N #1616 is at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga and may have recently been sold. The unit has no main generator in her as she gave it up for a D-L C425.

NYC #2500 is sitting in North East, PA at the Lake Shore Railway Museum. and is basically fully restored (with the exception of being operable).

Milwaukee #5056 is at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. It is being restored to operating condition. Additional preservation data from Railroad.net GE Forum --SSW9389 11:33, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

Retirement date
CSX's ex L&N 1616 was retired in 1989, the end of operation for the model besides perhaps a few EMD rengined examples. Going to edit the article to correct it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.71.220.47 (talk) 00:00, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

There was no GE demo #55.
Friso #811 was built for the road in July 1963 in an order that included #808-#810, batch #1439 with a builder's number of 34563. She wasn't a member of batch #1364, which were GE demos #51-#54 that were later sold to Friso. Furthermore, she was built 8 months after the last batch of builder demonstrators were outshopped in December 1962. 2603:7081:C02:5700:E164:9746:B2EE:9C8F (talk) 11:11, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:GE U25B


text: User:HamidKarzaiFunnyHat

title: User:HamidKarzaiFunnyHat


text:
User talk:Jimbo Wales/Chicago Meetup/archive

Is this event open for all users? What exactly will be discussed? I've never heard of these meetings before, so I was wondering exactly what would be going on. pie4all88 03:29, 1 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Sure, everyone is welcome. The agenda will depend on who visits. If, as it seems, this will at best be a very small group meeting for lunch, then we can just meet each other and chat about whatever we like. I'm open to having a specific agenda, but this works best for larger meetings I think. 24.144.84.219 13:36, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I'd like to try to make it but I'd have to come after church (and try to explain it to my wife) so I was wondering what time do you intend to depart for the airport? BTW I'm pretty new to Wikipedia but I'm on the Council of the World Wide Web Virtual Library so I'm not some clueless newbie and I really would like to take part in this discussion. I'm interested in possible synergy between the Virtual Library and Wikipedia, and also in looking at how TBL's semantic Web markups might be applied to Wikipedia. Ray Trygstad 00:42, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)


text:
Talk:General Electric U25B

Need to merge from GE U25B. slambo 01:31, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Merge complete. This article is now a redirect to GE U25B to keep in line with other locomotive article titles.  slambo 21:47, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:General Electric U25B


text:
Talk:Skelmanthorpe

Railway tunnels
I think the statement:

 * This trip involves going through the longest rail tunnel in the UK that's not owned by Network Rail or Transport for London.

is rather dubious. The Glasgow Subway is entirely underground, over 10km long, and not owned by either Network Rail or Transport for London. There may well be others. -- Chris j wood 01:32, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Origin of the term Shat meaning Skelmanthorpe. Living locally I always understood that the term 'Shat' was the habit of attacking strangers and biting their ears. This was practised by some residents of Skelmanthorpe in the past. Residents of other villages would avoid Skelmanthorpe for this reason. It was believed by many that a large carving of a human ear was kept in the town Hall as a reminder of this practise. S G Gaunt.

Museum
I have discovered today that there is a museum in Skelmanthorpe!! It is called the Textile Heritage Unit and is located at no. 6 Queen Street. The museum is run by two elderly gentlemen (contacts are listed on the board outside) - the museum is opened upon request and although very small has a wealth of information including a weaver's loom, samples of work and various items of weaver's equipment. Surely this should be included in the list of buildings? Josh.beckett (talk) 19:51, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Churches
The only chuch I am sure is active is St Aidens. Could anyone confirm the others?

Derf noxid 16:52, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

All 5 of the listed churches are still active. (Some more so than others, some dwindling in numbers - but nevertheless, all still active)

Josh.beckett 12:45, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Nearby Towns
Surely Holmfirth ought to be included in this list? Though Dewsbury is probably too far away/less accessible.

Josh.beckett 12:53, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Skelmanthorpe. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080725115847/http://www.denbydale.com/content/skelmanthorpe_trail to http://www.denbydale.com/content/skelmanthorpe_trail

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 23:49, 7 January 2016 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 06:20, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

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Shat
The nickname for the inhabitants, is indeed Shat. This is explained at Skelmanthorpe. Ta. The joy of all things (talk) 09:31, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Skelmanthorpe


text:
Strong pseudoprime

A strong pseudoprime is a composite number that passes the Miller–Rabin primality test. All prime numbers pass this test, but a small fraction of composites also pass, making them "pseudoprimes".

Unlike the Fermat pseudoprimes, for which there exist numbers that are pseudoprimes to all coprime bases (the Carmichael numbers), there are no composites that are strong pseudoprimes to all bases.

Motivation and first examples
Let us say we want to investigate if n = 31697 is a probable prime (PRP). We pick base a = 3 and, inspired by Fermat's little theorem, calculate:
 * $$3^{31696} \equiv 1 \pmod {31697}$$

This shows 31697 is a Fermat PRP (base 3), so we may suspect it is a prime. We now repeatedly halve the exponent:
 * $$3^{15848} \equiv 1 \pmod {31697}$$
 * $$3^{7924} \equiv 1 \pmod {31697}$$
 * $$3^{3962} \equiv 28419 \pmod {31697}$$

The first couple of times do not yield anything interesting (the result was still 1 modulo 31697), but at exponent 3962 we see a result that is neither 1 nor minus 1 (i.e. 31696) modulo 31697. This proves 31697 is in fact composite (it equals 29×1093). Modulo a prime, the residue 1 can have no other square roots than 1 and minus 1. This shows that 31697 is a strong pseudoprime to base 3.

For another example, pick n = 47197 and calculate in the same manner:
 * $$3^{47196} \equiv 1 \pmod {47197}$$
 * $$3^{23598} \equiv 1 \pmod {47197}$$
 * $$3^{11799} \equiv 1 \pmod {47197}$$

In this case, the result continues to be 1 (mod 47197) until we reach an odd exponent. In this situation, we say that 47197 a strong probable prime to base 3. Because it turns out this PRP is in fact composite (can be seen by picking other bases than 3), we have that 47197 is a strong pseudoprime to base 3.

Finally, consider n = 74593 where we get:
 * $$3^{74592} \equiv 1 \pmod {74593}$$
 * $$3^{37296} \equiv 1 \pmod {74593}$$
 * $$3^{18648} \equiv 74592 \pmod {74593}$$

Here, we reach minus 1 modulo 74593, a situation that is perfectly possible with a prime. When this occurs, we stop the calculation (even though the exponent is not odd yet) and say that 74593 } a strong probable prime (and, as it turns out, a strong pseudoprime) to base 3.

Formal definition
An odd composite number n = d · 2s + 1 where d is odd is called a strong (Fermat) pseudoprime to base a if:

 * $$a^d\equiv 1\pmod n$$

or
 * $$a^{d\cdot 2^r}\equiv -1\pmod n\quad\mbox{ for some }0 \leq r < s .$$

(If a number n satisfies one of the above conditions and we don't yet know whether it is prime, it is more precise to refer to it as a strong probable prime to base a. But if we know that n is not prime, then we may use the term strong pseudoprime.)

The definition is trivially met if $a ≡ ±1 (mod n )$ so these trivial bases are often excluded.

Guy mistakenly gives a definition with only the first condition, which is not satisfied by all primes.

Properties of strong pseudoprimes
A strong pseudoprime to base a is always an Euler–Jacobi pseudoprime, an Euler pseudoprime and a Fermat pseudoprime to that base, but not all Euler and Fermat pseudoprimes are strong pseudoprimes. Carmichael numbers may be strong pseudoprimes to some bases—for example, 561 is a strong pseudoprime to base 50—but not to all bases.

A composite number n is a strong pseudoprime to at most one quarter of all bases below n; thus, there are no "strong Carmichael numbers", numbers that are strong pseudoprimes to all bases. Thus given a random base, the probability that a number is a strong pseudoprime to that base is less than 1/4, forming the basis of the widely used Miller–Rabin primality test. The true probability of a failure is generally vastly smaller. Paul Erdős and Carl Pomerance showed in 1986 that if a random integer n passes the Miller–Rabin primality test to a random base b, then n is almost surely a prime. For example, of the first 25,000,000,000 positive integers, there are 1,091,987,405 integers that are probable primes to base 2, but only 21,853 of them are pseudoprimes, and even fewer of them are strong pseudoprimes, as the latter is a subset of the former. However, Arnault gives a 397-digit Carmichael number that is a strong pseudoprime to every base less than 307. One way to reduce the chance that such a number is wrongfully declared probably prime is to combine a strong probable prime test with a Lucas probable prime test, as in the Baillie–PSW primality test.

There are infinitely many strong pseudoprimes to any base.

Examples
The first strong pseudoprimes to base 2 are
 * 2047, 3277, 4033, 4681, 8321, 15841, 29341, 42799, 49141, 52633, 65281, 74665, 80581, 85489, 88357, 90751, ....

The first to base 3 are
 * 121, 703, 1891, 3281, 8401, 8911, 10585, 12403, 16531, 18721, 19345, 23521, 31621, 44287, 47197, 55969, 63139, 74593, 79003, 82513, 87913, 88573, 97567, ....

The first to base 5 are
 * 781, 1541, 5461, 5611, 7813, 13021, 14981, 15751, 24211, 25351, 29539, 38081, 40501, 44801, 53971, 79381, ....

For base 4, see, and for base 6 to 100, see to. By testing the above conditions to several bases, one gets somewhat more powerful primality tests than by using one base alone. For example, there are only 13 numbers less than 25·109 that are strong pseudoprimes to bases 2, 3, and 5 simultaneously. They are listed in Table 7 of. The smallest such number is 25326001. This means that, if n is less than 25326001 and n is a strong probable prime to bases 2, 3, and 5, then n is prime.

Carrying this further, 3825123056546413051 is the smallest number that is a strong pseudoprime to the 9 bases 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, and 23. So, if n is less than 3825123056546413051 and n is a strong probable prime to these 9 bases, then n is prime.

By judicious choice of bases that are not necessarily prime, even better tests can be constructed. For example, there is no composite $$< 2^{64}$$ that is a strong pseudoprime to all of the seven bases 2, 325, 9375, 28178, 450775, 9780504, and 1795265022.

title: Strong pseudoprime


text:
Behaim (crater)

Behaim is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, just to the south of the crater Ansgarius. To the south of Behaim is the crater Hecataeus, and to the east-southeast is Gibbs.

The inner walls along the rim of Behaim still displays traces of old, worn terraces. The rim has received a negligible amount of wear from subsequent bombardment, but does not form a circular shape due to an inward bulge along the northern wall. The crater has a notable central peak at the midpoint of the interior floor. A cleft-like feature crosses the southern rim and continues to the south.

Behaim is similar in appearance to Alpetragius crater near the center of the near side, although Behaim is larger.

Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Behaim.

title: Behaim (crater)


text:
Sarcoplasm

Sarcoplasm is the cytoplasm of a muscle cell. It is comparable to the cytoplasm of other cells, but it contains unusually large amounts of glycogen (a polymer of glucose), myoglobin, a red-colored protein necessary for binding oxygen molecules that diffuse into muscle fibers, and mitochondria. The calcium ion concentration in sarcoplasma is also a special element of the muscle fiber; it is the means by which muscle contractions take place and are regulated. The sarcoplasm plays a critical role in muscle contraction as an increase in Ca2+ concentration in the sarcoplasm begins the process of filament sliding. The decrease in Ca2+ in the sarcoplasm subsequently ceases filament sliding. The sarcoplasm also aids in pH and ion balance within muscle cells.

It contains mostly myofibrils (which are composed of sarcomeres), but its contents are otherwise comparable to those of the cytoplasm of other cells. It has a Golgi apparatus near the nucleus, mitochondria just inside the cell membrane (sarcolemma), and a smooth endoplasmic reticulum (specialized for muscle function and called the sarcoplasmic reticulum).

While sarcoplasm and myoplasm, viewed etymologically, might seem to be synonyms, they are not. Whereas sarcoplasm is a type of cytoplasm, myoplasm is the entire contractile portion of muscle tissue.

While some authors argue that the proteins and other molecules within the sarcoplasmic reticulum lumen technically belong to the sarcoplasm. These molecules aren't part of the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane itself but reside within the enclosed sarcoplasmic reticulum space. In that sense, one could say the sarcoplasmic reticulum has a type of specialized sarcoplasm.

title: Sarcoplasm


text:
Free-to-play

Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which requires a payment before using the game or service. It is also separate from freeware games, which are entirely costless. Free-to-play's model is sometimes derisively referred to as free-to-start due to not being entirely free. Free-to-play games have also been widely criticized as "pay-to-win"—that is, that players can generally pay to obtain competitive or power advantages over other players. There are several kinds of free-to-play business models. The most common is based on the freemium software model, in which users are granted access to a fully functional game but are incentivised to pay microtransactions to access additional content or more powerful in-game assets. Sometimes the content is entirely blocked without payment; other times it requires immense time 'unlocking' it for non-paying players, and paying the fee speeds the unlocking process. Another method of generating revenue is to integrate advertisements into the game. And another is to sell cosmetic upgrades such as new outfits: these upgrades do not necessarily help the player win or compete.

The model was first popularly used in early massively multiplayer online games targeted towards casual gamers, before finding wider adoption among games released by major video game publishers to combat video game piracy.

The model has been used by games such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Apex Legends, Fortnite Battle Royale, and the majority of the MOBA games, which offer the "full version" of a product free of charge, while users are charged micropayments to access premium features and virtual goods, often in a piecemeal fashion.

Game mechanics
In-game items can be purely cosmetic, enhance the power of the player, accelerate progression speed, and many more. A common technique used by developers of these games is for the items purchased to have a time limit; after this expires, the item must be repurchased before the user can continue. Another commonly seen mechanic is the use of two in-game currencies: one earned through normal gameplay, and another which can be purchased with real-world money. The second, "premium" currency is sometimes given out in small amounts to non-paying players at certain times, such as when they first start the game, complete a quest, or refer a friend to the game. Many browser games have an "energy bar" that depletes when the player takes actions. These games then sell items such as coffee or snacks to refill the bar.

Free-to-play games are free to install and play, but once the player enters the game, the player is able to purchase content such as items, maps, and expanded customization options. Some games, such as id Software's Quake Live, also use in-game advertising to provide income for free-to-play games. In addition to making in-game items available for purchase, EA integrates in-game advertising into its games. In August 2007, EA completed a deal with Massive Incorporated, which lets Massive update and change in-game advertising in real-time within EA games. Independent game developer Edmund McMillen has claimed that he makes most of his money from sponsors by placing advertisements into the introduction of a game and the game's title screen.

History
Matt Mihaly created the first known business model of exchanging virtual items for money in an online game, in 1997 for the flagship title Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands for his corporation originally Achaea LLC that later became Iron Realms Entertainment. The free-to-play business model in online games was later realized by Nexon in South Korea to a degree first catching more major media attention at the time. The first Nexon game to use it, QuizQuiz, was released in October 1999. Its creator Lee Seungchan would go on to create MapleStory.

The free-to-play model originated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, coming from a series of highly successful MMOs targeted towards children and casual gamers, including Furcadia, Neopets, RuneScape, MapleStory, and text-based dungeons such as Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands. Known for producing innovative titles, small independent developers also continue to release free-to-play games.

Free-to-play games are particularly prevalent in countries such as South Korea and the People's Republic of China. Microtransaction-based free-to-play mobile games and browser games such as Puzzle & Dragons, Kantai Collection and The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls also have large player populations in Japan. In particular, the Nikkei Shimbun reported that Cinderella Girls earns over 1 billion yen in revenue monthly from microtransactions. Electronic Arts first adopted the free-to-play concept in one of its games when it released FIFA Online in Korea.

In the late 2000s, many MMOs transitioned to the free-to-play model from subscriptions, including subscription-based games such as The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Dungeons & Dragons Online, and Champions Online. This move from a subscription based model to a free-to-play one has proven very beneficial in some cases. Star Wars: The Old Republic is a good example of a game that transitioned from subscription to free-to-play. Turbine as of September 10, 2010, has given an F2P with Cash shop option to The Lord of the Rings Online which resulted in a tripling of profit. Sony Online Entertainment's move to transition EverQuest from a subscription model into a hybrid F2P/subscription game was followed by a 125% spike in item sales, a 150% up-tick in unique log-ins, and over three times as many account registrations.

The movement of free-to-play MMOs into the mainstream also coincided with experimentation with other genres as well. The model was picked up by larger developers and more diverse genres, with games such as Battlefield Heroes, Free Realms, Quake Live and Team Fortress 2 appearing in the late 2000s. The experimentation was not successful in every genre, however. Traditional real time strategy franchises such as Age of Empires and Command & Conquer both attempted free-to-play titles. Age of Empires Online was shut down in the midst of a tiny player base and stagnant revenue, and Command & Conquer: Generals 2 was shut down in alpha due to negative reactions from players.

In 2011, revenue from free-to-play games overtook revenue from premium games in the top 100 games in Apple's App Store. The percentage of people that spend money on in-game items in these games ranges from 0.5% to 6%, depending on a game's quality and mechanics. Even though this means that a large number of people will never spend money in a game, it also means that the people that do spend money could amount to a sizeable number due to the fact that the game was given away for free. Indeed a report from mobile advertising company firm SWRV stated that only 1.5 percent of players opted to pay for in-game items, and that 50 percent of the revenue for such games often came from just ten percent of players. Nevertheless The Washington Post noted that the developers of two such games, Supercell (Clash of Clans) and Machine Zone (Game of War: Fire Age), were able to afford Super Bowl commercials in 2015 featuring big-name celebrities (respectively Liam Neeson and Kate Upton). The latter, Game of War, was in fact, part of a roughly $40 million campaign starring Upton.

As of 2012, free-to-play MOBAs, such as League of Legends, Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm, and Smite had become among the most popular PC games. The success in the genre has helped convince many video game publishers to copy the free-to-play MOBA model.

During 2015, Slice Intelligence tracked people that bought products in mobile video games, and these players spent an average of $87 in free-to-play games. The highest spending per player in 2015 was in Game of War: Fire Age, where the players that bought products on average spent $550.

Comparison with traditional model
The free-to-play model has been described as a shift from the traditional model, also known as premium-priced games, where consumers paid for the cost of the game upfront and the game's success was measured by multiplying the number of units of a game sold by the unit price. Within free-to-play, the most important factor is the number of players that a game can keep continuously engaged, followed by how many compelling spending opportunities the game offers its players. With free games that include in-game purchases, two particularly important things occur: first, more people will try out the game since there is zero cost to doing so and second, revenue will likely be more than a traditional game since different players can now spend different amounts of money that depend on their engagement with the game and their preferences towards it. Player populations that spend money on free-to-play games can be broken up into terms that borrow from gambling: "whales" which typically are the smallest segment, up to around 10% of players, but are willing to spend the most on a game; "dolphins" which represent a larger portion of around 40% of players who spend some money but not as much as whales; and "minnows", representing about half the population, who spend the barest amount to maintain activity. As a result of this distribution, whales typically provide most of the revenue in free to play games, and in some cases, 50% of the revenue comes from 0.15% of players ("white whales") in one report. It is not unlikely for a very few players to spend tens of thousands of dollars in a game that they enjoy.

For PC gaming specifically, two challenges exist: video game piracy and demanding system requirements. The free-to-play model attempts to solve both these problems by providing a game that requires relatively low system requirements and at no cost, and consequently provides a highly accessible experience funded by advertising and micropayments for extra content or an advantage over other players.

Free-to-play is newer than the pay to play model, and the video game industry is still attempting to determine the best ways to maximize revenue from their games. Gamers have cited the fact that purchasing a game for a fixed price is still inherently satisfying because the consumer knows exactly what they will be receiving, compared to free-to-play which requires that the player pay for most new content that they wish to obtain. The term itself, "free-to-play", has been described as one with a negative connotation. One video game developer noted this, stating, "Our hope—and the basket we're putting our eggs in—is that 'free' will soon be disassociated with [sic] 'shallow' and 'cruddy'." However, another noted that developing freeware games gave developers the largest amount of creative freedom, especially when compared to developing console games, which requires that the game follow the criteria as laid out by the game's publisher. Many kinds of revenue are being experimented with. For example, with its Free Realms game targeted to children and casual gamers, Sony makes money from the product with advertisements on loading screens, free virtual goods sponsored by companies such as Best Buy, a subscription option to unlock extra content, a collectible card game, a comic book, and micropayment items that include character customization options.

In 2020, a study from Germany concluded that some free-to-play games use the "money illusion" as a form to hide the true cost of products. When they examined the game Fortnite, they found that since the in-game currency does not have a unique exchange rate, it can conceal the true cost of an in-game purchase, resulting in players potentially paying more than they realize. In 2021 the study was used to take legal action against Epic Games, the publisher of Fortnite.

Pay-to-win
In some games, players who are willing to pay for special items, downloadable content, or to skip cooldown timers may be able to gain an advantage over those playing for free who might otherwise hardly be able to access said items. Such games are called "pay-to-win" (abbreviated as "P2W"). In general a game is considered pay-to-win when a player can gain any advantage over their non-paying peers. Market research indicates that pay-to-win mechanics are considered much more acceptable by players in China than in Western countries, possibly because Chinese players are more habituated to recurring costs associated with gaming, such as gaming café fees.

A common suggestion for avoiding pay-to-win is for payments to only be used to broaden the experience without affecting gameplay. For example, some games, such as Dota 2, Fortnite Battle Royale and StarCraft II, only allow the purchase of cosmetic items, meaning that a player who has spent money on the game will still be on the same level as a player who has not. Others suggest finding a balance where a game encourages players to pay for extra content that enhances the game without making the free version feel limited by comparison. This theory is that players who do not pay for items would still increase awareness of it through word of mouth marketing, which ultimately benefits the game indirectly.

In response to concerns about players using payments to gain an advantage in the game, titles such as World of Tanks have explicitly committed to not giving paying players any advantages over their non-paying peers, while allowing the users buying the "gold" or "premium" ammo and expendables without paying the real money. However, features affecting gameplay and win rate, such as purchasing a 100% crew training level, a premium account, premium vehicles, and converting experience points to free experience points, remain available for the paying customers only.

Play-to-earn
Play-to-earn, also known as pay-to-earn, is a model of monetization that uses cryptocurrency and other blockchain technologies.

Nagging
In single-player games, another concern is the tendency for free games to constantly request that the player buy extra content, in a similar vein to nagware and trialware's frequent demands for the user to "upgrade". Payment may be required in order to survive or continue in the game, annoying or distracting the player from the experience. Some psychologists, such as Mark D. Griffiths, have criticized the mechanics of freemium games as exploitative, drawing direct parallels to gambling addiction.

Purchases by children
The ubiquitous and often intrusive use of microtransactions in free-to-play games has sometimes caused children to either inadvertently or deliberately pay for large amounts of virtual items, often for drastically high amounts of real money. In February 2013, Eurogamer reported that Apple had agreed to refund a British family £1700.41 after their son had purchased countless microtransactions whilst playing the F2P game Zombies vs. Ninjas.

Outlook
Pointing to the disruptive effect of free-to-play on current models, IGN editor Charles Onyett has said "expensive, one-time purchases are facing extinction". He believes that the current method of paying a one-time fee for most games will eventually disappear completely. Greg Zeschuk of BioWare believes there is a good possibility that free-to-play would become the dominant pricing plan for games, but that it was very unlikely that it would ever completely replace subscription-based games. Developers such as Electronic Arts have pointed to the success of freemium, saying that microtransactions will inevitably be part of every game. While noting the success of some developers with the model, companies such as Nintendo have remained skeptical of free-to-play, preferring to stick to more traditional models of game development and sales. In February 2015 Apple began featuring popular non-freemium software on the App Store as "Pay Once & Play", describing them as "Great Games with No In-App Purchases ... hours of uninterrupted fun with complete experiences".

title: Free-to-play


text:
List of Canadian plays

Canadian plays have been written since the 19th century, both in English and in French. The present list comprises plays in English, some of which being translations from French Canadian plays. Full length and one act plays are included but not musicals.

The Playwrights Guild of Canada has a large list of titles of copyrighted plays, included in the present one, mostly their own publications or those of Playwrights Canada Press. The year of the playbook in the present list corresponds to the printed form, but when this information is unavailable, it corresponds to the first stage production. In rare cases, neither is available.

In addition to traditional forms, Canada has a vibrant non-traditional theatre scene with notable experimental, fringe, and other alternative forms, the largest fringe festival in North America being the Edmonton International Fringe Festival.

 * List of Canadian plays (A–F)
 * List of Canadian plays (G–O)
 * List of Canadian plays (P–Z)

title: List of Canadian plays


text:
Japan Camera

Japan Camera opened its first store in 1959. Since then, it has grown to become a successful chain of over 100 stores across North America. The store opened the first one-hour photofinishing lab in North America. There are a few in Toronto.

In Quebec, the chain is known as Centre Japonais De La Photo.

title: Japan Camera


text:
Montcalm

Montcalm may refer to:

People

 * Louis-Joseph de Montcalm (1712–1759), commander of the French forces in North America during the French and Indian War
 * Noelle Montcalm (born 1988), Canadian hurdler
 * Térez Montcalm (born 1963), Canadian jazz singer and songwriter

Vessels

 * FRENCH SHIP Montcalm, four ships of the French Navy
 * USS Montcalm (AT-39), a United States Navy fleet ocean tug
 * SS Montcalm, a British cargo liner

Algeria

 * Tamlouka, a small village formerly known as Montcalm

Canada

 * Rural Municipality of Montcalm, Manitoba
 * Montcalm, Quebec, a municipality
 * Montcalm Regional County Municipality, Quebec
 * Montcalm (federal electoral district), a federal electoral district in Quebec
 * Montcalm (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district

France

 * Montcalm Massif, in the Pyrenees
 * Pic de Montcalm, a mountain peak in the Pyrenees
 * Montcalm (Vauvert), a small hamlet near Vauvert
 * Rue Montcalm, a residential street in the 18th arrondissement of Paris named after Louis-Joseph de Montcalm

United States

 * Montcalm, New Hampshire, an unincorporated community
 * Montcalm, West Virginia, a census-designated place
 * Montcalm Township, Michigan
 * Montcalm County, Michigan

Schools

 * Montcalm Community College, Sidney, Michigan, United States
 * Montcalm High School, part of the Mercer County Schools (West Virginia) School District
 * Montcalm Secondary School, London, Ontario, Canada

Other uses

 * The Montcalm Hotel, a group of luxury hotels in central London
 * HMCS Montcalm, a Royal Canadian Navy reserve unit
 * Montcalm Sanitarium, a former tuberculosis treatment facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
 * Montcalm mine, near Timmins, Ontario, Canada, owned by Falconbridge Ltd.
 * Marathon du Montcalm, a former Skyrunner World Series race
 * Montcalm, a model of the Meteor (automobile) first offered by Ford in Canada in 1959

title: Montcalm


text:
Doodlebug

Doodlebug or doodle bug may refer to:

Animals

 * Cockchafer or doodlebug, a European beetle
 * Woodlouse or doodlebug
 * Armadillidiidae or doodlebug, a family of woodlice
 * Doodlebugs, the larvae of antlions, a group of species of insect.

Film

 * Doodlebug, a 1997 short film by Christopher Nolan
 * Caroline "Doodlebug" Bichon, a character in the 1995 film Something to Talk About
 * Doodlebug Simkins, a character in the 1975 film Cleopatra Jones

Aircraft

 * V-1 flying bomb or the Doodlebug
 * Flylight Doodle Bug, a British powered hang glider
 * Heuberger Doodle Bug, an American home-built aircraft
 * McDonnell Doodlebug, a 1920s light aircraft

Rail and road

 * Doodlebug (railcar), a self-propelled railroad vehicle
 * Doodle Bug scooter, a 1950s motor scooter
 * Doodlebug tractor, an American World War II home-built tractor
 * Texaco Doodlebug, a 1930s tanker truck
 * Brogan Doodlebug, a 1944 tiny car

Other uses

 * Dowsing or doodlebugging, divining for petroleum or water
 * Reflection seismology data collection or doodlebugging

ドゥードゥルバグ

title: Doodlebug


text:
Talk:Southeast Alaska

Alaska Panhandle or Southeast Alaska?
This should probably be called "Southeast Alaska" and not "Alaska Panhandle" since the former is more accurate and more likely to be understood by people not from Alaska. Changing it however is too much of a PITA for me to do it currently. We'll need a redirection for the old one too. — James Crippen 01:46, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I agree with James' comment. Dan Lesh 05:39, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

Well, I'm from BC and I've grown up around "Alaska Panhandle" like I think people in WA and OR do, part of your schoolbooks. But even in the national media it gets used; I gather from your guys' comments there's a debate about this terminology in Alaska - ?? or ?? - but obviously whatever gets settled on will redirect to the other anyway, right? Actually popped by the page to check out the mountain range descriptions; I've been doing a lot of geographic study on mountains and ranges for one reason or another, as well as wikipedifying them adn noted "Pacific Range". Just checking if this means that specific range along the BC-AK border, which on our side is known as the Boundary Ranges, or if you're meaning the whole coastal mountains running south from Alaska to Mexico? If so, those are in Wikipedia as the Pacific Coast Range, which I grew up hearing the Pacific Cordillera (although in Canada that also includes the Rockies, I guess). Anyway, your opines on the Pacific Range thing; in cartographer's ranking/mapping it goes Pacific Coast Ranges->Coast Mountains->Boundary Ranges. Boundary Ranges needs to get written to go with the rest of the ranges (all there, just hadn't been organized according to family-tree yet); but I was checking around to see what was already on line in the way of mountains and towns and rivers and such so looked up Alaska Panhandle. Which, from my side of the border/NW, was the natural thing to do.Skookum1 09:24, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

I did a bit of looking at the website for the Alaska Division of Tourism. When looking at the page on Alaska's regions, this portion is called the Inside Passage. And while that name might (or might not) be readily recognizable within Alaska, there is a general understanding of what constitutes a panhandle geographically — namely, any portion of land usually within boundaries of a governed area that extends noticeably beyond all other borders of that same governed area. So, I can see both sides, but I generally find whatever the local description or definition happens to be is what I adopt as "official." — ArkansasTraveler 17:00, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

I lived in Southeast Alaska. Actually Juneau Alaska.If you live in the "Panhandle" you live "in Southeast".
 * The Inside Passage is a waterway for ships. Between the big islands and the open ocean. All the tourist ships travel the "Inside Passage". Which by the way ends at Juneau. Since they no longer dredge to Auk Bay. Now to continue up the "Southeast coast of Alaska", you must go around Admiralty Island on the open ocean side from Juneau.

 * Note: the Inside Passage is not exclusive to Alaska, as it refers to the entire waterway from the Puget Sound/Gulf of Georgia northwards, and is a commonly-used term in BC.Skookum1 23:05, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

As a former Alaskan, I couldn't disagree more with Crippin's belief that the term "Southeast Alaska" is "more likely to be understood by people not from Alaska." I never heard the term until I moved to Anchorage. Those from Outside call it "the Panhandle." This is the name it goes by, whether Alaskans like it or not, just as non-Alaskan Americans call that big mountain in the middle of the state "Mount McKinley" and not "Denali," whether Alaskans like it or not. In any case, redirecting this article would be a mistake, IMO. Kirchherr 03:59, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

Im an editor in the Wikipedians in Southeast Alaska category, something set up on the wiki, and the only time I ever heard Alaskan Panhandle was in my highschool geography book. Usage is Southeast, even in newsmedia outlets down south. As for the comment about Denali, really the only people using Mt. McKinley is the feds. Moutain climbers all use Denali, the state uses Denali, it's even sitting in the middle of "Denali National Park". - M ask  04:09, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm referring to the time I spent growing up in San Francisco and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, before I moved to Juneau. The mountain climber reference was just to point out that those who would have cause to mention the mountain (which normally would only be mentioned in things like a list of highest mountains or such) use the Denali name. - M ask [[Image:Flag_of_Alaska.svg|20 px]] 23:21, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm in BC and have always (and only) heard the term 'Alaska Panhandle' and think it would be a mistake to remove that. The Inside Passage is the water way, and is mostly located in BC - here the 'inside' part refers to being between Vancouver Island and the Mainland.

I think if someone knows the history it would also be useful to put in how the Alaskan panhandle became part of Alaska. I vaguely remember learning about this in Social studies in school. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.189.194.69 (talk) 15:57, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, we'll have to agree to disagree about Panhandle vs. Southeast; you don't say where "down south" you are, but I'm willing to bet the usage depends a lot on where you are. And yes, it's true that mountain climbers and Alaskans use the term Denali, but that's a tiny minority of the U.S./North American/world population. :-) Kirchherr 21:18, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

 * The answer to the anon's question is propably found here. Now, as to which name I would go with, I'm not sure.  But I will confirm what others say above.  I grew up Outside and always heard it referred to as the Panhandle, with the sole exception of some material I read on President Harding's trip up there.  But when I moved to Alaska in 1980, I always heard the media and folks in coversation saying "Southeast" or "Southeast Alaska".  Don't know why, it's a lot more "panhandly" looking than the Texas panhandle (though not as much as the ultimate panhandle, Oklahoma's).  So I think the two terms just have different groups using them.  Unschool (talk) 23:48, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

 * This thread seems mostly oldish, but for what it's worth there are plenty of sources that use "panhandle" for southeast Alaska. The Columbia Gazetteer of North America uses panhandle over southeast Alaska, as in its entry for Alaska, Juneau, Skagway, etc. Also, historical texts seem to often use "panhandle", especially when there was no clearly defined "Alaska" but there was a string of Russian posts on the panhandle. Pfly (talk) 20:25, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

I've always thought that the Alaska Peninsula looked more like a panhandle to Alaska than Southeast Alaska did. Dkreisst (talk) 19:20, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

2011 redux
I agree with Unschool that there simply must be different groups using different terms in this issue. It seems that people from British Columbia are used to using "Panhandle," but in my experience, no one who actually lives in the region refers to it as such. I'm from Southeast Alaska, and if you asked anyone else, they would say they are too. Now, I'm all for Wikipedia being accessible and using terminology that is most commonly accepted by everyone, but I'm honestly disgusted with this article's title; the term "Panhandle" feels entirely foreign to me. It's not as if "Southeast Alaska" is an obscure term known only to locals; in fact it's far easier to understand. I would greatly appreciate it if Wikipedia respected Southeast Alaskans on this issue. Ketchikanadian (talk) 10:33, 1 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I guess we'll just continue this old thread since the move has now been reverted. Personally I think "Southeast" is the way to go. Alaskans and the Alaskan Press call it that and I have yet to see any hard evidence that the majority of non-Alaskan sources call it the "panhandle." I'm not even positive it even meets the definition of a panhandle as it is mostly bordered by water and contains numerous islands. Beeblebrox (talk) 17:30, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry I simply reverted the page move instead of re-starting this discussion. I was being lazy. But I did suspect the move would not be completely uncontroversial. Personally, I don't know which name is better. I had always heard "panhandle" and only first heard "southeast Alaska" on this talk page. I understand it is the common term in Alaska, which might be enough to warrant the page move, but I'm less sure how common it is outside Alaska. The term "panhandle" seems more commonly used in historical sources, in my experience. But it doesn't really matter to me which name is used. I thought it warranted some discussion, but I do apologize for the quick reversion. Pfly (talk) 18:26, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

 * Not to argue for panhandle over southeast, but I note that the Encyclopædia Britannica uses "panhandle" throughout its Alaska article, "The capital is Juneau, which lies in the southeast, in the panhandle region." "The southern coast and the panhandle at sea level are fully temperate regions." etc. And other articles, like "Alaska mountains" , "The St. Elias Mountains, in turn, merge to the southeast into the mountains of the coastal Boundary Ranges, which, with the mountainous islands of the Alexander Archipelago, constitute the Alaskan panhandle." etc. Also the Canadian Encyclopedia, , "The Alaska boundary dispute, took place between Canada and the US over the boundary of the Alaska Panhandle".

 * Again, I'm not arguing one way or the other, just some food for thought. Pfly (talk) 18:41, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Raw Google hits: Alaska Panhandle = 302,000 results -vs- Southeast Alaska = 3,010,000 results. This would tend to suggest that Southeast is used quite bit more often than panhandle, although ghits are by no means the only yardstick we have. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:00, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Both state and federal government sources also seem to favor "southeast" as do major tour guide books such as Fodor's and Frommer's. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:06, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I moved the article for two reasons, the first being that I didn't know how to make a formal move proposal, and the second that I didn't see the discussion moving anywhere. The facts, as we've all discovered and can plainly see, are that the "panhandle" is an old and forgotten term; sources that continue to use it are simply behind the times. Today, regardless of whether you've only visited or have lived in the region for most of your life as I have, Southeast Alaska is Southeast Alaska. Ketchikanadian (talk) 23:15, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Not behind the times, just in another country where the usage in question is still common, though I'm not going to take the time to look through various online modern sources in BC from newspapers to histories to weather/marine reports which use the term; it's certainly not obsolete outside of Alaska. I'd be curiouis what's in teh styleguides of the Seattle Times or New York Times etc, as I don't think it's purely a Canadian problem.  True, we have particular local usages in BC that belie any outside term e.g. the Cariboo; I'm fine with changing it to suit Alaskan sensitivities about it, and NB in this case it's not an official-use term as with Haida Gwaii/QCI; though as with QCI the wider usage, my bet only, is that Alaska Panhandle (and/or its variant Alaskan Pahandle) are more common globally than in Alaska.  Maybe there's an official regional/associative designation, and obvoiusly extensive local usage; wording issue really, though not as politically volatile as QCI/Haida Gwaii...Skookum1 (talk) 08:08, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

 * I'll redo the move--I feel bad for my knee-jerk revert. And "panhandle" will redirect anyway, so it's not much of an issue. Pfly (talk) 06:11, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

 * This topic reminded me of another page that has been moved and reverted, a place near southeast Alaska. So I'm curious whether the Queen Charlotte Islands are becoming more commonly called "Haida Gwaii" among the people of southeast Alaska. Pfly (talk) 06:16, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

External Links?
AlaskaTrekker 17:49, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
 * Kayak journey through the Misty Fjords
 * Expedition through Southeast Alaska - a hiking and packrafting expedition from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands

Right on! Babykitten44 (talk) 20:56, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

BC & Pacific Northwest History Forum
Please see RE BC & Pacific Northwest History Forum re: Talk:List of United States military history events. If you think maybe I should also move some or copy some of my other stuff from NW history and BC history pages and various Indigenous peoples project article/talk pages let me know; I never mean to blog, but I'm voluble and to me everything's interconnected; never meaning to dominate a page so have made this area to post my historical rambles on. Thoughts?Skookum1 03:49, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Comment on my posting of this: if anyone has any questions or wants to debate any issues relating to Oregon Country/Columbia District/Pacific Northwest history/historical geography, colonialist or aboriginal/indigenous or YT/AK or related topics, please feel free to drop by the forum and start a thread/topic, or just butt in at yer leisure.Skookum1 05:50, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Misty Fjords for map
Nice map, but if it has Glacier Bay Park and Preserve shouldn't it also have Misty Fjords National Monument, which is a large chunk of the southern end of the Panhandle, and no less around the same size?Skookum1 (talk) 15:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

historical background - British lease from Russians
Hi; this isn't primarily a history article but I thought maybe someone interested in the early history of the panhandle might want to read this.Skookum1 (talk) 23:32, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:Southeast Alaska


text:
Ngô Quang Trưởng

Ngô Quang Trưởng (13 December 1929 — 22 January 2007) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Trưởng gained his commission in the Vietnamese National Army in 1954 and moved up the ranks over the next decade, mostly in the Airborne Brigade. In 1966, Trưởng commanded a division for the first time after he was given command of the 1st Division after helping to quell the Buddhist Uprising. He rebuilt the unit after this divisive period and used it to reclaim the city of Huế after weeks of bitter street fighting during the Tết Offensive.

In 1972, he was made the commander of I Corps after incompetent leadership by General Hoàng Xuân Lãm resulted in a South Vietnamese collapse in the face of the Easter Offensive, a massive conventional invasion by North Vietnam. He stabilized the ARVN forces before turning back the communists.

In 1975, the communists attacked again. This time, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu gave contradictory orders to Trưởng as to whether he should stand and fight or give up some territory and consolidate. This led to the demoralization of I Corps and its collapse, allowing the communists to gather momentum and overrun South Vietnam within two months. Trưởng fled South Vietnam during the fall of Saigon and settled in Virginia in the United States.

Early years and military beginnings
Trưởng was born in 1929 to a wealthy family in the Mekong Delta province of Kiến Hòa (now Bến Tre Province). At the time, Vietnam was part of French Indochina. After graduating from Mỹ Tho College, a French colonial-run school in the Mekong Delta provincial town of Mỹ Tho, Trưởng attended the reserve officer school at Thủ Đức in Saigon, and was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Vietnamese National Army in 1954. Upon graduation from Thủ Đức, Trưởng went immediately on to airborne school at the Command and Staff School of the Vietnamese National Military Academy at Đà Lạt. He served in the elite airborne brigade the next 12 years. His first posting was as commander of 1st Company, 5th Airborne Battalion.

After graduating from Đà Lạt, he soon saw action in a 1955 operation to eliminate the Bình Xuyên river pirates who were vying with President Diệm's government for control of Saigon and the surrounding area. In recognition of his performance against the Bình Xuyên, Trưởng was promoted to first lieutenant. When the Republic of Vietnam was created in 1955, the VNA became the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

Rising through the ranks
In 1964, Trưởng was promoted to major and made commander of the 5th Airborne Battalion. He led a heliborne assault into Đỗ Xá Secret Zone in Minh Long District, Quảng Ngãi Province, in central Vietnam. This attack destroyed the base area of the Việt Cộng's (VC) B-1 Front Headquarters. In 1965, Trưởng led the 5th Airborne Battalion on a helicopter assault into the Hát Dịch Secret Zone in the vicinity of the Ong Trinh Mountain in Phước Tuy Province southeast of Saigon, the base area of the VC 7th Division. In two days of fighting, Trưởng's 5th Battalion inflicted heavy casualties on two VC regiments, and he was awarded a battlefield promotion to lieutenant colonel and the National Defense Medal, Fourth Class. After the battle, Trưởng became chief of staff of the Airborne Brigade and then became chief of staff of the division later in the year. His reputation for valour and fairness gained the attention of the senior generals in Saigon. General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the Joint General Staff from 1965 to 1975, later described Trưởng as "one of the best commanders at every echelon the Airborne Division ever had."

In 1966, the Buddhist Uprising broke out in central Vietnam with Buddhists protested military control of the government. Trưởng was asked to quell the rebellious 1st Division in Huế, which had decided to stop military operations against the VC in solidarity with the Buddhist protest movement. A Buddhist, Trưởng, was uncomfortable with his mission, but he carried out his orders. On 18 June, he commanded three airborne battalions that entered the city and restored order within two days and he put the 1st Division under government control.

General
As a result of his efficient display, Saigon made Trưởng's appointment as 1st Division commander permanent. With his hands-on leadership, Trưởng quickly moulded the unit, which had a poor reputation prior to his arrival, and had been heavily weakened by the infighting of the past year, into one of the best units in the ARVN. Trưởng handpicked his leading subordinate officers and put his battalions in the hands of majors who had many years of combat experience. Unlike most, he eschewed politics in choosing his officers, and implemented new training programs to improve the capability of his troops and Regional (RF) and Popular Forces (PF) that augmented them. Trưởng's dedication to his unit and leadership significantly raised the morale of his subordinates. As part of his strategy of better integrating the territorial forces with the regular army, Trưởng had his battalion commanders act as district chiefs, who normally worked only with the territorial forces. As a result, the regulars began to coordinate their pacification campaigns more effectively with the paramilitary forces. In 1967, Trưởng's 1st Division assaulted and dismantled the VC infrastructure and a large part of their fighters from the Luong Co-Dong Xuyen-My Xa Front in Hương Trà District in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province. Trưởng was rewarded with a promotion to brigadier general.

During the Tết Offensive, Trưởng led the 1st Division in the Battle of Huế as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and VC were expelled from the old imperial city after three weeks of bitter street fighting. Following the famous victory in the citadel, Trưởng was given a second star and made a major general. In August 1970, he was assigned to command IV Corps, which oversaw the Mekong Delta region. He was based at the Corps' headquarters in Cần Thơ. General Creighton Abrams, the head of American forces in Vietnam, recommended Trưởng to President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, saying, "I can recommend, without any reservations at all ... Trưởng. I think he's proved over and over and in all facets — pacification, military operations, whatever it is". He was promoted to lieutenant general in June 1971.

Corps commander
During his tenure in the Mekong Delta, Trưởng established a system of outposts along the border with Cambodia to block infiltration of PAVN/VC personnel and supplies into the region. He used the three divisions in his Corps in regimental-sized combined arms task forces and staged sweeps to seek and destroy PAVN/VC forces in their strongholds. He increased the capability of the RF/PF, which had a reputation for unreliability in his area, making them a productive part of his anti-PAVN/VC apparatus. Trưởng later said that these forces "shed their paramilitary origins and increasingly became full-fledged soldiers". It was estimated that although they provided 50% of the manpower, the RF and PF cost only 5% of total military costs. During his period in charge of IV Corps, the region's regular forces were depleted because a proportion of them were across the border as part of the Cambodian Campaign, seeking to destroy PAVN/VC jungle bases, supplies and staging grounds for an invasion into South Vietnam.

Trưởng used the RF/PF that he had enhanced to fill the void, and they strengthened the government control in the region despite having nominally less resources. In the forests surrounding U Minh, Trưởng's outpost building programs resulted in a record number of defectors as the populace became more confident in his forces' ability to provide security. When American Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker came to inspect an outlying military base that Trưởng had built, he asked if the general intended to stay there. Trưởng replied "Yes, forever". Trưởng was so successful in pacifying the Mekong Delta that he allowed some of his forces to be redeployed to other parts of South Vietnam.

Known for his unbending integrity, Trưởng vigorously moved against "ghost" and "ornamental" soldiers, deserters and conscription evaders in his region. Abrams said that only Trưởng and Phạm Văn Phú among the division and corps commanders had not begun to psychologically crack under the pressure of the PAVN onslaught.

During the PAVN's Easter Offensive) of 1972, in early May he was given command of I Corps, replacing the disgraced Lieutenant General Hoàng Xuân Lãm. General Trưởng held PAVN forces at bay before Huế and then launched (against the initial resistance of President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and MACV) Operation Lam Son 72. During the counteroffensive, he successfully pushed PAVN forces back to the city of Quang Tri (which was retaken in September) and advanced on to the Cửa Việt river.

Collapse of South Vietnam
Trưởng remained in command of I Corps until the collapse of South Vietnam, when the north of the country lapsed into anarchy amid confused leadership by President Thiệu. I Corps fielded three infantry divisions, the elite Airborne and Marine Divisions, four Ranger Groups and an armored brigade. Until mid-March, due to Trưởng's highly effective leadership, the PAVN had only tried to cut the highways, despite having five divisions and 27 further regiments far outnumbering Trưởng's men. At a meeting on 13 March, Trưởng and the new III Corps commander, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Toàn briefed Thiệu. By this time, South Vietnam was suffering from severe cutbacks in US aid, and the loss of Ban Mê Thuột in the central highlands, which threatened to split the country in two and isolate Trưởng's I Corps from the rest of the country. Thiệu laid out his plan to consolidate a smaller proportion of territory so that the forces could more effectively defend the area. As Trưởng understood it, he was free to redeploy his forces south to hold Đà Nẵng, South Vietnam's second largest city, thereby abandoning Huế. Fearful of and preoccupied with stopping a coup, Thiệu also decided to remove the Airborne and Marines to Saigon, leaving I Corps exposed.

Thiệu called Trưởng to Saigon on 19 March to brief him on the withdrawal plan. Trưởng intended to order a retreat to Huế, Đà Nẵng and Chu Lai, and then move all the forces to Đà Nẵng to regroup and dig in. Thiệu then stunned Trưởng by announcing that he had misinterpreted his previous orders: Huế was not to be abandoned, despite losing two divisions in recent days. In the meantime, the withdrawal preparations and the increasing North Vietnamese pressure caused civilians to flee in fear, clogging the highway and hampering the withdrawal. Trưởng requested permission to withdraw his forces into the three enclaves as planned; Thiệu ordered him to "hold onto any territory he could with whatever forces he now had, including the Marine Division", implying that he could retreat if needed. Trưởng returned to Đà Nẵng to be greeted by the start of a PAVN offensive. President Thiệu made a nationwide radio broadcast that afternoon proclaiming that Huế would be held "at all costs", contradicting the previous order. That evening Trưởng ordered a retreat to a new defense line at the Mỹ Chánh River to defend Huế, thereby ceding all of Quảng Trị Province. He was confident that his forces could hold Huế, but was then astounded by a late afternoon message from Thiệu that ordered "that because of inability to simultaneously defend all three enclaves, the I Corps commander was free ... to redeploy his forces for the defense of Đà Nẵng only." The people of Quảng Trị and Huế began to leave their homes by the hundreds of thousands, joining an ever-growing exodus toward Đà Nẵng.

Meanwhile, the PAVN closed in on Đà Nẵng amid the chaos caused by Thiệu's confused leadership. Within a few days I Corps was beyond control. The South Vietnamese tried to evacuate from the other urban enclaves into Đà Nẵng, but the 1st Division collapsed after its commander, Brigadier General Nguyễn Văn Điềm, angered by Thiệu's abandonment, told his men, "We've been betrayed ... It is now sauve qui peut (every man for himself) ... [S]ee you in Đà Nẵng." The overland march, pummeled by PAVN artillery the entire way, degenerated into chaos as the 1st Division descended into anarchy as it moved toward Đà Nẵng. The remainder of the force deserted or began looting. Only a minority survived and some disillusioned officers committed suicide.

As anarchy and looting enveloped Đà Nẵng, and a defense of the city becoming impossible, Trưởng requested permission to evacuate by sea, but Thiệu, baffled, refused to make a decision. When his communications with Saigon were sundered by PAVN shelling, Trưởng ordered a naval withdrawal, as Thiệu was not making a decision either way.

With no support or leadership from Thiệu, the evacuation turned into a costly debacle, as the PAVN pounded the city with artillery, killing thousands of people. Many drowned while jostling for room on the boats; with no logistical support from Saigon, those vessels sent were far too few for the millions of would-be evacuees. Only around 16,000 soldiers were pulled out, and of the almost two million civilians that packed Đà Nẵng, a little more than 50,000 were evacuated. As a result, 70,000 troops were taken prisoner, along with around 100 aircraft. Trưởng and his officers swam to a boat in the sea and evacuated to Saigon. In quick succession the remaining cities along the coastline collapsed and half the country had fallen in two weeks.

Upon arriving in Saigon, Trưởng was appointed deputy chairman of the Joint General Staff and given responsibility for organizing the defense of Saigon, however he found the area was too large and difficult to be defended with the forces available.

Trưởng was reportedly hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. An American officer who had worked closely with him heard of Trưởng's plight, and arranged for his family to leave on an American ship amid the chaos of the fall of Saigon and the PAVN takeover of South Vietnam. Truong fled Vietnam with former Vice President Nguyễn Cao Kỳ by helicopter on the morning of 30 April 1975, the day of the fall of Saigon.

Life in the United States
Trưởng's family was initially broken up amid the confusion. His wife and eldest son ended up in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, while his two daughters and second son fled Saigon with a US State Department employee to Seattle. Trưởng's youngest son, aged four, ended up at Camp Pendleton, California; the toddler did not speak English and was not identified for a few weeks. After his family was fully accounted for, Trưởng relocated with them to Falls Church, Virginia.

In 1983, he became an American citizen and moved to Springfield, Virginia. He studied computer programming at Northern Virginia Community College and worked as a computer analyst for the Association of American Railroads for a decade until he retired in 1994.

Trưởng wrote several military history works commissioned by the United States Army Center of Military History, as part of its Indochina Monographs series. These were The Easter Offensive of 1972 (1979), RVNAF and US Operational Cooperation and Coordination (1980) and Territorial Forces (1981).

Death
Trưởng died of cancer on 22 January 2007, at the Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia. At the time of his death, Trưởng was survived by his wife, three sons, two daughters, twelve grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. After his death, the Virginia House of Representatives and Senate passed a joint resolution "Celebrating the Life of Ngo Quang Truong".

Assessment
Trưởng was widely regarded as South Vietnam's finest officer, and the US officers that worked with him generally rated him to be superior to most American commanders. He was also renowned for his integrity and his uninvolvement in corruption, favoritism or political cronyism, as well as his empathy and solidarity with his soldiers. William Westmoreland, the US commander in Vietnam from 1964–68, said that Trưởng "would rate high on any list of capable South Vietnamese leaders ... [other U.S. commanders] so admired Trưởng that they would trust him to command an American division." His successor Creighton Abrams, who oversaw the American war effort until 1972, said that Trưởng "was capable of commanding an American division".

Lieutenant General Robert E. Cushman Jr., and his main subordinate, Lieutenant General Richard G. Stilwell, who operated alongside Trưởng in I Corps in the 1960s said that because of Trưởng's efforts, the ARVN 1st Division was "equal to any American unit". General Bruce Palmer Jr. said that Trưởng was "probably the best field commander in South Vietnam." In 1966, Trưởng's American adviser wrote to General Harold K. Johnson, describing the Vietnamese officer as "dedicated, humble, imaginative and tactically sound."

General Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded US forces during the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, served as Trưởng's adviser in the 1960s when he was deployed to South Vietnam as a major during a campaign at Ia Drang. He wrote in his autobiography It Doesn't Take A Hero, that Trưởng "did not look like my idea of a military genius: only five feet seven ... very skinny, with hunched shoulders and a head that seemed too big for his body ... His face was pinched and intense ... and there was always a cigarette hanging from his lips. Yet he was revered by his officers and troops—and feared by those North Vietnamese commanders who knew of his ability." Schwarzkopf said that Trưởng was "the most brilliant tactical commander I'd ever known" and that "by visualizing the terrain and drawing on his experience fighting the enemy for fifteen years, Truong showed an uncanny ability to predict what they were going to do". "Truong could have written the textbooks" for the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Willbanks, who served in Vietnam and was a professor of military history at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, said of Trưởng:

"A humble man, Truong was an unselfish individual devoted to his profession. He was fiercely loyal to his subordinates, and was known for taking care of his soldiers, often flying through heavy fire to stand with them in the rain and mud during enemy attacks. He treated everyone the same and did not play favorites."

Unlike some South Vietnamese generals who had grown rich as they ascended the ranks, Trưởng was regarded as being completely incorruptible and lived a "spartan and ascetic" life. According to Lieutenant General Cushman, Trưởng did not own a suit, and by the time he was appointed to command IV Corps, his wife tended to pigs, which were kept behind his basic living quarters in the headquarters at Cần Thơ. Cushman added that Trưởng was always looking for means to raise his soldiers' material and family lives. Trưởng did not tolerate favoritism. He once received a request to transfer his nephew from the front line to a desk job; he refused and the nephew later was killed in action. General Bruce Palmer Jr., said Trưởng "deserved a better fate" than the mauling of his soldiers amid Thiệu's confused orders and the collapse of South Vietnam.

title: Ngô Quang Trưởng


text:
Medinan surah

The Madni Surahs (Surah Madaniyah) or Madani chapters of the Quran are the latest 28 Surahs which, according to Islamic tradition, were revealed at Medina after Muhammad's hijrah from Mecca. The community was larger and more developed, in contrast to its minority position in Mecca.

The Medinan Surahs occur mostly at the beginning and in the middle of the Qur'an (but are said to be the last revealed surahs chronologically), and typically have more and longer ayat (verses). Due to the new circumstances of the early Muslim community in Medina, these surahs more often deal with details of moral principles, legislation, warfare (as in Surah 2, al-Baqara), and principles for constituting the community. They also refer more often to the community with "O people!" and at times directly address Muhammad or speak of him as "an agent acting in combination with the divine persona: 'God and his messenger' (Q 33:22)".

The division of surahs into 'Meccan surahs' and 'Medinan surahs' is primarily a consequence of stylistic and thematic considerations, which Theodor Noldeke used to develop his famous chronology of the Qur'anic suras. Classification of the surahs into these periods is based upon factors such as the length of the verse and the presence or absence of certain key concepts or word (e.g. al-Rahman as name of God).

Characteristics of Medinan surahs
Following are some of the stylistic and subject characteristics of Medinan Surahs:
 * Mention of 'Jihad' and detailing on its rulings.
 * Details of Islamic jurisprudence and legal system as well as laws governing family, money transaction, international law and acts of worship
 * Mention of 'Munafiq' and dealing with hypocrites.
 * Any verse that starts with يا أيها للذين آمنوا O you who believe
 * Long verses
 * Easier vocabulary
 * Discussion in regards to the People of the Book

The Medinan phase
The Medinan phase lasted approximately 10 years. The phase began from Muhammad's hijrah to Madina; and ended with the death of Muhammad. While the themes of the Meccan surahs remain, the Muslims growing into more of a community and the formation of Ummah, now is clear.

Chronological order of Medinan surahs
The order of the 28 surahs, is as follows:
 * 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 22, 24,
 * 33, 47, 48, 49, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61,
 * 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 98, 99, 110, 113, 114.

title: Medinan surah