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Fly system

A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of ropes, pulleys, counterweights and related devices within a theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people. Systems are typically designed to fly components between clear view of the audience and out of view, into the large space, the fly loft, above the stage.

Fly systems are often used in conjunction with other theatre systems, such as scenery wagons, stage lifts and stage turntables, to physically manipulate the mise en scène.

Theatrical rigging is most prevalent in proscenium theatres with stage houses designed specifically to handle the significant dead and live loads associated with fly systems. Building, occupational safety, and fire codes limit the types and quantity of rigging permitted in a theatre based on stage configuration. Theatrical rigging standards are developed and maintained by organizations such as USITT and ESTA (now PLASA).

The line set
The line set is the fundamental machine of a typical fly system.

The function of a typical line set is to fly (raise and lower) a slender beam (typically a steel pipe) known as a batten (or a bar in the UK) by hoisting it with lift lines (typically synthetic rope or steel cable). By hanging scenery, lighting, or other equipment on a batten, they in turn may also be flown. A batten is said to be "flying in" when it is being lowered toward the stage, and "flying out" when it is being raised into the fly space. Battens may be just a few feet in length or may extend from one wing (side) of the stage to the other. A batten is suspended from above by at least two lift lines, but long battens may require six or more lift lines.

In manual rigging, a line set's lift lines support weights opposite their connections to the batten in order to balance the weight of the batten and whatever it carries. The lift lines are reeved through a series of pulleys, known as blocks, that are mounted above the stage to fly loft structure. An operating line (a.k.a. hand line or purchase line) allows riggers on the fly crew to raise and lower the batten.

Automated rigging sometimes uses weights to help balance line set loads in a manner similar to manual counterweight rigging. Otherwise it relies solely on the motor power of an electric hoist to fly a line set.

Together, a series of parallel line sets regularly spaced up and down stage, commonly at 6 in, 8 in, or 9 in centers, comprise the bulk of most fly systems. Theatrical rigging systems are made up of hemp, counterweight and/or automated line sets able to serve various functions.

Line set functions
Line sets are typically general purpose in function, meaning they can perform any number of functions which vary depending upon the requirements of a particular theatre production. For example, a general purpose line set can usually be quickly transformed into a drapery or scenery line set, but converting a general purpose line set into an electrical line set is more involved.

When a line set has a predetermined, relatively permanent, function it is known as a dedicated line set. Line set functions include:

Drapery and track line set
Line sets often suspend theater drapes and stage curtains such as travelers, teasers (a.k.a. borders), legs, cycs, scrims and tabs, as well as associated tracks, in order to mask and frame the stage and provide backdrops. Line sets are sometimes dedicated to particular draperies, such as the main (grand) curtain and main border (valance) that mask the proscenium opening, but drapery locations can often vary.

Scenery line set
In many stage productions, theatrical scenery is mounted to line sets in order to be flown in and out so as to quickly change set pieces during the course of a performance. For example, painted soft and hard flats (e.g., muslin drops) and are commonly used to depict settings. Also, three-dimensional sets (e.g., box sets) may be flown.

Electrical line set

Electrical line sets, commonly called electrics, are used to suspend and control lighting instruments and, in many cases, microphones and special effects equipment as well. Electrics may be temporarily "wired" with drop boxes (electrical boxes with outlets) or multicable fanouts dropped from the grid or draped from a fly gallery, or permanently wired with connector strips (specialized electrical raceways).

There are normally at least three electrical line sets provided above the stage, with one just upstage of the proscenium wall, one mid-stage, and one just downstage of the cyclorama. Additional electrics are typically desirable.

Permanently wired electrical line sets are known as dedicated electrics, fixed electrics or house electrics. In addition to providing dimmed and switched outlets for lighting fixtures, connector strips may provide low-voltage controls (e.g., via DMX512 and Ethernet taps), for data being sent to lights and other devices, as well as microphone jacks. Power often is fed to fixed electrics from terminal boxes at the grid deck via multicable. Single and double-purchase cable cradles mounted to lift lines can be used to drape the multicable, prolonging its lifespan and reducing the likelihood of conflict with adjacent line sets or lighting instruments. Pantographs are also used to drape the multicable feeding dedicated electric line sets.

Dedicated electrics typically employ truss battens (pipe over pipe) to facilitate cable snaking and to maximize lighting positions. In large professional theatres, such as the Philadelphia Academy of Music, an electric may take the form of a flying bridge (catwalk) that provides a walkable platform for electrician access to fixtures and effects. Flying bridges may also be used for followspot positions.

Orchestra enclosure line set

It is not uncommon for the panels, known as clouds, of an orchestra shell to be flown. Larger, multi-use theaters that cannot have a static shell often make use of the fly system in this way. Before being flown the cloud is sometimes pivoted to a vertical orientation to minimize the space it requires for storage in the fly loft.

Focus chair line set
A less common use for the fly system is the use of a focus chair system. This is a system where a small chair with fall protection equipment is suspended from a track that runs the length of a batten to which it is mounted. An electrician sits on the chair, and is flown out to the height of the electrics, to focus lighting instruments.

Flying rig
Flying rigs are used to fly scenery or performers in a more elaborate fashion than typical line sets. A flying rig typically allows horizontal as well as vertical movement by paying out individual lift lines to varying lengths and/or through the use of tracks. Flying rigs usually involve specialized equipment and techniques operated by a relatively experienced crew. Peter Foy is known for his innovations in manual flying rigs, especially those used in theatrical productions of Peter Pan. Automated flying rigs, which synchronize multiple point hoists, are becoming more common as motor control systems become safer and more sophisticated.

Fire safety curtain
A permanently installed fire curtain line set, though not used for productions, is a typical element of a theatrical rigging system installation. Building and fire codes typically require that either a fire/safety curtain or water deluge system be installed to separate an audience from the stage in the event of a fire.

Types
Fly systems are broadly categorized as manual or automated (motorized). Manual fly systems are more specifically categorized as "hemp" (a.k.a. rope line) or "counterweight" systems.

"Hemp houses" (a reference to the manila hemp once most commonly used to make the ropes) exclusively use the centuries-old tradition of ropes, pulleys and sandbags to fly theatrical scenery in and out. Hemp rigging incorporates many nautical rigging techniques and equipment (e.g., block and tackle), and was once thought to have stemmed from the nautical rigging. However, recent research has shown that this is not the case, Counterweight rigging evolved separately from hemp rigging and generally handles scenery in a more controlled fashion.

Counterweight rigging replaces the hemp rope and sandbags of rope line (hemp) rigging with wire rope (steel cable) and metal counterweights, respectively. Those substitutions permit the flying of greater loads with a high degree of control, but with a loss of flexibility inherent to most hemp systems. Flexibility is lost because most components of a hemp system may be repositioned, while counterweight system components are relatively fixed. Old "hemp houses" lacked counterweight rigging, but today most manual rigging houses use a combination of counterweight rigging and, at least some, hemp rigging. For example, theaters that incorporate built-in, grid-based counterweight fly systems often will also support additional, spot hemp system line sets for spot-rigging (to spot something, in theatre jargon, simply means to (re)position something).

Manual rigging is also possible with hand (and drill-operable) hoists (winches), but relatively limited operating speeds preclude their use for most running applications.

Automated systems are becoming more prominent. They have the potential advantages of relatively high precision, speed and ease of control, but tend to be significantly more expensive than manual systems. Hoists of various types (e.g., line shaft, chain motor, etc.) are used. A conventional counterweight system may be automated by the incorporation of a motor and controls, in what is commonly called a motor-assist system. By using counterweight in such a manner, motor sizes can be kept relatively small.

The use of a particular type of fly system in a theater usually does not preclude the use of other rigging methods in the same theater.

Hemp rigging system
A hemp fly system, so named for the manila hemp rope that was once common in theatrical rigging, is the oldest type of fly system, certainly the simplest type of system. Recent research shows that the hemp system, although known for centuries, was not much used. The hemp system gained popularity first in the United States in the mid nineteenth century. It soon gained popularity in England, as it was inexpensive and provided a great deal of flexibility for moving scenery. Hemp systems are also known as rope line systems, or simply as rope systems.

Stage rigging techniques draw largely from ship rigging, as the earliest stagehands were actually sailors seeking employment while on shore leave. Because of this, there is common terminology between the two industries. For example, the stage is referred to as a deck in the manner of a ship's deck. Other expressions and technology that overlap the nautical and theatrical rigging worlds include: batten, belay, block, bo'sun, cleat, clew, crew, hitch, lanyard, pinrail, purchase, trapeze, and trim.

In a typical hemp system, a "line set" consists of multiple hemp lines running from a batten above the stage up to the grid, through loft blocks to a headblock and then down to the fly floor, where they are tied off in a group to a belaying pin on the pin rail. The lift lines and hand (operating) lines are one and the same. Typically, a lift line runs from the sand bag (counterweight) assigned to a specific line set, up to "a single loft block" above the fly floor and back down to the fly floor. A trim clamp or a "Sunday" (a circle of wire rope) is used to attach this sandbag to the "line set" to balance the load placed on the batten. The sandbags are usually filled to weigh slightly less than the load, making the line set "Batten Heavy". When the flyman wishes to fly a batten (scenery or lights) "In" (i.e., to the floor/deck), the flyman unties the "High" trim and allows the batten to travel "In" while the sandbags travel "Out" toward the grid. When the flyman wishes to fly the batten "Out", he pulls down on the operating lines (leaving them tied off at the pin rail at "Low" trim) and the batten flies out as the sand bag descends to the fly floor. This arrangement allows the flyman to control the speed of ascent and/or descent and provides greater safety for people on the stage below. The proper "Out/High" trim for the batten is set when the sand bag reaches the fly floor in its descent (adjustable) and the proper "In/Low" trim for the batten is established when the line set (previously tied off to the pin rail) is fully extended (adjustable). This makes it unnecessary to "spike" or "mark" either the line set or the lift line. The Hemp system relies on being slightly "batten heavy" to allow the load to travel to the floor/deck. Because the ropes are flexible there is physically no way to move/push the sandbags "Out" if the weight on both sides is equal.

Another hand line, known as a jack line, may be used to lift the sandbags if they are heavier than the batten load. (UNSAFE condition) The jack line, which runs up to a loft block and back down to the trim clamp, is tied off to a belaying pin adjacent to the one used for the line sets lift lines, either at the same, or a secondary, pin rail.

Pulling on the hand lines of a hemp set flies a line set out. Pulling on the jack line flies a line set in.

Hemp systems can be easily configured for spot rigging, where lift lines must be frequently relocated. They are much less expensive and easier to install than counterweight fly systems, though somewhat more difficult to operate.

Counterweight rigging system
First introduced in Austria in 1888, counterweight rigging systems are the most common fly systems in performing arts facilities today.

In a typical counterweight fly system, an arbor (carriage) is employed to balance the weight of the batten and attached loads to be flown above the stage. The arbor, which carries a variable number of metal counterweights, moves up and down vertical tracks alongside an offstage wall. In some lower-capacity fly systems, cable guide wires are used instead of tracks to guide the arbors and limit their horizontal play during vertical travel (movement).

The top of the arbor is permanently suspended by several wire rope lift lines, made of galvanized steel aircraft cable (GAC). The lift lines run from the top of the arbor up to the top of the fly tower, around the head block, across the stage to evenly spaced loft blocks, then down, terminating at the batten, a load-bearing pipe that spans much of the width of the stage.

If the loft blocks are mounted to the grid deck, at the loft block wells, the system is called a grid-mount, or upright counterweight rigging system. If the loft blocks are mounted to roof beams (loft block beams), the system is called an under-hung counterweight rigging system. Under-hung systems have the advantages of maintaining a clear grid deck surface for spot rigging and facilitating crew movement across the grid.

The arbor's vertical position is controlled by means of a rope known as the operating line, hand line, or purchase line. The operating line forms a loop by running from the bottom of the arbor down to and around the tension block, through the rope lock, up and over the head block and back down (alongside the lift lines), where it terminates at the top of the arbor. The head and tension blocks are located above and below the full extent of the arbor's travel (movement), respectively, thereby enabling an operator to pull the operating line up or down to move the arbor. When the arbor is raised via the operating line, the lift lines slacken, which causes the batten to lower under its own weight (and the weight of its load, if any). Conversely, when the arbor is lowered, the lift lines increase in tension, which in turn causes the batten to rise.

The combined weight of the arbor and its counterweights initially matches that of the batten so that when the batten is not being raised or lowered, it will tend to remain motionless at any arbitrary elevation above the stage. As more weight is added to the batten (in the form of curtains, scenery, lighting equipment, and rigging hardware), the system is rebalanced by adding more counterweights to the arbor. When the system is properly balanced, an unassisted operator (flyman) can lift the batten and its arbitrarily heavy load from the stage ("fly it out", in theatrical jargon), completely above the proscenium and out of view of the house, sometimes to heights in excess of 70 ft.

Some large theatres, such as the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), have more than 100 independent, parallel counterweight line sets, while smaller venues may only have a few line sets for the most frequently adjusted loads, such as electrics.

Double-purchase counterweight system
Double purchase counterweight systems are sometimes used where the vertical travel of the counterweight arbor would be inadequate due to limited fly space or stage-level wing space. In systems of this type, the operating and lift lines are double-purchased so that the batten will travel twice the distance of the arbor. In other words, for every foot of arbor travel, the batten travels two feet. This often results in the arbors remaining well above the stage deck, leaving the otherwise occupied wing space usable for cast and crew.

In a conventional counterweight system the operating and lift lines terminate at the top of the arbor after passing over the head block. In a double-purchase system, however, after passing over the head block the operating and lift lines pass through another block, which is mounted to the top of the arbor, before rising back up and terminating below the head block. In addition, the opposite end of a double-purchase operating line terminates at the fly gallery, off-stage wall, or stage deck, instead of the underside of the arbor, after passing through a block mounted at the underside of the arbor. The additional blocks result in the arbor moving at half the rate of the lift and operating lines.

In order to compensate for the reduced arbor travel, the loaded arbors must weigh twice as much as the batten load, resulting in arbors that are twice as tall. The additional mass on the arbor increases inertia, and the additional blocks increase friction, resulting in linesets that are more difficult to operate. In addition, double-purchase linesets are more expensive to install and maintain. For those reasons, double-purchase line sets are generally avoided, or limited to a few sets within a counterweight system, unless space issues preclude the use of a single-purchase system. The use of an arbor pit is an alternative approach to dealing with limited space for arbor travel.

Automated rigging system
Electrical hoists (also referred to as winches) can facilitate coordination with cues, move extremely heavy line-sets, and significantly limit the required population of the fly crew. Despite those potential benefits, most hoists can fly line sets at only a fraction of the speed that an experienced flyman can achieve manually.

There are two general categories of motorized fly systems, motor-assist and dead-haul.

Motor-assist systems very closely resemble standard counterweight fly systems described above, however a drum winch, typically mounted behind the locking rail below the arbor, is used to drive a steel cable purchase line. The purchase line is still terminated at the top and bottom of the arbor, but a rope lock is not used on the motor-assist line set. Weight on the arbor helps balance the batten load so that hoist motor size can remain relatively small. It is often feasible to retrofit a standard counterweight line set to become a motor-assist set.

Dead-haul systems fly the entire load placed on a line set without the assistance of counterweight. Therefore, dead-haul motor sizes are relatively large.

Hoist (winch) motors are either fixed speed or variable speed. Fixed speed motors are used at heavy-load and/or slow-speed line sets (e.g., electrics and orchestra shell line sets). Variable speed motors are used at line sets requiring dynamic motion that may be viewed by the audience (e.g., drapery and scenery line sets). Scenery hoists commonly allow travel at rates of hundreds of feet per minute.

Digital control systems incorporating computers or programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have become commonplace as well, bringing their advantages of high accuracy, safety and repeatability to fly systems.

Battens
Battens are linear members to which live loads may be attached for flying. Battens were made of wood originally, but today they are typically steel pipe. Loads mounted to battens include lights, curtains and scenery so they may travel vertically, be raised up into the fly space (flown out) or lowered near to the stage floor (flown in) by its associated line set. Battens typically stretch the width of the stage, parallel with the proscenium wall, and are maintained level (parallel to the stage deck) regardless of elevation. When a batten is flown all the way out (close to the grid) it is at high trim. When it is flown all the way in (usually to about 4 ft above the stage deck) it is at low trim.

Loads are attached to the batten in various ways. Most lighting fixtures, for example, utilize a C-clamp to rigidly secure the light onto the batten, in conjunction with a safety cable that is looped around the batten to prevent the light from falling should the C-clamp connection fail. Non-traveling curtains (e.g., borders) often employ cloth ties, similar to shoestrings, that are hand tied onto the batten.

Battens are suspended by evenly spaced lift lines, with pick points generally 9 to 12 ft apart. The unsupported, cantilevered, ends of a batten, beyond the last lift line pick points, are generally no longer than 3 ft unless a bridle is used to effectively limit the cantilever.

Battens were originally made from wood, but have been replaced by steel pipe. In the United States they are typically fabricated from 21 ft sections of 1.5 in nominal diameter, 1.9 in outside diameter, schedule 40 steel pipe that are spliced together (with internal pipe sleeves and bolts) to provide a continuous member that stretches the width of a stage. Schedule 80 pipe is also used. Standard pipe battens are typically designed to support 15 to 30 lb of live load per foot of length.
 * Standard pipe batten

Truss battens, sometimes referred to as double battens, use a pipe-over-pipe arrangement (often 12 in center-to-center), with vertical struts welded between the upper and lower pipes to provide rigidity. Truss battens generally permit greater loads than single-pipe battens and may not require as many lift lines due to improved ability to span between lift lines. Truss battens are typically designed to support 25 to 50 lb of live load per foot.
 * Truss batten

An electric batten, a.k.a. lighting batten, may be a single-pipe or truss batten. Electric battens typically incorporate steel straps that are used as brackets for the support of electrical equipment such as connector strips (raceways). The same straps supporting electrical equipment may also connect the two-pipe arrangement of a truss batten. The center-to-center spacing of electric truss pipe, often from 1.5 to 2.5 ft, is typically greater than for a standard truss batten to allow for the proper mounting and focusing of lighting instruments. It is typical for an electric batten to support thousands of pounds of live load.
 * Electric batten

Light ladder battens are a special type of electric batten oriented perpendicular to and beyond the proscenium opening, at the stage wings. They suspend light ladders (pipe frames) to which lighting fixtures may be attached. When provided, light ladder battens are usually of the truss type and may be fitted with heavy-duty track to permit repositioning of the light ladders up and down stage.
 * Light ladder batten

Tab battens are oriented perpendicular to the proscenium opening, parallel to and just off stage of light ladder battens. When provided, they are single-pipe or truss battens for the support of tab draperies, which are used to mask the stage wings.
 * Tab batten

Lines
Lines are the ropes, cables (wire ropes) and proof coil chains that enable a fly system to function. Steel bands are a relatively new type of line used in steel band hoists.

It is standard practice for overhead rigging lines and hardware to be rated with at least an 8-times safety factor to help ensure the protection of cast and crew. In other words, a line intended to support 100 pounds should have a safe working load of at least 800 pounds.

Lift lines carry and transfer the loads of a fly system to the fly system infrastructure. The lift lines for manual rigging run from the batten up to loft blocks, across the stage to a head block, and down to the counterweight balancing the load of the line set. When running horizontally, between loft blocks and head block, lift lines typically follow a transverse path (from side to side) across the stage.

Operating lines, also known as hand lines or purchase lines are what the crew uses to manipulate manual fly systems. Operating lines are connected to sandbags (in a hemp system) or the top and bottom of arbors (in a counterweight system). Operating lines are typically 5/8 in or 3/4 in in diameter.

Lift and operating lines were commonly made of manila hemp. The rope was often referred to simply as manila. Use of manila had a number of issues. Splinters of fiber could get into hands and eyes. Humidity and temperature changes could significantly affect the length of the rope. Over time the rope slowly rots.

Synthetic rope can reduce or eliminate these issues, while providing greater strength by volume. Some riggers have complained that rope burn is more likely with synthetics, and that wear and damage on a synthetic rope is harder to detect. The two most common brands of polyester rope in the theatre world are Stage-Set X (parallel-fiber core) and Multiline II (braided strand). Over time polyester rope became more popular than manila in hemp systems and for use as the operating lines in counterweight systems.

The lift lines of a counterweight rigging systems are typically a specific type of steel wire rope known as galvanized aircraft cable (GAC). Oil-free 0.25 in diameter, 7 x 19 strand, GAC is the most common counterweight system lift line. It has a minimum cable breaking strength of approximately 7000 lb.

Load-bearing lines must be safely tied off, locked, terminated and/or connected to other rigging components to ensure line control and the safety of a fly system. Various methods are employed.
 * Line control

Belaying pins are used to belay, temporarily tie off, the rope lines of a hemp system. Each belaying pin serves as an anchor to which the loose end of a rope may be quickly secured. A standardized method is used to tie off the rope so that it is subjected to friction from itself as well as from the pin rail, thus ensuring a secure connection that is unlikely to fail. Belaying pins are typically made of hickory wood or steel.

Knots, such as the clove hitch and half hitch, are used for rope line terminations. For example, hitches are used to terminate hemp lift lines at battens and operating lines at counterweight arbors.

Rope locks are cam-actuated devices through which a counterweight system operating line passes. The adjustable cam, or dog, inside the rope lock constricts and releases the operating line as the flyman lowers and raises a hand lever. Rope locks are mounted in series to the locking rail. A single rope lock can typically secure a static unbalanced load to 50 lb. Rope locks are not intended to slow a running line.

Swage (compression) fittings or cable clips are used to terminate counterweight system lift lines, after the cable has been looped around a thimble. Cable clips terminations maintain less load capacity than swage fittings, typically require three clips, and are greatly reduced in load capacity if the installer happened to "saddle a dead horse". Both swage and cable clip terminations permanently crimp (deform) the wire rope.

Trim chains and shackles, or turnbuckles and pipe clamps, typically connect the lift lines of a line set to the batten they support. Those connections facilitate minor adjustments to, trim, the effective length of a lift line. By trimming the lift lines, loads are more evenly distributed to them. Turnbuckles are moused (secured against free rotation) to prevent the jaws from slowly unscrewing over time due to vibrations incurred during normal use.

Counterweight lift lines typically connect to the tops of arbors with shackles.

Blocks

A block is a pulley used to support and direct lift and operating lines. A block consists of a grooved wheel, known as a sheave (pronounced "shiv"), steel side plates, spacers, shaft, flange bearings, mounting angles and clips, etc. Blocks are sized based on anticipated live loads, operating speeds, line type and other factors. Sheaves were traditionally fabricated of cast iron, but steel and nylon sheaves are now common.

Blocks are either upright, when mounted atop a support structure, or under-hung, when mounted to the underside of a support structure.

The side plates of blocks preferably fully cover the profile of (fully enclose) the sheaves to lend the block greater stability and limit the sheave's (and crew's) potential for damage from foreign objects. Nevertheless, blocks are available with exposed sheaves.

A Loft block is an overhead block that supports a single lift line. A loft block supports and redirects a lift line from the batten to the head block of a line set. Under-hung loft blocks typically mount to loft block beams (fly loft roof beams). Upright loft blocks typically mount to loft block wells (grid-level structural channels). A spot block is a readily movable loft block for mounting anywhere on the grid deck for spot rigging.
 * Loft block

The diameter of a loft block sheave for galvanized aircraft cable is typically at least 32 times the diameter of the cable. For example, 8 in loft blocks are typically used with 0.25 in GAC, but 12 in blocks may be used to facilitate flying heavier line sets (e.g., electrics).

Loft blocks may be equipped with idler pulleys or sag bars to limit the sag of horizontally running lift lines on under-hung systems.

In under-hung counterweight systems that use upright head blocks the series of loft blocks immediately following the head blocks are typically multi-line loft blocks instead of single-line to account for built-in vertical misalignment between head blocks and loft blocks.

Head blocks are overhead multi-line blocks used for the lift lines and operating lines. Head blocks support and redirect all the lift lines from loft blocks to sand bags (of a hemp set), counterweight arbor (of a counterweight set) or hoist (of an automated line set).
 * Head block

Rope line (hemp) head blocks are typically upright blocks that mount to the rope line head block well channels at the grid level.

In a counterweight rigging system the head block sheave is grooved for both the steel cable lift lines and an operating line, with the groove for the operating line provided at the middle of the multi-grooved sheave, between the lift lines. Counterweight head blocks mount atop or at the underside of the head block beam, depending on the beam's vertical position.

The diameter of a head block sheave used for galvanized aircraft cable is typically at least 48 times the diameter of the cable. For example, 12 in head blocks are typically used with 0.25 in GAC, but 16 in blocks may be used to facilitate flying heavier line sets (e.g., electrics).

Lift lines sometimes require diversion to avoid obstacles, support non-linear loads and battens, deal with excessive fleet angles, or be reoriented from the typical transverse path across the stage (e.g., for tab and light ladder line sets). Mule blocks are single or multi-line blocks able to divert the path of those lines. Mule blocks may be permanently installed as part of counterweight rigging systems, or used for spot rigging, where they are often equipped with swivel-pivots to divert lines across a large range of angles.
 * Mule block

Tension blocks are single-sheave blocks located at the lower end of the arbor guide track, beneath the arbor. The operating line is reeved through the tension block from the bottom of the arbor through the rope lock. Tension blocks typically ride vertically along the arbor guide system tracks, instead of being fixed, to allow for variation in the length of the operating line.
 * Tension block

Counterweights
Counterweights are heavy objects that are used to balance the lineset loads in a fly system. In hemp systems, a counterweight consists of one or more sandbags, whereas counterweight systems employ metal bricks as counterweights. The term counterweight is commonly used to refer specifically to the metal counterweight bricks.

Metal counterweights are lead, cast iron, or flame-cut steel. Flame cut steel bricks are most common. In any particular fly system all counterweights typically share a common, standardized footprint that matches the system's arbors, which in turn are sized to conform to line set spacing. Counterweight systems are most often designed to use either 4 or 6 in wide weights. Weights vary in thickness, typically in half-inch increments ranging from 1/2 to 2 in, with each thickness corresponding to a different mass. 1 in thick weights are most common. Counterweights are sometimes also known as bricks or simply steel. Often a rigging worker will be asked to load a number of inches of steel, which correlates to a specific mass. Weights are usually loaded from the loading bridge, but can also be loaded from the fly gallery or stage deck in some circumstances.

When viewed from the top, metal counterweight is basically rectangular, typically with 45-degree angle chamfers cut at two opposing corners. A slot is cut into each end of the weight so as to enable the weight to straddle, and be laterally secured by, the arbor rods. In order to facilitate removal of weights with angle cuts, it is customary to stack the weights in alternating orientations so that the square corners of any weight will be aligned with the angled corners of adjacent weights. This simplifies removal because the square corners of each weight protrude beyond the angled corners of the weight below, serving as handles that can be easily gripped, even with gloved hands.

It is customary to apply paint (typically yellow) or colored tape to the weights that counterbalance the batten (pipe) to indicate that they should not be removed from the arbor. As an additional precaution, they may be strapped in with steel strapping. When a dedicated line set carries a permanent load (e.g., main drape, orchestra cloud, etc.) the counterweight balancing the additional load may be treated in a similar fashion.

Steel to lead density ratio is 1 : 1.448

Arbors
A counterweight arbor is a sturdy mechanical assembly that serves as a carriage for counterweights. In its simplest form, an arbor consists of two horizontal steel plates, a top plate and bottom plate, tied together by two vertical steel connecting rods. Counterweights are stacked as required on the arbor's bottom plate to balance the line set load, with the weights held in place by the connecting rods.

A flat tie bar at the rear of the arbor also connects the top and bottom plates. Guide shoes at the top and bottom of the tie bar guide the arbor along tracks mounted to the side stage wall. UHMWPE pads on the guide shoes limit friction between guide shoe and track as the arbor travels.

Spreader plates are thin steel plates with holes through which the arbor connecting rods pass. Spreader plates are lowered onto the counterweights in a distributed fashion as the counterweight stack is being built. Typically one spreader plate is placed on top of every two feet of counterweight in the stack. Finally, a locking plate is lowered onto the completed, interleaved stack of counterweights and spreader plates and secured in place with a thumbscrew.

Spreader plates serve to maintain consistent spacing between the arbor rods to ensure reliable containment of the counterweights under normal operating conditions. Also, in the event of a "runaway" (loss of control of an unbalanced lineset), the spreader plates will prevent the arbor rods from bending outward, and thus releasing the counterweights upon arbor impact at the end of its travel.

A new type of arbor was introduced by Thern Stage Equipment in 2010. It is referred to as a front loading counterweight arbor. This arbor has shelves and a gate to secure the counterweights in the arbor. Spreader plates are not required with the front loading arbor. The arbor counterweights are loaded from the front, rather than from the sides.

Counterweight arbors are commonly between 8 and 12 feet in length and can often support stacks of weights between 1500 and 2400 pounds, or beyond. In order to avoid unreasonably tall counterweight stacks at high capacity line sets, arbors may employ more than one counterweight stack. Such arbors use multiple-width top and bottom plates with a tie bar and pair of connecting rods provided at each counterweight stack.

Counterweight rigging systems use either tracked or wire-guided arbor guide systems. The tracks or wire guides limit lateral movement of the arbors during arbor travel. Wire-guided systems have lower capacities and are not in common use.

In addition to guiding the arbors, a tracked counterweight system is provided with bump stops at arbor high and low trim that establish the limits of an arbor's travel.

A tracked guide system is sometimes referred to as a T-bar wall, as the tracks are commonly made of steel T-sections. Aluminum arbor guide tracks are a relatively recent alternative, often using a J profile, instead of a T profile, to facilitate system installation.

Hoists
Hoists of various types are used in manual automated rigging systems. The terms hoist and winch are often used interchangeably in theatre jargon. Hoists are generally assumed to be motorized unless "manual" is used as a descriptor.

Manual hoists, or hand winches, are typically composed of a drum, gear box, and crank (operating handle). A worm gear is commonly used to provide mechanical advantage as the crank is turned, which coils a single line around a smooth or helically grooved drum. The drum line is connected to the lift lines with a clew, triangular plate with holes used for line terminations. From the clew, the lift lines run over a head block and loft blocks down to a batten. The clew may be wire-guided to limit lateral play. Drill-operable hand winches permit the handle to be removed so that an electric drill may operate the hoist.
 * Manual hoist

Drum hoists are typically composed of an electric brake motor and a multi-line helically grooved drum. Helical drums are preferable to smooth drums for cable longevity and the precise and repeatable control of travel.
 * Drum hoist

Drum hoists are used for motor-assist, engaging an operating line, and dead-haul, engaging the lift lines, applications.

A dead-haul drum hoist uses the single drum to support all the lift lines running from the head block of a line set. The lift lines neatly wrap and unwrap in a side-by-side arrangement on the drum as it is spun by the motor.

As a lift line coils and uncoils from the drum of a drum hoist, its fleet angle (angle of a line between drum and sheave) changes. Excessive fleet angles (e.g., greater than 1.5–2.0°) cause unpredictable line behavior and can damage lines, blocks, and drums. As a result, fleet angles limit how close a dead-haul drum hoist can be mounted to the head block (usually about 10 feet).

A moving drum hoist, or traveling drum hoist, is a variation on the traditional drum hoist. Moving drum hoists effectively eliminate the fleet angle between drum and block by shifting the drum along its axis as it spins. The amount of shift per drum revolution is equal to the pitch of the drum's helical groove. With the fleet angle problem resolved, moving drum hoists can combine drum and head block into a single, relatively compact, unit for mounting to fly loft structure, with a corresponding reduction of installation cost.

Yo-yo, pile-up, or pilewind, hoists use yo-yo type devices instead of helically grooved drums. The yo-yos lines are coiled into overlapping layers of cable in the narrow slots. The pile-up drum hoists are usually used in low load. As the hoists are narrower than helically grooved drum hoists, these can be used in the places with limited space. Pile-up drum hoists can be mounted in many locations including ceiling, floor or wall mounting. Typical applications are to have a pile-up drum hoist with many pulleys to control a batten. Since the line is piled up on itself, this type of drum hoist provides a zero fleet angle solution.

Line shaft hoists are typically composed of an electric brake motor, line shaft (drive shaft) and evenly spaced single-line drums aligned above the batten pick points. By placing an individual drum over each pick point, line shaft sets have the advantage, over drum sets, of eliminating the need for blocks.
 * Line shaft hoist

To avoid lateral drift of the batten as the lift lines pay out of the grooved drums, the helical groove orientation on the drums of the line shaft may be alternated between drums to balance competing fleet angles. However the elimination of drift by this method is typically compromised by limited batten travel.

Line shaft hoists can also use yo-yo type devices instead of helically grooved drums. Yo-yo hoists are typically used where lighter loads are imposed (e.g., for operating an Austrian puff curtain). Because yo-yos lines are wrapped over themselves, the velocity and travel of the lines are relatively difficult to accurately control.

Point hoists, also known as spot line winches, control a single lift line and are commonly used for automated spot rigging or flying rigs. A point hoist may operate in solitude, or in unison with other point hoists to comprise a line set.
 * Point hoist

Chain hoists, more commonly referred to as chain motors, are the most common form of point hoist, especially with touring musical shows (e.g., rock-and-roll shows), but are relatively slow. Chain motors can be mounted at the grid to hoist a load from above, or mounted at the load to "climb" towards the grid.

Point hoists using wire rope (GAC) are common, and steel band point hoists are also used. While generally more expensive than chain hoists, wire rope and steel band point hoists can operate at relatively high speeds. Wire rope spot line winches may be configured to pay out to the side (horizontally), for use in conjunction with a loft block, so that the position of the relatively heavy winch can be static and only the loft block need be spotted above the pick point.

Infrastructure
Fly system infrastructure consists of the relatively permanent load-bearing and load-transferring structures of a stage house. The infrastructure, generally fabricated of structural steel members, is sized by a structural engineer during the design of a new theatre, or theatre renovation. Rigging system infrastructure ultimately limits a fly system's capacity.

Building codes generally require that fly system beam design meets the L/360 rule: beams shall not deflect by more than the length of a span divided by 360. For example, a 30 ft head block beam should not deflect more than 1 in under the system design's maximum loading condition. Beam design using the L/360 rule typically results in beams with a yield-strength significantly higher than the maximum loading condition, effectively providing a factor of safety.

Fly loft
The fly loft, fly tower or fly space, is the large volume above the stage into which line set battens are flown, along with whatever loads they may be carrying. In a full-size fly space, the tower height is ideally at least 2.5 times the height of the proscenium. This allows a full-height curtain or set piece to be located completely out of view of the audience without exceeding the travel distance of standard (single-purchase) counterweight arbors.

Grid deck
The grid deck, gridiron deck, or grid, is a permeable working surface present at the top of many fly lofts that is used to support and provide access to many of a rigging system's components. Though originally constructed of wood, down-facing three-inch steel channels with three-inch gaps became the prevalent grid decking in the 20th century. Today, large-opening heavy-duty steel bar grating is most common in new theatres. The grid deck surface is usually rated to support live loads as well as all anticipated dead-hung equipment and hemp and motorized (e.g., chain hoist) spot rigging. Its permeability facilitates the mounting of equipment and the passing of lift lines and electrical cables. Spot rigging is not feasible without a grid.

The grid deck allows access to the "head block beam" and "loft block beams" of counterweight systems. Spanning from the proscenium wall to the upstage wall, these beams support the dead and live loads of a fly system. As per their names, counterweight system head blocks and loft blocks may be directly mounted to these beams. The head block beam is situated directly above the loading gallery. The loft block beams are spaced to match the "pick points" of the lift lines suspending the battens. The loft block beams may also be used to suspend the grid deck support structure.

Rope line (hemp) head block well channels sit atop the grid deck and are used for mounting hemp system head blocks. They are situated above the pinrail(s) below.

Loft block wells are ten inch gaps between pairs of face-to-face steel channels flush with the grid deck that occur beneath each loft block beam. The loft blocks of a hemp, or grid-mount counterweight, rigging system can mount to the loft block well channels. The loft block wells may also act as clear openings through which the lift lines of under-hung counterweight, or automated, systems may pass.

A grid deck is indispensable in professional and touring theatres, and desirable in all theatres with a fly tower, providing invaluable access and flexibility to fly systems. However, due to height limitations, not all fly towers are equipped with a grid. Transverse catwalks are sometimes provided as compensation for the lack of a grid. San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House, not burdened by height limitations, has two grid decks.

Loading bridge
Specific to a stage house using a counterweight system, the loading bridge, or loading gallery, is a catwalk vertically positioned below the headlock beam, and above the fly gallery. The loading bridge is used to add or remove counterweights from arbors. The floor of the loading bridge is also typically used as a storage area for uncommitted counterweights that are available for loading onto counterweight arbors. Stage houses with especially tall fly towers, or double-purchase systems, may have two loading bridges, one stacked over the other to facilitate the loading of relatively tall arbors.

Fly gallery
A fly gallery is a catwalk running from the proscenium wall to upstage wall to which a pinrail and/or locking rail may be mounted used by the fly crew to operate the fly system. The fly gallery elevation is typically at about proscenium height, providing a good view of the stage and fly loft. Fly galleries may be provided stage left and right, or at just one side. Where provided at both sides of the stage they may be connected by a cross-over catwalk at the upstage wall. It is possible to load arbors (add or remove counterweights) at the fly gallery, but standard practice is to load arbors at the loading bridge. (A vertical cinematic montage from the deck to the fly gallery is a striking feature of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. )

Pin rail
A pin rail, originally a wood beam, is typically a large-diameter round steel tube with vertical through-holes that accept belaying pins used in a hemp rigging system. Depending on the pin rail design, the pins may be removable or permanently fixed to the rail. Pin rails are typically installed permanently at the onstage edge of the fly gallery(ies), extending from the proscenium wall to upstage wall, sometimes in a stacked (rail over rail) arrangement. Mobile pin rails may also be used and are bolted down to the stage deck where needed.

Locking rail
A locking rail is typically a steel angle or rectangular tube to which the rope locks of a counterweight system are mounted. Locking rails are located on the stage deck and/or fly gallery and typically extend from the proscenium wall to the upstage wall.

A stage-level locking rail may be provided with an engaging bar for a portable capstan winch.

Arbor pit
Arbor pits, where provided, are troughs at the stage edge that provide additional vertical travel to a counterweight system's arbors. Providing a counterweight arbor pit can help compensate for height limitations of a fly tower. The trough depth typically ranges from 2 to 10 feet. Shallower pits may be accessible only from above at the stage deck. Deeper pits are sometimes accessible from a trap room or orchestra pit.

Operation
Because fly systems involve large amounts of weight, and particularly because the weight is usually suspended above people, there are a number of common precautions taken to ensure safety and prevent injuries. Communication, inspection, and loading procedure are key to the safe operation of a fly system.

Calling movement
Except for during performances and some rehearsals, a standard practice in theatre is for the flyman to always call (shout) out a warning before moving a lineset so as to alert personnel (e.g., rehearsing performers and technicians) who are on the stage. People on stage typically acknowledge the operator's warning by yelling out a confirmation that the warning was heard.

The flyman's warning specifies what is moving and its direction of movement. For example, a particularly verbose call might be something like "lineset three, first electric flying in to the deck, downstage" (in USA) or "Heads onstage, Bar 3, LX 1 coming in." (in UK). In many theaters, all people on stage are expected to respond with "thank you." Upon completion of the lineset motion, some operators may call again (e.g., "lineset three locked") to announce that the lineset has stopped moving.

Unbalanced loads
Unbalanced loads are of great concern in manual rigging. Minor imbalance is sometimes desirable, for example so that as an operating line is let out a line set will fly in of its own accord. However, as it is common for many thousands of pounds of equipment and scenery to be flown above cast and crew, major imbalance is a grave hazard, and, if left unaddressed, can result in runaways.

The use of block and tackle or capstan winch is common to handle line sets that have significantly unbalanced loads. Block and tackle sets use the mechanical advantage (e.g., 6 : 1) of multi-purchase blocks to enable a crew to manually raise an imbalanced line set. The standing block is secured at the grid level and the running block to the batten or arbor (whichever is overloaded). Where an engaging bar has been designed into the stage level locking rail, a portable electric capstan winch may be used to counteract an imbalanced counterweight line set. Pulling on (constricting) a rope wrapped a few times around the capstan, a drum spinning at a constant rate, generates enough traction (through friction) to tug the imbalanced load.

Especially tall fly towers pose a balance problem for standard counterweight line sets. As a line set is lowered to the stage, the weight of the lift lines is added to the total weight of the line set that a rigger must be able to control. For example, a batten with 6 lift lines of ¼" aircraft cable that travels 50 feet effectively weighs about 40 pounds more when flown in than when it is flown out. To address this issue, a compensating mechanism may be added to the counterweight system. Either chain or thick wire-rope may be used.

One end of a compensating chain (typically roller chain) is suspended from the underside of the counterweight arbor, the opposite end mounted to the adjacent wall, at a point corresponding to half the travel of the arbor. The compensating chain is about half the length that the arbor travels, and sized to weigh twice as much as the combined weight of the lift lines per linear foot. At arbor low trim, the compensating chain is fully supported by the wall. At arbor high trim, the chain is fully supported by the arbor. Paying out at half the speed of arbor travel, a compensating chain effectively eliminates imbalance along the full path of travel.

A compensating wire rope line is attached to the top and to the underside of an arbor and runs through sheaves near those for the operating line. This wire rope line follows a similar path to the operating line. The compensating line is made of two lengths of wire rope: a thick heavy wire rope (e.g. 1" diameter), and a thin wire rope (e.g. 1/4" diameter). One end of each length is attached together. The free thick end of the compensating line is attached to the underside of the arbor and the free thin end is attached to the top. As fly pipe lowers and the arbor rises, more of the thick heavy wire rope hangs beneath the arbor and compensates for the additional weight of the fly lines. This mechanism works well with T-track counterweight systems.

Runaways
A runaway is a moving lineset that cannot be safely controlled by its operator. Runaways can occur when the weight on the arbor is not equal to the weight of the batten and its load. Linesets are often intentionally unbalanced to facilitate quick flying in one direction and, in such cases, runaways are more likely to occur.

Counterweight system loading procedure
When loading a batten, or arbor in a counterweight system, it is imperative to control the balance of a set. The lineset should be balanced before loading begins, then the batten flown in, the set added, and then the counterweight added from the loading bridge. The specific order is important because it keeps the set from being unbalanced in a position where it could run away. When it is batten-heavy (after the set is added, but before the counterweights) the arbor does not have anywhere to run away to as it is already at its grid stop (the upper end of the track). In cases where the set is too tall for the batten to be all the way in, it should be kept as far down as possible. It is always best to add the load in pieces as small as practical and counterweight them one at a time so the system can never get too out of balance. Improper loading procedure is a common cause of accidents in many theaters.

title: Fly system


text:
John Downman

John Downman (1749 – 24 December 1824) was an English portrait and subject painter.

Life and work
Downman was the son of Francis Downman, attorney, of St Neots, and Charlotte Goodsens, daughter of Francisco Goodsens, a musician of the Chapel Royal from 1711 to 1741; his grandfather, Hugh Downman (1672–1729), had been the master of the House of Ordnance at Sheerness. The Downman family is usually known as a Devonshire one, but the exact connexion between the artist and the Devonshire branch has not been traced. Earlier works assumed Downman was born in 1750 near Ruabon in Denbighshire where he first went to school; however it is now known he was baptised on 12 September 1749 at Eynesbury in Huntingdonshire, adjacent to St Neots. After his early schooling in Ruabon, and then briefly in Liverpool, he attended finally the Royal Academy schools, and was for a while in the studio of Benjamin West.

Downman set off in 1773 with Joseph Wright of Derby, a pregnant Ann Wright and Richard Hurleston for Italy. Their ship took shelter for three weeks in Nice before they completed their outward voyage in Livorno in Italy in February 1774. Downman returned to Britain in 1775.

He settled down for a while in Cambridge (1777), eventually coming to London, where he contributed to various art exhibitions. In 1804 he moved to the village of West Malling in Kent. In 1806, Downman visited Plymouth in the West Country, between 1807 and 1808 he practised at Exeter, afterwards working in London for some years, settling at Chester in 1818-19, then finally moving to Wrexham, where his only daughter married and where he died on 24 December 1824. He left a large collection of his paintings and drawings to his daughter. He was also the father of Sir Edwin Downman.

He exhibited 148 works in the Royal Academy between 1769 and 1819, mainly portraits, but often fancy subjects, such as 'Rosalind,' painted for the Shakespeare Gallery; 'The Death of Lucretia; The Priestess of Bacchus;' 'Tobias;' 'Fair Rosamond;' 'The Return of Orestes;' 'Duke Robert,' etc. In 1795 he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy. His first work at the Royal Academy (1769) was A small portrait in oil,' and the last (1819), A late Princess personifying Peace crowning the glory of England reflected on Europe, 1815. In 1884 the trustees of the British Museum acquired, by purchase, a volume containing numerous coloured drawings by Downman, among which were several portraits, now separately mounted. He also left several volumes of exquisite drawings, executed in red and black chalk, of which Ralph Neville Grenville published a catalogue (Taunton, 1865). He also painted some miniature portraits. Engravings were also made by Bartolozzi and others. Many of his portraits have attached to them remarks of considerable importance respecting the persons represented.

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

title: John Downman


text:
File:Blott and Hoskins.jpg

Fair use in Blott on the Landscape
Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws, and the stricter requirements of Wikipedia's non-free content policies, because: # It illustrates the television series article about the characters which appear in the screenshot. # The image is used as the primary means of visual identification of the article topic. # It is a low resolution image, and thus not suitable for production of counterfeit goods.

title: File:Blott and Hoskins.jpg


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Talk:Reverse Turing test

Link to related article
I think the link to CAPTCHA should be more prominent. I came to this article thinking that it was about CAPTCHAs. But I didn't see anything about them so I almost concluded nobody had written anything about them yet. Or am I the only person who thinks 'Reverse Turing test' when I see a CAPTCHA in a registration form (since I had never heard of the word CAPTCHA before)? —TylerRick

Computer success means human failure in Turing test
If a human being is judged to be a computer, then presumably the computer was judged to be the human, meaning the computer passed. So if the computer passed, the human failed. Am I missing something? - Keith D. Tyler ¶ (AMA) 21:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes. The Turing test (as currently performed) is rarely done on a 1:1 ratio as you described. So there is the possibility of multiple winners. -- trlkly 12:35, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

This article neeeds more work

 * No original research
 * Citing sources

It needs more work see the wikipidia articles about how to do this ilija.milcinoski —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ilija.milcinoski (talk • contribs) 11:22, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

Verifying that a strong AI isn't a hoax?
Would you use this article's name for a hypothetical case where someone claims to have created an AI as intelligent as a human, and its IM/email conversation is humanlike enough that the main issue becomes verifying that there isn't secretly an actual human at the other end? I'm not sure how you'd even do that -- maybe look at "typing" speed? --Shay Guy (talk) 23:08, 6 July 2012 (UTC)

Definition(s)
It seem to me there's more than one. E.g. says "Certainly, humans would fail a “reverse Turing test” of emulating computer programs – humans can't even emulate pocket calculators without unreasonably long response delays." 188.27.81.64 (talk) 18:43, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

On the other hand, the def used commonly for CAPTCHA-style problems is more involved. E.g. the paper "Pessimal Print: A Reverse Turing Test" by Allison L. Coates, Henry S. Baird, and Richard J. Fateman cites the following definition (from Blum et al.): 188.27.81.64 (talk) 18:50, 21 June 2014 (UTC)
 * the test’s challenges can be automatically generated;
 * the test can be taken quickly by human users;
 * the test will accept virtually all human users (even young or naive users) with high reliability while rejecting very few;
 * the test will reject virtually all machine users; and
 * the test will resist automatic attack for many years even as technology advances and even if the test’s algorithms are known (e.g. published and/or released as open source).

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Reverse Turing test. 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:
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192.168.1.1
Admin 59.103.220.194 (talk) 07:46, 4 May 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Reverse Turing test


text:
Wikipedia talk:2004 Encyclopedia topics/1

Hello. I was reading Admiral carpet on EB and I saw a picture that had written "Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Joseph Lees Williams Memorial Collection; photograph, Otto E. Nelson" -- I doubt just taking anything from EB would be fair use (in fact, pretty unfair since we're competition), however, would I have to get it straight from the museum's site and ask them to use it? Probably but, I was just curious about this issue. gren グレン 19:51, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

 * Actually, in this case it is OK to take the picture directly from Britannica because the design of the carpet is in public domain and since that is a 2D work of art, the photo is also in public domain.
 * It can be tagged with bogdan | Talk 19:59, 29 August 2005 (UTC)
 * {| align="CENTER" class="boilerplate" id="pd" style="width:80%; background-color:#f7f8ff; border:2px solid #8888aa; padding:5px;"

 * [[Image:PD-icon.png|64px|Public domain]]
 * The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. This photograph of the work is also in the public domain in the United States (see Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.).
 * }


text:
The Rising Tied

The Rising Tied is the only studio album by Fort Minor, the hip hop side project by Linkin Park rapper Mike Shinoda. The album was released on November 22, 2005, through Warner Bros. Records and Shinoda's label Machine Shop Records.

Shinoda handled production for the album. Jay-Z, who worked with Linkin Park on their collaborative EP Collision Course, served as an executive producer for the album. Shinoda collaborated with many longtime friends (such as hip hop group Styles of Beyond, Jonah Matranga, Holly Brook and Linkin Park turntablist Joe Hahn), as well as many notable and underground hip-hop and R&B artists (such as Common, John Legend, Black Thought, Lupe Fiasco, Kenna, Eric Bobo, Sixx John and Celph Titled) for the album.

It spawned four singles: "Petrified", "Remember the Name", "Believe Me" and "Where'd You Go", the latter of which was responsible for propelling Fort Minor to mainstream success.

The Rising Tied was met with positive reviews from music critics, who praised Shinoda for straying from mainstream hip hop stereotypes, as well as acclaim from internet and independent music publications. The Rising Tied was a moderate commercial success, peaking at number fifty-one on the Billboard 200.

Background
On March 4, 2005, Shinoda announced in an interview with MTV that he was working on a solo hip hop album, serving as the album's producer. He described the album in the interview, saying: "It's not straight hip-hop, but it's not rock at all. For our fans who only like the rock side of Linkin Park, I hope you enjoy it, but you never know."

Shinoda also stated that he played every instrument on the album, as well as confirming that Common and Black Thought of The Roots would be featured artists. Common let Shinoda listen to some tracks from his then-unreleased album Be. In another interview, Shinoda then confirmed that he had adopted the Fort Minor name for his hip hop project.

Hip hop icon Jay-Z, who collaborated with Linkin Park in their remix EP Collision Course, was also confirmed to be serving as the album's executive producer. He also announced additional featured artists, including friends such as singers Kenna and Jonah Matranga, Linkin Park turntablist Joe Hahn and Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill;  Machine Shop recording artists, such as underground hip hop group and longtime friends Styles of Beyond and Holly Brook;  and John Legend, the only artist whom Shinoda did not personally know before the album's production.

Shinoda consulted Jay-Z and Machine Shop Recordings A&R and Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson to decide which songs to make the final cut of the album. Some parts of the conversation are included in the album. Shinoda felt comfortable working with Delson, saying that "since this record is coming out on Machine Shop, our label, I could pick anyone I wanted to work on it, so I chose Brad as our A&R guy, which is hilarious because ... Brad's not a label guy, he's my friend."

Shinoda's motive for The Rising Tied was to express his hip hop background after his new experiences in the music industry. He stated that he became "antsy...I wanted to make hip-hop again. You know, I always have to mix it with other things, and I didn't want to have to mix it. I just wanted it to be pure hip-hop." He explained the name of his project and the album in an interview with Fixins Music:

I wanted to send out the message that I'm not doing this just to get more attention to myself as a person. It's more about the music than me, and I thought by putting another name on it, it would keep the attention on the music. 'Fort' represents the more aggressive side of the music. 'Minor' can mean a few things: if you're talking about music theory, the minor key is darker. I wanted to name the album rather than having my name on the cover, because I want people to focus on the music, not me. In fact, the reason I named the record 'The Rising Tied' is because it's a play on words. This "tied" group of people are coming up together in the context of this record.

Style and composition
The lyrical content contains many political elements and personal experiences by Shinoda.

"Get Me Gone" is about the skepticism and criticism about Shinoda during the early days of Linkin Park.

"Kenji" tells of a Japanese American who, along with his family, is sent to an internment camp in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Shinoda stated in an interview that his father was born during the Second World War, and was interned alongside his family. He interviewed his father and aunt (in which excerpts were included in the song). About his aunt, he said, "She was there when people were getting pulled out of their houses, and they had absolutely nothing to do with anything [involving the war]. It'd be your average neighbor — or you — getting pulled out of your house because you were racially profiled as somebody dangerous."

The album uses numerous behind-the-scenes conversations. Jay-Z can be heard in the opening track "Introduction"; A conversation between Jay-Z, Shinoda and Brad Delson can be heard at the end of "Where'd You Go" and into "In Stereo"; Shinoda talking about their label's original skepticism about him rapping during the early Linkin Park days can be heard at the end of "Believe Me" and into "Get Me Gone". Some of these can even be heard on the Making of DVD.

Critical reception
The album was praised by various music critics. Henry Adaso from About.com praised Shinoda's efforts for straying from familiar themes of hip hop music, stating that he "manages to freeze the genre’s finest moment without yielding to rap album stereotypes." Greg Dona of AbsolutePunk said that Shinoda proved himself as a rapper and as a producer "in convincing fashion" through The Rising Tied. A reviewer of HipHopDX echoed similar sentiments, saying that Shinoda brought "a fresh hip hop sound to a wide audience of listeners, and he did it with an album that is not only better than most LP's from "real rappers" but with much more passion and dedication." David Jeffries of Allmusic commented that the album was a "surprisingly personal project that sometimes puts the listeners right in Shinoda's shoes." Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone noted that the album has "plenty of humanist appeal" that "translate Linkin Park's stylized angst into sleek boom-bap, complete with agitated pop choruses and deft instrumental ornamentation." A music critic of the Montgomery Advertiser affirmed that The Rising Tied is "a ruminative, sonically fried record as dense and darkly emotional - without pretense - as anything nu metal has thrown up." An editor for The Herald Sun hailed the record as "consistently gripping and surprisingly fun."

Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times felt that The Rising Tied was "a proper (though not very good) hip hop album", although he defined it as "a tacit reminder that hip-hop isn't merely a musical genre; it's also an identity." IGN music reviewer Spence D. felt mixed with the album's production and arrangement, although he praised Shinoda's vocals and that there are "some genuine moments of surprise and swiftness proving that regardless of his ongoing rock affiliation, Shinoda is a true rap fan and not just some bandwagon buster." Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian felt that Shinoda's "earnest, methodical rapping may be effortlessly outclassed by guest stars...but he bolsters it with sulky, darkly metallic beats that sound like Dr. Dre crossed with Depeche Mode." An editor for The Detroit News praised Shinoda's production and the album's featured artists, although he called Shinoda's vocals "lackluster," yet "slightly above K-Fed status." A music critic for The Los Angeles Times said Shinoda "sounds like a suburban b-boy, amiable and sensitive but not charismatic or colorful." A reviewer from Oracle Online thought the album was "important" despite the fact that it "won’t challenge hip-hop heavyweight records such as Kanye West’s Late Registration or 50 Cent’s The Massacre". A music critic of UGO admired Shinoda's production and lyrics, although he thought Shinoda had "limited verbal skills" and is "lacking" compared to the album's featured artists.

Some critics noted compared Shinoda's rapping style to that of fellow rapper Eminem. A reviewer for Entertainment Weekly noted that Shinoda's vocals were "flowing like Eminem on Ambien" An editor for Uncut stated that The Rising Tied was "bound to please fans of Linkin Park and Eminem alike." Jo Timbuong of The Star thought "Where'd You Go" is similar to Eminem's song "When I'm Gone", noting the former as "more melancholic." A reviewer of the Scripps Howard News Service stated that Shinoda's rapping is "a smidge closer to Eminem than he is to Vanilla Ice."

Numerous critics pointed to "Kenji" as a standout from The Rising Tied. A reviewer for The Argonaut felt that the inclusion of audio samples from his relatives "bring the track to life and make the listener truly envision the horrors of these camps." Jo Timboung of The Star called "Kenji" "the most personalized track on the album." A reviewer for Mote stated that the song "blew [her] away," saying "It's the first hip-hop song in a long time that gave me shivers." An editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer called "Kenji" "the album's most distinctive song." A reviewer of the Orlando Sentinel called the song the "most impressive testament to Shinoda's scope." Music critics of the San Jose Mercury News and Relish Now recommended readers to download "Kenji" from the album.

The Rising Tied received widespread acclaim from independent and internet publications. A reviewer from IndieLondon complimented Shinoda's direction in the album, summarizing his review: "He could have charted an overly familiar course but has instead sought to stretch himself, and the results are highly impressive." DJ Z of DJ Booth affirmed that Shinoda's musical style "makes his material attractive to consumers who enjoy material for both the attractive sound and absolute breadth." A reviewer of Okayplayer, commending Shinoda's emotional lyrics and "excellent" production, called The Rising Tied "one of the best hip-hop releases of 2005." Steve Juon of RapReviews wrote that for Linkin Park's fans, "the leap to Fort Minor and The Rising Tied won't be a hard one at all." A reviewer for Urban Wire recommended the album to "people who've gone through all sorts of rejection, condescendence [sic] and suffering; The Rising Tied would definitely be an aerial to their emotions."

Not all music critics were satisfied with The Rising Tied. An editor for Stuff deemed Shinoda's rapping style as "rang[ing] from bad to, well, truly awful". M. Taufiqurrahman of The Jakarta Post described the album as "boring".

Release
The Rising Tied charted and peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. Promotional music videos have been filmed for the singles "Remember the Name", "Petrified", "Believe Me", and "Where'd You Go." "Where'd You Go" was Fort Minor's most successful single, peaking at #4 at the Billboard Hot 100. Despite the low peak, the album has exhibited staying power, selling 300,000 copies in the USA and 400,000 copies worldwide. A small club World tour in USA, China, and Australia followed the release of the album. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum in sales on June 21, 2018.

In other media

 * "Remember the Name" was used by Turner Network Television as the theme for the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The song is also in the trailer for 2010 film The Karate Kid. It was also used as the theme for the 2006 Big East Tournament for ESPN and is commonly played at sporting events to this day.

Track listing
Enhanced CD content
 * 1) The Making of "Petrified" video
 * 2) "Petrified" video
 * 3) Extras - Wallpapers
 * 4) Weblink - bonus online material

Personnel

 * Produced and mixed by Mike Shinoda
 * Engineered by Mark Kiczula
 * Mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering
 * Executive-produced by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter
 * All instrumental parts written and performed by Mike Shinoda, except:
 * Strings on "Remember the Name", "Feel Like Home", "Cigarettes" and "Slip Out the Back" arranged by David Campbell
 * Choir on "Where'd You Go", "Cigarettes", "Kenji" and "Slip Out the Back" contracted by Bobbie Page for Page LA Studio Voices
 * Latin percussion on "Believe Me" by Bobo of Cypress Hill
 * Scratching on "Feel Like Home" by DJ Cheapshot of Styles of Beyond
 * Scratching on "Slip Out the Back" by Mr. Hahn of Linkin Park
 * Recorded at the Stockroom and NRG Studios
 * Creative direction by Mike Shinoda
 * Art direction and design by Frank Maddocks
 * Artwork by Mike Shinoda
 * Additional artwork and logo design by Frank Maddocks and Jackson Chandler
 * Photography by Greg Watermann

title: The Rising Tied


text:
NESI

Net-centric Enterprised Solutions for Interoperability (NESI) is a joint effort between the United States Navy’s Program Executive Office for C4I & Space and the United States Air Force’s Electronic Systems Center. It provides implementation guidance which facilitates the design, development, maintenance, evolution, and use of information systems for the Net-Centric Operations and Warfare (NCOW) environment. NESI has also been provided to other Department of Defense (DoD) services and agencies for potential adoption.

NESI comprises six parts, each focusing on a specific area of guidance. NESI provides guidance, best practices, and examples for developing Net-Centric software. The overall goal is to provide common, cross-service guidance in basic terms for the program managers and developers of net-centric solutions. The objective is not to replace or repeat existing direction, but to help translate into concrete actions the plethora of mandated and sometimes contradictory guidance on the topic of net-centric compliance and standards.

NESI documentation
NESI subsumes two now obsolete references; in particular, the Air Force C2 Enterprise Technical Reference Architecture (C2ERA) and the Navy Reusable Applications Integration and Development Standards (RAPIDS). Initial authority for NESI is per the Memorandum of Agreement between Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), Navy PEO C4I & Space and the United States Air Force Electronic Systems Center, dated 22 December 2003, Subject: Cooperation Agreement for Net-Centric Solutions for Interoperability (NESI). This guidance will continue to evolve as direction and understanding of the requirements of net-centricity evolve. NESI will be updated to reflect changes to the guiding documents and new regulations.

Parts
The NESI documentation, a six-part information set, is available as PDF files. These parts consist of:

 * 1) Overview: Introduction and vision
 * 2) ASD/NII Checklist Guidance: "How to implement" guidance
 * 3) Migration Guidance: Guidance for maintenance/upgrade activities leading to net-centric systems
 * 4) Node Design Guidance: Guidance for developing nodes and their infrastructure to support net-centric services
 * 5) Developer's/Technical Guidance: Detailed development guidance focusing on new starts and major updates
 * 6) Acquisition Guidance: Incorporating NESI during the acquisition process

Technical guidance

 * Complementary to GIG/NCES infrastructure;
 * Tied to net-centric objectives such as interoperability and flexibility;
 * Vendor, program, platform, and service neutral;
 * Focused on decoupling stovepipe systems into services (e.g., SOA and web services).

*Acquisition guidance*

 * Is intended for program managers and DoD contractors;
 * Outlines process and system/product requirements;
 * Relates the steps of the System Acquisition Framework.

Evaluation checklist
In order to evaluate programs/projects, NESI has developed a technical checklist. The current version of the checklist should be used to analyze the current status of a program/project. The technical checklist is produced from the guidance details and provides public, published, consistent interpretation of NESI guidance. Overall, the checklist will provide a uniform interpretation for all of participating organizations.

Component definitions

 * Perspective: provides a way to encapsulate information, based on subject areas.
 * Guidance Detail: provides measurable requirements and rationale for net-centricity and interoperability.
 * Best Practice: provides advice on net-centricity and interoperability.
 * Examples: demonstrate application of guidance and best practices net-centricity and interoperability.
 * References: provides further information about guidance, best practices and examples
 * Glossary: defines terms that are used in Perspectives, Guidance Details, Best Practice Details and Examples.

title: NESI


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Kerman

 This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was delete. Woohookitty 08:46, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

The Kerman
Non-notable fokelore, possible vanity on the part of the persons mentioned in the article. No hits on Google, Yahoo Outlander 19:55, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

Now, hold up, I have heard of the Kerman before. This is only to perpetuate the legend aspect. (Unsigned comment by
 * Well, it does claim to be an urban legend. (Unsigned comment by
 * the term "Legend" implies notability, that is that the story is well known. This story does not appear to be well known, in fact it does not appear to be known at all outside of this article.--Outlander 20:36, August 29, 2005 (UTC)
 * Nothing on http://snopes.com. Delete. Al 20:46, August 29, 2005 (UTC)
 * Please document, with sources ---Outlander 16:09, August 30, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete I did not find anything on Google Groeck 21:13, 29 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete Jachin 22:35, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

 * I say don't delete. (Unsigned vote by )
 * Delete unverified (that such a legend exists). -- Etacar11   02:41, 30 August 2005 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


text:
Massimo Morsello

Massimo Morsello (10 November 1958 in Rome – 10 March 2001) was an Italian fascist, political singer-songwriter. He was the main figure of Italian fascist political music and, with Roberto Fiore, a co-founder of the Italian neo-fascist movement Forza Nuova. He was born in Rome on 10 November 1958. He died in London on 10 March 2001.

Biography
Massimo Morsello was born in a middle-class family of Rome. His mother was Bulgarian, and fled to Italy after the Communist takeover. He described his father as "deeply anticommunist" and an admirer of the social philosophy of Fascism.

In 1975, at the age of 16, he joined the Italian post-fascist party Movimento Sociale Italiano. He became a member of the juvenile political association Fronte della Gioventù and, although not attending a university, joined FUAN, an organization of right-wing university students. FUAN was less dependent on parliamentary politics compared to other organizations, and it was something of a thinktank of the Italian far-right youth in the late 1970s. During the so-called "Anni di Piombo" or Lead Years he became involved in various violent episodes and is thought to have possibly been a member of the neofascist terrorist organization Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari. He was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months for crimes related to terrorism.

In these years he also began his career as a musician, with his first performance being at the first Hobbit Camp. He gained the nickname Massimino among the far-right members of Italian society.

After the Bologna massacre of 2 August 1980, Massimo Morsello, Roberto Fiore, leader of Terza Posizione and seven other people were accused of subversive association. They were then acquitted in 1990. They escaped first to Germany, then, after a few months later, to London. Italy called for their extradition but it was denied by England because the crimes they were accused of were only political. It has been rumoured that Morsello and Fiore escaped extradition by collaborating with the MI6.

At the beginning of their exile, Morsello and Fiore survived by taking temporary work in restaurants. In 1986, thanks to their friendship with various far-right exponents like Nick Griffin, they managed to found "Meeting Point", which was later renamed "Easy London". Easy London is a society that helps young students and workers live and work in London by providing jobs, beds, and contracts. This rapidly made Morsello and Fiore wealthy (the profits being around 15 million euros), but the society was more of a fundraising tool to help various far-right organizations in Italy. "Easy London" is still active.

While in London, Morsello continued his musical activities. He played a concert entitled Scusate, ma non-posso venire ("Sorry, but I can't come") that was transmitted to Italy by satellite on 22 July 1996.

In the second half of the 1990s, Morsello was diagnosed with cancer. He attempted the controversial somatostatin therapy of Luigi Di Bella, with no success. In April 1999 Morsello was able to return to Italy without being incarcerated due to his worsening health condition. He nevertheless still managed to play music until his death in 2001 and helped Fiore found Forza Nuova.

Music
While most Italian right-wing musicians are influenced by Celtic music or Oi!, Morsello instead put far-right political themes into a more traditional acoustic, folk guitar-based songwriting. His self-admitted main influence is the Italian singer and songwriter Francesco De Gregori. In his later works he tried to develop a more personal style, influenced by psychedelia, especially in songs like Otto di Settembre and Vandea. His lyrics focused on themes like revolution, nationalism, Fascism, abortion and European Union, all from an unambiguously far-right point of view.

The songs of Morsello are often of good quality and can be safely compared to those Italian political left-wing songwriters like Francesco Guccini or Claudio Lolli. A self-proclaimed Fascist, his far-right political leanings, as expressed in his songs, won the praise of far-right supporters, but hindered his acceptance by the mainstream public. His first three albums were released as demo tapes and only later re-mastered on CD. Nevertheless, he was the best selling far-right Italian songwriter, selling 15,000 copies of his record Punto di non-ritorno.

Morsello took advantage of the low profile he had in the mainstream to play a prank on the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto. He published a half-page ad of his record La direzione del vento declaring it "a truly revolutionary record" and emphasizing his friendly stance towards the Palestinians, one of the few platforms he shared with the far-left. The day after, the newspaper, having discovered from letters sent by its readers the identity of Morsello, publicly apologized and tried to give back the money paid by Morsello.

Discography

 * Per me… e la mia gente (1978), first released as demo tape
 * I nostri canti assassini (1981), first released as demo tape
 * Intolleranza (1990), first released as demo tape
 * Punto di non-ritorno (1996)
 * Massimino, a compilation featuring his first two demo tapes (1997)
 * La direzione del vento (1998)

title: Massimo Morsello


text:
Chicoutimi (disambiguation)

Chicoutimi is a borough in Quebec.

Chicoutimi may also refer to:

 * Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, federal electoral district
 * Chicoutimi—Saguenay, federal electoral district
 * Chicoutimi (provincial electoral district)
 * HMCS Chicoutimi, the name of several Canadian naval units

title: Chicoutimi (disambiguation)


text:
Clumsy

Clumsy or clumsiness may refer to:

Behaviour

 * Accident-proneness
 * Developmental coordination disorder, a motor skills disorder which brings about chronic clumsiness

Music

 * Clumsy (Our Lady Peace album), a 1997 album by Our Lady Peace
 * "Clumsy" (Our Lady Peace song), from the above album
 * Clumsy (Samiam album), a 1994 album by Samiam
 * "Clumsy" (Fergie song), from the album The Dutchess
 * "Clumsy" (Britney Spears song), from the album Glory
 * "Clumsy", a song by All Time Low from the album Wake Up, Sunshine

Literature

 * A graphic novel by Jeffrey Brown

Software

 * "Clumsy" (Software), Software tool for network error simulation

title: Clumsy


text:
User:Pipdipchip

The username "pipdipchip" started in 1998.

title: User:Pipdipchip


text: User talk:211.184.232.20

title: User talk:211.184.232.20


text:
Seaford House

Seaford House, previously Sefton House, is a former aristocratic mansion and the largest of the detached town houses sited on each corner of Belgrave Square, London, England. A magnolia stucco building with four main storeys, it is most famed for its interiors (the first floor, or piano nobile, being decorated in Beaux-Arts style).

Early history
Dating from 1842, Sefton House was designed by Philip Hardwick to meet the requirements of the 3rd Earl of Sefton. The town house, with its railings and gate piers, is listed Grade II* for architectural merit. The 3rd and 4th Earls of Sefton enjoyed using it as their London town house; the 5th earl, being an invalid, could not do so and after he died childless in 1901, its lease was sold to William Tebb.

Lord Howard de Walden, also Baron Seaford, acquired the lease of the house in 1902 renaming it Seaford House and installed friezes, panelling, and a staircase of green onyx specially imported from South America.

Later history
Requisitioned by the Wartime Government in 1940, and for a while was used as offices by the Air Ministry, Seaford House was badly damaged by Luftwaffe aerial bombing in October 1940, and rebuilt thereafter (but without the porte-cochère). In 1946, it became the home of the Imperial Defence College, now the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Seaford House is usually open to the public free of charge on Open House Weekend each September and can also be seen on screen. The main vestibule doubled as Titanic's Grand Staircase in the 1979 miniseries SOS Titanic. It was also used in the filming of Upstairs, Downstairs and later of the BBC spy show Spooks. Seaford House stood in as the exterior of the home of Maggie Gyllenhaal's character Nessa Stein in the BBC and SundanceTV television miniseries The Honourable Woman in 2014. It can also be seen (doubling as the US Embassy) in the 2021 film The King's Man.

title: Seaford House


text:
Spearhead (TV series)

Spearhead is a British television drama series. Produced by Southern Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of three series and 19 episodes from 18 July 1978 to 3 September 1981. It featured the daily lives of a group of soldiers in 'B' Company, 1st Battalion Royal Wessex Rangers, a fictional British Army infantry regiment.

Themes
The programme shows how, in the late 1970s, the British Army had the task of trying to keep the peace in Northern Ireland and also maintained garrisons in Germany and Hong Kong. It also dramatizes the inflexible class divisions in the army of the time. The 'glass ceiling' for even the most able soldiers of working-class origin, like Colour Sergeant Jackson, is shown to be a barrier to achieving advancement from non-commissioned to commissioned officer. Early episodes of the series show the army in an unfavourable light; two episodes deal with a petty thief who has a gambling habit, and another deals with an enlisted man going AWOL, with Jackson trying to get him back. Particularly controversial is an episode set in Northern Ireland, where some soldiers are portrayed as advocating a less aggressive campaign against all hostile civilians (including women and children).

Through the run of the series, the Royal Wessex Rangers were posted to a number of locations, including Northern Ireland, West Germany with British Army of the Rhine, and as the resident battalion in Hong Kong.

Series 1
The leading character in the first series is Colour Sergeant "Jacko" Jackson (Michael Billington). In the opening episode, the Royal Wessex Rangers are completing a tour of duty in Northern Ireland. Jackson is a member of the battalion's recce platoon charged with close reconnaissance of Provisional IRA terrorist suspects. When the battalion completes its tour, it returns to the mainland UK and is based at barracks in Tidworth, Wiltshire, where it is the British Army's "spearhead" battalion - an infantry battalion kept at short readiness for deployment worldwide. The battalion CO decides that each company in the battalion will have one platoon commanded by a non-commissioned officer. The OC of B Company, Major Taylor, accepts the recommendation of his 2ic, Captain Billings, to appoint Jackson as OC of 6 Platoon.

Royal Wessex Rangers
The Royal Wessex Rangers is a fictional British infantry regiment portrayed in the series. It is portrayed as a standard infantry battalion in the British Army during the late 1970s. During the three-year run of the show, the regiment is shown in different roles on different postings; to begin with, the battalion is on an operational tour of Northern Ireland at the height of The Troubles as light infantry, during which one of the sergeants of the battalion's 'B' Company, Colour Sergeant 'Jacko' Jackson (played by Michael Billington) is chosen to become a temporary platoon commander, even though he is only an NCO. Subsequently, the battalion is posted first as a mechanised infantry battalion to West Germany as part of BAOR, then as a resident light infantry battalion to Hong Kong.

The regiment is titled as a regiment of rangers; this distinguishes it from the majority of real infantry regiments in the British Army at the time (the only regiment of rangers at the time was the Royal Irish Rangers).

As the regiment has the geographical name Wessex in its name and Gibraltar keep on its cap badge, it may be assumed that it is from the west of England, and its forebears were at the Great Siege of Gibraltar. It may also be assumed that the regiment is part of the Prince of Wales' Division, even thought the Wessex Rangers cap badge is a copy of the Northamptonshire Regiment cap badge,with the Gibraltar and Talavera scrolls changed and a crown added.

Syndication
The series was screened on British movie channel Talking Pictures TV in 2016, with a further screening which commenced in December 2018.

title: Spearhead (TV series)


text:
User talk:Lubab

JFW | T@lk  19:59, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:Lubab


text:
Talk:Fairchild family

Untitled
This is riddled with errors! I'm not convinced that some of these people ever existed. There seem to be huge gaps in years. 141.155.77.150

I don't think this article can be further wikified. The names would just be redlinked (I checked many of them). 167.79.56.136 20:00, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

Edward Henry Fairchild
http://www.berea.edu/150/timeline/fairchild.html First President of Berea College Jvv62 19:44, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Notability
We are not a genealogy website and most people listed in the article are not notable. Is there any way to contract this thing and, furthermore, to pull away from the numerous unreliable sources that are listed? See also WP:NLIST. - Sitush (talk) 04:50, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Fairchild family


text:
Universal Data Element Framework

The Universal Data Element Framework (UDEF) was a controlled vocabulary developed by The Open Group. It provided a framework for categorizing, naming, and indexing data. It assigned to every item of data a structured alphanumeric tag plus a controlled vocabulary name that describes the meaning of the data. This allowed relating data elements to similar elements defined by other organizations.

UDEF defined a Dewey-decimal like code for each concept. For example, an "employee number" is often used in human resource management. It has a UDEF tag a.5_12.35.8 and a controlled vocabulary description "Employee.PERSON_Employer.Assigned.IDENTIFIER".

UDEF has been superseded by the Open Data Element Framework (O-DEF).

Examples
In an application used by a hospital, the last name and first name of several people could include the following example concepts:

 * Patient Person Family Name – find the word “Patient” under the UDEF object “Person” and find the word “Family” under the UDEF property “Name”
 * Patient Person Given Name – find the word “Patient” under the UDEF object “Person” and find the word “Given” under the UDEF property “Name”
 * Doctor Person Family Name – find the word “Doctor” under the UDEF object “Person” and find the word “Family” under the UDEF property “Name”
 * Doctor Person Given Name – find the word “Doctor” under the UDEF object “Person” and find the word “Given” under the UDEF property “Name”

For the examples above, the following UDEF IDs are available:

 * “Patient Person Family Name” the UDEF ID is “au.5_11.10”
 * “Patient Person Given Name” the UDEF ID is “au.5_12.10”
 * “Doctor Person Family Name” the UDEF ID is “aq.5_11.10”
 * “Doctor Person Given Name” the UDEF ID is “aq.5_12.10”

title: Universal Data Element Framework


text:
H. Dean Wagner

H. Dean Wagner (born 1961) is an American composer of handbell and organ music. His works for handbells—including "Carillon" (Hope, 1996), "Te Deum" (Red River, 2001), "Fantasy on 'Kingsfold" (Hope, 2000) and "Amazing Grace" (Choristers Guild, 2004) -- have made him a respected handbell composer. Wagner has a Masters of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Akron and a Bachelor of Music Education from Cedarville University. He is the Director of Music for the First United Methodist Church of Cuyahoga Falls, OH, and he is the founder and director of the Renaissance Ringers, a professional community handbell ensemble in Ohio.

title: H. Dean Wagner


text:
Category:Esoteric Christianity

Esoteric Christianity refers to the study of the occult or mystic esoteric knowledge related to the inner teachings of Christianity. The term is generally associated with the Essenes and later the Rosicrucians. In esoteric Christianity, the religion of the Christ is taught as a mystery religion.

title: Category:Esoteric Christianity