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Justitia, Themis, Lady Justice

Hello,

What does the sword, scales and blindfold of greek goddess Themis - Lady Justice represent?

Regards Stephen

For sure, I know that the blindfold means that justice is blind - everyone is treated equally under the law. I'm not sure about the sword and scales - probably the scales means that justice is balanced and suchness. Dysprosia 13:17, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)

  • Off the top of my head, the scales represent the accurate weighing of the two sides of a dispute, the blindfold indicates she is blind to extraneous factors (like power differences), and the sword is the power to back up the decision and punish the guilty. Alteripse 13:21, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Thank you.
davidzuccaro 09:17, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC) (for Stephen)

Girl in Advert

There is an advert currently running on TV in the UK for Lux Shower Gel in which a girl morphs into Sarah Jessica Parker. Who is the other girl (who IMNSHO considerably outshines SJP but that's a different question :-)? --Phil | Talk 13:51, Jun 14, 2004 (UTC)

Not that I know her name, but is this [1] who you mean ? (maybe the photo will stimulate someone's, err, memory) -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 02:04, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Not that this helps, but you're not the only one asking, and I'm not the only one asking why anyone would pay to turn into SJP: [2] -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 02:11, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Yes, that's her. While you're on a roll, how about the girl in the Spirito di Punto advert (who drives her sleeping boyfriend all over town, up and down stairs even, and he only wakes up when some steamy hunk offers her a coffee)? --Phil | Talk 14:35, Jun 15, 2004 (UTC)

Stephanie March

Moved from Stephanie March by [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]]

I am looking for information about the female that played a lawyer before the one that is on the program now. Her name is Kelly Lynch and noticed her on the movie Curley Sue and wondered why the computer won't show her on this program or Elias Koteas (note--s/he mentioned Law and Order:Special Victims Unit in the edit summary)
Movie Database shows Stephanie March started on Law and Order SVU in 2000. The only acress who left the series in 2000 or before was Leslie Hendrix [3]. There is no record of Kelly Lynch or Elias Koteas appearing there, even as guests. IMDB is very rarely wrong on these matters. DJ Clayworth 18:51, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Siebrigje

Note: An anonymous user (Kirky) created an article asking this question. I've deleted the article and moved the question here.  – Jrdioko (Talk) 04:15, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Anyone know what the old Frisian (female) given name "Siebrje" means? Sorry about that. Oh, and apparently it's spelled "Siebrigje", I remembered it wrong. Kirky

Siebrigje has Germanic origins. "Sie" meant "victory" and "brig" derives from "burg", which meant "protection". Thus, the name roughly stands for "she who guarantees victory". (The "je" is a just a diminutive thing.) Alternative forms of the name, all female, are Siburg, Siberchje, Siberkje, Sibrechje and Sibrich(je).

I should point out the existence of a treacherously similar set of names: Sibrecht(je), Siberdina, Siberta, Sibertsje and Sibetsje. (There are also male forms.) In these, the second part means "shining", so that the names mean "shining as a result of victory".

In case you need a formal reference, I based the above on page 227 of "Woordenboek van voornamen" by J. van der Schaar, published by Het Spectrum in 1970. 80.127.225.134 18:31, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Reflexognosy

Does anyone know who invented reflexognosy, when, and what techniques reflexognosy uses? Thanks Elpenmaster

If you can be bothered to trawl through Google:Reflexognosy you're welcome to it: looks to me like yet another way to separate poor benighted people-in-pain from their ready cash (but what do I know? I'm just a poor benighted cynic-in-pain tired of being ripped off). --Phil | Talk 09:31, Jun 15, 2004 (UTC)

British Broadcasting Corporation

Does the BBC have a motto (say in Latin or otherwise)?

"Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation" [4] -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 10:13, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that's the UN motto isn't it? Mark Richards 15:33, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

A google for "bbc motto" finds numerous occurances of "nation shall speak peace unto nation", with no UN hits. A google for "UN motto" and "united nations motto" doesn't find anything worthwhile. Moreover, here's a picture of the crest with that motto, from the BBC's website [5]. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:52, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Fascinating, I always thought that was written under the UN fig leaf log. Clearly I was halucinating... Mark Richards 22:08, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Why is snot green?

Why is snot green? -Anon

Only infected snot is green. I heard that this is because of white blood cells called Neutrophils which engulf the bacteria and digest them. One of the digestive enzymes is lactoferrin (the "ferrin" referes to iron. I.e. this enzyme is dependent on iron for it's activity. Now any chemistry teacher will tell you that iron compounds are usually green. theresa knott 11:26, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Curry powder vs. Garam Massala

The article Curry claims, that curry powder, aka Massala powder, is a spice mixture invented by the British. My cookbook, however sais, that Garam Masala is a genuine Indish spice mixture and not the same as curry powder. So, who is right? Simon A. 12:34, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

As I understand it: There are loads of different garam masalas (trans. hot mixtures) and they vary from dish to dish and region to region. Masala can be a dry spice mixture or a sauce. The curry powder you see in the supermarket is a bastardised version originally pioneered by the Victorians to add an exotic flavour to the food they made back home and is now used by their descendants to perk up baked beans, cheese on toast and the rest of our proud, epicurean tradition. The British can also be directly blamed for Beef curry, some people's disconcerting habit of sticking sultanas and much of the fruit bowl for that matter, in an Indian dish and the Phal. So I suppose curry powder is a kind of masala and the British have to take responsibility for it. Real Garam masala was used in Indian cusine long before the Europeans showed up though. adamsan 23:10, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Can u help me with a translation?

I would like to add a motto in Latin to literature I am producing for my football (soccer) team. the motto I would like (in English)is:

We are working, we are beautiful, we are glorious

Can you provide the Latin? Happy for suggestions - perhaps the imperative (let us work, let us be beautiful, let us be glorious).

Thanks for any help you can give

Eamon Doyle

Odds are I'm butchering this, but..."Sumus laborantis, sumus pulchri, sumus magni" is "We are working, we are beautiful, we are glorious" (or close to it, anyway--my Latin vocab is only slightly better than my Latin grammar). Note that this construction only works if your team is all-male--otherwise, it would be "pulchra" and "magni" (neuter form). On the bright side, no matter how much I botched this, not a lot of people will be able to tell. I'd definitely get a second opinion before using this, however. [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 13:26, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)
The problem is that (though it's not obvious in English) the first part of the motto is a verb and the second and third parts are adjective phrases. Latin would never use the verb "to be" and a present participle for "we are working": it would just use the present tense, "laboramus" ("we work"). Unfortunately this would be very odd in a list of three things, so you could alter the sense a bit and make it something like "pulchri gloriosique laboramus" ("beautiful and glorious, we work"), or alternatively you could use an adjective for the first part and have something like "diligentes, pulchri, gloriosi" ("hard-working, beautiful, glorious") (Latin would probably leave out the verbs there, as they can easily be understood). If the team consists entirely of male players or a mixture of male and female players, the words should be as above (in the masculine); only if it consists entirely of female players should they be in the feminine (either "pulchrae gloriosaeque laboramus" or "diligentes, pulchrae, gloriosae"). Proteus (Talk) 22:49, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)
1) "We are working" is indeed a verb phrase, with are working consisting of an auxiliary verb plus a progressive participle. 2) and 3) The second two occurrences of are, the ones preceding adjectives, are not auxiliary verbs but copulas (aka linking verbs, link verbs), meaning that they link the subject of the sentence to subjective complements, phrases completing the meaning of the verb and mandated by its subcategorization. If we wanted to say "We are humans", then the noun would be considered a predicate nominative?a restatement of the subject and a complement to the copula. Because of the differences in the grammatical structure of the various independent clauses (which when strung together without coordinating conjunctions are the members of an asyndeton, by the way), the three are not parallel and therefore need some reworking in the Latin translation.
I'd just like to offer advice. Please rethink the motto. It stinks. In English at any rate. And even once it's in latin you'll still have to explain it to people. --bodnotbod 22:01, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)

poetry contest?

Any chance of some more specifics on this one? Thanks! Mark Richards 22:10, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Specifics from you would be helpful....  ;) Try Poetry Scam Warnings for a start. Catherine | talk 16:06, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Tony Iommi

Does anybody know how to pronounce Tony Iommi's surname? Thanks in advance. --Auximines 07:49, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Eye—Owe—Me. HTH HAND --Phil | Talk 09:10, Jun 16, 2004 (UTC)

Treatment

This is to certify that Mr Arjun Tripathi (age 36) is suffering thyrotoxisis since 1997. Which is pathilogical proved. He want to take needful trteatment in your hspital. so plase help him aAnd now extra case of Dagmsed case of #both bone distal 1/3rd of Lt.forearm /c Thyrotoxisis.During the admition, Medical consultant say his surgery not done now until TFT is NWL.

Present history of patient

Tammer. Palpitation, wegiht lose, Appitite high,Both neek swelling. Differe thyroid swelling both lobe.B.P. 160/80 His pathology report as flows,

T3 2.8 (Normal rate 0.69 -2.02mg/dl, T4 18.9(normal rate 5-11.4)microg/dl TSH 0.6(normal rate 0.6-6.2)micro g/dl I refer my patient for some treatment in your hospital.

1) Complete patient evalutation. @) 1-131 update study. 3)possible 1-131 thyroid ablation. 4) Test for human thyroid stimulation immuneglobion. 5) Opimization of medical Therepy.


Thamks Dr.Papshupati Regmi Director B.P.K.C. Hospital. Nepal,Chetwan

I don't know where you think you are posting, but this is an encylopedia not a hospital. We don't treat people here. theresa knott 10:04, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)
When will they learn? That pile of dead bodies out back is starting to smell. --bodnotbod 22:05, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)

The profile of the prime minister of trinidad and tobago Mr Arthur n r robinson

The profile of the prime minister of trinidad and tobago Mr Arthur n r Robinson

Wikipedia doesn't seem to have a page for him as per Robinson. Politics of Trinidad and Tobago can be a good starting point. Jay 10:55, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

"Tukong Musool" Spelling

I wish to write an article about the Korean martial art (I've recently written two linguistics articles, a field I know nothing about, and I think it's time to vary my ignorance) Tukong Musool, which is derived from Taekwondo. However, a Google search for the term comes up with 35 results, which, to me, means that I'm spelling it wrong. Does anybody know what is the correct spelling? -- Itai 14:52, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Li said "A man who googles for the wrong thing finds it". Only when you have lost your desire to find this will you find it. Or you could look here: [6], [7] -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 19:23, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)
W.C. Fields said: "Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender." Nevermind that, however. You are wise and sagacious, Sensei (if we are all one, then so are Japan and Korea), and have managed to convince me that it may be advisable at the moment that I stay off areas of which I know absolutely nothing. <cue gong> I must say I was more than a little shocked when I saw some of the names of the martial arts were trademarked, which means that at least some of the masters got fed up with uncooked rice. (I think I cracked the system, though. As you'll notice, there are but a few component words, which are jumbled together to create the full name of the martial art. Thus, I am master of Han Sool, the Way of George Lucas.) <cue Far-Eastern Star Wars theme> theme I shall now abandon this unholy goal of mine, and settle instead for mastery of that new South Korean martial art, that of getting a home bandwidth connection thrice as big as the one used by Project ECHELON and using it all on MMORPGs. -- Itai 22:38, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Brazilian Federal District

I cannot find details of the districts population or area on Wikipedia, or Google... Anyone got these to give me?--Oldak Quill 15:31, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Brasília's population is about 1.75m inhabitants according to [8]. -- Itai 16:16, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)
According to statoids.com it's even more - 2,051,146 (2000 census). Seems like Brazilian Federal District needs work, as that article should list the number... andy 19:23, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Actually, I'm not sure whether the BFD and Brasilia are the same thing. I know that the BFD was formed so that Brasilia can be founded - very much like the American District of Columbia, or the Australian Capital Territory - but it could be that it encompasses more than Brasilia alone. -- Itai 00:11, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Transit of Mercury from Mars: camera resolution of rovers Spirit and Opportunity

On January 12 2005, there will be a transit of Mercury from Mars. If Spirit and Opportunity are still functional, they could observe it. Opportunity would be able to watch the first half of the transit from the start until local sunset, while Spirit would be able to watch the second half of the transit from local sunrise to the end.

The question is, what is the resolution of their cameras? Opportunity was able to photograph a transit of Mars's moon Deimos, with an angular diameter of 2', but Mercury's angular diameter would be only 6", or about 20 times smaller.

Does anyone have any contacts at JPL who might know if they're aware of the transit of Mercury, if there's any chance that Spirit and Opportunity might still be functional at that time, and if the Rover's cameras are capable of photographing it? -- Curps 18:20, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

This link indicates that the angular resolution of the cameras is 0.27 m/rad per pixel , which I presume is a milliradian. If that's correct, a pixel covers about 55", way larger than the figure you quote. --Robert Merkel 02:45, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Even if they can't resolve Mercury during the transit, they may be able to measure the drop in intensity for the obscured pixels. I guess it would be about a 1% reduction in intensity for an individual pixel. -- Solipsist 14:02, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

China

China is showing signs of becoming the next superpower. Its economy doubles every 8 years, it has a huge trade surplus with the U.S.A. and if this trend continues it will replace the U.S.A. as the world's leading economic power in the next decades. If China becomes a superpower, will this create another cold war scenario? Will it be a peaceful coexistence? China has even send a man into space, clearly it wants to become the second superpower.

This is quite possible. However, I think politically, China is not entirely stable (granted, it's not as unstable as, say, Iran). →Raul654 18:49, Jun 16, 2004 (UTC)
It's important to realize that the USSR was largely self sufficient - it did not rely on the US until quite late in its life. China and the US, however, economically rely on each other - inasmuch as I recall, America is the biggest market for Chinese goods. I'm not sure who would stand to benefit from a cold war. As for the EU, which you didn't mention, it too should be watched. While at the moment it seems to be stagnating, all member countries have too much to lose if its potential is not realized. Non of this is very encyclopedic, by the way. -- Itai 19:17, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)
China has huge numbers on it's side, and may well become the world's largest economy within a short period of time. This is somewhat different to becoming a superpower, since that implies a wide-reaching influence with the rest of the world. Additionally, China's unprecedented growth may be limited to the short term. IMHO opinion, neither China nor the European Union will have both the motivation and ability to initiate a cold war with the US in the next few decades. akaDruid 14:13, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Bear in mind that the profit system in the United States, as well as worldwide, is increasingly inefficient and unattractive. It is increasingly based on a vast difference in wealth between the richest 1% and an impoverished majority of "working poor." Profit economics has proven itself to the onlooking world as the greatest producer not of goods or wealth but of homelessness, joblessness, inadequate medical aid and increasing malnitrition. So the idea of there ever being another cold war is quite ridiculous. America itself is rejecting profit-based economics even as China is experimenting with or flirting with profit-based economics in a delimited geographical area. The experiment, while producing wealth for some is also producing increasing poverty for many, and this has been noticed. It is very unlikely that any "communist vs. capitalist" standoff will ever occur in the world again. The very notion is restricted to a small minority of so-called radical conservatives in the United States to whom anything liberal, anything that has economic policies which put the needs of people ahead of profits for corporate owners and executives, must be "stamped out." To this conservative minority, a cold war mentality is the same as the salvation of their profits and so they are for it. But it is aberrant in world thought and unlikely to confront, in the future, a powerful China whose economic base is in the public ownership of industry and resources.

Doric and Ionic Order

I'm looking for a high resolution digital image that matches (an exact match would be perfect) for the image on this Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_orders Does Wikipedia license images for use in other sources? I'm desperate. This is for a book I'm working on and I can't find this image anywhere!

If you click on those images, the image description page states that they are in the public domain, so you could use the images there, without permission, if you wanted. However, if you want access to higher-resolution images, the Wikipedia doesn't keep those; everything that we have is public by the very nature of Wikipedia. You'll have to contact the user who uploaded the images to see if they have a higher-resolution version available. If you click on the image and bring up the image description page, you can find out the user (Liftarn) who uploaded the image. If you click on their name, you bring up their user page. You can then contact them by either leaving a message on their discussion page, or clicking on the "e-mail this user" link on their user page. Hope this helps. --Robert Merkel 02:28, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Note there's a book published by Dover, [9], The Architectural Plates from the Encyclopedie, which should have that illustration. Since the Encyclopedie is very much public domain, there would be no problem scanning it from that book. -- DrBob 02:36, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
There's also a somewhat higher resolution copy of that plate here, but I doubt it's detailed enough for re-printing. -- DrBob 02:44, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Richard M Nixon's Funeral

I don't recall President Nixon being laid out at the capital rotunda in D.C. before his funeral at Yorba Linda.

Was this his choice or not?

I did a Google search, and it turns out this very question was discussed about 10 days ago in [10], according to which it was according to his and his family's choice. (See the link I provided for details.) -- Itai 23:56, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I think that there was a worry from his family about the potential satirical amunition that his 'lying in state' might provide... Mark Richards 22:03, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)


Nixon was, literally, a lawbreaker, a criminal, when he left the presidency -- in disgrace. For his body to be in the capitol rotunda would have been a mockery.

The Nixon family published a memo about it. Nixon himself felt that Washington, DC was too hostile against him and that it was the "enemy's turf." Instead he was laid in state in California. He also didn't want his presidential library to be governed from Washington, DC. That is why his presidential library is one the only libraries that is run by a private corporation that the former president established. Gerald Farinas 16:23, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)

articals on the body building compititions held in camden

which Camden ? I can see 15 of them in Camden. Jay 15:12, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)


Banana juice?

I know that you can't get banana juice, since squeezing bananas only makes them mushy, instead of producing juice, like most fruits. But I understand that recently there was a way discovered to have banana juice, that circumvented this problem, but I can't remember how they did it. Anybody know? Rhymeless 05:37, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

This article looks like it has found your answer, Rhymeless. The way they do it sounds quite efficient, something like 1mL of juice for every 2g of banana. DO'Neil 12:39, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)

Neil, good material ! I've added the stuff in banana article in the 'Properties' section. Jay 15:12, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)


Unknown Christopher Walken movie

I need someone to help me figure out what movie I am talking about. I only saw the first 20 minutes of it, or so. It's set in modern times in a large American city. Christopher Walken plays an eccentric magnate. The opening shows him screwing a prostitute, and then he tries to throw her out without paying because that's how he gets his kicks. (This is where it gets fuzzy) I believe she robs him, so he sends someone to rob her and beat her up. (Again, this is all in the first 10-20 mintues) What movie am I talking about? →Raul654 07:38, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)

Genealogy (moved from help desk)

I am a genealogist and normally assist italians and english descent persons seeking their family genealogy. I have recently been requested by a family in England to trace the family immigration to Chile and,specifically, Valpariaso where a child of english parents was born and the family appears to have remained in Chile on or about the 1850's. What links or databases can be accessed by computer,e-mail or snail mail?? Thank you. Peter Timber, Los Angeles. [email protected]

  • Unfortunately in the majority world the only genealogy that tends to get done is by Western settlers and even then it only tends to be those that are descended from peerage, or by western descendants who no longer live there. However you may wish to try any of the following links for your research:

British Broadcasting Corporation

Does the BBC have a motto? B.T.Edwards

"Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation" [11] -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 10:13, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Solar system's orientation in galaxy

Is the plane of our Solar System parallel to the plane of our galaxy? -- Heron 21:34, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Nope, it's inclined about 60°. If it was parallel, then the Milky Way would be aligned alone the ecliptic (which it isn't). -- DrBob 22:12, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Gay Football Players

Are there any gay football (that's - grits teeth - soccer) players? --bodnotbod 00:12, Jun 19, 2004 (UTC)

Justin Fashanu (but he's retired, I think) -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:54, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Justin Fashanu sadly killed himself, partly as a result of the negative reaction he got from his colleagues and family after being 'outed' by The Sun. Although there are likely to be other gay footballers, his experience has meant that none have openly admitted it in the English game. adamsan 06:41, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Oh yes, I'd forgotten about him. --bodnotbod 19:38, Jun 20, 2004 (UTC)

Universities.

What are the best Universities in the World, in terms of pure teaching and researching quality alone?

It depends on how you define "pure teaching." For example, "pure teaching" for me means "well-rounded" and free of dogmatic pressures. This is a hugely biased opinion but I'm going to mention it anyway. I think the Jesuits have come close to perfecting the institution of academia based on their ideals of liberal arts as a base, complemented with character, service and leadership education. They also were the first to champion free-thought education, allowing students to wander from philosophy to philosophy, religious value to religious value, to allow the student to come up with his or her own conclusions about a particular issue without setting limits as defined by the Jesuits' Catholicism.
If you're talking about "pure teaching" as in teaching strictly from facts without discernment (and minimal discussion of challenges to theories), then what you're looking for doesn't exist today, I think.
Pure researching quality? Depends on what subject. Universities tend to specialize in certain areas of research. Major academic journals and the media claim that University of Hawaii has the most advanced marine biological research methods of exquisite quality. Just last year, I remember a story that CNN did about the University of Hawaii making strides in challenging Harvard Medical for superior medical research quality. University of Chicago is thought to be the best in anthropology, archaeology and sociology. Gerald Farinas 16:37, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
I remember a reference to some list like "the top 100 universities" during discussion about reduced funding of Australian universities. Google finds 1880 sites with that phrase, but they're mostly talking about more specialised or localised criteria. -- Mark Hurd 17:51, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)

The question as posed is pretty much impossible to answer meaningfully. Many comparative lists are published, the ones I am familiar with are annual lists of universities in the US and UK. They are rated by research and by teaching, and possibly by other things too, but the criteria vary between lists. If your question is part of a 'where should I study' type of enquiry, I would say that you should try to articulate more clearly what you want. If your question is one of general interest, I would say that more clearly articulating what you mean by 'best' both in teaching and in research. Mark Richards 15:44, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Even within a broad field, the strength of a university can vary greatly based on the particular interests and skills of its staff. In the IT department of my university, the software testing group, of which I am a part, is probably the best in Australia in this area. The molecular simulation people are also apparently very good. Down the road at the University of Melbourne, they have some excellent groups working on data compression and logic programming, where we don't have any specialist expertise.

Secondly, it's my experience that quality research and quality teaching are not necessarily all that well correlated. Many of the most brilliant researchers are very average teachers. They regard it as a drain on their time to be minimised, have no clue about the actual capabilities and learning process of the average student, and often aren't up with the practice of the discipline outside their own field of research. Another thing to consider is that there are far more factors to consider than just teaching quality when selecting a place to study. The location, costs, the academic and social culture; all of these are very important.

Finally, if this is for the purposes of selecting a university for your own or your child's education, don't get too hung up on finding the "perfect" university. In most large Western countries, there are many universities (heck, in the United States, there are probably hundreds) where an enthusiastic student can get a good education. --Robert Merkel

Pot Noodle Adverts.

Is there an Internet archive or depository for Pot Noodles T.V. Adverts for both the United States and the United Kingdom?

Hehe. This might be a silly question, but what is Pot Noodles? Gerald Farinas 16:41, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Pot noodles sounds like slang for ramen.Rhymeless 02:37, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
The nearest US equivalent is maybe Nissin Cup Noodle, although Pot Noodle has fewer recognisable ingredients and (even) more chemistry. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:30, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Pot Noodles are a brand name for an instant noodle product. Mark Richards 15:46, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Here's the UK ads. It's dirty and you want it! Do they even have Pot Noodle in the US? Under the same product name? --bodnotbod 19:42, Jun 20, 2004 (UTC)

trying to find out how to translate a web article into english from albanian

i am having no luck trying to get this translated. it is this web article http://www.iliria.net/politike/isufbajrami_epiri.htm i have been looking for my maiden name and stumbled upon it in this article.,and am hoping you can help, thank you!!! 

Ruth Ksilander Diercks

Orwell's list?

Is there an online version of Orwell's list of crypto-communists? A google search just brings up reviews of it, not the actual list itself.

It would be very useful for this article to see his views on his peers. I have only been able to see a review of his list at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16550 , not the list itself.

Naelphin 06:15, 2004 Jun 20 (UTC)

"Steinberg Clean" Programme

Have you used the Steinberg Clean programme?

I have been told that it does a great job making scratchy vinyl records sound as good as CDs but although I follow the instructions everything still sounds the same. The firm I bought the programme off say that many people have bought this programme and they have had great success with it. They want to charge me US$40 an hour for instruction! That will most probably work out more than double the cost of the programme.

Hopefully there is someone who lives near to me, biut if not, are we able to work something out online? 

                   Ross Lambourn
                   Auckland
                   New Zealand
                   [email protected]
I doubt that it gets old recordings as good as CDs, but it should be able to remove most of the clicks, scratches and surface noise. Have you tried asking for advice on the forums at Sound on Sound magazine? You will probably find a more focussed audience there. You can also find there original review of Clean at [12], which might give some clues about what to expect. -- Solipsist 13:04, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

lava lamps

Does anybody know if it's possible to fix a lava lamp when it's wearing out? This one is about 8 years old, and it seems like it no longer heats up as quickly as it used to, taking, by my count, about 10 hours before I see any independent movement inside. I've checekd and made sure that the light bulb I'm using conforms with that recommended by the instructions. Rhymeless 14:32, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Is the light bulb new? One issue might be that light bulbs have become more efficient in recent years, giving out more light and less heat. When you say that the one you are using conforms to the recommendations, what are they? You might want to try using either an older bulb, or a higher power one. Obviously, do that at your own risk etc. Mark Richards 15:50, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

language learning

sir, i need to learn english through malayalam. do u have any programme free of cost for me to download in my system and learn english. kindly let me know. bye pradeep

No, the Wikipedia is a volunteer-run encyclopedia. It does not offer any form of English instruction. Maybe some of the material on this directory page may be of help.--Robert Merkel 03:45, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

cello diagram

Battle of the Alte Veste

Can somebody give me a clue as to where to look for information about the Battle of the Alte Veste, fought during the Thirty Years' War? RickK 21:58, Jun 20, 2004 (UTC)

escalator psychology

I've started to notice that people almost invariably walk down the last few steps of an escalator, despite having let the machine do the work for the rest of the descent. Any psychological terms for this kind of 'the end is in sight' behaviour? --Chopchopwhitey 23:35, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

It's the mentality of "I must rush, or I'll not get there in time. I believe rushing for the last 5 steps will save me 10 minutes of my life". If I rush, I walk the whole way. If I'm in a lazy day, I never walk any steps at all. People are just impatient. And of course, children are always in fear of got stuck in the esclavtor, and people always told them to jump off the last few steps really fast. That education carries on I guess. You don't wanna get rolled under the esclator into a blood trail. --Menchi 00:58, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I was never told to jump off the last few steps, but I walk the last 4 anyway. My theory is that you need to be at escalator speed at the end (to avoid falling over), so you need the last few steps for acceleration. [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 01:16, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Maybe it's not so much speed, as simply the fact that you're walking. I've certainly experienced on the deck of a rolling ship that it seems to be easier to keep my balance when walking (carefully) than when standing still. Perhaps whichever hindbrain ganglion it is that takes care of balance has a "walk mode / stand mode" flipflop, and it isn't so good at handling external pushes when one is in stand mode. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:25, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Another escalator-related phenomenom of interest that I've noticed is how I nearly fall over when stepping on to an escalator that isn't moving. How come? (And it isn't alcohol-related.) I assume the subconscious must make some kind of automatic speed adjustments when we step onto an escalator, and when the escalator is out of order the adjustments are unnecessary and cause us to lose our balance slightly. I find it fascinating that my brain must be making all these adjustments without me even having to pay attention. Any names for this kind of automatic compensation? Any other examples? --Chopchopwhitey 04:54, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Its an intersting observation. I would primarily go with the 'getting up speed' theory. It is certainly possible to get off an escalator by waiting to the last moment and stepping off, but it takes more active thought and you usually end up doing a small hop for the first step. There could also be elements of
  • compensating for very slight motion discomfort as the escalator rounds out
  • reacting to the person in front of you starting to move as they get off the escalator
So one thing to check is exactly when people start moving (about 1 step before round out?) and whether this changes if there are people infront of them.
Also of interest (if you have never tried it) is making a small jump when a fast lift (elevator) starts to slow down to stop at a floor. If the lift is going up, you will suddenly feel much lighter, and if its going down you feel that someone has turned the gravity up. I suspect that Einstein liked this game. -- Solipsist 10:30, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Gateway screens for Web sites

I've noticed that some Web sites (thankfully, not many)foist upon the user what may be called gateway screens. The ones I have in mind are those that carry no links except one to another page on the site. These are analogous to splash screens for programs, in that you can't do anything with them--they're just another screen to get past. But they're a considerably bigger annoyance than programs' splash screens, in that (a) while the programs' screens serve a promotional purpose for the program or publisher, that doesn't seem to make much sense for a Web site, since the first page of *any* Web site would be expected to prominently identify the site, and (b) the programs' splash screens will remove themselves almost instantly, while the Web sites' gateway screens will typically hang around until the user finds and uses a link to proceed to a functioning page on the site.

My question is:

What possible reason can Web site developers have for making us users wade through these opening screens before we can use the site?

Sometimes it seems to be that the designer has some fancy graphic or design idea that they can't think where else to work into the site. Or perhaps they believe some users will find a nice-looking and fairly simple splash page more of a draw to a site than an introductory page filled with lots of that annoying content you sometimes have to read.
One analogy that I can think of is how sometimes in bookstores I'll pick a book off the shelf simply because it has a nicely designed cover, with lots of bright and fancy colours and a lovely font, and then once I've been reeled in by the peacock feathers of the marketing department I'll actually read what the back has to say about the book itself. --Chopchopwhitey 05:12, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
I suspect there are two reasons. One comes from CD-ROM developers who migrated to web site design. This carries the view that this web site is a self contained 'garden of delight', walled off from the rest of the internet and the opening page is the entrance to the site, or the 'cover' as Chopchopwhitey says.
The other reason would be that a web site developer usually has to present the finished site (or working drafts) to the client. This tends to involve sitting in a meeting room with a laptop and the web site on the local hard drive, because you can't guarantee an internet connection during the presentation. The opening page is then on display for much of the preamble to the presentation, so it helps if it looks good and is a little dynamic because that creates a good impression with the client no matter how bad the rest of the site is.
Of course both of these approaches rather miss the point of the internet and irritate genuine users. Perhaps there is an argument for the former with flash dominated sites which promote a band or a film. -- Solipsist 10:18, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

permutations of a digital clock

My combinatorics isn't up to much, so perhaps someone could help me figure out how many permutations there are of both a 12-hour and a 24-hour digital clock face (excluding seconds)?

I'm not sure what you are asking, if you are talking about legit times. there are 60 mins in an hour and 12 ( 0r 24) possible hours . Just multiply the two times together. If you are talking about all possible times even the ones the clock will never actually show e.g 68:92 there are four digits - that means 9999 possible numbers that could be shown. theresa knott 10:46, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Doh! Of course. I did mean legitimate times, but for some reason had convinced myself it would be far more complicated than the obvious solution. Thanks! --Chopchopwhitey 11:11, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

(Also of use would be any mathematical arguments as to why my repeated viewings of the time 12:34 over the past view weeks when glancing at the clock isn't lucky/proof of a higher being in any way, and is just a strange coincidence to do with what hours I keep.) --Chopchopwhitey 09:15, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Is your clock brand new? Sometimes clock manufacturers place a strip of plastic over the face with a sample time on it. Remove this, put some batteries in and turn the clock on ;-) theresa knott 10:46, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
repeated viewings of the time 12:34 - This one is usually down to psychology. You are probably subconciously glacing at the clock quite frequently, but only really stop and notice when you see combinations of digits that you regard as interesting. There are not so many interesting patterns of numbers on a digital clock - 11:11, 12:34, 00:00, 01:23, 22:22 (possibly 12:21). Only the first two occur at times when you are at work and clock watching and arguably 12:34 is the best combinations of the lot. Also you may be starting to feel hungry at around 12:30 and start glancing at the clock more around that time.
Similar arguments can be used to explain what many people consider coicidences, especially I was just thinking about them and then they phoned. In practice you are thinking about many different people all the time and you are also receiving many telephone calls. But you don't remember the particular occaision when you were thinking about John when Mary phoned.

Lottery probability

I once tried to convince someone that in picking numbers for the English National Lottery, they might as well just pick 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, as probabilistically those numbers have as much chance of coming up as any other set of 6 numbers.

They of course refuted this as being ludicrous, and asked why then did there, in general, seem to be a fairly even spread of numbers each week (e.g. 3, 10, 12, 23, 33, 42, which for some reason looks a little more reasonable).

I know there's a reason but can't for the life of me figure it out mathematically. Why is it? --Chopchopwhitey 09:35, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I suppose it's entropy. 3,10,12,23,33,42, is a highly unlikely possiblity of being a winning combination! but it looks like any old random set of numbers, so we can stick it in our "random looking set of numbers" pot, along with 22,23,34,38,40,49 and 1,7,9,33,46,48 and so on. 1,2,3,4,5,6, is just as unlikely as all the others, be we stick it in a different pot based on what we think is a random looking set of numbers.

Incidentally, even though 1 through 6 is just as unlikely as every other combination, you should still avoid it! This is because people have a habit of picking this combination, so if it should come up you are more likely to have to share your winnings. The same goes for the low numbers, (<12) people go for bithdays and anniversaries. But these are not random, they will only have numbers <31 and are likely to have numbers <12. By going for high numbers you will ensure that you don't have to share your dosh with a birthday choosing punter. theresa knott 11:04, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I doubt I can remember my Combinations and permutations correctly, but I think the reason is; a ball can only be selected once, so the chance of each subsequent ball falling into the same decade is reduced as the decade gets filled up.
For the UK Loto, you have to select 6 numbers from a range of 49. So the total number of combinations is C(49,6) = 49! / (6! * (49-6)!) = 13,983,816 or a probability of about 14 million to one that your numbers will come up.
The number of possible combinations of six numbers in the first decade is C(10,6) = 210. Or about 13000 times less likely than if you had thought you could divide the 14 million combinations between the five decades.
You would have said Wow! if the all the balls had fallen in any one decade, but the probability of that happening is approx (5 * 210) / 14,000,000 or about one in 13,000. If the lottery has been going on for ten years with twice weekly draws, there have been about 1000 games so the odds are 13:1 that we would have seen this happen. (There must be a small complication, because we would count 10 in both the first and the second decade).
You are right that (1 2 3 4 5 6) is as likely to come up as any other combination to help highlight how unlikely you are to win, but it is not good advice to choose numbers from the first two decades. A lot of people select their 'lucky' numbers based on significant dates, so most people favour the lower numbers. As such, if you did win the jackpot it is more likely that several other people would win at the same time and you would have to split the prize. Conversely, you might be better off select runs of consecutive numbers because no one believes they can come up, on the other hand you may have to split the prize with a group of mathematicians. -- Solipsist 11:12, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Better to split with mathematicians then some 'birthday choosing punter' Ilyanep 14:26, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)


Euglena gracilis as a prot5ozoan ?

Why were they classified in this catogory? plz email me with the answer [email protected],or [email protected]

You might want to check out Pr0t0504n, which explains the criteria for clasification. Mark Richards 17:53, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Fire Walking

What's the deal with Fire Walking and people who walk on hot coals?

Hmm, not the best standup routine i've ever heard, but here's your answer anyway: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_036.html - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 20:39, Jun 21, 2004 (UTC)

Literary Technique

What is it called when an author or screenwriter writes themself into the script as a character? Examples are Borges in The Book of Sand, Paul Auster in The New York Trilogy and Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation (movie). It seems like there would be some literary or cinematic term for this. Anyone have suggestions? - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 21:28, Jun 21, 2004 (UTC)

Is this something to do with breaking the fourth wall? Mark Richards 14:15, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
I always thought that the fourth wall was more about a character acknowledging that they were in a play... which doesn't necessarily mean that it's the author. The concepts are definitely inter-related though. If there's no term for the concept, I might as well just call it self-reference. - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 14:50, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)
It's not what you're looking for exactly, but the concept of "author surrogate" is moderately close -- an author surrogate is a character who embodies the thoughts and opinions of the author. Jwrosenzweig 17:34, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I don't know what it's called either, but Kurt Vonnegut uses it very well in Slaughterhouse Five. moink 17:38, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

It's decades since I read Slaughterhouse Five, but as I remember it the material there about Vonnegut himself is something very close to non-fiction: he was, indeed, a POW in Dresden during the firebombing. I don't know the Paul Auster work in question, but both Borges and Charlie Kaufman use far more clearly fictional characters who are on some level supposed to be themselves. That is, the events described as happening to them in their stories did no happen in their real lives. -- Jmabel 21:18, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)
Yes, he was where he said he was, etc. But rest of the story and the character who encounters him a few times are fictional. Not exactly sure if this particular literary technique could even have a name, since it's so rare.moink 22:24, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Whoever knows it please add it to the narrator article. Jay 18:11, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Argh this is driving me crazy. Particularly, Paul Auster's character in the new york trilogy isn't even the narrator. The narrator is looking for a fictional "Paul Auster" and mistakenly looks up the actual author, and visits him in his brownstone in manhattan. It's quite bizarre... Perhaps 'author surrogate' is as close as I'm going to get here. - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 21:32, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)

Autobiography? Mark Richards 22:31, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

When a novel has fictional characters who correspond to real people then it's a roman à clef. When a narrator appears to embody the character and opinions of the author, that's an authorial voice. In fan fiction, a character who represents the author for the puposes of wish fulfilment is a Mary Sue. But there seems to be no widley-used term for this. "Author surrogate" doesn't sound right to me: the character is a representation of the author, not a surrogate for them.

So I suggest the new word autagonist (from Greek autos, self, and agōnistɵs, actor). Gdr 13:41, 2004 Jun 23 (UTC)

Cold War

Where did the Cold War get its name?

  • According to Cold War, "The term was first used by the American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch during a congressional debate in 1947." Cheers, Kingturtle 01:32, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
    • I think what the chap means is why did they use the name "Cold War", rather than when the appellation was given to it. The name was a description of the relations between the USSR and the USA: icy, but not red hot warfare. Hope that answers your question. DO'Neil 11:45, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)

Identify these items

A friend of mine asked the following question, and now I'm really curious. moink 01:48, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

We're moving, so we're packing. I find, in one of the cups on the tea cup shelf, some odd little items. I remember putting them there when I lived across the hall. I remember knowing that they were when we moved over here, thinking, when I found them then, "Oh, yeah, these things. I should keep these, just in case." I remember not knowing what they were when I first saw them, when they came with a new product I'd bought. There was no explanation given. J and I both stared at them strangely and then, like a flash, it dawned on me what they were for.
But now it's gone. Completely gone from my head what these little things are, what they're meant for, and what product they came with in the first place. Photo can be found at [13].
ps: there was also a washer in the cup with them, which may or may not have anything to do with them.
pps: I have the weird feeling that they were for threading something through something ...
What they look like is some lengths of PTFE (Teflon) tape, wound around bits of plastic straw. PTFE tape is usually wrapped around threads of pipework (before tightening a joint), to make a better seal. Something left over from plumbing in a washing machine, maybe? -- DrBob 15:54, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Thanks! I think that's exactly what they are. She says that yes, it's slippery, and they may well have come with her showerhead attachment. And she's never used it, and her showerhead leaks. moink 17:32, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Ultimate Goals of the Rote Armee Fraktion

What exactly was the ultimate aim of the Rote Armee Fraktion (aka the Baader-Meinhof Gang or the Red Army Faction)? Did they seek unificiation of Germany under East Germany's terms?

Or did they want to take over the West German government and set up a parallel communist German state?

If anyone knows, it'd be very helpful. DO'Neil 04:15, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)

You could try asking this guy, who's writing a book about them. From reading the introductory chapter of his book, you get the impression that the people behind the RAF hadn't thought that far ahead. --Robert Merkel 02:44, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Time zone?

What is the time zone of Texarkana, Texas? And does anyone else think that articles about cities should include time zones, so that people like me can find it? moink 22:26, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Well, ok, the background to this is that Texas actually straddles two time zones, most of it is in Central Time Zone, with a small western part in Mountain Time Zone. I can't find articles for those, but they must be there somewhere, so the question is where is Texarkana. Hang on. 22:36, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Nevermind, I eventually found it in the Texas article. It's in the Central time zone. moink 22:35, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Too slow... Never mind. Still - we should include the time zones! Mark Richards 22:36, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Ah, all the time zone names redirect to Time zone. Is there anything to say about each one I wonder? List of places in the Central Time Zone anyone? ;) Mark Richards 22:39, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Thanks Mark. Actually, the info that it straddled two zones and what they were would have been enough, since Texarkana is at the very East edge of the state, on the border with Arkansas. moink 22:42, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Interesting that it spans two though - the western part is very small. I wonder why it does this? Mark Richards 22:44, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Vocabulary help

moved from main page talk

I'm looking for a word to descibe two situations:

1) When a plane is accelerating for take off, it reaches a point of 'no return'. That is, regardless of what warnings may be displayed, the plane must take off, as there is not enough run way left over to come to a safe stop. Does anyone know if there is a word to describe this threshold when the 'point of no return' is reached/exceeded?

2) When mixing two groups, often an instructor will draw two cricles side by side — though each circle will partially overlap the other. This overlap provides an area where the two groups come together. Does anyone know if there is a word to describe this overlap?

The intersection? -- Kaihsu 09:45, 2004 Jun 23 (UTC)

Thanks for your help. You may respond directly to: [email protected]

Hi. We don't usually reply to e-mail addresses, but on the page itself. That way we share knowledge. — Chameleon 08:38, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)

On Q 1), I don't think it is really a point so much as a velocity. I don't fly powered planes, but I think the sequence during take off for a fixed wing powered aircraft is something like;

  • Initial ground roll - full throttle, maximum acceleration
  • V1 - The take off decision velocity. Before V1 you can shut down all engines and stop safely within the remaining length of the runway. After V1, you should proceed with the take off even if you loose one engine. I suspect you don't continue under any failure condition, you would still abort if you lost all engines (you won't reach VR) or you lose control to the elevator (you won't be able to rotate), however you would expect to crash off the end of the runway.
  • VR - Rotation velocity. The point at which you pull back to lift the nose and begin to leave the ground.
  • V2 - Is the safe take off speed or initial climb speed. The point at which you start the optimal climb properly. A very heavy aircraft might lift off the ground and fly parallel in ground effect for quite a while, still accelerating until it reaches V2 and can start to climb safely.

V1 is probably the term you want. All of these values have to be calculated before each flight. They depend on the type of plane, its loading, and the environmental conditions (rain on the wings etc). Later in the flight there is also the Point of no return when the plane no longer has enough fuel to return the original airfield, usually a little over halfway through the flight for a commercial jet. -- Solipsist 11:57, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I've just found that there is also a less common term, called the Accelerate-stop distance, which is something like a point on the runway at which you can stop safely. See Section 25.109. -- Solipsist 12:19, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)

star on England football uniform in Euro 2004

During Euro 2004, the England national football team's uniform has a yellow 5-pointed star in front, under the team coat-of-arms. What does this mean? A championship they have won? Or just decorative? -- Kaihsu 09:43, 2004 Jun 23 (UTC)

It shows they have won 1 major football tournament (the 1966 World Cup Final). It is not unique to England, several other countries have followed this trend recently, although there is not a standard. It was started by Brazil as a celebration of the fact that they have won more World Cups than any other nation1. Some countries include regional tournament wins such as the UEFA European Championship or the African Nations Cup in their star count. akaDruid 10:30, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)

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