Vickiepedia

The boss’ boss, or the boss’s boss? The bosses’ boss, or the bosses’s boss? Ah, I’m confused.

Back in the days when I first learnt it (12-13 years ago?), I was taught to always drop the S after an apostrophe whenever I made a noun ending in S possessive. So, from what I learnt, the boss’s boss and the bosses’s boss are not correct. I continued to do the supposedly right way for the next 12-3 years, obviously, correcting people who added the supposedly extra S after a noun ending in S whenever possible; until today. Somehow, I had doubts.

I went to my trusty 14-year-old Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (the older the dictionary the better, no?), and it told me that when the noun ending in S is singular, both ’ and ’s are acceptable. But when the noun is a plural ending in S, you only use the apostrophe without the S. Right, so the boss’ boss, the boss’s boss, and the bosses’ boss are all correct.

Then, I came across a few websites, that all seemed to suggest, rather confidently, that you always use ‘s when the noun is singular, and drop the S for possessive plurals ending in S. One even stated that the boss’ boss (converted to the example of my case) is incorrect.

Grrreat. Now which one should I stick to?

On a completely unrelated topic, I love The Boss. No, I don’t mean my boss. I mean The Boss. THE Boss. The end (no pun intended).

For various unapprehended ulterior motives, I have undertaken the encumbrance to replenish this memorandum with perspicacious dialect. Nevertheless, veritably, I have not an inkling as to what I am speculating. Perhaps to extirpate my quondam appellation of an extant procrastinator? Perchance, alternatively, to decamp the atrocious and nefarious hunk of Medical Engineering?

Despite the precedent affidavit, despite being necessitated to endure the perlustration befalling next Monday, I would recapitulate and substantiate that I have unequivocally luxuriated myself in the conspicuous scourge.

During the hardship, I have succored, and I have had countenance. Methinks that is what is momentous and imperative thereupon. A new me is engendered de novo. I have metamorphosed into a benevolent, cordial and affable being.

I shall adjourn, and expediently relinquish the entry subsequently. I envisage a moiety of these, haphazardly, being manipulated amiss.

Now, Biochemistry, forthwith!

There are three animals running continuously on a circular racetrack: a cheetah, a rabbit and a tortoise.

They start at a different (or same) starting point, and run at a different speed. However, the cheetah always runs faster than the rabbit, and the rabbit always runs faster than the tortoise.

If the rabbit catches up with the tortoise, it will stop and wait for the cheetah. If they start at the same starting point, the rabbit will not move.

If the cheetah catches up with the rabbit, a murder occurs and the game is over. If they start at the same point, the game is over immediately.

Write a C++ program to compute the time required for the murder to take place. Your program should compute the time required for the cheetah to catch up with the rabbit. Then you should output the time and position of the murder.

Anyone? Please?

Glycine alanine valine leucine isoleucine proline phenylalanine tryptophan tyrosine serine threonine cysteine methionine asparagine glutamine lysine arginine histidine aspartate glutamate.

Glycine alanine valine leucine isoleucine proline phenylalanine tryptophan tyrosine serine threonine cysteine methionine asparagine glutamine lysine arginine histidine aspartate glutamate.

Glycine alanine valine leucine isoleucine proline phenylalanine tryptophan tyrosine serine threonine cysteine methionine asparagine glutamine lysine arginine histidine aspartate glutamate glycine alanine valine leucine isoleucine proline phenylalanine tryptophan tyrosine serine threonine cysteine methionine asparagine glutamine lysine arginine histidine aspartate glutamate glycine alanine valine leucine isoleucine proline phenylalanine tryptophan tyrosine serine threonine cysteine methionine asparagine glutamine lysine arginine histidine aspartate glutamate glycine alanine valine leucine isoleucine proline phenylalanine tryptophan tyrosine serine threonine cysteine methionine asparagine glutamine lysine arginine histidine aspartate glutamate glycine alanine valine leucine isoleucine proline phenylalanine tryptophan tyrosine serine threonine cysteine methionine asparagine glutamine lysine arginine histidine aspartate glutamate.

Listen to me, people!

There are two types of hadron: baryons (including protons and neutrons) with a baryon number of 1, and mesons with a baryon number of 0. During hadron reactions, electrical charge, baryon number and strangeness are all conserved. The properties and reactions of hadrons can be explained if hadrons consist of smaller particles called quarks. In the basic quark model there are three flavours of quark: up, down, and strange, plus the corresponding antiquarks. Baryons consist of three quarks which may be the same flavour or different flavours; antibaryons consist of three antiquarks. Mesons consist of quark+antiquark pairs which may be the same flavour or different flavours. Separate quarks are never observed; they are always found confined in hadrons. Attempts to separate quarks may result in the creation of new quark+antiquark pairs which both have the same flavour. In hadron collisions, quarks may be exchanged between hadrons and/or new quark+antiquark pairs may be created. Quarks may be ‘seen’ inside hadrons using beams of high-energy electrons which have sufficiently small effective (de Broglie) wavelength. Theory suggests, and observation confirms, that there are three further flavours of quark: charm, bottom and top. Quarks may be truly fundamental particles.

Leptons are fundamental particles which are not affected by the strong force. Electrons, muons, and tau-minus particles are leptons which have a negative electrical charge; their antiparticles positrons, mu-plus particles and tau-plus particles have a positive electrical charge. There is a neutral particle called a neutrino associated with each charged lepton; because these particles have no electrical charge, and have little or no mass, they hardly interact at all with matter. Reactions between hadrons and some hadron decays are due to the strong force. Other hadron decays involve quarks changing their flavour. Changes of flavour are due to another fundamental force called the weak interaction. When some unstable atomic nuclei decay, they emit beta particles; this can be either a beta-minus particle (an electron) or a beta-plus particle (a positron). Protons are the least massive type of baryon, so ‘free’ protons and protons in stable nuclei do not decay by strong or weak interactions. Protons are, however, probably not completely stable: scientists think that free protons have a half-life of the order of 10³² years.

Didn’t understand what I was saying? Me neither. So in other words…

HEEELLLLPPPPP!!!