public boolean isInsideRectangle( int x, int y, int width, int height )
   {
      boolean upper_left_corner = ( ( x < this.x && this.x < x + width ) 
            && ( y < this.y && this.y < y + height ) );
      boolean lower_right_corner = ( ( x < this.x + this.width 
              && this.x + this.width < x + width ) 
              && ( y < this.y + this.height 
              && this.y + this.height < y + height ) );
      return ( upper_left_corner && lower_right_corner );
   }