title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: Concerned by Rayman's progress, Admiral Razorbeard dispatches several warships to pursue and kill him. Rayman approaches the entrance to the Sanctuary of Water and Ice, the location in which the first of the four masks is contained. He defeats its guardian, Axel, in combat and collects the first mask, which teleports him to the realm where Polokus rests eternally. Speaking to Rayman through his dreams, Polokus congratulates him on his find, and urges him to collect the three remaining masks. Rayman travels to the Menhir Hills, where he learns to tame and ride equine-like walking shells. Rayman acquaintances himself with Clark, a friendly giant, who has become terminally ill after accidentally swallowing a Robo-Pirate. He asks Rayman to retrieve the Elixir of Life from the Cave of Bad Dreams, a realm which can only be accessed if the occupant is asleep. Rayman asks a witch doctor to hypnotise him, which transports him to the Cave of Bad Dreams. Once there, Jano, the guardian of the dream world, offers Rayman the choice of eternal wealth instead of taking the elixir. If the player accepts Jano's offer, a humorous ending will play, which depicts an overweight Rayman stranded on a small island, surrounded by treasure. Declining the offer will grant Rayman the elixir, which he uses to cure Clark.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: Afterwards, Rayman reunites with Globox, who was captured by Robo-Pirates and brought to a remote detention facility. Globox reveals that he received another Silver Lum, which greatly enhances Rayman's offensive capabilities. After destroying a warship with his new powers, Rayman travels to Whale Bay, where he frees a benevolent whale, Carmen, who has been imprisoned by the pirates in order to use her blubber to oil the engines of their ships. Carmen informs Rayman of the second mask's location, which is situated in the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire. Its guardian, Umber, is an inanimate statue which Rayman uses to control in order to walk across lava and obtain the second mask. Once obtained and given to Polokus, Razorbeard becomes infuriated with Rayman's success and orders numerous fleets of warships to kill him. A group of warships ambush Rayman in a mountainous precipice and almost kill him, however he ultimately escapes.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: Rayman arrives at The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava, and obtains a new power from Ly which gives him the ability to fly. However the guardian of the sanctuary, Foutch, wounds Rayman which causes him to lose his ability of flight. After defeating him and obtaining the third mask, Polokus teleports Rayman to the Iron Mountains, which houses a vast network of mines. Rayman encounters Uglette, wife of Globox, who is in despair after informing Rayman that dozens of her children are being used for labour in the mines, and Globox has once again been captured and sent to the "Buccaneer". Rayman hijacks a warship and rescues all of Globox's children from the mines. As Uglette and the children leave, one of the children passes Rayman the fourth mask, claiming that they found it in the mines. Rayman departs to see Polokus, who congratulates him on his work, and uses the power of all four masks to awaken himself. Polokus tells Rayman that he can destroy all Robo-Pirates in the Glade of Dreams, but he has no power in the air. Polokus then creates a portal which leads Rayman to the airborne "Buccaneer", in which he must defeat Admiral Razorbeard and save Globox.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: On board the "Buccaneer", a general visits Razorbeard, who presents to him the Grolgoth, a large powered exoskeleton which makes the user invulnerable to damage. Razorbeard purchases it, and plans for his final confrontation with Rayman. Soon after, Rayman infiltrates the "Buccaneer" and finds both Razorbeard (housed inside the Grolgoth) and Globox in the crow's nest of the ship. During combat, Razorbeard accidentally collapses the floor, plunging both him and Rayman into a lava-filled furnace. During the descent, Ly telepathically saves Rayman from his fall and creates him a sentient flying shell, which he uses to knock the Grolgoth into the lava. Razorbeard escapes the ship in a small shuttlecraft, and initiates the self-destruct, which destroys the "Buccaneer" with Rayman still inside. Later, at Rayman's funeral, all gather for a memorial service. They could only recover Rayman's left shoe, however, the shoe suddenly appears to react to an oncoming presence, as a limping, one-footed Rayman emerges nearby, much to the joy of everyone present.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: "Rayman 2" was released on a wide variety of platforms, with several differences and name changes between the versions.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: The Nintendo 64 version of "Rayman 2: The Great Escape" was released first, followed by a Microsoft Windows release later that year, with improvements made to the Microsoft Windows version (mainly relating to graphics, sound, music and texture quality).


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: The Nintendo 64 version of the game was ported to the Nintendo DS by DC Studios under the title "Rayman DS" on 24 March 2005. Very few changes have been made to the game from the Nintendo 64 version. Parts of some music tracks have been taken out and some graphical textures have been simplified. The port also added touch screen controls.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: On 26 May 2011, GOG.com re-released "Rayman 2: The Great Escape", alongside "" and "Rayman Forever", made to be compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, along with a digital version of the game's soundtrack as bonus content. On 26 January 2012 Ubisoft announced that "Rayman 2" would be added as a bonus for preordering the Microsoft Windows version of "Rayman Origins".


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: The Dreamcast version has various changes from the Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows versions, including several 2D sprites being replaced by 3D models, improved texture quality and minor level design changes. The Dreamcast version also has exclusive mini-games, six hidden Glob Crystal collectables and replaces The Hall of Doors with The Isle of Doors for the world map. Michel Ancel has previously stated that he believes that this version is the best version of the game.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: The Dreamcast version of the game was later ported to iOS devices in March 2010 (which was later removed from the App Store in late 2013), and the Nintendo 3DS in March 2011. Both ports lack the Globox Village and minigames present in the Dreamcast release.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: The PlayStation version was developed by Ubi Soft Shanghai, and is the first version to have the characters speaking real languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian), replacing the gibberish spoken by the characters originally. Numerous level design changes were made, and some levels and cutscenes (namely the fake ending seen if the player accepts Jano's offer) were removed altogether. There are only 800 Yellow Lums in this version, with the scene of Razorbeard eating a Yellow Lum being changed so that he would eat a Red Lum instead. Characters like the Ninjaws mini-boss that first appears at the end of The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire are exclusive to this version, and characters that did not have speaking roles before, such as the guardians Axel, Umber, and Foutch, now speak to Rayman when he confronts them.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: This port was later released on the PlayStation Network on 18 December 2008 in North America and on 28 July 2010 in Europe.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: This version, titled "Rayman: Revolution" ("Rayman 2: Revolution" in North America), was developed by Ubi Soft Annecy and released on 22 December 2000. It features many enhancements including new minigames and bonus challenges, upgrades to Rayman's abilities, level revisions, new music tracks, the option to switch between the gibberish from other versions and newly recorded real language voices, three new bosses, and Yellow Lum redistribution. The Hall of Doors was replaced with three central hubs, called The Minisaurus Plain, Globox's House and The Rainbow Creek, in which to walk to each level freely, play Ly's bonus challenges unlocked by freeing Revolution-exclusive prisoners called Familiar Spirits, and purchase ability upgrades or the new minigames from the Teensies with the Yellow Lums the player has collected.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: To date, Revolution is the only edition of "Rayman 2" that lets players save when a level has been only partially completed, but like all versions of the game, it still uses manual saves. This is also the only version in which the 1,000th Yellow Lum can be obtained normally, and hence actually changes the total back to 1,000 despite Razorbeard still eating it and the total changing to 999/999. The 1,000th Lum is obtained after beating a mind-controlled Clark and receiving the Lums Radar, a magnet-shaped gadget exclusive to Revolution that helps players track down any missed Yellow Lums.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: Titled "Rayman 2 Forever" ("Rayman 2" in North America), this version was developed by Ubi Soft Milan. It is a 2D side scroller, and follows the story of the other versions. It was released in December 2001 in Europe and January 2002 in North America. It has two identical boss fights. The second boss is Razorbeard, even though the sprite for a common Robo Pirate is used. Ly and Globox appear only in cutscenes. Like the PS1 version, Rayman has to collect 800 Lums instead of 1000.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: "Rayman 2" was originally conceptualised as a sidescrolling 2D platformer, like the first game. Development on the prototype began in early 1996 with a team of six people and a budget of 10 million francs. It was slated to be released on the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Microsoft Windows in the fourth quarter of that year. The prototype of "Rayman 2" featured some usage of prerendered bitmaps of 3D computer models, differing from the hand painted presentation of its predecessor, beginning in 1998. A prototype containing a single level is playable in the final PlayStation version of the game if the player completes a certain percentage of the game. The PC was the original lead platform, but mid-development, they switched to Nintendo 64, necessitating reducing the quality of the textures. The Dreamcast version uses the original high-quality textures. The art design was inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Tex Avery, and was made to give the game's world a sense of mythology.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "with its cute character designs and slick, polished gameplay, "Rayman 2" is one of the few titles that can honestly claim to have something to offer any gamer of any age or skill."


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: "Rayman 2" computer version received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: "Rayman 2" received acclaim from both critics and fans, scoring a 9 on Nintendo 64, 9.2 on Microsoft Windows and PlayStation and 9.6 on Dreamcast from IGN. It also received 'IGN Dreamcast Game of the Year 2000'. It was praised in most aspects including gameplay, audio, graphics and controls, praising the colourful, vibrant worlds, the soundtrack, and the varied gameplay. IGN's Brandon Justice called it "the most impressive feat of game design and execution the platforming genre has ever seen."


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: "Rayman 2" was nominated for GameSpot "Personal Computer Action Game of the Year" award in 1999, which ultimately went to Unreal Tournament.


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Just go out and buy it. You won't be disappointed." The Dreamcast version was a runner-up for "GameSpot"s annual "Best Platform Game" award, which went to "Banjo-Tooie".


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: "Revolution" was a runner-up for "GameSpot"s annual "Best Platform Game" award among console games, which went to "Conker's Bad Fur Day".


title: Rayman 2: The Great Escape

text: The reception for "Rayman DS" was mixed or average, citing graphical flaws and camera problems. While it did support controlling the game via the touchpad, this was regarded as both sloppy and awkward, partly caused by the game being a direct port of the Nintendo 64 version. "Rayman 3D" got a similarly mixed reception due to it being a direct port of the Dreamcast release, with no true usage of the 3DS's capabilities except for stereoscopic 3D.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: The thirteenth-generation Ford F-Series is a range of pickup trucks produced by Ford. Introduced for the 2015 model year, this generation of the F-Series is the first aluminum-intensive vehicle produced on a large scale by an American vehicle manufacturer. For the 2017 model year, the fourth-generation Super Duty line adopted the cab design of the F-150, consolidating the cab design for the first time on Ford light-duty trucks (F-550 and below) for the first time since the 1996 model year; the Super Duty trucks still retain separate bodywork and a higher-GVWR frame.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: After a two-year hiatus, a second generation of the Ford Raptor made its return for 2017 as a high-performance variant of the F-150, dropping the SVT prefix). In Mexico, the F-Series XL trim is marketed as the "F-150", XLT and higher trims are named "Lobo" (Wolf in Spanish). The Mexican-market Lincoln Mark LT was discontinued completely, replaced by the Limited and Platinum trims sold elsewhere.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: The thirteenth-generation F-Series is produced by Ford in Claycomo, Missouri (Kansas City Assembly) alongside the Ford Transit van and at Dearborn, Michigan (Dearborn Truck Plant).


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: The thirteenth-generation F-Series was unveiled at the 2014 North American International Auto Show on January 13, 2014. A number of safety technologies and driver assistance features were introduced as options, including: 360° camera, adaptive cruise control, collision warning with brake support, blind spot information system (BLIS) with cross-traffic alert, and a lane-keeping system.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: While not the first aluminum-bodied vehicle developed by Ford (the company developed 40 aluminum-bodied Mercury Sable prototypes in 1993, reducing curb weight by 400 pounds), the F-Series was the first Ford aluminum-bodied vehicle to make it to production. While changing the metal composition of the best-selling vehicle in the United States, 85% of the parts of the vehicle were domestically-sourced (as of 2016).


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: When the F-150 was equipped with the optional 2.7L EcoBoost V6 engine and two-wheel drive, it was able to comply with proposed future CAFE standards through 2024 without any modifications.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: While nearly all body panels of the F-150 were converted from steel to aluminum construction (the only significant sheetmetal component constructed of steel is the firewall), the frame remained of steel construction, and the use of high-strength steel in the frame was increased from 23% to 77%. The aluminum body panels resulted in a nearly 750lb reduction in curb weight. To showcase the durability of the aluminum-intensive design, Ford entered prototypes of the model disguised as 12th generation F150s in the Baja 1000.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: The F-Series underwent a revision of its powertrain offerings, largely to expand its range of both powerful and fuel-efficient engines. As the entry-level V6, a 3.5 L Ti-VCT V6 replaced the previous 3.7 L V6; though lower in output, the redesign offered a better power-to-weight ratio. The 3.5 L EcoBoost made its return, joined by the 5.0 L flex-fuel V8; as the Raptor had gone on hiatus, the 6.2 L V8 became exclusive to Super Duty trucks. Slotted between the two 3.5 L V6 engines, a 2.7 L EcoBoost V6 was introduced; unrelated to the larger EcoBoost engine, it is shared with the Ford Fusion and Lincoln Continental.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: For model year 2017, the 3.5 L EcoBoost engine underwent a redesign, increasing its output to 375 hp (450 hp for the Raptor); along with adding supplementary port fuel injection, the engine introduced auto start/stop capability. For model year 2018, the model line received three all-new engines, as a 3.3 L V6 replaced the naturally-aspirated 3.5 L V6 and the 2.7 L EcoBoost V6 was redesigned (adopting many of the changes from the 3.5 L EcoBoost engine). For the first time, a diesel engine was offered in the F-150, as a 250 hp 3.0 L PowerStroke V6 was introduced during the model year, dependent on trim (commercial and fleet sales only, for XL and XLT trim). For 2019, the 450 hp version of the 3.5 L engine was introduced to the flagship Limited trim.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: As with the previous generation, the F-Series is offered solely with automatic transmissions. At initial launch, a 6-speed Ford 6R80 automatic was paired with all four engines. As part of the introduction of the 2017 Raptor, a 10-speed Ford 10R80 automatic (the first 10-speed transmission in a non-commercial vehicle) was paired to its 3.5 L EcoBoost V6. For model year 2018, the 10-speed automatic was paired to both EcoBoost engines, the Powerstroke diesel, and the 5.0 L V8 (with only the 3.3 L V6 paired to the 6-speed automatic).


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: In line with its predecessor, the thirteenth-generation F-150 is sold with three cab configurations (two-door standard cab, 2+2 door SuperCab, four-door SuperCrew), with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive (4×4). Three bed lengths are available (dependent on cab configuration): (SuperCrew, all Raptors), (all except Raptor), (regular cab, SuperCab).


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: The 2015 F-150 marked several design departures from previous F-Series model lines. While the cab design saw largely evolutionary styling changes, the rectangular grille adopted a trapezoidal shape, flanked by C-shaped headlamp units. Using LED headlights for the first time, designers used polycarbonate thermoplastic optics to focus the beams, with one LED for each beam and an orange thermoplastic light pipe (doubling as the turn signal). Coupled with the headlamps, the taillamps adopted LED technology, also housing the blind spot monitor; these systems were not typically included on pickup trucks because the system could not be packaged inside steel bumpers typically found on pickup trucks. The tailgate was redesigned; along with retaining its fold-out step functionality, the tailgate was redesigned, adopting several different styles (dependent on trim).


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: For 2018, the F-150 underwent a mid-cycle model revision, adopting several design features from the Super Duty model line. The trapezoidal grille was replaced by an octagonal grille; the three-bar styling was replaced by a wide two-bar configuration (with a larger Ford Blue Oval emblem). The tailgate saw minor changes, with an embossed "F-150" emblem replacing the previous stamped-metal logo; the taillamps saw a minor revision. Several appearance packages were introduced for the XL, XLT, and Lariat trims.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: To comply with 2018 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, all 2018 F-150 models received a standard rear-view backup camera.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: In comparison to the exterior, the interior of the 2018 F-150 saw fewer visible changes, with most revisions focused on its infotainment systems. Sync was updated to Sync 3; on select models, the system provides remote access, service information, and other vehicle-related information. The premium audio system manufacturer shifted from Sony to Bang & Olufsen, with SiriusXM satellite radio becoming standard for the XLT trim.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: For 2019, the top-line Limited trim received the powertrain of the Raptor, with a restyled dual exhaust; the Limited also gained a model-specific Camel Back interior color for 2019.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: For the 2015 model year, the F-150 model line underwent several revisions, largely to consolidate the number of trim offerings. Most visibly, the Raptor was withdrawn (put on hiatus until 2017 to complete its development), with the Tremor and Harley-Davidson special editions discontinued. The STX, FX2, and FX4 were also discontinued as free-standing trim levels; in a revision, the features of the STX reappeared as a stand-alone option package for 2016, with the suspension features of the FX4 becoming an option package on all 4×4 trims (except the Limited and Raptor).


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: The thirteenth-generation F-Series follows traditional Ford truck nomenclature with XL, XLT, and Lariat trims; along with the Super Duty line, the F-150 also has premium King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited trims (the Raptor is exclusive to the F-150).


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: Following a two-year hiatus, the F-150 Raptor sub-model made its return for the 2017 model year, with the loss of its previous SVT prefix. As with its predecessor, the 2017 Raptor is an off-road oriented vehicle produced in SuperCab and SuperCrew configurations with a model-exclusive 5.5-ft pickup bed. The model continues its lack of a Ford Blue Oval grille badge, with "F-O-R-D" spelled across the center of the grille.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: As with a standard Ford F-150, the Raptor is an aluminum-intensive vehicle; though built upon a steel frame, nearly all its body panels are built using aluminum (reducing curb weight by nearly over an equivalent 2014 SVT Raptor). In place of the 6.2 L V8, the new Raptor features a 3.5 L twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 paired with an industry-first 10-speed automatic transmission. The new engine improves the horsepower by to , and increases the torque from the old engine to of torque.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: To improve its off-road ability over a standard F-150, the Raptor is fitted with a torque-on-demand transfer case, travel front and travel rear Fox Racing suspension, and all-terrain 35" tires and wheels.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: For 2019, the Raptor gets a new Trail Control system, optional Recaro sport bucket seats and FOX 3.0 Internal Bypass shock absorbers with Live Valve Technology.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: On October 18, 2017 Ford recalled 1.3 million 2015–2017 Ford F-150 and 2017 Ford Super Duty pickups due to door latches that can freeze in cold climates, causing the door to not open or close properly.


title: Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)

text: On September 6, 2018 Ford recalled approximately 2 million 2015–2018 Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew models worldwide because front seatbelt pre-tensioners can generate excessive sparks and possibly cause a fire in the event of a collision.


title: Weighted least squares

text: Weighted least squares (WLS), also known as weighted linear regression, is a generalization of ordinary least squares and linear regression in which knowledge of the variance of observations is incorporated into the regression.


title: Weighted least squares

text: A special case of generalized least squares called weighted least squares can be used when all the off-diagonal entries of Ω, the covariance matrix of the residuals, are null; the variances of the observations (along the covariance matrix diagonal) may still be unequal (heteroscedasticity).


title: Weighted least squares

text: The fit of a model to a data point is measured by its residual, formula_1, defined as the difference between a measured value of the dependent variable, formula_2 and the value predicted by the model, formula_3:


title: Weighted least squares

text: The Gauss–Markov theorem shows that, when this is so, formula_8 is a best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE). If, however, the measurements are uncorrelated but have different uncertainties, a modified approach might be adopted. Aitken showed that when a weighted sum of squared residuals is minimized, formula_8 is the BLUE if each weight is equal to the reciprocal of the variance of the measurement


title: Weighted least squares

text: If the errors are correlated, the resulting estimator is the BLUE if the weight matrix is equal to the inverse of the variance-covariance matrix of the observations.


title: Weighted least squares

text: When the errors are uncorrelated, it is convenient to simplify the calculations to factor the weight matrix as formula_11. The normal equations can then be written in the same form as ordinary least squares:


title: Weighted least squares

text: For non-linear least squares systems a similar argument shows that the normal equations should be modified as follows.


title: Weighted least squares

text: Note that for empirical tests, the appropriate W is not known for sure and must be estimated. For this feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) techniques may be used; in this case it is specialized for a diagonal covariance matrix, thus yielding a feasible weighted least squares solution.


title: Weighted least squares

text: If the uncertainty of the observations is not known from external sources, then the weights could be estimated from the given observations. This can be useful, for example, to identify outliers. After the outliers have been removed from the data set, the weights should be reset to one.


title: Weighted least squares

text: In some cases the observations may be weighted—for example, they may not be equally reliable. In this case, one can minimize the weighted sum of squares:


title: Weighted least squares

text: where "w" > 0 is the weight of the "i"th observation, and "W" is the diagonal matrix of such weights.


title: Weighted least squares

text: The weights should, ideally, be equal to the reciprocal of the variance of the measurement. (This implies that the observations are uncorrelated. If the observations are correlated, the expression formula_16 applies. In this case the weight matrix should ideally be equal to the inverse of the variance-covariance matrix of the observations).


title: Weighted least squares

text: Therefore, an expression for the estimated variance-covariance matrix of the parameter estimates can be obtained by error propagation from the errors in the observations. Let the variance-covariance matrix for the observations be denoted by "M" and that of the estimated parameters by "M". Then


title: Weighted least squares

text: When unit weights are used ("W" = "I", the identity matrix), it is implied that the experimental errors are uncorrelated and all equal: "M" = "σ""I", where "σ" is the "a priori" variance of an observation. In any case, "σ" is approximated by the reduced chi-squared formula_21:


title: Weighted least squares

text: The denominator, formula_24, is the number of degrees of freedom; see effective degrees of freedom for generalizations for the case of correlated observations.


title: Weighted least squares

text: In all cases, the variance of the parameter estimate formula_25 is given by formula_26 and the covariance between the parameter estimates formula_25 and formula_28 is given by formula_29. The standard deviation is the square root of variance, formula_30, and the correlation coefficient is given by formula_31. These error estimates reflect only random errors in the measurements. The true uncertainty in the parameters is larger due to the presence of systematic errors, which, by definition, cannot be quantified.


title: Weighted least squares

text: It is often "assumed", for want of any concrete evidence but often appealing to the central limit theorem—see Normal distribution#Occurrence and applications—that the error on each observation belongs to a normal distribution with a mean of zero and standard deviation formula_32. Under that assumption the following probabilities can be derived for a single scalar parameter estimate in terms of its estimated standard error formula_33 (given here):


title: Weighted least squares

text: The assumption is not unreasonable when "n" » "m". If the experimental errors are normally distributed the parameters will belong to a Student's t-distribution with "n" − "m" degrees of freedom. When "n" ≫ "m" Student's t-distribution approximates a normal distribution. Note, however, that these confidence limits cannot take systematic error into account. Also, parameter errors should be quoted to one significant figure only, as they are subject to sampling error.


title: Weighted least squares

text: When the number of observations is relatively small, Chebychev's inequality can be used for an upper bound on probabilities, regardless of any assumptions about the distribution of experimental errors: the maximum probabilities that a parameter will be more than 1, 2, or 3 standard deviations away from its expectation value are 100%, 25% and 11% respectively.


title: Weighted least squares

text: The sum of weighted residual values is equal to zero whenever the model function contains a constant term. Left-multiply the expression for the residuals by "X" "W":


title: Weighted least squares

text: Say, for example, that the first term of the model is a constant, so that formula_43 for all "i". In that case it follows that


title: Weighted least squares

text: Thus, in the motivational example, above, the fact that the sum of residual values is equal to zero is not accidental, but is a consequence of the presence of the constant term, α, in the model.


title: Weighted least squares

text: If experimental error follows a normal distribution, then, because of the linear relationship between residuals and observations, so should residuals, but since the observations are only a sample of the population of all possible observations, the residuals should belong to a Student's t-distribution. Studentized residuals are useful in making a statistical test for an outlier when a particular residual appears to be excessively large.


title: Milliradian

text: A milliradian (SI-symbol mrad, sometimes also abbreviated mil) is an SI derived unit for angular measurement which is defined as a thousandth of a radian (0.001 radian). Milliradians are used in adjustment of firearm sights by adjusting the angle of the sight compared to the barrel (up, down, left, or right). Milliradians are also used for comparing shot groupings, or to compare the difficulty of hitting different sized shooting targets at different distances. When using a scope with both mrad adjustment and a reticle with mrad markings (called an "mrad/mrad scope"), the shooter can use the reticle as a ruler to count the number of mrads a shot was off-target, which directly translates to the sight adjustment needed to hit the target with a follow up shot. Optics with mrad markings in the reticle can also be used to make a range estimation of a known size target, or vice versa, to determine a target size if the distance is known, a practice called "milling".


title: Milliradian

text: Milliradians are generally used for very small angles, which allows for very accurate mathematical approximations to more easily calculate with direct proportions, back and forth between the angular separation observed in an optic, linear subtension on target, and range. In such applications it is useful to use a unit for target size that is a thousandth of the unit for range, for instance by using the metric units millimeters for target size and meters for range. This coincides with the definition of the milliradian where the arc length is defined as of the radius. A common adjustment value in firearm sights is 1 cm at 100 meters which equals =  mrad.


title: Milliradian

text: The true definition of a milliradian is based on a unit circle with a radius of one and an arc divided into 1,000 mrad per radian, hence 2,000 π or approximately 6,283.185 milliradians in one turn, and rifle scope adjustments and reticles are calibrated to this definition. There are also other definitions used for land mapping and artillery which are rounded to more easily be divided into smaller parts for use with compasses, which are then often referred to as "mils", "lines", or similar. For instance there are artillery sights and compasses with 6,400 NATO mils, 6,000 Warsaw Pact mils or 6,300 Swedish "streck" per turn instead of 360° or 2π radians, achieving higher resolution than a 360° compass while also being easier to divide into parts than if true milliradians were used.


title: Milliradian

text: The milliradian (approximately 6,283.185 in a circle) was first used in the mid-19th century by Charles-Marc Dapples (1837–1920), a Swiss engineer and professor at the University of Lausanne. Degrees and minutes were the usual units of angular measurement but others were being proposed, with "grads" (400 gradians in a circle) under various names having considerable popularity in much of northern Europe. However, Imperial Russia used a different approach, dividing a circle into equilateral triangles (60° per triangle, 6 triangles in a circle) and hence 600 units to a circle.


title: Milliradian

text: Around the time of the start of World War I, France was experimenting with the use of millièmes or angular mils (6400 in a circle) for use with artillery sights instead of decigrades (4000 in a circle). The United Kingdom was also trialing them to replace degrees and minutes. They were adopted by France although decigrades also remained in use throughout World War I. Other nations also used decigrades. The United States, which copied many French artillery practices, adopted angular mils, later known as NATO mils. Before 2007 the Swedish defence forces used "streck" (6300 in a circle, streck meaning lines or marks) (together with degrees for some navigation) which is closer to the milliradian but then changed to NATO mils. After the Bolshevik Revolution and the adoption of the metric system of measurement (e.g. artillery replaced "units of base" with meters) the Red Army expanded the 600 unit circle into a 6000 mil circle. Hence the Russian mil has a somewhat different origin than those derived from French artillery practices.


title: Milliradian

text: In the 1950s, NATO adopted metric units of measurement for land and general use. NATO mils, meters, and kilograms became standard, although degrees remained in use for naval and air purposes, reflecting civil practices.


title: Milliradian

text: Use of the milliradian is practical because it is concerned with small angles, and when using radians the small angle approximation shows that the angle approximates to the sine of the angle, that is formula_1. This allows a user to dispense with trigonometry and use simple ratios to determine size and distance with high accuracy for rifle and short distance artillery calculations by using the handy property of subtension: "One mrad approximately subtends one meter at a distance of one thousand meters".


title: Milliradian

text: More in detail, because formula_2, instead of finding the angular distance denoted by θ (Greek letter theta) by using the tangent function


title: Milliradian

text: one can instead make a good approximation by using the definition of a radian and the simplified formula:


title: Milliradian

text: Since a radian is mathematically defined as the angle formed when the length of a circular arc equals the radius of the circle, a milliradian, is the angle formed when the length of a circular arc equals of the radius of the circle. Just like the radian, the milliradian is dimensionless, but unlike the radian where the same unit must be used for radius and arc length, the milliradian needs to have a ratio between the units where the subtension is a thousandth of the radius when using the simplified formula.


title: Milliradian

text: The approximation error by using the simplified linear formula will increase as the angle increases. For example, a


title: Milliradian

text: The approximation using mrad is more precise than using another common system where 1′ (minute of arc) is approximated as 1 inch at 100 yards, where comparably there is a:


title: Milliradian

text: Milliradian adjustment is commonly used as a unit for clicks in the mechanical adjustment knobs (turrets) of iron and scope sights both in the military and civilian shooting sports. New shooters are often explained the principle of subtensions in order to understand that a milliradian is an angular measurement. "Subtension" is the physical amount of space covered by an angle and varies with distance. Thus, the subtension corresponding to a mrad (either in an mrad reticle or in mrad adjustments) varies with range. Knowing subtensions at different ranges can be useful for sighting in a firearm if there is no optic with an mrad reticle available, but involves mathematical calculations, and is therefore not used very much in practical applications. Subtensions always change with distance, but an mrad (as observed through an optic) is always an mrad regardless of distance. Therefore, ballistic tables and shot corrections are given in mrads, thereby avoiding the need for mathematical calculations.


title: Milliradian

text: If a rifle scope has mrad markings in the reticle (or there is a spotting scope with an mrad reticle available), the reticle can be used to measure how many mrads to correct a shot even without knowing the shooting distance. For instance, assuming a precise shot fired by an experienced shooter missed the target by 0.8 mrad as seen through an optic, and the firearm sight has 0.1 mrad adjustments, the shooter must then dial 8 clicks on the scope to hit the same target under the same conditions.


title: Milliradian

text: Subtension refers to the length between two points on a target, and is usually given in either centimeters, millimeters or inches. Since an mrad is an angular measurement, the subtension covered by a given angle (angular distance or angular diameter) increases with viewing distance to the target. For instance the same angle of 0.1 mrad will subtend 10 mm at 100 meters, 20 mm at 200 meters, etc., or similarly 0.39 inches at 100 m, 0.78 inches at 200 m, etc.


title: Milliradian

text: Subtensions in mrad based optics are particularly useful together with target sizes and shooting distances in metric units. The most common scope adjustment increment in mrad based rifle scopes is 0.1 mrad, which are sometimes called "one centimeter clicks" since 0.1 mrad equals exactly 1 cm at 100 meters, 2 cm at 200 meters, etc. Similarly, an adjustment click on a scope with 0.2 mrad adjustment will move the point of bullet impact 2 cm at 100 m and 4 cm at 200 m, etc.


title: Milliradian

text: When using a scope with both mrad adjustment and a reticle with mrad markings (called a mrad/mrad scope), the shooter can spot his own bullet impact and easily correct the sight if needed. If the shot was a miss, the mrad reticle can simply be used as a "ruler" to count the number of mrads the shot was off target. The number of mrads to correct is then multiplied by ten if the scope has 0.1 mrad adjustments. If for instance the shot was 0.6 mrad to the right of the target, 6 clicks will be needed to adjust the sight. This way there is no need for math, conversions, knowledge of target size or distance. This is true for a first focal plane scope at all magnifications, but a variable second focal plane must be set to a given magnification (usually its maximum magnification) for any mrad scales to be correct.


title: Milliradian

text: When using a scope with mrad adjustments, but without mrad markings in the reticle (i.e. a standard duplex cross-hair on a hunting or benchrest scope), sight correction for a known target subtension and known range can be calculated by the following formula, which utilizes the fact that an adjustment of 1 mrad changes the impact as many millimeters as there are meters:


title: Milliradian

text: In firearm optics, where 0.1 mrad per click is the most common mrad based adjustment value, another common rule of thumb is that:


title: Milliradian

text: The horizontal and vertical adjustment range of a firearm sight is often advertised by the manufacturer using mrads. For instance a rifle scope may be advertised as having a vertical adjustment range of 20 mrad, which means that by turning the turret the bullet impact can be moved a total of 20 meters at 1000 meters (or 2 m at 100 m, 4 m at 200 m, 6 m at 300 m etc.). The horizontal and vertical adjustment ranges can be different for a particular sight, for instance a scope may have 20 mrad vertical and 10 mrad horizontal adjustment. Elevation differ between models, but about 10–11 mrad are common in hunting scopes, while scopes made for long range shooting usually have an adjustment range of 20–30 mrad (70–100 moa).


title: Milliradian

text: Sights can either be mounted in neutral or tilted mounts. In a neutral mount (also known as "flat base" or non-tilted mount) the sight will point reasonably parallel to the barrel, and be close to a zero at 100 meters (about 1 mrad low depending on rifle and caliber). After zeroing at 100 meters the sight will thereafter always have to be adjusted upwards to compensate for bullet drop at longer ranges, and therefore the adjustment below zero will never be used. This means that when using a neutral mount only about half of the scope's total elevation will be usable for shooting at longer ranges:


title: Milliradian

text: In most regular sport and hunting rifles (except for in long range shooting), sights are usually mounted in neutral mounts. This is done because the optical quality of the scope is best in the middle of its adjustment range, and only being able to use half of the adjustment range to compensate for bullet drop is seldom a problem at short and medium range shooting.


title: Milliradian

text: However, in long range shooting tilted scope mounts are common since it is very important to have enough vertical adjustment to compensate for the bullet drop at longer distances. For this purpose scope mounts are sold with varying degrees of tilt, but some common values are:


title: Milliradian

text: The adjustment range needed to shoot at a certain distance varies with firearm, caliber and load. For example, with a certain .308 load and firearm combination, the bullet may drop 13 mrad at 1000 meters (13 meters). To be able to reach out, one could either:


title: Milliradian

text: A shot grouping is the spread of multiple shots on a target, taken in one shooting session. The group size on target in milliradians can be obtained


title: Milliradian

text: by measuring the spread of the rounds on target in millimeters with a caliper and dividing by the shooting distance in meters. This way, using milliradians, one can easily compare shot groupings or target difficulties at different shooting distances.


title: Milliradian

text: If the firearm is attached in a fixed mount and aimed at a target, the shot grouping measures the firearm's mechanical precision and the uniformity of the ammunition. When the firearm also is held by a shooter, the shot grouping partly measures the precision of the firearm and ammunition, and partly the shooter's consistency and skill. Often the shooters' skill is the most important element towards achieving a tight shot grouping, especially when competitors are using the same match grade firearms and ammunition.


title: Milliradian

text: Many telescopic sights used on rifles have reticles that are marked in mrad. This can either be accomplished with lines or dots, and the latter is generally called mil-dots. The mrad reticle serves two purposes, range estimation and trajectory correction.


title: Milliradian

text: With a mrad reticle-equipped scope the distance to an object can be estimated with a fair degree of accuracy by a trained user by determining how many milliradians an object of known size subtends. Once the distance is known, the drop of the bullet at that range (see external ballistics), converted back into milliradians, can be used to adjust the aiming point. Generally mrad-reticle scopes have both horizontal and vertical crosshairs marked; the horizontal and vertical marks are used for range estimation and the vertical marks for bullet drop compensation. Trained users, however, can also use the horizontal dots to compensate for bullet drift due to wind. Milliradian-reticle-equipped scopes are well suited for long shots under uncertain conditions, such as those encountered by military and law enforcement snipers, varmint hunters and other field shooters. These riflemen must be able to aim at varying targets at unknown (sometimes long) distances, so accurate compensation for bullet drop is required.


title: Milliradian

text: Angle can be used for either calculating target size or range if one of them is known. Where the range is known the angle will give the size, where the size is known then the range is given. When out in the field angle can be measured approximately by using calibrated optics or roughly using one's fingers and hands. With an outstretched arm one finger is approximately 30 mrad wide, a fist 150 mrad and a spread hand 300 mrad.


title: Milliradian

text: Milliradian reticles often have dots or marks with a spacing of 1 mrad in between, but graduations can also be finer and coarser (i.e. 0.8 or 1.2 mrad).


title: Milliradian

text: While a radian is defined as an angle on the unit circle where the arc and radius have equal length, a milliradian is defined as the angle where the arc length is one thousandth of the radius. Therefore, when using milliradians for range estimation, the unit used for target distance needs to be thousand times as large as the unit used for target size. Metric units are particularly useful in conjunction with a mrad reticle because the mental arithmetic is much simpler with decimal units, thereby requiring less mental calculation in the field. Using the range estimation formula with the units meters for range and millimeters for target size it is just a matter of moving decimals and do the division, without the need of multiplication with additional constants, thus producing fewer rounding errors.


title: Milliradian

text: Also, in general the same unit can be used for subtension and range if multiplied with a factor of thousand, i.e.


title: Milliradian

text: If using the imperial units yards for distance and inches for target size, one has to multiply by a factor of ≈ 27.78, since there are 36 inches in one yard.


title: Milliradian

text: If using the metric unit meters for distance and the imperial unit inches for target size, one has to multiply by a factor of 25.4, since one inch is defined as 25.4 millimeters.


title: Milliradian

text: Land Rovers are about 3 to 4 m long, "smaller tank" or APC/MICV at about 6 m (e.g. T-34 or BMP) and about 10 m for a "big tank." From the front a Land Rover is about 1.5 m wide, most tanks around 3–3.5 m. So a SWB Land Rover from the side is one finger wide at about 100 m. A modern tank would have to be at a bit over 300 m.


title: Milliradian

text: If, for instance a target known to be 1.5 m in height (1500 mm) is measured to 2.8 mrad in the reticle, the range can be estimated to:


title: Milliradian

text: So if the above-mentioned 6 m long BMP (6000 mm) is viewed at 6 mrad its distance is 1000 m, and if the angle of view is twice as large (12 mrad) the distance is half as much, 500 m.


title: Milliradian

text: When used with some riflescopes of variable objective magnification and fixed reticle magnification (where the reticle is in the second focal plane), the formula can be modified to:


title: Milliradian

text: Where mag is scope magnification. However, a user should verify this with their individual scope since some are not calibrated at 10× . As above target distance and target size can be given in any two units of length with a ratio of 1000:1.


title: Milliradian

text: It is possible to purchase rifle scopes with a mrad reticle and minute-of-arc turrets, but it is general consensus that such mixing should be avoided. It is preferred to either have both a mrad reticle and mrad adjustment (mrad/mrad), or a minute-of-arc reticle and minute-of-arc adjustment to utilize the strength of each system. Then the shooter can know exactly how many clicks to correct based on what he sees in the reticle.


title: Milliradian

text: If using a mixed system scope that has a mrad reticle and arcminute adjustment, one way to make use of the reticle for shot corrections is to exploit that 14′ approximately equals 4 mrad, and thereby multiplying an observed corrections in mrad by a fraction of when adjusting the turrets.


title: Milliradian

text: In the table below conversions from mrad to metric values are exact (e.g. 0.1 mrad equals exactly 1 cm at 100 meters), while conversions of minutes of arc to both metric and imperial values are approximate.


title: Milliradian

text: Because of the definition of pi, in a circle with a diameter of one there are 2000  milliradians () per full turn. In other words, one real milliradian covers just under of the circumference of a circle, which is the definition used by telescopic rifle sight manufacturers in reticles for stadiametric rangefinding.


title: Milliradian

text: For maps and artillery, three rounded definitions are used which are close to the real definition, but more easily can be divided into parts. The different map and artillery definitions are sometimes referred to as "angular mils", and are:


title: Milliradian

text: Reticles in some artillery sights are calibrated to the relevant artillery definition for that military, i.e. the Carl Zeiss OEM-2 artillery sight made in East Germany from 1969 to 1976 is calibrated for the eastern bloc 6000 mil circle.


title: Milliradian

text: Artillery uses angular measurement in gun laying, the azimuth between the gun and its target many kilometers away and the elevation angle of the barrel. This means that artillery uses mils to graduate indirect fire azimuth sights (called "dial sights" or "panoramic telescopes"), their associated instruments ("directors" or "aiming circles"), their elevation sights (clinometers or quadrants), together with their manual plotting devices, firing tables and fire control computers.


title: Milliradian

text: Artillery spotters typically use their calibrated binoculars to move fired projectiles' impact onto a target. Here they know the approximate range to the target and so can read off the angle (+ quick calculation) to give the left/right corrections in meters. A mil is a meter at a range of one thousand meters (for example, to move the impact of an artillery round 100 meters by a gun firing from 3 km away, it is necessary to shift the direction by 100/3 = 33.3 mils.)


title: Milliradian

text: The milliradian (and other SI multiples) is also used in other fields of science and technology for describing small angles, i.e. measuring alignment, collimation, and beam divergence in optics, and accelerometers and gyroscopes in inertial navigation systems.


title: Abby Steiner

text: Abigail Kathryn Steiner (born November 24, 1999) is an American track and field sprinter. She holds personal records of 10.90 seconds over 100 m and 21.77 seconds over 200 m.


title: Abby Steiner

text: Steiner holds both the women's indoor 200 m American record (22.09 seconds) and women's outdoor 200 m NCAA record (21.80 seconds).


title: Abby Steiner

text: Steiner grew up in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio, concentrating mainly on soccer, only starting to run track in the eighth grade. She starred in both sports at Dublin Coffman High School. Though sidelined for most of a year by a torn ACL, she was an all-state soccer player while setting four state high school records and winning 16 state individual championships in track. Steiner was a dual-sport scholarship athlete at the University of Kentucky (UK), starting her college career in 2018 as both a soccer player and track athlete.


title: Abby Steiner

text: After a freshman soccer season in 2018 in which she started all 19 games for UK, scoring two goals and recording five assists, Steiner left soccer to concentrate on track full-time. In a 2022 interview for the "Lexington Herald-Leader", the daily newspaper of UK's home city of Lexington, Steiner cited this decision as a key to her track development:


title: Abby Steiner

text: In 2022, Steiner was named the recipient of the track and field version of the Honda Sports Award, presented annually to the most outstanding college athlete in each of 12 NCAA Division I women's sports. She also received the 2022 Southeastern Conference scholar-athlete of the year awards for both indoor and outdoor women's track. Steiner graduated from UK with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and exercise science (an academic program housed in the UK College of Education) in May 2022. She has been accepted to UK's physical therapy program, but is deferring her enrollment to concentrate on her professional track career.


title: Abby Steiner

text: On December 15, 2022, Steiner was awarded the Bowerman Award, the annual award for the top female collegiate track and field athlete.


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: John Pyper-Ferguson (born February 27, 1964) is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in a wide range of films and television shows. His notable works include playing Sonny Hamilton on "Hamilton's Quest", Peter Hutter on "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.", and Joe Whedon on "Brothers & Sisters". He also portrayed Tomas Vergis on the science fiction drama television series "Caprica", Tex on the TNT television series "The Last Ship", James Kendrick on Burn Notice and as Jack Soloff on USA Network's television series "Suits".


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: John Pyper-Ferguson was born in Mordialloc, Australia, the son of 1948 and 1952 Canadian Olympic swimmer Kathleen McNamee and Canadian "Miracle Mile" runner Richard Ferguson. After a brief period in his birth place, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where he was raised by his parents. He went to high school at Handsworth Secondary School, and later graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance.


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: Pyper-Ferguson began his acting career on the prime time drama "Hamilton's Quest" (1986) as Sonny Hamilton. This brought about Hollywood film roles in movies such as "" (1987), "Pin" (1988), "Ski School" (1990), "Bird on a Wire" (1990), "Stay Tuned" (1992), a brief appearance in "Unforgiven" (1992), and "Killer Image" (1992).


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: He concurrently continued his television career with several guest appearances, including shows like "Night Heat" (1987), "21 Jump Street" (1990) as Joshua, "Bordertown" (1990–1991) as August Fox and Lonny Gibbons, "Neon Rider" (1990–1991) as Zak and Det. Miller, "MacGyver" (1991), "" (1992), and "Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993).


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: From 1993 to 1994, John played a recurring character on "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." as Pete Hutter. A significant moment in his career was his portrayal of Brian Cullen on "" (1994), for which he earned a Gemini Award-nomination, Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role Dramatic Series.


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: Subsequent television guest roles consist of his appearances on "Children of the Dust" (1995), "Legend". (1995), "Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years" (1995), recurrences on "The X-Files" (1995–1997) as Paul and Det. John Kresge, "Nash Bridges" (1996–1998) as Zack Spears, and "The Outer Limits" (1996) as Brian Chason (Episode: "Falling Star"). His other credits include "The Sentinel" (1997), "Millennium" (1997–1998) as Jim Gilroy, Jake Waterston and Ben Fisher, "" (1997–1998), "" (1998–1999), "Harsh Realm" (1999), and finally "Jack & Jill" (1999) as Kevin (Episode: "Pseudos, Sex and Sidebars").


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: Filling out the rest of the decade, he appears in several feature films like "Frank & Jesse" (1995) as Clell Miller, "Hard Core Logo" (1996), "For Richer or Poorer" (1997), "Drive" (1998), and "I'll Take You There" (1999).


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: He started appearing on the television series "Arli$$" (2000), "ER" (2000), "" (2000–2010) as Husband and Dr. William Byrne, a recurring role on "The Huntress" (2000–2001) as Jake Blumenthal, "The Outer Limits" (2001) as Dr. Kenneth Vaughn (Episode: "Mind Reacher"), "Jack & Jill" (2000–2001) as Kevin (Episodes: "When You Wish Upon a Car", "Starstruck", and "California Dreamin'"), "The Guardian" (2001), "24" (2003), a recurring role as Gabriel Sims on "Jeremiah" (2003–2004), "Smallville" (2005), "" (2005), "Into the West" (2005) as Josiah Bell, "The Closer" (2005), and "Night Stalker" (2005–2006) as Agent Bernard Fain.


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: In 2006, John Pyper-Ferguson joined the main cast of "Brothers & Sisters" as a series regular, playing the character Joe Whedon.


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: From 2007 to 2011, his television credits are "Everest" (2007) as Roger Marshall, "Cane" (2007) as Hudson, "The L Word" (2008), "Cold Case" (2008) as Pete Doyle, "Fear Itself" (2008) as Rowdy Edlund, "" (2009), "Bones" (2009), "Mental" (2009), "Lie to Me" (2009), "Flashpoint" (2009), "Criminal Minds" (2010), "Lost" (2010), "White Collar" (2010), "Dark Blue" (2010), "Castle" (2010), "Hellcats" (2011), "Alphas" (2011), and a performance on the science fiction series "Fringe" (2011), as two alternate versions of the character named John McClennan.


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: His film career moved on to notable movies like "Pearl Harbor" (2001), "Black Dawn" (2005), "She's the Man" (2006), "" (2006), "Tekken" (2009), "" (2010), "A Night for Dying Tigers" (2010), "Conviction" (2010), "Born to Race" (2011), and "Drive" (2011).


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: From 2005 to 2013, Pyper-Ferguson was cast in an abundance of TV shows set in the reimagined "BSG" universe. On the space opera thriller series "Battlestar Galactica" (2005–2006) he played Captain Cole "Stinger" Taylor. On its science fiction drama prequel "Caprica" (2010), he portrayed Tomas Vergis, the Tauron billionaire and adversary of Daniel Graystone, with whom he—on multiple occasions—goes head-to-head. He played Xander Toth in the military science fiction television pilot entitled "".


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: In 2014, Pyper-Ferguson began appearing as Tex, a special forces soldier, during the first season of the TNT drama "The Last Ship"; in the second season, he was upped to the regular cast on the show. However, his character was killed off at the end of season three though he reprised the role briefly in the series finale. In 2015, he appeared as Jack Soloff, a recurring character on the USA Network drama "Suits".


title: John Pyper-Ferguson

text: In 2017, he appeared as a guest in season four of "The 100" as Bill Cadogan, the leader of the Second Dawn doomsday cult. In season seven, he reprised the role as a recurring character.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Sranan Tongo (also Sranantongo "Surinamese tongue," Sranan, Surinaams, Surinamese, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a "lingua franca" by approximately 550,000 people in Suriname.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Developed originally among slaves from West Africa and English colonists, its use as a "lingua franca" expanded after the Dutch took over the colony in 1667, and 85% of the vocabulary comes from English and Dutch. It also became the common language among the indigenous peoples and the indentured laborers imported by the Dutch; these groups included speakers of Javanese, Sarnami Hindustani, Saramaccan, and varieties of Chinese.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: The Sranan Tongo words for "to know" and "small children" are and (respectively derived from Portuguese and ). The Portuguese were the first European explorers of the West African coast. A trading pidgin language developed between them and Africans, and later explorers, including the English, also used this creole.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Based on its lexicon, Sranan Tongo has been found to have developed originally as an English-based creole language, because of the early influence of English colonists here in what was then part of English colony of Guiana, who imported numerous Africans as slaves for the plantations. After the Dutch takeover in 1667 (in exchange for ceding the North American eastern seaboard colony of New Netherland to the English), a substantial overlay of words were adopted from the Dutch language.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: and Dutch vocabulary (85%), plus some vocabulary from Spanish, Portuguese and West African languages. It began as a pidgin spoken primarily by enslaved Africans from various tribes in Suriname, who often did not have an African language in common. Sranan Tongo also became the language of communication between the slaves. So the slave owners could not understand the slaves, the slaves would often make escaping plans in Sranan Tongo. Under Dutch rule, the slaves were not permitted to learn or speak Dutch. As other ethnic groups, such as East Indians and Chinese, were brought to Suriname as indentured workers, Sranan Tongo became a "lingua franca".


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Until the middle of the 20th century, most written texts in Sranan, seen at the time as a low-prestige language, used a spelling that was not standardized but based on Dutch orthography, recording an approximation of how Sranan words sound to Dutch ears. In view of the considerable differences between the phonologies of Sranan and Dutch, this was not a satisfactory situation.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: With the emergence of a movement striving for the emancipation of Sranan as a respectable language, the need for a phonology-based orthography was felt. A more suitable orthography developed as an informal consensus from the publications of linguists studying Sranan and related creoles. For every-day use, the Dutch-based spelling remained common, while some literary authors adopted (variants of) the linguistic spelling.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: To end this situation, the Surinamese government commissioned a committee of linguists and writers to define a standard spelling, which was adopted and came into force in 1986. This standard basically followed the linguistic consensus. However, as the language is not taught in schools, while Dutch is, many speakers are not clearly aware of the principles on which this spelling is based and keep using a Dutchish, variant spelling.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Although the formal Dutch-based educational system repressed the use of Sranan Tongo, in the past pejoratively dismissed as "Taki Taki" (literally meaning "talk talk" or "say say"), it gradually became more accepted by the establishment and wider society to speak it. During the 1980s, this language was popularized by publicly known speakers, including president Dési Bouterse, who often delivered national speeches in Sranan Tongo.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Sranan Tongo remains widely used in Suriname and in Dutch urban areas populated by immigrants from Suriname. They especially use it in casual conversation, often freely mixing it with Dutch. Written code-switching between Sranan Tongo and Dutch is also common in computer-mediated communication.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: People often greet each other in Sranan Tongo by saying, for example, (how are you), instead of the more formal Dutch (how is it going).


title: Sranan Tongo

text: In 2021, Sranan Tongo appeared for the first time in the Eurovision Song Contest in Jeangu Macrooy's song, "Birth of a New Age".


title: Sranan Tongo

text: As a written language, Sranan Tongo has existed since the late 18th century. The first publication in Sranan Tongo was in 1783 by Hendrik Schouten who wrote a part Dutch, part Sranan Tongo poem, called "Een huishoudelijke twist" ("A Domestic Tiff"). The first important book was published in 1864 by Johannes King, and relates to his travels to Drietabbetje for the Moravian Church.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Early writers often used their own spelling system. An official orthography was adopted by the government of Suriname on July 15, 1986, in Resolution 4501. A few writers have used Sranan in their work, most notably the poet Henri Frans de Ziel ("Trefossa"), who also wrote "God zij met ons Suriname", Suriname's national anthem, whose second verse is sung in Sranan Tongo.


title: Sranan Tongo

text: Other notable writers in Sranan Tongo are Eugène Drenthe, André Pakosie, Celestine Raalte, Michaël Slory, and Bea Vianen.


title: 1992–93 NBA season

text: The 1992–93 NBA season was the 47th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.


title: 1992–93 NBA season

text: Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.


title: Belita Moreno

text: Aurabela "Belita" Moreno (born November 1, 1949) is an American actress best known for her roles as Benita "Benny" Lopez on the ABC sitcom "George Lopez" and Edwina Twinkacetti and Lydia Markham on "Perfect Strangers".


title: Belita Moreno

text: Aurabela Moreno was born in Dallas, Texas, to mother, Aurora Rodriguez, a high school Spanish teacher, and father, Abel Moreno, a World War II veteran. Moreno graduated from Justin F. Kimball High School, and went on to major in Theatre at Southern Methodist University. She continued her acting studies at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, California, where she appeared in the musical "Once Upon a Mattress". Moreno is married to Joel Rudnick, a talent agent. The couple have two children.


title: Belita Moreno

text: Soon after Moreno arrived in Hollywood, California, to pursue her acting career, she met director Robert Altman, and landed roles in three of his films: "3 Women, A Wedding", and "A Perfect Couple". She appeared in many other films, including "Mommie Dearest, Swing Shift, Oh, God! You Devil, Nobody's Fool, Men Don't Leave, Clear and Present Danger" and "Grosse Pointe Blank".


title: Belita Moreno

text: Moreno was a regular on the long-running ABC sitcom "Perfect Strangers" from 1986 to 1992. Her work on television includes appearances in television movies, such as "Crazy From the Heart" and "Death Benefit", the miniseries "Tales of the City", and in numerous sitcoms and dramatic series, including "The Golden Girls, Family Ties, Valerie" and "Melrose Place". Moreno played Benny Lopez, George Lopez's mother, on "George Lopez" (2002–07).


title: Belita Moreno

text: During the 1980s, Moreno was a favorite of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley. Moreno performed in at least four premieres of Henley's plays. Henley created several roles specifically for Moreno: "Popeye" in "The Miss Firecracker Contest", some dialogue of which was based on a true story told to the playwright by Moreno, and "Lacey Rollins" in the two-act play "The Lucky Spot". Moreno performed in "Firecracker" at the Victory Theater in Burbank, California in 1980, and in "Lucky Spot" off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1987.


title: Belita Moreno

text: Moreno also appeared in Henley's 1982 Broadway premiere at the Eugene O'Neill Theater of "The Wake of Jamey Foster" as "Katty Foster", directed by Ulu Grosbard, and in the 1989 world premiere of "Abundance", as "Macon" at the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California.


title: Belita Moreno

text: Since the early 1990s, Moreno has served as an acting coach and advisor on numerous films, such as "Jerry Maguire, Rush Hour 2, Almost Famous, Parent Trap, The Family Man, Crossroads" and "17 Again". She also appeared on "Wizards of Waverly Place" on Disney and "Fairly Legal" on USA Network.


title: Chota Char Dham

text: The Chota Char Dham (literally translated as 'the small four abodes/seats', meaning 'the small circuit of four abodes/seats'), is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand, in the Indian Himalayas. Located in the Garhwal region of the state of Uttarakhand, the circuit consists of four sites—Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. Badrinath is also one of the four destinations (with each destination being in different corners of the country) of the longer Char Dham from which the Chota Char Dham likely draws its name.


title: Chota Char Dham

text: Akshaya Tritiya (April or May in the Gregorian calendar) marks the beginning of the Chota Char Dham Yatra and closes 2 days after Diwali, on the day of Bhai-Bij (or Bhai Dooj) In May and June, tourists flock in large numbers, due to heavy rainfall greater chances of roadblocks/landslides in late July and August (Monsoon season).


title: Chota Char Dham

text: The Annual "Chota Char Dham Yatra" resumed in May 2014, after remaining suspended since the outbreak of 2013 Uttarakhand floods. The footfall has now improved due to proactive measures taken by the government of Uttarakhand.


title: Chota Char Dham

text: A record breaking, 41 lakh pilgrims visited Chota Char dham this year (2022). Over 14 lakh pilgrims have already visited Kedarnath, over 6 lakh have visited Gangotri, and over 5 lakh have visited Yamunotri. Around 15 lakh pilgrims have already visited Badrinath this year.


title: Chota Char Dham

text: Originally, the appellation Char Dham referred to a pilgrimage circuit encompassing four important temples—Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Badrinath—located roughly at the four cardinal points of the subcontinent. An archetypal All-India pilgrimage circuit, the formation of the original Char Dham is credited to the great 8th century reformer and philosopher Shankaracharya (Adi Sankara). In the original Char Dham, three of the four sites are Vaishnava (Puri, Dwarka and Badrinath) while one is Shaiva (Rameswaram). The Chota Char Dham included representatives from all three major Hindu sectarian traditions, with two Shakti (goddess) sites, (Yamunotri and Gangotri), one Shaiva site (Kedarnath), and one Vaishnava site (Badrinath).


title: Chota Char Dham

text: Accessible until the 1950s only by arduous and lengthy walking trails in hilly area with height repeatedly exceeded 4000 meters, the Chota Char Dham was regularly done by wandering ascetics and other religious people, and those who could afford a traveling entourage. While the individual sites and the circuit as a whole were well known to Hindus on the plains below, they were not a particularly visible aspect of yearly religious culture. After the 1962 war between India and China, accessibility to the Chota Char Dham improved, as India undertook massive road building to border area and other infrastructure investments. As pilgrims were able to travel in mini buses, jeeps and cars to nearest points of four shrines, the Chota Char dham circuit was within the reach of people with middle income. Vehicles reach up to Badrinath temple and Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath are at a distance of 10 to 15 km from nearest motorable road.


title: Chota Char Dham

text: The Chota Char Dham has become an important destination for pilgrims from throughout South Asia and the diaspora. Today, the circuit receives hundreds of thousands of visitors in an average pilgrimage season, which lasts from approximately 15 April until Diwali (sometime in November). The season is heaviest in the two-month period before the monsoon, which normally comes in late July. After the rains begin, travel to the sites becomes extremely dangerous. Even before the rains begin, safety is a major concern, as extensive road building and heavy traffic have critically destabilized the rocks, making fatal landslides and bus/jeep accidents a regular occurrence. Mortality rates for a season often surpass 200. Some pilgrims also visit the sites after the rains ends and before the sites become impassable due to snow. Although temperatures at the shrines in the early winter months of October and November are inhospitable, it is said that the mountain scenery surrounding the sites is most vivid after the rains have had a chance to moisten the dust of the plains below. The Chota Char Dham was washed away in the recent 2013 North India floods. One of the worst flash floods happened in June 2013 and it heavily devastated many parts of the Chota Char Dham, particularly the town of Kedarnath was almost destroyed and with only the Kedarnath Temple and a few buildings around remaining intact, albeit partially submerged by rocks and slurry.


title: Chota Char Dham

text: Chota Char Dham Railway project's 321 km long construction, costing INR432.92 billion (US$6.6 billion), commenced with "Final Location Survey" (FSL) by the government of India in May 2017.


title: Chota Char Dham

text: Access to the pilgrimage is either from Haridwar, or Rishikesh, or from Dehradun. The tradition is to visit the sites in the following order:


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Lee Sung-min (born January 1, 1986), known mononymously as Sungmin and also LIU, is a South Korean singer, song-writer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy band Super Junior and its sub-groups Super Junior-T, Super Junior-H and Super Junior-M.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Sungmin was born in the Ilsan district of Goyang, Gyeonggi. He has a younger brother, Lee Sung-jin. Sungmin's father Lee Chun-hwa, is the CEO of two companies: SendBill, which creates e-tax software, and Network Mania, an analytics company.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In 2001, he entered the "SM Youth Best Contest" and jointly won first place for the Best Outward Appearance award with future bandmate Donghae. Together, they signed a contract with SM Entertainment and received training in singing, dancing, and acting.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Sungmin was placed in a project R&B group with Junsu and future bandmate Eunhyuk. In 2002, along with Typhoon, Rose and Attack, the six of them made their first television appearance in a show called "Heejun vs. Kangta, Battle of the Century: Pop vs. Rock". Moon Hee-jun taught Typhoon, Rose and Attack on to sing rock while Sungmin, Xiah, and Eunhyuk were taught other singing techniques by Kangta. The six trainees separated a year later, then Typhoon, Rose, and Attack debuted as members of rock band TRAX. The trio separated when Junsu went on to debut as a member of TVXQ. Then Sungmin and Eunhyuk joined ten other trainees to form Super Junior 05, the first generation of rotational boy band Super Junior.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Sungmin debuted as part of 12-member rotational group "Super Junior 05" on 6 November 2005, on SBS' music programme "Inkigayo", performing their first single, "Twins (Knock Out)". Their debut album "SuperJunior05 (Twins)" was released a month later on December 5, 2005 and debuted at number three on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In March 2006, SM Entertainment began to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation. However, plans changed and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations. Following the addition of thirteenth member Kyuhyun, the group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially credited as Super Junior. The re-polished group's first CD single "U" was released on 7 June 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Sungmin guest starred in SBS' Banjun Theatre drama "Finding Lost Time" and played Yoochun's high school friend.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In February 2007, Sungmin was placed in sub-group trot-singing Super Junior-T. In July, Sungmin participated with fellow Super Junior members in "Attack on the Pin-Up Boys", a SM Pictures production. He played the role of a pretty school boy attacked by an unknown criminal. He replaced bandmate Kangin as one of the DJs at "Reckless Radio", with Girls' Generation members from June 2007 to July 2008.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In 2008, he became a member of sub-group Super Junior-H and participated in a short half-hour drama "Super Junior Unbelievable Story" with Leeteuk. Sungmin played himself, a member of Super Junior-T, who is constantly overshadowed by his members.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In 2009, he starred as male lead, Ro, in musical "Akilla" at the Hanjeon Art Center in Seoul from October 9 to November 8.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In 2010, Sungmin starred in the title role of musical "Hong Gil Dong", alongside group mate Yesung who also played the historical figure Hong Gildong. The musical ran at the Woori Financial Art Hall at the Olympic Park from February 18, 2010 for two months.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In October, Sungmin was one of 20 South Korean singers selected to record the theme song, "Let's Go", for the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. He provided vocals along with labelmates Seohyun, Jonghyun and Luna. In December, he starred in KBS drama "The President" as Jang Sungmin, the ambitious son of Jang Il Joon the president.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In January 2011, he was placed in Mandopop sub-group Super Junior-M, as one of two new members along with Eunhyuk. They spent the next few months promoting their third EP "Perfection" in Taiwan and China. In July and August, Sungmin performed as the male lead Daniel, rotating with Ahn Jae-wook, Um Ki-joon, and Lee Ji-hoon, in the musical "Jack the Ripper" at Chungmu Arts Hall.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In 2012, Sungmin took part in We Got Married's spin-off program with Sistar's Hyorin called "Pit-a-Pat Shake" to air as a Lunar Year special. Sungmin along with bandmate Ryeowook, took over "Super Junior's Kiss the Radio", when former DJs Leeteuk and Eunhyuk left due to their busy schedules. On 29 March 2012, Sungmin released his first solo digital single, "Oh Wa", the ending theme song for KBS sitcom, "We Need a Fairy".


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In September and October 2012, Sungmin reprised his role of Daniel, with Ahn Jae-wook, in the Korean musical "Jack the Ripper" and held its Japanese tour at Aoyama Theater in Tokyo, Japan.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: 2012 was considered a successful year of musicals for Sungmin due to his performance in "Jack the Ripper" musical, he was ranked by OBS’s Unique Entertainment News as the second most powerful musical idol of the year, after Kim Junsu, based on the number of tickets sold.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In June 2012, Sungmin reunited with his Super Junior bandmates for their sixth studio album, "Sexy, Free & Single" released on July 4. On June 25, his teaser photo was released showing a side-profile of Sungmin with a feminine look and long blond hair holding a large bouquet of baby’s breath flowers.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: On January 7, 2013, Super Junior-M released their second album, "Break Down", along with the music video for the lead single of the same name. A press conference took place in Beijing on January 7, and they would promote the album in China.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: On February 14, 2013 Super Junior's fifth World Tour: Super Show 5 was announced, along with eight active members, excluding Yesung from SS5 Seoul's last date, and Heechul made comeback in SS5 Manilla Sungmin participated in all Super Shows from March 23, 2013 to February 22, 2014. On December 14, 2013 it was announced that Sungmin would be participating in his new Musical "The Three Musketeers" after group member Kyuhyun's last appearance. He worked along with label mate Key from Shinee as the same character d'Artagnan. The first showings of The Three Musketeers ended on January 25, 2013 and returned in March 2014.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Sungmin continued participating in musicals, with a comeback in "Summer Snow" which was held in Taiwan for three consecutive days. Sungmin held a press conference on the same day as his Summer Snow Musical, which was on January 16, 2014.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: After one year and three months since their second album "Break Down", Super Junior-M released their third EP, "Swing" in China on March 21. Previously on March 18, 2014 Super Junior-M had unveiled the teaser image for the EP.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Sungmin returned to another showing of The Three Musketeers Musical just before comeback promotions for "Swing", which started on March 14 and ended on March 19.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In February 2014, Sungmin applied to enlist as a Seoul Metropolitan Police, which would make him enlist in August 2014 but he postponed his enlistment date due to his musicals and seventh album comeback plans. On July 1, 2014, it was announced that Sungmin would be acting as the main character in "Vampire" musical as Dracula. Due to former label-mate Junsu's musical "Dracula", the musical title Dracula was renamed to VAMPIRE, as the two musicals were under the same management, but with different plots and casts. On August 5, 2014, Super Junior World Tour Super Show 6 was announced to be held in Seoul on September 21, 2014, as its usual starting tour in Seoul.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Sungmin returned on the musical stage on August 10, 2014, and returned with a comeback as a Super Junior member between Aug–Oct 2014 with their seventh album "Mamacita".


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: Before beginning his mandatory military service on March 31, 2015, he continued to perform in Super Show 6 until the tour's stop in Macau in early March.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: After completing his military service and getting discharged at the end of 2016, Sungmin resumed his musical solo activities. In January 2017, it was announced that he had been cast in the musical "Boys Over Flowers" for his first comeback musical role. The musical was scheduled for showing from February 25 to May 7.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In March 2018, Sungmin released a solo ballad "Day Dream" as the 47th track of 'SM Station' project; this was his first solo track since 2012 with the release of "Oh Wa" as an original soundtrack for the Korean drama "I Need a Fairy."


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In January 2018, Lee Sungmin started his own YouTube channel under the SM label, and by February 2018 he took on the name Liu and named his channel Liu Studio. He does a variety of shows, from answering letters sent in by fans to advertising different products he discovers, vlogs, video games and composing music. In March 2018, he introduced his new composed group along with his friend Haeun called "MilkyWave". They have collaborated on several songs together: Toward the Moon, You are You, Seu~Reu~Reu (Zzz), and Make the Earth Move.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In November 2019, Sungmin made his debut with his first mini-album, "Orgel", meaning "Music box". The album and title song music video were released on November 22. All five tracks on the album were acoustic tracks. The mini ranked #1 in iTunes top album chart in 11 countries.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: In January 2020, Sungmin was featured in the title digital singer "As it is" released by Korean composer Lee Haeun, a song which he also took part in writing and composing.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: On September 24, 2014, Sungmin confirmed that he was dating actress Kim Sa-eun. They got married on December 13, 2014 in a private wedding.


title: Lee Sung-min (singer)

text: On March 31, 2015, Sungmin enlisted for his mandatory military service. He was discharged from his military duty on December 30, 2016 after serving 21 months of active duty at the 17th division in Incheon.


title: Etymology of California

text: Multiple theories regarding the origin of the name California, as well as the root language of the term, have been proposed, but most historians believe the name likely originated from a 16th-century novel, "Las Sergas de Esplandián". The novel, popular at the time of the Spanish exploration of Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula, describes a fictional island named "California", ruled by Queen Calafia, east of the Indies. The author of the novel, Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, also known as Ordóñez de Montalvo, is thought to have derived the term California from the Arabic "Khalif" and/or "Khalifa", but he might also have been influenced by the term "Califerne" in the 11th-century epic French poem "The Song of Roland".


title: Etymology of California

text: When Spanish explorers in the 16th century first encountered the Baja California Peninsula, west of the Sea of Cortez, they believed the peninsula to be an island similar to the island described in de Montalvo's novel. They named the land California. Initially, California applied only to Baja California Peninsula, but as Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland, the region known as California, or Las Californias, grew. Eventually it included not only the peninsula, but also the lands north of the peninsula, along the coast of today's U.S. state of California. Unlike the peninsula, this region was only practical to reach by sea voyages, and acquired a separate identity: Alta ("Upper") California, making the lower territory Baja ("Lower") California.


title: Etymology of California

text: Today, the name "California" is shared by many places throughout the world, but is most commonly associated with areas of the southwest United States, and northwest Mexico. When used alone, "California" generally refers to the U.S. state of California, but when paired with the term "baja", or "lower", it can refer to the Baja California Peninsula, or one of the Mexican states on the peninsula, Baja California, or Baja California Sur. Collectively, the U.S. and Mexican states constitute a region referred to as The Californias.


title: Etymology of California

text: In the early 16th-century romance novel "Las sergas de Esplandián" ("The" "Adventures" "of" "Esplandián"), "California" was the name of a mythical island populated only by black warrior women. The popular Spanish novel was printed in several editions, with the earliest surviving edition published about 1510. The author was Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, also known as Ordóñez de Montalvo. The novel described the Island of California as being east of the Indies, close to the Terrestrial Paradise, and ruled by Queen Calafia.


title: Etymology of California

text: For many years the de Montalvo novel languished in obscurity, with no connection between it and the naming of California. That changed in 1862 when Edward Everett Hale made such a connection. He presented his findings to the Antiquarian Society that year, and then laid out his findings, along with a portion of the original novel, in the March 1864 issue of the "Atlantic Monthly". Hale concluded that when Spanish explorers came upon the Baja California Peninsula, they named it California, after the fictional island in de Montalvo's book, because the explorers thought the peninsula was an island, east of the Indies, similar to the island described in de Montalvo's novel.


title: Etymology of California

text: "Know, then, that, on the right hand of the Indies, there is an island called California, very close to the side of the Terrestrial Paradise, and it was peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they lived in the fashion of Amazons. They were of strong and hardy bodies, of ardent courage and great force. Their island was the strongest in all the world, with its steep cliffs and rocky shores. Their arms were all of gold, and so was the harness of the wild beasts which they tamed and rode. For, in the whole island, there was no metal but gold."


title: Etymology of California

text: Hale supposed that in inventing the names, de Montalvo held in his mind the Spanish word , the term for a leader of an Islamic community. Hale's joint derivation of and was accepted by many, then questioned by a few scholars who sought further proof, and offered their own interpretations. George Davidson wrote in 1910 that Hale's theory was the best yet presented, but offered his own addition. In 1917, Ruth Putnam printed an exhaustive account of the work performed up to that time. She wrote that both and most likely came from the Arabic word which means steward, successor or leader. The same word in Spanish was , easily made into to stand for "land of the caliph" , or to stand for "female caliph" .


title: Etymology of California

text: Putnam discussed Davidson's 1910 theory based on the Greek word (meaning beautiful) but discounted it as exceedingly unlikely, a conclusion that Dora Beale Polk agreed with in 1995, calling the theory "far-fetched". Putnam also wrote that "The Song of Roland" held a passing mention of a place called , perhaps named thus because it was the caliph's domain, a place of infidel rebellion.


title: Etymology of California

text: Chapman elaborated on this connection in 1921: "There can be no question but that a learned man like Ordóñez de Montalvo was familiar with the  ...This derivation of the word 'California' can perhaps never be proved, but it is also plausible—and it may be added too interesting—to be overlooked." Polk characterized this theory as "imaginative speculation", adding that another scholar offered the "interestingly plausible" suggestion that Roland's "Califerne" is a corruption of the Persian , a mythological "mountain of Paradise" where griffins lived.


title: Etymology of California

text: The "Song of Roland" is an 11th-century Old French epic poem that describes the August 15, 778, defeat, and retreat, of Charlemagne's army by the Basque army at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees. On line 2924 of the poem, which is in verse number CCIX (209), the word "Califerne" is one of the lands mentioned, with no indication of its geographic location. It is, however, mentioned after a reference to "Affrike", or Africa.


title: Etymology of California

text: The word , from the "Song of Roland", may have served as an inspiration to Montalvo for the name "California", since both works contain a similar plot point; a battle between Christian and non-Christian armies. The author of the "Song of Roland", who is believed to be the Norman poet Turoldus, is thought to have derived from "caliph".


title: Etymology of California

text: Several alternate theories have been proposed as possible origins of the word "California", but they all have been dismissed, or at least determined by historians to be less compelling than the novel, "Las Sergas de Esplandián". Some of the most studied alternate theories include the following.


title: Etymology of California

text: This theory may explain why the circa 1650 map of the Island of California has the name as two words, "Cali Fornia."


title: Etymology of California

text: The word California may signify that it is a place that is hot in the manner of a lime kiln; both Spanish and Catalan have similar words taken from the Latin roots (lime) and (oven).


title: Etymology of California

text: Another suggested source is "kali forno", an indigenous phrase meaning "high mountains". However, the name "California" was printed in Montalvo's book before Spanish explorers spoke with Native Americans.


title: Etymology of California

text: Hernán Cortés is often credited with being the first to apply the name "California" to the Baja Peninsula, but researchers believe it was more likely one of the men he assigned to do some advance exploration of the South Sea. Diego de Becerra and Fortún Ximénez, under the direction of Cortés, landed near the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in 1533. They were the earliest explorers who would likely have applied the name California to the peninsula, thinking it was an island. Cortés did not reach the Baja peninsula until 1535, when he tried unsuccessfully to establish a colony that he named La Paz, under a royal charter granting him that land.


title: Etymology of California

text: It has also been suggested that Hernando de Alarcón, sent by the viceroy Mendoza—an enemy of Cortés—on a 1540 expedition to verify Cortés's discoveries, referred to the inhospitable lands as "California", and it was he who named the peninsula after the fabled island in "Las Sergas". There is no question about Hernando de Alarcón's use of the term, nor about his allusion to "Las Sergas", but there is question as to whether this is the first use of the name to refer to those lands and whether he intended the name as mockery. Alarcón provides a clear link from the literary, imaginary California to the real place, but his usage cannot be proven to be the actual origin, in that the name might predate him.


title: Etymology of California

text: Today the name "California" is applied to the Baja California Peninsula, the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortés), the U.S. State of California, and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur.


title: Antigonus I Monophthalmus

text: Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( , 'the One-Eyed'; 382 – 301 BC), son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian Greek nobleman, general, satrap, and king. During the first half of his life he served under Philip II; after Philip's death in 336 BC, he served Philip's son Alexander. He was a major figure in the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death in 323 BC, declaring himself king in 306 BC and establishing the Antigonid dynasty.


title: Antigonus I Monophthalmus

text: Not much is known about Antigonus' early career. He must have been an important figure in the Macedonian Army because when he emerges in historical sources he is in command of a large part of Alexander's army (Antigonus commanded Alexander's 7,000 allied Greek infantry). There is a story in Plutarch about an Antigonus who lost an eye at the Siege of Perinthos (340 BC) when he was struck by a catapult bolt. Since Antigonus was of the same age as Philip, and a nobleman, he almost certainly must have served during Philip's campaigns. He might even have served under Philip's brothers (Alexander II and Perdiccas III). His importance at Philip's court is shown by the friendships he established with Antipater and Eumenes; two of Philip's chief lieutenants.


title: Antigonus I Monophthalmus

text: In 334 BC, Antigonus served as the commander of the allied Greek infantry, a division of Alexander's invasion army of the Persian Empire. Alexander did not trust his Greek infantry and had left them behind when he marched to confront the Western Satraps; therefore Antigonus did not participate in the Battle of the Granicus. When Alexander marched east, he appointed Antigonus as satrap of Phrygia. As Satrap of Phrygia, Antigonus besieged a garrison of mercenaries (1,000 Carians and 100 Greeks) the Persians had left behind and after their surrender he enrolled them in his service allowing him to send his own Greek troops (1,500 mercenaries) to reinforce Alexander for the major battle that was about to be fought at Issus. After the Battle of Issus, he succeeded the Achaemenid satrap of Greater Phrygia, Atizyes, who had died during the battle. Antigonus successfully performed his primary responsibility: to defend Alexander's lines of supply and communication during the latter's extended campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Following Alexander's victory at Issus, part of the Persian army regrouped in Cappadocia and attempted to sever Alexander's lines of supply and communication running through the centre of Asia Minor; however, Antigonus defeated the Persian forces in three separate battles. After defeating the Persian counter-attack, Antigonus focused on conquering the rest of Phrygia and maintaining Alexander's lines of communication and supply.


title: Antigonus I Monophthalmus

text: At the division of the provinces (the so-called Partition of Babylon) after Alexander's death in 323 BC, Antigonus held authority over Phrygia, Lycaonia, Pamphylia, Lycia and western Pisidia confirmed by Perdiccas, the regent of the empire. However, he incurred the enmity of Perdiccas by refusing to assist Eumenes to obtain possession of the provinces allotted to him: Paphlagonia and Cappadocia. Leonnatus had left with his army for Greece, leaving Antigonus alone to deal with Cappadocia, a task he apparently could not or would not complete without additional aid. Perdiccas seems to have viewed this as a direct affront to his authority, and led the royal army to conquer the area. From there, Perdiccas turned west towards Phrygia as a provocation toward Antigonus, who escaped with his son Demetrius to Greece, where he obtained the favor of Antipater, the viceroy of Macedonia (321 BC), and Craterus, one of Alexander's top generals. During the First War of the Diadochi, he formed a coalition with Antipater, Craterus and Ptolemy. In 320 BC, Antigonus sailed to and secured Cyprus. The war ended in 320 BC, when Perdiccas was murdered by discontented officers (Seleucus and Antigenes) while unsuccessfully trying to invade Ptolemy's satrapy of Egypt.


title: Antigonus I Monophthalmus

text: With the death of Perdiccas in 321 BC, a new attempt at dividing the empire took place at Triparadisus. Antipater was made the new regent of the empire and Antigonus became Strategos of Asia. Antigonus was entrusted with the command of the war against the former members of the Perdiccan faction who had been condemned at Triparadisus.