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 Well you're my fact checkin' cuz (13 Nov 2003 at 23:59)
OK, I've reached a sort of milestone in my novel, actually, Saturday or Sunday will be a real milestone--halfway done!--but this milestone is that either my page count or word count has just passed some multiple of 10 or 10000. Whatever. Calling all experts; it's fact check time:

- Do submarines have "privates"? What would be the lowest rank of an active soldier on one?

- Is this legal French? "Halte! Halte! Mettez vos mains dans le ciel!" Also: "Carmen Sandiego arr\^et\'e!"

- Does Amsterdam have a large port? It seems to be on the water.

- Does anybody remember "Service Merchandise"? (I hope so, this is a good pun!)

- What was the magical incantation used in Bedknobs and Broomsticks?

- When did the epic battle between Gilette and Schick over the number of blades in their razors begin?

- Do fish eat plankton and krill? Are there such things as vegeterian freshwater fish?

- Is it Paul McCartney singing in "Norwegian Wood"?

- Would blunt trauma to the head cause "a contusion of hte frontal cortex, massive epistaxis, and intracerebral hematoma?"

- The panama canal has a series of locks to send ships in one direction, because the levels of the pacific and atlantic are different. (?) Which one is higher?

Also, I still welcome your crazy ideas and phrases. Thanks!

Word count: 22021
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t		 nothings (adsl-63-203-74-132.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net) – 11.14.03 02:05:05
Norwegian Wood was written by Lennon, so I assume sung by him.

It appears that the locks on the Panama canal are to allow ships to traverse waterways that are above sea level on both sides. If you don't care about the Panama canal itself and just about Atlantic vs. Pacific--I can't tell from the sources I looked at. The first one below mentions that the Pacific has more significant tidal variation than the Atlantic, though.

official: http://www.orbi.net/pancanal/public/general/features/features.htm
official: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/asi-es-el-canal.html
a friend's panama passage: http://windom.cybox.com/logs/2002/03.17.htm
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t		 Anonymous (cs666844-219.austin.rr.com) – 11.14.03 02:05:18
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal

According to this site the difference is only 24 cm due to tides. The locks raise a ship 26 whole meters so it can pass through a lake which is above sea level.

If all this is in only the first 20000 words of your novel, I can't wait to find out what's in the rest.
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t		 Tuuur (gw-kamst.gw.utwente.nl) – 11.14.03 04:13:17
About the Magical Incantation:
http://biodiversity.uno.edu/~gophtax/_gophtax.96/0990.html
It seems to be "Treguna mekoides trecorum satis dee"

McCartney sings backing vocals on Norwegian Wood.

In this list of people that were on board of the Russian Kursk submarine, it seems that the lowest rank is seaman.
http://www.russialink.org.uk/kursk/crew-eng.htm
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t		 Tuuur (gw-kamst.gw.utwente.nl) – 11.14.03 04:20:11
Oh, and I think it would be more legal French to write:
"Halte! Halte! Haut les mains!"
Mettez vos mains dans le ciel sounds way to polite... :-)
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t		 Tuuur (gw-kamst.gw.utwente.nl) – 11.14.03 07:31:58
And another oh: yes, Amsterdam has got a port.
It's holland's second largest seeaport actually.
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t		 Tom 7 (h-66-167-161-17.phlapafg.dynamic.covad.net) – 11.14.03 09:45:35
Nothings, thanks: too bad about the Panama canal, but I guess it's okay for 14 year-old to not understand that, since I didn't understand it until now. ;)

Tuuur 1: That sounds right! I couldn't find that anywhere, good work...

Tuuur 2: Well, hehe, I'm not sure I care if it sounds awkward, just that it's grammatical. Thanks, though.

Tuuur 3: Great. That's fairly important.

"If all this is in only the first 20000 words of your novel, I can't wait to find out what's in the rest."

Hah... me either. ;)


Thanks everyone!!
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t		 Marc (h00102b024a85.ne.client2.attbi.com) – 11.14.03 09:57:01
Yes I remember "service merchandise" (though not what it refered to).

Not all fish eat plankton and krill. There are, ya know, like 6 bajillion species of fish out there. Some are herbivorous (there's plenty of plant life underwater). Some are carnivorous, but don't eat plankton or krill. Some are krill, and don't eat each other.

I thought that Norwegian Wood was a George song, but maybe I'm not remembering that right.
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t		 Tom 7 (h-66-167-161-17.phlapafg.dynamic.covad.net) – 11.14.03 10:13:12
Well, there was a service merchandise in Hamden when we were growing up, attached to Sears. I hope that not only Hamden folk will recall the name. ;)

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t		 cdinwood (pobrecita.wv.cc.cmu.edu) – 11.14.03 10:37:06
We also had service merchandise.
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t		 Jeff (echelon.cs.yale.edu) – 11.14.03 11:32:31
Service Merchandise was in South Bend, IN too (well, technically Mischawaka, but whatever). If I recall, the chain went through some pretty lengthy death-throws, but the South Bend store managed to tough it out until the end.
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t		 Tom 7 (gs82.sp.cs.cmu.edu) – 11.14.03 12:21:19
Okay, good. I'll consider this a "preponderance of the evidence."
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t		 Jeff (echelon.cs.yale.edu) – 11.14.03 14:26:49
Here's an article with a pretty good, but quick, recap of the history of shaving technology in relation to the shick quatro:

http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/ap_schick05132003.htm

and here's an article that mentions that gillette is actually suing shick over the quatro:

http://www.adlawbyrequest.com/inthecourts/schick090203.shtml
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t		 Jeff (echelon.cs.yale.edu) – 11.14.03 14:29:43
The interesting thing that I forgot to mention: according to the first article, the 3-blade razor was actually invented by a japanese company!
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t		 Tom 7 (gs82.sp.cs.cmu.edu) – 11.14.03 15:20:28
All right, good one! Progressive blade geometry... haha.
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t		 Tuuur (tuuur.kabel.utwente.nl) – 11.15.03 05:14:28
Yeah, Mettez vos mains dans le ciel is grammatically correct.

I just think french people would think you meant they had to detach their hands and place them physically into the air.
Very awkward, indeed! :-)
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t		 CoRrUpT (m93-mp1.cvx5-c.man.dial.ntli.net) – 11.15.03 11:56:20
I have nothing of interest to say at this moment so let me get back to you on all of the above.
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t		 Andrew (yale128036074100.student.yale.edu) – 11.15.03 18:08:04
"Privates" are in the Army. The US Navy also seems to start at <a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/navy/insignia/insignia.htm">Seaman</a>.
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t		 Andrew (yale128036074100.student.yale.edu) – 11.15.03 18:08:22
curse your linkery!

http://www.heraldnet.com/navy/insignia/insignia.htm
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t		 Hock (p-proxy-1-int0.net.wisc.edu) – 12.04.03 22:49:07
Where's your novel?!??!?!
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t		 Tom 7 (h-66-167-250-12.phlapafg.dynamic.covad.net) – 12.05.03 13:16:08
Hock: I have saved a 'party version' as of Nov 30 11:59, but I have done some minor editing and reformatting since then, and need to make some of those changes in the PDF. It will go up this weekend.
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t		 Tom 7 (h-68-165-24-61.phlapafg.dynamic.covad.net) – 12.08.03 09:49:22
I mean "long weekend..."
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t		 Tom 7 (h-68-165-24-61.phlapafg.dynamic.covad.net) – 12.08.03 22:40:53
Now available. http://tom7.org/novel/
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