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Cubase users... how do you access a midi event list? My tracks are out of sync with each other. It's because im using various sound sources... vst guitars , midi connected drum machine and general midi keyboards. Any help appretiated!
openCanvas Networking
I have openCanvas (the free version) and I've been trying to network with a friend, but we can't figure out how it works. Can anybody help us? Thanks :)
Dear Reader,
Is the E-Corps an eliete group of Marines or something??? I am wondering because our acedemic group at our school is called the E-Corps, and no one seems to know what the E-Corps is. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I did a little search on Yahoo and most references to E-Corp either seem to be related to Klingons or online communities. --Kiltman6703:05, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Jesse Martin page?
Hi, was looking for information on Jesse Martin, the Australian teenager who became the youngest person to circumnavigate the world. Couldn't find a page for him...can anyone else find it? I really did try hard--Jacintah03:51, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You appear to know more about him than any of us, so why not start one? A few sentences will do - just explain why he's notable (in this case, being the youngest person to circumnavigate the world) and find a reputable source (this page looks good) to back up what you say, and others will take it from there. --Howard Train03:57, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Someone once said "China is like a sleeping tiger, take care when it wakes up". This may not be completely accurate but you get the gist of it. I would like to know who said it and about when. Joe Blow
Napoléon, 200 years ago: "Quand la Chine s'éveillera, le monde tremblera." (When China awakens, the world will shake.) Mao on the other hand, 50 years ago said he believed the USA was nothing more than a paper tiger (unable to withstand the wind and rain). No clue whether this helps or is what you were looking for. Sluzzelin05:36, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you Google "China is like a sleeping" and "China is a sleeping" you'll get at least seven variations (bear, giant, dog, dragon, lion, tiger, even elephant!), all attributed to Napoleon. The most popular wording by far is as a giant. The different wording of the quote in different sources makes it sound like one of these phantom quotes that sounds cool, especially since it comes from someone important (and powerful), but may not ever have actually been said, at least not in the way it is here formulated. I have found a very similar formulation in JSTOR from 1925 (not attributed to Napoleon, but it doesn't mean it wasn't derived from him): "But China is a sleeping giant. The four hundred millions of its population, tireless, patient, uncomplaining, are a force that some day must be reckonded with." (Austin F. MacDonald, "Foreword to a Special Issue on The Far East" Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol. 122 (Nov., 1925), p. v.) All this means is that wherever the quote is from, it is not necessarily of recent vintage. --Fastfission12:52, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, why are corn pops the only type of cereal that comes in a silver paper bag thats inside the box? Corn pops are the only cereal i have seen come in this silver bag.
Old fishing boats (centuries ago) used wind power if im not mistaken. Am i correct in assuming that a)these boats would have been stopped by an anchor b) and they could have 'started up' (begun sailing) immedeatley with suffiencet (realstic) wind speeds?Cuban Cigar06:46, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's not completely clear what you mean by "would have been stopped". The normal way to "stop" a sailing vessel is by turning against the wind, thereby reducing the speed to zero. Then you must quickly lower the sails, or you will be blown away again. The anchor is for keeping you in the same spot once you have brought your speed to (close to) zero; it is more like a parking brake. You don't want to use it to halt a boat while it is sailing; you might seriously damage the boat or break the chain. To sail away you hoist the sails and then raise the anchor. (You could also do this in the opposite order, but only if you have a lot of free space behind you.) It depends on the type of boat (and the strength of the wind) how quickly the boat reacts and starts picking up speed, but think seconds. --LambiamTalk09:07, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes when i said stop i meant come to a rest (stop moving). The 'boats' were small ones, maybe three crew or something like that. Anyway thanks!
According to my friend, fruits such as orange and mandrine are not original fruits, rather they are hybrid of other fruits.If this is true, what are the fruits which makes orange and mandrine?
Read our article on Orange (fruit), it gives the answer for oranges. Our article Mandarine does not resolve the issue for mandarines, but given that oranges are hybrids, it seems at least plausible that mandarines are also hybrids. However, a side box in our article on Citrus, the genus containing both, lists mandarins under species, and oranges (and lemons!) under hybrids. But then the main text states that "there is genetic evidence that even the wild, true-breeding species are of hybrid origin." So for mandarines the best we can say is: probably a hybrid, but the origins may be lost in the mists of history. --LambiamTalk08:45, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) Your friend is correct. As our article Orange (fruit) says:
The orange is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and tangerine (Citrus reticulata).
The tangerine itself is a type of mandarin orange and a tangor is a sub-hybrid of a tangerine and orange. Since citrus bearing plants can hybridize so easily, its very difficult to distinguish between true ancient species and hybrid species. Rockpocket08:54, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
1st producer from africa
which countries from Africa are the first 3 countries which produce more Gum Arabic(Gum Acacia)?
Is there any truth to the rumour that if you bend over and the wind changes you stay like that forever? Where did it originate? --Adam13:57, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Good, I was afraid I might have to ask you to eat some extremely hot salsa and see if the answer comes to you in, say, 24 hours or so. :-) StuRat04:46, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On a related note, I remember a lawsuit (thrown out of court IIRC) filed against a bar by a patron who'd managed to successfully consume a plate of 'hot wings' per a promotional giveaway, only to end up in the emergency room. Turns out the bar (like many, many others apparently) drenched its 'promotional' super-hot wings with pepper spray, rendering them virtually unconsumable. But apparently it isn't a crime, because pepper spray is considered safe for human consumption (lol). Anchoress04:59, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure. The song by that name is still under copyright, but a ring of volcanoes around the Pacific rim also has that name, so you could argue you were naming it after the volcanoes, not the song. StuRat23:27, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Pacific rim Are you yanking my chain? Anyway I dont think anyone can be prevented from using a song title. No, what I was concerned with was whether people would associate it with, well, you know.. effects of too much salsa! 8-)--Light current23:30, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is a TV ad out now that goes something like this:
"Hebrew National brand Kosher hot dogs are only made
from the finest cuts of beef...no ifs, ands, or butts."
(Note the spelling of butts.) A diagram of a cow with a red X over the butt is also shown. If this is considered acceptable, I think "Ring of Fire" salsa would be fine. After all, it's only a suggested meaning, and you have plausible deniability with the Pacific Volcano ring as a cover. I'd even put an erupting volcano on the label to help with the cover story (and because if might increase sales over a pic of an inflamed anus). :-) StuRat06:44, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, if you know Salsa music, it does tend to get easier to write. However this is a good website to order sheet music. Either one usually works out good. VivaLaVieBoheme!
Yea, sounds like the concept was invented by a 4 year old boy doesn't it ? "So there's like all these snakes, you know, and they're like on this really big plane, and with lots of people too, and they're like biting people and hissing and stuff, and the plane's flying like really fast and it's like really cool, you know ?" Perhaps all Hollywood execs should be replaced by 4 year old boys, they couldn't do any worse, now could they ? StuRat19:08, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Since the US Department of Homeland Security does a really poor job of checking cargo that goes on planes, it's certainly very possible. User:Zoe|(talk)23:28, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Financial investment liquidation options in the UK
In a potentially falling stock market,an investor in the UK may wish to rapidly sell many of his/her investments and hold the proceeds in cash. This is quite easy with PEPs and ISAs. For other investments there appears to be an unavoidable penalty arising from Capital Gains Tax incurred during the tax year when the sales are made. This applies especially to investments made some years ago which have gained considerably in value, and are now vulnerable to a possible recession.
Apart from taper relief, is there any solution to this problem where an investor is "locked in" to investments by the considerable penalty of CGT being levied at up to 40% on capital gains in excess of the investors UK CGT tax free allowance?
hatari
The EMH or Efficient markets hypothesis, which has been backed up by a lot of academic research, suggests that it is practically impossible to forecast the stock market to any worthwhile extent (although there are some minor market inefficiencies like small companies, low p/e ratios, possibly high yields, January effects, Monday effects, and so on). This implies in turn that there is no such thing as a trend in the market (apart from perhaps a very long term gradual up trend over the decades) as if there was a trend, you'd be able to forecast the market.
Thus it is wrong to suggest that there is a "falling market" trend that gives people time to sell out before things get worse. From the theory, and from what I remember of actually drops in the market, they happen suddenly and often reverse rapidly, so if you do sell out, prices rise afterwards and you're worse off. The stock market moves at random - if there seems to be a trend, then this is just the chance shape of a random line.
Having a lot of GCT building up is a good thing - a simple simulation on a spreadsheet will show you that you are far better off accumulating CGT to pay in one go after many years than you would be if you sold and re-bought every year paying CGT tax every year.
That's all fine and good in theory. But in reality there are trends in the markets which may range from days to decades, depending on the time frame used. If you don't believe it, talk to someone in the oil industry. —Mike01:32, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The beginning of a fast may very well show a large weight drop (several pounds), while, if you continue to fast, the weight loss will slow down. You take in a few pounds of food each day, and expel the same amount as waste each day. The first day you fast, you will likely defecate yesterday's food. After that, you will have nothing more to expel. In other words, you are lighter by the weight of the contents of your digestive tract, which is now empty. StuRat18:58, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Plus: your body will have got rid of a lot of fluid. For instance, in the mornig you are a couple pounds lighter that when you go to bed due to expiration of moisture. A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter: so weigh that up!--Light current19:09, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmmm, Sturat, I'm not sure if your answer is supposed to be off-beat, sarcastic, or indicate that you misunderstood the question?
Anyways, there are two issues: one is that if stop eating after dinner and you're usually a late-night eater, you might just eat less, resulting in probable weight loss. Two is that there are conflicting studies on the topic of 'eating late at night is more likely to cause weight gain than eating the same number of calories earlier in the day'. Or, to put it another way, some studies have shown that late-night calories are somehow 'fatter' than those taken earlier, either because of metabolism, enzymes, etc. But other studies say that's rubbish, it just depends on how much you eat overall. Like I said, there are conflicting studies.
There's also the issue of 'fasting'. When you don't eat for a certain amount of time, your body goes into 'fasting' mode which can cause your metabolism to lower, which would result in fewer calories burned. And, to add to that there's the issue of people with high/low blood sugar, who are supposed to eat small, regular meals and not to go too long without eating. Anchoress19:13, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It sounds like you read it as "not eating after 1800 hours", which is military time meaning 6 PM. That's not how I read it. I read "not eating for a period of 18 hours", or a short-term fast. StuRat01:02, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I thought that might have been it. But since s/he said '18 hundred hours' I am pretty sure s/he means eating after 6pm. Anchoress01:45, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh weird lol. When I read your previous reply, I thought, 'Hmm, I thought it said 18 hundred hours, better check', and I checked, and I seriously thought it said that. LOL. Sorry. Anchoress01:58, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think there's a lesson here about how our preconceptions shape our perceptions. I hope the questioner will tell us which of us read it correctly. :-) StuRat02:19, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for clarifying that. Do you always use military time ? If so, you need to write it as 18:00 hours instead of 18 hours, to avoid this confusion. StuRat14:56, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Of course not, you just imagined the missing part right in. For those of us who only see what's actually there, though, there was some confusion. :-) StuRat23:21, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When I went to the dietician a couple of years ago, I asked the very question about late night eating. She said it didnt matter when you eat. What was important was the actual number of calories consumed within any 24 hr period. But perhaps shes wrong? --Light current19:29, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I really don't know how anybody is supposed to believe any dietician or any other source of nutritional advice these days. They'll all tell you something different, based on their own studies and "the latest research". Add that to all the conflicting "information" we're swamped with about what's good, what's bad, food combining, when to eat, when not to eat, etc, and what we now have is a casserole of theories, facts, and bunkum, except we don't know which is which because all the experts disagree with each other. We have far more information about nutrition now than at any time in history, yet the western world is more bloated and obese than ever. Is there something wrong here? JackofOz04:58, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you ignore people selling diet books, and go with neutral scientists, you do get a consensus. It's rather boring, however, so doesn't tend to sell books:
1) Keep your total calories low.
2) Get a balance of calories from protein, carbs, and fats. Some calories from alcohol are also allowed.
3) Get "good fats" from fish, nuts, avocados, vegetable oils, etc., and keep "bad fats", from meat and poultry, to a minimum. Avoid trans fats completely.
4) Eat plenty of "good cholesterol" and keep "bad cholesterol" to a minimum. Try to limit egg consumption, since they are high in bad cholesterol.
5) Get lots of fiber, particularly from a variety of whole grains.
6) Eat lots of fruits and veggies.
7) Stick with low fat dairy products.
8) Get lots of exercise, especially aerobic exercise.
Some particularly good foods to eat are blueberries, grapefruit, broccoli, and oatmeal.
While I agree with pretty much all your 'advice', I have to disagree with you on your assessment of scientists; they are as much in the dark as anyone, IMO. Up until a few months ago they were saying coffee was bad for you, now they've discovered that actually it's good for you. Up until a few years ago any unsaturated fat was better than naturally saturated, now all of a sudden polyunsaturates and hydrogenated fats are bad. Whether or not eggs contribute to serum cholesterol is still under debate, and some very modern 'science' says that low-fat dairy is actually unhealthy. It's furthermore debatable whether or not any of the RDA values are accurate; the ideal fat percentage and required grams of protein have been going up and down like yo-yos over the past 20 years. Not to mention the whole kerfuffel (sp?) about essential amino acids. The problem is that nutrition and the human body combine to make such a complex system that the study methods up til very very recently have been inadequate to properly analyse results. Also the fact that it's not a very lucrative field of study, so a lot of the studies are 'sponsored', and while they are not necessarily biased, they are designed to either prove or disprove a single theory, something that often just doesn't work with nutrition. Anchoress05:38, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
While there are always slight "tweaks" to the nutritional advice, the core group of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients which humans need have been agreed upon by scientists for decades now. You're not going to all of a sudden hear scientists say vitamin C is bad for you and should be completely avoided, for example. Unfortunately, bizarre "fringe" theories get far more press than the scientific evidence justifies. Thus, this leaves the impression that scientists are all over the map, when it's only a small group of highly vocal paid advocates for some diet plan that deviate from the accepted scientific dietary advice. StuRat14:52, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, I have to disagree with that as well. Vitamins F, K, Beta Carotene, lots of phytochemicals etc have not been 'agreed-upon' for decades. And it's not just vitamins and minerals that make a healthy human, and lots of issues, like number of calories (even now, there are doctors and nutritionists who say that the average woman only needs 1400 calories per day), amount and type of fat, which carbs are low and high glycemic index, no. of grams of protein, how much salt is bad for you, etc. are being discussed, argued, conflicting studies showing up, etc. Anchoress20:52, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know, I'm not saying anyone's calling it bad. But it's an example of a nutrient whose place in human nutrition has only recently been agreed-upon. And as for 'tweaks', that's exactly the problem. Scientists have been 'tweaking' nutritional information constantly for the past 100 years. Every time something new comes out it's like, 'Oh yeah, we've finally figured it out. This is the truth,' then a few months or years later, they're retracting their assertions and saying something else. Anchoress02:20, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Anchoress has hit the nail on the head. And for every "expert" who claims to have "the truth", there's a horde of other "experts" who say something different. Just who are we supposed to believe any more? JackofOz06:34, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Again, I fear your "experts" are just people hawking a diet pill in some infomercial. The silent majority of nutritionist don't have any wacky theories, and are in agreement on all but a few fringe areas of nutrition. StuRat07:01, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I read about Maya (software) and I read that is often used in movies and video games. Where can i find a list of popular uses of this software?? or do any of you know some movies or games made with this software?
You can click "What links here" on the side of the article under the words "toolbox". This gives a list of articles on wikipedia that link to this one. There you can look for movies or games. Look at the article to see if they use it. This is not that easy to do since many article are linking to it for other reasons, and there is no reason to think that this list will be complete. Jon51319:00, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm surprised Google doesn't find a list, but nothing turned up there in the first few pages. I certainly remember it was used for the rendering in the 'Final Fantasy' movie (Lightwave was used for the modelling), which was entirely computer-generated, and if it's not the most popular 3D software for movies it's certainly one of the most popular. Mark Grant12:59, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
1917 1dollar bill
who is in the image on the left hand side on the face of a 1917 series 1 dollar bill?
it looks like a picture of the pilgrims coming to america. Am I right?
GENERALLY, are Formula One's faster, in terms of acceleration and top speed, than Le Mans prototypes- LMP1's and LMP2's? Jamesino21:40, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Traditionally, Le Mans prototypes have a higher top speed down the Mulsanne Straight than the highest top speed that Formula One cars reach, up to 400 km/h in the old days before they introduced the chicanes. However, I haven't been able to find any statistics on what they currently do down that straight.
Acceleration, particularly at low speeds; no contest. The Audi R8 puts out about 630 horsepower and weighs about 900 kg; the current F1 cars put out around 750 horsepower (maybe a bit more) and weigh about 600 kg. --Robert Merkel05:45, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How to file away stuff quickly and effectively?
Filing is the bane of my life. Without having to do it, I'm sure my life would be richer and more fulfilled.
What are the best ways of filing away things such as bills etc., which keep coming through my letterbox? I also have many other things to file away - things which I think might be useful knowledge to me in the future, and various documents relating to business.
I have always used the heap filing method - I have heaps of unfiled odds and ends on every flat surface. When its time to fill in my tax returns, I go through all the heaps and put them in order.
I am seeking a proven-in-practice method or system that someone actually uses, not just a system someone has just thought up. Highest priorities are speed and least effort (hence the heaps!). Thanks.
I am a former hyper-organised non-filer, and I am now a somewhat organised filer. I like being the latter.
OK, so my advice has two main parts. Part 1:
There's a tried-and-true system for sorting papers that I really like, it's RAFT, I think, Reading, Action, Filing, Trash. I add an S to the end, 'Sentiment', for stuff that has no practical purpose but I'm keeping it anyway (things like business cards, pages out of the Readers' Digest with URLs on them, coupons, restaurant reviews for restaurants I want to visit, lists of 'top 500 gangster movies' to watch, etc.) Getting in the habit of doing 'the basic sort' (however often you do filing - it's once a year for me, not kidding) will help the process a lot.
Keep the reading somewhere convenient, recycle/throw the trash, have a prominent 'action' pile for the stuff that needs attention, and have either a drawer, an accordion file, a binder full of plastic sleeves, or a scrap book you can paste or staple things into for the sentimental bits ('sentimental' does not include old love letters and your High School grades, you should file those).
Part 2:
As for bills etc. After years of letting my paperwork pile up forever, because my 'system' required meticulously filing all my bills etc by type, spending hours and hours making new files, sorting and organising, etc etc etc, I finally figured out that almost all my business correspondence goes to my accountant, and why on earth should I bother filing it in individual folders only to rummage through the drawer at tax time and amalgamate it into one package? My accountant doesn't even like me to sort my tax paperwork lol. Now all I do is create one file for the current year put all my bills and receipts in it, sort them ONCE, at the end of the year (or not), and then stick the whole batch along with my tax return back in the filing cabinet after taxes.
I now have about a dozen folders in my business drawer (and six of them are tax returns; the rest are misc correspondence, letters of reference, and a couple of others) and a dozen or so in my personal drawer (love letters etc.) :-)
I usually let my mail pile up, dealing with the urgent stuff, and then take heaps of bills to open and staple, and do them in front of the TV.
I can't find any clue about the show because I only have a scetchy memory of it. It may have been made in the 60's or 70's. It was on a ship in space. One of the alien crew members was a shape shifter......I think she became a cat a lot? I saw it on weekend mornings when i was very young. Any help would be great. Thanks! 71.79.17.13201:40, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Series Two: Maya wasn't in Series One (which, frankly, was vastly better). That said, it was on the Moon rather than a space-ship, though that's a minor distinction when the Moon is floating around the universe visiting a new planet every week :). Mark Grant01:46, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmmmm I don't think it was space:1999 i came across that when I first started looking. The cast in mine was alot smaller. I think it didn't have much of a budget.....you always heard the battles but never saw them. They were always trying to keep enemies off the ship....
I do have vague memories of another space show with a character who changed shape, but can't remember what it might be. As mentioned below, Red Dwarf may another possibility, but it was decades later and the character was permanently a cat/man, not a shape-changer. Presumably it was live-action and not animated? The latter would open up a lot more possibilities. Mark Grant12:55, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Red dwarf had a character who had evolved from a cat, and someone else who was a hologram, but that was 80's or 90's. There is also Blake's 7 which was too cheaply made (£60000 budget per episode) even for me to watch. The Blake's 7 article mentions Battlestar Galactica. Try also Category:Science fiction television series, although I cannot get the link to work. 62.253.44.14609:00, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
does anybody know why there is such a large RV industry in the south bend-elkhart area in northern Indiana
Probably about the same as how cars started to be made in the Detroit area. One company started making RVs there, then that made it in the interest of other RV companies to locate there, since the infrastructure of suppliers, dealers, etc. was already in place, and a regular supply of customers was showing up there looking for RVs. StuRat19:46, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Who is the largest employer in the U.S.
Who is the largest employer in the U.S? I would think its the federal goverment
I've decided to make a model of a house out of balsa wood. It will be a weatherboard house, and I am wondering what is the best way to join the pieces of wood. I would like it to look as detailed and precise as possible (with stumps, joists, studs, etc.). I have studied up on the construction of a real house, as well as talked to an architect. I have already done the planning required to start and it will probably be on a piece of chipboard which is 500x500mm.
A model of a house would not normally show the interior construction of a wall, with studs, rafters, joists, unless you propose to build a cutaway model. Even then, you would not build the whole house exactly like a real house, just the exposed section. And what kind of house construction uses "stumps?"Edison19:47, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, weatherboard houses generally do not have a foundation of solid concrete, rather, they are elevated from the ground using stumps. The stumps can be either timber or contrete. And yes, I was thinking of starting from one corner, with that fully finished, and then as I move away from the corner, it is less 'finished'. I will do my best to show all the components involved in the contruction of a real house. It will be similar to what university students need to do to gain their degree in Architecture (in Australia at least). And glue seems to be the best thing to use really, but i would like to see if there is any other methods.
I asked someone who recently received an architecture degree and built numerous models. Recommendations: They prefer thin basswood for the type of model you propose. It comes in all thicknesses as well as long thin square pieces. To cut it, you could use an Exacto knife or a utility knife, but an Olfa knife is preferred. To stick it together, Sobo glue is recommended. Make a small pool of the glue, then use a tiny scrap of the basswood or chipboard to apply a thin line of glue. It will be tacky, allowing you time to adjust. Hot glue is not recommended: too little adjustment time. White glue (Elmer's) is not recommended: does not become tacky quickly enough. Some use Gorilla Glue. Cyanoacrylate (Crazy Glue)is likely to stain the wood dark, and so is not recommended, but it gives considerable strength as for building bridges in physics class contests. If you want to show the overall form but also the interior construction of joists, rafters, etc, you might build a "half model" if it is symmetric, so the cutaway part reveals the structure. Allow lots of time and probably more than one version to get it right. By "stumps" do you refer to a foundation, or is a house on posts like in the Louisiana bayou? Edison18:58, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Guitar question.
I saw an ad in a local trading post for a cheap used guitar. I'd like to grab one, just to mess around with (I can't play and aren't interested in seriously learning). Can anyone tell me if this guitar has everything I need to use it (so I don't have to buy any extra amps/equipment/etc), if it's a decent guitar, and if I can listen to it on headphones (you know, so I can hear the guitar normally but noone else can)? It reads Electric guitar, session stage series, stratocastor style solid body with 3 pickups. Includes tuner, $50. Thanks!
You will need amplification, because the guitar pickup is not powerful enough to make any sound in the headphones. You might buy a cable to go from the guitar to the "aux" input of your stereo, then you could play it over the loudspeakers, or use your headphones. I also seriously doubt that somebody in their right mind would sell a decent guitar for USD 50. --N·Bluetalk12:38, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
AUD 50, which is USD 37.
Actually you don't need an amp to play an electric guitar, they make a fair bit of sound on their own. For a performance or something, though, you'd naturally need one. digfarenough (talk) 17:10, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'd just be using it in my bedroom, so I wouldn't need it to make much noise. I'd like to confine all sound to my headphones if possible, though.
A solid body without amplification doesn't quite produce enough sound unless you're in a very quiet room and are only interrested in practising for 'the real thing' (which obviously isn't the case). Playing over a hifi sounds dodgy to me. I'm not sure, but I think it might ruin the amp and/or the speakers because of the wide range of sounds and volumes an eletric guitar produces.
The 'clean' sound of an electric guitar is slightly boring (though many would disagree). So you might want to invest in some effects too, especially if you want to sound like a specific guitar player. But there are loads of effects and deciding which one(s) to buy is difficult. A cheap way to produce distortion (one of the most popular effects) is to do the real thing - buy a crappy, low-power, overused combo (amp + speaker) and crank it way up (I say low-power for the well-being of your neighbours). Don't expect it to live for much longer, though. Then again, the effect might improve and reach perfection just before it dies. :) DirkvdM19:22, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I really echo DirkvdM's caution about mixing your guitar directly into your stereo. Even on low volume, you could damage your speakers. It's fine to go the other way, though. :-) Oh yeah!!!! Anchoress22:10, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, Dirk and Ancoress, but your responses clearly show that you have never actually tried to do this. I have, and it certainly is possible, although the signal from the single coil guitar pickup that you would find on a strat style guitar is so weak that you have to turn the amp up quite loud to get much sound. See [2] for further confirmation. Dirk is quite right, however, in stating that the sound will be flat and uninteresting. A good solution is to buy a "virtual amplifier" such as this one which I use. You plug both the guitar and the headphones into the box, and get beautiful sound (provided, of course, that you put a little more than AUD 50 into the guitar). --N·Bluetalk21:23, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Tacky Duck Tape
I put some out-of-date duck tape on a boat gel coat surface, and when I peeled it off, the tacky part of the tape remained. Is there any product that will remove it without damaging the gel coat? Thank you!
Poor duck! Did you tape it to your boat? Or are you talking about 'duct tape'? In these parts that is called gaffer tape, but the real stuff that gaffers use shouldn't leave any 'tacky stuff' (it's actually designed for that purpose), so I suppose you got the cheap stuff. I know thge best stuff to remove glue is turpentine, but I don't know what that would do to the surface. Another trick is to use more gaffer tape (the real thing preferably this time), put that on it and peel it off again. repeating this several times should at least get rid of some of the stuff. DirkvdM19:29, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My apologies. It seems that gaffer tape is not the same as duct tape and that the latter was originally called 'duck tape', so I was wrong to make fun of you. You may wrongfully make fun of me now. DirkvdM19:33, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Turps is a great solvent to use which will work well, however it may remove the gel coat at the same time. Have u considered nail polish remover (or acetone), which I use at work for removing adhesive residues from painted walls --russ21:52, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I ended up using WD-40 and it worked great! Even the ducks liked it! -- Mugogo 17:41, 25 August (UTC)
Buy a squash racket in NYC (preferably Manhattan)
Hi! I'm looking to buy a squash racket in NYC, preferably in Manhattan. Any recommendations on where to go for a reasonably priced racket? Thanks!
Unfortunately, no. However, you can copy a friend's file or download 100% Completed saves from GameFAQs to get your unlocked characters back.
Well, I'm probably going to get an Action Replay in a week or so, anyway.I know there's a code for unlocking every trophy, but are there codes for unlocking individual trophies so I don't get the 30 that I hadn't gotten yet? -- TheGreatLlama(speak to the Llama!)21:44, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Where can I download videos of people completing popular RPGs?
I've heard from various people that DVDs exist depicting people completing popular RPGs like Final Fantasy X, cutscenes intact. I'd be interested in downloading some of these (not speedruns, which don't include cutscenes). Where could I find them? I'm mostly interested in Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy IX, Xenosaga and Silent Hill.
I've seen similar things on Google Video and YouTube... Or try a newsgroup (do those things still exist?) devoted to RPGs or FF, etc. Sorry if this is obvious. --zenohockey02:34, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
nacho libre soundrack
Where can I find the song I am by a band called mr. loco, and i want the song not to have a virus with it?
Yesterday I visited a WalMart in New England which has a gun shop. I was spechless to see them placing live ammunition on the shelf. I opened a box and took a buckshot shotgun shell from it and no one asked me to put it back. What's wrong with these people? Don't they know there are kids running around in the WalMart? Don't they know people with a hammer could easily detonate a whole box of bullets? -- Toytoy20:13, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think the questions are the sentences that end with question marks. Sure, a hammer could detonate the bullets, but that's far from the only dangerous combination of items that you'll find in a Wal*Mart. I do hope you put the shotgun shell back, because asking "What's wrong with these people?" after saying you stole ammunition would be pretty ironic :) digfarenough (talk) 22:52, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I actually found ammo on the same shelf with children's toys, right at ground level, at a K-mart. I complained, and they told me they had no intention of changing anything. I picture a kid shoplifting some ammo, thinking it's some kind of toy, then detonating it with a hammer or rock. There really should be laws saying ammo must be locked up at all times. That K-mart is now out of business, as are many others. Perhaps it had something to do with their careless attitude. StuRat04:21, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How dangerous is it to detonate a loose bullet by hitting it? In a gun it gets accelerated because the explosion can only go one way. Outside a gun it would be like detonating a firecracker. How much gunpowder is there in there? What size fire cracker would it correspond to? (There;s a real question for you, light current :) ). DirkvdM06:52, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why me. What've I done? No . dont tell me! We dont have guns over here so I couldnt even guess!
I looked this all up. The biggest danger from handling loose ammunition is from the lead compounds that coat everything. In a fire, they just pop and can't penetrate anything. If you made a point (ha, ha) of firing one right beside your head, you would get serious eye injuries. In Canada, ammunition has to be signed out. --Zeizmic12:53, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Different types of bullets have different amounts of gunpowder. This is one of the reasons that certain types of bullets have more penetrating power than others. The higher the amount of gunpowder ("grain") the more often you have to clean your gun, if I recall. The best part about going to a shooting range in the United States is that they make you sign a waiver attesting to your mental health. --Fastfission13:30, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, you wouldn't, that's how they recognise you. Just like all the nutters in the institutions have acknowledge they're nutters to get out, you have to declare you're a looney to actually get into a shooting range. DirkvdM17:33, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The problem here would be that the people who are selling guns and amunition baltanly dont care about human life, or they would not be selling these things in the first place, and please, i dont need a Rifle association Yankee trying to justify a semi-automatic assault rifle with night vision scope and silencer for hunting.193.115.175.24714:16, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's right, we need to legalize thermonuclear weapons for hunting. Why should I be happy with killing one animal at a time when I can get a million with one bomb ? Let's get legalized nukes on the NRA agenda at the next meeting ! :-) StuRat17:42, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I really think my question is a good one. I mean, in the U.S., you can't leave a kid alone in a car for even one minute. You have to use a paper bag to conceal your liqueur botttle. You have to stop your car if a school bus on the other side of the road stops. You can't ask your kid to buy cigarette for you. You have to post a minimum wage poster in your office so every employee can see it. If you abuse drugs in a school zone, you're under increased penalty. ... And then you are allowed to display live ammunition on an open shelf while kids are running around nearby? Is there a law that immunes gun dealers from most tort lawsuits? -- Toytoy23:50, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Lost Location
I am looking for a location in Arizona concerning the name Maggie or Maggi or Magi, this could be the old name of a towne, a indian tribe, or someone who was very important in that the Arizona area. My searches have lead me no where and I could really use some help so please let me know if you can find anything on the subject.
On a lot of buses and vans, I've noticed these strange spinning things. They are slightly larger in diameter than an outstretched palm, and appear to be driven by air movement, as they slow down when the bus stops. I can't find any images of them on Commons (perhaps it's just a British thing), but there's an image of one quite clearly here; it's the strange protusion with a black square on it towards the rear of the bus. What the heck are they? smurrayinchester(User), (Talk)21:14, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They are wind-driven or turbine ventilators. I always thought they were a scam, but I did an extensive search and couldn't really find any authoritative. Some new designs have the advantage of not allowing rain penetration under high winds. They have a tendency to start squeaking after a few years. --Zeizmic23:53, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I dont mind the squeaking, I do mind the gut churning, joint dislocating ride we get on our local buses (51/53). Im sure SMurray will attest to that. --Light current00:12, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
kissing bugs habitat
hi,
i was on you site looking for where the kissing bug is found in the world,but i cant seem to find it on the web page about kissing bugs.I live in Australia and was wondering if we have the kissing bug here?
The name "kissing bug" is given to some members of the family of insects called Reduviidae. That article doesn't say where they live, but googling for "Reduviidae Australia" finds stuff like this, which says there are 30 genera (kinds, roughly) of insects from that family native to Australia. Also our Triatominae article (the Triatominae are a subgroup of the Reduviidae) says that some live in Australia. If you're particularly concerned about Chagas disease, a disease carried by kissing bugs, it seems to occur only in the americas. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk22:21, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
SANZAR contact details
Hi, i used wikipedia to find the contact number for SANZAR, the controlling body of the super14 rugby competition.
I was unable to find any contact numbers or email addresses.
If you could assist me in any way it would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Philip Bakos
That article doesn't appear to contain contact information. The three unions linked to on SANZAR all have links to their official sites, though. You can most likely just contact one of the three. digfarenough (talk) 22:55, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Faking one's own death
There's loads of conspiracy theories about anyone from Elvis Presley to Bruce Lee to Andy Kaufmann faking their own deaths so that they can live in peace/return some day, but has anyone actually faked their own death and gone on to live a new life? If so, were any of them particularly notable for any other reason? Sum023:34, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I've successfully downloaded a temporary internet file for an episode of a Jimmy Neutron. The sound works fine, but whenever I try to play it, it shows those weird, random textures that are shown when music is playing, instead of the picture for the episode. How can I fix this? -- TheGreatLlama(speak to the Llama!)00:02, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Do you mean it's showing a music visualization? Windows Media Player seems to think it's an audio file not a video file. What is the file extension/media type? If it's MPEG2 (.MPG), it might be because WMP won't decode MPEG2 or DVD movies without charging you extra for a decoder plugin. --Canley04:32, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You are missing a required codec used to decode the video. There a few bundles of common codecs on the internet that you can find; one that I installed a long time back at the recommendation of others was the DefilerPak. I don't know how current it still is. If you install that, though, it should work. --Fastfission13:24, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I installed DefilerPak, and it did work, so thanks for the help. By the way, this was the first time I used Windows Media Player, so that's why I said "weird, random textures" (which probably sounded pretty stupid). -- TheGreatLlama(speak to the Llama!)16:30, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I definitely appreciate them making progressively lighter computers. That makes it far less likely that I will pull my back when I toss the damn things out the window. :=) StuRat04:13, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When I was having some battery problems with my MacBook, one of the support people I got on the phone asked, "How are you using it?" "On my lap." "Your warranty can be voided if you use it on your lap!" "But it's a laptop." "We don't call it that!" (I don't use it on my bare lap anymore; these suckers run HOT.) --jpgordon∇∆∇∆05:24, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"First 'personnel administration' arrived, followed by 'personnel management'. then came 'human resource management'. now they say it is time for 'strategic human ersource management'. in my point of view, this is all just about semantics. in practice, the role and tasks remain the same. today, as one or two decades ago, same people are doing the same things, performing the same functions to acheive tyhe same outcomes, when it comes to the management of people and people related aspects in organisations"
can u please help me in elaborating the difference in the concepts of the 'human resource management' and 'strategic human resource management' now in any feild e.g., telecom, cellular etc. and also how these can effect the organisational performance and competitiveness.
The different answers are probably because the News of the World is a weekly, not daily, newspaper. So the best selling daily would still be The Sun. Ironfrost11:51, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Charles. BTW, when you're linking to other Wikipedia articles, you don't normally put the full URL - it's usual to just put the title of the article within two sets of square brackets, like this: [[Portsmouth FC]] gives Portsmouth FC. --Richardrj10:05, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Roman Counting
Why we use Roman counting as suffix of famous personalities ? Like Pop John Paul II or Queen Elizbeth I etc?
Just tradition, I imagine. We use it for non-famous personalities too if you get beyond Sr. and Jr. This is probably a question better posed to the Language desk. Additionally unlike Jr. and Sr. the dignitaries with the same name are usually not related (and in the case of Popes, it is not their birth name). One could imagine doing something like "Queen Elizabeth, the one who was born in 1853" but that seems a little clumsy (and a lot harder to remember). --Fastfission13:21, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My Holy Father went to on a bunch of trips and all i got was this lousy map
Is there some who been to every country in the world? I know this might be quite a difficult question to answer because it impossible to judge but maybe some person set out to go to every country and got plenty of media coverage. Thanks for all the help Joel— Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.129.18.250 (talk)
What is good etiquette regarding one's choice of whether to take an aisle or window seat on a bus (or train), when both seats are currently unoccupied? I prefer the aisle seat, because it allows me to stretch my legs out into the aisle, so I always sit there on the first-come, first-served principle. But when the bus begins to fill up, I get stares and sighs from the person who has to ask me to step aside in order to claim the vacant window seat. The suspicion persists that, by taking the aisle seat, I am somehow trying to discourage him from sitting next to me. Yet that is not the case at all; I simply prefer the aisle seat. Is this bad etiquette? Should I always take the window seat, regardless of my personal preference and the fact that I was there first, so that people who arrive later - that's later, please note - can easily slip into the aisle seat?
The thing that really bugs me is when people leave their bags on the seat next to them, and don't remove them until someone asks them to (and even then, it sometimes seems, with reluctance). Now that is a clear case of discouragement from sitting down next to one, and should be outlawed. --Richardrj11:24, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I always thought that traditionally people prefer the window seat. If I'm not alone in this, perhaps other people can't understand your preference for the aisle seat.
I don't know why you see putting your seat on the bag next to you as worse than sitting in the aisle seat. It's much easier to reach there than in the overhead racks or underneath your seat, so if no-one's sitting next to you, I would say it's perfectly reasonable to keep it there until someone needs to sit down. --Sam Blanning(talk)12:25, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
IMO its poor form to sit in the aisle seat and leave the other unoccupied. It does seem like you are trying to stop people sitting there, as it is very difficult for people to get into that seat, especially if you have long legs. If you see getting the aisle seat as an advantage or privilege of getting on first, then maybe sit down next to someone who is already in a window seat, or at each stop stand up so someone can get into the window seat next to you without having to ask/glare. I do agree with you on the bag thing, however, unless it is ridiculously heavy, it is equally easy to put it on your lap instead of the seat... – AlbinoMonkey(Talk)12:51, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But if I sit down next to someone who's already in a window seat, when there's a pair of unoccupied seats elsewhere on the bus, they will think I'm a pervert and glare at me even more. As Anchoress says below, it's up to the later person to say 'excuse me' if they want to sit in the window seat. I will always let them sit down without hindrance.
Re bags, my favourite incident was when I asked a woman to move her bag so that I could sit down next to her. She huffed and said "look, there's other empty seats over there". As though she could prevent me from sitting next to her! I said "Nevertheless, I would like to sit here, if you don't mind," and waited patiently until, with great reluctance, she moved her bag. --Richardrj14:18, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Personally I think it's perfectly OK to sit in whatever seat you want. I think it's rude of people to presume you're trying to hog two seats, but it's understandable since I know people sometimes do so. Frankly I also think it's OK to put bags etc on the other seat, although if it's standing room only I always pick mine up. People do not have the right to take up more than one seat (unless they are hindered in some way physically), and IMO anyone has the right to politely ask people to pick up their stuff so a standee can sit. And frankly if you're going to ride public transit that kind of assertiveness is necessary and not rude. I've never been shy about asking people to pick up their bags so I can sit down, and I don't even bother asking to sit in the window seat if someone's in the aisle, I just smile, make a gesture towards the seat, politely say 'excuse me', and step over them if they don't move over. I guess to sum it up, if there's an 'empty' seat on the bus or train and I'm standing - unless there's someone more needy than I am - no matter if there's a coat, groceries, a TV, a backpack, a giant potted palm or half an ass on that seat, I'm (politely) sitting down. And I don't assume the worst of people or give them grief for having their stuff on the seat. I just ask them to move it. :-)
A humorous reversal to that though; when I was backpacking in the UK, I frequently found it easier to stand and put my backpack on the seat. It was better for numerous reasons, ease of re-mounting, not snagging stockings or taking up room in the aisle, not whacking people in the face with it behind my back, etc. People really used to give me dirty looks over that though, lol. But I'd say, hey, I get one seat, right? If I want to give it to my backpack there's no reason to complain, right? Of course I gave it up to more needy people. Anchoress12:50, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why? Sometimes there weren't luggage racks, and sometimes even if there were it was a) inconvenient to use them, or b) too far from the seats, I feared theft. If I had used the luggage racks, I would have still been taking up a seat. So what's the difference? Anchoress02:44, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If no racks, fair enough. If racks available it would make one more seat available. Any way , I thought you werent talking to me! Have you forgiven me now?--Light current03:01, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OK, so if there is a rack, I should use it why? You say it would make one more seat available. HOW? I'm already using only one seat. Are you saying I should put my backpack in the rack and then stand up, giving my seat to someone else? As stated above, I already do so when a more needy person is present. And no, I haven't forgiven you. Not now or ever. Don't expect me to be 'talking to you' much, because it isn't going to be happening. Anchoress04:58, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes there would be an extra seat that either you or someone else could use. Now why dont you forgive me?. PLeeease! Ive said sorry for unintentionally upsetting you. Have you not read my apologies? --Light current15:23, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And I would choose to use it by putting my backpack on it for the reasons stated above, and that leads us back to the beginning. And no, I'm not going to forgive you, not now or ever, as I said. Anchoress00:27, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I once managed to get a seat on an "redeye" airplane flight with two empty seats on one side. I put the armrests up and actually was able to lay down to sleep ! Unfortunately, everyone seemed to bitch about me having extra seats, but I just figured "that's their problem" and went to sleep. I always take an aisle seat, because then I can get up when I please. It seriously annoys me when I have to climb over somebody who refuses to get up to let me out. The only downside to an aisle seat is when the plane lands. At this point everyone seems to feel the need to cram themselves into the aisle, like sardines, and wait for 10 minutes to exit, versus just remaining seated until the rows in front have exited. I like to sit calmly and read a magazine, instead, but with an aisle seat the people next to me feel their right to do a sardine imitation is being abridged, LOL. StuRat16:39, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On (Dutch) trains I hang my coat on the window side (hooks are only there) sit in the aisle seat next to it, put my feet up on the opposite seat and put my backpack on the seat next to that one. Thus, I (sort of) occupy four seats. Then again, I always ride during quiet hours and go to one of the ends of the train. Most people are lazy (or stupid) and don't walk far from the stairs and get on the train through the nearest door. Consequently, the middle is often cramped, while at the ends of the train there is plenty of room. I never get any nasty looks. If it gets crowded I keep an eye out for people looking at 'my' seats and a few friendly looks solve the situation. And if I don't because I'm too engulfed in my literature (or thoughts) then people simply ask and I oblige. Ony once in over a thousand train trips did someone react in a rude way. If everyone is relaxed about this there is no problem. If everyone worries too much about upsetting others then the others will be more easily upset, which makes people worry even more, etc. Relax and (very important - this solves most situations) SMILE! Not an obligatory smile ut a genuine one. I've learned that that is the best problem solver in the world. It works miracles. DirkvdM17:56, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I certainly cant agree with you putting your feet on the seat opposite. THats one thing that really gets my goat! Its dirties the seat that someone will eventually have to sit on and wears ou the cloth that we must all pay for to get reparied. In this country, there are large penalties for this crime. I think it should be made a hanging offence actually!(but then agian Ive always been too soft) --Light current18:05, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My feet, not my shoes. I take those off (the shoes :) ). If they're smelly I put a plastic bag or something under my shoes. Don't assume too much. :) DirkvdM03:34, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I think it is unwelcoming. But that doesn't mean I think you shouldn't do it. It isn't the job of anyone riding public transport to be welcoming. Personally I LOVE people who sit on the aisle seat; first because I personally prefer the window and don't mind the inconvenience of getting there (I don't expect people to stand up or even shift over to let me by), and second because I derive perverse satisfaction from thwarting people who think they can hog two seats by sitting on the aisle (not you, I know). I strongly believe you should continue to do exactly what you want. As long as you are not actively hindering people from sitting in empty seats, I don't think you are being discourteous or doing anything worthy of criticism. People who can't bring themselves to budge past a pair of knees or politely ask someone to pick up their coat deserve to stand, IMO. Anchoress02:08, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Court order to attend AA
I read in the paper that Mel Gibson received a fine and a court order to attend AA (Alcoholics Anonymous not the Automobile Association) for his drunk driving charge. In situations like this how does the court know if he turns up or not? as I thought the a major part of AA was that they won't tell anyone who attends their meetings. AllanHainey11:59, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have to wonder whether, when the papers say "sentenced to AA" it's just a lazy way of saying "sentenced to a court-approved alcohol program". Frankly, if I were a volunteer attendee at an AA meeting, I don't know how confortable I'd be bearing my soul in the company of a bunch of boneheads who're there only to escape some jail time. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk12:16, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
...
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We're entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
...
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Turning over wills and lives to God? Admitting our sins in hope of divine admonishment? Praying for better contact with God? And, given that a conservative 5 / 12 steps (go on, look at them for yourself) involve God, it seems to fall well within the bracket of a 'religious movement'. Abednigo14:03, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
God and religion are as different as eggs are from cake. In order for an organisation to be a 'religious' organisation they have to be connected with some religion. Which religion is AA associated with? Anchoress03:07, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, regardless, it's not any sort of violation of separation of church and state. Deals like this are worked out between the prosecutor and the defendants lawyers (and I imagine Mr. Gibson can afford his own), and if he didn't like AA, he would have agreed to some other equivalent. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆14:06, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This has been an issue of separation of church and state. I believe there was an episode of Bullshit! just about this topic. That's a cable TV program starring Penn and Teller debunking, well, bullshit. AA tries to walk the line and claim they aren't a religious org, by doing things like replacing the word "God" with things like "a higher power", which are sufficiently vague that they can get away with it. In the US, under the Bush admin, though, the separation of church and state has been so eroded that AA can just leave "God" in and have nothing to worry about. They don't really publish a success rate, but from what info has gotten out, it doesn't appear much better than any other method. I believe in many areas AA is the only treatment program available, so the courts do sentence people to AA, specifically. StuRat16:16, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If there is a court order to attend AA meetings, the court gives the person a card to take to the meeting. An official at the meeting signs and dates the card once for each attendance. And it is possible to be court-ordered to attend AA meetings and a court-approved alcohol treatment program; in my county with clients I've worked with, it's common. 69.56.96.11618:43, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In the UK and Australian Parliaments, and no doubt in other legislatures, each day's proceedings open with the Lord's Prayer. That does not make these bodies religious institutions. You can tell they're not by the open hostilities that happen after the prayers are over. JackofOz06:24, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Magnets, oriental men, and scant clothing
Can anyone tell me what on earth this is all about? Googling for various combinations of "semi-naked men", "magnet", "red blue" and related terms leads to some interesting results, but not an explanation. Abednigo13:08, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have no idea, but thank you so much for posting it. I can't stop laughing, particularly at the facial expression of the guy on the right. At a guess, it looks like some kind of version of It's a Knockout. --Richardrj13:59, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ahh one man(?) is south and ones north I see. But they both have a magnet which naturally has a N and S pole each??? I think the scientific advisor should be fired.--Light current15:04, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are several reasons for a Wikipedia to be big. One is number of speakers (native or not). This is the main reason the English one is the biggest. Then there is pride, which probably explains the sizes of the Esperanto and Catalan ones. And internet penetration probably explains the size of the Dutch one - there are only about 22 million Dutch speakers (native or ... well, native) and many (like me) will be more active at the English Wikipedia. There are 46 million Polish speakers and I supose many will be good enough at Eglish for normal conversation, but not to participate in Wikipedia. So they put their effort into the Polish one. DirkvdM18:14, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
After listening to to much Sytem Of a Down, i was wondering, is it possable and/or advisable to pull a tapeworm out of your ass?
If you don't have a tapeworm there in the first place, then no — if you do, please go see a doctor about it. There are very effective medications these days for that sort of thing, but, as a matter of policy, we don't offer medical advice here on Wikipedia. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 21:18, 18 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OMG LOL Thats so funny Ilmari 8-))(not if you dont have one there in the first plalce... classic)
There there, don't you be having a fit now. It was a nice one but not all that funny. Here, have a virtual glass of water. Feeling better now? DirkvdM18:22, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is not a medical question as i dont have worms. I was just wondering if it would be possable and/or advisable if, lets say you woke up and felt something laying its eggs around you anus.
OMG LOL Are you sure we dont have to pay for this entertainment? The above two posts (taken together) are hilarious! Dont split them on pain of death!--Light current14:52, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh dear, you're calling out to your god again and all that. Maybe you should lie down for a minute, to catch your breath. Think about your heart. DirkvdM18:22, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Come on ppl, lets say you did wake to find this, not that it is too common i hope, but lets say you did, should you pull it out?
What you mean? A worm sticking out your ass or a load of eggs in the valley? Are you yanking our chains? (or just pulling our worms)--Light current15:11, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You know, some of our patented Ring of Fire brand salsa should send those tapeworms running for their lives (or slithering, as the case may be). :-) StuRat18:08, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I believe that the active ingredient in hot peppers, capsaicin, was indeed used to clear parasites out of the intestinal tract. This does, however, cause significant discomfort and diarrhea, so other means are most often used. StuRat18:30, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I wonder what would happen to a dead tapeworm (the article doesn't seem to say)? Wouldn't one shit it out? In that case a bit might indeed be sticking out. DirkvdM18:27, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Really Dirk, cant you use the word expel rather than S**t (Ive just had my tea). I think when they die they break up into pieces and detection of these is one of the tests to see if you have worms. BTW.are there more than one alive at any one time in the gut?--Light current18:36, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you have reason to believe that you have a tapeworm, see your doctor immediately. Given sufficiently early detection, he will have an effective regimen that will expel the parasites before they kill you. B00P08:39, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Jeez guys, can't anybody give him an answer? The answer is no, to all your questions. Tapeworms hang around too deep in your large intestine, and never come out to lay eggs. That's other kinds of parasites, and ones that are around a millimeter thick. You could not pull one out unless you can stick your whole hand and much of your arm in positions physically impossible, and you had been doing this for years so that your intestine would be able to stretch to your hand size. — [Mac Davis] (talk)
This reminds me of a family story. In the days before drug treatments, a friend of my aunt's had some sort of parasitic worm which he'd picked up in West Africa. The only advice the doctors gave in those days was to tell him that if it ever got near his eye, he should get someone to pop his eyeball out so the worm could escape through the empty socket. So whenever his neck started pulsating and it looked as if the worm was getting close to the eye, everyone would crowd round and watch anxiously wondering if this was the big moment. Unfortunately it never was; the worm always turned back and was eventually buried with him. Jameswilson23:08, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If we're telling stories now I might as well join in. Once in Indonesia got a worm in my foot that is really 'meant for' dogs and cats and can't fully penetrate the human skin. So it kept on searching for a spot just under the top layer of skin. After a few weeks I could see a whole network of (lighter coloured) corridors in my foot. It itched like hell and luckily I had clove oil with me, because I wouldn't have been able to sleep. I finally went home and they made an ointment for me at the hospital which got rid of it. Anyone know what this worm is called? DirkvdM07:03, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What is the most common meaning for opa? Like in the movie, "The Terminal" with tom hanks he said opa a couple times. Does anyone know what it means?
71.209.74.8115:00, 21 August 2006 (UTC)daniel[reply]
In greek/italian, a general purpose non-offensive expletive, like "Oops" or "Horray". In german it is a casual way of saying grandfather. Could be others meanings too. --DarkfredTalk to me16:02, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I haven't seen the terminal, but perhaps you are referring to the exclamation used by (I think) greek people when taking a shot? The equivalent of "bottoms up", I guess. And wasn't the character in the terminal from a fictional country? -Bmk16:12, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It was indeed a fictional country (which we oddly have an article on: Krakozhia), which spoke a combination of fictional Krakozhian and Belarusian. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk)16:45, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In Greek restaurants, such as the ones on Halstead Street just west of downtown Chicago, Illinois, they serve "flaming saganaki", a dish with heated cheese. A heated high-alcohol liquor is poured on it and lit. Flames go up to the ceiling, and everyone yells "OPA!" Sometimes the waiter will have four such plates stacked up along his arm, with even greater inferno. (Not to be confused with flaming Nagasaki).Edison20:48, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Remove the image, because only a copyright holder can grant permission for the use of what they own, and copyright owners are absolutely entitled to stop publication. The webmaster is responsible for obeying copyright law. Or wait for a takedown notice. Though the notice might be acted upon by the ISP hosting the site; it would be as well not to let things get that far. See Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act. Notinasnaid16:41, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
By the way, Wikipedia doesn't give legal advice, but the webmaster should be under no illusions: this is a legal matter. If they are determined to keep it, and believe they have a legal (as opposed to moral) right, then they should consult a lawyer immediately. Notinasnaid16:43, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I say take the card out. Due to the fact that the image is indeed art, he has no right to put it on his website. If he were allowed a second image of the pokemon, or even a rip of the card itself by the creator, it'd be fine. Locke Yggdrasill
warning I am not a lawyer. I think it might fall under Fair use since he is talking about the card itself not using the card to illistrate something. Jon51321:24, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
born 1990, died 2003
I remember there was an article about a girl who was born in 1990 and died in 2003 because she commited suicide in the girls' washroom in her school. The article was in Category:1990 birth. What was her name and how come the article is here in the Wikipedia? by the way, she was a Texan and the incident took place in a girls' washroom in a elementary school.
Brntoutchef17:08, 21 August 2006 (UTC)I had my black walnut trees trimmed. I am in the process of stripping the leaves and removing nuts. I have been feeling really weird. Are the leaves toxic, just as the roots are? brntoutchef[reply]
Ha, ha. Black walnut roots, leaves, and husks contain juglone, which is powerful stuff. You can be allergic to it, and it has some sedative properties. --Zeizmic17:26, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ignore this question I contacted the school and found the answer. "St George's school, Ascot" school founded or established
The school website http://www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk gives lots of information about the school but it says nothing about when the school was founded.
I can find nothing on the web about when the school was founded. All that I have found is that the school was founded at the end of the 19th century and that Winston Churchill attended the school for two years in the 1880s as a young boy.
I think the most common method is to burn to rich of a mixture of gasoline and air, which sends unburned gasoline vapor through the exhaust. A spark plug can then be mounted at the end of the exhaust pipe to ignite the gasoline as it mixes with the outside air. However, this sounds dangerous to me, so I wouldn't recommend it. StuRat18:23, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not if you spell it as back-fire. Well, what do you know ... "For some engines, backfiring may be considered normal." Was that article written in the early 20th century? DirkvdM18:35, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In many online videos and in the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, cars that spit fire out of their exhaust for a splitsecond are displayed before accelerating away. Jamesino21:02, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You guys all assume we're working with "normal" cars. Nobody has ever made a jet engine and attached it to some kind of vehicle before? — [Mac Davis] (talk)
Many, many, many, many times before. People have also strapped rather more crazy things to cars, such as rockets. And for truely crazy, some guy decided to "reupholster" his car, which included giving it a wood burning oven which, if memory serves, also burst into flame. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk)18:18, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Pandyas
A clan of pandyas migrated from South India (Trichi) to Gujarat.
These Pandyas - whose roots are in Trichi migrated to Gujarat possibliy because of Famine and then shifted to MP in search of Gems.
Do you have any infortmation about it ? Where else shold I look for the information?
Federal Guideline for computer labs.
At my college, all the computers are locked starting this semester and require a student id to access. When I asked why, they made some vague reference to being in compliance with a federal mandate. Is this law something new. Where can I find out more about this?--God Ω War21:14, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You could check out CIPA but that should not apply to colleges. Colleges make up their own rules about this. Most use IDs and Internet filters to prevent unauthorized use of equipment:
by non-university people (homeless monopolizing the Internet computers.)
for non-eduaction related work (bandwidth problems related to file sharing.)
Why is it called a near miss when it's really a near hit?
I love these sort of observations, but does anyone know of a collection of similar
comments/observations? I think they'd make great reading :) Thanks very much Benbread22:46, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"I could care less" comes to mind. Intending to declare indifference by meaning to say "I couldn't care less" says just the opposite. ;-) --hydnjotalk22:51, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That has been discussed before. It depends entirely on what you mean. If you are bored to death on a subject it's quite possible you could not care less. - 131.211.210.1107:33, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And, "the same difference" clearly means that the diference between two pairs is the same. It gets used "all the time" to indicate the difference between two things. Six vs half a dozen: it's "the same difference" (not). --hydnjotalk23:07, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A lion is a cat, and ooh, it is big, isn't it? So it is a big cat. So if you have a shot that was a miss, but ooh, that was near!, it is a ... --LambiamTalk23:15, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I think that Benbread knows how to use it properly. But, it is often misused as in two planes nearly colliding and nearly hitting each other being called a "near miss" when in fact it was a "near hit". --hydnjotalk23:31, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think "hitting on" someone is somehow related to "hitting the showers". They're not meant to be interpreted as having anything to do with anybody literally hitting anything. Even when 1 person goes to the only shower in their home, they seem to call it "hitting the showers". Go figure. JackofOz06:13, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So, back to the original question, we're looking for examples of "flirting" with language and common sayings that screw around with literal meanings and have come into everyday usage anyway. Any ideas? --hydnjotalk00:59, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Now, if we continue this discussion much longer someone will suggest that we "get a room". Literally, that may suggest that we become intimate but what it really means is that this discussion has become two-sided but, it should not be interpreted literally. ;-) --hydnjotalk01:17, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Back to the original question: There are different types of misses, a near miss, a moderate miss, and a far miss. The confusion is caused by people reading "near miss" as "nearly missed", which doesn't have the same meaning at all. StuRat02:10, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's not nearly a miss, it's a miss (i.e. not a hit), but it was near, or close as opposed to far or way off. So if you on a shooting range, and you're in lane 1, and you hit lane 3's target, that's way off, but if you're aiming for a perfect bullseye and you're 1 mm outside the circle, well that is near, but it's a miss as far as your target is concerned: "Wow Miss, that's a near miss, Miss; pretty good for a girlie though." --Seejyb07:31, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Very very funny, thanks everyone for your answers. Howard Train for your useful answers, and everyone else for your less useful but very funny answers. Seems Wikipedia hasn't become boring and nasty after all :) Benbread12:50, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
August 22
Simpsons
Have there been any episodes of the Simpsons in which one or more of the Simpson five were not in the episode? Reywas92
Maggie does always appear in the opening credits couch scene (except for in Halloween episodes), but I don't suppose you're counting that. And, of course, there are many episodes without Grandpa Simpson. StuRat02:04, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, in Future-Drama, Homer and Marge don't appear in their usual roles, just in roles as themselves in the future. Not sure if that counts. VivaLaVieBoheme!
did Woody Allen and either Diane Keaton or Mia Farrow signal each other from the windows of their apartments across central park? Wjlkgnsfb01:22, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Japanese name basically means "I am there now" (more literally/awkwardly, "Now, the me that is there"), there meaning specifically the place where you are, and since it doesn't sound nearly as cool in English to say that as it does in Japanese, they rearranged the words in what they felt was a cool way, and they were left with "Now and Then, Here and There". Then again, they may have been trying to say "There and Then, Here and Now". freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 16:42, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wow. Okay. I understand. I just got fustrated because 'Now and Then' in English means 'every once and awhile', while 'Here and There' means that someone or something isn't in any one specific place. I couldn't understand how that applied to the story in Now and Then, Here and There. Your explaination makes sense of it, though. --69.138.61.16818:16, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Tingle
Is there any reason why Tingle from the Zelda series exists? I quote the following from Nintendo Power v207's Pulse: "If there's any mercy in the video game world, and Tingle is a playable character [in Super Smash Bros. Brawl], his only move will be to spontaneously combust." -- TheGreatLlama(speak to the Llama!)02:00, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
He seems to be relatively more popular in Japan than elsewhere; a DS game even exists, so it is not unlikely he is seen as profitable for a reasonably sized part of the gaming population. Yesitsapril07:30, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
He appears as comic relief from Majora's Mask onwards. As Yesitsapril said, he is more popular in Japan, where an androgynous appearance and fairy references don't have the same implications as they do in the West. The same thing happened with Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2.
Will any sort of lighter fluid work in Zippo lighters?
Lighter fluid redirects to butane, which suggests there is only one kind. It is, however, only a fluid under pressure, which requires a closed container, which a zippo doesn't have. DirkvdM04:05, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Outside of the USA, the Zippo type of lighter is called a "petrol" lighter, presumably a British term. I've heard them called "trench lighters". They work with any kind of highly flammable fluid, but the smell and residue of some would be unacceptable. What would someone from USA call a "petrol" lighter, since they do not seem to use the term there? A "gas" lighter for me would mean either one which is used to light a gas appliance, or one burning butane or similar liquid contained only under pressure. --Seejyb08:57, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Butane lighters are pressurized, and it's a real bitch to try to fill them without sniffing a lot of fumes. The old lighters use a highly volatile fluid that is full of nasties, and is real close to white gasoline. Here is a link to genuine zippo fluid. Do not use it to light your barbeque! [6] --Zeizmic12:22, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the info guys, but what I meant was, Zippo lighters have their own special lighter fluid and I was wondering if I could just fill it with any kind I buy at Walgreens or something.
You also didn't split up the Netherlands Antilles. And Sint Maarten is one of the Netherlands Antilles. That the French also lay claim is no fault of ours. :) DirkvdM07:17, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There'll be water
A frequently said quote in the Dark Tower Series is "There will be water if god wills it". I am leaning towards this being a bible quote, but can anyone verify this?Cuban Cigar08:28, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think there is anything like that in the Bible. In any case, it seems more like an Islamic sentiment than a Christian one.--Shantavira08:59, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well as it happens i'm muslim myself, and even though we say "if god wills it" a lot, never the specific phrase i mentioned at the start.Cuban Cigar10:46, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it was just something King made up himself, to show that generally people in his time and world are God-believing in some way, not purely absurdist and lost their religion. — [Mac Davis] (talk)
See the Biblical story of Moses bringing water from the rock in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20, although this exact phrase doesn't occur.
I would like to know whether the stretch of the A46 between Lincoln and Newark in Lincolnshire, England is or is not duel carraigeway. I couldnt care less about it but it is annoying me because every map says a different thing!
Also why is the A74(M) in the Scottish Borders called the A74(M) and not the M74 as this is what it starts off like. Then magically in the middle of no where it changes into the A74(M) when it is the same motorway. I know why it changes at that point, they upgraded it to motorway in two stages, but why couldnt they call it the M74. Its annoying!
Is a duel carriageway (as opposed to a dual carriageway) a place where people shoot at each other from horse-drawn carriages ? :-) StuRat00:48, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
According to Google Earth and MultiMap satellite photos, the A46 is mainly standard single carriageway, but a short section between Newark and Winthorpe is dual carriageway. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk)16:33, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Highways Agency seems to think it has upgraded the said A46 stupid road to dual carriageway: [8] --Tagishsimon(talk)
Forex/currency question?
I understand from reading through web pages the value of a currency increases when interest rates go up, but on the last interest rate hike the European Central Bank made, the Euro fell against sterling( 12 July 2006 @ 1.44 - 12 Aug 2006 @ 1.48 not sure the exact day the interest rate increase was but it was sometime in between these 2 dates.). So if for example I had £100 I would get 144 euro in July but in Aug I would get 148 euro after the hike make sterling stronger/euro weaker. Is it just a one time thing or what is the norm when interest rates go up?
There is no ironclad rule that a currency's exchange value rises when its interest rate rises. Often, the currency's exchange rate will rise in anticipation of an interest-rate increase, and then drop slightly when the increase happens, because traders are taking their profits by selling the currency after the increase. Also, other factors play into whether a currency rises in response to an interest-rate increase, such as whether the country is perceived to have stable or deteriorating finances, and how interest rates are changing for other currencies.
During the period you mentioned, the Bank of England unexpectedly raised interest rates on August 3. So there was not only an interest-rate increase for the euro but also for sterling. The interest-rate rise for the euro was probably already "priced in" by mid-July, because traders had already bid up the euro in expecation of the euro rate increase, which was widely foreseen. However, they had not priced in the British rate rise in early August, because the consensus was that the Bank of England would leave rates unchanged. When the BoE unexpectedly raised rates, sterling rose. The sharpness of the rise was probably partly due to short covering. See short squeeze if you want to learn more about how that happens. Marco polo14:05, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
9/11 Death Toll
Hi,
Is there any information about the 2752 deaths in the 9/11 terrorist attack that break down the deaths into religious groupings? I know there were 243 foreign people killed, but cannot find a religious split. My question comes from the view of many in the Moslem community that there was "not one Jew killed so the claims about 9/11 are doubtful".
Regards,
James
9/11 conspiracy theories touches on this, as one might expect. On the nationality side, there were five Israelis killed (of whom four had dual US citizenship). For religion/ethnicity, various samplings of the lists of dead suggest 10-15% of casualties (~400) in the World Trade Center were Jewish (see that page for methodology) which correlates to what you'd expect from the demographics of New York. There's no overall breakdown I've seen, but claims like the one you mention mean that the Jewish percentage has been looked into specifically. Shimgray | talk | 14:19, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Even if it were the case that no Jews died, the perpetrators can hardly take credit for that. It would have been impossible to control who died and who survived. Such is the nature of terrorism - they never really know, or care, who their victims are. JackofOz00:42, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think the idea that folks are referring to here was the anti-semitic claim that Israel perpetrated the 9/11 attacks and framed Islamic extremists in order to incite the US to go to war against Islamic extremism. It's complete nazi hogwash, of course, but anti-semitism is one of those funny poisons that humanity can't get enough of. --Bmk03:14, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, I was wondering about that. The question was not quite suitly emphazied. Which muslim community, by the way? There are loads all over the world and none I've met where 'many' would think something like that. And if 15% of New Yorkers are Jewish, that would be over 1 million. So 10% of the world's jewish population live in New York? Israel was started in the wrong place. :) DirkvdM07:29, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's kind of like a message board, but not really. It's intended as a way for other Wikipedia users leave messages to you about your contributions to Wikipedia. It's sort of like an e-mail system, only all the messages are publically viewable. You can also leave messages to other Wikipedia users on their talk pages. Please remember that all messages should be related to Wikipedia. Wikipedia talk pages are not a general Internet forum. JIP | Talk14:20, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I know that the ZIP+4 was first implemented in 1983 per the USPS web site. However, I want to know when it was first proposed to go with the +4 part. I remember programming in BASIC (1974) and my boss told me to map out an extra 4 for the extended ZIP. Nobody belives me, and I would like to be able to point to the legislation regarding this to make a point. Anybody? Joan Leftwich
"By the mid-1970s, however, it was clear that cheaper, more efficient methods and equipment were needed if the Postal Service was to offset rising costs associated with growing mail volume. To reduce the number of mail piece handlings, the Postal Service began to develop an expanded ZIP Code in 1978." USPS
"In 1978, the Postal Service decided to develop an expanded code of four add-on digits that would speed processing when coupled with new mechanization capable of sorting mail to small geographic segments, such as a city block or single building." about.com
Can't find any evidence for when they first started kicking around the idea, though - it seems 1978 was when they announced it, but the idea could well have been mooted earlier. Shimgray | talk | 16:17, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
American attitudes
I don't mean to be offensive and i also don't want to paint all americans with the same brush, but I've noticed that many Americans, and their government will support the U.S. when they send troops or agents to foreign lands to sort out what are often Domestic problems e.g. Iraq, Somalia and Chile among others. Even when troops are not required the Americans try to get involved, e.g. the northern Ireland peace processes, my question is to Americans and non-Americans who live, or have lived in America, Why do they do this? they are often not wanted and can create more problems than they solve. Does America see itself as some sort of World-policeman ,who has a responsibility to help when needed even if not rely wanted? Ken21:07, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Call it a mis-use of the reference desk, if you like. I really don't think this is the place for polls, even were there any worth in self-selected statistical data. --Tagishsimon(talk)
Well, that's your opinion, &c. Given that facts may be construed as collective individual personal opinions, I'm not sure where your remark gets us. I observe that a great many answers to questions involve the supply of these questionable fact things; entirely fewer questions and answers invite and involve opinion (save for my first caveat). You might refer to the rubric at the top, which has lines such as "# The Reference desk is not a soapbox. If further debate regarding a particular answer is needed, please move the discussion to the appropriate talk page." In my understanding, the reference desk is aimed at providing deterministic answers to suitable questions. We're not really in a position to debate the reasons Americans do or do not support their country's foreign policy. If anyone had pointers to good discussions of the subject matter of the question (such as the links above) then that would, for me, be legitimate. however if someone wants to natter with Americans about their views of foreign policy, I think there are 100 more appropriate websites. YMMV. --Tagishsimon(talk)
No one in America wants America to be the world's policeman. American politicians often make a point of saying they don't want that. However, many Americans seem to be OK with being part of an international campaign to "help" another country, as in the cases of the world wars. CIA involvement in Chile was covert and therefore not really a question of U.S. public opinion. The Somalia campaign was a US-led UN humanitarian mission that ran into unexpectedly fierce opposition on the ground. In Iraq, the Bush administration sought support for invasion by assembling the You Forgot Poland coalition, by getting exiles to call for the "liberation" of Iraq and by claiming Iraq was a threat to the U.S. Flimsy as those motives may seem, especially in retrospect, they were essential to getting congressional authorization for the war. Had Bush said, "We should go into Iraq as the world's policeman," no one would have gone along. -- Mwalcoff22:56, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Historically, the US has been more optimistic about the world, feeling that, with the proper help, the countries of the world can all become productive, peaceful, democratic nations, tolerant of others different from themselves. There have been some major successes:
1) Germany, Japan, and other genocidal nations have been transformed in just that way.
2) Most countries in the Americas are now democratic, while most were totalitarian a couple generations ago.
3) The Northern Ireland peace process seems to be going reasonably well.
4) The former Yugoslavia no longer seems to be committing genocide against it's neighbors.
5) Afghanistan isn't ideal, but does seem much better off than before.
6) North Korea is still badly messed up, but South Korea seems to have been saved from that fate by US led UN efforts in the Korean War.
7) The collapse of the Soviet Union brought democracy to many countries in Eastern Europe. This collapse was, at least in part, due to US efforts.
Some failures:
1) Vietnam. Although, it isn't really much worse off than before US involvement.
2) Somalia. Also still as messed up as before US involvement.
3) Israel/Palestine. Same comment.
4) Iraq. It might be too early to draw conclusions, but the early indications are that Iraq may actually be worse off than under Saddam. We will have to wait and see what happens.
These failures, however, pale in comparison to what has happened when the US has failed to intervene:
The conclusion, then, is that, while US intervention isn't always successful, it has the potential to do a great deal of good, while only a limited downside for failure. Nonintervention, on the other hand, can be disastrous. StuRat00:22, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There used to be the Monroe doctrine, but I believe WWII ended that. Also, the prime directive of Star Trek was probably inspired by this. One of the social criticisms in the series. So far that philosophy seems to have been appropriate in most cases.
StuRat, do you mean to suggest that those first seven points can be ascribed to the US? The US may have been involved, but there were more parties and/or whether that was for better or for worse is open to discussion. Also, you say that Vietnam is now 'not worse off' than before. I'd say they are (were) worse off in the sense that a few million died but better off in the sense that they now have their own independent country. They are certainly better of than they were before the French occupation, despite the US intervention. DirkvdM
Yes, I mean to say most of the first 7 points can be primarily ascribed to the US, with help from others. If Vietnam had been a thriving democracy prior to US involvement and was now as messed up as North Korea, then I would say the US had screwed up their country big time. However, it's no worse off than before, so my point is, even when US foreign intervention fails, the long term results aren't usually all that bad. StuRat19:09, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And following your last reasoning, the Netherlands 'failed to intervene' in loads of conflicts all over the world, so should we also participate in every conflict? Or is the US the only country with a right or obligation to do this? If not then all countries in the world would have to have military forces in all 'troublesome' countries in the world (by their own definition of 'troublesome'? - there would be lots of intervening forces in the US then). But suppose some of them have conflicitng interrests (which would obviously be unavoidable). like in Afghanistan right now, between the Netherlands and the US, should our countries then go to war with each other? DirkvdM08:01, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I very much wish that Europe would intervene in many places, such as sending troops to Lebanon, preventing genocide in Rwanda and Darfur, etc. The failure of Europe to help unless led by the US (and many times even then) could have disastrous implications for the future of the world. For example, if they "wimp out" and decide it's just easier to let Iran get nukes than worry about it, we may eventually get a nuclear war, as a result, between Iran and Israel. As for Afghanistan, the US is on the side of the democratically elected government, are you saying the Netherlands is on the side of the Taliban and al-Queada ? StuRat19:17, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
While I'm not American, I think it's not so much public desire, but more the people in power's desire. When you're the president (not directed at any particular one of course ;) ) of the US, you're the President of the largest economy in the world (except the EU, but you can only count that as a single entity in certain circumstances). Money is power. That makes you, in effect, probably the most powerful person in the world. But, I think, knowing that you're the most powerful person in the world, makes them forget that the world didn't chose them - the US did. But because they're the most powerful person in the world, they act as if the world chose them or that being in that position, gives them the right to fully excercise that position (which they shouldn't - they're the US's president, not the world's). I think they then try to sort out problems thinking it's easy and that no one has been smart enough to think of some simple solution yet, not fully understanding the situation. For example, in Iraq they obviously didn't realise the amount of power supports of Saddam had, and if they did, they certainly didn't factor that into plans. - Рэдхот14:46, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Saddam supporters are a very minor portion of the current insurgency in Iraq (if not, you would see many hostages taken and threatened with death unless Saddam was released). The insurgents are a mix of foreigners, like al-Queada in Iraq, just trying to mess up Iraq so the US can't claim victory, and local Iraqis fighting for their particular faction, like the al-Sadr Martyr's Brigade. As for the US thinking it's smarter, that's not it at all, but they do think they have the power and will, which other countries lack, to make real change. For example, the solution to the problem of Serbia making war on it's neighbors and committing genocide was obvious, Serbia needed to be attacked by a superior military force until it agreed to peace with it's neighbors. However, only a US led NATO effort could accomplish that, as the other countries lacked the military power and/or political will to do anything about the situation. StuRat19:27, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
StuRat - I find your list of successes quite incredible! i know you're not an "American imperialist" but I do think you must have unconsciously swallowed some of their propaganda. Just one example. Latin America only had so many military dictatorships in the first place because of American support for military coups. That the first President Bush stopped doing that is great but it was only stopping a previous American interventionist policy (the hundred-year-long policy of stopping the normal left/right swing of the pendulum in Latin America by supporting military coups every time left-wing parties got too strong). Of course left to their own devices Latin Americans are perfectly capable of electing their own governments, alternating between left and right just like the rest of us, but it was principally US policy that prevented them doing so before anyway (ditto in Spain, Portugal for a long time). Jameswilson23:44, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
StuRat, what you said about Vietnam is a really weird reasoning. It was ok to kill millions because it didn't have any negative effects..... ? And of course it wasn't a thriving democracy before US intervention. It was a French colony, or rather just recovering from that. Give 'm a break. What's more, Ho Chi Minh asked the US for help first and even based the new country's constitution on the US constitution. Only when the US didn't respond (not a rejection, but no response at all) did he turn elsewhere. And neighbour China was an obvious choice. That did finally draw the attention of the US. Too late. The US could have had an ally in stead of an enemy at only a fraction of the cost of the bombs dropped on the country. This must have been one of the biggest political cockups in the history of mankind.
I'm just saying that the long-term consequences of US intervention failures, like Vietnam, aren't that bad, especially when compared with Soviet successes, like the occupation of Eastern Europe, which oppressed hundreds of millions of people for generations. (Incidentally, "instead" is a single word.) StuRat10:14, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So, say, the czechs are worse off than the Vietnamese? Given that the USSR presence in Czechoslavakia lasted 50 years and US presence in Vietnam lasted only 10 years one would certainly think so by your reasoning. But the per capita income is 6 times as high in Czechia as it is in Vietnam. DirkvdM07:39, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Also, you say you wish that Europe would intervene in many places, and name a few. But Europe is present in Darfur (although the scale of the problem is just too big it seems) and is sending troops to South Lebanon, despite the US obstructing UN intervention. Europe also came with the only offers to Iran that they considered reasonable. The US was just being annoying and ignorant. If you think intervention in these countries is so important, then why isn't the US there? And concerning Afghanistan, the US is there to fight the Taliban, but that is not the goal of the Netherlands. The Dutch (UN) troops are there to build up the country. These interrests sometimes conflict. For example, the US destroys opium plantations, the livelihood of many farmers, which also reflects badly on the Dutch (the locals don't differentiate between foreign forces), making their job impossible. I wonder what would happen if Dutch troops would be helping a farmer and US troops then started destroying his crops. The Dutch would have to defend the farmer and therefore attack the US forces. Is that the kind of intervention you want? Also, the PvdA only agreed with the mission on the strict condition that no prisoners would be handed over to the US because that would make the Netherlands guilty of participating in torture. In other words, the US and the Netherlands (the UN) are both present, but not cooperating - more like getting in each other's way. Maybe if the US would stop interfering, Europe and the UN could really get something done. DirkvdM07:45, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Europe has sent wholly insufficient numbers of troops in all the cases I mentioned. In Darfur, they aren't doing anything to actually stop the genocide, but are only running refugee camps for the survivors. Why isn't the US in those places ? Lebanon should be avoided, as the US supports Israel militarily and thus any US peace keepers in Lebanon would be a target. The US could send some troops to Darfur, but is currently stretched so thin militarily that it would make more sense for other countries to do that. StuRat10:28, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You say it. The US take sides for Israel and can thus only help by letting Israel 'win', and whatever that means in this situation, it is never going to happen. The UN try to stay neutral and that is the only road to actual enduring freedom. DirkvdM07:39, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They aren't neutral, they are rabidly pro-Muslim/pro-Arab due to the much larger number of such countries in the UN. And "staying neutral" on Hezbollah will mean continuing to watch and do nothing as Hezbollah rearms, just as they did before, making another war inevitable. StuRat12:24, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The European offers to Iran were not seen as reasonable, but were rejected by Iran. They may say they are "considering a negotiated settlement", but that's just a delaying tactic so they can get nuclear weapons before Europe acts. Apparently Europe still thinks appeasement is the best way to avoid war, amazing how little was learned from WW2. StuRat10:28, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Now for your statement "Maybe if the US would stop interfering, Europe and the UN could really get something done". The US didn't "interfere" (by which I mean lead) in Rwanda. So, what did the UN and Europe do ? Absolutely nothing. The US didn't intervene in Lebanon regarding Hezbollah control of the South. What did Europe and the UN do ? Passed a resolution asking Hezbollah to disarm, but didn't take any actual action to make that happen. There are many other problems where the US has not intervened, and nothing has happened as a result, such as Zimbabwe. Can you name a few problems where Europe and the UN has solved much of anything without the US leading the way ? StuRat10:38, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Precisely Lebanon, despite the US working against it. It's European troops that are going into the war zone, positioning themselves between warring parties that thouroughly hate each other. And fighting has stopped (although Israel is now starting again elsewhere). The US only take sides when they send in the marines (not entirely sure here, but I think so). Also, the US don't intervene in a lot of places because they are too tied up in Iraq. Which was one point of mine (although it got a bit lost). One can't be everywhere. So we send troops somwwhere and the media fcus on those countries and then we think that those represent the misery in the world. Actually, most of the misery in the world is not (directly) caused by military conflicts. And how many of the shitloads of countries where the US intervened have since experienced lasting peace? DirkvdM07:39, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The US is "working against" Lebanon ? How do you figure ? The US and France were cosponsors of the current UN cease-fire. Before that, the US was instrumental in demanding Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon. As for "which countries where the US has intervened have experienced lasting peace", well, there's Japan, most of Western Europe, etc., we've already gone over all of this. StuRat12:24, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And thanks for enlightening me that the purpose of Dutch troops in Afghanistan is to protect opium production. :-) StuRat10:28, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Precisely. I supose you mean that in a ironic way because obviously it needs to be destroyed. But the UN troops rightly protect these farmers. It's your misunderstanding of the need of this that will also be present with US soldiers there. And they don't fight with words there, like we do. An 'incident' between US and UN troops is not unlikely given the conflicting interests. The best thing for Afghanistan would be for the US to leave so the UN can maybe gain the trust of the locals. DirkvdM07:44, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know what the hell you're talking about when you say the UN is protecting opium production in Afghanistan. Do you have any sources or are you smoking something ? If the US left, the UN would just let the Taliban take over again. StuRat12:24, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They gotta keep Amsterdam well supplied with drugs somehow! Hee hee. KeeganB
For the sake of fairness, I would certainly make the same criticisms against continual French intervention in their African ex-colonies, including Rwanda. I know this is not a messageboard for our personal viewpoints but.... (LOL) my problem is I just dont buy the idea that we have a mission to sort out situations like Darfur or Zimbabwe or the disputes between Israelis/Arabs or the peoples of the former Yugoslavia. If we can help arbitrate some deal between the participants, fine, but I cant see why we should raise the stakes and intervene militarily unless there is a compelling national interest of our own at stake. Otherwise, with so many crises around, we will be in a state of permanent war.
Part of the problem is that there has been some re-writing of the history of the Second World War to give the impression that we went to war with Germany because Hitler was a genocidal maniac. He was, but that wasnt why we went to war. We went to war to stop Germany expansionism in Central Europe as it had been British policy for generations to stop any one power dominating in Continental Europe - ie for reasons of Realpolitik not because of any moral mission.
An example of successful non-US-led military intervwention would be Sierra Leone, which undoubtedly saved hundreds of thousands of lives, although az I say I wouldnt personally have done that either. Jameswilson23:37, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It is the nature of such conflicts to spread all on their own. For example, if France and England had not attacked Germany when it invaded Poland (even though they were obligated to do so under treaty), do you think Germany would have stopped it's expansion there ? Definitely not. And, if Serbia was allowed to wipe out the populations of all the neighboring countries through a policy of genocide, do you really think they would stop there ? There is a very basic principle that it's best to attack an aggressor before they get too powerful. If there was a way to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (militarily and/or by treaty), then this would diffuse much of source of future conflict in the world. However, without a time machine, I see no way to solve it. StuRat00:09, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"There is a very basic principle that it's best to attack an aggressor before they get too powerful." Too bad that hasn't been done with the US Some terrorists are trying now, but htey don't even make a dent. It's like fighting a grizzly bear with a needle. DirkvdM07:52, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
StuRat, I still cant agree with you. Not every aggressor is a Hitler or a Napoleon who wants to over-run vast areas of alien territory and rule the world and therefore needs to be stamped on as quickly as possible. From a position of extreme weakness where most Muslims lived under foreign rule, the Muslims have regained most of their lost territory over the past sixty years (north Africa from the French, Pakistan and bits of West Africa from the British, Central Asia from the Russians). But that doesnt mean they want to conquer London, Paris and Moscow (or Washington for that matter). They are just finishing off the remaining difficult cases of "Muslim land" they lost (Bosnia, Kosovo, Israel, Chechnya, Kashmir) and, whilst theres no such thing as a historical inevitability, I'm 99% sure they will succeed in all five cases. But so what really from a selfish western point of view? We (the West) started off the process by decolonisation in Pakistan (British), Indonesia (Dutch) and then umpteen other places, so obviously we had no objection in principle. Obviously the handover of the remaining few bits needs to be managed but thats as far as we need go.
I agree that "not every aggressor" is, but both Iraq and Serbia had attacked two or more adjacent countries, in short order, making it quite apparent their expansion aims were out-of-control. In comparison, the Tamils in Sri Lanka do not appear to have any goal of world domination, so the US is not involved in that conflict. StuRat12:24, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I've reedited this several times, conscious that Jewish readers will object to my casual portrayal of Israel as "Muslim land" so let me clarify before everybody descends on me like a ton of bricks.
Like British and French politicians of the time I also believe the creation of the state of Israel was a big mistake - so unfair on the Arabs that they could never be reconciled to it and that therefore Israel could never perform its "function" of a secure homeland for the Jews.
But obviously my views are unimportant, the important thing is that Israel is surrounded by hundreds of millions of Muslims who dont believe it has the right to exist either. Sooner or later they are bound to prevail. Its not just radical Hezbollah-types - its 99% of all Arabs, even the most moderate. If the Jewish religious home had been in Denmark, say, the Danes would never have accepted the loss of part of their country either. Nobody would.
So my argument above is based on the view that Israel as currently constituted cant survive in the long-term and that it is a queation of getting the best deal possible for a post-handover state. As for the whites in South Africa or the ethnic Russians in Kazakhstan. Jameswilson00:10, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that Israel should not have been formed, but they will never agree to leave, and, with nuclear weapons, nobody can possibly force them to leave. That leaves us with the 2 state solution. StuRat12:24, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
First off, not all Jews are Israelites. It would be interresting to know how many Jews object(ed) to the creation of Israel. Secondly, most Israelis are born in Israel and thus now also have a right to their home country. And I think most Arabs (Muslim or not - that's pretty irrelevant)) will acknowledge the logic of that. If only Israel would withdraw from the more recently occupied territories and for example stick to the area assigned to them by the UN that would probably satisfy most Arabs, even the Palestinians, because they must all be tired of the fighting. And what you said about Denmark I recently said about New York (a bit closer to the original subject). About 10% of the Jews in the world live in New York. I wonder how welcoming the US would be to 16 million Jews claiming the island Manhattan as their independent country. New York has a population of 18 million, so that would fit nicely. Maybe they could also clean up the South Bronx (which in the 60's was almost purely Jewish). DirkvdM07:30, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I know, Dirk. Incidentally its funny how left-wingers in the past were generally enthusiastic supporters of Israel whereas the right-wingers were more chary. Now it seems to have turned round. It would be interesting to know the underlying debate within Israel (as opposed to among Jews in the West who are in a more comfortable position). How many are gradually coming to the same conclusion as the Afrikaners that its better to share the loaf than end up with no loaf at all; how many want to go for "all-or-nothing" like the French colonists in Algeria or the Serbs in Kosove (never do a deal to share control of the land; if we cant have it on our terms, better to fight until we are thrown out).
I have my doubts about the viability of the "two-state" idea. It seems to me both sides are condemned to live together and they might as well start getting used to the idea.
If I was a religious Jew, I'd object to the idea that there were certain areas where I couldnt live. If I was a Palestinian, I'd be wary of any settlement that kept a specifically Jewish entity (to which refugees were not allowed to return) with a Jewish-controlled army, police force, judiciary.
The end of white rule in South Africa is a good comparison because the Afrikaners believe God gave South Africa to them, like the Jews with Israel, so more than anything they wanted to be able to continue to live there - they didnt want to wait to be defeated and have to migrate and live anywhere else. The Afrikaners flirted with the homelands idea (for themselves and the blacks) but then abandoned it. Better to share the whole country.
The Afrikaners had the wisdom to (belatedly) accept a unified black-and-white state (with no separate ethnic areas) and the conversion of their police/army into multi-ethnic forces in exchange for the all-important thing - getting the blacks to accept the Afrikaners right to continue to live there afterwards. I'm sure they detested having to get "permission" from the blacks to stay on their God-given land, and of course it was never referred to in those terms, but thats what it amounted to. The geopolitical realities of the region dictated it. Without black consent, there could be no long-term future for the Afrikaners there.
(My last comment, I promise) The whites werent all murdered in their beds by vengeful commie blacks as they feared, I mean. And they are still top dogs economically. BTW I'm not disputing that the Jews need a safe place to live. Given their history, thats obviously right. Jameswilson00:06, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A Survey
I would like to know who watches Hogan Knows Best on VH1. Please leave your username if you do.
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.23.100.236 (talk)
I would like to know if there are any wikipedians who live in Peoria, Illniois. If you do, please leave your username and your real name (first and last).
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.23.100.236 (talk)
Hmm. Google is always your friend in these situations. Quite why anyone should wish to give you their real names is another matter entirely. You'd be better off explaining what you're up to, than expecting such favours to fall in your lap. --Tagishsimon(talk)
People, I am not trying to scam you, I just want to know. I cannot do anything with your real names anyway except for maybe call you after finding it in the phonebook and discussing wikipedia with you and setting up a successful communication between you and I on wikipedia. The only way you would be in any danger whatsoever would be if you gave me your financial and personal information over the phone, which frankly would be quite stupid. I am just interested in knowing if there are any fellow wikipedians in my city, because for all I know they could be my co-workers or friends and I could have been talking to them here on this site for a very long time and never known it.
Indeed. And I've pointed to all of those who have already volunteered this information (assuming good google coverage of wikipedia). Your chances of doing better than that by advertising here is negligible. There are more than 2,000,000 registered wikipedians, most of them dormant. Of the active ones, I hazard a guess that perhaps a percent or a tenth or a hundredth of a percent will visit this page whilst your question is posted here. But yes, good luck. --Tagishsimon(talk)
The question appears to be about a large cat, while that answer is about an African-American militant movement from the US Civil Rights era. StuRat23:48, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I assume we have one American politician in mind. I heard an interesting theory that the mispronunciation was intentional, sort of a badge of redneck credentials, allying himself with the masses rather than the educated. The political value of pandering to anti-intellectualism is a more depressing stereotype of american culture than the existence of a dialectal mispronunciation. But I am sure you Brits never held anyone's pronunciation against them politically, have you? alteripse00:42, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just seen this link. Yes hes a poor speaker also! But he know how to say NEW CLEAR!!!--Light current 00:09, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
THis is not a political attack on any one. I just though that someone who has his finger on the big red button (and others) just might learn how to pronounce the word 'nuclear' correctly.--Light current00:51, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
clearly you understood what I meant, even though I spelt it "incorrectly" so why does it matter?
Understand that you're making a fundamental error on language, you have it all reversed. The dictionary is a reflection of the language that is being used, not the other way around . -Wjlkgnsfb02:21, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If we all pronounced things wrongly, we wouldnt uderstand each others speech. Would we? THats why it tells you how to do it in dictionaries.--Light current02:25, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I can't answer that. You've beat me and my silly theories on a "definitive" linguistics!! All I can do is agree with you and look back at my past self and mock my ignorance. How foolish was I to believe that publishing houses like Oxford University Press and Merriam-Webster shouldn't prescribe my words to me!?
Yeah I mean, whats so hard about NU and CLEAR? Its like people over here pronouncing 'drawing' as 'draw ring'. Why put extra letters in the word? THeres no 'R' in the word. Besides, a draw ring is something completely different, thus emphasising the importance of correct pronunciation.--Light current02:52, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If we're really going to get technical it's supposed to be 'Nu-kli-er' (3 syllables, no 'w') not the 2 syllables 'new clear' would get you. - Mgm|(talk)10:57, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Do you have a ref for that? If thats the case you can see why Dubya is having trouble. Its easier to make mistakes with 3 syllables rather than 2 isnt it?--Light current18:24, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Accoring to an article in the New York Times magazine (specifically William Safire's old column "On Language") mentions that the common switch from "nuclear" to "nucular" is an example of metathesis. (<== read) It's an example of people exchanging unusual phonemes for familiar ones. Safire argues that we are much more familiar with the formations found in secular, vascular, jocular and molecular than we are with "nuclear", and thus we unconsciously substitute. Of course it's a much more serious matter altogether when the substitution becomes foreign policy... --Bmk03:30, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with the 3 syllable pronunciation, "new-clee-ar", which goes nicely with "new-clee-us". Of course, we can avoid the whole issue by saying "nuke" instead, LOL. StuRat18:47, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, and I am an American. I do pronounce it the right way, but it is embarassing when our President cannot even pronounce the word. VivaLaVieBoheme!
I seem to recall that Eisenhower said "new-cu-luhr" while Kennedy said 'noo-klee-er." It would be an interesting index of how dense Presidents were. Edison12:23, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Didn't Clinton pronounce it "nyu-kyu-lar"? It seems to me this is a political issue. KeeganB
Sealand Photo
1)This picture of Sealand only exists on the English Wikipedia. If someone is invloved with more than one Wikipedia, please spread it around, I mean Sealand is only the most famous/infamous micronatiom (yes, I ment to missspell that, don't ask wy) out there and is a feature article on three Wikipedias.
2: wikipedia is a blizzard of special projects and initiatives that are old/archived/new/in progress with much overlap. Unfortunately, as you've found, there're no good links to any of them! Sort through the cobwebs and let us know what you find (in the form of a question of course, the reference desk is like Jeopardy) -Wjlkgnsfb02:35, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you want to see a picture used more, I suggest uploading it to the Wikimedia Commons, which makes it automatically accessible to all the various Wikipedias. Short of adding it to articles in other languages yourself, there's not really a good place to request inter-language dissemination. Ziggurat02:38, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The dot is not to scale; if it was you couldn't see it! Sealand's real location is in the top-left corner of the dot; That tiny, but more accurate dot, would be 1.5% the area of the "real dot". But we wouldn't be able to see that, would we! Go ahead, add the disclaimer, it's a good idea.--Porsche997SBS00:10, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
File:Sealand prince.jpegRoy and Joan Bates claimed Sealand as their own in 1967.On another note, what's with the picture? Has it been photoshopped? Or does His Highness really have manboobs so big he needs to wear a bra? Looks a bit chilly, Sire. Anchoress06:56, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
in the DVD of 24, they show the minutes that the TV showed the commercials, or they not filmed this parts??
Yes, the time ticks on in commercial breaks. That's why countries like the Netherlands have a timer that jumps a few minutes when switching between scenes normally shown before and after a break. - Mgm|(talk)10:53, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is Wikipedia becoming Myspace?
Nearly a day does not pass when you read about some problem Wikipedia is having with users more interested in social networking than writing the encyclopedia. What have you seen of this trend? What do you think about it? And how does it make you feel?
Do you feel that there are people pretending to be something they are not? (Lying about sex, age, etc.)
And is there an increase in people using these fake "covers" to entice others, including children? What have you seen of this?
NOthing. In absolute terms, the number of people still dedicated probably doesn't change much. I think you're referring to an increase in flotsam outside of the core.
What do I think about it?
Don't care. Wiki's change.
How does it make me feel?
At first thought, sad, because wikipedia is about knowledge, but things change. That's the basis of the wiki, stuff changes it's never solid. So now I feel better about it.
btw, just about every college freshman lies about sex...
Why should those edits make her suspicious? Isn't it conceivable that Courtney is an intelligent young woman who just happens to enjoy talking about sex in an uninhibited manner? It's not entirely out of the question, you know. In fact, we should be encouraging more people like her to come here! --Richardrj07:23, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you don't see why they make her suspicious I don't think I can explain it to you. It has nothing to do with her being 'an intelligent young woman who just happens to enjoy talking about sex in an uninhibited manner.' I know it isn't 'entirely out of the question', since I happen to be one also. I don't appreciate you jumping to conclusions. Anchoress08:14, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OK, I guess I'll have to remain in the dark then. I'm not sure I understand why you can't explain it, though. When I read your statement that those edits make her suspicious, it makes me think that you suspect her of being some kind of internet troll, or even a man posting as a woman for kicks. I can see nothing in those edits to support those suspicions. And BTW, I am totally in agreement with you on public transport seat etiquette :-) --Richardrj08:27, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So you think I might suspect her of being a troll, but you still don't understand why I won't explain? You do know that accusing someone of being a troll is a blockable offence, right? Do you get it yet? But my opinion of her is based on more than just the two links I've posted. It includes some edits on the WP:AN/I page and some userpages, including a very weird discussion about underage editors and sex. Notice above that I didn't say it was exactly those edits that made me suspicious, I said 'edits like these'. Those were just the two I found without hunting. I'm a lazy, lazy woman, and sifting through the AN/I archives is a chore. Anchoress08:36, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To respond to the original question, I would say no, and Wikipedia will never become Myspace. We're just not the kind of people that Myspace personifies. We're a bunch of smart guys (Anchoress is awesome!) that enjoy writing this free encylopaedia to share our knowledge (and others') to as many people as possible—that's what Wikipedia is. It is at heart a selfless act. Why do I spend hours on the commons, writing articles, on the Reference Desks, or vandal fighting? Conversely, Myspace is all about... oneself. It is even in the name. Sure it is for "social networking" but it is mainly young people that design their own page, and chat with "friends," of which almost none are actually friends. There are not really intelligent signs of life (I know Michio Kaku has a Myspace for publicity). Wikistress can sometimes affect users, from disagreements, pressures of adminship, or a sudden prolonged influx of vandalism, or a new vandalbot. It has driven people to leave Wikipedia entirely. :( — [Mac Davis] (talk)
I managed to find them using Google (you need to type in "Charles R Clark"), but no birth/death dates I'm afraid. I think the first guy is still alive. You may want to contact the publisher if it's really really important. BenC707:35, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The usual, and best, way to get information about authors is to contact their publisher, or to write to the author c/o their publisher.--Shantavira08:18, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Many years ago I saw a short segment of an old late 60's/early 70's action adventure movie similar to the Our Man Flint films. It may even have been part of that series. But I don't know the title of the film.
The scene I remember is of a large machine composed of several clear cylinders, each of which is a couple feet in diameter and maybe seven feet tall. Most are filled with a murky gaseous mixture, but one contains a person. That person may be the protagonist I can't remember. The scene plays as if the evil mad scientist character has captured the protagonist, and rather than swiftly dispose of him, is instead going to subject him to some long drawn-out ending. I specifically remember a certain part of the scene where a small object is clipped to the shirt collar of the person placed in the tube. Once that's done, the tube is sealed, and it then begins rhythmically oscillating up-and-down. The other tubes are all also oscillating up-and-down. It is clear that the longer he stays in the tube, the more danger he is in.
It's not The Prisoner because that's not an adventure movie, and the "orbit" tubes (which only appear in the final episode) seem to be quite benign and do not contain any sort of gaseous mixture, shirt collars, etc. This reminds me more of Austin Powers, but that's too recent (ignoring the time travel aspect).--Shantavira07:58, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I'm pretty sure it wasn't an episode of The Prisoner, I've seen them all several times. The tubes DO remind me of the tubes used in the Lost in Space spacecraft... so much so that I suspect perhaps the same props may have been used later, when the movie was shot. But in the movie, they are all part of one large machine, which has some definite (and nefarious) purpose. I just can't recall what that is, or the title of the movie.
No, very close! But that was 'This Island Earth', and those tubes had something to do with conditioning the travelers in the flying saucer for the interstellar voyage to the other planet (Metalluna?). I'm pretty sure these tubes were part of a machine; they were in one parallel row, adjacent to each other, and affixed to a hidden crankshaft that caused them to slowly move up and down. I'm sure it was made in about the same time, maybe a little later. The small device clipped to the person's shirt definitely had something to do with the operation of the machine and the function of the tubes, though.
companies
what is the difference between investment companies and normal companies?
thanks
Check out Angel investor and Venture capital. Basically, a normal company either manufactures something of use or provides a service of some description. An investment company buys shares in other businesses, providing them with the cash they need to grow in return for part-ownership of the company in question. --Howard Train07:34, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Star Wars Trilogy The Empire Strikes back
Can you tell me where I can purchase the above DVD please?
I purchased the item for a xmas present but unfortunately this disc was lost before it was even watched. We think it must have got caught up in the wrapping papers at xmas. It has left me with one very dissappointed husband.I'm not sure how to purchase or where to purchase another copy of just this single dvd.Here's hoping you can help.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.104.72.216 (talk)
My guess is that she bought the whole trilogy as a box set, has lost just that one disc and would like to replace it (no packaging, nothing) without having to buy the whole thing over again. I don't think any stores would do this, however. As you say, she'll need to buy the Empire Strikes Back DVD again. --Richardrj08:33, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting thought. I actually agree with you 100% - there should be nothing wrong with her downloading it from a file-sharing site if she has already paid for a copy and then subsequently lost it. But I doubt the MPAA would see it that way. I wonder what their counter-argument would be? "Tough, you shouldn't have lost it"? Harsh, if so. --Richardrj12:52, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Death Metal
There is a death metal song and the lyrics go, please excuse my language:
Nailed to the cross
Nailed to the cross
Nailed to the fucking crossss!
Can you tell me who it is by and on which album please thanks.193.115.175.24709:41, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No way! Nailed to the Cross? I never would have guessed! — [Mac Davis] (talk)
Thanks, amazon is my friend and so are you, listen to more slayer!
What are the ways for naturalization?
If i enter in japan as an alien, what are the ways to get naturalization(citizenship)there?
Depending on your age, you might have to hand in your current citizenship (according to this page. There's a little more info here (without mention of the age distinction btw), claiming that you also have to assume a Japanese name. It might be interesting to verify this with an official Japanese site. Though not unheard of, the described name-change policy is not very common among modern countries. ---84.75.129.15714:35, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you take the best you can do in transliterating "Martti Turunen" to the Japanese writing system – in particular the Katakanasyllabary that would be used for foreign names – and then transliterate the result back using the usual Hepburn romanization, then that's precisely waht you get. So it's not clear it's any more of a name change than if an Arab called أسامة gets the "American" name Osama. --LambiamTalk07:26, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yosemite Sam is a fictional, animated character...right? So he can't really be "from a state", but perhaps I'm missing something. Check out the link to find out more. --Bmk14:59, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A fictional character certainly could be declared to have originated or live in a specific state, province, or region. For example, most of the characters in King of the Hill are from Texas. However, to appeal to the broadest possible audience, most cartoons try to keep the location intentionally vague, as in the Springfield home of the Simpsons, which could be in just about any state (although it's fun to narrow it down using clues like heavy snow in the winter). StuRat18:57, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Doesn't he call himself the best shot west of the peco's in at least one episode? AllanHainey
To locate him we just need to find where the range of the Great Horny-Toad overlaps that of the Long-Eared Varmint. --Cam15:50, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, he referred to himself as something like "the rootin'est, tootin'est, shootin'est cowpoke north, south, east, aaaaaaand west of the Pecos!". Branden07:49, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Does anyone know what percentage of men and what percentage of women regularly use the internet to obtain pornography?
Are you trying to imply that the internet has some other purpose ? :-) StuRat
"Are you trying to imply that the internet has some other purpose?" well excuse me StuRat but you seem to have answered quite a few questions in your time on the reference desk so for you the internet obviously does have some other purposes :)
How do wrestlers avoid injury when being hit with steel chairs?
I know they get injured, but they're not out for a week. Oh, and if you're a ZOMG, WRESTLING IS FAKE!1!11!1 perosn, then please don't answer this. I'm looking for someone who really knows.
I used to know a pro wrestler. Wrasslers train properly to avoid injury when carrying out stunts. They know how to hit each other without causing serious damage. The "steel" chairs are not exactly the most sturdy items of furniture either. sʟυмɢυм • т • c 22:44, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They are careful to hit with the flat edge, so the force is distributed over a large area and doesn't do much damage. If, on the other hand, you were hit with just the point of one leg, say to an eye socket, it could do quite a bit of damage. StuRat23:19, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As was already said they aim to hit with the flat edge. In addition wrestlers will often raise their arms to take a shot which was aimed for their head (which is always blatant whenever The Rock took a shot to the head). Other then the head, the most common place to take a chair shot is the back which is a large enough area and "beefy" enough to withstand the impact. Of course not all wrestlers protect themselves from a chair shot, Mick Foley immediately jumping to mind as someone who, out of a belief that fans paid to see him take it properly, rarely protected himself. I've heard him talk about damage to his memory and speech which he believes was caused by the cumulative effect of all those shots to the head. --Kiltman6704:43, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
August 24
Dodgers Captains
I was thinking about this today? Can somebody name all of the Dodgers' Captains both in Brooklyn and Los Angeles? Pee Wee Reese is a given, and I don't believe that they have one currently. Other than that, who would be on a "Dodgers' Captains" list?
Didn't the American League used to have a rule that no inning could start after 1 a.m.? In a recent Yankees-Red Sox game, the 10th inning started at about 1:04. When did the AL get rid of that rule? -- Mwalcoff04:22, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
fruits exported from india.detailed map of major fruit exporting states of india.
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.95.9.242 (talk)
ask specific questions.use full sentences.use appropriate capitalisation.don't expect people to do your work for you or read your mind.sign your posts. Anchoress08:10, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unlike when googling, in Wikipedia you may allow yourself to express in a normal way. People shall answer the same way if they feel fit to. E.g. : "fruits exported from india" is for googling, "Please, can you help me to find which fruits are exported from india, and specifically do you know of a map, etc. many thanks" may be more relevant here. Thank you. -- DLL .. T19:36, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Stained glass
Those stained glass things in churches-what are they called? I looked in the church article and can't find what i'm looking for.
They are also called Illuminated (Stained or Painted)Glass Windows, and also Illuminated Lights. But Stained Glass Windows is in order amongst the proletariat classes.
I like to meet her beccause i love her.pls tell me if she is still single.in short i want to marry her.Iam a Nigerian christian,telephone is--you fool, do you think she will really call this number? She wouldn't but some spammers would, e-mail;<email removed>TONY
Is this the prequel to him coming into a fortune and then emailing us to tell us about his untold riches which he will generously share with us upon payment of a small processing fee and our bank account details? :)
Dear Wikipedia. The page on the Latin American Globalization Index has been tagged by Wikipedia as Advertisement. I have read the guidelines and wonder why you have tagged this as advertising. I feel that the entry is objective. Thank you, Joachim Bamrud, editor, Latin Business Chronicle
While the Wikipedia:Help desk is the usual place for this kind of question, the organization of that page is itself less than helpful and ends up misleading some posters here. For this article, I have asked the person who added the tag to add a comment on the article talk page. Rmhermen18:22, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And I;ve edited the article and removed the tag. It is notable, however, that the article and another on Latin Business Chronicle have been appended to wikipedia by the editor of the Latin Business Chronicle. There must be some questions about the notability of the chronicle and its index; others might wish to consider whether the articles should remain. --Tagishsimon(talk)
Laughing cavalier
I have a very old painting of the Laughing Cavalier,my stepfather traviled all lot all over the world. he was very wealthy and much older than my mother.Both my parents have passed a way. I know have this oil painting and would like to know where to go have it cleaned apraised. I do know that it isn't the orginal but I would like to see if it has any value. it is a perfect match to the one's on the interenet, but it has gotten so dirty and the painters name is not clear to the eye. ithe sig.is located in the upper right hand side of the painting but I can't make it out. The frame is very old it is being held together with beg's (wedge.s of wood) in the corners. it seem to be in gold leaf or possible paint? I was thinking that you might be able to turn me in the right direction thank you
their is a nice shop for that on High street across from the barbers
Look in your phone book for a good antique dealer specialising in art; they should be able to give you a quote or point you in the right direction. Ziggurat00:11, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why not start at the top? Sotheby's and Christie's would be good places to sell a famous classic painting like Laughing Cavalier if you happen to have possession of it. Who knows, you might have a slightly different version from the same studio. If they say it is a copy of only "decorative value" then you could sell it on eBay. Edison13:29, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Do something that's awarded with an Order of the British Empire, become a head of state, or become the UK prime minister, the owner or manager of a theatre, captain of a ship, or other representative of a place that Her Majesty visits, become the representative of an NGO that is related to Her Majesty, etc. You could also just write to Buckingham Palace and ask if there are any opportunities to meet her. --GunnarRene20:36, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Should somebody put this generic question at the top? (not that anybody reads it!). The question is: "I would like to meet -a very famous person-, how can I?" And we would say: "We have no idea how you can meet -this very famous person-. If we did, we wouldn't be stuck in our basements, all alone, doing this sh*t. --Zeizmic21:13, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, each famous person is different in some ways. Meeting and talking to Richard Stallman for example, was easy, since he came to hold a guest lecutre and took questions. The Japanese Emperor came to visit the city too, but since I was not the representative of the student body, I settled for waving back at him and taking a slight bow.
There actually are famous people on Wikipedia, and Jimbo talks to celebrities. Perhaps one way would be to call CrystalBuckingham Palace and offer to correct some errors on the Queen's Wikipedia page :-) --GunnarRene21:34, 24 August 2006 (UTC) And I'm on the top floor too (not the attic).[reply]
Have you considered applying for work at the Palace? Positions are very occasionally advertised in the London Evening Standard, on the Buckingham Palace website or through various agencies. You would not normally be expected to chime 'Hello Ma'am' unless previously spoken to --russ22:01, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The sensible answer is to find out where she is making a public appearance and get there early so that if and when she does a walkabout, you can be at the front of the crowd. Her coming engagements are listed on the Royal Family website. By the way, I met her once. She was OK. --Richardrj22:29, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Considering that she has spent most of her adult life as a professional at making small talk on such engagements, it's not really a surprise that she's good at it (and she is very good by all reports, including yours). One thing to keep in mind that it's probably getting a little bit harder than it used to be to do so, because I believe that she's cutting back on her public engagements these days. --Robert Merkel23:33, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Correct, but you wouldn't be addressing her by that or any other title. I believe "Ma'am" is the usual form of address. JackofOz03:54, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On first responding to her (you do not address her first) "Your Majesty", subsequently "Ma'am", which it is said she prefers to be pronounced "Mam", not "Marm". Tonywalton | Talk07:59, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Apart from arriving early when she's going to do a walkabout, one way is to be involved in whatever it is she's visiting. My brother was involved in building something Prince Charles was opening, and got introduced to him. Strangely, both my next door neighbour and myself have met the Queen - he was part of the crew who originally installed the engines of the Royal Yacht Britannia back in the 1950s, and all the survivors were invited back when she was decommissioned about 10 years ago. In my case, an invitation to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party arrived in the post one day - I've no idea how I got on the list, but an involvement in local politics may have helped! -- Arwel (talk) 21:19, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are some very good responses here. I met The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh several times in my public service career, and found them both to be very warm and personable characters, with the inimitable ability to put 'new' people at their ease. Ma'am and Sir were always the expected and accepted form of address, and a very light handshake de rigeur. But engineering an introduction to HMQ is well nigh impossible, unless, as above, you are fortunate enough to be invited (like myself and my wife) to a Palace Garden Party, either at Buckingham Palace in London, or Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. But I have been involved, in my official capacity, in organising functions when The Queen has asked to meet unsuspecting people from the waiting crowds. Except on 2 such occasions, there were no crowds - just a handful of people who were curious to see her, and in both cases, those invited to be introduced just happened to be holding a posy of flowers for her. So I guess the trick is to be somewhere where there isn't a large turnout anticipated (usually in Scotland where enthusiastic support for The Monarchy is less in evidence than in other parts of the UK), and be sure that you and your posy are well observed by one of the officials well before HMQ arrives. Clearly however, Royal Security Personnel are always well represented at such functions and thankfully, anyone intent on using such an impromptu introduction opportunity for sinister reasons would be easily 'profiled' before any incident could be initiated.
Rolex replicas?
I keep getting spam about Rolex replicas for sale. Why the bloody fsck would anyone want one? If I want a cheap watch, I buy a cheaper brand of watch. If I want a Rolex, I buy a real Rolex. If all one needs is a watch, any old watch will do. If one really is obsessed with having a Rolex, then only a real Rolex will do, because there's always going to be someone who can spot the difference. Anyway, very few Finns seem to have a watch at all nowadays. They just look at their cellphones (Nokia, of course). Sorry, I just needed to vent my frustration. JIP | Talk20:54, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think the people who buy Rolex replicas just want to impress other people. If somebody looks at your watch, they may not know that it's not a real Rolex. --Bowlhover22:26, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have heard that you can tell a real mirror from a two way mirror by putting your finger one the mirror and if there is a gap between your finger and the reflection its a real mirror and if you put you finger on a two way mirror there is no gap. Is this true? If so why does the real mirror have a gap and why does the two way mirror not have a gap?
It has been my experience that this is true! The reason for the gap in the real mirror is because the relective sheet is behind the glass, which is a few mm thick, "doubled" since light has to go through the glass twice. Two way mirrors have the reflective surface applied directly to the outside, so when you touch the mirror, there is no layer of glass between the reflective surface and finger. Of course, a clever mirrorist could probably just place another pane of glass on your side to prevent touching it. Hyenaste(tell)23:08, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't know about 2-way mirrors, but there is a definite gap with a normal one. If you want to identify a 2-way mirror it tends to be Shiner than a normal one.Ken23:00, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I assume that by "wo-way mirror" you mean what is usually called "one-way mirror": On one side it functions like a mirror, while on the other side it allows people (psychologists, detectives) to look through it, like through a window. The story is not true. Modern mirrors consist of sheet of glass with a thin reflective layer of "silver" (actually aluminium) deposited on the back. The glass layer, which is between your finger and the reflective layer, is the cause of the gap you see. Since the light has to travel twice through the glass, it seems to be twice as thick as a single sheet of glass. In a normal mirror, the silver layer is covered with a layer of (non-transparent) paint for protection. In a one-way mirror, the paint is omitted. The silver layer may be thinner, and there may be a second backing sheet of glass, because the silver layer is very vulnerable to scratches and corrosion. The gap can be eliminated by depositing the reflective layer on the front instead of on the back, but as before, that makes it very vulnerable. --LambiamTalk23:08, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually I think they are called "two-way mirrors". The name is confusing until you realize there's no actual directionality to the mirror itself. The directionality comes from the difference in the intensity of ambient light in the two rooms. In the room where it looks like a mirror, the lights are on high, and the reflection from the room dominates the transmission from the dimly-lit observers' room. --Trovatore23:26, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe you will want to fight it out with the guys over at Mirror#One-way mirror. I think two-way is just a popular mistake. Looking at a couple dictionaries though it may be more of a language issue, OED lists two-way mirror, but redirects to UK=one-way mirror. Maybe it is more of an American vs British thing. Nowimnthing14:13, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On reflection (rim shot!) it's "one-way" that's the popular mistake. The thing actually does act as a mirror in two directions (and also transmits light in two directions), so "two-way mirror" is the version that makes sense, whichever side of the pond you're on. An ordinary mirror might reasonably be called a one-way mirror (seen from the back, it's not a mirror at all). --Trovatore18:55, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is humour quantifiable?
Sounds like a totally dumb question, I know. My point is, is humour related to our past experience as most other emotional responses, or are some things funny regardless of culture and experience? Clearly our sense of fun is important to us, but does it have an evolutionary role, or is it something that exists purely in the human psyche? --russ22:30, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
More like a funny question. I've heard a clown who had travelled the world claim that the same (non-verbal) things make kids scream with laughter across all cultures. Although there is no generally accepted explanation about any evolutionary role, I could not help observing that for many a fine nubile woman the number-one requirement for a suitable mate is that he can make her laugh, trumping looks and earning power. It is certainly quantifiable how many laughs per hour a suitor can elicit. --LambiamTalk23:22, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not quite sure what you mean by "Is humour quantifiable?" since the rest of your question doesn't seem to relate to it unless you're asking can a joke be objectively rated on it's amusingness, the answer to which is of course no since it's subjective. Most of what you're asking seems to be discussed in the Laughter article. --Kiltman6723:22, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In the sense of "can any hard scientific statements be made about it". Quantification is an important aspect of hard science, it distinguishes it from the 'soft sciences'. DirkvdM08:04, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps he intended to mean "definable"? I remember my prof H. N. Mahabala telling that, while at MIT, he worked on a project to "teach" a computer to distinguish between a joke and a non-joke. I'd presume they would've defined several features of a joke. -- Sundar\talk \contribs08:15, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It is remarkable to see that body gestures convey humour accurately, a success that written humour easily fails, because the plain sense of the words is the first to touch our brain without hints from the body or the voice. That's why emoticons were designed for (and not computers). -- DLL .. T18:54, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Can a college mailroom legally open my mail??
Hi
I recently received a shipment to my college via UPS, and it was signed for my someone in the mailroom. It was a package of co2 cannisters used for paintball, and it was 'deemed suspicous' by the weight of the item and the sound it made in the package, and was opened and sent to the college police department, and I have been placed on probation for receiving a dangerous item.
Is it legal what they did? Can they legally open my mail, even though it came properly packaged and was within UPS's guidelines for transportation of pressurized gases? What are my rights?
I am in desperate need of a response, and can't afford a lawyer, although I need one. I feel they violated my rights opening that package.
You need a lawyer, but I would check to see what you signed when you registered for college. There might have been some fine print waiving certain personal privacy rights on college grounds. Nowimnthing22:57, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Seen from the UK, I have to say this, and things like the Philip Sandifer incident [15] give rise to the view that the US, far from being "the land of the free" is rather a police state. Enjoy. --Tagishsimon(talk)
Think about this very carefully. Do you really want your college to be in a position where it has to say "we think there may be a bomb in this parcel, but legally we're not allowed to do anything so we'll just deliver it as normal". DJ Clayworth16:19, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But there was not a bomb in it. And the guy's been put on probation. For receiving some weird heavy things. How many college students receive bombs by mail? Do we really need people checking for this? --Tagishsimon(talk)
Which country are you uin? That is always a first bit of knowledge needed to answer any legal questions.
My mother went to a school run by nuns, who opened letters pupils sent home (and even 'corrected' them back to ancient spelling, so there was nothing secretive about that). Most countries will have escaped the middle ages by now, so this should not have happened. They might have informed the police and they might then have opened it. I don't know the law well enough for that. But a school should never have such a right. Ayway, I don't understand one thing. You were put on probation? First, doesn't that onluy apply after you've been found guilty? So after the trial you don't seem to have had yet. And secondly, for what? They now know (illegally or not) they're canisters of CO2, so what's the problem? DirkvdM07:52, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Parachute failure survival
I read the other week about a man who fell 2,000 feet and survived with just bruises. How do people survive these kind of falls? And what is the best thing to aim for? --iamajpeg23:28, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Most likely the survivors had a partial parachute deployment, which reduces the speed of the jumper significantly, although not as much as usual. StuRat23:44, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Some people are just lucky, I guess. I suppose that if you deliberately land feet first, and bend your knees and allow sudden deceleration to crush your legs, then you'll have a better chance of being alive after several weeks in hospital than if you'd landed on your head. Protect the head and the spine - the rest can be fixed, or can be lived without. --Kurt Shaped Box23:59, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You might want to read [16]. Apparently, snow banks and trees (ideally conifers) are best at breaking your fall. I suppose you could also try for a steep slope, a breakable roof, or marshy ground. Concrete and water are not a good idea.
Oh yeah - apparently the right way to hit the ground is a five-point landing: feet, calf, thigh, buttock, shoulder. By splitting the fall five ways you're converting a 120mph landing into a ~55mph landing on each contact point - you'll break some bones but it is survivable. EdC03:30, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is one of those recurring questions. We should really make a faq.
About the five point landing - that makes sense for parachutists because they come down feet first. But wouldn't a judo roll (or what is that called?) make more sense? That way you spread the fall over the entire side of your body. It would require perfect timing, though. And therefore practise, but for parachutists that would make sense. DirkvdM08:12, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My experience is limited as I have only done a tandem jump (and I wasn't the instructor) but :
-water is definitely a bad idea, if you do have to land in water, you have to cut yourself off the parachte like three meters above the surface; otherwise you will drown with the parachute
- usually a parachute can be controlled (going left or right) but a very important thing is to NEVER LAND IN THE DIRECTION THE WIND IS GOING, always in the opposite direction. So it requires quick thinking and good estimations of the situations if you think you are going a bit too far : if you turn around, will you still have to time to turn around a second time?Evilbu12:23, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with the spirit of nowimthing's answer, but not the numbers - it will take a bit more than 10 stories to get to terminal velocity. Assuming there is no drag (which is the generous case), it should take about 150 meters, which is 60 or 70 stories, and with drag, it will take longer (say 100 stories). But it's the same idea. At some point, the extra distance makes no difference. --bmk
Oops, left a zero off my calculations, thanks for the catch. Free-fall gives 1,000 feet as the time for terminal velocity in the box position. 1,000 ft divided by ~10 ft per story equals 100 stories. Nowimnthing16:43, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
...about the bastards robbing Pluto of its status as a planet? Anywhere I can go on the internet to register my disgust? I don't want to come across as a crackpot but this is just disgraceful in my opinion and pure revisionism of the most base kind. --84.65.80.2223:40, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Whenever life get you down, Mrs. Brown
And things seem hard or tough
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft
And you feel that you've had quite enu-hu-hu-huuuuff
Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at 900 miles an hour
That's orbiting at 19 miles a second, so it's reckoned
A sun that is the source of all our power
The sun and you and me, and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at 40,000 miles an hour
Of the galaxy we call the Milky Way
The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whiz
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light you know
Twelve million miles a minute and that's the fastest speed there is
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure
How amazingly unlikely is your birth
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
Because there's bugger all down here on Earth"
God bless you, monty python people --bmk ("The Galaxy Song")
What sort of answer is that? Is no-one else concerned about the complete re-write of history that has now been greenlighted by the IAU? They're playing right into the hands of the creationists - by denying the existence of one planet, they're giving the right-wing loons the space to suggest that other planets may only exist as a concept designed to disprove the existence of God. It's the thin end of the wedge and no-one seems to care! I'll be damned if I'll ever change my beliefs. Pluto exists. I know it exists and I will not bow down to anyone that tries to convince me otherwise. We're not living in Orwell's 1984 here - just because they say that something hapepened or never happened doesn't mean that what they say is true! --84.65.80.2200:13, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Um, they're not denying that it exists, they're clarifying (for the first time) how we define the term 'planet'. It's a question of classification, that's all. Originally the term only applied to those solar-system bodies that were consistently visible from Earth (including the sun and moon), so it's not like this is a complete re-write of anyone's history. Ziggurat00:20, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) I think you may be misunderstanding the significance of this, if i may be so bold. They are not saying that Pluto no longer exists. Simply that, as our understanding of our Universe grows, we must refine our classification systems to encompass our new understanding.
Consider algae. At some point they were all considered plants, we now know that some are protists, so they were reclassified. This decision has no impact on the continued existance of algae, so whats the big deal?
It seems to me that "never changing your beliefs" is dogmatic and much more akin to creationism than the methods of the scientists you criticise. They are remaining open minded about how what we do not yet know can change what we think we know. Rockpocket00:28, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
He's got a point. As we all know, the reclassification of fifteen perfectly well-accepted planets in 1850 destroyed the fabric of post-Enlightenment science as we know it, plunging the world into the terrible theocratic state it is today. Or, er, something. Shimgray | talk | 19:25, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Much closer to home, I remember having the same kind of outrage when I discovered that Australia was no longer considered the world's largest island, because it was reclassified as a continental land mass. Then I was equally outraged when Uluru/Ayers Rock lost its title as the world's largest monolith. It was one thing to concede that Mount Augustus was much bigger anyway, but Uluru couldn't even take 2nd place on the list since it was no longer classified as a monolith at all. Yes, those school teachers sure have a lot to answer for by only teaching us current knowledge and not future knowledge. JackofOz01:43, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The biggest problem I have is that I so throughly grokked Robert A. Heinlein's Mnemonic that I'm not sure I can remember a new one. It's not even included in the list. Mother Very Easily Made Jelly Sandwich Under No Protest. With "A" between "made and "jelly" if you wanted to include the asteroid belt. CambridgeBayWeather(Talk)14:19, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Contrary to the tone in much of the media, this really isn't a demotion for Pluto; rather it's a promotion. For decades Pluto has been the uncomfortable weirdo at the the party of the planets. But these are exciting times for the inky outerparts of the solar system, and the discoveries of so many transneptunians means Pluto is no longer a singular freakish orphan - he's the brightest and nearest member of a huge family of interesting neighbours we didn't dream we had. This reclassification saves him from being a misfit loner and puts him in his proper place - Pluto, king of the great dark. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk00:08, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was talking about 'Poor old Pluto' the other day, and we suddenly realised we were all referring to Pluto as "him" (the other planets were "it"). Presumably becuse of the dog! Jameswilson00:21, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
August 25
TV show House
What is the name of the actress that plays the legal consultant on House. House is in love with her but she is married to a man in a wheel chair. –Denise Mack
What is the percentage of Chinese people lived in Markham, Ontario.
Well, there are well over a billion Chinese people, and Markham isn't huge, so I'd have to say that a very small percentage of Chinese people have ever lived in Markham, Ontario. --Trovatore01:09, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In my constant search for articles and other writings, I am now searching for something about how personal histories (e.g. writing journals, saving old movie stubs, tickets to shows, etc.) are largely pointless and irrelevant.
Hopefully, I will get a link to something about how a person had previously advocated in saving the above, but changed his/her mind and took a visit to the fire pit, bundles of papers in hand.
Hopefully, there will also be something on how the memory, although it will forget many things that aren't recorded on paper, is still the best system for keeping a personal history. -Wjlkgnsfb01:33, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Whether such memorabilia are "pointless and irrelevant" is surely a matter of opinion. I, for one, would strongly disagree. A concert program from years ago can evoke memories that even a recording of the event might not be able to. What about autographs? How can these be committed to memory? As for the memory being the best system for keeping a personal history, again I strongly disagree. If you want to rely on your memory for your own stuff, that's fine, but there seems little point in advocating others do the same. People will keep whatever records of their life are important to them, and you'll never stop them (nor should you try). JackofOz01:53, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Your post looked remarkably like an expression of opinion to me, and I responded in kind. (Oh, and despite this not being supposed to be a soapbox, that's exactly what it turns out to be in most cases. I don't have a problem with that, since most healthy discussions depend on the exchange of different opinions and views.) JackofOz05:49, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are TV shows where the TV people come to the home of a packrat and convince them to get rid of most of their memorabilia and turn their home from a rubbish heap into a pleasant living space. Some items are sold, some are donated, and some are tossed. One principle is to get rid of the broken bike you used to ride but keep the picture of you riding it with your Dad watching. Same for your Mom's unused sewing machine, your Granddad's World War 1 uniform, collections of junk, nonfunctioning lawnmowers you are going to fix one of these years, etc. My sneaking suspicion is that a couple of weeks after the show, the packrats have re-stuffed their home with more junk. Edison13:38, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Anime series
I have two questions. Do developers start with an OAV usually before they start the series, or start the series than make an OAV? I'm asking this, because one of my favorite games, Tales of Symphonia has an anime OAV according to anime news network, but I don't see a series for Tales of Symphonia, nor not many information.
Second is a two part question. One is are there any animes that haven't had a corresponding manga, that were just completely made by the animation team? Also, could the Naruto animation team have done the filler arc any worse? The series was one of the most popular, if not the most popular anime at the time, but its possibility decreased rapidly during the filler arc.
Instead of Orochimaru, Akatsuki, Major hidden villages, Team Sand, new awesome jutsus, excellent storylines, we get the ugliest villains ever(Aoi, Raiga, Three-headed monster, 2 stupid brothers, 3 hornets, Amachi, and a bunch of others I'm probably missing), repetitive storylines(All 10 or so arcs have the same basic plot), Kage Bunshin and an extremely toned down Rasengan, and terrible artwork.
Yes this is extremely significant, because its such a high level gap in quality. I waatched the Bleach filler arc and it was 10 times better than the Naruto filler arc. So my question is why can't the Naruto animation team do better?
There are many animé series that are not based on manga: Cowboy Bebop (though there is a manga, it was made after the animé) and Spirited Away are two examples. For discussion of Naruto, try visiting the Naruto board at the IMDb. Taiq17:13, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To answer your question about OAVs, in cases where a show has both a TV series and OAV episodes, it's a lot more common for the TV series to air first. The production team can make much more money from getting their show on TV than releasing it direct to video, so it's only shows that are unsuitable for television (either because of their small potential audience or unsuitable material) that get released in OAV format. It's not impossible for OAV shows to gain a large enough following to get a follow-up TV series (examples include Tenchi Muyo, Oh My Goddess and Blood the Last Vampire), but they are far outnumbered by TV shows whose audience was too small to keep them on the air but hardcore enough to make extra DVDs profitable. Ironfrost06:52, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Photography question
Hello, I am thinking of taking up photography as a hobby and was wondering if anyone could suggest a good starting camera that doesn't cost too much.(no more than $250). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you, Deyyaz[ Talk | Contribs ]02:56, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think you can buy a good camera for $250 or less. If you want to take up photography, I suggest buying a good camera (that's not a point-and-shoot), even if it costs several hundred dollars. Try to buy a camera that gives you full manual control, because the camera doesn't always make the best decisions.
If we're talking about digital photography, I don't suggest buying the highest-resolution camera you can find. Instead, I suggest buying a medium-resolution (maybe 4 megapixels) camera with a high optical zoom, because the zoom will partially compensate for the resolution. --Bowlhover04:15, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What do you want to take pictures of? The best camera (and lens, if you go that far) for the purpose will vary considerably according to what you want to do with it. And certain photographic subjects demand much more equipment than others. Sports photography, for instance, really needs a lot of equipment.
If he's thinking about taking it up as a hobby he probably isn't sure yet what he wants to do and needs a first camera so that for the next one he will know which questions to ask and what to look for, which makes a lot of sense. I agree with Bowlhover that big image size ('resolution' is s misnomer here) isn't necessary and that will greatly reduce the price. Just look at my photographs at Wikimedia Commons to see what you can do with a 4 mp camera (or rather what I can do with it :) ). I took those with an Ixus 400. Also as Bowlhover suggested, what you would want is a camera with full control, so you know the worth of those features. I suggest you have a look at http://www.steves-digicams.com/. DirkvdM08:23, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I certainly think you can get a decent digicam for less than $250, mine (a Concord 5345z) was about $100 less, has 5 megapixels, 3X optical zoom, including rechargeable batteries and recharging unit. I did have to buy an SD memory card for it, but that was only $25 and gives me more memory than I need. StuRat10:40, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
mgs mad macs keygen
i downloaded this game for my nokia 6600 and am lokking for its keygen to crack it. plz help. MadMacs
The reverse psychology is too much for me - now I'm going to go spend some time looking around so this fellow can play games on his cell phone, just to avenge Wikipedia's honor. --bmk —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.92.251.11 (talk • contribs) 14:53, 25 August 2006.
Wikipedia is not honoured, but rather damaged, by being party to an attempt to defraud an intellectual property owner. You should think carefully about what you're proposing to do. --Tagishsimon(talk)
My sister Christine Atherton [ but remarried & pos.another surname] recently committed suicide in Victoria on Thursday.
I am trying to trace here daughter last know address :-
Mrs Helen Akkurt [nee Atherton]
14 Laurie Av.
Tecoma 3160
Victoria
Australia
Can any one help?
I'm very sorry about your loss. I'd suggest you try some regional bulletin boards and e-groups; I'm sure the city of Tecoma and state of Victoria have bulletin boards for current events, etc; I am sure yahoogroups has groups run by and for Victorians, Tecomans, etc, and you might try the Australian craigslist. I'll do a bit of checking and come back with some urls. Hang in there. Anchoress09:22, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A forum called 'Study-Travel-Work Australia - it seems to be populated by travellers, but it might be a good place to post to get help and suggestions from people who might know some good nooks and crannies on the net
Since you have a name and address,International Directory Inquiries should give you a phone number.That way you can verify that she is still at that address and if she is,be able to get in touch very quickly.Good luck Lemon martini10:54, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
One way of tracing someone is to ask the neighbors if they heard where she was moving to. You could obtain the neighbors' names and numbers via a reverse directory. If you are serious about finding her, a private investigator can sometimes act as a skip tracer and persuade via pretext persons with access to driver's licence records, internal revenue department records, and the Australian equivalent of Social Security records to find someone in those files.Edison13:46, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The main page has links to several portals, including portal Society. These are not all portals, but there is also a link to all portals. Either will lead you to the portal Business and Economics, which you might call the field for this subject. Note that Wikipedia is not primarily organized as a top-down directory tree, unlike for example the Open Directory Project (a.k.a. dmoz). If you want to know about accounting or marketing, go directly to the articles Accounting or Marketing, or use the search bar. Once you have found a relevant article, you can navigate to more information by following the embedded hyperlinks ("wikilinks") to other articles, using the Categories at the bottom, or "What links here" from the toolbox in the left side bar. For example, Accounting is redirected to Accountancy, and has at the bottom the category Finance. Following that link, you will see it belongs to the category Business. --LambiamTalk17:08, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
He first thought of the question and only then he wrote it down, so he figured he was quoting himself? I get the notion he is talking about the business model of Wikipedia, but I can't really make out the question. DirkvdM08:07, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
teenage violence
what is the main reason for the increase of teenage violence in South Africa?
Basically, the same reason for general violence everywhere. SATAN!! Read the Bih-bal!!
But seriously, South Africa has by far the highest murder rate with firearms in the world—it probably isn't anything new. Is this a homework question? — [Mac Davis] (talk)
Because it had a high percentage of violence to begin with, then other kids wanted to fit in and became violent. Now a snowball effect has ocurred, I suppose. --Proficient02:51, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That is always a factor, but there has to be something underlying it too. Poverty is indeed often a cause. But is it only teenagers and what kind of violence is it? Theft-related, vandalism or ideology-based? DirkvdM08:12, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Probably about twice as loud as the Great Mingun Bell, which seems the next closest in size (222 tons to 100) that can actually be heard and measured. But I can't seem to find anything about the loudness of it. Nowimnthing20:27, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Real Estate
÷ What does "&apos" mean in a home description? Example: ..."stainless chef's kitchen all of the amenities you could want."
It is bad html language transcription in a browser or similar program. "&apos" is "'", giving just "chef's kitchen". No mystery. -- DLL .. T18:43, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The 'special pages' link in the toolbox has some cool stuff. With the top link, 'all pages', you can browse Wikipedia alphabetically, like a paper encyclopedia. DirkvdM08:23, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In general? Kids usually like sweet foods such as candies, cakes, and pies; other junk foods such as popcorn and chips; or other kiddee foods like spaghettiOs, macaroni and cheese, or fish sticks. Of course, any kid can like any food, such as broccoli and honey (oh it's delicious). Hyenaste(tell)23:13, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
However, I don't think there's much difference in the food preferences of boys and girls, prior to puberty. As for teens, boys are more likely to eat protein to help them "bulk up", while girls are more likely to eat salads to "stay thin". StuRat10:11, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No-one's mentioned hot dogs yet. Or, if we're misunderstanding the question, 'Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. Kid'll eat ivy too, wouldn't you?'. Anchoress18:22, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was wanting some more information on where to get this book or how to join a program involving sexual issues. please contact me at (e-mail address)
thank you, jessica
Did you read our article Masters and Johnson? They co-authored three books. You could try to get them through your bookstore, amazon.com, or various other channels through which books are regularly sold. Before we can give you fruitful suggestions on how to join a program involving sexual issues, it might be helpful if we have a hint of (a) where you live (Saudi Arabia? Sweden?); (b) what you expect of or hope to get out of the program. --LambiamTalk08:20, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Who is Cronin?
Who is the football player Cronin, who played for the Ireland National Football Team. I played International Superstar Soccer for Snes and that guy scored 5 goals against me. Who is he?
Unlikely considering that Glenn Cronin has no caps for Ireland and made his professional debut in 2001 (the game the question refers to would have been released in 1994 or 1995). In any case, the ISS series is famous for having fake names for real players, so the player in question would definitely not have been called Cronin, but would have had a vaguely similar sounding name. --Daduzitalk02:52, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
August 26
Copyright status of completing another person's work
I'm hoping some copyright experts could help me with the copyright section of unfinished work. What is the copyright status of work that was started by one person and then completed by another? Who holds the copyright, especially if the first piece of work no longer has copyright status? For example, if a novel is mostly completed but then the author dies and the book is finished by another person is it a joint copyright situation?
Lets call the original work A and the completed work A++. The author of A (or his estate) owns the copyright of A outright, and can do what it wills with it. The copyright of A++ is jointly owned by both authors (or their estates etc.). That means neither can distribute A++ without the permission of the other. If the copyright on A has lapsed, the author of A++ owns the copyright of A++ free and clear - but he doesn't own the copyright on the unmodified A. So I could write an "Illiad special edition (achillies vs the wookies)" and I'd own the copyright, but I'd have no case to stop anyone else printing copies of Homer's work. Now, if you're asking about cases where someone takes an existing PD work (like the Mona Lisa) and does stuff to it - do they then own the copyright over the product? The answer depends on whether that change has sufficient creative content to constitute a copyrightable work - merely importing it into photoshop and tweaking the colours probably doesn't, but artfully painting on a different person's face (in Da Vinci's style) probably does. Things get sticky when you get to Andy Warhol-style manipulations, where the threshhold of copyrightability largely depends on what the judge had for lunch. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk11:46, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You've confirmed some of my thoughts about it, and given me some great details there. You wouldn't happen to have any relevant links that I could further research this do you? violet/riga(t)11:54, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well in the middle of the night (at 3 AM) i got an amazing phone call (which didn't wake me up.) I found it very unique because my caller ID managed to pick up the phone number but it was even stranger to me (i've never seen this before). The # was 15 digits long and before the number was a '+' sign. Anyone mind helping me discover the strangeness of this? I'm interested in knowing who tried to call me too. (I tried googling this stuff but didn't get any answers). Thanks in advance!
Edit: I'm in the process of reading this article too Telephone numbering plan and if it helps i live in the U.S. (if it matters. --Agester14:01, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The + sign usually denotes an international call. For example, +44 is the UK (I believe). Usually most caller ID systems can't understand international numbers and thus don't normally display the number. violet/riga(t)14:07, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
i believe the first two numbers were 86. Any clue where that is from? (They called my cellphone which was able to record the number) --Agester14:11, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And at a wild guess it was someone in China trying to reach a mobile (cell) phone with a Chinese number. According to this Chinese mobile numbers start with 13x (within China, +8613x overseas), where x is 0, 1, 3, 5, 6. 7. 8 or 9, and according to the reference violet/riga gives the domestic dialling prefix in China is '0'. Assuming someone meant to dial 013095551234 but dialled 0013095551234 instead, the 00 on the front would mean "international access", and they'd get through to a North American number, 1-309-555-1234. Tonywalton | Talk13:33, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, a + at the beginning of a phone number means "the international direct dialing code for the country I'm in" e.g. 011 in North America, 00 in most of Europe. Most mobile phones know what the IDD code for the country you're currently in is, so you can store numbers in the memory in international format i.e. + followed by the country code, followed by the phone number but omitting the national direct dialling code (the leading zero in Europe or the leading 1 in North America). This means that if your phone is registered to roam internationally, you can hit the same number in memory regardless of where you are in the world. Nearly all the numbers in my phone's memory begin with either +44 or +353, so I can always get through regardless of if I'm in the UK or Ireland... -- Arwel (talk) 00:27, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Coin ???
I have a coin, i think. It is marked on the back " MAGYAR USZO SZOVETSEC " *1907-1932*. On the frount are 3 men. Above them are 4 buzards. also the words GREFF LAJOS in very small print. Thanks for your time, Wayne 65.145.194.915:11, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And for those who aren't aware of Hungarian name order, his surname is Greff and his given name is Lajos (kind of equivalent to Louis or Ludwig). JackofOz05:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Usually. Most brands are made without milk solids, and there are also some vegan lines of non-bitter chocolate, like Sweet Williams and certain decks of Lindt. Taiq16:44, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Have you looked at Ford GT and Ford GT40. The MkII did an average speed of 125.39 mph at Le Mans with the MkIV 10 mph faster. The top speed for the new GT is claimed at "...overr 200 mph ...". One of the external links on the GT40 may provide the top speed. CambridgeBayWeather(Talk)01:44, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wikiquiz possibilities?
I'm not sure where to post this,so I'll start here.If it's in the wrong bit,point me in the right direction and push!
I had an idea for a 'general knowledge quiz' on perhaps a weekly or fortnightly basis with maybe 50 or 100 questions.
As these would be taken from a wide range of topics within Wikipedia(maybe including a special section with questions based on that week's featured articles/pictures),it should encourage Wikipedians to go exploring through a wide variety of articles to find the answers.
Perhaps there can be some sort of reward for the winner-maybe a small box with This Week's Winner displayed and some sort of small prize.
I would be more than happy to organize questions,receive and mark answers etc.
So-is this feasible?Is it a good idea?Any suggestions as to how to improve this?
Sounds quite similar to the "Did you know" section on the Main Page, only put in the form of a question. Perhaps you could work with whoever does that segment. StuRat21:33, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds like fun! A word of warning though, your "correct" answer will never satisfy everyone as the truth. Not that it can't work, it's just something to consider. --bmk
You should be OK with strictly factual questions where there is no controversy. For example, asking JFK's age when he became President would work, but not who assassinated him and why. StuRat08:05, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Doesn't the Wikipedia:Department of Fun sound freakishly like something out of 1984?! I do lots of pub quizzes and things like that,so I'm used to coming up with questions that can't start a mass brawl but are peculiarly interesting-when you hear the answer it's obvious! Lemon martini10:45, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That sounds like a lot of fun and something we could get started. I am ready to help you, or be the first player! — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)
Super-do we know we does the 'Did you know' section?Or is there any other way of getting some sort of honorable mention on the main page to let as many Wikipedians know about it as possible? Would it be feasible to create a 'Wikiquiz' section/article somewhere? Lemon martini15:11, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You remember that a jogging style that was popular in the 1970's was the "long, slow, distance," where one runs at a slow, constant pace? It was thought to improve the aerobic benefits of the exercize while being easy on the body.
Well, I run quite a bit, and before I set out today for a 6.5 mile run, I took several puffs from a marijuana joint. Within minutes that calming, slow feeling came over me and I found myself not running at my usual vigorous pace, but jogging in the "long, slow distance" pace popularized in the 1970s.
My question is that do you think the popularity of the "Long Slow Distance" type of running during the 1970s is in direct correlation with the greater amounts of marijuana consumed in that great decade?Courtney Akins22:01, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(Response to Courtney) No, probably not and you shouldn't be taking hits of Marijuana anytime. Don't want to loose those ever important brain cells. :) Seriously though, I think you should overcome that, but hey, it's your life.. — The Future04:19, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are really worse things people can do to their brain and their body legally than taking a few puffs of marijuana periodically. Cigarettes and alcohol are much worse for you on the whole (and a lot worse for society as a whole as well). --Fastfission15:10, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Were you standing on your head while doing that smiley? Tried the combination perchance?
When the effects of pot on driving skills was going to be tested in the Netherlands (on a cleared highway), The Dutch comedian Kees van Kooten let his hippy character do that test too. He found that while he was doing only 50 it felt like 100, so that supports your theory. Although the announcement of the test got some media attention, the results didn't, so I suppose they weren't exceptional enough. DirkvdM06:59, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Where to find specific tags
Where can I find tags that relate to American Authors and Non-fiction books? -MF14
Does anyone have a handle on what approximate year and what philosophies came to the fore that allowed, once again, (the last time being the 1970s), that it became acceptable for women to wear high heels and short shorts at the same time? Courtney Akins23:30, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A theory is that the better the economy the more prevocatively women dress. When the economy is not doing as well women tend to dress more conservatively. It's just a theory.74.12.154.12200:01, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I totally disagree with the economic theory espoused above. During the 1970s the economy was doing horribly. And its not doing so well right now, and I think there was a minor recession in 2001-02. Yet women dress more provocatively now than perhaps ever, in contrast to the 1980s, when the economy was in fever-pitch, yet what passed for "provocative" dress then (e.g. Madonna's outfits/videos) seem quaintly restrained now.
Furthermore, it is a fact that women dressed very provocatively in 1790's France (plunging necklines, and dresses fitted to a woman's body, in repudiation of the traditional hoop-skirt form) and not only was the economy doing badly -- performing much below the levels of the ancien-regime -- but the entire nation was in turmoil and upheaval. It was not until halfway through the Napoleonic Empire that the economy of France recovered to pre-revolution capacity.
Therefore, it might be true that women dress more provocatively during times of economic distress and national turmoil! (as in this decade, the 1970's, and Revloution/Directorate France. Any thoughts?Courtney Akins01:43, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually that bit about women's hemlines and the stock market isn't an economic theory. It's a frequently cited example of why correlation is not causation. To add to the bit about 1970s pop culture, let's remember dear ol' Daisy Duke. So far as I know, the late seventies were the only time when short shorts with high heels was considered acceptable (although far more common on television than in real life, as I recall, because few women have perfect legs). A related late seventies-early eighties fashion that more women observed was to wear high heels with designer jeans. Durova06:46, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
August 27
BC, AD, BCE
In reguards to time lines I know what BC and AD are. What is BCE?
Nothing politically correct about it. It is still based on christianity. The name is just changed. But even if you'd use the alleged birthyear of Jesus as a reference, it would make more scientific sense to make that the year zero (which is now odddly lacking) and referring to other years as, say, -42 and +42 (the latter could also be simply '42'). To make clear you're talking about years, you could make that y-42 and y42 (as in y2k for the year 2000). So this year would then be y2006. The unit time is a real mess - for more examples see the 'time' section on my talk page. DirkvdM09:12, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Our article states that one of the arguments for using the BCE/CE system cited by its supporters is that the calendar "should be religiously and culturally neutral out of consideration for those cultures compelled to use it out of necessity", which sounds like political correctness to me. --Richardrj09:50, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Dirk's point is that changing the name makes no difference if the point of reference is still Christ's birthday. And that's basically my beef with the CE/BCE reference. - Mgm|(talk)13:16, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Except that the connection to Christ's birthday has been lost. The Christian Era was set up based on the supposed year of his birth. They got it wrong, but that doesn't matter anymore. It's now called the Common Era because it's the era that has de facto come to be accepted and it's the system widely used throughout the world, regardless of religious belief. Whatever its historical origin may have been, and whether it was correct or not in pinpointing JC's birth year, are now irrelevant. Hence the name change from Christian Era to Common Era. JackofOz01:48, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But the abbreviation is still 'CE'. Is that a coincidence? And why use two different abbreviatons? Why not CE or whatever for the years after and before the year zero? Anyway, if this is about worldwide adoption, then which abbreviation is used in English is fairly irrelevant. Not even the Dutch will be likely to adopt that. Something more international has to be chosen. Maybe 'A' for annum (Latin)? So something like A-42. (Of course one shouldn't confuse the year four with a paper size, but that is not likely to happen). DirkvdM07:11, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think you're confusing world-wide adoption of a system (which is a fait accompli) with the names for that system in various languages. Eg. the International Date Line is recognised throughout the world, but its name varies depending on which language you happen to be speaking. JackofOz04:42, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The same goes for the word 'table'. But not for units (at least not SI units). It's a simple abbreviation and while it is not strictly necessary to use the same one wordlwide, it would be something to strive for. DirkvdM05:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are there Classics in nonwestern universities? If so, would, say, Chinese universities study Confuncious's writings & his students, like for example, Mencius, instead? An answer on my talk page would nice, thanks!10011010003:23, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Iam told that there are several websites which offer you money if you do their jobs. I have very basic skills in computers though I would be able to handle research related work. Can anyone tell me whether thare are any Indian web sites which offer such work and pay reasonably for the work done?
sumal05:46, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Minimal age to start a business in Australia
Could anyone tell me what is the minimal age to start a business in Australia. I'm 15 and wish to start a computer fixing business. I don't wona do anything against the law so will someone please help me!
Thanks for any help given. jeremy
I once saw a series about millionaires on the BBC. One kid of also around 15 did all his business through the phone and his parents kept his money in safekeeping for him, saying he hadn't a clue how rich he was. So he did do business. I just don't know the legal construct. Now this was about the UK, but I can imagine that in most places there will be laws about the age of employees. But if you work for yourself there will probably be no problem. I suppose the best place to ask would be the chamber of commerce. DirkvdM09:51, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Jeremy, congrats on your plan. I'm from Canada and we may do some things differently than in Australia, but I'll tell you what you'd need if you were here in Canada, and it'll give you a start anyways.
First, know this; if your business is small you might be able to do without any documentation, kind of like babysitting or mowing people's lawns. Just declare the income under 'other income' at tax time.
A lot of independent business operators need business licenses. There is probably an age restriction on that, but I don't know if you'd need one for your type of business. In Canada, you apply to your municipality (city hall) for business licenses.
In Canada, if you are providing a particular service in excess of $20,000 a year, you need to register with the Goods and Services Tax department, and get a tax number. I don't know if Australia has something similar? It's like the European VAT. I don't think there's a minimum age, but you'd need a Social Insurance Number in order to register.
If you are selling computer parts, in Canada you'd need to apply for a Provincial Sales Tax number, which covers manufactured goods. I don't know if there's an age limit for that, but I doubt it. In Canada, we have two separate sales taxes, don't know if it's the same in Australia.
Larger businesses need to register as companies. There are different ways of doing it depending on the size of the business. Sole proprietorship is for small, home-based businesses like computer servicing, accounting services, etc. It's for self-employed people. Limited partnerships and incorporation are for larger enterprises, I wouldn't worry about those yet. For a sole proprietorship, there might not be a minimum age, but if there is it's probably 16.
If people are coming to your home to drop off or pick up computers, you will need to check with your parents with regards to their house insurance, because they may need extra coverage.
You may want to start by placing an advert on [[19]], offering to fix PCs for a price. People will generally bring their PCs to you, and you can see if you're genuinely interested in starting. Pesapluvo
I'm sure some did and most didn't. Shaving is a cultural thing, so the answer varies from culture to culture and time period to time period. I think the modern Western trend to remove all armpit and leg hair peaked in the 1950's but is still very common, and in maybe the last ten years there seems to be a substantial proportion of Western (especially US) women who remove most or all of their pubic hair. I think this would have been very unusual in earlier generations.-gadfium22:23, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I've been trying to find this out for the past month, and so far, i've found nothing. Can anyone tell me if YTV will be airing the new Season 9 of Pokemon "Pokemon Battle Frontier"? Please I would be very grateful for this to be answer! Thank you
Sense
I noticed the Sense article only has 9 senses on it that humans have. Stephen Fry in an episode of QI said that it was more in the region of 33 after the guests had all answered in the common mistruth that there are five, some of the ones he noted that arent on the list are a sense of hunger, and a sense of tiredness. Does anyone know where there is a complete list. PhilcTECI21:31, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The article points out that: "There is no firm agreement among neurologists as to exactly how many senses there are, because of differing definitions of a sense." And: "depending on the chosen method of classification, somewhere between 9 and 21 human senses have been identified. In addition, there are some other candidate physiological experiences which may or may not fall within the above classification (for example the sensory awareness of hunger and thirst)." (my emphasis) So the question is: In what sense would such a list be complete? Many of the senses mentioned in the article can be differentiated, split into further refinements. Under "Sight" the article mentions that neuroanatomists generally regard it as two senses. The article gives several further examples. An example not given: the sensation of being touched is difference from itching. Does that mean "Itching" should be listed as a sense? If you stretch the definition enough, you can probably come up with even more than 33 "senses", but what is the point? --LambiamTalk21:58, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, I was not meaning to dig at the article like that, but do you (or does anyone) know where there is a list covering all of the sense including things like hunger etc. but without splitting them and becoming pinickity (so it covers all sense but not necesarily individually). Cheers. PhilcTECI22:53, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Song in Kill Bill
What is the name of that last song played in the movie Kill Bill Volume 1, when The Bride was riding on the airplane, drawing up the list of people she will kill? Thanks Jamesino22:41, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
l like this Asian girl, but don't know how to tell her. What should l do?
"You're an interesting person and I enjoy talking with you. Any chance you'd be interested in joining me for a drink/meal/concert/etc sometime?" Pesapluvo01:13, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You could do something notable. That'd get her attention. 192.168.1.1 01:25, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Further to some of the suggestions, maybe it would be a good idea to figure out some potential appropriate locations for a first date, just in case the conversation does result in that possibility coming up. Planning is everything ;) --Robert Merkel02:04, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I dont normally do anything like this but you are extrodenary and I would like to get to know you better. ( if the mother superior says its ok) Hobgoblin
Telling a guy I like him
(Like the above question! ^_^) I like this guy, but I don't know if he is gay or not, but he might be. How do I ask a guy out without alienating the friendship if he isn't gay? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.153.40.162 (talk)
And if the kid has misjudged badly enough he gets the answer "No, you filthy fag" and a broken nose for his troubles. Show a little common sense, please. --Robert Merkel01:55, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sinse the questioner pointed out that they were friends, I assumed that his friend would react calmly with a "yes" or a "no" and perhaps some humor to make sure there was no tension between them. True friends would not care as to what their friend's sexual orientation is. --ClockFace02:21, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Um, that's laudable, but naive. This person could be in an educational and family situation where homosexuality is accepted. Or he could be at high school in (insert stereotype of rural backwardness here) and about to ask the rampantly homophobic football team captain out on a date. --Robert Merkel04:20, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Both your comments, Robert, made me laugh, but I absolutely don't want to get punched in the face. And no, I'm not about to ask some clearly anti-gay guy on a date. My problem is that the guy has never really showed signs of heterosexuality, like hitting on chicks or whatever. At school (where I met him of course) social groups are tight and I'd hate to ask him, be rejected, have my orientation come out, then spend the next few years as "<my name>, the lonely fag". Aren't suicide rates high among gay teens? It's no mystery why. (not that I'm going to kill myself) 70.144.51.17504:35, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
From the context of the question, I gather you're a young gay man. While I can't precisely empathise with your situation, it's a difficult situation whether you're gay or straight if you're a teenager trying to guess whether somebody would appreciate you asking them out. In some parts of the world, there are support groups for gay teenagers which might be able to give you advice on the best way to deal with this situation - maybe a web search for "gay teenager support group" and your location might turn up some people who can help (but use your common sense to check out the bona fides of any such group). --Robert Merkel01:55, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you aren't willing or able to let him know your orientation, you're in a difficult position, IMO. Because you don't want hitting on your friend to be the way he finds out you're gay. He probably wouldn't appreciate it even if he is also gay. I think that if you don't trust him with the truth about your orientation, you probably don't know him well enough to date him anyway. I'm not saying that's how it is, but your previous post suggests it to me.
If it were me, I'd just take him aside, and in a gentle, neutral, light way, tell him you're gay. Don't say you're attracted to him, don't make it a heavy conversation, just say this is something you want him to know about you, you're not weird about it, you hope he isn't, and you hope the honesty will make you better friends. If his response is negative, or if he makes no indication that he shares either your sexual orientation or a mutual attraction, leave it at that. If he indicates that he shares your orientation, or an interest in the lifestyle, suggest an outing (not a date) where the two of you can have some alone time and maybe explore gay culture (depending on your location, maybe it doesn't exist). Or, just go behind the 7-11, smoke a doobie, and make out. :-)
Not a criticism, but it's been my experience and observation that sometimes guys jump the gun, opting for action rather than talk. A couple of male friends found out their best friends were gay when they were asked on dates by said friends; neither appreciated it. I've found out guys liked me a couple of times when they kissed me out of the blue, that wasn't appreciated either. I know talk isn't as active as... action..., but it's usually the way to go. Test the waters before you jump in. And if you're too nervous to test the waters, it's probably best to leave it. If you don't feel you can trust him enough to be honest, you definitely can't trust him with what might be a big bombshell. Anchoress07:47, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
drilling
I need help in finding this answer:
explain the differences in the equipment required (power tool and drill bit type) to drill holes in timber v's those needed to drill holes in concrete.
aid of diagram would be greatly appreciated.
thank you.
202.172.110.20201:54, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For wood you can use various types of drill bits: Auger drill bits, spade bits, and multi-purpose bits. It depends a bit on the purpose (woodwork? carpentry? pre-boring a hole for a screw?), the depth and width of the desired hole, and type of wood, which type is best. For concrete you'd want a drill bit that is advertised as usable for the purpose (masonry drill bit, concrete drill bit), but apart from extra strength this would not be essentially different from a multi-purpose drill bit. As to the power tool, for getting through concrete you need a hammer drill. Most hammer drills for do-it-yourself use will be combination drills: you can turn off the hammering action. If you want to see what the various drill bit types look like, go to Google images and search for any of the above types. --LambiamTalk02:28, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Using metal/masonry drill bits in wood can ruin them due to heating and de-tempering (lot of friction between wood and bit, and can't use cooling fluid in wood). Therefore cheap soft bits tend to be used for wood.
Masonry bits (concrete) are normally made of a small chevron shaped piece of tungsten carbide set in a helical shaft. See Drill bit. Rentwa14:24, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To drill a hole in cured concrete you will need to purchase a Hammer Drill. These drills work by vibrating a masonry bit against the concrete and breaking off tiny bits. You can purchase a drill powerful enough for most home projects for around $65. You can also rent a professional grade one for around $25 a day. These will cut through concrete quickly, a 3/16"x2" hole can be cut in around 20 sec. (a traditional drill will take around 5 min and melt the bit to slag in around a half hour). You will need to use "carbide concrete/masonry hammer drill bits". Buy 2 or 3 per every 100 holes. If the timber is larger than 3/4" you will need to switch to a wood bit to drill through it. Just a traditional wood drill bit will suffice. If the timber is less than 3/4" you can use the hammer drill on direct drive mode with the same bit. Hope this helps. --DarkfredTalk to me20:35, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
diamond dave rides again
I want to learn how to buy loose diamonds at a local (Dallas+Ft.Worth) jewlery store. This is investments only not to wear. How can I get info so I dont get bad stuff? Thanks02:25, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Diamonds seem to be a rather poor investment for several reasons:
1) There are many factors which affect the value of each; such as size, color, clarity, inclusions, cut, etc. Unless you are a gem expert, you are likely to be "taken".
2) They aren't all that rare, so the price should be much lower than it is. Only by restricting the supply has DeBeers been able to keep the price artificially high. I would be worried that this situation may not last and there could be a price collapse soon.
3) Artificial diamonds (real diamonds made in a lab) are increasing in quality and decreasing in price steadily. Soon they will offer serious competition for natural diamonds. StuRat03:32, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In addition to the reasons given above, diamonds are a poor investment because they lose value incredibly fast. Because the supply is a monopoly, margins are very high, and a used market is discouraged by add campaigns. A typical diamond will lose 80% of its value immediately upon purchase. Unless you are a jeweler (in which case you are already getting diamonds at a steep discount) buying diamonds is an incredibly foolish investment. Even if you intend to set them later and sell them as new, the jeweler will charge more for the setting to recover the loss of profit from the diamond margin. --DarkfredTalk to me20:27, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
phone number look-up
I need to look up a phone number that's not in the white pages reverse look-up (I assume it's a cell). How can I look it up? Thanks. -Wjlkgnsfb02:50, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My question is sparked from the saying "if joe jumped of a cliff would you jump aswell?" so how high does the cliff have to be to be classed as a cliff?
it's just a term...language alone isn't very precise on this matter. I doubt that even geologists and topographers assign a heigh requirement for usage of the word "cliff". Jasbutal04:35, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I thought that a cliff just meant a sheer, almost vertical drop. I suppose under this definition, the walls of a creek or other such artifical ditch could be considered a cliff as well. Hyenaste(tell)04:38, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it is the angle rather than the height that allows it to be classified as a cliff. When studying topography, you realize that something may be defined as, say, a crest on a small scale (of <100m) but in the broader picture is classified as part of a "gentle slope". So topographical features can change classification depending on the scale over which it is being considered. I doubt any topographer would be interested in classifying something that was a few centimetres tall as a cliff. I think a person would just use their common sense to determine whether something was notable in the landscape, depending on what the information they were gathering was for. BenC709:14, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For shorelines, we get this (which sounds reasonable): "High angle solid substrate shoreline; includes low cliffs (height < 2 m), medium cliffs (height 2 - 10 m) and high cliffs (height > 10 m)." --Zeizmic12:38, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Smallest thing rock climbers would call a 'route' (route up a cliff) would be about 20ft - i.e. worth putting on a harness and roping up. Anything smaller would probably be called a 'problem' (tricky sequence of moves) and climbed without rope (soloed).
Most cliffs are 'dynamic' - i.e. they are in a constant state of evolution - material is eroded from the bottom leaving stuff above unsupported which then falls - for this reason many 'cliffs' are not vertical but have jumble of debris at bottom. Especially true of smaller cliffs and ends of escarpments. You could still get a nasty bruise if you fell off though.
Has anyone any idea what this symbol means? I've seen it here in the UK on labels and printed directly onto bottles of alcoholic drink, including imported beer (Corona), Scotch whisky and wine. It's always accompanied by a very long number in the format 999/99999999/99 (or similar; I forget the exact format). I've searched symbols.com and asked around and no-one seems to know what it's about. It doesn't mean "contents under pressure", it may mean "recycle this bottle" though I've also seen it in combination with the usual "recycle" symbols. Presumably it means something to somebody, since manufacturers are taking the trouble to print it! Any ideas? Tonywalton | Talk12:45, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In my misspent youth I was a bartender in the great state of Texas. We where told to smash empty glass bottles so ner-do-wells could not use the emptys for bootleging and thus not pay taxes. There were and are federal (ATF) and many state regs about this. I got into big time trouble with a not so nice man with a badge because I did not grasp that the tax labels on the bottles had to be distroyed too. I feel your symbol is suggested break points indicators for brave brit barmen to use as a guide on such jobs as this. Not that it works, its just boilerplate to keep nanny government off their backsides when national health refuses to patch up a cut barkeep because of inadiquite labeling on the bottle. Stranger things have happened. That is my logical guess and legal view of the matter free of charge and totally worthless. Hobgoblin
Hmm, very odd. I checked on all of my wine bottles and didn't see it (I'm in the US). I would have imagined it was "contents under pressure" or something like that (it looks like a gas exerting pressure on an enclosed space) but if you're sure it's not that, then I don't have a clue. --Fastfission15:44, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I googlimaged for gas, pressure, bottle, can and regulation logo - scanned 880 pics for the last one. We still need a "something like" visual engine search. Any ideas ? -- DLL .. T18:52, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
http://symbols.com is quite good for that - it has a search facility where you tell it "is it an open or closed symbol", "is it symmeterical" and so on, and it comes up with best guesses. Unfortunately it doesn't know about this one. Tonywalton | Talk07:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I looked all over, as well. I'm sure it has something to do with pressure, but I've never heard of anybody killed by a beer bottle... maybe from mad Texan bartenders throwing them, but that would be a different symbol. :) --Zeizmic20:45, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Something to do with the fact that it is exempt from ecotax in Belgium probably because it is recyclable glass. Here is a Dutch page explaining it somewhat but it seems far too dull to investigate further. MeltBanana21:17, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The reason I reckon it's not "contents under pressure" is that as I mentioned I've seen it on both whisky and wine, neither of which are pressurised (and Corona beer hardly is). Thanks for the dull page in Dutch, MeltBanana, and the translation, DirkVD; looks like it's some weird EU tax thing which nobody outside Brussels understands or cares about, then. Thanks, all, for your responses! 86.129.77.199 06:43, 29 August 2006 (UTC)Tonywalton | Talk06:46, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
andy of mayberry
could someone please tell me the name of the diner on any of mayberry? Thank-you.
What are the flight regulations concerning carrying knives in your luggage, can you bring knives from one country to another?
Checked baggage only, of course. It depends on the regulations of both countries, and of the airline. Check all three. For example, discovered knives carried without "good reason" are generally confiscated on entry to the UK. Notinasnaid13:02, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Interstingly, this doesn't answer your question, but your question made me wonder how many miles or units of measurements a common computer mouse has traveled in it's lifetime. It would be intersting to find out. --Proficient05:07, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You're begging the question; they don't. They may appear to on occasion, for a couple of reasons. Certainly many Japanese people travel with tour groups, but not all of them. When visiting a country where you don't speak the language and don't have experience with the local customs, it can be helpful to be accompanied by a guide who can translate and advise. A planned tour also reduces the guesswork and planning burden for a traveller—transportation, meal planning, hotel bookings, and so forth can all be taken care of. (Some people enjoy the convenience, others will chafe from the lack of freedom. The latter won't do packaged tours.) I will note that it is easier for an English-speaking tourist to find someone who speaks at least some broken English than it is for a Japanese-speaking tourist to find someone who speaks Japanese.
You see a lot of Japanese tourists, period, because it is a fairly wealthy country whose people can afford to travel. You are more likely to notice Japanese tourists – particularly when they are in groups – because their appearance and language are different (I'm guessing that you're asking the question from somewhere in the West.) Caucasians sometimes also travel in herds, but you're less likely to notice because they blend in (to an extent) with the locals and with other, individual tourists. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:11, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, memories of being in a warm port when the cruise ship pulled in. Suddenly, you are surrounded by a herd of Oklahoma ladies with blue hair, and all the prices go up by a factor of 10... --Zeizmic20:47, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another factor is that Japanese people tend to take very short holidays (even worse than Americans in this respect). Therefore, they try and pack as much as possible into that time, and having a tour guide take you to what you want to see saves time and hassle. --Robert Merkel04:13, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have done a lot of budget solo travelling and the places I stayed at usually attract other solo travellers. They were mostly Germans, USians, English, Dutch, Canadians, Aussies and Kiwis (roughly in that order). There are many other travelling nationalities, but they seem to spend more money in less time. That almost automatically means taking tours, as Robert pointed out.
Speaking of Japanese herding, I noticed that at a specific tourist restaurant in Amsterdam, that Japanese package touirists frequent, that they don't seem to take much note of other pedestrians, getting in their way. So I once decided to just walk on and bump into one. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed there was no reaction. I suppose that in a crowded country it is more normal to get into each other's way and bump into each other. No offence was meant nor taken on either part. DirkvdM06:14, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In Miami Vice, the bad guys kidnap Trudy and then telephone her boyfriend. Before they let Trudy speak, first they play the current TV weather forecast "to prove it's happening now". Upon hearing this, the cops immediately conclude it's really happening now. Why? What's to stop them from first playing a live TV broadcast and then a recording of Trudy's voice? AFAIK they would have to have Trudy recite something said in the weather forecast to really prove it's happening now. JIP | Talk15:06, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I see what you mean, but I don't like "suspension of disbelief" being used as a blanket justification for every plot hole I see. If "suspension of disbelief" is by definition explanation enough, then how come, in the film, the cops didn't magically read Trudy's and the bad guys' minds, teleport to their hideout, and knock them out with their superhuman strength? JIP | Talk16:16, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Likewise, when Castro died and they showed him holding up the daily paper to "prove" he was still alive, how did anyone fall for that? Have they not heard of photoshop? Fidel Castro Photoshop contest... --Mary
If you don't like 'suspension of disbelief' being used as an excuse to cover every lame plot hole, I strongly suggest you stop going to see Hollywood movies. Especially action movies. DJ Clayworth19:43, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer a "partial suspension of disbelief". That is, if a movie features something like a time machine, I don't question that. However, when somebody shoots at a car and what appears to be a low yield thermonuclear explosion results, it's time to change the channel. StuRat04:51, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I sympathize. I've had a lot of trouble deciding how I want to handle truly ridiculous plot holes - Complain? Watch something else, even though that would seriously limit my options? Just pretend I don't notice? I especially hate it when people accuse me of "overthinking" things that were quite clearly not even "thought" about in the first place. Like that. Or like in Saw, when the guy cuts off his foot to reach a phone they'd gotten to without difficulty just moments before, with the exact same materials. The best thing I can come up with is to quietly hate the people who were too lazy or stupid to do it properly, and resolve to slap/punch/shiv/pistolwhip them if I ever pass them on the street. Black Carrot05:07, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Macroeconomics
I need a definition of supply and demand, plus an article containing supply and demand. Thanks—
Yeah. I keep wondering why the desks are so slow. Wikipedia gets a lot of traffic to articles but not really to the desk. Perhaps the desk is too hidden? --Proficient05:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Please state your full name and location, and what has happened. Is anyone in immediate need of medical assistance? JIP | Talk17:57, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Of course, assuming that no-one is injured, that there isn't a lawyer involved and no kangaroos are trying to tell you that Timmy has fallen down a well, it's just possible - and I'm going to stick my neck out here - that the article Macroeconomics might be able to help. DJ Clayworth19:41, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it was an accidental use of the title of the question above, and he/she doesn't actually want help with macroeconomics. --Froth21:31, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Differentiating a function
Hi, I'm going through a tutorial on neural networks, and in one section we need to have a function that is differentiable, and we need to have its partial derivative. The text has an example, but what I'm confused about is whether the partial derivative shown is only for the specific function given, or if it is a general case.
The text says (where 't' is a little triangle symbol):
The function we will use is the sigmoid function:
1
t ----------
g(x) = 1 + e^(-x)
This function can be differentiated. Its partial derivative with respect to x, dg/dx, also written g', is
g'(x) = g(x) * (1 - g(x))
So is the second formula the case for any differentiable function, or just the sigmoid function?
By going to the Wikipedia Mathematics Reference Desk. I don't get it. You see a "Mathematics" and a "Miscellaneous" tab... and you got Miscellaneous??Evilbu19:20, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, but I got used to url short-cuts, and accidentally presumed that WP:RD/M was for math, extrapolating from WP:RD/S for science. I greatly appologize for this mistake, and hope that you weren't irreparably damaged or traumatized by the use of math formulas on this page. For everyone else, thank you very much for your help. --Mary
I'm a mathie so I can handle it. To finish this problem, deriving the tanh function, well it depends on your definition of the goniometric functions. But are you familiar with the formula for taking the derivative of the inverse of a function?
omg EVILBU ur so mean!! om g I dunno what a goniometriciacaly function is please tell us evilbu and please derivise it for us so we can stand in awe of your euro-intellect . Jasbutal19:37, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
how much will it cost me to get a mechanic to replace two sets of brake pads on a 90's ford? looking for a ballpark figure.Jasbutal19:18, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What kind of Ford? In what country? In what town? Seriously a five minute phone call would be a simpler way to find out this information. DJ Clayworth19:39, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The problem is, they almost never will replace just the pads..."Well, the rotors are warped, and need to be resurfaced, but that would mill them below specs, so they will need to be replaced, and you need new calipers, too. So, tell you what, just sign the title over to me and we'll call it even, OK ?". :-) StuRat04:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If I'm understanding you correctly, you want to use a colon (:) in front of the word "image" when you link it. For example [[:image:padlock.svg]] renders as image:padlock.svg instead of as an actual image. Hyenaste(tell)21:27, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How many bells does the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris have, and were they operating at Christmas 1870 during the siege of Paris/Franco-Prussian war?
Many thanks,
Maja
Our article on the Notre Dame de Paris only mentions 1 bell. Have you tried the external links at the bottom of that article. One of the links will probably tell you more about the bell(s) or the period you're asking about. If all else fails, try to ask through the official site for the place. - Mgm|(talk)21:48, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The movie would've been too short(!) Perhaps he hasn't get enough explosives to get a hole in the plane, but enough to blow up a box? - Mgm|(talk)21:43, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So he has access to enough venomous snakes to kill an entire flight of people but his gangster connections can't net him even the tiny volume of explosives required to cripple an airplane? --Froth21:50, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The attitude "don't question movies" annoys me greatly. It's poor writing, plot holes.
True. I'm not familiar with the plot of the film yet, but generally speaking the people with access to venomous snakes are different than those with access to explosives. - Mgm|(talk)08:24, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Gold Rush Town
Hi I was wondering if you could possibly help me Would anyone know the answer to this question? A sudden gold rush created a town faster than the law could order. Well over a hundred years later, legends born here have begun to appear in their prime, nationwide. Does anyone know the name of this town? Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you (email address removed)
Realistically, how should the barrel of a rifle (M4) move during sustained automatic gunfire? In video games, such as Halo 2, automatic gunfire causes the gun to rise upwards. Why is that? Jamesino21:57, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The rifleing on the inside of the barrel causes the bullet to spin. This in turn causes the barrel to spin in the opposite direction. So it sort of twists in your hand. It also kicks backwards. The combination of the two makes the gun rise up as if trying to jump out of your hand. For guns without rifleing the gun kicks straight back with considerably more recoil. The video games have it basically correct. Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn23:01, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Something inaccurate about many first-person shooters is that when you reload and still have some rounds inside your clip, only the amount of ammo inside the old clip is subtracted from your total ammo. For example, say you have the assault rifle in Halo: Combat Evolved, which has a 60-round clip. Pretend (this is theoretical) that you waste 30 bullets to kill an Elite, so you have 30 rounds left. If you are carrying 240 rounds total, you should notice that when you reload with these 30 bullets, you end up with 210 rounds left, instead 180 rounds left. I probably didn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's just an interesting tangent. bibliomaniac1523:14, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'd be surprised if the spin imparted to the bullet caused any significant reaction in the gun - after all, the energy of spinning is very small compared to the forward energy of the bullet.
Also, the movement of the gun is more complicated than 'bullet goes forward, gun goes back'. The British LMG (Bren) for instance, pulls forward when fired. It depends, I think, on the mechanism of each particular gun, but an engineer could probably describe it best. Rentwa23:30, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Looking at this [[20]] it might appear that it just walks forward, depending on the gas ejection and the general spring constant. --Zeizmic23:51, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know, but it certainly does. I don't understand the science - I'm not an engineer, but I think the gun's behaviour is determined by its mechanism - or maybe significant masses of gas are moving around? Although I haven't used it, I'm told the Uzi Desert Eagle has almost no recoil - another mystery! Rentwa00:00, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unless the shooter is pushing the gun forward, the gun will naturally move backwards. It has to! But see this.
Hey kiddies!- Thers no recoil when you fire a blank round,,,wait for it,,,so If you are in a fireing squad and your riflE kicks when fired, you just killed the guest of honour! BWA-HA-HA-ha hOBGOBLIN
Not really. "There's nothing like a new car for enchantment" Oldsmobile ad in 1960. Olds 1958 industrial musical "Gotta get a car", etc. Rmhermen23:37, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For some reason, a lot of British people seem to think that Americans don't (or didn't) use the word "car." We actually say "car" far more than we say "automobile." The latter word is used in more-formal contexts, probably like the word "motorcar" in British English. -- Mwalcoff00:04, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
loch sheldrake, sullivan county, new york how deep?
i am a scuba diver used to live in sullivan county, ny.......i have never dived in loch sheldrake, ny and im curious how deep is this mysterious lake? thank you..signed r van loan
I propose deleting the above 7 questions apparaently serving no purpose other than implied criticism of some user names. Objections?--Light current00:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My ex-girlfriends who worked as strippers used to get their clothes from the local mall most of the time. They were normally bikinis or short dresses. Though it depends on the stripper. If they were more into leather and such, that might be harder to find. Dismas|(talk)06:16, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When I went to Google Earth, I notice that on Portugal, there are highways on the map saying "A8", "A15" and "N45". Are these the names of the highway in Europe?
It depends on the country of course. Our article on Portugal has nothing, while Transport in Portugal only gives the total length of all Portugal's main roads.
In many countries, N signifies a national road, A and B indicate main roads and secondary roads respectively, while some other letter ("M" in the UK and "A" in France indicates highways. Some countries (eg Ireland) use N for highways. --Howard Train03:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is there a website I can look on that will give me the history of my house? It's a fairly old house and I was just wondering if it has some history to it. It located in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. thanks for the help
I agree with Light Current, but you could try Googling the first line or two of your address just in case. You might also bear in mind that most older houses in England started out with names rather than numbers. Also check out http://www.old-maps.co.uk --Shantavira08:38, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't forget the Web has only been around for 15 years or so; it's unlikely that the history of your house is on a website unless you put it there. Try this BBC site for a guide to researching the history via old records. Best of luck! Tonywalton | Talk08:50, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Cabron
Greetings
I was searching for the word "cabron" a american spanish swear word to find out exactly what it means. Instead I was routed to the "Carbon" page, which has nothing to do with it.
I apologize but I'm not quite as familiar with the innards of Wikipedia to fix this, although I am a user for some time now.
Yes I removed the redirect, (as it happens leaving a blank page). I thought this page might hsave been populated by Mr Hartov. Anyway It should go in Wiktionary.
--Light current01:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not so sure it was a bad redirect: Are most people who type "cabron" into English Wikipedia looking for "carbon" or a Spanish swear word ? StuRat04:12, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We're an English encyclopedia. It makes far more sense to redirect to something that could easily be misspelled than to redirect to something else. Besides, I don't recommend linking to other projects as it hinders the page being used for something else. If you want a dictionary definition, go to Wiktionary. Even better, if we keep it empty, the automated box that appears will suggest searching in multiple other projects. - Mgm|(talk)08:20, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Assuming you mean the bone in the pelvis, apparently it is the kreuzbein or os sacrum. "Os crucis" is a literal translation of "kreuzbein", while "os sacrum" is not, so I guess that is why they call it that. Adam Bishop06:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
ordering checks online
is it safe to order checks online from a third party that is not my bank? (i.e. is it safe to reveal all my personal info. and my routing/bank # to these check printing companies) Jasbutal05:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It sounds like the publisher messed up. They changed their publication schedule for that book but forgot to alter the date inside. Theoretically, someone could now reprint their material, give it a 2006 date, and claim prior copyright. But otherwise the date is irrelevant: stuff is automatically copyrighted as soon as it first appears.--Shantavira07:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is very rare, and is indeed probably a mistake. The opposite used to happen sometimes with pornography. By putting a publication date many years in the past, the publisher hoped to convince anyone planning to prosecute them that it all happened so long ago you'd never find the relevant people. Notinasnaid08:37, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
assignment help
I need help answering the following question,
Which approache is more relevant to the development process of developing countries
-the IMF or World Bank approaches to the strutural Adjustment Programme.
I have a 58cm LG pure-flat CRT. I'm looking at upgrading to an 80cm Magnavox curved CRT for $500. Wise or foolish? What are the disadvantages of Magnavox, and of a curved screen? Will this TV be better or worse than my LG one?
Are you sure you want a CRT at all ? Plasma and LCD screens are rapidly coming down to a competitive price with CRTs, and are much better in many respects. StuRat13:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Can anyone identify the artist of this song?
The song name, both in its filename and the track name that shows up in Winamp, is 'Neapolitan'. It has no attached artist or album name, and a Google search for 'neapolitan' was totally useless because of the number of other neapolitan things out there. Wikipedia appears to have no article about the song, so it's either non-notable or was mislabelled.
I'm not very good at describing music, but most of the lyrics are sung clearly and the singer is clearly male. There's not a lot of accompanying music, but it picks up in the chorus.
A portion of the lyrics are as follows:
When the waitress walked by
She must have caught his eye
And at that moment, he was mine
A little sleight of hand, and I had poisoned his bowl of Neapolitan
What else can I say man [chuckle]
Enjoy your ice cream
Murder is such an ugly word [But/I'll] use another if you so prefer
Me, I like to call it art
Art is its own reward
Just ask buttwad
Years of livin' in the shadow of the bat
But we'll come back to that
Right now let's roll this little [memo/pebble] out to the big boss
Next time you think I'm goin' soft
Send some punk to knock me off
Here's a reminder, you fuckin' hind-grinder
With a cherry on top
Is this enough? I'd rather not transcribe everything now (particularly the apparently-nonsensical chorus), but I will if I need to.
