User talk:Jimktrains

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Welcome!

Hello, Jimktrains, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome!  General Eisenhower 21:19, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pittsburgh Portal

Jim, saw your note on the Pittsburgh page I am very very interested (have been since November) in getting a Pittsburgh Portal off the ground, would love to co-found it with you. Let me know Hholt01 17:46, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your reply! A clickable map I have actually worked on stop and go some (mostly one of downtown, north and southshore) that would be a fantastic addition to the portal. I have tons of resources, citations and history links (I mean tons, I've run the Pittsburgh forum over at www.urbanplanet.org for over 2 years now so I've been collecting most everything out there on the net). Would be glad to help but I am tight on time, so your friends design skills might be very helpful. I will try to dig up what remains of that interactive popups map I built partially and see what else I can dig up for the portal. My hope is to find a few days I can blast away at this with your help and others in time for the ASG, traffic will most likely spike to a site like this (Wikipedia Pittsburgh) in the week leading up to the game. Will be in touch, thanks for the effort! Hholt01 20:56, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pittsburgh clouds and classes ;)

Interesting points on the cloud stats and college locations, I appreciate your pathos on them, I'll let your changes ride for the time being, honestly only corrected what I saw to be in error. Please read my comments on the talk page on both those items. I don't see the current representation being accurate in some ways. I'll check back for your thoughts on the matter, but I think the current presentation deserves to be tweaked some. Thanks for your input in advance. Hholt01 21:28, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Stub Articles

Most of the Class III articles are pretty slim, but take a look at Bay Line Railroad. A better guide would be to try to get them up to GA level like those listed in Category:GA-Class rail transport articles, such as Algoma Central Railway, San Diego and Arizona Railway or Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. For images, I usually recommend a photo or two of the railroad's trains and a system map. Slambo (Speak) 16:01, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image:PICT0037.jpg listed for deletion

[edit] Your templates

Hello Jim, I have noticed your beautifully organised userpage boxes, and could not resist copying the teplates via the 'edit' page over to my userpage (which I have just started) to use it for cobbling some boxes onto it. It is easier than learning where to put all the different switches...and I'd love to put more boxes in if I only knew how Is there a list for the switches and the logos ? I hope you will forgive me. Kind regards, LouisBB 15:30, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

• • Many thanks for the info. It is great, and so tidy. You are a friend, LouisBB 21:20, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

• • Thanks again, and for following this up, quite unexpected, you deserve the great guy status. I am still puzzling on how to design the illustrations. My great love is South American and Mexican jazz and I have not seen a box for these. A picture of a sombrero would be nice! By the way: do you know if "salsa" is an abbreviation of South American something ? I suppose I could search for the answer. Cheers, LouisBB 05:07, 28 November 2006

(UTC)

[edit] Sudoku

I intended to send this voluminous writing as a file on Internet, but could not find an address, so here it is for your comments, and wipe it or archive it afterwards as you please.

Basically I looked at the Sudoku article and (sorry if it was you who wrote it, I ought to have checked on that first, I suppose) I could not understand the how to solve section at all.

I decided to write down the way I solve these puzzles, without points and figures (or hardly any) and without algorithms or computers, see what you think!

Solving sudoku problems

For ease of reference to each square lets name the clumns C1, C2, C3, the rows R1, R2, R3, the Blocks

C1R1 C2R1 C3R1

C1R2 C2R2 C3R3

C1R3 C2R3 C3R3

Each block would have a row r1, r2, r3 column c1, c2, c3, and the squares (for completeness)

c1r1 c2r1 c3r1

c2r1 c2r2 c2r3

c3r1 c3r2 c3r3

Thus giving the name of a block and a square within it will fully describe a square. This is the simplest and easiest to remember notation I could think of, but having gioven a notation to each square and block I hardly used it in the following

Solution

This has two stages: Stage I. Normal stage, and Stage II. Emergency stage.

This latter, solving the puzzle by trial and error, is only employed when the normal stage has failed and the reason that I call this emergency stage is, because if trial and error is needed that means that logic has failed at this stage, and by reducing the number of numerals given in a puzzle, or increasing the number of blocks in the puzzle one could increase the time necessary to solve it immensely.

• Stage I.

1. Look at each numeral in sequence and try to establish block by block where that numeral is missing in it by scanning that numeral from existing blocks (vertically and/or horizontally) which would, naturally, exclude that numeral from the chosen block; with the aim of restricting the empty square position for that numeral in the chosen block to just one. Till, on continuing with all the numerals, this procedures allows you to an empty square, repeat he operation again, till no new squares can be filled

2. Pick the numerals in turn and look at a row of blocks and then a column of blocks; The aim this time is to see if you can restrict the position of a numeral by comparing the available positions in the row or column of blocks.

• For instance if a numeral is restricted in both Blocks C1R1 and C1R2 to rows r1 and r2, then logically the numeral’s only place in C1R3 will be in row r3

3. Pick the rows and columns of the puzzle in turn starting from those with least number of empty squares and examine these squares (but ignore those with more than 4 empty squares at this stage)

3.1 Memorise the numerals missing in your choice (of row or column)

3.2 Examine the squares one by one to see if their respective columns will restrict the choice of numerals in the chosen square to just one:

Say if numerals a, b, c, and d are missing from a chosen row and looking at an empty square its column already contains a, b, and c, then the missing number is d

Examine the empty squares again, to see if a missing number is present in so many columns that its presence will restrict it to just one square

3.3 Look at all the empty squares in turn this way

4. Now examine each block in turn, again starting with those of least number of empty squares (but ignore the blocks with more than 4 empty squares at this stage)

4.1 Determine the possible positions of each missing numeral in turn

4.2 Search for numerals that being in the same row or same column would fill that column or row in that block: If in a block numeral a and b are in the same row and the same row of the block is filled, that will restrict the numerals that could fill that specific row in the other blocks !

4.3 Continue examining all the hopeful blocks, those that do not have too many empty squares

5. If you have found new numerals throughout all these steps, then repeat the operation from 1. through in case any new numerals inserted have created further restrictions.

• Stage II

1. For these steps use a pencil as the numerals you put in may be in a false position. Find a numeral for which, in a row or column only a choice of two is possible. Let’s denote these position A and B

1.1 Chose position A first insert the number with a pencil and mark the square as starting square for your trial and error procedure. E.g. a dark dot

1.2 Mark the square again and each subsequent square you fill, so that you’ll recognise that these numerals have come from a deliberate choice (I put a vertical line beside the numeral)

1.3 Proceed as if the choice was right until you find an obvious fault (same numeral repeated, in which case wipe all numerals that have come from choice A and carry on with csosing position B as a starting position.

2. It could happen that instead of arriving to an impossibility (a numeral repeated) you arrive at a point from where you cannot continue. In this case a second trial and error procedure is necessary, with the alternative position of another numeral, with choices between say squares X and Y, proceeding identically with the first procedure. If this occurs, however, with your choice A then there might be 4 possible choices to examine yet: A with X; A with Y; B with X; and B with Y.

I have not yet found a puzzle which was tough enough to resist this treatment, but solving the problem could take some time.

Regards LouisBB 22:03, 29 November 2006 (UTC)