Raygun

I have a set of numbers X something like [2, 4, 6, 8] and I want to refer only to the first and last values within set X, in this case 2 and 8.

Is there a form of notation for this, like Xb where "b" is a symbol denoting that I'm referring to the first and last member items?

Ask a question here or on many other open forums relating to religious ideas, or even atheist ideas, and the likelihood is that numerous replies or comments will be way off-topic, heavily biased and vehement in their attempts to support or defend an ideal.

What drives these responses?

A question posed about cleaning products is unlikely to attract comparable posts, yet concerns an important topic affecting pretty much everyone of us (ie, sanitation), rather than what could fairly be described as rather abstract concepts.

This follows on from a previous, resolved question (see http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/answerBest?qi...

What I would like to know is why it makes sense for an airline to charge, for example, £800 for a return ticket but £1,500 for a single ticket.

Surely the price of a single ticket should at least be equal to the price of a return journey, but should not exceed it?

Is the airline taxed in some way that makes this necessary, or is it merely a marketing ploy?

Looking at flights offered by British Airways and KLM, it is cheaper to book a return trip than a single/one-way flight.

With this being the case, is there any reason why I should not book the return flights (even though I require only a one-way ticket) and simply not show up for (or cancel in advance) the return flight?

Obviously Judaism was present when Christ was alive. What did not-Jews in the 'near-East' (if that is the right term, basically the region that includes modern day Palestine, Israel, Syria, Iraq etc) believe in?

My web browser (on my Samsung Genio Slide) sometimes, and for no apparent reason, renders web pages using a sort of cursive or hand-written style font, instead of something more legible like an Arial-style serif.

I can't for the life of me find a relevant setting to change this. Anyone know what I can do?

I understand best practice (in the UK at least) is for newborns to sleep on their backs, however I know of people who prefer to lie them down on their front, and consequently they seem to learn to crawl faster (perhaps they develop the necessary strength more quickly?).

Does anyone have any views on this, or can explain why best advice (in the UK) is that they should be put down on their backs?

I enjoy sitting down with a whisky or beer at the end of a working day, but I'd like to ditch alcohol completely. However, it is nice to have a 'special' drink to sup away on and look forward to - what would you suggest?

Lego is quite expensive, so lets assume a generic alternative where cost is not an issue.

Lightweight building blocks, presenting a solid front, surely could be just as good building materials as bricks?

What are your thoughts?

For instance, let us say I wish to search on a technical term but what I don't want is to see a list of companies selling a product in my search results - all I want are results from within forums.

Can this be done?

Do Australians really drink from such dinky little glasses? It's really cute and everything, but don't they have full-size pint glasses?

Is there some kind of law re portraying alcohol on TV that forces Neighbours to give its actors these gay little glasses?

Does anyone know (even if it is only a rumour) if Nintendo has chalked-in a release date for the successor to the Wii?

What features might we expect to see on a Wii2, if only hypothetically? And, in place of any firm information on a successor machine, do previous releases of video game consoles suggest a likely timeline?

So it looks as if the Act of Settlement could be amended to allow females to benefit from primogeniture.

What are the real-world benefits of these reforms, and why has it become a priority at such a difficult time?

For instance, if I supply my registration plate number on a car insurance or replacement tyre website, the model data for my car is displayed: make, model, etc.

Is there a publicly searchable source of information that they are utilising, and if so what is it, or is it achieved through sharing information provided voluntarily by customers?

My question is restricted to the UK in scope. Thanks!

Is it the modern equivalent of pledging fealty to an overlord?

But who really cares, and why is it headline news?

I would be interested to know how much CO2 something like a Scots Pine typically absorbs over its lifespan, and what this is equivalent to in terms of tanks of fuel or something else similarly tangible.

Pointers to other resources and good references would be appreciated!

And are they a contender for the UK's least helpful organisation?

If so, what were the highlights and lowlights, so to speak? Is the Trans-Mongolian train worth a bash - also, it sounds like a very 'outdoors' kind of place: what can you get up to besides (or including) horse riding?