Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Poet name please

Hi

Please advise who wrote this stanza, it is part of a larger poem:

the fog floats in with the tide and lies on the mosses, branching up the channels like the veins on an old man’s hand

Thanks

Heidi

Heidi, I can't recall ever having seen these lines (I'm a literature teacher and an amateur poet...so perhaps my familiarity counts for something, and perhaps not). More to the point, Google can't find any copy of a poem containing these lines...and Google can usually track down any poem I've forgotten. Is it possible you've remembered the lines slightly wrong? Any information you might have about the poem (written by a famous poet? written by a local performance poet from a given area? read in a lit class? read in a magazine?) would help us identify it more quickly. Jwrosenzweig 11:33, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Mathematical Reasoning: All Cats Are Black?

What is wrong with the following "proof" by mathematical induction that all cats are black? Let P(n) denote the statement: In any group of n cats, if one is black, then they are all black.

Step 1 The statement is clearly true for n=1.

Step 2 Suppose that P(k) is true. We show that P(k+1) is true. Suppose we have a group of k+1 cats, one of whom is black; call this cat "Midnight." Remove some other cat (call it "Sparky") from the group. We are left with k cats, one of whom (Midnight) is black, so by the induction hypothesis, all k of these are black. Now put Sparky back in the group and take out Midnight. We again have a group of k cats, all of whom -- except possibly Sparky -- are black. Then by mathematical induction, Sparky must be black, too. So all k+1 cats in the original group are black.

Thus, by induction P(n) is true for all n. Since everyone has seen at least one black cat, it follows that all cats are black. --anonym.

That's simple, you've never shown that P(k+1) is true. The false statement is "We are left with k cats, one of whom (Midnight) is black, so by the induction hypothesis, all k of these are black." It fails common sense and logic. - Taxman ^Talk 12:37, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

It's a bit more subtle than that. We know that P(1) is true, and we appear to have shown that if P(k) is true then P(k+1) is also true. The principle of mathematical induction would then let us conclude that P(k) is true for all (positive integer) values of k. You don't need to prove that P(k) is actually true - only that P(k) leads to P(k+1). The flaw is that the reasoning that we have used to get from P(k) to P(k+1) does not actually work for the step from P(1) to P(2). Gandalf61 14:55, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

The problem is with "so by the induction hypothesis, all k of these are black." It's not the same k, so you have to reprove that the current set of k is all black. Superm401 | Talk 15:59, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

See horse paradox Gdr 13:16:45, 2005-08-19 (UTC)

• see: do your own CS homework paradox - somebody

It's also possible to prove by induction that in a multi-storey building, the elevator is always going in the right direction. Proof:

• Let P(k) denote that the elevator is always going in the right direction in a k-storey building.
• It's obvious that P(1) (the elevator doesn't have to go anywhere) and P(2) (the elevator only has one place to go) are true.
• Assume P(k) is true and consider a k+1 -storey building. In the first k floors, the elevator is going in the right direction (by assumption). The k+1:th floor is the top floor, so the elevator only has one direction to go. Therefore P(k+1) is true.

The mistake here is obvious. — JIP | Talk 07:25, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

APR of a Fixed Rate Mortgage

A couple borrows $100,000 at 9% interest as a mortgage loan on a house. They expect to make monthly payments for 30 years to repay the loan. What is the size of each payment? Also, find the annual percentage rate (APR)?

The mortgage payments form an annuity whose present value is $A_{p}=\$100,000$. Also, $i=0.09/12=0.0075$, and $n=12*30=360$. We are looking for the amount R of each payment. From the formula for installment buying we have

$R={\frac {iA_{p}}{1-(1+i)^{-n}}}$

$R={\frac {(0.0075)(100,000)}{1-(1+0.0075)^{-360}}}$

$R\approx \$804.62$.

Here is where I am stuck. Can someone explain mathematically how I can find the APR? --anonym

Our APR artice is actually really good. Everything I would have said about the uselessness of the APR is there as it the general method of calculating it. Essentially it is a way to account for fixed upfront costs, such as costs and points. You need to know what those are to calculate an APR, and you haven't mentioned those. That's probably your sticking point. - Taxman ^Talk 12:34, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

• Another lender produces the following quote for an interest only home mortgage.

New 30 Year ARM Mortgage	524,000
Proposed New Rate	1.00%
Proposed New APR	$4.875%
Proposed New Payment	$1,685.39

Now I can see that$R={\frac {iA_{p}}{1-(1+i)^{-n}}}$ becomes

$R={\frac {(.01/12)(524,000)}{1-(1+.01/12)^{-360}}}$.

Therefore,${\mathit {R=\$1,685.39}}$. What are points? How does the APR relate to points here? Is there an equation that relates the APR and other variables I have given hereon to points? --anonym

Points is just a term used in the US mortgage industry to refer to extra upfront costs (a percentage point of the loan amount) that the borrower can pay in order to get a lower interest rate. You can pay two points for example and get a lower upfront interest rate. the amount the rate is lower depends on the offer, the lender, etc. It is often used to advertize lower rates than can really be gotten, with or without telling the borrower there are extra costs involved. So read the APR article, and use that method to calculate the APR, just add any points as upfront costs, which they are. I'm not sure if points are used this way anywhere else, so I haven't added this to any articles. - Taxman ^Talk 21:41, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

US ARMY - VOCO CONFIRMED

A young lady is recruited by the Army and decided she does not want to enlist and through letters and contacting her local commander received a form of discharge papers. It does not state honorable or dishonorable information but the letter reads - You are seperated from Component Indicated: DELAYED ENTRY PROGRAM, FORT KNOX, KY 40121 - effective June 5, 2005 (VOCO Confirmed)- Can you tell me what does that mean - does she still have to report to the Army at a later date?

Carol Williamson

Wouldn't her local commander be able to answer this question with more detail and quicker than posting it here? Or the recruiter? Dismas 13:46, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Hmmm. Given the potential legal implications, if she doesn't receive a satisfactory answer from the local commander (or would prefer not to contact them) she might be well-advised to consult a lawyer. --Robert Merkel 06:03, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Google sez it's a standard Army form letter for being separated from the Delayed Entry Program. There's no honorable or dishonorable information because it is a "separation", not a "discharge". Discharge only applies when you're actually in the Army. "VOCO confirmed" means it's confirming a voice communication, as far as I can tell. -- Cyrius|✎ 20:02, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

George Washington page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington This page is slated for demolition according to a notice I saw yesterday. Why? Apparently, there is some procedure to vote to keep the page, but I could not find it. Please consider this as my vote to keep this page.

By "slated for demolition" I think you mean "Vote for Deletion" but don't worry, that was just an act of vandalism by someone. The page will be kept. Dismas 13:48, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

There is justice after all. Thanks! - ME

Question about natural abundance of isotopes

The article on lead states that the 210 isotope is a synthetic radioisotope, an article containing the phrase "no natural process or mechanism exists which produces it, or it is so unstable that it decays away in a very short period of time".

This appears to contradict what I read at [1], a site of the US Geological Survey, so with considerable credibility.

I realize I am way out of my depth here, but I have two questions:

• 210 has a half-life of 20-odd years, so it's not that unstable. Should it really be marked synthetic radioisotope?

Probably not, judging by the linked page--but the reason it's wrong to call ²¹⁰Pb synthetic is not because of it's half-life (20-odd years is a short time when you're talking about geologic time scales--note the radioactive isotopes of lead which do have a measurable natural abundance have half-lives on the order of 10⁷ years) but because there's a natural process which produces ²¹⁰Pb as noted on the USGS page. Chuck 19:25, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

• Is the definition of "synthetic" itself, as used above, not a bit arbitrary and misleading?

Probably so--what constitutes "a very short period of time" is unclear from the article. Chuck 19:25, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. 82.210.117.55 15:35, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

I suspect "synthetic isotope" was used here to mean the first part, "synthesised, not produced naturally". I also suspect that, as you point out, they're wrong :-)

The talk page of the Lead article would probably be a good place to raise this question, or possibly the talk page of the Isotopes wikiproject, though I don't know if it's currently active. Shimgray 15:50, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Lead-210 should have been marked as a trace radioisotope, as it is formed on a minor branch of the uranium-238 decay chain. The correction has been made, other such errors should be brought to the attention of WikiProject Elements which looks after these pages. Physchim62 22:20, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

LaTeX tables

Can anyone help me with this? I'm trying to create a table in latex that will look like this

    Input   Output   Formula
    -------------------------
      A        1      x = f(y)
      B        2
      C        3
    / D        4
   <| E        5
    \ F        6

(though with different stuff in the table). In particular, the main difficulty is getting a curly brace on the outside of the last three values, and also getting the inside to align well with the titles. I've tried all kinds of table nesting, but I can't work out how to do it.

Any help REALLY appreciate, thanks! Mary K 15:44, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Are you wanting to create this in ordinary LaTeX or in a mixture of Wikimarkup and LaTeX? If you want it in ordinary LaTeX, then this gets close enough, as long as you have remebered to \usepackage{} as appropriate:

\begin{table}

\centering

\begin{tabular}{r|c|c}

Input & Output & Formula\\

\hline

A & 1 & $x=f_1(y)$\\

B & 2 & $x=f_2(y)$\\

$\left\{\begin{matrix} \mathrm{C} \\ \mathrm{D} \\ \mathrm{E} \end{matrix} \right.$ & 3 & $x=f_3(y)$ \\

F & 4 & $x=f_4(y)$

\end{tabular}

\end{table}

If you don't want the vertical lines, just take them out of the curly braces on the line starting \begin{tabular}.

This won't work in the restricted version of LaTeX available in MediaWiki (doesn't LaTeX tables for a start), so if that's what you're after give me a prod on my talk page. -Splash 19:41, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

I don't don't have LaTeX at work to experiment with, but I would try something like:

\usepackage{multirow}
\begin{tabular}{c|c|c|c}
& Input & Output & Formula \\
\hline
& A & 1 & $x = f(y)\\
& B & 2 & \\
& C & 3 & \\
\multirow{3}{*}{ \Bigg\{ } & D & 4 & \\
& E & 5 & \\
& F & 6 & \\
\end{tabular}

This avoids nesting, although I don't know if multirow is a default package. You'd have to manually tweek the size of the \Bigg\{ and your horizontal like would be over the brace's column also, but that's a small price to pay. --Laura Scudder | Talk 19:23, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

George Washington Delete

George Washington page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington This page is slated for demolition according to a notice I saw yesterday. Why? Apparently, there is some procedure to vote to keep the page, but I could not find it. Please consider this as my vote to keep this page.

Don't worry, that page is not likely to be deleted. DJ Clayworth 17:39, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Anyone can add the Votes for Deletion tag to an article and this is sometimes abused by vandals. When it's clearly not a good-faith nomination, a full vote isn't held and the article is kept. The tag on George Washington has already been removed. --Laura Scudder | Talk 20:06, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Website charting history of female beauty

I saw a website a while back with a history of what was considered attractive through history, but I lost it - anyone know what I'm talking about? Trollderella 17:35, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

There seem to be a few around, including this and this. --Zeborah 12:12, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

PRISON CALLED TENT PRISON

WHERE IS THE PRISON CALLED TENT PRISON LOCATED? I THOUGHT IT WAS IN ARIZONA BUT CANNOT FIND IT. THANK YOU JERI MOORE/[email protected]

I believe you are thinking of the Maricopa County Prison featured here on CNN. --CVaneg 20:23, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Mathematical relations

Can anybody confirm that these two (unrelated) mathematical relations are correct? If they are correct, how can it be proved?

$\sum _{i}\left|x^{i}\right|={\frac {1}{1-x}}\,\,\,\,\,{\mbox{if}}\left|x\right|<1\,\,\,\,\,\forall \;x\in \mathbb {R} \ {\mbox{and}}\,\,i\in \mathbb {N} \$

${\frac {1}{\sum _{i}^{n}{\frac {1}{{x_{i}}^{2}}}}}\;\leq {\frac {1}{n^{2}}}\sum _{i=1}{x_{i}}^{2}\,\,\,\,\,\forall \;x\in \mathbb {R} \ {\mbox{and}}\,\,i\in \mathbb {N} \$

Thank you very much. --Edcolins 19:14, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

You first one is a geometric series, which can be done by partial sums:

$S_{n}\equiv 1+x+x^{2}+\ldots +x^{n}$

$S_{n+1}=1+x+x^{2}+\ldots +x^{n}+x^{n+1}=1+xS_{n}$

We can write two formulae for the difference between these partial sums:

$S_{n+1}-S_{n}=x^{n+1}$ and $S_{n+1}-S_{n}=1+(x-1)S_{n}$

So equating thoe two we get

$x^{n+1}=1+(x-1)S_{n}$

$S_{n}={\frac {1-x^{n+1}}{1-x}}$

The sum's limit can be found by sending n to infinity, which gives your result above. Your second one can be done using the triangle inequality. --Laura Scudder | Talk 19:37, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Excellent. Many thanks. --Edcolins 19:52, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

Actually, while your derivation is right, this is not what Edcolins asked. Notice the absolute value signs. If -1<x<0 the first equation is false, since the left hand side would be equal to ${\frac {1}{1-|x|}}={\frac {1}{1+x}}$ and not to ${\frac {1}{1-x}}$. Ornil 20:26, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Notice that the derivation still works if you replace x with |x| with no changes to any steps, so the result above is lacking absolute value signs. --Laura Scudder | Talk 21:59, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Well, the second one isn't true if any of the x_i=0, because then the left hand side of the equation is undefined. But it's true if you add the limitation x≠0. (Note all multiplication steps here are by positive numbers.)

${\left({\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}-1\right)}^{2}\geq 0$

${\left({\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)}^{2}-2\left({\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+1\geq 0$

${\left({\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)}^{2}+1\geq 2\left({\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)$

${\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}+{\frac {{x_{j}}^{2}}{{x_{i}}^{2}}}\geq 2$

$\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}\left({\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}+{\frac {{x_{j}}^{2}}{{x_{i}}^{2}}}\right)\geq \sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}2$ (That is, i and j are between 1 and n inclusive, with i<j)

$\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{j}}^{2}}{{x_{i}}^{2}}}\right)\geq n^{2}-n$

$\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+\left(\sum _{i=2}^{n}\sum _{j=1}^{i-1}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)\geq n^{2}-n$ (Change indices on the second sum, such that i and j are between 1 and n inclusive, with i>j)

$\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+\left(\sum _{i=2}^{n}\sum _{j=1}^{i-1}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+n\geq n^{2}$

$\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+\left(\sum _{i=2}^{n}\sum _{j=1}^{i-1}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+\sum _{i=1}^{n}1\geq n^{2}$

$\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\sum _{j=i+1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+\left(\sum _{i=2}^{n}\sum _{j=1}^{i-1}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\right)+\sum _{i=1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{i}}^{2}}}\geq n^{2}$ (The rightmost sum will cover the case where i=j.)

$\sum _{i=1}^{n}\sum _{j=1}^{n}{\frac {{x_{i}}^{2}}{{x_{j}}^{2}}}\geq n^{2}$

$\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n}{x_{i}}^{2}\right)\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n}{\frac {1}{{x_{i}}^{2}}}\right)\geq n^{2}$

${\frac {1}{n^{2}}}\sum _{i=1}^{n}{x_{i}}^{2}\geq {\frac {1}{\sum _{i=1}^{n}{\frac {1}{{x_{i}}^{2}}}}}$

Chuck 21:38, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

Minor corrections made; had wrong upper limit on some of the double sums. Chuck 21:03, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Wow! I leave for a few hours and all this beautiful math is here! Anyway, there is a bit of elegant insight into the second inequality, that is, into how the inequality was constructed for one to prove. Take a look at this inequality between the harmonic mean and the arithmetic mean:

${\frac {n}{\sum _{i=1}^{n}{\frac {1}{a_{i}}}}}\;\leq {\frac {1}{n}}\sum _{i=1}^{n}a_{i}\,\,\,\,\,\forall \;x\in \mathbb {R} \ {\mbox{and}}\,\,i\in \mathbb {N} \$

See the substitutions? To start the proof, one can prove the inequality between the harmonic mean and arithmetic mean first, and the make the appropriate substitutions so that the form of the inequality matches the question. Hope that helps! --HappyCamper 02:47, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Questions moved

To Wikipedia:Reference desk/130.111.96.164 --CVaneg 20:18, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Water the contradiction

Out of all the liquids on our planet why does water expand when frozen while all others contract or become denser? Thanks,Zane

Our ice article says "This is due to hydrogen bonds forming between the water molecules, which line up molecules less efficiently (in terms of volume) when water is frozen". -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:39, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

DUr, it's not the only liquid that does this, it's just the most common example of a universal solvent, so you hear about it more than the rest - someone

"Take you down to Chinatown"

Where does this phrase originate? I assumed it must have been first used in a film or something (as with "frankly my dear I don't give a damn"), but a quick inspection of google turns up no obvious candidate for its first use. Any ideas? — Trilobite (Talk) 22:45, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

The first place I heard it was Meet the Parents. Not that I consider myself some sort of benchmark for all other men to be measured against, but it's a start. Also, looking at the movie connections portion for that movie on IMDB, I don't really see any other good candidates for the origin of that phrase. Of course IMDB is not guaranteed complete nor are you guaranteed that the phrase came from a movie. --CVaneg 23:02, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

I also turned up Meet the Parents but I had a feeling I'd heard it before seeing that film. I could be imagining that though. Interestingly, Meet the Parents appears to have been first released on 6 October 2000, but the first use of the phrase that appears in Google Groups was a couple of months earlier, on 9 August of that year [2]. I wonder if anyone else recalls hearing it more than five years ago. — Trilobite (Talk) 23:16, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

So in current usage what does the phrase mean?

It seems usually to mean that the speaker is threatening someone with physical violence. (When it appeared in Meet the Parents, being "taken down to Chinatown" was the result promised to Ben Stiller's character if it turned out he'd been lying...certainly seems threatening to me.) As far as why that particular phrase was used, I'd argue two likely reasons--euphony and American cultural associations. The internal rhyme in the phrase just plain sounds good -- see "We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue" for another example of an otherwise obscure phrase that derives its popularity from internal rhyme.  :-) The American cultural associations are a bit hazier, but I'd suggest that, for many Americans, "Chinatown" is associated with fear and violence -- Chinatowns, after all, were urban environments (and usually less desirable ones...racism kept Chinese immigrants from moving into many of the better maintained parts of town) in which a white American who spoke only English might feel very alone and isolated (and therefore threatened...xenophobia is no stranger to the United States). Add to that the many movies that involve gangsters and intrigue in backrooms and warehouses in Chinatowns, and I think that's as close to an origin for the phrase as we're likely to get. I've never seen any explicit origin, at least, though I hope one can be found that's superior to my speculations. :-) Jwrosenzweig 11:53, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

I'd say your speculations were spot on. Now thinking about it I'm really not sure if I did hear it before Meet the Parents, we'll just have to wait and see if anyone passing through remembers an earlier use of it. — Trilobite (Talk) 15:25, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Possibly a reference to the film Chinatown, by Roman Polanksi? Brasswatchman August 20, 2005. 1:23 PM EST.

It's a line from Cab Calloway's song "The Hi De Ho Man", which he first sang at the Cotton Club in 1931. The next line is "And show you how to kick the gong around", which I don't understand either, but it sounds like a reference to racial violence. --Heron 19:08, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Nope! It's called Minnie the Moocher (the red-hot hoochie koocher). To "kick the gong" is to smoke opium. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 19:32, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Correction: it wasn't "The Hi De Ho Man", it was "Minnie the Moocher", and the lines are "He took her down to Chinatown / And showed her how to kick the gong around." The place and date I gave above were correct, though. --Heron 19:30, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

• How the heck did that happen without an edit conflict? --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 19:35, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Dunno, but thank you for clearing up the "gong" thing. That has been puzzling me for years. --Heron 21:06, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

There's also a song from the same era just called "Kickin' the Gong Around", same significance. Pretty sure Cab Calloway recorded that one too. -- Jmabel | Talk 22:06, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

So it was around before Meet the Parents. Thanks for that. — Trilobite (Talk) 12:17, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

catholic

Do I really have to be cathlic to enter your school?

No. You must accept the Church of Wikipedia. There is no God but NPOV and Jimbo is its prophet. ~~ N (t/c) 23:07, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

What's with this all of a sudden, we seem to have a spate of these... Trollderella 23:28, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

It's a recurring phenomenon that's been with us for some time. I've seen this kind of thing pop up in the past and wondered what exactly it was that made the person leaving the note think we were a school of some sort. To the person who left this message: if you come back, could you tell us what it was that led you to think we were an educational institution of the kind you could enter? I'd be very interested to know. — Trilobite (Talk) 23:33, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Rather tenuous, but could it be the custom of educational institutions being involved with academic publishing? Oxford with its dictionaries and, er, well I'm sure there's other examples. --bodnotbod 00:30, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

I think that all these people asking irrelevant questions have just found a Wikipedia article on google and assume that this is actually the website of the organization they are researching.--Pharos 06:46, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

I think this happens a lot. Another funny thing is people thinking articles about celebrities of some kind are their personal websites, and leaving them messages on the talk pages, e.g. [3] and countless others. — Trilobite (Talk) 15:28, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Well, if you think about it, Wikipedia is what Internet was sort of supposed to be like, with information all in one place, unbiased (scientific) and easily accessible. So many people really take these articles as the authoritative place and as the point to contact the person/organization in question. You know, perhaps in a few years an agent of every organization/person of note would be monitoring their wikipedia page, just in case:) Ornil 15:46, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

technically shouldn't that be "...some people assert that there is no God but NPOV...." DJ Clayworth 23:44, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Also, you forgot the PBUH after Jimbo's name...Brian Schlosser42 14:20, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

velocity of a body orbiting the sun in an elliptical orbit

There are some interesting formulas given for determining the velocity of an object at a given point on its orbit, but it's unclear what units are required. The answers I'm getting aren't adding up to anything that makes any sense or agrees with what's in the literature.

Could you clarify this, pleasse?

• It would be easier if you'd tell us which formulas you are referring to, please? --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 01:58, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

• Possibly the one on Elliptic orbit or Orbital speed. 82.210.117.215 08:12, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Any consistent set of units should work. I'm assuming you're using this equation from elliptic orbit:

$v={\sqrt {2\mu \left({1 \over {r}}-{1 \over {2a}}\right)}}$

where:

• $\mu \,$ is the standard gravitational parameter= $GM$,
• $G$ is the gravitational constant
• $M$ is the mass of the larger body (or actually its reduced mass, I think, but as long as the orbiting body is much smaller than the body it's orbiting we can ignore that for now)
• $r\,$ is the radial distance of orbiting body from central body,
• $a\,\!$ is the length of the semi-major axis of the orbit.

So if you do all the lengths in meters, the mass in kg, and the gravitational constant in m^3/(s^2 kg), you should get your answer in m/s. Alternatively, do the lengths in km, the gravitational constant in km^3/(s^2 kg), and get the velocity in km/s, or even, if you're old-fashioned or American or crazy, do the lengths in ft, the gravitational consant in ft^3/(s^2 slug) and get the velocity in ft/s. The article on the gravitational constant gives it in m^3/(s^2 kg), but strangely the article on the standard gravitational parameter gives it in km^3/s^2. moink 17:59, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

One more quick thing, just in case you're the person who wrote at Talk:Standard gravitational parameter. I glossed over the idea of the reduced mass above, but if you're trying to solve a two-star problem, you should read that article. From what I remember (it's been a long time since I took astrodynamics, hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong), in the orbital equations for a two-body problem you should use the reduced mass of the system. When a small object is orbiting a large object, the reduced mass is very close to the mass of the large object. But if they're two objects of comparable size, use the reduced mass. moink 18:04, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Major Vivion de Valera

The rank of Major does not exist in the Irish army, where the equivalent rank in Commandant. So where did Vivion de Valera get the rank of Major. I understand he was in the Irish army during the Emergencey (WW2). Incidentally, it is interesting to note that he was always referred to as Major rather than Doctor (as in PhD).

Frank O'Shea

indent in the capslock key

Why is there a indent in the capslock key?

I not know, but speculate it may be related to assisting people who are blind and totally touch type. AlMac|^(talk) 04:15, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Or who can see, but take seriously the fact that you are not supposed to look at the keyboard when you touchtype... 05:50, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

This was my first thought too, but touch-typing assistance is usually limited to bumps on the 'f' and 'j' (or 'd' and 'k') keys. I think the indentation on my caps lock key is to keep it separated from the 'a' key so that it's not so easy to hit the caps lock accidentally. I'm not sure if this is what the original poster was referring to, though, since keyboards vary in details like this. --Zeborah 11:32, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

I don't have any indent on my capslock. PS those "bumps" are called the 'home keys' (F,J and NUM5). User:Nichalp/sg 19:05, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

I've always used 'home keys' refer to all the keys your fingers rest on when typing 'properly', ie asdfjkl; - the first site I googled uses this definition. --Zeborah 00:37, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

asdf-jkl; is "home row," and f and j (or d and k on old-school Mac keyboards… took me forever to get used to it when they switched) are the "braille keys." At least, that's how I learned it. As for the indent in the caps-lock key, perhaps the OP is referring to how some keyboards have caps-lock keys that are "flat" for about half a centimeter on the right side, before the key rises up to normal height. I also believe it's to reduce headaches from accidentally pressing it. Garrett Albright 02:19, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Sickle-cell anemia vs. sickle-cell disease

Traditionally, the hemoglobin disorder that causes misshapen red blood cells was known as "sickle-cell anemia"; now, however, I'm seeing the more general "sickle-cell disease" used, especially in medical journals and such sources as my IB Biology II book.

Is "disease" preferable to "anemia"? My guess is that the naming standards changed because anemia is not the only sympton, but I could be wrong.

Google suggests "anemia" is more common (in all Web results and news results), but there are factors that lean towards the use of "disease," such as the name of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America and the results of a search of the New England Journal of Medicine website (190 for "disease," 156 for "anemia," and 14 for "anemia").

A search of only university sites yields 399,000 hits for "disease" and 560,000 for "anemia"; the same search for only government sites yields 88,800 and 115,000 hits, respectively. Switching to "disease" would eliminate some thorny American/British spelling issues ("anemia"/"anaemia"). Any advice as far as what our article name should be? Neutrality^talk 04:41, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

It doesn't matter! It's all the same condition. Sickle cell anemia was the original name. Some people prefer SCD because the anemia is often not the major problem for people and SCD reflects the multi-organ nature of the condition. Current American textbooks and medical journal articles tend to prefer SCD. alteripse 09:48, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Yup. At the Children's Hospital in Detroit, where they see a lot of SCD, they prefer that name too for the reasons Alteripse explained. For more detail, as I understand it, there are four major complications that can arise from SCD, and like he said, anemia itself isn't the real problem. So I would suggest the disease name for the article. - Taxman ^Talk 12:58, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

It seems as though someone has done the move, but not updated the redirects. I would take care of it, but my wife dripped watermelon juice on my mouse (ostensibly by accident), and my efficiency is greatly reduced until the mouse works again. — Pekinensis 19:19, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Da Vinci Code Filimg at Rosslyn Chapel, Scotland

We will be in Edinburgh in September. We understand that Ron Howard will be filming at the Chapel in September. Do you happen to know the dates of the filming in Scotland?

Thank you,

Abernathy's Texas--12.147.148.195 05:21, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

• I don't, but I would expect the local tourist organization knows more. - Mgm|^(talk) 06:33, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

Photos and copyright

I was wondering, if you were to take a photo of a copyrighted photo, who would then own the rights to the photo you have take? And does it depend on things like how much of that original photo is visible in your one? Thank you, Akamad 08:45, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

Well, if it's a clear and non-creative representation of the original copyrighted photo, then your photo would be a breach of copyright... Notinasnaid 13:24, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

If a substantial portion of the old picture is used, even creatively, and clearly or unclearly, it is a copyright infringement. The best you can hope for is fair use in the US. Superm401 | Talk 21:15, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

Your photograph is a derivative work of the original. You hold the copyright to whatever original input you have in your new photograph, but still need permission from the original copyright holder to do stuff with it. -- Cyrius|✎ 20:37, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Derivative Software Copyrights

There is a concept in programming, of derivative software in which we write a program, but copy chunks of code to do various standard things, from other programs, which may be copyrighted. Suppose I write a 100,000 line program, and use only 10 lines of code that are copyrighted ... the copyright on the microscopic addition applies to the whole result, because I used ANY copyrighted material in crafting my new program (actuallty my employer's because the program is the property of who is paying for the work to be done, unless there is a contract to the contrary).

Suppose in crafting the new program, I use chunks of code from several prior programs that have DIFFERENT copyrights ... ALL of them now belong in the copyright statements of the new program.

The reason it is important to keep track of this ... my employer has a contract with some supplier of software that gives us permission to use their source code in the development of our internal other programs, but let's suppose future management decides to end that contract, quit paying annual fees to maintain it ... that means that we have lost permission to use that source code ... we have to find all programs we used that code in, and stop using those programs, because they contain source code, whose right to use it in a derivative matter, has now expired.

Different rules apply to different kinds of copyrightable material, so this derivative rule for software might not apply to photographs, music, other intellectual property.

AlMac|^(talk) 23:18, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

If you look at the copyright notices for large programs that have evolved over time, like various Unix flavours, you will usually see that there is a whole list of "Portions copyright...." which is how they acknowledge the bits they have used. If you wanted to use a chunk that was really only ten lines or so you would be better to rewrite it. IANAL, but if you rewrite code yourself, even if it does exactly the same as the original, you are not violating copyright. DJ Clayworth 23:43, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Upper Nile University Sudan

What is the actual contact address of the "Upper Nile University" in Sudan? Will that be in Karthoum or Malakal?

According to this website among others it is PO Box 1660 in Khartoum, and the phone number +249 (11) 222 174. A Yahoo Groups message suggests that the university moved to Khartoum during the civil war, and that in 2004 plans were announced for it to move back to Malakal, but I'd imagine this move back would take some time and so the university is probably still at this address. --Zeborah 11:20, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

earth shift off axis

did the earth really move off its axis? if so how far?and last question,did it cause a difference in the distance from the earth to the moon? (anon)

To whomever may be intelligent enough to answer this question (if it is answerable), I offer this addendum: How can a planet (or ball or any other spinning object) move off an axis? Doesn't whatever imaginary diameter it is currently spinning around just become its new axis? Garrett Albright 11:58, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

The earth already has a tilted axis. If you draw a plane through the sun and planets, the earth doesn't spin on an axis perfectly perpendicular to that plane. This is one thing that helps make the seasons vary. I don't know when the poster of this question is thinking that it "moved". The earth did change it's speed of rotation ever so slightly with the earthquake that caused the tsunami that caused all that damage in the Indian Ocean. See: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Dismas 13:40, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Also, the earth's axis is not fixed but changes slowly (with respect to the fixed stars). See precession as well as nutation. However, the question appears to concern a more sudden axis change. You may want to look at the (controversial) "earth crust displacement" theory. See Charles Hapgood for that. 82.210.117.55 19:20, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

See swing bowling and reverse swing! Dunc|☺ 19:52, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

If you accept the theory that one of the things that contributed to the Dinosaurs going Extinct had to do with planet Earth getting plastered by a humogous rock from space, that left a crater that is now the Carribean, supposedly when that happened, it had a humogous impact on how the Earth was spinning on the old axis. This theory "explains" how come some Dinosaur bones got dug up in which the critter was frozen, but there was food in its stomache from a climate other than arctic. AlMac|^(talk) 23:24, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

No, that's due to continental drift. For the Antarctic to get moved from the tropics to its current position would require the axial tilt to have previously been near 90°; this would make life impossible. ~~ N (t/c) 23:27, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Earth's tilt changing enough to move a tropical continent to an artic climate zone is really unbelievable, and would, I assume, leave obvious traces in the geologic magnetic record. If a dinosaur did freeze to death (rather than after the fact) I would be more inclined to credit weather changes due to particles thrown into the air and obscuring the sun. Freezing long after the fact can be explained by continental drift, specifically the breakup of Gondwana. — Laura Scudder | Talk 02:16, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Syrian Rite

What is/was the Syrian Rite and is there a specific Syrian Rite different from the West Syrian Rite and the East Syrian Rite? I have an assignment for Catholic studies and my teacher said they were different but there is no information on the net, even on the Catholic Encyclopedia. --Anthonymorris 10:52, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Have a look at this article -- Syriac Christianity -- and also Syriac Orthodox Church. If these articles and the ones they link to don't answer your question, drop a note here. Jwrosenzweig 11:57, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Jeff Foxworthy

I am looking for an email address for Jeff Foxworthy. I have "redneck wedding" pictures that someone sent me I thought he may like. Thanks.

You could try addresses.com or Yahoo people search -- each have several different possibilities though it's possible that none of these will be the one you're looking for. Good luck! --Zeborah 11:44, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

You could also try writing to his management. They may forward them on to him. Dismas 13:32, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

In response to the comment you left on my talk page (in case you don't go back there but do come here)... Well, I'd try going to his web site first of all. Then scroll all the way down and follow the link for the web designer. Ask them if they have some contact info for J.F.'s management and go from there. Dismas 13:32, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

energy base climatology

Unsigned question title by 210.212.42.114. hydnjo talk 20:55, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Yes, I dig it too. Groovy, man. Peace. — JIP | Talk 15:12, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Pope & citizenship

Do you know if the Pope is still considered a citizen of his native country (i.e. German for the current one). How about cardinals? Are they citizens of their respective countries, the Vatican, or both? Ornil 16:27, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Presumably it depends on whether his native country allows renunciation of citizenship - if they don't, he has to maintain such citizenship. I believe Cardinals retain their own citizenship - Vatican citizenship is pretty rare.

There's nothing saying a head of state can't also have foreign citizenship, though it is understandably unusual - consider Alberto Fujimori, who was both a Peruvian and Japanese citizen whilst he was President of Peru. (Elizabeth II would be a rather unusual example, as well, come to think of it, or the heads of state of Andorra who are by definition foreigners) Shimgray 16:34, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

It is a moot point as to whether Fujimori was a Japanese citizen while he was President of Peru, as Japan does not allow dual nationality. It is not clear whether Elizabeth II has any citizenship—she does not possess a passport—although she fulfills the criteria of the British Nationality Act 1971. Physchim62 22:33, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

My understanding, though IANAL, is that she is treated as a British citizen for the purposes of a lot of law - we have various laws relating to dealing with the Crown in a personal capacity. Whether or not she's actually a citizen of the UK, or if she's a citizen of (say) Canada as well, is an interesting question - but I'd argue she's definitely a de facto UK citizen. There's also the Sophia Naturalisation Act, to throw a spanner in the works. This would mean that a wide number of European monarchs descended from Electress Sophia, and born before 1949, would probably be considered British citizens by the law here; Harald V of Norway, for example.

As for Fujimori, hmm. I really have no idea there. The article does imply he retained citizenship rather than re-acquiring it, though - perhaps Japan uses the legal fiction of pretending the other citizenship doesn't exist, so the person only ever has one, even though the other country may disagree? I vaguely recall something like this being done by some nations. Shimgray 23:22, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Interesting you should mention this. Canada's governor general-designate, Michaëlle Jean, is a dual citizen of Canada and France. (She was born in Haiti.) This fact, along with Jean's friendship with Quebec separatists, has generated a lot of controversy in Canadaland. Mwalcoff 01:20, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

This debate is getting into some fascinating byways, but they are not really addressing the original question. I am confident that Cardinals retain the citizenship of their home countries. Why? Because the thing that distinguishes the Pope from the other Cardinals, in this context, is that because of his election to the Papacy he both de facto and de jure becomes Head of State of the State of the Vatican City, an independent nation recognised by most other countries. Cardinals are simply the Pope's advisers, they have undergone no process of being formally subject to the "citizenship laws" (whatever they might be) of the Vatican City State, whereas the Pope has. I suppose there have been cases where a particular cardinal has acquired Vatican citizenship for one reason or another (other than by being elected pope), but as a general proposition this does not happen. Interesting that the Vatican's head of state, the pope, is elected by the cardinals, none of whom is himself a citizen of that nation. Is this a unique circumstance?

One of the two Co-Princes of Andorra is the President of France, elected by the population of France, which may count - his Spanish counterpart is a Catholic bishop, though, so presumably he's appointed not elected. If you consider the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to be a nation (which can be argued either way), then its head of state would be elected by (a very small number of) non-citizens - my understanding is that they only issue about three "citizenships", to their most senior members, in order not to cause legal tensions. Otherwise, I can't think of any de jure cases (as opposed to de facto situations where a foreign nation effectively imposes its choice of head-of-state). Shimgray 01:36, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

As to whether the Pope retains his native citizenship, it would probably depend on the laws of the country concerned. Am I right in assuming that Italian-born popes do not lose their Italian citizenship? In modern times we've only had 2 non-Italian cases to consider, Poland and Germany. The last non-Italian Pope prior to JP2 reigned at a time when the modern concept of citizenship didn't even exist, so that means there are really only 2 cases altogether. Cheers JackofOz 00:33, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

A further thought on the Australian context. My understanding is that Australian law does not, generally, prevent an Australian from holding citizenship of another country. Many Australians have dual citizenship. However, in particular contexts, citizens of other countries are not eligible to hold certain Australian offices. For example, a citizen of another country, even if they have dual Australian citizenship, is ineligible to be elected to Federal Parliament, and we've had a few well-known cases where a member of parliament was expelled for this reason, eg. the One Nation senator Heather Hill, who was an Australian but had also been a British subject. She renounced her British citizenship before her term as senator commenced, but at the date of her election she had not yet done so. Under the law, it's not the date of commencement of the term of the parliamentary term, but the date of election that is relevant.

In the highly contrived (and therefore extremely unlikely) scenario that (a) an Australian cardinal such as George Pell was elected pope, and (b) he acquired Vatican citizenship by virtue of being the head of state of that nation (whether or not he lost his Australian citizenship), and (c) he wanted to stand for election to the Australian Federal Parliament, he would be ineligible. He would have to abdicate as Pope first.

Which raises a further interesting question, that of whether a Pope who abdicates retains his Vatican citizenship given he is no longer the head of state of the Vatican, or whether he returns to his native citizenship. What about a pope who was from a country that was inimical to Catholic interests, and deemed him to have renounced his original citizenship upon acquiring Vatican citizenship? What if that Pope abdicated and his original country refused to reinstate his original citizenship? Would he then be stateless? JackofOz 02:13, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Re Elizabeth, I am pretty sure that she is not a UK citizen, because the concept of citizen in the UK is set in contrast to the monarch. She cannot be both the monarch and a citizen. Trollderella 15:32, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

From talk:Septic tank

How long do septic tanks (systems) last? We are in the process of buying a 20 year old home with the existing septic tank, what questions or concerns should I have? 67.184.249.226 (talk · contribs)

Highly dependant on how well the previous owner(s) cared for and maintained the system. At the very least the there should be documentation as to how often the tank was pumped out. Every year or two is good, every five years or so is not so good. There are so many variables (I just mentioned one of them) that it really is difficult to answer the question quantitatively. A well designed and maintained system can be fine for a 60+ years whereas a poorly designed and/or maintained system may fail after 20 or 30 years. Best bet, hire a professional to inspect the entire system. A couple of hundred dollars will buy either lots of peace of mind or a significant reduction in the value of the home. hydnjo talk 20:04, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

BTW, the septic tank itself rarely fails. The usual failure mode is the leach field (or leach(ing) bed) which becomes clogged and unable to percolate (perc) properly. Your home inspection company or your home appraisal company (not the seller's real estate agent) should be of help in this matter. hydnjo talk 20:34, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

President Nixon's letter of resignation

When Richard Nixon resigned as president, the letter of resignation was addressed to Henry Kissinger, the secretary of state. Why was Kissinger the adressee of the letter and not the president pro tem of the US Senate and/or the speaker of the US House? In many US states, the secretary of state is responsible for the certification and enrollment of official executive actions, but this role is not customary to the US Secretary of State. Can anyone shed some light on this? EdwinHJ | Talk 19:52, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Not without starting an edit war here. ;-) hydnjo talk 20:42, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

I seem to remember that the President can resign to a whole lot of different people (maybe it has to be someone who's part of the line which the president's powers fall to if he's killed/incapacitated/etc.?). Good question. ¦ Reisio 21:01, 2005 August 20 (UTC)

I know this question was asked and answered here, but I can't find the question. Superm401 | Talk 21:27, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

I don't think it is in th earchive, whic definitely annoys me. I found it on User:PedanticallySpeaking's personal archive. I think some parts have been removed by him, though. Superm401 | Talk 21:38, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

RMN's letter of resignation:http://www.watergate.info/nixon/resignation-letter.shtml hydnjo talk 23:10, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

The letter states " I hereby resign the Office of President of the United States" Shouldn't it be "I hereby resign FROM the Office of President of the United States"? JA

Er, no, I wouldn't have thought so. What's wrong with what he wrote? — Trilobite (Talk) 12:14, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Nixon is correct in his usage. He is using the word office with the meaning "A position of authority, duty, or trust given to a person, as in a government or corporation:" not "the place where your desk is." Here's a dictionary definition. --bodnotbod 18:08, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

By definition, it is correct. By usage, one does not resign a position, one resigns from a position; one does not resign a duty, one resigns from a duty. an instance is John Ashcroft's resignation where he writes "Therefore, I humbly state my desire to resign from the office of United States Attorney General" http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6446686 - JA

Supreme Court resignations

If the President or Vice President of the U.S. resigns, he sends a letter to the Secretary of State as required by Title 3 of the U.S. Code. I know it is customary that Supreme Court justices write the President when they choose to leave the court, but what, if anything, does the law say about how justices resign? How do judges of the lower courts resign? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

Really? I thought there was no formal law or policy about where anyone should write to resign, even the president. I heard once that Nixon thought it best to resign to the Attorney General, though I might be wrong. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 8 July 2005 20:20 (UTC)

Title 3, Section 20 of the U.S. Code reads: "The only evidence of a refusal to accept, or of a resignation of the office of President or Vice President, shall be an instrument in writing, declaring the same, and subscribed by the person refusing to accept or resigning, as the case may be, and delivered into the office of the Secretary of State." [4]. When Nixon resigned, his letter was addressed to Henry Kissinger and presented while Nixon was 30,000 feet over Illinois on his way back to San Clemente. Read his letter here. PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:23 (UTC)

This Title and Section of the Code reads that if there is a contested resignation, then the officeholder can offer his proof of denial only to the Secretary of State. An actual letter of resignation can be submitted to anyone in some position of authority. By submitting his letter directly to the Secretary, RMN eliminated any potential contest to the resignation - thus, irrevocable . hydnjo talk 23:00, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

RMN's letter of resignation:http://www.watergate.info/nixon/resignation-letter.shtml hydnjo talk 23:07, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Contact for Christian Clavier

dear wikipedia,

i'm a great fan of Christian Clavier. i've been looking for a long time just for a fanmailing of him. do you, wikipedia maby know how i can contact him? at least send him a email. i'm not a person who wants to know what's his phone number or such other stuff, but just a fanmailing. i would like to ask him something very important for me. please, could you help me? i hope for a request. many greetings Sanela

email: [email protected]

There's no guarantee they'll pass it on to him, but you can mail his production company, Ouille Productions, at [email protected] Superm401 | Talk 21:11, August 20, 2005 (UTC)

Spanish Heroines

I am searching for a woman whos' name was Francesca, guardi del Castell-Fort. Was told that she has a portrait in either the Museo of Armas in Madrid, Spain or Museo del Ejercito in Madrid, Spain. Can you help me?

You might do better in the Spanish Wikipedia. In Spanish your question would be "Busco a una mujer quien se llamaba Francesca, guardi del Castell-Fort. He oído que tiene un retrato de ella o en el Museo de Armas en Madrid o el Museo del Ejercito, también en Madrid. ¿Pueden Vds. ayudarme?" Also, you may be interested to know that "guardi del Castell-Fort" sounds almost certainly Catalan rather than Spanish, so you might want to try the Catalan Wikipedia as well. -- Jmabel | Talk 22:16, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Japanese subway sleeping hats?

A friend of mine has indicated that the Japanese wear a hat with a veil on subways that cover your face so you can sleep on the subway without the embarassment of drool, etc. What is the name of this hat? (It may be a Chindogu... I don't know.) --AllyUnion (talk) 21:12, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

I believe it is Chindogu, though the specific name for this piece of Chindogu I don't know. I might ask my Japanese housemate, if I remember. Dunc|☺ 21:24, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Oh, btw, Photograph Dunc|☺ 21:25, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

The hat shown in the citation above [5] seems designed to keep the wearer from slumping forward and to announce the wearer's destination so that they be awakened at the appropriate station. It seems to offer no veil to drooling, mouth-agape, lip-movement or other potentially embarassing sleep conditions. Thus, it is truly Chindogu, an "invention" of little practical utility. hydnjo talk 23:35, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Actually, according to my friend, this product is widely used, and is very useful apparently. It's kind of like a short veil that covers your face which is a hat. --AllyUnion (talk) 06:28, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

The photgraph above is not quite what you're looking for, try this [6], where it's just called a "subway sleeper's screen." 132.175.9.1 17:17, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

That site ^ is a hoot. Lots of funny chindogu. :-) hydnjo talk 19:53, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

famous pubs

I previously asked this question. What is the most famous pub? There's so many in the world, surely theres some world-famous ones --Wonderfool t(c) 23:55, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

Why, the "Fool & Firkin at 2 Gasking Street in Plymouth of course. ;-) hydnjo talk 00:17, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

The Cheers pub in Boston could be considered one of the more famous pubs. Rentastrawberry 01:32, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Cheers. Famous TV tourist trap - yes. Famous for other than popular entertainment: guess where I am - no. hydnjo talk 02:03, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

The oldest pubs tend to be famous if they brag about it. For example, the oldest pubs in england are either The Bell Inn (Nottingham), or The Old Trip To Jerusalem (Nottingham) depending on your definition of pub.

Similarly, anything used as a location in a work of literature, film, etc. will be famous. I don't know if you're counting fictional pubs such as the Prancing Pony*.

(* didn't I once see a List of fictional drinking establishments page which should be in Category:Lists of fictional things?)

• • The World's End in Edinburgh was briefly notorious after a spate of murders (the "World's End Murders" in 1977, recently solved), though I believe that was only nationally - I note the article is on the London pub of that name. We have a Category:British public houses, but most of the ones I can name aren't in there. Shimgray 13:40, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

It's hard enough to pick the most famous in any given city... -- Jmabel | Talk 22:22, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Discrepant voltage of rechargeable batteries

AA Batteries typically offer 1.5 V. However, NiMH AA batteries offer only 1.2 V. My questions are:

1. Is this in compliance with the relevant ANSI/IEC Standards?
2. Does this noticeably affect NiMH performance in common use?
3. Why aren't NiMH batteries made to provide 1.5 V?

--LizardWizard 00:35, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Each chemical composition for a voltage cell has its own EMF (voltage). As the engineers and scientists develop new combinations they allow for particular parameters to be within a range. Some of the parameters are: manufacturability, availability of component chemicals, hazardous waste, volatility, size of a cell, charge capacity, number of recharges, cost to consumer, etc, etc, etc. One of the parameters is of course the natural voltage of a particular chemistry. It's a battle of compromise. A combination of compromises that gives the consumer a 10¢ battery that has too low a voltage (say 0.5 volts) will fail in the general marketplace whereas a battery that can be charged a million times and provides exactly 1.5 volts but would cost $100.00 may also not succeed. So, after too many words for your question, if it's available in the consumer marketplace then it's OK for general use. The product that is receiving the energy must also of course be flexible or it will fail in the consumer marketplace. hydnjo talk 01:31, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Oh, BTW, NiMH at this time has the most rechargeability capability without concern for the memory problem which plagued NiCad technology. This feature alone has propelled NiMH to the leading thechnology choice for most consumer products in the 2004-2005 timeframe. hydnjo talk 04:28, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

On a side note, this is thanks to some nifty solid state chemistry. --HappyCamper 04:36, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

I have a question.....

The south asian subcontinentis separated from the rest of asia by the?

A. Himalayas and the Hindu Kush
B. Nile Valley
C. Ganges
D. Arabian peninsula
Question contributed by 67.182.209.137 hydnjo talk 02:12, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Why do I feel like saying Go little sparrow, and use this idea to help you find food. And then little sparrow, you will not only not go hungry but you will pass this on to your offspring, and they also will not go hungry. hydnjo talk 02:24, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Why take the word of a stranger and risk getting the wrong answer. Please read South Asia and the answer may become obvious. If after reading the article you are still confused as to the answer then, by all means, c'mon back and we'll give you some additional help. hydnjo talk 01:06, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Also realize that this is not a place for direct answers to homework questions. ¦ Reisio 01:13, 2005 August 21 (UTC)

Maybe the IP was a somehow involved with Who Wants to be Millionaire? :-) --HappyCamper 02:48, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps. Does that somehow make us complicit or even better, beneficiaries. Go Fundraising. hydnjo talk 03:06, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Wikisolution

Hello,

I was wondeing if Wiki will start a new project which will be similar to Google Answers.

It could have endless amount of problems with the solutions.

IE. How do you find the square root of something?

For example type in http://www.google.com which means call up Google and put "sqrt of 7" in the question box. And then magically you get the answer. I guess I don't get the question, hydnjo talk 03:57, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Then someone could answer it.

Is there any furtue for this type of project?

Wikipedia is first of all an online Encyclopedia. To the extent that someone has a question about a specific topic, our article will I think provide a comprehensive response. To the extent that an arbitrary question is posed, then we have Wikipedia:Ask a question to help the user that may have a question not addressed in our catalog of articles.

Google Answers is an excellent place to pose specific (out of the ordinary) questions that most likely wouldn't be addressed within an encyclopedia article (How do I know if my septic system is working?). These types of questions may also be posed at the Wikipedia:Reference desk (or as a shortcut: WP:RD). Both places will probably get you a satisfactory response although at the Wikipedia:Reference desk there is no cost for an answer.hydnjo talk 03:57, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Maybe he's asking if we could create technology like Google's that instantly answers questions automatically. If so, the answer is definitely not. However, the Reference Desk(this) is a great free substitute for Google Answers, IMHO. Superm401 | Talk 04:50, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

hut in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens

Does anyone know what this hut is? Like is it Captain Cook's Cottage? It was taken at the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens --Fir0002 05:23, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

It does look like Captain Cook's cottage, but that is in the Fitzroy Gardens, not the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens (unless it's been shifted again since I saw it in 1998).-gadfium 05:40, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Whatever it is, it looks far too new to have been used by Cook! At a guess, I'd say it is less than 30-40 years old - MPF 11:43, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Babe Ruth Or Honus Wanger

Did either Babe Ruth or Honus Wagner ever play ball for the town of Bulger PA. ?

Identification of photos

Hi! I have some more photos for identification:

• Parasites or caterpillar eggs?
  Parasites or caterpillar eggs?
• 
  Taken in Melbourne Australia, during winter months
• 
  Taken in Melbourne Botanical Gardens. Is it a strangler fig?
• Taken in Melbourne Botanical Gardens. I've already named it a strangler fig, but I'd like to have a second (or more!) opinon
  Taken in Melbourne Botanical Gardens. I've already named it a strangler fig, but I'd like to have a second (or more!) opinon

Thanks again! --Fir0002 05:50, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

The second from left are Red Hot Pokers MyNameIsClare talk 09:20, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

More answers at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Tree of Life - MPF 11:44, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

dolphin and an anchor seal

I am trying to figure out what the saying is that is around the dolphin and an anchor seal. If you could help me i would appreciate it!

Thanks Jessica.

You mean "Festina lente" ("Hurry slowly")? "...the anchor symbolizes delay in considering and the dolphin speed in finishing." [7] (Erasmus) David Sneek 06:32, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Mathematics: Handshakes

Prove that the number of people who have shaken hands an odd number of times is an even number. --anonym

Do you have a question to ask, or are you just giving us homework problems? ¦ Reisio 07:58, 2005 August 21 (UTC)

Hint: count the number of people-handshakes in two different ways. On the one hand, it is twice the number of handshakes (because there are two people involved in each handshake) so it must be even. On the other hand, it is the sum over all people of the number of times each person has shaken hands. What can you say about the number of odd terms in a sum whose result is even ? Gandalf61 09:54, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

• $H={\frac {P*(P-1)}{2}}$

Where H=handshakes, P=people, (p-1) because out of p people I do not shake hands with myself. There are p*(p-1) encounters, and I divide by 2 because John and Mary shake hands once.

$p*(p-1)\$ has to equal an even number because

$2H=2*(2n+1)=\ even$, where n is any positive integer.

What do you think? Am I wrong? Do you proceed with a different thread of reasoning and would you like explain in a less verbal fashion? --anonym.

Yes, you are wrong. First of all, H is the number of times P people would shake hands if all had to shake hands with each other. The problem never asks about such a case. Second, all you've proven is that 2H is even, which is obvious anyway. See hint above, it pretty much solves the problem for you. Ornil 19:21, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

I get confused starting with "On the other hand, it is the sum over all people of the number of times each person has shaken hands. What can you say about the number of odd terms in a sum whose result is even ?" Can someone symbolically explain this part?--anonym

Classic "double counting" argument. Symbolically:

$\sum _{\mbox{people}}{\mbox{handshakes per person}}=\sum _{\mbox{handshakes}}{\mbox{people per handshake}}=2|{\mbox{handshakes}}|$

$\Rightarrow 2{\big |}\sum _{\mbox{people}}{\mbox{handshakes per person}}$

• Thank for the symbols.

If $2{\big |}\sum _{\mbox{people}}{\mbox{handshakes/person}}\neq P*(P-1),$then what does it equal?

>Suppose there are two people. Then each person shakes hands once.

  People       Handshakes per person
  ------       ---------------------
     2                   1

Now another guy walks into the room. He shakes hands with the two people already there (two handshakes for him), and each of the people already there adds a handshake to his collection (two total for them):

  People       Handshakes per person
  ------       ---------------------
     2                   1
     3                   2

Now another guy walks into the room. He shakes hands with the three people already there (three handshakes for him), and each of the people already there adds a handshake to his collection (three total for them):

  People       Handshakes per person
  ------       ---------------------
     2                   1
     3                   2
     4                   3

If you continue this for a while, you'll see that the number of handshakes per person is odd only when the number of people is even.

> 2H=N*(N-1)

Odd handshakes-->even people, e.g., 45 handshakes-->10 people.

--even people ---does not imply--> odd handshakes because, for example, 24 people shake hands 276 times.

But the basic equation is (handshakes)*2=(people)*(people-1).

-anonym - learning that I was initially right.

But the original problem does not say that everyone shakes hands exactly once with everyone else. In your example, suppose some of the people entering the room only shake hands with a few people, not with everyone already there ? Suppose some pairs of people shake hands more than once ? The number of people who have shaken hands an odd number of times is still always even, but your argument does not work because the total number of handshakes may be more than or less than p(p-1)/2. Gandalf61 09:14, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

• You are right because if there are 24 people, then EACH person has shaken 23 hands; however, the TOTAL number of handshakes is 276, if everyone shakes hands with each other once.

I think I got it right; however, if I still do not understand another aspect of the problem, then let me know. --anonym

Partial Sum

Find a simple formula for $F_{1}^{2}+F_{2}^{2}+F_{3}^{2}+...+F_{n}^{2},$where $F_{k}^{2}$is the kth Fibonacci number. --anonym

Do you have a question to ask, or are you just giving us homework problems? ¦ Reisio 07:59, 2005 August 21 (UTC)

Fibonacci tiling

Hint: what is the area of the rectangle formed by a Fibonacci spiral tiling (the diagram on the right shows a Fibonacci spiral tiling of squares with sides equal to the first 6 Fibonacci numbers). Gandalf61 10:11, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

$F_{1}^{2}+F_{2}^{2}+F_{3}^{2}+...+F_{n}^{2},$is

$\sum _{k=1}^{n}F_{k}^{2}=F_{n}*F_{n+1}$.

In the case of the picture, we have

$\sum _{k=1}^{6}F_{k}^{2}=F_{6}*F_{7}=8*13=104$.

Thank you.--anonym

Mathematical Product

Find the product $\left(1-{\frac {1}{4}}\right)\left(1-{\frac {1}{9}}\right)\left(1-{\frac {1}{16}}\right)...\left(1-{\frac {1}{n^{2}}}\right)$. --anonym

Do you have a question to ask, or are you just giving us homework problems? ¦ Reisio 07:59, 2005 August 21 (UTC)

Check out the article Infinite product first...there is one equation there which seems to almost match the one here...A nice closed form expression exists for the product if you take the limit as n tends to infinity... --HappyCamper 13:43, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

• This problem can be solved without using limits because it is from a pre-calculus contest. I have evaluated the starting factors and think the answer is 1. Am I wrong? --anonym

You are certainly wrong. A product of several terms each less than 1 cannot be 1. Ornil 19:14, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

• anonym may have been thinking about 1/2+1/4+1/8+1/16 .... =1 hydnjo talk 20:50, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

It's pretty simple -- just use brute force. For n=2, of course, it's 3/4. For n=3, it's 4/6. For n=4, it's 5/8. Figure out the relationship between n and the numerator and the denominator, and the answer will fall into place. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 19:52, 21 August 2005 (UTC)I know that $\lim _{n\to \infty }{\frac {n^{2}-1}{n^{2}}}=1$.

But what does $\prod _{n=2}^{n\to \infty }{\frac {n^{2}-1}{n^{2}}}$

equal?--anonym

This is exactly the same expression as the original expression. Have you tried jpgordon's heuristic? It should be written as

$\prod _{n=2}^{\infty }{\frac {n^{2}-1}{n^{2}}}$ --HappyCamper 17:33, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

>

  1 - 1/4 =  (1 - 1/2)(1 + 1/2) = 1/2 x 3/2

  1 - 1/9 =  (1 - 1/3)(1 + 1/3) = 2/3 x 4/3

  1 - 1/16 = (1 - 1/4)(1 + 1/4) = 3/4 x 5/4

  ...........................................

  1 -1/n^2 = (1 - 1/n)(1 + 1/n) = (n-1)/n x (n+1)/n

If we multiply these all together we get

1/2 x 3/2 x 2/3 x 4/3 x 3/4 x 5/4 x .... x (n-1)/n x (n+1)/n 

All terms cancel except very first and very last giving the result

  1/2 x (n+1)/n

If n -> infinity (n+1)/n -> 1 so the product -> 1/2

--Anonym with Dr. Math's help.

Blood types in bio articles

I've noticed a few biographical articles that had the person's blood type listed. Of those I've seen, all of them concerned someone who was from China or Taiwan. Is this some sort of cultural thing over there? Or is it maybe just coincidence that I ran into the articles that someone pulled info from the same source books or magazines that happen to list this sort of info? Dismas 09:34, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

See Japan_blood_type_theory_of_personality - it seems to be like an astrology type thing MyNameIsClare talk 09:44, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

The closest similar idiocy in the US was the Eat Right for Your Bloodtype book by Peter Adamo, which read as if it were describing how to feed different species of pets (e.g., herbivores vs carnivores) all based on this single inheritable cell surface protein! alteripse 10:40, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

• In some Japanese computer games, you get a character's blood type, as well as their ability to jump and run fast etc, to help make your descision.--Commander Keane 12:26, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanations. The more I learn about Japanese culture, the more strange it seems... Which of course begs the question, how weird are we Americans to them? Dismas 13:30, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

First off, remember that "strange" is a loaded word… As my high-school Spanish teacher taught us, "it's not strange, it's different. As an American currently living in Japan, I can attest that it is very different at times. How are Americans portrayed in Japanese culture? That's probably fodder for an entire article… English is used (and often misused) all over the place here. One of the schools I work at (teaching English, natch) is located in a shopping mall, in which nearly every single store has an English name, even though almost all of them are entirely Japanese companies (the The Gap right next to the Starbucks being an exception — right next to, fer crissake). It's kind of odd seeing your language being used solely for ornamental purposes, though I suppose Chinese people feel the same about all these Americans getting Chinese character tattoos without the least clue about what they mean.

Anyway, to sum things up, there's a commercial running on Japanese TV now where a bunch of Japanese people are at a wedding reception, singing a heavily accented version of "If You're Happy and You Know It" while dancing, cutting a cake, and doing other things associated with Western wedding receptions. As we get quick clips of people enjoying themselves at the party, our POV is deliberately drawn to the black man playing the piano to the tune of the song, and the handsome blonde photographer. I could go on, but this reply is getting long enough and I think that says plenty for now -- hit up my Talk page if you'd like to talk about this some more. Garrett Albright 15:16, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

I can't resist adding one more thing; for all that people worry about the McDonaldization of the world, McDonald's is one of the few American (or Japanese, for that matter!) outfits over here that use a logo in Japanese; マクドナルド, "Makudonarudo". Interesting. See the pictures of Japanese restaurants on McDonald's. Garrett Albright 15:21, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

G8 presidency order

The G8 article states that the presidency is alternated between each member country yearly in the order which they joined (France, United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, Russia). However, according to the article, Russia is president next year in 2006, between the United Kingdom and Germany (out of order) and when Russia should be president after Canada, in 2011, they seem to skip Russia and France becomes president. Anyone know the reasons why they aren't going in order? --Colonel Cow 12:28, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

charles stross' father

i am looking for information about a man named ricki stross. he was is cairo in 1937. he fell in love with a girl of 19 called vera faithfull. ricki stross was czechoslovakian. he was working for his fathers company in cairo. he went back to czechoslovakia and sent vera a photo of himself in a soldier's uniform. vera faithfull (now mcnair), is my mother. she is 88 now and remembers her first love very vividly and with great affection. she says: we both knew there was a war coming, and we would be on different sides. if charles stross's father was called ricki, there might be some connection. josie thomas.

Are you asking about the author Charles Stross? I have absolutely no idea, though I'd guess it's pretty unlikely statistically speaking...

Our page at Charles Stross links to his website, which has a contact email form, which would seem to be the best way to ask. (If you meant someone else, then who? If it's someone we should have an article on, it'd be helpful to know so we can create one) Shimgray 15:24, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Language codes

In HTML, you can mark text as being in english with either <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-gb">, or with <div lang="en">. How do you mark text as being in quenya and other fictional languages? Ojw 16:10, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

HTML language tags are described in detail here and use ISO 639 country codes. ISO 639 seems to have an entry for some fictional languages, e.g. Klingon (tlh), but not Quenya (or Sindarin, or even Elvish). x-quenya is probably as good as anything. -- Rick Block (talk) 18:08, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

Sheffield Milk Jug

I need to find some info about a silver plate milk jug marked on the bottom =="Sheffield Plate with a crown, crossed keys, and the number 29.

Well, it was made in Sheffield from Sheffield steel and silver plate. The mark to which you refer is the hallmark See here, but googling around I tihnk you might have to have a look at a book. Dunc|☺ 20:18, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Correction: it's Sheffield plate. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 20:19, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

My violin is 22 inches long. What size is it -1/2, 3/4?

Just want to know what I have. I have an Allan V-15 small violin measuring 22" from its bottom to the very top. I want to know if this a a 1/2 size or 3/4. Thanks

I believe it is 3/4 size. I have a 7/8 and two full size, and they are both slightly larger. Here is a size chart: [8] Hope that helps! Antandrus (talk) 19:53, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Are you concerned that the violin may not be the correct size for you? A quick check I do with students is to tell them to try and grab the scroll of the violin while it is on their shoulder. Can you reach it comfortably? If not, it might be a bit too big. --HappyCamper 22:10, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

tv show northern exposure

what network is northern exposure now on being hallmark doesn't have it on anymore? thank you

If you're asking what television network originally aired Northern Exposure, it's CBS. See our Northern Exposure article for more. Garrett Albright 01:36, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Um, I think our reader wants to know what network, if any, is currently screening the show in the United States. The answer may, sadly, be "none"; Yahoo's TV guide doesn't reveal any cable, satellite, or free-to-air broadcaster showing the program at present. However, you can buy the first three seasons on DVD, for instance from Amazon.com. I think it's highly likely that subsequent series of this well-loved show will be released in the future. --Robert Merkel 01:50, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

wanna help u!

hi i am from shiraz/iran! i would like to work with u to complete the infos on shiraz my city! contact me @ (email removed)

Welcome! Thanks for your offer of assistance; you don't need our permission, just go to the Shiraz, Iran page, click on the link that says "edit this page", and make any corrections and improvements you'd like to make to it, or indeed any other article. You may also be interested in the Persian language Wikipedia and the Arabic-language wikipedia. (NB: I have sent an email to our Iranian friend pointing him to this reply). --Robert Merkel 00:33, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

first broadcast of shoot out on TV

According to Lee_Harvey_Oswald#Oswald.27s_death, Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald (in 1963) was the first time in TV history that a homicide was captured and shown publicly live. But General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon (in 1968) says the broadcast of the execution gained notoriety as the first broadcast of a death on television. Is there any truth in the latter statement or the anon user just made that up [9] ? Jay 22:01, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

• Oswald didn't die instantly; his shooting was televised, but not his death. -- Jmabel | Talk 22:30, August 21, 2005 (UTC)

• • I was under the impression that he died instantly. Any idea what time he died ? Article gives the time of the attack as 11.21 AM. Jay 16:55, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

• I would also question whether the TV footage of General_Nguyen_Ngoc_Loan was broadcast live. DJ Clayworth 17:03, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• The user that inserted that stuff seems a genuine chap, I've been looking at his contributions. That's not to say he can't just be plain wrong though ;o) --bodnotbod 21:03, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

MLA Citation

I am trying to cite the Leonardo Da Vinci article on the Wikipedia online encyclopedia and I dont know what to do. Could you help me??

See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. Guettarda 22:10, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Washington State desert names

What are the names of all the deserts in Washington State. The one in particularly I would like to know is the one that is on the east side of Washington and runs from the Canada/Washington border through Oregon and into California.

Hmm. I live in said desert, and I have no idea. I don't think it has a name. --Matt Yeager 00:49, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

• Isn't that the Columbia Plateau (and the northern part of the Great Basin)? --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 01:20, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

clip clop

You know when people ask you to an impression of a horse walking, and you make a "clip clop" sound with the tongue. Well, how do u write that sound in IPA? It's for a weird short novel that I'm writing - and this in needed in a scene, without it the scene would be a lot less funny. --Wonderfool t(c) 00:05, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps something here might be useful? Click_consonant, Xhosa language, Xhosa --HappyCamper 00:46, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

A Dam, A Rock, A City, but what's the name

I am trying to find a name of a dam and city in the US that share the name of a rock.

Plymouth? Plymouth rock. The city Plymouth. Results on yahoo show that there is a Plymouth Dam. I don't really understand your question, but I hope thats what your looking for. Rentastrawberry 03:30, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

How about Boulder? The dam is a bit better known. alteripse 03:34, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Yeah but the dam's name is Hoover Dam. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 04:04, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, but originally it was called Boulder Dam; Boulder_Dam#The_naming_controversy ¦ Reisio 04:20, 2005 August 22 (UTC)

Yeah, and Old New York was once New Amsterdam. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 05:14, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, and one time my sister and her friends dressed up like The Bangles and made a music video, but that's also completely irrelevant. ¦ Reisio 05:23, 2005 August 22 (UTC)

Rock Island Dam? I tried :( K1Bond007 05:26, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Sudoku

I am stuck on this Sudoku problem and would like some help with it. Ideally, the solution and perhaps an analysis of where I went wrong :-) I don't know where this particular puzzle came from since I found it lying around in the office.

Here's the puzzle

4	6	2		7
5			1		2		6
					3	5	2	4
6	8		2			4
		9		6	5		1
		3	7				5	8
2	5		3		7
		6		5		1		2
	1			2		3		5

I have:

4	6	2	5	7	X		3	1
5			1	4	2		6
			6	X	3	5	2	4
6	8	5	2	X	X	4
		9	X	6	5	2	1	3
		3	7	9	X	6	5	8
2	5		3	1	7			6
		6		5		1		2
	1			2	6	3		5

In particular, something seems incorrect in the middle, but if I backtrack, I find a contradiction! Any tips would be appreciated. --HappyCamper 04:05, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

See, perhaps, http://www.soduku.org.uk/. -- Rick Block (talk) 04:46, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Nothing seems wrong to me; I solved it and all your numbers are right, though I don't know what the X means. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 05:12, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

I have changed the numbers he got wrong to Xes. --R.Koot 05:31, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• I don't know where you went wrong, but I managed to solve it without problems. You probably had some duplicate numbers in the same row. I suggest you double check before you put them in. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:07, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

  Ah, of course. I put an 8 in the very top X without noticing a 9 in the other row. Thanks! --HappyCamper 10:38, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

This puzzle is interesting because (1) the layout is not symmetric and (2) the initial position has an unusually large number of filled-in cells: in newspapers, puzzles typically have 20–30 filled-in cells in the initial grid. This has 36. So I suspect the puzzle has been generated by computer, and rather naïvely too. Gdr 13:05:53, 2005-08-22 (UTC)

European Cup & Champions Leauge.

Hi,

Could you please clarify, if possible, the following questions!

1. How many Republic of Ireland players have won a European Cup or Champions League meadal?

2. Who are they?

3.And if a team wins the Champions League how many medals are awarded and what is the criteria for the allocation?

Thank you for your help in thios matter.

Joe.

Tryptophan vs. L-

And your question is... - Mgm|^(talk) 10:32, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Are you asking a question about the amino acids? They come in L and D forms and the L form predominates in biology. --HappyCamper 10:34, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Want to be registered

I am a Namibian citizen and old Swapo support. However, I have realised my support, to be invisible hence I am not a registered member of Swapo.

Therefore, my question goes like, "How do I become a registered member of Swapo? I am not in Namiba now and I have been living in a marginalised village while home therefore.

I'm reachable at the following e-mail addresses. rkanime2001 at yahoo dot ca rubestov at yahoo dot com

Your kindly attention will be highly appreciated!!

• Sorry, this is not the website of SWAPO but of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Apparently SWAPO does not have an operating website (though I would check on www.swapo.org again in the future), so we were the first google result. I suggest calling friends and family back in Namibia or talking to fellow Namibian expatriates in the country you're in now (presumably Canada) about registering with SWAPO.--Pharos 11:07, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Underground

(moved from article space - Mgm|^(talk) 10:32, August 22, 2005 (UTC))
i am looking in the unergroud of old sacamento,ca i have heard there is a undergound but not much is know any thing that is know would be good to know. - anon User:12.72.149.184

• Please be more specific. Do you mean an underground railway? I looked on www.urbanrail.net and www.lightrail.com, but could find nothing. Do you mean underground tunnels? Ground Zero 20:15, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

The streets of Sacramento were raised in the 1860s because of repeated flooding. Try http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2003-07-17/cover.asp. Zoe 23:44, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Writing data to a disk

what term is used to refer to the process of writing data to a disk?

• Saving? — JIP | Talk 13:10, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
• Many people will say "burn" when referring to a Compact disc or DVD. Though "writing" is also correct. Dismas 13:19, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
• Writing. ¦ Reisio 13:21, 2005 August 22 (UTC)

product and its territory with refernce to its a organisational structure

hi, my name is mervyn. i wanted information about companies that have an organisational structure for its product in a certain territory. hope u can provide me this infomation asap. my email id: aqua_thirsty AT hotmail DOTcom. thankyou.

• Please be more specific, if you can.--Pharos 13:26, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Who is the author and title of this book?

I remember reading a science fiction novel many years ago that referenced a "new" race of humans that were developed from "normal" human genes, but altered for various qualities. As a result of this "tampering" the birth rate of the "new" humans was very low. To alleviate this problem, a special scheme of "breeding" was created which was called "braiding". As I recall the family consisted of "inner" and "outer" siblings. The inner siblings were brother and sister and each inner sibling chose one outer sibling to mate with. Can anyone tell me who the author is and the name of the novel? I would like to re-read this book, if only I could find it.

--anon

This is The Family Trade by Charles Stross. There is a recently published sequel, and more books in the sereies are expected. This kind of question is often usefully asked on the usenet group rec.arts.sf.written. DES ^(talk) 05:12, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

just war / just price

Hi, I would like to know of what is the meaning of just war and just price? Is it closer to a "fair" or a "righteous"? roscoe_x 13:49, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Well the meanings are pretty clear from the articles, perhaps if you could re-phrase the question, or add some context, we could help. Trollderella 15:12, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

I think I've found the answer from a dictionary. Thanks for your response. Cause I only knew "just" (meaning) when it is used in "just now". roscoe_x 21:18, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

you want this link then -- "just" is from yewes- "ritually pure" :) dab (ᛏ) 21:32, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

and, in this sense, has the same etymology as "justice". -- Jmabel | Talk 06:16, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

bengals vs. broncos mnf 2004

Last night me and some people had a disagreement about the 2004 monday night football game bengals vs. broncos 2004. The issue was, when they came back from commercial they showed a local chili place called Camp Washington Chili. When they showed it John Madden said he loved Cincinnati style chili. The dispute over this is they say that the local area here is the only ones that seen this. Did the people of Denver see Camp Washington Chili on TV like we did?? Please let me know

Thanks,Chris

Without having any specific knowledge of that particular broadcast, I would say that the answer is no. It is unlikely that a local restaurant would pay the amount of money necessary for a national ad. What seems more likely is that since it was a Bengals game, that John Madden was watching the Cincinnati feed and so made the related comment. --CVaneg 19:07, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

It sounds like they showed the place as part of the ABC feed before returning to the game, in which case everybody saw it -- it's not an ad but rather a culture spot. There wouldn't be a Cincy or Denver TV feed for a nationally-broadcast game, anyway. — Lomn | Talk 19:23:35, 2005-08-23 (UTC)

pronuciation

where is the guide to pronunciating words like

/tʃe/ or /ʃeɪ/

At International Phonetic Alphabet, or (more concisely but less complete) International Phonetic Alphabet for English, or (even more concisely and even less complete) IPA chart for English. —Cryptic (talk) 16:38, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Pronunciation of Old English Personal names beginning with 'C'

I am in the process of researching my surname 'Kidd', but have no linguistic qualifications.

Bishop Cedd established a church at Lastingham (654), Yorkshire, and was a pupil, under Aidan, at Lindisfarne. Although of a 'missionary Roman Christian' upbringing, he and his younger brother Chad (as well as Cuthbert) were much influenced by 'ascetic Celtic Christianity'. The ministry of Bishops Cedd and Chad was widespread (including Northumbria,Mercia,East Anglia,Essex)- in fact, at times, Cedd involved all his brothers, Cynebil, Caelin and Chad, at St Mary's,Lastingham.

Placenames : Kedington is in Suffolk (20 miles from Soham,Cambs - a hive of ancient Kidds; all early American Kidds are thought to descend from a Thomas Kidd of Soham) Keddington is in Lincolnshire. I understand these may derive from 'tun'=farmstead of ingas='the people of' 'Cydda/Cedd'.

Surname Variants : Kyd/Kid/Kydd/Kidd - In the Borders area there are Kide/ Keid/ Kede/ Keed(e)/Kead(e)/ Ked(d); these were probably all subject to a later scots dialect. Other names mentioned in "The Sunames of Scotland" by George F.Black are Kiddie/Keddie/Kiddy/Ceddy and Aidan,Cuthbert,Colman (saints names).

I understand the letter 'K' was rarely used in Old English. And that the Celtic 'K' may easily have replaced the Anglo-Saxon 'C', considering that the aboriginal population were predominatly Briton and not of Anglo-Saxon stock.

Another pointer is that the Anglo-Saxons used alliteration in naming children of the same family, therefore it is likely that Cedd,Cynebil,Caelin and Chad sounded similar. Does King translate from the Old English 'Cyng'? Did the 'Ch' of Chad have a hard 'K' sound? Would all have these brothers' names been pronounced with a hard 'K'?

Specifically, am I correct in assuming Cedd is translatable as Kedd/Kydd/Kidd, if not in immediate Saxon times, over the passage of time? My feeling is that Bishop Cedd converted families of Britons during his missionary work and that such families/communities may have adopted a 'baptismal surname'. Villages like Keddington were such communities, and people with surnames such as Cuthbert and Aidan may have had similar origins. I have recently had my Y-DNA analysed and the haplotype matches against individuals of Border Reiver surnames Beattie, Burns and Dixon, suggesting that my direct paternal genetic roots are indeed the Borders area. --Derek44 16:05, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

company registerred in gibralter

can i get info on a company reg. no 52251 adress po box 847 gibralter

Write to them at PO Box 847, Gibralter? What information do you want? Trollderella 16:30, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

I'd recommend spelling it Gibraltar when you do. DJ Clayworth 16:54, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Tickets for sights in London

Is it possible to purchase tickets for 1. Buckingham Palace 2. Tower of London in Victoria Station? I have heard there is a shop for this right in Victoria Sta. Can you help? Regards Dave email [email protected]

Why not buy a ticket to Buckingham palace at the official Royal Collection site and for the Tower of London try calling (0171) 709 0765 (British dialing code is 44) Superm401 | Talk 21:13, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Ye gods, it's years since we had 0171 numbers! That number maps to (020) 7709 0765 since London now has 8-digit local numbers. Buckingham Palace is only open in the summer when the Queen's away on holiday (only in August if I recall). The only other way in (other than hang-gliding or climbing the walls, which usually results in a quick exit) is to get invited to a Royal Garden Party, as I did in 1997 - no, I've no idea how you get invited, the invitation from the Lord Chancellor's Office just came in the post one Saturday morning.... -- Arwel 13:09, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

If you are a citizen of a Commonwealth country, contact your High Commission. I believe that they may be able to help get an invite to a Royal Garden Party. Ground Zero 13:26, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Rules for Translation

I am trying to translate some of the articles in the English version to the Bahasa Melayu language. As the contents of the articles are therefore not original, what are the applicable rules involved and how do I credit the original source? I have been searching for the Wikipedia Guidelines on this matter but have been unable to find it. PM Poon 17:12, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

If you were translating the articles into English, I would suggest giving a link to the Wikipedia article which you have translated and also linking to any references used by that article (noting their language). The Bahasa Melayu Wikipedia may have their own guidelines on this, if not, you may like to propose some there. Warofdreams 17:25, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• It would also be a good idea to make note of of the original language on the translated article's talk page. BTW, I translated part of a German article a while back and I think some sources were deleted because they weren't in English. To me, that seems to break some rules. Shouldn't citing the original sources be more important than language considerations? - Mgm|^(talk) 18:09, August 22, 2005 (UTC)
  • Deleting sources never adds any value, but I think it is reasonable to encourage having at least some references in the language the article is translated to. - Taxman ^Talk 18:46, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

The food clasification of a pumpkin

Is a pumpkin a starch?And is any squash a starch or carbohydrate?

• You'd best start with our articles on pumpkins, squash and starch. You need to realize that neither of the two vegetables (or are they fruits?) are made up of one type of molecule. But I do think they contain some type of sugar which is a carbohydrate. - Mgm|^(talk) 18:14, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Edith Falls and other unknown places

Hello I would like to know where Edith Falls should go? Thank you. --Newsreporter 19:03, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Naming_conventions ¦ Reisio 23:06, 2005 August 22 (UTC)

Unknown

http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/oldom.jpg Hello what is this place? --Newsreporter 19:43, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• If I may hazzard a guess its a farm somewhere in Pennsylvania since it is on a Penn State server. 68.83.229.146 22:11, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• Clicking around in the folder that image is in finds some links and it appears much of it is about penn State history. Then this was linked to from one of those pages. It is the history of the Old Main building on what I assume is Penn State's campus. So your picture looks like farming around the unfinished old Old Main building sometime between 1856 and 1864. - Taxman ^Talk 22:46, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Unknown

http://www.dreamlandscapes.com/space/space13.jpg Hello what is this? --Newsreporter 19:42, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Looks like a poorly managed piece of macadam to me. --bodnotbod 00:09, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Unknown road

Hello what road is this http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/97489/2/Road_to_the_unknown.jpg? --Newsreporter 19:40, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Unknown location

Hello where is this? http://www.trailblazersww2.org/gettypics3/Unknown%20Location%201.jpg --Newsreporter 19:36, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

With absolutely no proof and very limited memories of the city, it reminds me somewhat of Bristol. --Brasswatchman 06:04, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

War in Iraq

• discussion has been moved to Iraq War --HappyCamper 11:06, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Oil

It says petroleum Iraq is the lowest and Saudi Arabia is the highest so why is it that Iraqi oil is more important? --Newsreporter 19:20, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

On the list on the petroleum page, Iraq is the lowest because it has been producing far under its capacity for a long time, first as a result of the sanctions, later because of the war. Iraqi oil itself is not more important of course, but now that global supply (84,12 million barrels per day) has been exceeded by demand (84,38 million) [10], the possibility to produce more makes Iraq of strategic importance. David Sneek 19:47, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Thanks anything else? --Newsreporter 19:48, 22 August 2005 (UTC) What is oil in america right now? The price for a barrel? --Newsreporter 20:00, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Oil prices are heavily based on supply, demand, and uncertainty. Demand has gone through the roof due to the explosion of China development of their economy. Uncertainty is also very high due to many elements

• Iraq war
• Venezuala economy
• various scientific evidence that the world may be running out of petroleum

Consequently the price of oil is going to get much higher before we see any relief. AlMac|^(talk) 20:20, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Oil is currently about US$60, though. Superm401 | Talk 00:57, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

To clarify--see peak oil for an explanation, but the theory isn't that we're running out of oil, but rather that it will get harder and harder to produce. Meelar (talk) 20:22, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

Bell of Silence

Hello does anyone know anything about this? --Newsreporter 19:24, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Did you mean the "Cone of Silence" of the comedy Get Smart? -- Toytoy 01:26, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Serial Number Location on a Model T Ford Truck

Are you asking where you would find it, or what format they take, or what they mean, or who came up with them, or ... ? Proto t c 14:59, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Pedefiles

Do they abuse both male and female children, or do they choose one gender only?

• There is no simple answer. Some prefer one sex over the other, while others abuse children of both sexes. See Pedophilia. Ground Zero 21:52, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• In exactly the same way as for adults who are attracted to other adults it depends on the individual - some are attracted to girls, some to boys and some to either. I cannot cite any sources for this, but I have a vague recollection of hearing somewhere that the proportion attracted to either gender is higher than the proportion of bisexual adults in the general population; if this correct or even if the study was scientifically rigourous and statistically significant I cannot say. For those attracted to both, I suspect that the 'availablity' (for what of a much better term) of the children has an impact on who they become involved with. See also the Paedophile article. Thryduulf 21:58, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• I don't think it's a question of these paedophiles being "bisexual" as much as it is that they are attracted to "children" as children, and not as boys or girls. Ground Zero 22:03, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

I agree. Many people tend to confuse paedophilia with homosexuality. The fact that a particular paedophile is attracted to children of the same sex does not make them a homosexual. The fact that a particular paedophile is attracted to children of the opposite sex does not make them a heterosexual. The fact that a male adult is attracted to other male adults does not mean they have any sexual interest in little boys (or little girls for that matter), despite what some elements of popular culture and media-induced hype would often have us believe. Hetero-, homo- and bi- sexuality all relate to sexual activity or relationships between adults. Where the victim of an adult's sexual attention is a child, that is paedophilia, pure and simple. I am even tempted to say that the majority of paedophiles whose victims are the same sex are heterosexual rather than homosexual when it comes to their relationships with adults. That is just my belief and I have no evidence to back it up, but certainly media reports would tend to suggest this is the case. Cheers JackofOz 02:14, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

The Greek word "paedophilia" means "love of boys". Despite this, paedophiles can be attracted to boys, girls, or both. While most paedophiles are men, I'm sure female paedophiles exist. — JIP | Talk 18:49, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

• Arguably, see Mary Kay Letourneau. Ground Zero 18:55, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Catholic orders (?)

I am trying to find out what the letters S.S. mean following the name of scholars such as Raymond E Brown. I know SJ refers to the Society of Jesus and I figure S.S. indicates a similar order of the Church, but was not able to locate it in the list in found in the encyclopedia. thanks william [email protected]

Our Catholic Order article states that it stands for the Society of Saint-Sulpice (also known as The Sulpician Fathers)--CVaneg 22:56, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Our Raymond E. Brown confirms this. --CVaneg 23:02, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

• That should probably be included in SS (disambiguation). - 131.211.210.12 07:59, 23 August 2005 (UTC)
  • done --Tagishsimon (talk)

Yngwie Malmsteen Rock Guitarist Record sales in Soviet Union (Russia)

In your article on Yngwie, you said this:

"Odyssey would be his biggest hit album, mainly because of its first single "Heaven Tonight". Shows in Russia during the Odyssey tour were recorded, and released in 1989 as his fifth album Trial By Fire: Live in Leningrad. Not only was the concert in Leningrad the largest ever concert by a western artist in the Soviet Union, but subsequent Malmsteen record sales in Russia totalled 27 Million. Interestingly that is as many recordings as the Red Hot Chili Peppers had sold in total by 2003, worldwide."

I would like to ask your source on the sales in Russia and if you could direct me to where I might find his total worldwide sales to date.

Thank you,

Adam Kralic

If you check the edit history, you'll find that information was added in this edit, dated 09:57, 6 December 2004. The edit was made by an anonymous user, and no source was provided. Frankly, the Malmsteen article is not one of our better ones; articles about popular musicians tend to be written by fans whose grasp of our NPOV policy is a little bit less complete than it should be. --Robert Merkel 00:37, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Fire logos in the US

[11] why do fire depts have logos like this?--216.228.164.6 00:41, 23 August 2005 (UTC) PS: I mean the general shape, not the star of life.

• Here's what the FDNY says: [12] --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 04:26, 23 August 2005 (UTC)
  • We just discussed this earlier this month. See this link Dismas 04:44, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

ent_fire code

I want to know what the word or code is to make an npc move or attack.

jtl--24.255.95.187 00:44, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Personally I prefer to modify the game binary in a hex editor myself...seriously, what game are you referring to? There's thousands of them :)--Robert Merkel

Don't reply to this - go to Wikipedia:Reference_desk#Half_Life_2_code ¦ Reisio 00:05, 2005 August 24 (UTC)

"It tastes like chicken."

A few stand-up comedians have commented on the real-world phenomenon of people who have eaten exotic (to a Westerner's palate) animals reporting that the animal tastes "like chicken".

What I'm wondering is whether any chemical analyses have been done of different meats that shows that the cooked flesh of various animals is near-identical and would account for the similarity in taste. --bodnotbod 01:09, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

When I was in high school, I believed trilobites would taste like shrimps while dinosaurs would taste like chicken jerky. I still think so. -- Toytoy 01:19, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Where do people get those high resolution pictures of classical paintings?

Say I want a poster of the Mona Lisa. Since it's in the public domain, I should just be able to print one off at Kinko's. But where do I find high resolution pictures like [13]? Wikimedia commons is full of them. --Jbaber 01:32, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

If you look at the image's page (Image:Georges_Seurat_004.jpg), it should tell you where it's from. ¦ Reisio 01:42, 2005 August 23 (UTC)

Sorry, I have to edit your reply to make the image offline. -- Toytoy 01:56, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Addle-minded :) ¦ Reisio 01:59, 2005 August 23 (UTC)

Sometimes they are simply not available -- denial of access (no camera, etc.) is in part how museums and archives maintain control over things for which they cannot fall back on intellectual property law. --Fastfission 14:50, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

There are a lot of different paintings here. --Think Fast 23:09, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

need to know 1,000,000=1 million pounds of sterling

Yes, 1 million is written 1,000,000 in the conventional numbering system. so 1,000,000 pounds = 1 million pounds. Was that your question? --Robert Merkel 04:58, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

If you are asking about British/American English differences with regards to numbers, I think they are only around the word billion, not million. --Fastfission 14:58, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

You may want to take a look at Names of large numbers. hydnjo talk 20:47, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

VS Naipaul's Mr Stone and the Knight's Companion

What is the main character's occupation in V.S. Naipaul's Mr Stone and the Knight's Companion?

He's a librarian. David Sneek 05:25, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Song from Prozac Nation trailer?

I need to know the names of the songs from the Prozac Nation trailer. Specifically, the song that is playing during Ricci's "I call this the crack house where I come to score..." speech.

I think you can see the trailer here:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/prozac_nation/trailers.php

Cheers

--Scapegoat pariah 06:10, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

You can also try this and this. -- Sundar ^{\talk \contribs} 06:20, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

More links to the trailer doesn't really help me, I have a copy of the trailer at work on a promo disc (work at a video store). Thanks anyway, though. The promo disc plays over and over again, and I hear this song every 15 minutes. It started growing on me. I don't suppose bumping this question would help all that much, since this isn't a forum.

I've e-mailed the company that sent us the disc, still no reply.  :( --Scapegoat pariah 04:39, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

double base

who made the double base first

• Our article doesn't say. I think your bests bet is http://www.doublebassguide.com/ from the external links of that article and drop the creator a line. He seems to have the sources to find out. - 131.211.210.12 08:04, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Translation from english to lithuanian

Hi i need to know how to spell/write "From Heaven" (as in I'm from heaven) from english to lithuanian. If you could please e-mail me back on [email protected] that would be great. Thank you for your time. --Kelly.

Specificity

I feel that there is an error in "Specificity" term: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specificity

You write that: "For a test to determine who has a certain disease, a specificity of 100% means that all people labeled as sick are actually sick."

But I feel that "For a test to determine who has a certain disease, a specificity of 100% means that all people labeled as NOT sick are actually NOT sick."

• Then go to Talk:Specificity and explain your reasoning to the editors who are involved in the article. - Mgm|^(talk) 12:49, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Each ... it, or Each ... them?

Moved to Wikipedia:Grammar desk.

Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia

We have an article on how to cite Wikipedia, and it seems likely that some people do. Are there some examples of books, papers or articles that cite Wikipedia? Radiant_>|< 14:03, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

There's Wikipedia:Wikipedia as an academic source. Frencheigh 14:18, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

• Excellent. Thanks. Radiant_>|< 14:25, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

NTB IN BENIN

You need to ask a question. See NTB and Benin perhaps? Dunc|☺ 15:15, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

I found the NTB article to be pretty uniformative, to be honest... but I would hazzard a guess that the user is looking for the application of negotiations to end non-tariff barriers to trade in agricultural produce for Benin, one of the major achievements of the Uruguay Round of the Agreement on Agriculture here is a start. Trollderella 16:47, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Adam Smith

I noticed that the Adam Smith entry makes no mention of the influence of Stoicism on his thought. Could some mention of this be made on that web page, with a link to further info on the Stoics?

Thanks, Eve D'Onofrio

Please, be our guest! Welcome to Wikipedia! Trollderella 17:01, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

In case, you didn't get that, you may edit the page yourself. Just click on the "edit this page" link on top of it and add the information in the appropriate place. Ornil 17:56, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

If it is correct of course. Please have some sort of reliable reference to cite so that the change will be trusted. - Taxman ^Talk 18:50, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Led Zeppelin

I've been listening to some Led Zeppelin songs, and have noticed that most of them have 5 parts. Singing - Robert Plant, Guitar - Jimmy Page, Bass and Piano - John Paul Jones, Drums - John Bonham, but there is another guitar too. The only explanation that I can think of is that Robert Plant plays the guitar too, but I didn't think that he did this. If you don't believe me go to the song Stairway to Heaven during the solo. There are four musical parts, but then Robert Plant isn't singing. Can someone please explain this. It has really started to bug me. Thanks. Rentastrawberry 20:02, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

My guess would be that these are just overdubs of Jimmy Page. Obviously if you're hearing this on something that was recorded live, it might not be the case. ¦ Reisio 22:53, 2005 August 23 (UTC)

InuYasha

In the wikipedia article on Inu Yasha, found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuyasha

It states that there is an episode #168 available only in Japan.

The most popular/frequented websites on the Inu Yasha anime do not list or mention this episode, neither do the various fansub sites that have followed and translated the Inu Yasha anime.

Can I please have further information on this reference?

Thank you

Someone here might know but the better bet would be to ask on the talk page for that article, Talk:InuYasha. Dismas 21:26, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

General Hospital

Can anyone give me a plot synopsis of what's happened in the past week on General Hospital? I haven't been able to see the show due to my schedule. Hermione1980 20:42, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Soap Opera Central has recaps of several soap operas, including General Hospital. Chuck 21:47, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

Half Life 2 code

Can someone tell me the code to make an npc attack and fight in a multiplayer game?

shortyjtl--24.255.95.187 23:07, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

See ent_fire code above. Elf | Talk 00:28, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

PLEASE HELP!

I am writing a term paper on James D Watson and i would like his emaill address

The article James D. Watson says that he serves as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. This link http://www.cshl.edu/ at the bottom of the article gives a contact link. hydnjo talk 00:54, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

Spanish translation

Can someone translate this for me; I have my own translation but I want to compare it to someone else's (it is a bit tricky):

"Se dio cuenta de que acabada de morirse cuando vio que su propio cuerpo, como si no fuera el suyo sino el de un doble, see desplomada sobre la silla y lo arrastraba en la caída. Cadáver y silla quedaron tendidos sobre la alfombra, en medio de la habitación."

--Neutrality^talk 00:28, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

How about, "He realized that he had just died when he saw that his own body, as if it wasn't his own but that of a double, was collasped on the chair and dragged it as it fell. The body and chair remained lying on the carpet, in the middle of the home." That was good practice. I had to refer to the translator for a few words, but translated it manually. What's "see"? Also, what'd you get overall?

What is Wikipedia's copyright date?

Please see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia (presuming that's what you're aiming at).--Pharos 01:40, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

Race date

I need to know the date of the 1958 Indy 500 race

According to [14], May 30. -- Rick Block (talk) 03:22, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

Patriot Act

Does any article of the Patriot Act require citizens that win sweetstakes to purchase insurance to cover the shipping of any amount of a monetary insturment?

I suspect that someone is trying to defaud you. Be wary of sending money or revealing any personal information to someone who contacts you out of the blue. You can read the full text of the USA PATRIOT Act here. Bovlb 04:48:51, 2005-08-24 (UTC)

• No, until it actually gets into your posession, the company who organized the sweepstakes are responsible for the money. Don't ever send money to receive more money. As Bovlb said, it's probably a scam. Could someone link to the discussion we had earlier this month about that? - 131.211.210.10 07:28, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

beggarman, thief (1979)

Hello,

Do you know where I can purchase a video of the mini-series Beggarman, Thief (1979)?

thank you,

Düül

According to various accounts, Düül (as in the rock group name Amon Düül) is variously a Turkish mythical figure, or a Turkish word for "moon". I can't find any evidence for this, nor any cites about what "Düül" actually means. According to various online dictionaries, the Turkish words for "moon" are "ay" or "uydu". Can anyone offer any enlightenment, preferably with a cite? -- Karada 07:50, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

cemetery of Bagneux (France)

Can you tell me what's the best way to find the index of persons who are buried on the cemetery of Bagneux?

Some are named in the Cimetière de Bagneux article. See also this page. David Sneek 08:39, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

Longest Word in Alphebetical Order

What is the longest word in English such that all its letters are in alphabetical order? --Anthonymorris 10:06, 24 August 2005 (UTC)