Alphabet associations - I

[Nick Armstrong]

You're welcome mein Host

Phee-eeeew I thought you'd 'done a mercia' on me carefully and craftily constructed H in double quick time

Because something I said was unwittingly close to the answer? Or just my speedy response?

[amateur51]

Because something I said was unwittingly close to the answer? Or just my speedy response?

Your speedy response was what bothered me ;ok:

I'll be going out around 18:00 for the evening so press on, your AAers :bigrin: - no clue there either

[mercia]

An H linking lilac time; the death of King George; and a plentiful yuletide celebration

is that George V ?

[amateur51]

is that George V ?

Curses!

It is!

[mercia]

...... in which case I think I shall plump for Hindemith

Trauermusik on the death of George V ...... long story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauermusik

Opera, The Long Christmas Dinner [I like your clue]
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem for those we love ?

[amateur51]

...... in which case I think I shall plump for Hindemith

Trauermusik on the death of George V ...... long story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauermusik

Opera, The Long Christmas Dinner [I like your clue]
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem for those we love ?

Ah feel that mercian stiletto as it slides between the setter's ribs

100% correct my dear mercs and as fine a coleslaw as you'll find anywhere

Tempt us with an I, why don't you?

[Quarky]

Thanks Oddball for that explanation. I follow most of that, but for two things:

First, this: ... I don't follow how that works.

Second: what's the purpose of having a numerical - alphabetical code based on 16 - it just seems random to me, why not based on 13 or 19 or 34 or any other number for example?

OK Caliban.

Key to the exercise is binary code that is recognised by a computer. As I stated: Binary code always starts from 0, zero (http://php.about.com/od/programinggl.../qt/binary.htm). A computer recognises 0 as absence of an input voltage, 1 as presence of an input voltage.

It's slightly awkward that binary code is out of step with decimal, in that we start with number 1 in decimal, whereas we start with number 0 in binary. In decimal , when we get past 9, to get to the next number, we put 1 in the ten's column and start at 0 in the 1's column, thus: 10 -ten!
As stated in the link: The number one is represented as 1 in both base ten and binary, so let's move on to the number two. In base ten this is represented as a 2, however in binary we can only have a 0 or a 1 before moving on to the next column. The number 2 is written as 10. This means 1 in the 2s column and 0 in the 1s column. Let's take a look at the number three. Obviously in base ten it is written as 3. In base two (binary) it is written as 11. This means a 1 in the 2s column and a 1 in the 1s column. 2+1 = 3. When we get to 4, we have to put a 1 in the 4's column, and reset the 2's and 1's, thus:100 - four. five is 101, six, 110, seven 111. For eight we have to put a one in the eight's column - 1000. We then increment up to 15 - 1111 .
for 16, we put a 1 in the 16's column, for 32, we put a 1 in the 32's column, and so on and so on, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024....

Hex code is a code written simply for the convenience of a computer engineer, so that he can visualise the binary code more easily. So he groups together the binary numbers up to 15 -1111, in terms of a single symbol - 0 through 9 and A through F -So 15 is F, for sixteen we put a 1 in the 16's column, and reset the first column to 0, thus: 10! Seventeen is 11, up to 31 - 1F. For 32 we increment the 16's column - 20, 48 - 30, 64 - 40 . Gets tedious! for 160 - A0, 176- B0, 240 - F0. 241- F1, 249 - F9, 250 - FA, up to 255 -FF! 256 - 100.

An engineer can hold within his mind FF as representing 255, but he would have difficulty visualising binary 11111111.

See http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Hexadecimal.html

The code could in theory be written to a base 8 (111) with numbers e.g 0 -7, or base 32 (11111) , with numbers 0-9 and letters A-W (I think) - but it has to be to a number which is a power of 2, so as to correspond with the binary system, or else the code would not be aligned with the binary system. However the Computer world feels more comfortable looking at numbers to base 16, I feel.

Disclaimer - an eagle eyed computer programmer might spot a slight defect in my explanation, but the above is the full sense of it, IMV.

[mercia]

thanks oddball, that all makes perfect sense

perhaps I spoke too soon

meanwhile an I connecting


marble halls, nocturnes and a gladdening light

[amateur51]

perhaps I spoke too soon

meanwhile an I connecting


marble halls, nocturnes and a gladdening light

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls by Balfe who was Irish?

[mercia]

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls by Balfe who was Irish?

thought you were off out at 18:00 ?

[amateur51]

thought you were off out at 18:00 ?

I'm late!!

That's one of the choons that I learned to play on the joanner

[cloughie]

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls by Balfe who was Irish?

Nocturnes were invented by Field who was also Irish.

[cloughie]

Nocturnes were invented by Field who was also Irish.

Charles Wood was an Irish composer who wrote Gladdening Light.

[mercia]

jolly good [Hail, Gladdening Light]

three Irish composers

who's next ????

[Nick Armstrong]

Looks to me like it's between you and the cloughster...