The answer to life, the universe and prime numbers

  • My takeaway is that the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is not, in fact, 42 but is instead '-'. Meaningful when one considers the answer is really the '-' between the dates (birth - death). πŸ˜›

    I think Mr. Adams is rolling over with laughter in his grave... Thanks for sharing.

  • There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

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    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

    I only read the question because I was puzzled by the prime part. I am ashamed to say I've never read the book :blush:


    On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
    β€”Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

    How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

  • BWFC (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

    I only read the question because I was puzzled by the prime part. I am ashamed to say I've never read the book :blush:

    I wasn't sure what the prime had to do with it but whatever. I have never seen the movie. πŸ˜‰

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • This was removed by the editor as SPAM

  • Stewart "Arturius" Campbell (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    BWFC (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

    I only read the question because I was puzzled by the prime part. I am ashamed to say I've never read the book :blush:

    I wasn't sure what the prime had to do with it but whatever. I have never seen the movie. πŸ˜‰

    I did and it was disappointing, to say the least.

    I enjoyed it but that's probably because I haven't read it. Mrs BWFC was less keen but she's read and loves the books.


    On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
    β€”Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

    How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

  • Stewart "Arturius" Campbell (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    BWFC (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

    I only read the question because I was puzzled by the prime part. I am ashamed to say I've never read the book :blush:

    I wasn't sure what the prime had to do with it but whatever. I have never seen the movie. πŸ˜‰

    I did and it was disappointing, to say the least.

    I heard many reviews that were similar so I decided to just be disappointed and not waste the two hours. How many books make decent movies anyway? The list is pretty short.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • edit: Gold star for Stewart, whose explanation of the behaviour is more correct that Eirikur and more complete than Toreador.

  • Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    How many books make decent movies anyway? The list is pretty short.

    Not as short as the list of radio series that make good books πŸ˜‰

    I made myself finish the first book but it wasn't a patch on the original so I haven't bothered with the rest. Am I missing out?

  • Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    Stewart "Arturius" Campbell (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    BWFC (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

    I only read the question because I was puzzled by the prime part. I am ashamed to say I've never read the book :blush:

    I wasn't sure what the prime had to do with it but whatever. I have never seen the movie. πŸ˜‰

    I did and it was disappointing, to say the least.

    I heard many reviews that were similar so I decided to just be disappointed and not waste the two hours. How many books make decent movies anyway? The list is pretty short.

    Do comic books count? :hehe:

    Luis C.
    General Disclaimer:
    Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

    How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2
  • Luis Cazares (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    Stewart "Arturius" Campbell (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    BWFC (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

    I only read the question because I was puzzled by the prime part. I am ashamed to say I've never read the book :blush:

    I wasn't sure what the prime had to do with it but whatever. I have never seen the movie. πŸ˜‰

    I did and it was disappointing, to say the least.

    I heard many reviews that were similar so I decided to just be disappointed and not waste the two hours. How many books make decent movies anyway? The list is pretty short.

    Do comic books count? :hehe:

    LOL. I think the difference there is that when converting a comic book to a movie the writers have to add content to full up the time. When converting a book to a movie they have to condense 10x the amount of content that will fit in a 2-3 hour movie. As a result so much important storyline has to be removed. The decent ones can find a way to squeeze some explanation into some clever scenes but most just end up being half the original story.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    Luis Cazares (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    Stewart "Arturius" Campbell (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    BWFC (2/26/2015)


    Sean Lange (2/26/2015)


    There was no alternative other than 42 given the context of the question. I didn't even read the question before answering. Of course my soccer jersey has that number and "Dent" for the name. It is fun to see who on other teams gets it. πŸ˜›

    I only read the question because I was puzzled by the prime part. I am ashamed to say I've never read the book :blush:

    I wasn't sure what the prime had to do with it but whatever. I have never seen the movie. πŸ˜‰

    I did and it was disappointing, to say the least.

    I heard many reviews that were similar so I decided to just be disappointed and not waste the two hours. How many books make decent movies anyway? The list is pretty short.

    Do comic books count? :hehe:

    LOL. I think the difference there is that when converting a comic book to a movie the writers have to add content to full up the time. When converting a book to a movie they have to condense 10x the amount of content that will fit in a 2-3 hour movie. As a result so much important storyline has to be removed. The decent ones can find a way to squeeze some explanation into some clever scenes but most just end up being half the original story.

    Or in the case of the Hobbit, three times the original story.


    On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
    β€”Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

    How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

  • I seem to remember that HGTTG was a radio series well before he (DA) wrote the book, or the film was made. As a radio series it was perfect (or should that be prefect?) - leaving it all to the imagination. (He was of course "Douglas" rather than "Doglas")

    For those that didn't hear the series, it might be in the Radio 4 archive.

    Best wishes,

    Kenneth Spencer

    You never know: reading my book: "All about your computer" might just tell you something you never knew!
    lulu.com/kaspencer

  • I have to admit that reading the answers before the question I wanted to immediately select 42. Then it was very obvious after reading the question.

    Thanks for the chuckle today.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
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  • Toreador (2/26/2015)


    Not as short as the list of radio series that make good books πŸ˜‰

    I made myself finish the first book but it wasn't a patch on the original so I haven't bothered with the rest. Am I missing out?

    Can't speak to the radio series as I haven't heard them. I thoroughly enjoyed the books. My take on it is the radio series is done by a group of actors/actresses collaborating and working off of one another. The books may have some collaboration, but are really Douglas Adams work - so they will have a different feel to them.

    If you've tried the books and didn't like them, give them another try. Worst case is you still don't like them and you never have to go back again. But maybe you will enjoy them more the 2nd time.

    Good reading!

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