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Actually it doesnt change instantly, proof?, edit an article then you should see your change visbale after you save it, now lets try deleting cookies, temp internet files and cache, now open that article once more...SURPRISE ! --RedStaR00:19, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If anything, deleting all those files should give you the most recent version of an article. Maybe someone undid the changes you made? Try Wikipedia:Tutorial and see if they meet the basic requirements. -- Mgm|(talk)08:02, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What would a building designed by birds look like?
Any ideas? Birds have a completely different spacial awareness to us. I mean, like in every room, the walls and ceilings could be used as useful space to a sentient flying creature. If you look at parrots now, they don't mind climbing up and hanging upside down at all. Could have a skyscraper with an entrance to each floor on each floor too. Has anyone ever tried to think like a bird and drawn up any stuff?
For some reason, the image just popped into my head of hen birds flying to work, having left their eggs at 'daycare incubator facilities'. Rows and rows of eggs stacked floor-to-ceiling in their own individual temperature-regulated compartments, being monitored by machines and turned every so often - in a huge warehouse-type building, a similar size to the one in the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. --Kurt Shaped Box01:29, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I doubt they would have external entrances to each room. Birds advanced enough to make skyscrapers would most certainly have a complex social structure equal to our own, and I imagine concepts such as "lobbies" and "reception desks" would be part of their culture as well. I can imagine a multi-tier system of building construction, one in which tall buildings are constructed in segments, each relatively independant of its neighbouring parts. One must also consider air and wind-tunnel management, which I imagine is an integral part of bird transportation planning. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 01:46, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For some reason when I read that description, the image just popped into my head of a Brave New World-esque incubation line in which eggs as they slowly go down the conveyer belt are heated and cooled to get used to different environments, dropped and caught so they fly at an earlier age, and bathed in radiation to make sure that the lower birds (pigeons for example) aren't smart enough to throw off the eagle government --frothTC03:27, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For the masters of this brave new avian world, I'd look towards the parrots or the corvids. They already have a huge head-start in terms of intelligence on other species. It's often the case that the pet/owner dynamic is completely reversed with captive birds from these two families - i.e. the bird trains the owner to behave how it wants the owner to behave. I used to have a lovebird - even a little bird like that managed to have me wrapped around her little finger (claw?). Screech? I'd pay her attention. Chew my books and magazines? I'd pay her attention. Bite me when she was on my shoulder? That was a sign she was tired and wanted me to put her back into her cage to take a nap. Rear up and hiss at me? I'd go away and leave her alone. Pull a funny face and cock her head when I was eating? She wanted to try some of whatever I was having. --Kurt Shaped Box12:51, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Imagine bird furniture shaped like human fingers, and skyscrapers with only a handicapped elevator, and a hole in the wall on each floor for everyone else.Edison05:17, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The question is moot. Without fingers it's nearly impossible to design a building. Birds can't physically draw it on paper or draw it on a computer. _ Mgm|(talk)07:59, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Never seen the manual dexterity displayed by most species of parrot? Their feet can be used like hands (with two opposable 'thumbs'). A macaw could certainly hold a pen - and I don't suppose that there's any physical reason why it couldn't write/draw if it had the inclination/intellect to do so. --Kurt Shaped Box11:41, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How many actors and actresses who were born in 1990 are American?
(P.S.: Can give me a list of actors and actresses? Please.)
Actors and actresses 1990 2
How may actors and actresses who were born in 1990 are Canadians?
Many people believe they are actors but are not, many people work as actors but don't believe themselves to be, and there are thousands if not millions of people working as actors that have not become well-known enough to get any recognition from their work. This question is unanswerable. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 01:39, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
IMDb has all the people that have entries there listed by date of birth as well as by birth year (or at least they used to). You could go through those lists and count them, though I don't envy the task. Dismas|(talk)02:11, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Good point! Upon closer examination, it turns out that Canada and US&A are, in fact, different provinces of the same country. Wow! you learn something new every day! I believe US&A is colloquially referred to as 'the ghetto of Canada', the slum section. Chris11:13, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I actually once met a Canadian who got really pissed of when I said somthing like that because he didn't get the pun and interpreted 'America' as the USA. He even thought that man people in the world regard Canada as one of the United States. Oh, and I like the term US&A. The way the US regard and treat their 'backyard' that would indeed be appropriate. DirkvdM06:00, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Music Artist
Yesterday I heard this name on the radio, and I think I have heard it before, but I'm not sure what group he is from- the name is "Archie Rein". If anyone knows I'd appreciate it. Thanks. :)
Yes, Kurt actually has a seagull hobby/habit. Then, after he posted many questions about them, others started asking sea bird questions as a joke. StuRat20:07, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
sorry, I should have said by style I meant that freaky electronica beat he's got. I love it, and the themes of the songs are just added bonuses. Jasbutal03:31, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
is it the deceptive, hollow big-business (ostensibly society as a whole) imposing itself on some form of innocence? (better add a disclaimer, this ain't hw) Jasbutal04:05, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
False. These music videos are made by highly-skilled and well-paid artistic directors and have aesthetic value that is meant to be coupled with the lyrics. Jasbutal05:22, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I thought the idea was that the video should have no connection with the lyrics, so that it looks as though the lyrics had some deeper hidden meaning when in fact they are completely vacuous.--Shantavira08:15, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
ok fine, let's take your assumption as correct. What do you think is the meaning of the video? Or do you think it is just vice versa and the video is equally vacuous? Jasbutal12:59, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There were some birds I noticed when I was in the Navy off the Pacific coast of Panama. Their basic body type was similar to a seagull but much larger - about the size of a U.S. pelican. They had a distinctive blue ring on the skin surrounding their eyes and ate a lot of flying fish. I seem to recall most of their plumage was gray. Haven't been able to identify them through Audubon guides in the States. Anyone know what these are? Durova09:35, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This species didn't have to dry out its wings after it landed. They rode the air currents of our ship hundreds of miles out at sea. The body shape really resembled a seagull. I mentioned pelicans only to give an idea of how much larger than seagulls they are. Thanks for the guess. We'll keep trying. Durova15:27, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why are you all deleting the article about Good Burger 2?
Wikipedia articles need evidence. There's no evidence for this film, so the article should be deleted. If you don't want it deleted, provide evidence. Middenface13:37, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That could be a link to an imdb page saying it is definitely in production, or a press release from the company, or something like that. Skittle13:39, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I checked it out. The fans there were rejoicing because they saw the sequel "confirmed" by Wikipedia! IMDB does not have anything official for GB2. Clarityfiend18:36, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In the 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s, do you remember when Manuel Mijares sang Soldado del Amor(The Love Soldier), Para Amarnos Mas(Loving Each Other More) and Con un Nudo en la Garganta(With a Frog in the Throat)? Do you also remember the telenovela titled Rebeca (telenovela)(Rebecca) when he sang the theme song to the telenovela?
Sati (practice), the immolation of a widow on her husband's pyre. It's human as men do it, and inhuman as other men wish they wouldn't (me too). Shall that practice disappear together with war, bullfight, rape, lies, &c. ? Circus games and slavery slowly belong to the past. Men are too human to be too wise (any smiley conveying a Buddha mind ?) -- DLL .. T20:34, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was trying to record the music out of Fl0w with Audacity and apparently I had it set up to mix the wav output with the mic input because halfway though the track someone knocked on my door and the audio spiked.. excited, I closed audacity and opened windows sound recorder. It turns out that somewhere on my laptop I've got a very high quality microphone that perfectly picks up my voice (audio sample) even if I'm sitting up in comforable laptop-using position. Does anyone else have a t60 thinkpad or know where the microphone is on this thing? --frothTC17:27, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have another ThinkPad, and it's in between the speakers on the top, right below the display screen. There isn't much to see, just two small slits. StuRat19:53, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Could be. Put your thumb over it and try to record something, to see if it sounds muffled. That should tell you if it is. StuRat16:31, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's not muffled at all. Also wherever the sound is coming from (except directly below and behind) it sounds the same --frothTC02:48, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
i recently read and saw some comics and episodes of smallville where supermans heat vision can have a concussive effect and knock people backwards is this part of the cannon because i thought they acted like lasers and could just heat or cut things?
fred
Pachelbel's Canon has knocked out a multitude of people.
It's fictional, they can write it into the script so that the heat vision sprouts flowers if they want. The comic book canon is very different from the television show canon. As another example, in the X-Men comic books, Storm's eyes are blue, in the movies they're brown. Anything can be changed, it all depends on how much the fans will warm up (pun intended) to the new idea. The article on canon should help. Dismas|(talk)17:13, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Suprisingly no - I'm just remembering back to my younger years, maybe that card takes me back to the nostaligic time of getting up early to watch Ceefax before real TV started. Benbread18:32, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
DJ, You might want to fix that link, as it doesn't quite lead to where you want it to :-). However, I do want to thank you for that connection, and also Benbread for the question - I watched LoM on BBC-America, but didn't realize that the young girl and clown were anything more than a young girl and a clown. --LarryMac19:55, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, I just need to clear something up; can anyone copy an article or parts of an article from wikipedia, as long as they give wikipedia credit for the information? Musli Miester21:24, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, I have just added a subpage about trivia at User:Reywas92/Trivia. Please take a look at it and fix any errors I made in it or delete any non-factual info. If you have time, please link ([[ ]]) a few lines of it as it is too long to do all myself. Thank you very much, Reywas92Talk21:46, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sheesh, make your own research. I barely skimmed through all that, so I just say that I'm skeptical about the "hula hoop illegal in Finland" claim. 惑乱 分からん22:10, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The term was in use before the US Army had a General Purpose vehicle ? When was this and what did it mean then ? StuRat18:01, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I started itemising some of the errors and nonsense on this page, but I've given up. Carry on if it makes you happy, but please don't impose that worthless tripe on us. ColinFine23:08, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
CNN
I don't have cable (or any television for that matter) so I don't know the answer to this question:
Would you say that CNN is more liberal-slanted or conservative slanted? Thanks
Duomillia22:49, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It seems horribly slanted in either direction, depending on the mood at the time and which point of view they think will get the larger reaction. It seems to side with the administration more often than not though, and generally sensationalizes everything like crazy, as with the other news channels. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 23:31, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It still seems a lot better than Fox News, though. Many major news companies are sensationalist, without necessarily showing a bias in their sensationalism... 惑乱 分からん00:00, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Netural is a relative term. The way in which they sensationalize stories, elaborate on only specific ones, etc. is all subject to bias. Honestly, I can't stand TV news, especially that from America. Go go internet. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 05:43, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Jon Stewart has a very interesting take on CNN, and it's quite true too. He calls CNN the network of fear mongering.
Some liberals see some correspondents as very deferential toward and fawning over the Bush administration. Other correspondents freely criticize the same administration. CNN is probably less liberal than Salon or Air America Radio and more liberal than Fox. Edison06:10, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
CNN, like all American media, is more conservative than almost any anywhere else in the western world, Fox being nothing but the radical right's PR organisation. As a rule they are quite sensationalist, but whilst some commentators like Anderson Cooper seem fairly moderate, others, like Nancy Grace seem to be lost looking for the Fox lobby. --Mnemeson23:05, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This partly reflects (and to some extent causes) the terms of political debate in the United States are skewed way to the right of what they are in the rest of the western world (to generalize greatly). Bill Clinton, on many issues, would be in the mainstream of conservative opinion in much of Europe. --Robert Merkel02:06, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As to CNN domestic (and 24-hour cable news more generally), there are plenty of criticisms of it that don't relate to its political slant. There's Missing white woman syndrome, for instance, and its "video game" coverage of wars. I happened to be in the United States as the Israelis prepared to attack Hezbollah, and CNN's promotional spots for its coverage were more like that of an ad for Top Gun 2 than sober, sensible coverage of a war where people not unlike you and I were going to die in large numbers. --Robert Merkel
American football: no defensive forward passes?
Our articles Forward pass and Lateral pass claim that if the defense gains possession of the football, they may not make a forward pass. What's the theoretical justification for this rule? And (this borders on an editorial concern, but I'll ask it here anyway) do we have a reference? Melchoir23:41, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well the defense would not have any eligible receivers for one. Plus where would the line of scrimmage be that the new quarterback could not cross? Nowimnthing00:22, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Er... why wouldn't there be eligible receivers? As for the line of scrimmage, you could always use the old one, or even the spot of the turnover. Melchoir00:28, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When football branched off from rugby, no forward passing was allowed. The forward pass was introduced in the first decade of the 1900s to open up the game. They didn't want to change the fundamentals of the game, so the forward pass was only allowed once per play and behind the line of scrimmage. (Originally, there were other restrictions as well.) It's not so much that defensive players were disallowed from passing but rather than only the offense was allowed to do so. -- Mwalcoff02:52, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In the history of the sport, didn't some coaches find there was no specific rule against the forward pass, use it to win a lot of games, then see it outlawed when the conference rule makers got together after the season, then see it re-legalized later because it made the game more exciting? What other plays did this happen for?Edison06:13, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See, my mentality -- and this comes from a queer mix of math, physics, and game design -- is that when something isn't disallowed, that means it's allowed. A lot of fun in football comes from plays that defy common sense: fake punts and field goals, running backs throwing touchdown passes, blocked extra points being returned for two points. You could easily have rules that say that fourth down is special, that only the quarterback can throw, that only the offense can go for two after a touchdown; but those rules would make the game less rich. Melchoir17:48, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I need to Know how much Lewis Payne was wanted for being an accomplice to John Wilkes Both in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, as in the reward money you would receive for finding. I need nothing but that fact and I'd appreciate it if someone in this big blue planet could give me finally the answer.
How are you reacting? According to the chewing gum article, it isn't serious. Incidentally I swallowed gum by accident when I was about 10; nothing happened (I believe ;D) Yesitsapril
As a reformed gum-swallower I can guarantee it's harmless. Otherwise I would have been buried in a pink bubble when I was thirteen years old. Durova06:25, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Anchoress, do you have a spring in your step? Seriously I seem to recall that gum is one of the things that can build up in one's appendix and arguably it's better for you than a lot of things that could lodge there instead. No cite, sorry. ++Lar: t/c20:02, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, you're fine. You're intestines and such are so slick, there is nothing the gum can stick to. It will pass out of you in about 2 or 3 days, seriously. This whole schpeel can be backed up by doctors, and I'm pretty sure its medical adive so it shouldn't be here anyways...[[User:Weehoocandy|(talk) 12:09, 29 September, 2006
And did you know that beef, when eaten, is mostly broken down, but not entirely, and little teeny strands of indigestible, indissolvable cow protein course through your veins, eventually settling down to live in your brain? And that mad cow beef is not fundamentally different from any other cow beef?
Well, that's probably not entirely accurate, but close as I can figure, it contains elements of truth. Ergo, I view beef as the most evil thing on earth, to eat anyway. This is why I 'vandalise' our meat page occasionally. =) Chris22:57, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Of course everybody knows that the mouse is more precise and accurate for FPS and RTS than the gamepad but for some reason my roomate doesn't think so. When I tried to quote wikipedia on the theory of mouse-to-screen correspondence and time-based relative movement of control sticks he insisted that wikipedia can't be trusted or something and wants an external poll or study. Can anyone find a poll with % statistics of who favors mouse or joystick for first person shooters? --frothTC01:43, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I can't find a poll, but I can tell you that your roommate is full of it. Mouses are much more accurate, and it is a proven fact people respond more naturally with mouses that with gamepads or controllers. Яussiaп F02:11, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Might it not be the case that the roommate is an exception? It's a proven fact that kids prefer peas over spinach, but I know this kid who just hates peas and loves spinach. Also, I had this experience of having to work on someone else's computer that had no mouse but a joystick. The owner had made some physical modifications to the joystick and written a specialized device driver to adjust it to his personal preferences, and he warned me that it might take me some time to get used to it. To my surprise I took to it immediately, finding it not only easier to use than the joysticks I'd used before, but also easier for precision control than a mouse. --LambiamTalk03:18, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So, pull up an FPS and ask him to point as quickly and accurately as possible at an object in the distance with a mouse, from a 180 degree spin. Then, have him do the same (same spot, etc.) with a gamepad. Do the same yourself just to see if it's a personal thing. Voilar. Not particularily scientific, but probably enough to end the crazy dispute :P -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 05:41, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Since cursor movement works the same in FPSs as it does in Windows, just install the joystick as a mouse and do some double-clicking activities on the desktop. Open a folder on the UR, UL, BL, and BR of the screen, and see who can click all of them first. I've seen people claiming that they were using a joystick or an Xbox controller when playing CS online, but then again, I've seen a lot more guys pretending to be girls, and they're much easier to believe. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 12:39, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Bird Calls
I can do the call of a Morning Dove really well by cupping my hands together to make a whistle. Is it possible to get a bird to come over to me, or are they smart enough to avoid a human with almost no bird qualities? M@$+@Ju ~ ♠01:59, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I used to be able to make sounds that attracted ducks. They would come really close to investigate, much closer than needed for figuring out, even for the most myopic duck, that my duck qualities might leave something to be desired. They stayed just out of reach of where I could have caught them with my hands. --LambiamTalk03:06, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That it sounds like a good immitation to you doesn't mean it does so to them. They may focus on different aspect of the sound and their hearing might eve pick up sounds you don't, so you might be making very odd noises in that range without noticing it yourself. Also, birds generaly have good eyesight, so they might not be completely fooled even if you immitate the sound perfectly. Of course the best way to find this out is to try it out. Keep us posted. DirkvdM06:09, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Then again, even if he was able to make a perfect bird call, how could he know for sure that he doesn't sound like the most annoying, fat-lipped, snotty-nosed morning dove ever to try looking for booty? freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 12:25, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I can make pretty good lesser black-backed gull calls (the long 'war cry'). When the birds hear them, they immediately crane their necks to see where the sound is coming from - sometimes I can get them to answer too (though other times, they just cock their heads and give me a strange look). --Kurt Shaped Box13:16, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"the hub" is usually a metaphorical or actual centre of a network of some sort. Exactly what kind of network depends on context you haven't given us, but it could be a transportation network, a computer network, a social network, or something else. See, for instance, Airline hub or Network hub. --ByeByeBaby23:22, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
ID this song
What is the song on this page? I need to know the title so I can find it in higher quality format (that page plays a midi). I recognize it from The Sting (one of my favorite movies), if that's any help. Thanks --frothTC05:04, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was asked how many Japanese study at Cambridge. Do you know or can you find out?
- - - - -
Can you be a bit more specific, do you mean students of Japanese nationality, students of Japanese ethnicity (defining which is a problem all on its own), students who are normally resident in Japan but came to Cambridge to study? In any case, I think you'll have problems getting an accurate answer (because of the definition difficulties above), although you could try some of the colleges' development and access offices. Alternatively, many Japanese (of any variety) may be members of societies such as the Anglo-Japanese society, you could try asking there, even if they can't tell you exactly they might be able to point you in a good direction for more information. — QuantumEleven08:38, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Quantum brings up a good point, but the truth is that most Japanese of non-Japanese ancestory would not choose to call themselves Japanese, and the number of foreign residents of Japan who study overseas from Japan (without losing their VISAs) is not only negligible I'm not sure if it's even possible. The question probably originated from a Japanese student wanting to know the chance xe'd find a Japanese friend at the school, and the popular definition of Japanese should suffice. It is very easy to find out how many Americans (or Hong Kongers, Mongolians, British) there are at Japanese universities (it's usually displayed proudly), but that's probably because they simply lump people according to their passports here. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 12:21, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wholesale prices of mobiles
What are the wholesale prices of mobiles paid by operators?
For your information: "mobile" is British slang, short for mobile phone, as cell is short for "cellular phone" in parts of the US and Handy is German slang for the same thing. - Mgm|(talk)23:07, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm aware of that. My point was that one should not use regional slang when posting a question to an international web site. StuRat16:47, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The price paid to purchase each phone for resale? (Several "terrorism" arrests recently in the U.S. have involved people purchasing large numbers of cheap "pay-as-you-go" phones for resale.) Rmhermen16:18, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
back when I worked for a cellular company the price we paid was roughly 10% less than the retail cost. when phones were offered for free or for $.01 with contract the company took the initial loss but made up for it and more with the 2 year contract. the cheaper pay as you go phones work along the same lines-offer a low end phone for cheap and make up the diff with relatively high per minute cost. Sosobra03:15, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On what grounds do you classify 'mobile' as slang, Mgm? As far as I'm concerned it is normal English.
Is there any significance attached to wearing a ring on the wedding ring finger (3rd finger, thumb isn't a finger) of the right hand rather than the left? AllanHainey12:37, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Of course, even in cultures were the custom is to wear a ring on the left hand, some left-handed people will wear theirs on the right because it is obstructing to wear it on the dominant hand. Rmhermen16:16, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I did & it didn't answer my question. Wedding ring#Post-wedding customs sort of answers it, it doesn't seem there's any info here on whether only certain significant rings can be worn on that finger of the right hand. It may be that the woman I saw is foreign or carrying on foreign traditions.
Some snakes do have vestigal legs under their skin even sometimes with a small claw. According to this [1] Boa constrictors are one of those that do have these. I don't know if it could be classified as a toe, more like a small remnant of a leg. Nowimnthing21:27, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I believe that wen limbs evolve away, they don't really disappear but just get very small. All the bones are still there, but can hardly be called toes or whatever anymore. In dolphins (originally land animals) the legs have just merged to form the 'tail'. DirkvdM07:08, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It depends on if the gene called strangely enough, Sonic hedgehog, is expressed or not. The limbs will just get smaller unless this gene is turned off and then they do not form. Dolphin tails are formed from tails not legs, the legs of ancestral dolphins and whales used to be more like hind flippers, but even flippers cause some drag, so can be traded in for more streamlining. Nowimnthing20:57, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
National Park in Alaska
Answered
OK, problem in biology--I was given a set of coordinates to supposedly a national park in Alaska. But on the map (I'm using Google Earth) it says nothing even in the general vicinity of the coordinates anything about a national park. Nothing but a bunch of snow. >__< So what national park is it?
I'm not sure how this is a biology question. And what you saw is not a "bunch of snow," but a huge glacier. This is Glacier Bay National Park. Marco polo17:13, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Truthfully/ I don't see how it's biology either. But the biology teacher is like 'use google earth, find these coordinates, and give me pics of the geological, biological, features, blah, blah, blah" and he's refusing to help at all. He's a jerk. Anyway, thanks. I wouldn't know a glacier from a bunch of snow.
It sounds like you needed to switch from the satellite map to the political map to identify national parks. After all, you can't really identify a national park from a satellite view. StuRat19:20, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, using Google Maps rather than Google Earth, you'll get the correct answer. Of course, there's only nine national parks in Alaska, and only one anywhere near your specified coordinates, so it's not all that hard. --ByeByeBaby23:08, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That would be my guess, too. Canada might be second. Then again, the US might be in the running due to Alaska. China also has a fair amount of forest. Brazil has jungles, but that's not exactly the same thing. StuRat18:44, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
May I express a slight disagreement with you, StuRat ? A tree is a tree is a tree. Russia has plenty of tundra species, Canada too. A jungle grows trees and climbers and ferns like any european forest. Is a prairie really different from a steppe ? I won't argue more :) -- DLL .. T19:24, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's kind of an ambiguous question... basically 81.93.102.3 asked what is the "most forested" country and sturat did a pretty good job of answering --frothTC19:30, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just in case anyone is interested in forested land in percentage of a country's total area, Nationmaster has a list and map. The Cook Islands, Suriname, and French Guiana top the list. ---Sluzzelin19:45, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I used that site and multiplied by the land areas, to find the answer. Russia is, by far, the largest in forested area, at 8.5 million square km. Brazil is second (assuming you count jungle as the same as forest) with 5.4 million, then Canada with 2.4 million and the USA with 2.3 million. StuRat20:16, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Excellent! Now all we Americans have to do is nuke Russia like we've always wanted, let Brazil go the way it's already going, and drop a few barriers to Canadian imports, and... USA! USA! USA! Melchoir20:53, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Cats have attributes normally considered to be feminine (fastidious, quiet, sneaky, careful) and dogs have masculine attributes (messy, loud, careless). StuRat20:30, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The funny one I came up with involved a slang term for a cat or a part of a woman's anatomy, but that was too immature, even for me. :-) StuRat14:14, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know that women tend to like cats more than, say, dogs, but it does seem to be viewed as unmanly (by some) for a man to like cats. Probably because these people think that women are supposed to be fastidious, quiet, sneaky and careful, while men should be messy, loud and careless. And unconcerned with cuteness. I do not know what men and women they base this on. Skittle21:51, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
hot water heating coil for heating cold water in a cup
I am looking for a store which sells those heating coils that have an electric cord which plugs into a wall socket and then the coil clips on a cup of cold water and heats it to boiling. I don't know what it's called and can't find one anywhere. Thank you.
Is there anything you cant run from a USB port these days? Anyway 500mA @ 5 v gives 2.5W: enough maybe to keep tea warm, but not enough to boil water methinks.--Light current22:08, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you were to take out all the explosives (Composition B) inside a standard-issue US M67 fragmentation handgrenade and replace it with an optimal mixture of potassium and fluorine, which version would create a more powerful explosion? Jamesino23:18, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
One of the most important principles of selecting an explosive is that the products should be gaseous, and so push back the atmosphere at tremendous speed, thus creating a shock wave. Potassium and fluorine, although they react together very vigorously, make a solid product, potassium fluoride, and so the only effect would be a great deal of heat being generated. --G N Frykman17:13, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That doesn't produce very much gas: only one unit gas per unit explosive. Something like nitroglycerine is much better, at approximately six units gas per unit explosive. --Serie23:36, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
AoE2 Maps
Age of Empires 2 maps on the internet. Should I download them? I have heard good things about Ulio ond other maps, but I don't know if they will use up a bunch of space on my computer, or what. Is the amount of space they take up negligable? My computer is relatively new (2002). Mongol Man23:50, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ulio? Ahhh that brings back memories. Yes ulio is a great campaign i highly recommend it. aok.heavengames.com has a "blacksmith" section that has a ton of amazing maps, just sort by rating. In fact.. I have a map or two there myself :) As you can see by my water-themed net handles, back then i was slush, heh. anyway to answer your question they take up less than a few MB, you'll definately be fine. Unzip to c:\program files\microsoft games\age of empires 2\ --frothTC02:26, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The game looks for "map" files in that directory. So if you download a .zip file with a couple subfolders, just unzip it to the install directory (that path I mentioned). If all the files are mashed together put the SCN or SCX files in the "scenario" folder, all sound files in the "sound" folder, ai files in the "ai" folder, etc. Many times there will be a readme in the zip file that tells you where to put what. good luck! --frothTC05:29, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Seconding this, I spent many hours on those back in the day. Make sure to get everything else by Ingo van Thiel as well, as well as Tamerlane: Prince of Destruction, and the Blacksun series, and of course Colonization (by yours truly ;) ). Should keep you occupied for a while. And to expand on the concept of unzipping: most scenarios are uploaded (along with any other files needed/recommended to run them) as .zip files, which you need to unzip into the right directories (usually specified in a readme file). You'll need a program such as WinZip to do this. -Elmer Clark01:04, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are you posilutely, absitively sure that these maps will take up a negligable amount of space? I co-own this computer, and a select few other people might be upset it there's a scenario that takes up half the space in the computer. Mongol Man00:01, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you also want to count unincorporated entities, like mom and pop stores, then the question is whether you also count such economic units as a farming couple (husband and wife). In that case it's probably far more than 100 million. If you require the entities to be incorporated, then you may find you're comparing apples and bats, due to different definitions and requirements in different jurisdictions. The number may be closer to 50 million. This is not based on any actual available statistics. --LambiamTalk00:52, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are plenty of reasons for administrative separations. Yes, some of those separations are honorable. From the tone of your post, though, it seems as if you suspect your friend might have gotten into disciplinary trouble and is trying to make an excuse for it. Obviously I can't tell whether your friend's story is true or not. Yes, it's possible to get a medical discharge. The people I knew in the Navy who got medically discharged had major problems such as epilepsy or kidney failure. 68.7.88.11203:15, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Fatty over thinny, fatty over thinny, up through the middle and down through the spinny. That gives you the conventional four-in-hand, and a nice neat triangle. A full windsor (can't remember how to do 'em these days) turns into more of a trapezium shape. Howard Train05:02, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's way too thick. For a nice slim knot that isn't crooked look at this horrible photograph of me. Ignore me and look at the knot. Move the long end over the front, around the back, back through the middle, around the front (in the other direction now) to the back and through the middle, tuck in and straighten. The principle is simple, the straightening takes some parctise to get it right. Especially the two parts that come out the top need some attention. I have never understood the wearing of a tie without making it look nice. What's the point of wearing the bloody thing in the first place? That said, in this photo I didn't get one side entirely right, so who am I fulminating against? DirkvdM07:41, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Continued on talk page. Please confine discussion of articles to the relevant talk pages, or address your comments to the relevant editors, or ask a coherent question if you consult the reference desk. This makes it easier for people to follow the discussion. Thanks.--Shantavira14:56, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
steel threaded rods for finding soil depth, name of apparatus?
steel threaded rods for finding soil depth, name of apparatus?
In other words, the same conservation measures applied to gasoline engines also largely apply to diesel engines. StuRat10:48, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps "reserve" is a combo of "reduce" and "conserve" ? The usual use of the word "reserve" (to hold back for later use) at first seems to apply, but that word is never used for making an engine run on less fuel. The answer to "How can I reserve fuel ?" would be to keep some in a plastic fuel container for later use. StuRat10:48, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Left/right batter/box
Hi, in baseball, on which side of the plate does a right-handed batter usually stand? Assuming you're at the catcher's position looking at the pitcher. Are there any names for the batter's boxes?
I know the Korean terms for "left hitter/right hitter" or "left batter's box/right batter's box" but I don't have any idea what the left/right terms really mean. --Kjoonlee17:13, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It wasn't complicated when I wrote it. The complication came when other people started budding in. Sorry, just wanted to defend my work. :) DirkvdM19:06, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Forgot the complicated article, the simple answer is "no". They're all part of the United Kingdom. California has more independence than, say, Scotland. --Auximines20:06, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
California has it's own state legislature, but it's powers are limited to state (meaning provincial) matters. It can't override federal laws, for example. Although there have been some attempts to override the Bush admin's anti-environmental policy, their ban on stem cell research funding, and the ban on marijuana. The weird part is that California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a Republican, even though he appears to disagree with the Bush admin on almost everything. StuRat10:58, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It may be useful to consider the proper name of Britain as it is today - not what the component parts were in previous ages. We are The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Note that there are several countries but only one Kingdom, and one Sovereign, Her Britannic Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (but Scots will correctly argue that she is not the second Queen of that name to rule over them). At the time of Good Queen Bess, England and Scotland were entirely separate and sovereign nations.
Just to confirm that the answer to this question is "no." The constituent parts of the United Kingdom have varying degrees of autonomy on internal matters (comparable to U.S. states), and they can be considered historical "countries" or even "nations," but they are not independent. They are all part of the United Kingdom, and the British government makes all decisions pertaining to foreign affairs, military action, monetary policy, and other matters affecting all parts of the United Kingdom. Marco polo17:31, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And the world is a BIG place Himanyo. Charles and I live in England. I don't think we can help with your question, but maybe someone from Ontario will be along shortly.--Shantavira18:47, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
From personal experiences, you should be receving your results for your EQAO tests approximately 1 year after writing the test. Jamesino20:14, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Both are possible. But if you're serious about learning to play well, consider that it is very easy to develop playing habits, such as for fingering, that eventually stand in the way. Once acquired, such wrong habits are almost impossible to get rid off. A good teacher should help you to develop the right habits from the start. --LambiamTalk00:46, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It depends what you want. I was never taught to read music: I taught myself at age four or five, just as I taught myself to read. And plenty of piansts are self-taught. If you just want to play for your own enjoyment, you may not need a teacher (and you may be unwilling to put in the effort of practicing without which lessons may be a waste of time and money). On the other hand, if you want to play beyond a certain level - want to play for others, for example, or to play particular pieces, you may find a teacher who can guide you both technically and musically would be a good idea. ColinFine23:28, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You taught yourself to read, Colin? That's quite a feat. Who told you what each of the letters meant - or did you just work it out yourself? JackofOz02:04, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I've no doubt I plenty of encouragement and guidance, but I could read before I went to school, and I don't think anybody sat down and taught me. I do remember once taking some music to my parents and asking them what a particular mark meant and they didn't know. --ColinFine00:29, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Riddle
Answered
I found this floating around out on the internet, with no answer. Any suggestions?
"Brad and Alex have the following conversation:
B: I forgot how old your three children are.
A: The product of their ages is 36.
B: I still don’t know their ages.
A: The sum of their ages is the same as your house number.
B: I still don’t know their ages.
A: The oldest one has red hair.
B: Now I know their ages!
What are the ages of Alex’s three children?"
You need the house number to find the three ages. You need the names and hair color, and know that one of the children (without red hair) is younger than another child (without red hair) to attach names to the ages. There's not enough information to solve it. --AstoVidatu23:46, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm pretty that its supposed to be solved with only this information.
OK, so the product of their ages is 36, which means that one of the following must be the answer:
But still we don't know. Then Alex mentions that the sum of the ages is Brad's address. This seems to be unhelpful since we don't know Brad's address. But Brad knows his address: why can't he figure which of the 8 is correct? Add up the possibilities:
Aha! Brad still doesn't know because his address is 13, but there are two possibilites.
1, 6, and 6
2, 2, and 9
Then Alex mentions an oldest son. Since the first choice has two sixes—two oldest sons—it is wrong, so the kids must be aged 2, 2, and 9.
Of course, this might be wrong because it's possible that randy Alex and Alice may have gotten busy quick and had a new child before the first one had a birthday. Unlikely, but possible. Hyenaste(tell)00:50, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Here is a hint. (Possible spoiler.) Suppose that the house number of Brad is 11. Then you can solve this, no? But so could Brad! If his house number had been 11, he wouldn't have said in the fifth line: "I still don’t know their ages." So you can actually rule out 11. In the same way you can rule out almost all numbers as being Brad's house number. --LambiamTalk00:36, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have two earrings that are gold dolphins. I'm trying to find out more about them. Two dolphins are swirling around each other on each earring. They have the hallmark MMA on the back they are clip ons. If anyone knows anything about the history I would appreciate it.71.33.195.16002:20, 1 October 2006 (UTC)Wendy[reply]
I don't think the MMA is a hallmark. If they are hallmarked you (or a jeweller) will be able to determine when and where they were made. Take a look at the hallmark article and the links at the bottom of that page.--Shantavira09:06, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
steel threaded rods for finding soil depth, name of apparatus? (repeat,repeat question)
I had a response to this question yesterday but I think that answer was wrong. I followed
jpgordon's reference which stated a rod penetrometer was a fixed length, 4' long and 3/8" dia.
What I after is an apparatus with a 'T' handle and multiple rods with threaded ends so they
can be screwed together to determine the depth of soil down to rock foundations. Again, what is
it called.210.50.143.2003:49, 1 October 2006 (UTC)alan.....[reply]
Wrong again for the third time. Read the question, 'threaded rods'. The three answers so far
all refer to fixed length rods, either 4' or 5' or 6'. What good is this when the rock strata is down 15' or 20' or 30'. Useless. None of these can determine the soil depth. This apparatus has been around for donkeys years. You screw the rods together like you join pipes on an oil rig and
you drive them down until you hit the rock. What on earth is it called?...alan...
Also, this devise does not have a drill bit or auger on the end of it, it has a bulb
slightly wider than the rod and a pointed end...alan...
You'll get more flies with honey than with vinegar, alan. Having said that, are you sure you aren't looking for this: soil penetrometer? It's composed of several threaded segments, up to 15 feet long, and has a bulb at the end. But not a T-handle... it appears to be a form of slide hammer. Which makes sense... what you describe, with just a T-handle and no auger on the end, how would you drive it 15 feet deep into the soil?
There's a natural limit on how far you can go down in the soil. Using a hand tool, I'm surprised you can go down more than a few feet, at least I can't in former-glacier land. Beyond that you need a geotechnical soil auger, which is usually truck-mounted. I've spent a lot of my life staring at a soil auger... --Zeizmic19:58, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Penguin 'Dictonary of Civil Engineering', defines a rod penetrometer is a cone shaped instrument which is jetted into the ground to the required level and then forced in at a measured pressure. It is thus a static penetration test...ie.. It measures the bearing capacity of the soil...What I am after is a device that measues the depth of the soil.
Also, as mentioned earlier, the primary rod has a bulb at the end slightly larger than the rod dia. so there is no friction on the follow on rods. It can be twisted into the ground or hammered in.
This device has been used for over a hundred years to determine the depth of rock. What is it called???...alan
Just an observation: I have many times had to drive ground rods to obtain a ground of less than 2 ohms resistance for utility connections. These were several foot long stainless steel rods, 1/2 inch diameter as I recall. The initial one
was pointed at the bottom and the following ones were threaded to connect in sequence. A pneumatic or electric driver pounded them into the ground, slowly and noisily. If it hit concrete or rock it would generally not go any farther. We would sometimes go 30 feet in sandy soil, or a few feet if rock was hit. It would sometimes be deflected and go off at an angle. This is effectively what you were asking for. But once the rods were in, they were not pulled out. In contrast, at a construction site the civil engineers would do test borings at various sites in a grid around where the building foundation was going. A device like a well drilling rig was used which could penetrate soil or rock, and samples of the soil and rock were brought up for analysis through the bore which was a couple of inches across. Probably in the drilling process the force required for penetration was used to determine the bearing strength of the soil, sand, clay or rock. One reason was to detect buried hazardous waste, such as coal tar at former manufactured illuminating gas plants. This method could also detect if there was a natural spring which would be a problem. In poor soil, pilings might be required to support the building. I don't think just driving a steel rod down to see where the rock started would have given them the answers they needed to plan the building foundation system. Not all buildings have their foundations supported by rock. Edison15:12, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I am well aware of the equipment used to take core samples in soil and rock, however, this isn't one of them. The steel rods are 3/8" dia. and about 4' long with threaded ends. It is a manual device driven down by twisting or hammering. What is it called???210.50.143.2122:59, 2 October 2006 (UTC)alan[reply]
In Australia, are there any laws saying that broadcasters MUST give over a certain percentage of airtime to children's programs?
Not laws, but all stations have signed up to the Australian Broadcasting Authority standards. The ABA's Children's Television Standards dictate 390 hours of children's programming (C and P classifications) must be broadcast each year, and the Code of Practice outlines the 'G classification zones' (when stations must broadcast G rated material) as 6-8.30am and 4-7pm weekdays,and 6-10am weekends. Penalties are inflicted after a complaint and subsequent investigation. Natgoo12:50, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, that's very helpful.
Missing posts
Has anyone else noticed posts going missing on these pages? Like you click on an item in your watch list by UserXXXX, and it aint there? Im posting this msg on all ref desks.--Light current11:28, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm in the process of doing a formal archive of those pages now, so you can just re-add transcluded pages as you see fit, but 9 days is far too long, and 15 days worth is just insane (: VectorPotentialRD NEEDS A BOT (-:14:27, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, so that's why I came to the end so quickly all of a sudden. Indeed, I used to skip the first half or even more, so it makes sense. DirkvdM19:09, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
UK Special Representative for Trade and Investment
Could someone please advise me how the above position is filled as I would be very interested in applying for it. I understand it involves lots of first class air travel and attending banquets hosted by overseas governments and trade associations. I also understand there are lots of golf tournaments and matches that the postholder is required to partake in. I am particularly interested to know what qualifications and experience are considered pre-requisites for intending applicants for the post; also what the job specifications are and what performance criteria might apply. And it would also be useful to know how long the postion is held for, and how and when it is advertised. Oh, of course, I would need to know what the salary, pension and other benefits might be for the successful applicant. Many thanks in anticipation.
Do you mean "UK Special Representative for Trade and Investment"? It is a voluntary and unpaid position. Maybe that makes it even more attractive to you. --LambiamTalk12:10, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Lambian for the correction - and yes, the investment element is much more appealing than the industry bit. Would I need to have been a helicopter pilot in order to qualify do you think? And what support services, staff, official cars and residences abroad could I look forward to. It really does look an exciting prospect.
It does, doesn't it! How about a palanquin instead of an official car? Then your flunkies could carry you straight from the trough to the golf course! And you wouldn't even have to get out once you got there - they could hand the clubs up to you! Just think about it! Rentwa19:32, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Vegetarian sausages/burgers
Answered
I can't find the wikipedia article on these. Are these alternatives to be considered actually healthy, as opposed to their meaty cousins? What are they MADE of? Not tofu, I hope? I've never tasted one. Thanks in advance - third question in three days now. :) 81.93.102.312:46, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The vegetarian burgers I know of don't consist of tofu, but instead various chopped vegetables mixed together. Carrots, onions, maybe cabbage too, that sort of thing. JIP | Talk13:04, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See veggie burger and meat analogue – which fail to mention mycoprotein, as used in the Quorn line of products. Tofu is also used. Personally I like the taste of Quorn. I don't know if it is sold in Norway, but they have a Swedish website. I can't vouch generically for the health of any of these, but in the prevailing Western food consumption pattern it is generally healthy to eat more veggie stuff and less meat. --LambiamTalk13:08, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Other than the "veggie medley" ones JIP describes, many (most?) vegitarian meat-replacement things are made from textured vegetable protein, which is made from soy beans (the same source as tofu, but really quite different in taste and consistency). Other meat analogs are also available; in some markets you can also buy Quorn based products. TVP and Quorn are generally low in fat and high in dietary fiber. That said, prepared products (for the mass-market) made from both tend (like other packaged foods) to be pretty high in salt and flavourings. The TVP and quorn articles discuss (or link to) some of the issues people have with claims of healthiness for these meat replacements - the Quorn article in particular gives you an insight into the complex agribusiness politics that surround this growing market (see its "controversy" section). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk13:15, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The vegetarian burgers in my freezer list their ingredients as Textured vegetable protein, wheat protein, vegetable fat, wheat flour, spices and seasoning, vegetable oil, onion, sea salt, fermented rice. These burgers are similar in taste and looks to a beef hamburger. There are also vege-burgers that are actually made from cut up vegetables, and vege-burgers that are somewhere in between. Sanitarium produce a line of vege-burgers with the taste, texture and aesthetics of crumbed fish. Pesapluvo16:29, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have noticed that some vegetarians seek replacement food which looks and tastes as much like meat as possible, while others want no part of simulated meat. Many of the Veggie burger type products are quite tasty, even to omnivores. Edison20:44, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It seems more "naturalised" vegitarians who like the meat replacements. "Natives" don't seem to pine for mechanically-recovered connective tissue with synthetic smokehouse flavouring so much. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk20:50, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I tried the stuff while I was dating a vegetarian and couldn't stand them: either give me a genuine hot dog or forget it. Durova16:41, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not an answer, but one thing I found easy to use when learning to juggle was full tubes of toothpaste. They don't hurt your feet if you drop them, and they don't bounce or roll down the street, either. And they don't make much noise, especially if they land on carpet. StuRat16:42, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Where does a total noob start to learn about cars?
Answered
I know close to nothing about so-called automobiles. Is there some friendly and helpful website, FAQ, guide or tut that can tell me the basics (things like "so what's an engine?" and "ignitions vs. you: the road to victory"), so I don't feel like a fool when my car breaks down? Cheers.
If you're interested in how they work, I can recommend Hillier's Fundamentals of Motor Vehicle Technology (ISBN 0748780998). It's very good about explaining why all the parts of the car work the way they do (something largely avoided by the more common Haynes-type repair and maintainance manuals). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk15:47, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I can't remember M. Wednesday's line about Midwestern women; the one that has the bit about "veins running through like a good cheese" (or something to ht effect) on the end. Does anyone know the line? 65.103.7.7018:14, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Pale-skinned and blue-eyed, hair so fair it's almost white, wine-colored lips, and round, full breasts with the veins running through them like a good cheese.
I read in the article for Sonic Adventure that the Gamecube version features the same stuff that could be downloaded from the internet to the original Dreamcast version. However, this is only available via an Action Replay. When I looked up action replay codes for Sonic Adventure DX, I only found a total of eight codes, not including the code that lets you unlock the aforementioned downloadables. If you aren't the one who included that information, then could you please tell me who posted it, along with that person's email address? If you are responsible for that tidbit, then could you please tell me where you found out about that particular AR code? Thanks.
i just found a site called [5] that has articles 100% similar to the wikipedia ones. It even has an article there that is suggesting another article be merged with it, and the same article here suggests that that same article they referenced be merged with it, as well. What is this site? Does it have anything to do with WP or is it just ripping it off? Temp
Answers.com in particular really steams me. Not only do they mess up the layout of the pages, but they profit off my work! --frothTC05:11, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't suppose that will last very long. I'm surprised how many people still don't know Wikipedia. But that is actually a good sign. It means that still more people will join in building it. Which means it will in the next decade or so grow into something so big that Wikipedia will even replace search engines (ie Google) as the primary site to start searching info on the Internet. It makes so much more sense. First get the basic story and then maybe follow some of the links at the bottom. But eventually Wikipedia will also absorb the info in those sites and completely take over the Internet. DirkvdM06:27, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Private Equity Performance
How does private equity performance compare to public market performance ?
What the advantages of investing in private equity funds versus investing in public companies ?
I'm gonna take a guess that this is a homework question or written assignment; I'm afraid that we can't help with homework (see the disclaimer at the top of the page). Cheers, Ziggurat01:04, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No way is private equity "almost a guaranteed return" ! With any equity investment your whole investment is at risk if the company fails. On average, firms that raise capital by private equity are more risky that public quoted companies (I'll let the OP work out why). Plus you have additional liquidity risk with private equity - you may not be able to sell your shares when you want to. Gandalf6114:34, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How to reference this cite..
I used this cite in writing a paper (APA) I am confused on how to cite this with in my paper and on my reference page. Thanks
Hi, I am in the 9th grade. There is a kid in my class (grade) that is extraordinarily overweight. Now, he's a nice kid, but there is that burining question everyone has: How long does he have?
Now, he's about 6' 2" and almost 400 pounds, 15 years old. The sad thing is he just keeps gaining weight. A half year ago, he was a bit over 350.
Now, I'd like an expert to just estimate if he will live long enough to see his kids go through school; to see his own graduation. Is he morbidly obese? Thank you. 71.250.12.18222:59, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We can't answer that, at all. Just becaue he is obese doesn't mean he'll live just for a couple years more. Sure, there may be complications, but only a doctor can tell that, and only after a battery of tests. Anyway, according to your numbers, his body mass index is about , so according to our article on morbid obesity, he is indeed on a critical level. ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯00:04, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That degree of obesity in adolescence greatly the reduces the likelihood he will have children, but it is extremely difficult to provide an precise lifespan prediction. alteripse02:40, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know anything about this, but isn't it very relevant what causes his obesity? If he simple overeats, that can be remedied - just stop doing that (sensibly, though). If it is some hormonal disorder, the obesity will probably be just a symptom of an underlying problem. Without knowing what that is it would probably be very difficult to give a good answer. DirkvdM06:55, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'd say it's extremely easy to provide a lifespan prediction, and to any degree of precision you like, but it's impossible to have any confidence in the accuracy of such a prediction. I tend to agree with StuRat's statement that, if the obesity continues, this guy would be lucky to survive their 30s. But who knows, he might go on to live till his 90s and outlast all of us. The point is, the prudent thing to do would be to do whatever he can do to maximise his lifespan, and not spend too much time worrying about predicting how long he's got left, as if it were a foregone conclusion and beyond his capacity to do anything about. JackofOz08:24, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If he stays at that weight, I'd say his chances of surviving to the 90's are less than 1%. One exception might be if new medical technology allows the morbidly obese to survive longer than they do now. StuRat11:13, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Converted to Metrics, that's about 188 cm, 180 kg. Anyway, I guess the first thing to do is to get a thorough medical and psychological check-up. 惑乱 分からん10:30, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
{Soapbox Warning}I doubt that everyone has the burning question of how long the overweight kid will live. I hope there is no agenda of showing the kid that "Wikipedia says you are going to die!" Rather than worrying about how soon he will die, you might concern yourself with treating him like an ordinary person and inviting him to hang out at social events. Including the overweight, underweight, gay, depressed, handicapped, poor, minority, geeky, goth, dimwitted, misfit, or outcast kids in the social life of the school can enrich their life and that of those who choose not to exclude them, while decreasing the rate of suicide (by overeating, excess alcohol consumption, or Columbine type events). High school does not have to be like Lord of the Flies but often is.Edison15:31, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A mentor of mine once told me that I would be worth a lot more (to job interviewers) if I had numerous liscenses. Where may i find a list of liscenses? (U.S., Minnesota) Musli Miester00:14, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It depends on your field. Some fields (such as electrician, plumber, general contractor) require licensing. See MN department of labor and Industry[6]
In other areas (such as computers) certifications are important, such as MCSE [7].
There are a multitude of other types of training and certification.
Many people, in many industries look for a combination of three things in evaluating candidates for jobs. Those would be education, licensing or certification, and experience.
If you give more information about the area where you feel your interests and skills most fit, we can give you more information so assist you.
Atom00:45, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In some parts of Minnesota, having your driver's licence, fishing license and hunting license might impress an employer.Edison15:36, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Einstein's Math
I've heard rumours that Einstein wasn't good at math. Someone corrected this by saying that Einstein may appear he wasn't good at math because he was doing an extremely difficult branch of mathematics. Does anyone know what difficult branch of Math that Einstein found difficult?Jamesino00:47, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Einsteins capabilities at math were relative, you might say. Compared to you and I, I think his math skills were exceptional. Also, in his area of math, he obviously knew that very well. On the other hand, he may not have been strong in other areas of mathematics. Like most areas of science, mathematicians often specialize in one specific area.
See the article Albert Einstein for a fascinating description of his life.
Einstein's marks were poor in many of his school courses, as he very often took no interest in them. It may not reflect his actual mathematical ability, but rather how little effort he was sometimes willing to expend on his schoolwork. - Rainwarrior01:39, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is some question whether he needed David Hilbert's help to find the final mathematical solution for his general relativity equations, and he'll never be spoken of in the same breath as Isaac Newton as a mathematician, but compared to mere mortals, I'd say his math skills were plenty good enough. Clarityfiend01:44, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Last year, I went to an exhibition about Einstein's time in the Netherlands and Belgium, and they said that the story about an underachieving Einstein is a MYTH. They explained that the maximum number of points he could get at school was 6 (not ten), so when he got a 5 or 6, it was GOOD.Evilbu08:37, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Einstein was a theoretical physicist, not a mathematician. He was gifted at math compared to the general population, but he had help developing his theories mathematically. As a mathematician, he was a great physicist. This is not unusual.Edison15:39, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another thing: it's true that Einsten shouldn't be spoken of in the sentence as Newton when it comes to mathematics, but then again, Newton shouldn't be spoken of in the same sentence as Gauss, Hilbert, Euler, Riemann, or any number of other mathematicians (I'm not saying he was a bad mathematician, he did discover calculus, he just wasn't Gauss). The two disciplines are very different, remember that. Oskar17:44, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't have reference handy at the moment, but as far as I remember, the claim that Einstein wasn't good at math is an urban legend, brought to life by a careless biographer, who studied records from Einstein's high school year. And there he found that Einstein got a 5 in math, the second-worst grade in the German grading system. However, Einstein spend his early high-school years in Switzerland, where 5 is a the best grade, and it seems that his Swiss record was wrongly transcribed when he changed to a German school. Simon A.18:07, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Dear Reference Desk,
I have been searching for hours now both on Google and through your site about information on I believe either Polynesian, Micronesian, or Oceanic Nautical charts that are made out of wood, shell, bone, etc and used for navigating ships celestially. They are adjustable, in a grid format, made mostly of bamboo or wood indigenous to the area and are mounted to the wall. 72.207.244.3901:22, 2 October 2006 (UTC)I believe these are mid-19th century but I could be mistaken. I have seen one before but lost the contact info for that person that owns one. Thank you for your time and assitance in this matter. Take care.
Sincerley,
Ben Diller[reply]
I removed your e-mail, as posting it on a public site like this can mean it gets picked up by spambots (which you really don't want :). In answer to your question, the charts demonstrated wave patterns, so if you search for "Polynesian wave chart" or something similar you'll get quite a few hits. This seems to be a pretty informative place to start: [8]. There's also a great article in a journal called Imago Mundi ("Marshall Islands Navigational Charts", by William Davenport, Imago Mundi, Vol. 15. (1960), pp. 19-26) but you have to have university access to read it online ([9]). Hope this helps! Ziggurat01:29, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Emotional abuse
Can you please help me find articles or books on the long-term effects of emotional abuse on the abusee? I am finding alot about what it is to be an emotional abuser or signs of emotional abuse, but not much on the kinds of reprocussions that the person who was emotionally abused over years has to deal with. Thank you for any assistance,
Jennifer L----
So you're that guy with the weird eyes, foul odour, and really tiny dick, who keeps on flashing unsuspecting passers-by and innocent bystanders. It's good to finally match the name to the face. :) JackofOz05:44, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, but that flasher you intentionally go to the park to check out must be somebody else, as I live on the opposite side of the world (in more ways than one). :-) StuRat19:23, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
people who "aren't good at tests"
I've heard a lot of people saying that they got good grades but aren't good at standardized tests so they couldn't get into the college they wanted. Is this a valid condition or is "not good at tests" basically synonymous with "not being smart enough to do well"? --frothTC02:35, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Their scores on standardised tests are likely to be a (relatively) better reflection of their "being smart enough to do well"; they might get very good grades on a test which consists only of the question "what is your name?". --Yesitsapril02:45, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sometimes it is an excuse, but the tests are limited in what they measure besides the ability to do well on a test. For example, doctors in the US take a long series of those tests, from the SATs in high school, to the MCATs to get into medical school, to National Boards for licensure, to specialty and subspecialty certification exams. I have been involved in resident education for years and it is quite difficult to see a clear relationship between the quality of clinical performance and the test aptitude. Being good at tests is a skill some are blessed with and others work at, but it is only a crude indicator of how good you are at anything else besides test-taking (except maybe being suited to work at the reference desk). On the other hand, good grades can be obtained in many ways and are much harder for someone to fairly assess and compare. alteripse02:55, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm just the reverse, a very good test taker. I've been known to ace a test when I'm completely unfamiliar with the subject matter. The problem is that the test makers leave clues to the answers in the test, which I can pick up on. StuRat11:08, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Here's the deal dude. I'm probably in about the same place you are right now to a lesser extent. Are SATs/ACTs important? Yes. Basically, they are the only way that colleges have a standardized way to compare two students from different schools. However, they are just a piece of the puzzle in the application. They won't make or break you, but they will hurt/help your application. Grades are important, extracurriculars are important, good essays, and recommendations are also important too. Standardized Tests are just a piece of the puzzle that the colleges look at when deciding whether or not to accept you. --AstoVidatu13:05, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I would suggest StuRat that you are now much older and wiser than those for whom the tests were designed. You can see the hints in the question, but Im not sure the normal candidates would. Heres a little test for you on 3 dimensional geometry that you should be able to slove mereley from the clues (or lack of them) in the question.
That seems a little bit like a silly question. What diameter does the drill have? Does it taper? Through which two points on the surface of the sphere did you drill through? Also, what's a shere? --80.229.152.24617:22, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes it seems like you dont have enough info, but you do. THe hole is parallel sided like the drill used to produce it. You drill with a diameter as your centre line. 8-)--Light current20:37, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
John W. Campbell, Jr. had an amusing solution to this: Assume that there is a unique solution and that there is sufficient information, because it would be rude to present the problem if it didn't have both. In that case, it doesn't matter what the diameter of the removed part of the sphere is, so assume that the diameter is zero, in which case the remaining volume is is a sphere of diameter 6, or 36π. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆23:42, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Congratulations. You get the prize for answering correctly (and for quting the correct logical process of thought). However, I cannot give you the prize for super intelligence, as you obviously saw the answer somewhere else.--Light current00:33, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If there is sufficient information, there are two possible answers: either the drill bit is of zero diameter, and the whole sphere is left, or the drill bit is larger than six inches in diameter, and there is only a hole left. --Serie00:07, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
All the info you need is there. Be sure not confuse volume with mass. It could be a hollow sphere and the volume would be the same. Sosobra22:48, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You have to know either the size of the sphere or the width of the bit. The length of the hole is helpful.. but useless without knowing how wide the bit is. You could find that width by figuring the size of the sphere with the length of the hole, but you'd have to know the size of the sphere --frothTC16:44, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
People don't get good scores on tests but get good grades may be getting the good grades by working hard. This will carry them much farther in life than someone who is lazy but intelligent enough to pick out the correct answer based on clues the teacher puts in the test unwittingly. One of these clues is that in a teacher-written question, the longest answer is often the correct one, since the teacher puts in lots of qualifying phrases to reduce arguing about any ambiguity. Professionally written exams control for this factor. I have seen people with above average but not spectacular IQs do very well in graduate school and in careers if they are hard workers. Of course, some people just go into a panic and can't think straight when they have to do a timed exam which is important to their future. One thing which can help with that is preparation: take a practice exam under timed conditions similar to the testing day. Cognitive behavioral therapy might also help if one can afford to see a professional.Edison15:48, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If people can handle standardized test, how the hell are they going to handle real, non-standardized ones that are thrown at them in real life? PhilcTECI20:41, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are many differences in doing things in the real world versus on tests:
Getting the right answer all the time is far more important in the real world. (If you're an architect, and 7 out of 10 of your buildings don't fall over, that's not a passing grade in the real world.)
Getting the answer in less than an hour is far less important.
Getting the answer without using a calculator is far less important.
Getting the answer without asking for help from an expert is far less important.
Getting the answer without using any reference materials is far less important.
So, in many ways, doing well at tests shows you have just the opposite set of skills as are needed in the real world. StuRat21:30, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Really? It isn't possible that a person could do well at a test and be successful in the 'real world?' ( btwI have never taken a test that wasn't in the real world, I like to fantasize about more risque things then the SAT)Sosobra23:23, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I didn't say that. They are two distinct skill sets, which have some overlap (the ability to get correct answers), and many other skills which do not overlap (being able to find answers alone for tests and with others in the real world). It is quite possible to be good at both. My point was that being good at one does not guarantee being good at the other. StuRat00:10, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In the real world I have many times had to give fast accurate answers without references, calculators, or consultants. The good part is that the questioner may not know the correct answer either! But in the worst case you might be held to the answer you are forced to give on the spot. Edison05:05, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Road that runs both north and south
Sides of a highway are usually named with the name of the highway and the overall direction of traffic flow: the side of Interstate 90 running from Boston to Seattle is "Interstate 90 west". When two highways share the same stretch of road, the road gets both names, so one side might be both "Interstate 82 east" and "US Route 97 south". Is there anywhere where one side of a road has both a "north" name and a "south" name, or both an "east" name and a "west" name? --Carnildo07:35, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
HIWAY 2 WEST <<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> HIWAY 1 EAST
^
^ HIWAY 1 EAST &
^ HIWAY 2 WEST
^
HIWAY 1 EAST >>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< HIWAY 2 WEST
Yes, Interstate 81 and Interstate 77 (among many others) do this. I-81 is a SW-NE tending highway, and I-77 is a NW-SE tending highway. The two share pavement for about 10 miles, signed North and South simultaneously (as are two US highways that also share the pavement). See wrong-way concurrency. — Lomn15:42, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I used to drive one every day -- a northbound stretch of freeway in Berkeley and Oakland that is simultaneously I-80E and I-580W. (And backwards the other way, of course.) Provided minor giggles. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆16:51, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know of any four-way "wrong way multiplex," but King and Weber streets in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, go north-south-west-east in the span of a couple miles. Erb Street divides Waterloo streets into "north" and "south" suffixes, while Queen Street in Kitchener divides that city into "west" and "east." Because King and Weber streets run northwest-to-southeast, they wind up in both halves of both cities. -- Mwalcoff02:09, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Man has been around in his present form, like youand i for 100 000 years, now if one looks at the last 2000 years and sees the advances made, it begs the question what have we been doing for the other 98 000 years. why has there been such an advancement in the last 2000 years? Or
is a theory that I had previously laughed off possible, that man has achieved great advancement in various fields previosly such as the Atlanteans having great advancement in religion, then were destroyed, and we now have great advancement in technology... Any comments...193.115.175.24708:58, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I would say most technological advancement appears to have happened in the last 20,000 years, not 2,000. Each development required earlier developments, and this leads to an increasing rate of new inventions. For example, without the prerequisite of knowing how to build a fire, most of modern technology would be impossible. So, while it may seem like little progress was being made during the first 80,000 years or so, it was all necessary to get to where we are now. StuRat10:48, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, there was no shortage of advances in that period. Man got all the way to the Axial Age. In some fields, such as philosophy, there haven't been many advances since then. (Some would argue a decline.)--Shantavira11:03, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another way you could look at things is by "weight" of importance of each invention. Like StuRat said, most of our modern inventions require the initial invention of fire to exist, so the invention of fire could be considered thousands, millions of times more important than the invention of something like Wikipedia. Wikipedia took less than a decade to get where it is now, and if you multiply that by a few factors of a thousand, you can imagine a relatively accurate time frame required for the invention (and taming) of fire. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 15:08, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
People were doing amazing feats of technological innovation several thousand years BC: they established trade routes from Europe to China, they developed ceramics, copper, bronze, iron, and glass technology. They did astronomical observations and developed civil engineering. They built massive civil works. They did not just sit around for 98,000 years. Some unknown ancestors as smart as Newton figured out technological innovations in the prehistoric era which the subsequent development of our arts and sciences built upon. Edison15:58, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another important element, is the approximately exponential growth in population and especially the increase in population with time available to explore new ideas. 10,000 years ago the world population is estimated to have been 4 million people and nearly all of them would have spent all day looking for food on a subsistence diet. Today the world population is about 6 billion, and although there is an embarrassingly large fraction of them still living in subsistence, there are millions if not billions with enough leisure time available to think of new things. And of course advances in technology, in health and farming etc. is in part what helps to support the increase in the world's population (although also note the warnings of Thomas Malthus).
I don't have the figures, but lets estimate that there are 10 times as many theoretical physicists in the world today compared with 1900 (the world population has increased by a factor of 4 since then, but the number of physicists has probably increased more rapidly). 10 times as many people working on the same sorts of problems won't make the rate of advancement increase by a factor of 10, but it might make things move forward say two or three times more as quickly.
There are also important step changes along the way that facilitate the spread of ideas; spoken language (way back when), writing (~4000BC), printing (6th-15th century) and perhaps the Internet (1980s). More importantly throughout these last 20,000 years there has been very little change in human DNA, so things like brain size (or other factors that might affect intelligence or ingenuity) have remained the same. It is suggested that if you could raise a Paleolithic caveman in the modern world with modern teaching, he would be pretty well indistinguishable from anyone else. However we are now on the verge of being able to manipulate our DNA directly, so the pace of change in the next thousand years might be very dramatic indeed as long as we can cope with the social pressures. -- Solipsist16:14, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We consider our technological advances greater for two reasons. One is that they are our advances and the other is that we take what was done long ago for granted. One of the greatest advances of mankind is the development of agriculture, breeding and city building. Without that, we could never have done what we did in the last 2000 years. We may think our computers and the Internet dwarf any previous achievements, but it's just an extension of communication, like bookprinting was. It all started with the invention of writing. Strike that. It started with spoken language. Conpared to that all that came after it was peanuts. Looking into the future, 10000 years from now people will be little impressed with what we are doing right now, compared to what they are doing or, if they think deeper, those things that were done before us. DirkvdM18:27, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Let me use this oportunity to use the bit about 'taking for granted what was done before' to take a stab at selfrighteous capitalists. They complain about taxes taking away 'their hard earned money'. But put them in a third world situation with no connections and al the poverty the local population have and they will achieve as little as that local population. The wealth they have was given to them by their ancestors. They just found cleverer ways to get a larger piece of the pie. Thousands or even millions of times larger than the pieces others get. Of course they work millions of times harder. :) DirkvdM18:27, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Taxpayers may not work a million times harder than those in the Third World, but they work more than a million times harder than you. :-) StuRat21:04, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Of course that last sentence confused the argumentation. I should have said that even if they did work a million times harder, that would still not be an excuse to take a larger piece of the pie. DirkvdM05:02, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
List of rich neighborhoods
I want to start that article. Help me out. I'll being:
There is at least one "upper class" neighborhood in every major city. All of these neighborhoods have robust articles because they played roles in the history of the city, and are subjects of folk fascination. This is Wikipedia. Why question why? Because "value" = this doesn't sound like it interests me? leave me a message
For this to be encyclopedic, you need to use a criterion less subjective than "rich." You could use census data to derive a list of, say, "U.S. neighborhoods containing census tracts with per-capita incomes over $200,000." To be encyclopedic, the list would have to include all such neighborhoods. This would involve some work. A list based on a random group of people's subjective judgements is not encyclopedic. Marco polo18:01, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Whilst there's a couple of topics about cannabis in progress on the science desk and I'm currently looking at an album cover with a picture of Bob Marley smoking a huge spliff on it, my enquiring mind wishes to know - how big was the biggest spliff ever made? --Kurt Shaped Box12:14, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Reservoir Dogs article suggests they were designer suits created specially for the film. I realize that doesn't help much, but it does suggest you won't get one off the peg. Maybe a fan site could help.--Shantavira13:34, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
academy award nominee
What academy awared nominee also writes a popular newspaper column about bridges?
Can you tell me what the Nec means after some of the categories in The SIC code book? For example, the category of Medical and Hospital Equipment has a SIC code of 504700 and has a total of 7,468. The category of Medical and Hospital Equipment, Nec. has a code of 504799 nad a total of 909. I'm just wondering what the difference is. Thanks.
It is possible to die from a hangnail, if it becomes infected and is left untreated and your immune system can't handle it. But, rather than making funeral plans, you might want to clip it off. StuRat20:56, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sometimes I get a hangnail, and I'm dumb and try and bite it off, but I pull off more. That makes me wish I was dead. If you were contemplating suicide, that could tip you over the edge. Vitriol23:19, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
someone help me!!!!
aaaaahhhhh my butt is on fire!!!!!
Sorry, but we don't seem to have an article on How to extinguish a burning butt just at the moment. But now there's a redlink, I'm sure someone will create one any day now. I only hope it's in time for your little .. ah, problem. Best of luck in the meantime. JackofOz20:49, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh and by the way, you could always decide to perform an upper decker while your butt is on fire. That would be quite an accomplishment. --216.164.249.2621:27, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I saw a metal can outside a homeless shelter which had written on it "Extinguish your butts here." You might try to find such a device. Edison05:11, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On British buses years ago when smoking was allowed, there used to be cast metal plates with the word 'STUBBER' moulded on them attached to the rear of the seats. Interestingly (?) the word spelled backwards is REBBUTS. Conicidence or conspiracy? --Light current05:16, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmmm, I actually doubt that the cost of importing 2 gallons to Sweden (before it turns bad), would be a better deal than buying 10 liters at my local convenience store, even if you would sell it at half price... 惑乱 分からん17:03, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Piano playing- its becoming automatic
I seem more and more to be able to work out songs Ive heard and harmonise them at the piano keyboard. Its rather uncanny - its as if someone else is playing , not me! Ive found a number of rules for the chord progressions that I apply, and now the songs are coming thick and fast. I am a musician (bass player) but Ive never had any piano lessons.
Should I buy a piano to develop this skill at home for self amusement and learning of tunes?
Should I take piano lessons to try to learn to play from music.
Should I forget all about it, as it may only be a passing phase?
I'd keep it up. You can learn a lot about harmony, voicing, chord alteration, counterpoint etc etc etc. It will broaden your scope on the bass too, and you can use it for arranging and composing. A lot of great jazz horn players, though by no means all, played and play the piano reasonably well too. ---Sluzzelin21:07, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes that makes sense. Im not learning anything new on the bass now really. Its so easy to find the jazz chords on the piano like Dm7, G7, Am7,Em7 (in the key of C) I am of course starting to work out all the tunes in the key of C (or Am) so its just the white notes at present. When I'm familiar in C, Ill try F,Bb,Eb,Ab,Db--Light current21:44, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Possible! But Im a beginner compared to those two pianists. After just a few weeks/months playing twice a week for an hour or so, Im just getting a natural feel for the harmonies of the tunes Ive heard. After all this time reading bass music and not really learning anything, I just find it strange now that it seems so easy!.--Light current23:12, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I accidentally leaned too hard into my hands, and felt my hands push against my chin so that something on the inside seemed to get crushed. UI don't feel any pain there, though. Will I die??? --216.164.249.2621:16, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well eventually, yeh. Who knows! maybe you crushed your spine... or your brain... or your throat... all are unlikely, as you are stil alive, but more to the point how would we know! If you think your going to die, why are you asking us, why aren't you in casualty, and if you dont think you are going to, why waste our time? PhilcTECI22:14, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
U.S. and Britain: Two peoples separated by a common language. Cars with windscreen and bonnet instead of windshield and trunk, going up in the lift to the first floor to watch the telly before revising for the maths exam instead of going up in the elevator to the second floor to watch the tv before reviewing for the math exam. Having someone knock you up early in the morning instead of ordering a wakeup call. Biscuits instead of cookies. Edison13:57, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Dumping Bodies
How do you properly dump a body so you leave no trace.
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.164.249.26 (talk)
Wrap the body in chicken wire, weigh it down and drop it from a boat into fairly shallow water (though not shallow enough to be uncovered at low tide). Undersea critters will make short work of it. EDIT: You might also want to stab it a few times to allow the beasties to get inside. --Kurt Shaped Box01:10, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No-one is going to notice/care about the few small bones that wash up (unless you're very unlucky) and the big, identifiable stuff (e.g. skull, pelvis, femurs) will probably stay within the wire wrapping long enough to be erroded away to sand... --Kurt Shaped Box02:01, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you somehow could drop the body in the middle of the Pacific over the Mariana Trench with weights attached to the body, wouldn't that make the body fairly difficult to find? --ClockFace03:49, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We counsel strongly against any felonious acts. I assume you wish to write a mystery story. One can't argue with success, so start with people who were never found: List of people who have disappeared and Category:Disappeared people. Unfortunately there are few details. For famous unfound bodies with more conjecture about methods, see Helen Brach and Judge Crater. Methods as dissimilar as burial under the sidewalk at Coney Island and a trip to a blast furnace were pretty effective. Edison05:21, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
THat reminds me of the Mafia favorite: Using the body in the construction of some concrete edifice. (usually a roadway). Also I believe there may be a few bodies inside the Hoover dam
There is no proper way to use roofies. Check out the lyrics to Date Rape (song) for a preview of the merry social life that awaits in prison - what goes around really does come around. Durova21:48, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That article just says it's a sedative that makes people forget what happened. But there must be loads of drugs like that. Does it also make people 'willing'? That would make it very useful to rob people, making them clean their bank accounts for the robber. Is that what happens? The robbery section does not say. DirkvdM05:16, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Aaahh, true, it's an oxymoron... Anyway, I think I should recommend the asker to be nice, instead... If you're nice, hopefully you could find a nice, horny girl that would stay with you for some time... ;) 惑乱 分からん13:56, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No registration plate - no indicator lights - no reflectors - no reversing lights - no marque? And just because of all that you attack we Brits? Shame on you.
It may be a kit car or one that was assembled with the express purpose to try and set some sort of speed record. Thus, no need for license/registration plates or lights. Dismas|(talk)01:35, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Like most popular online games in the past (warcraft, starcraft, diablo) it was the high-level play that kept the game alive for so long. For some reason the CS system allowed for creation of really in-depth strategy, and even at the highest levels of competition (let's say sK vs. Team 3D) extremely trivial judgements and small advantages in skill made huge differences in tournament gameplay.
The existance of a well-formed online league CAL, and a well-funded (millions of dollars in prizes) well-hyped (large promotion budget) and well-reported (match play-by-play over shoutcast was very popular, and relatively high quality) international tournament CPL also helped loads to keep high-level players interested and motivated in the game.
The developer (which became Valve after the betas were done with) frequently updated the engine code and server code to make internet play smoother, and even listened to fan requests on a few occasions (maybe not enough).
Other than that all I can say is that the game came at the right time, when a game somewhat like it was required to inspire all those used to playing DM games like Quake III. I'd be surprised if any game will ever be so lucky again. I don't consider CS to be popular any more, because it's well past it's prime, but since there have been so many hardcore players in the past, people will probably always go back to it every once in a while to refresh their mice and catch a wiff of CS nostalgia. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 04:03, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it was so popular not so much because of realism or anything like that, but the fact that the multiplayer game was well balanced and there was a really good strategy to it in addition to the tactile aiming skills. There were many ways you could approach the game, but you had to coordinate it with your team. Teamwork was more or less required to play the game (as a lone gunman would usually be knocked out, and have to sit out the rest of the round). Not all FPS multiplayer games are like that, and CS did it really well. - Rainwarrior17:59, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
October 3
Cooking for the complete idiot?
Any suggestions for a cookbook or cooking website that covers very basic cooking, like "how to scramble an egg" or "how to grill a steak"? Even the cookbooks targeted at college students I've found don't go that simple. --67.185.172.15800:03, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Rice of Grill a Steak is one of the best known Vernable Pastatutes in the culinary field. It tastes really yummy, particularly after being suitably emphazied for a short while before grilling. JackofOz23:10, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was aware of the typo, and no abuse was intended. Just having some fun to make our lives a little more interesting. JackofOz21:17, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Indoor Plants
Now that fall is upon us, and winter is approaching. I am thinking about growing some typically spring/summer plants inside. Ive done some research for mimicing the sun cycles and the amount of time the sun is up beginning in the spring (8-10hours) and then to summer (10-12) and then back to late summer/fall (8-10). What I am wondering is what if I just kept some artificial light on the plants 24 hours from the beginning? Would that have an adverse or positive effect?
Thanks!!!
Where do you live that has such short days? Here in Southern California, our longest daylight time is 14-1/2 hours, and the shortest is almost 10 hours. It's just over 12 hours at the equinox. Anyway, I know that many potted plants will survive just fine with 24 hours of light - they do in business establishments where the lights are never turned off. I don't know how that would affect their flowering cycles or growth rates - you may get better results with this question on the science forum.--Shuttlebug05:34, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I noticed that this was put earlier in Science with no answer. Maybe it can't be answered! A long time ago when I was growing err.. 'herbs' in the basement, the general consensus was that light longer than 12 hours had no effect. Also, I just found out that you can't force tulips until they've had a few months in the cold. --Zeizmic11:55, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Indoor lights may seem bright, but measured with a light meter, a bank of fluorescents is way dimmer than sunlight, and plants tend to be spindly. I have looked without success for a valid source on whether plants need dark time in each 24 hour cycle, or leaving lights on 24/7 works better than a diurnal cycle. I expect this has been studied and documented by the Department of Agriculture.Edison14:03, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I wonder why anyone would come to Wikipedia to ask about Key-generators, they are not exactly hard to find with peer-to-peer programs and google. Joneleth08:48, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
ythere is a pc game called phantasmagoria i wanted to know how i could purchase a copy of this game i have searched quite a bit on the internet but no go created by sierra games 1995-96
Phantasmagoria is a very old game (from 1995!), so I think you'll have trouble tracking down a copy (even the 'bargain bins' at computer stores won't have it) - as Canley said, eBay is your best bet. Note that unless you have an old Windows 3.1 or DOS PC lying around, you'll most likely need an emulator to run it (such as DosBox). Good luck! — QuantumEleven05:24, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it ran fine on Windows 95 and 98 too. At least it would be odd if my CD with a game collection for Windows 95 back then had a preview for an ancient game on it. By the way, 1995 isn't all that old, just a little over 10 years. I know exactly which game they're talking about and I'd love to play it myself. My computer couldn't handle it at the time it came out... - Mgm|(talk)08:20, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Adjusted for inflation and population growth, what is the highest grossing movie in U.S. history?
How would I find a map of census tracts for Boston in 1960? I have a census data set from then, but the tract numbers are all, like, A-0001, SC-0001B, etc., while modern tract numbers for Boston appear not to use any letters. Alternatively, how would I find race/income data on Boston neighborhoods from 1960?
Any help much appreciated! -Bess
You're very likely in the realm of paper census records, which are long and tedious, but were fortunately published. I'd suggest you look for 1960 census records in a large library.
Your best bet is a "government depository library." Typically these are the main branch of the public library of the biggest city in a state, or the library of the flagship state university campus. They will have dusty bound books containing the 1960 census reports. Inside one of those dusty bound books, you should find folded maps that show the census tracts and their boundaries. Marco polo00:39, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
City with the greatest number of large buildings
Hi there!
i am wondering which city has the greatest number of large buildings.
i was in new york for a week and the large buildings seemed to go on forever!
i have been in other huge cities such as delhi, calcutta, bangkok but they were not so full of tall buildings.
returning to the west coast san francisco seemed rather quaint!
thank you!
kai hill
How tall is tall? I consider much of Tokyo to be very tall, but there are regulations in Japan to stop people from stacking skycrapers higher than 70 storeys up. They're afraid they'll topple over when the earthquakes hit; as if anybody would survive an earthquake strong enough to topple a high-tech 100 storey structure in the first place. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 07:03, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
According to the article Skyscraper: "despite the loss of the World Trade Center towers, and the relatively slow pace of new construction, no city in the world has more completed individual free-standing buildings over 500 ft. (152 m) than New York City, with 184. Hong Kong comes in with the most in the world (186), if one counts individually the multiple towers that rise from a common podium, as in buildings that rise several stories as one structure, before splitting into two or more columns of floors (Emporis counts this way)." --Canley07:04, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Fire water
Hi, and no, this isn't about moonshine. :)
In the Anglosphere,
What do firemen say when they order that pressurized water be shot at a fire? Would they still say "Fire!"?
What do policemen say when they order that pressurized water be shot at a rioting crowd? Would they say the same thing as above, or would they still say "Fire!"? --Kjoonlee06:30, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I suspect they don't wait for an order, but what's wrong with shouting "Water!"? Firemen would certainly just get on with it. The police are more likely to say "OK, Let's squirt some ass!"--Shantavira10:02, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I could see that being a holdover from bucket brigades; the line of moving buckets could indeed be construed as water marching. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆15:50, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There was a West Wing episode where the speechwriter had to stand in staffing the President for the day, and at one point he asked 'Is there some condensed form of the sum of all human knowledge?'. He was pointed towards the Chief of Staff's secretary. If they were making it now, they'd have to point him to WP... --Mnemeson10:22, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It depends on context... are you wondering what's happening (something's going wrong) or are you asking your, erm, homey "wass 'appenin'?" --Dweller16:30, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
fire
You're not supposed to use an elevator in a fire. How do you escape if you use a wheelchair?
Many wheelchair users have strong arms and would be able to crawl down stairs in an emergency, though the likelihood is that there'll be people around who can carry them. But if the fire is localized they'd probably be fine in the elevator.--Shantavira18:01, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hopefully those people wont handle the situation the way they did in Episode Two of The Office's second season, which was, sadly, my first association upon reading the question. During a fire drill, heroic David Brent and Gareth Keenan first insist on carrying Brenda, a co-worker in a wheelchair, themselves, and not allowing that the elevator be used, even if it's only a drill. They barely make it down one flight of stairs, then decide it's too much of a bother and abandon her in the stairwell for the rest of the exercise.---Sluzzelin19:22, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It sounds likely. Btw, I haven't seen the episode, but it sounds reasonable to assume that Brent's character would probably give some self-praising lectures about the conditions for disabled people at the workplace in that episode? 惑乱 分からん06:32, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
BBC & Daily Mail lift Amish Wiki text
The BBC and the Daily Mail have taken text directly from Wiki's Amish article, with no attribution or identification of the source - see Talk:Amish for details ("BBC gets info from Wikipedia?"). Question: what can be done about this plagiarism? Can an administrator write to the BBC and the Daily Mail, and request that they publish Errata which indicate the omission of identification of source? Failure to identify sources runs totally contrary to ethics of journalism and scholarship. I'd be happy to write to the BBC and the Daily Mail myself, but I'm not an administrator. (I should also mention that I did not write the text that was plagiarized, and thus have no goal in this other than seeing that Wiki gets its proper credits.)PaulLev17:23, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The BBC very often uses Wikipedia content, but is generally fairly good about citing the source. Writing to the BBC really isn't an administrator's job, as an administrator is neither the aggreved party (that's the contributors to the article, who hold the copyright) nor a representative of the Foundation. The Foundation could (acting as some kind of informal agent of the community) but it doesn't seem to be doing much about the out-and-out Wikipedia rippers (the forks who ignore their GFDL obligations). Do they still broadcast Points of View with Barry Took? Middenface17:33, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed, you can go ahead and write to them directly. I'm not so concerned about Wikipedia not getting credit as I am about some BBC reporter passing off the work of others as his own. Such poor ethics could manifest themselves in totally made up stories, if not corrected now. StuRat18:17, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I sent an e-mail about the plagiarism to the BBC, through their "complaint" system on their website. Details on Talk:Amish. I'll let you know what, if anything, I hear back from them.PaulLev04:42, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hello,
This has been bothering me for a long time. Carlos Santana has a great song called "Incident at Neshabur". My question is weather this is based on some sort of actual event. I've looked everywhere and have had no luck. Thank you in advance for helping me solve this mystery.F2112jdude18:18, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Reference material for financial aid to North Korea
I'm looking for a breakdown of the financial aid that the United States, Japan, and South Korea have given to North Korea in 2005. I've done a bit of searching on the internets and Wikipedia and can't seem to find verifiable recent figures. Thanks in advance. Lur18:21, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
gotta quaetion about this topic. there doesn't seem to be any searchable knowledge on it. i can't edit it myself, but i wanted to kno if it were possible to have a topic that was searchable without the information for it?
Original and scented Febreze formulations essentially do nothing to microbes; they just absorb/inactivate/mask the odour. Febreze also has an Antimicrobial formulation (labelled specifically as such) which will kill some microbes—the label says it "eliminates 99.9 percent of odor-causing bacteria on fabrics". (Though to be honest I would tend to question its efficacy unless you really spray on enough to soak your sofa.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:19, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I did my own test on microfiber dish clothes which we keep rewashing. Apparently, the 'stinky' bacteria build up, and the washing doesn't kill them, unless you soak them in chlorine beach, which is bad for coloured synthetics. I found that spraying on the antibacterial Febreze delayed the stink bomb by a few days. I finally gave up and went for a thicker non-woven cloth that I can toss when it stinks, since I think nothing can kill those bacteria on worn (porous) synthetics. --Zeizmic21:51, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There seems to be a glitch in my copy of SSBM: When I try to get certain bonuses (such as "Master of Suspense" and "Life on the Edge", and get them successfully, the game doesn't give me credit for getting it. I am positive that I am getting hem successfully. Is this a glitch, or am I just doing something wrong? -- TheGreatLlama(speak to the Llama!)23:33, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Havent played in a year or so, but lemme try: Sometimes, if you hang too much, you end up getting another bonus, like master of disaster? Idk if thats even remotely related, just popped into my head. Also, try using c.f., he has the best recovery for these type of tricks ChowderInopa03:29, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
October 4
Faked X and Y Chromosomes
Has anyone heard of the Genetic Update Conference? Well anyways, the lecturer showed us pictures of X and Y chromosomes that had been edited with genes like "Selective Hearing Loss (HUH)" for the Y and several shopping genes for the X. I Googled this already to no avail. Anyone seen these out there at all? Deltacom151500:02, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Humorous karyotypes like that have been shown at various genetics lectures for at least 40 years. There are lots of funny medical slides that have never been published for a variety of reasons. alteripse01:37, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
More seriously, a doctor friend said he sometimes told parents of children of ambiguous anatomical gender that their baby girl was missing one leg of one of her two X chromosomes, while drawing out a Y to demonstrate how the X was missing a leg.Edison07:27, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We will keep such children away from him. That approach was questionable twenty years ago and is really asking for trouble today. alteripse00:13, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
According to the very first line of the article you linked to - "The title of Grand Mufti ( Arabic: مفتي عام) refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni Muslim country". The only way you could be asking this question in good faith is if you think the US is a Sunni Muslim country... --Mnemeson01:18, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But I think it's a fair question. The United States is as much a Sunni Muslim country as Australia, which has a grand mufti, as does France. In general, the grand mufti is named or recognized by the government of the country where he presides. Because of the constitutional mandate of separation of church and state, the United States government would never officially sanction such a religious office. Australia apparently has an unofficial grand mufti. The United States does not, probably at least partly because the Muslim population of the United States is diverse and not centrally organized. There are several U.S. Muslim organizations, each of which might not recognize a figure coming from one of the other organizations as the legitimate grand mufti. Marco polo01:27, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When I edit at 2am, remind me to read past the first line in articles... I apologise for the disbelief in my remark. Although I do feel a better opening line might be "the highest official of Sunni Muslim religious law in their particular country", as the way it currently reads implies that only SM countries have one. I'll.. stop digging this hole now. --Mnemeson01:42, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is one. He shares an apartment in Georgetown with his partner, the Head Rabbi.
grudge
what is this grudge all the papers speak of with respect to the Amish-girl killer?
Does anyone know how to extract video from Rome: Total War? I need to use it for a history project, and looked everywhere. Thanks! -- Sturgeonman01:18, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's not exactly what you want, but [Fraps http://www.fraps.com/] might help. In Medieval:Total War, the intro movies are simply .mpg files, but I presume you want the battle replays which I can't immediately locate. --Mnemeson01:51, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The video files are saved as .rpy format (if you can't find the folder, just search your system for all .rpy files). Once you have those, this forum should help you out (sends you to instructions here). Good luck with the project :) --Mnemeson01:58, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The female House Representative (?) who made statements against women's right to vote
I recall reading about a woman who was in the House (pretty sure it wasn't the Senate) who made some statements saying that women didn't need the right to vote or something. She also once said that if her husband asked her to leave her position in Congress that she would do so. This was within the last ten years.
I'm really paraphrasing here and may have gotten the details wrong. Anyway - what's her name? Is there a Wikipedia entry about her? I couldn't find it due to the necessary vagueness of my search terms.
please narrate the circumstances under which insurance companies in US pays to the doctors for non traditional services like telephone calls, emails, missed appointments etc or the doctor can charge directly to the patient for these services?
Information on media and superstitions
How does the Media help in reinforcing Superstitions?
--Minni--
They portray an extremely biased view of the news, by only showing the exciting parts. For example, they only show lottery winners, not the millions of losers. Thus, people watching TV would get the impression that everyone who ever plays the lottery eventually wins millions, since that's all they ever see. There are many other examples. StuRat18:28, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think you misunderstand what news is. News is not an assembly of all possible facts and events that occur on a given day - not even Wikipedia does that. Just showing the lottery winners does not constitute bias against the losers, rather it's what people are much more likely to be interested in. If the media showed all the millions of losing lottery ticket buyers, nobody would buy such a paper or watch such a TV program. Except you, that is. Maybe you need to get out more, Stu. :--) JackofOz21:06, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I stated myself that they only list the interesting stories. The fact remains, however, that this presents a highly biased view of the world where everyone who plays the lottery wins. StuRat23:58, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't regard this as bias. The fact that the only entries that get reported are the winning ones does not equate to "everyone who plays the lottery wins". The hype from the lottery operators is all about "Buy a ticket - you could win millions", but that is a far cry from suggesting all you have to do is hang in there and your turn will eventually come. Most addicted gamblers do believe it's only a matter of time, which makes it so hard for them to break the cycle. To return to the question, does the media reinforce the almost vain hopes that punters have? The only way to be absolutely certain of that not happening is to ban all media advertising of lotteries and all media reporting of results. What happens when someone wins a record-breaking amount but the media can't report it? They'd be accused of not doing their job of telling people interesting stories about what's going on in the world. Far better to allow advertising of lotteries and reporting of results, as long as it's done responsibly, without punters being misled as to their chances. JackofOz08:48, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are also many stories about ghosts and aliens on TV, almost all of which support their existence, because it's more interesting. StuRat18:28, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hey Stu, let's start up our own news channel that reports sightings of no UFOs, losing bingo numbers, and people not getting killed on their way to work. It will be the biggest TV revolution since those high-definition broadcasts of WWI footage! freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 12:33, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
At the least, they could add a disclaimer to the end of each story "Meanwhile, 10 million other people who played the lottery lost". Also, I believe there is a news org that only reports good news, to counter all the bad news you get in traditional news. StuRat23:53, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
- was there ever any such thing as a 'towelette'? Are all 'towelettes' therefore by definition moist? If so, shouldn't we be calling them just 'towelettes'?
Further, to Australian Wikipedians of a certain age - before there were 'Iced Vovos', was there ever any such thing as a 'Vovo'? Are all Vovos by definition iced? If so, shouldn't we have been calling them just 'Vovos'?
To my knowledge, there were never any Vovos before Iced Vovos. Your crusade against tautology is commendable, however proprietary names use a great deal of creative licence and the usual rules don't apply. The market place determines what sells and what doesn't, and that's the only rule that really matters. Iced Vovos has a certain rhythm to it, whereas Vovos is bit brusque. Asking for "a packet of Vovos" sounds too much like "a packet of Ovos", and nobody knows what Ovos are, because they don't exist. Iced Vovos are delicious, but if they had been called "Flattened Energy Cakes", or even just "Vovos", I doubt they would have become the iconic culinary classics they are today. JackofOz12:33, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What are they? Volvos? And, by the way, there are "dry towelettes" I don't kjnow if that is a kind of backformation though. Rmhermen16:14, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, that's matter of individual taste. They're not really comparable items. Iced Vovos are biscuits with pink icing and coconut, but no icecream. JackofOz20:39, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Only graham cracker, marshmellow, chocolate, and lots of sugar in a Moon Pie. Maybe you were thinking of Eskimo Pie. Wiki needs an article on Iced Vovos as well.Edison14:13, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I reckon the marketing team who came up with the neologism 'towelette' was brilliant - what are the alternatives? 'Damp napkin'? 'Humid serviette'? - nothing else conveys the idea of cleanliness and ultimate dryness, despite the initial moistness of the towelette experience.
And, yeah, 'dry towelette' is a kind of backformation I would say - if there is such a thing as a towelette, then in one case or the other, it need not be stated that it is moist or dry respectively. If that makes sense. Adambrowne66608:19, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Minnesota No Waste Law: I the Consumer, being asked to remove the siding on a new construction home after it is 8 months old amd Inspector states he does not "recall that day", that he saw the siding that was going to be mounted on our home!!!
We live in Lindstrom, Minnesota, Franconia Township, Chisago County. We had a new construction home built and completed in October, 2005. During the construction, the inspector from Chisago County came out to do an inspection on the home. People present were myself, and the workers; husband was not there. Inspector came, he asked me what the additional support on the framing was for; I said, the siding; inspector asked; what kind of siding is it? I answered, come, I will show you, it's right here; he came and glanced at it, and said, well goodbye, have a nice day. Now he is stating he does not recall that day. The siding is Corrugated Steel Siding. After the home was 8 months old, a man from the Zoning Committee came to our home with a lady, co-worker; my husband and I were working on our five acres; landscaping. His name is Jim. Jim came up to me; introduced himself as Jim from the Zoning Department at Chisago County. Next statement from his, was; You people have to remove that siding; it does not fall correctly under our ordinances. My husband came from around the garage and asked what they wanted; Jim, again, stated you must take your siding off this house, it is not in compliance to our ordinances. My husband asked what ordinance is that; Jim stated, all siding has to be horizontal and wood looking. My husband stated; why didn't the inspector that has been the inspector for over 20 years for the County; why did he not tell us the day he came out and saw the extra support and siding? Jim, the inspector said, we can't answer for him. My husband said, well if he has been inspector for over 20 years and has inspected two other of my homes on the next ten acres over, you would think he would know the oridinances by now? My husband asked; I would like to meet with the Zoning Committee? Jim said; we are it, you are talking to the Zoning Committee; If you feel you have to have a meeting with us, it will cost you $285.00. My husband filed for a meeting; committee did not look at any of any data or photos of others homes; they handed him a piece of paper that said, "Denied", already typed on it; the paper was prepared before the meeting. The Zoning Committee said; you can appeal that if you wish; we are not sure what the fee is. We have contacted our County Commissioner; an attorney; and etc. There are other homes of same siding all throughout other counties that we are only 1 to 5 miles from the County Line. Not is the siding extremely efficient; environmentally friendly; recyclable; they now have a small sample scale with the same siding on in our Science Museum in St. Paul, Minnesota.
We were told by someone that has worked at the County for several years that many consumers pay several hundreds of dollars to meet with this Zoning Committee several times a year to have an ordinance looked at; changed; or whatever; and she stated the County has not changed a thing for years and they don't intend on it; whether it be for siding or whatever.
I found out 2 weeks ago; a man in Washington County, which is 1 miles from us at the line; of course Washington County is extremely large. This man lives in a development; back in 1995 he laid grass seed down; his grass seed of course turned into a beautiful lawn; weeks later the Ordinance Developer came to him, and said the ordinance of the that development says you must lay sod down, not seed. They instructed him to till it all up and lay sod. He contacted his attorney; his attorney found a law for the State of Minnesota; State Wide; that does not permit any County to force a consumer to removed something from their property if it shall be a "Waste". Like I said, the County came here when the home was 8 months old; their inspector already approved it; he doesn't recollect that day; the County will not give us our "Certificate of Occupancy"; they say we are living here illegally. I wished I could send you photos of our home and landscaping. We have a driveway that is 400 feet long and the home is tucked in so far in the pines; we have stopped passerbys and asked them what kind of siding do they think we have; all of them think it is Stucco. This particular Corrugated Siding has been proven not to warp; fade; and be 65 percent more efficient that any other siding you could placed on your home; and why is it that Chisago County would not allow this "Horizontal" siding when every other County around them allow it; and furthermore; these other Counties are very strict regarding their oridances; but they feel it is beneficial to the homeowner; the appearances are very clean lined; it is structural safe. When we had our 95 degree weather for the summer of 2006; it stayed so cool in our home that we hardly used the Air Conditioner; infact; this is our third home built in this County; and this home is to be our retirement home; wheelchair access; my husband and I are both retired for 8 years now; we live on my husband's Social Security; I have several health issues; and the County is asking us to remove our siding and take out a loan and replace it. Now I ask you; where do we get the help we need? We are desperate in need of help; we would very much like to get our Certificate of Occupancy. I forgot to mention; we had to meet with our Township first; may I mention; it cost us nothing to meet with them; our township for the life of them could not figure out why the County was doing this to us because the home has a very clean and nice looking appearance; and especially the fact that the siding will be on for 200 years. Our Township leader; John Green even went up to the County to talk to them; they resued to listen. Please help us. We two retired people who just want to live out the rest of our lives, what is left of it. We have had many, many months of sleepless nights; my doctor knows how this is affecting our health.
Thank you from the bottom and top of our Hearts!
Wikipedia cannot provide legal advice. You might wish to contact an attorney if you want to contest the decisions of the local zoning people in Chisago County. In the city of Chicago, there was once a tradition of giving small gifts to building inspectors. Their extreme gratitude for the small gift likely caused them to have such tears of joy that they could not see certain construction details. The $285 you paid for the Denial would likely have been enough to have that effect. Seriously, I have heard of homeowners and builders successfully challenging even very reasonable zoning laws, but just asking nicely usually won't cut it. If you can't afford a lawyer (and sometimes they will work on a contingency fee, where you split the proceeds with them, but more likely you would have to pay for their services) you might try newspapers, tv reporters, and your state representative, and your U.S. congressment. It might be awkward for the local officials to explain their theories of code enforcement. The manufacturer of the siding might be willing to help with documentation that the material meets all building codes for your area, since such codes usually are based on national model codes. Good luck!Edison17:30, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I know I feel for you, inspectors can be difficult. But, without giving legal advice (which you should get) I think that you have limited options. You can't win arguing with the local zoning. If you pull something out of your hat with a lawyer, they will be angry and get you in some other way. The only way that you can deal with this is to go to the city/county (whatever is local) and ask for a variance. Perhaps if you tell them that the inspector that was there before had not mentioned it to you, and that it is very expensive, they may give you a variance. They will not if you are combatitive, for sure.
The inspector who was out there ther first time is only responsible for what he was inspecting (the framing) and you will have a paper that he gave you, or one that was posted on site that he endorsed, that states what it was he inspected. Regardless of what he may have said, you can't hold him to anything else. Even if he had given you "advice" on the siding, it isn't codumented. The general contractor should have know the local zoning laws, and you could hold him responsible. If you are doing it yourself, and have no contractor, then you are responsible for knowing the zoning laws that apply. So, as much as I would like to be helpful, I think you are in a difficult place with few options. The only legal method is to prepare with a list of good reasons, perhaps invluding the no waste law you spoke about, as well as a politely worded statement about the previous inspector "accidentally" misleading you, and ask for a zoning variance for the life of the siding (15-30 years). If you are polite, and ask the right way, and no one in your community shows up to contest it, they are likely to try and satisfy your request. Atom17:46, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another possible approach would be to sidestep the bureaucrats and contact your county commissioners, or whatever they call your elected representatives at the county level. (You could do this in combination with contacting your local newspaper. The best way might be, if the elected official is noncommital, to tell the elected official that you are thinking of contacting the local newspaper and that the local newspaper will no doubt want to know the elected official's position on the matter.) The elected official might be able to work out some kind of a deal with the bureaucrats, since he/she presumably has some say over whether they continue in their positions. Marco polo18:33, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
emergency exit sign design
An emergency exit sign. This stick man is obviously running in blind panic...
Why, when we're told to "walk, not run" to the nearest emergency exit, do the signs (in the EU at least) feature a pictogram of someone running towards an exit?
The 'running man' seems to be required by EU regulations. I think it's a good question too. My guess is that emergency exit signs are supposed to guide the way out in case of a fire etc., they are not designed to guide our behavior. The behavioral aspect ("don't run", for instance) should have been taught at an earlier point, by your employer or safety inspector at work, by practising fire drills, by having instructions posted in your hotel room or stuck in your airline seat pocket and so forth. To be recognizable within a split second, a running man is probably more effective in conveying the sense of 'emergency exit' than a strolling man would be. I suppose it's also a matter of convention and we've gotten used to immediately understanding the message of the white man running in front of a green background.---Sluzzelin16:33, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe its to denote the emergencey part, possibly not the best way of doing it, but a man walking towards a door would just suggest exit, as opposed to emergency exit. PhilcTECI20:03, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
lol, I was in europe for 2 weeks before it dawned on me what those signs meant. I kept seeing them everywhere and could not figure it out. So obvious once it dawned on me though. Just so used to the EXIT signs in the U.S.
Im looking for more detailed information on Fedor Baikov the russian diplomat sent to china in 1654, but I cant seem to find any wikipedia articles, is there none or is it spelled differently? Joneleth15:05, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My friend has hit a road block attempting to determine what ORID is. He knows that it is somehow related to essays (in his chicano studies class), and thinks that this may be an acronym for something, but what? Any help would be apreciated.
Er... what are these things called? They look like big glowing popsicles, and guys on runways wave them. I've looked in airport and various runway lighting articles on Wikipedia, but I can't find any information on the portable lights that ground crews have. Searching with strings like "airport runway staff light" inevitably gives me results about runway lights, or airplane lights, etc. --MattShepherd15:41, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The development and changes in industry in the world today.
I want a lot of information on the following( about 2-3 pages on each):
1. The needs of modern industry - land, labour, capital, energy and space.
2. The distribution of agro-based and mineral based industrial regions in the different continents.
3. Case study of any three industrial areas one in each continent.
4. The number of workers in industrial and tertiary sectors in developed and developing countries and the reasons for the differences.
5. Rights of the workers and the condition of the workers in the mining and unorganized sector especially, women.
Mythology can be studied from several disciplinary perspectives. Some disciplines that might be concerned with mythology are religion (the social science, aka "religious studies"), psychology, semiotics, classics (including such subfields as Egyptology), and anthropology. Marco polo19:14, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
One's own faith in things unseen is Religion, and the study of it is Theology. The other person's similar belief and study of other gods is mythology. When Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire under Constantine, the priests of the Roman and Greek religions were systematically slaughtered and the worship banned. Go figure.Edison14:18, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well not exactly his sperm, but some women can be allergic to certain proteins in sperm. She can still get artificially inseminated without the sperm proteins though.Joneleth12:52, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Did anyone's computer get infected with the new MSN virus? One of your friends sends you a link and when you click that link, your computer becomes infected and the virus sends itself to everyone on your contact list. If so, can anyone tell me how to get rid of the virus on a Windows XP if system restore doesn't work? Jamesino21:37, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When isn't there a nasty MSN thing? ...especially when mixed with IE. I removed one a while ago, and it required an awful lot of reading and downloading. --Zeizmic00:36, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Try symantec.com or macafee.com to find instructions on how to remove the virus. Side note: a bug and a virus are different things in computer terms. While bugs may have nasty results, they're generally a result of accidental bad programming instead of purposely malicious intent. - Mgm|(talk)10:24, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you're going to pick at ambiguity, at least answer the correct ambiguous question! You just answered "How long do long cows chew their cud?" It would have been more appropriate for you to say "The same way that the short ones do". </stupidness>
Usually I've read a lot of terms "exposures" in connection with hazards/ threat in the subject "Risk Assessment / Management" especially in environmental / occupational health and safety management.
However, I've not got the full meaning of the term.
Kindly help me clear & consise definitions in this aspect.
For your guide, I'm a Vietnamese, and trying to translate this word to Vietnamese (so as to be freindly used).
Much thanks for your attention.
PHAM NGOC TRUNG
VIETNAM TANKER COMPANY
VIETNAM
It's a way to define how much of the dangerous item you've had contact with. For many substances, exposure below a certain level is considered safe. StuRat04:15, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Exposure in the field of risk assessment usually refers to the state of being exposed (unprotected, unguarded) to a particular threat. Thus, one might concisely define exposure, in this sense, as the degree to which somthing is missing protection. dpotter17:52, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another way of looking at the term "exposure" in connection to risk is that "exposure" is a measure of the amount of risk. The greater a person's (or a company's) unprotected risky activity, the greater the person's (or company's) exposure to risk. One can limit exposure to risk by buying insurance. When you buy insurance, you buy protection from exposure. Marco polo22:32, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In certain risk models, there's a concept called "exposure factor". The exposure factor is the pecentage loss in asset value if a threat materializes. In general, the term seems to refer to the degree one is susceptible to harm from certain sources of risks. --71.244.110.18720:24, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Frowning when Eating Delicious Food
It's common for people (including me) to frown when they take a bite of food that's unexpectedly tasty, or any food when they were ravenous. Frowning is normally associated with displeasure. Why do people use the same facial gesture to indicate the opposite feeling when it comes to food? Is this inherent or learned behaviour? Is it universal or does it happen only in some cultures? Has this gesture always been around, or is it something that's developed within people's memories? JackofOz03:51, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps it is lika a dog growling when eating meat. The goal may be to frighten others so they do not try to take the tasty food away from you. I am not familiar with such behavior, and would not serve tasty food to such a person in the future. Edison04:00, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it sounds a bit like wild animals when they are tucking into a 'kill'. THey look round constantly to see if anyone is going to take their food away. I also think that there is a certain animalistic feeling of aggression that humans get when eating something good. I know I get it and I do not like to be interrupted when Im gobbling! --Light current04:18, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The frowning I'm talking about is usually only momentary. As soon as the person tastes the food, they register the pleasure with this weird frown, then they lighten up straight away. Sometimes it looks like they're trying to suggest they're having an orgasm, but it comes across as a frown. JackofOz08:07, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's not just for food. People also frown during orgasms, when they are getting an itch scratched, when they are struck by some funny commentary, among other things. I'd say it has something to do with the emotional shock from uncomfortability to sudden pleasure and amusement. ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯10:04, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's a good question. My feeling is it's the frown that is associated with concentration - finding the experience so enjoyable you concentrate on it. Adambrowne66610:55, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
People also frown during orgasms ... I'd say it has something to do with the emotional shock from uncomfortability to sudden pleasure and amusement. - Are you saying that the moments leading up to an orgasm are that uncomfortable for you? Becuase if that's so, you're probably doing something wrong. ;-) --Maelwys13:11, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think I agree with Adam: When concentrating on something, one does tend to frown. Maybe one tends to purse ones lips (like this: 8-o) also, as when seeing a very sexy MOOS. 8-)--Light current13:20, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is that supposed to mean "Member Of (the) Opposite Sex"? I think the most common abbreviation is MOTOS, actually (as well as its counterpart MOTSS). 惑乱 分からん14:40, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Frowning during orgasms" is outside of my modest experience. I can think of plenty of expressions and behaviours I have witnessed during orgasms, but I would think frowning was a sign of discomfort in that instance. "I was fainting not frowning."--Shantavira14:45, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
People frown when they concentrate, sometimes. Even when extremely comfortable. Can you think of anything you'd rather concentrate on instead? I think claiming to speak from experience may be seen as bragging so... ++Lar: t/c15:48, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What I'm hearing is this concentrated facial expression is well recognised, but it should not be called a "frown" because that usually denotes displeasure. It is certainly frown-like, though. Maybe we need a new word to describe this. Or, find a published thesis on this behaviour, so we can update the frown article to include such cases. JackofOz23:57, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
CPH in relation to wages
What does the term cph mean in relation to wages within australia. For example it says " your wage will be 1766.14(cph) during training and 1877(cph) after training.
thanks people. im pretty sure that it might be cents per hour, it would make a lot of sense:) No matter how extravagent they seem to want to specify their award rates.
mlb playoff
I can not read INTERNET .pLease send me the playooff 2006 results.
Robert Carrero
2. I never got this in school. "neither" and "either" : is the "ei" a "eye" sound or is it like "ei" in "weird"?
"Weird" actually seems to be pronounced slightly different than either, so it's not a good example. Otherwise, it's dialectal. 惑乱 分からん14:17, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The unconfirmed report I heard on either and neither is that the British pronunciation stems from a mistake by George II of Great Britain, who spoke English with a German accent throughout his life. The letter combination ei is pronounced like eye in German but usually gets pronounced like the vowels in meet in English. Those particular two words are still pronounced differently on different sides of the Atlantic. Durova16:25, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The first e in "Defense" may also be pronounced like the "ee" in "reed", especially if you're talking about a defensive player or group in sports. At least in Canadian English. Charlene.fic16:32, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
By the way, it's probably better to ask at the Language desk instead of here, next time. :)
With the question about the e in defend, unstressed vowel sounds like this often have no clear pronunciation. Usually the mouth is relaxed and a fairly neutral vowel is produced, and since the sound is shorter and quieter the effect isn't that noticeable (unless you're actually listening for it). - Rainwarrior15:43, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have been trying to find some info on an obsolete scope I have, made by Iwatsu. Model No SS-7607. All I really know about it apart from what I see on the front panel, is that it has 60MHz BW. Any further details, however small, will be gratefully recieved.
--Light current17:29, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In this book I got in my school libary, it says something about the ASVAB being offered to High School Juniors and Seniors. Is there any website that would say which schools offer it?
Um, I'm assuming this is some type of examination/standardized test? I'm also assuming based on your use of American educational terminology -- to my knowledge the US is the only country to divide and label secondary ed. into Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior years, but I definitely could be wrong -- that you are asking about U.S. high schools. In that case, it would probably be the individual school boards, and/or state Departments of Education which would have that information. Most state agencies have websites, so I'd recommend starting there. -Fsotrain0917:56, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The ASVAB is the United States armed services entrance exam. Contact a military recruiter for information about how to take the test. Durova20:53, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Clearing house in New York
I Was Informed That I WON Money By The Clearing House Of 100 Broad StreetIn New York, By A Mr David Klaus. Now I Wish To Know If This Some Kind Of SCAM,Or Not? Is There Is An Office Of OFAC,And Do They Handel This Transaction, of According To The Clearing House That I WON $2.5mil In US Dollars.I Don't Know What To Believe. Can Someone At Your Office Help Me With This Problem? I Just That I Have The Correct Office That Can Reply To My Question. My Name Is personal info removed This Clearing House Said That I Will Have To $15,850.00,For Processing,Administrative,And Other Things To The OFAC.I Am Sorry But I Was Taken By Other People Before,And So I Am A Little SCARED To Be Taken Again.Again I Want Thank You For Any Help That You Can Render!!Have A Nice Day. I Am INNOCENZIO DANNA
Why do you start every word with a capital letter? It feels strange, and it gets hard to read. Otherwise, it's likely a scam... 惑乱 分からん16:47, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Of course it's a scam, why would you think otherwise? Besides that, the odd capitalizing that you're using is ironically similiar to that in all of the 419 emails I've recieved and read. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 16:51, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I Win European National Lotteries Worth Several Hundred Thousand, If Not Several Million, Euro Every Hour. I Never Bother To Collect My Winnings Though. JIP | Talk19:19, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are many, many ways to tell it's a scam. Here are a couple:
No legitimate contest would ever require you to pay anything. You will owe taxes, but those go to the government, not to them. And even if they had a "processing fee", why couldn't they just write you a check for slightly less ? (The reason, of course, is that any check you get from them will bounce, after they have cashed the check from you.)
You will never win a contest unless you entered the contest. If you don't recall ever entering the contest, then you didn't.
1. Read the Dido article on this site;
2. Read Dido's website;
3. Google for "Dido fan forum" and ask there.
Prize Court Question (Old Maritime Law)
If a Ship A were to mutine against the ship's lawful owner, and then later Ship B boarded and took her would it be a lawful prize for Ship B? Would it depend on what court or power heard the case? Would it go back to the original owner? What if the original owner was killed in the mutiny? What sorts of laws would come into play? --Demonesque17:19, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Where exactly was the ship when the crew mutinied? Where was the crew and Master? Was it tied to a dock? Was it lying at anchor within the nearest nation's internationally recognised maritime boundary, or outside it? Was it floating adrift? Had the owners declared the ship as being abandoned at sea? Etc, etc, etc,.
You didn't get a "prize" in the legal sense unless it's a spoil of war, in my understanding, so unless the mutineers did something weird like run up the flag of a hostile country, it's a non-issue. Shimgray | talk | 23:22, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is no one law that covers all times and all places - you would have to specify which country the ships were from and when the event happened. In the meantime, we're not discussing Prizes, but Salvage. See Marine salvage. B00P09:30, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See a maritime law expert for maritime law advice, of course, but as to the owner being killed having any effect on ownership, his heirs should inherit his estate. It should not be up for grabs any more than if any other business owner or property owner is killed.Edison15:23, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
what's this moviie
I remember this movie or show or something.. this guy (he looked like Andy Samberg) was a farmer's son or something. He goes to town because "he's gotten into hip-hop" to participate in a rap competition. The entirely black audience is furious that this white boy is trying to rap and they decide to kill him if he loses.. he faces the rap champion who does the typical "yo momma" and "white boy" insult rhymes, and the guy does a brillinat rap where he says stuff along the lines of "I might not be poor" "might not fail 2nd grade" "didn't grow up in the ghetto" basically making all of the black rapper's credentials into things to be ashamed of. The audience loves him and he wins the competition but he accidently says something that turns the audience riotous towards him and he has to escape for his life.
I might be mixing two different movies here but I think he then returned to his farmhouse and the rest of the movie or show or whatever was a parody of science fiction horror movies. Some girl was killed in a well under his house and she comes out to kill people but she gets knocked back in. There are some lame looking aliens that come and the government tries to kill them but the aliens overpower the agents. Then all the black people from the competition drive up in their excursions and escalades and pull out their gats and mac10s and wipe out the aliens. I think Leslie Nielsen played the head government guy. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? --frothTC17:21, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have a question. I am doing notes for my ISP novel. I couldn’t find any thing about it on this site. So I decide to do my own notes. I want to post these notes up into this site but the problem is what if my teacher found the notes i put on this site and thought I copy them?
That won't be a problem, as your notes wouldn't last very long on the site. This encyclopedia is a collection of previously published information, your notes would constitute original research, which doesn't belong here. --Maelwys17:40, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If they are posted to your user page they should stay there. By the way, what is your Internet Service Provider novel about ? StuRat22:53, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ginger
I would like to make some joke sweets ( with a medicianal purpose of course) using raw ginger. Any suggestions on what to cover the ginger with? Will the preparation need cooking? I would like a very simple recipe if poss as Im not a cook.--Light current17:37, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You could just cover them in melted chocolate. That would be relatively quick and easy. Or carefully melt some boiled sweets and use those. Skittle13:08, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just a note - You say you're not a cook, but I assume you know not to touch the melted sweets until they have thoroughly cooled down, otherwise they could stick to you and cause some nasty burns. Skittle13:09, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Well what I really want is for them to taste nice initially, and then kick in with the powerful taste of raw ginger (enough to blow your head off!). Covering with chocolate seems a good idea! 8-)--Light current00:52, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Excellent. People might even think they were crystallised ginger covered in chocolate. Have you melted chocolate before? Skittle10:37, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Amount of oxygen used
From how many square feet of air does normal human breathing for an hour deprive of oxygen? What about fire? Perhaps other animals? Also how much oxygen do plants return to the air/carbon dioxide remove? Thanks very much. Reywas92Talk19:26, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
First of all understand that by breathing you don't take all of the oxygen "out" of a certain amount of air and then that air has no oxygen. You take a certain amount (not nearly 100%) out of the air, and then the air that you breathe out mixes with the air in the room to make a slightly less oxygenated mixture. Humans can survive for about an hour in a sealed coffin (shown by MythBusters). Fire consumes oxygen rapidly and more people die of smoke (there's very little oxygen in smoky air) than of flame and burns. Most animals are smaller than humans and obviously consume much less oxygen. House plants return very little oxygen to the air, trees as well. Algae and other green water plant life are the primary contributors --frothTC19:45, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't rely on medical info from Wikipedia. But science programs on TV have said that in a sealed chamber, the rise of CO2 would cause unconsciousness and death before the depletion of O2. Similarly with fire, if the heat didn't kill you, the buildup of carbon monoxide might do you in before the depletion of oxygen. In movies, people die seem to die within a few minutes of being sealed in a fairly large space, for dramatic effect. And as to the original question, you might better ask in terms of cubic feet rather than square feet. One would last longer in a closet with a 10 foot ceiling than in the same size closet with a 4 foot ceiling. See the article Respiratory system.Edison15:41, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Removing Smoke Smell
I have some foam-backed puzzles which have been smoked around and now smell terrible. Do you have any suggestions on how to remove it? Thanks. Reywas92Talk19:26, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Taboos have been an integral part of culture for as long as human beings have had culture to speak of. Your question is rather nonspecific - "many things" most especially so. I'm sure thousands of "things" have been considered taboo at one point or another by most cultures. Are you referring to "Western Culture" specifically, or are you actually looking for the tremendously long list that you seem like you're asking for? 66.146.62.3919:50, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The English word "bear" (for the animal) used to mean "brown" and was used because the previous name of the bear was taboo. The same is true of björn and other European words for the animal, so the taboo goes way back into prehistory. --Kjoonlee00:53, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was watching this SNL opener last night and I was confused by a comment hilary clinton made. She said that she pandered to a black audience by saying the republican congress was being run like a plantation. She told anderson that she had two choices: "plantation" or "haunted house" but she suspected not many people would understand "haunted house" so she used plantation.
Growing up as a rich white kid in suburbia who went to a private school, I can't help but wonder what this means :) --frothTC19:33, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I thought the "spooks" were the white ones, because of the ghostly white faces? Maybe that's just a Japanese thing. "Plantation" sounds like a reference to a cotton plantation to me, but I don't think that would make sense. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 16:48, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, a cotton plantation is exactly what it means, where the white Republican politicians are the "masters" and the black voters are their "slaves". StuRat03:07, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OK, I was a little confused. Now that I think about it, I can remember hearing "spook" being used as a racial slur. I guess it can work both ways depending on the context. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 04:49, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Depends on what sort of wood you're using. For example, I'd expect that oak makes for stronger boards than balsa. Even within a type of wood, strength varies greatly with quality: a high-grade pine 2x4 with no knots will be much stronger than a low-grade board with knots every eight inches. Also, wood is not an isotropic material: the relationship between the load direction and the direction of grain is significant. --Serie21:35, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think you will be getting into more math than you want. Wood can be rated by elasticity, density, compression, tensile strength, etc. All this can vary due to the amount of moisture in the board, what chemicals have been used to treat it and so on. I am not sure how you would even go about figuring the various types of load 1 particular board in a trebuchet would get during different parts of the loading and firing. Nowimnthing17:53, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Basil Leaves - Tearing or chopping?
I always chop my Basil leaves into soups, stews, salads, sandwiches etc., but am made to feel like a fraud when I read the comments of foodie writers and celebrity chefs who proclaim that tearing the leaves releases more flavour into the end product. Can this be supported by factual evidence or may I continue to chop my leaves without also developing a guilt complex? There's money riding on this. Oh, and I am British so that gets me off to a bad culinary start eh?
Most foodies don't have much scientific knowledge. Cutting would probably be better, as it would produce a larger SA:Vol.. Chefs prefer to tear as it takes a lot less time!
I think us brits have quite good gastromony!
Off the top of my head without any practical or experimental evidence to back it up, (how's that for confidence inspiring!) I would think that the foodies are right. If you're cutting you're making fairly precise cuts and exposing only the cross section of the leaf. Tearing may damage more of the fibers of the leaf along the tear, it would be more irregular of a "cut" and thus allow more of the flavor to come out of the leaf. Dismas|(talk)02:47, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks - but I can cut more finely than if I tear, so am I not exposing a lot more of the cut edges by doing so?
As I recall from some cooking shows, some chefs prefer to roughly tear their leafy herbs because there's some oxidation that takes place in contact with the knife blade that can change the flavour slightly. I chop mine too, so obviously I'm missing the good stuff. Tony Fox(arf!)18:59, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Rawlins, Oxfordshire
I'm drawing a complete blank on this one, and I don't have access to an old gazetteer. Does anyone know where Rawlins, in Oxfordshire, is or was? All I seem to be able to find is people called Rawlins who live(d) there, but I keep running across independent sources (mainly the Dictionary of National Biography) referring to "a seat" there - it may just be a manor house, it may be a village or a hamlet, I don't know. (The main figure resident there was Sir Charles Hardy; he inherited it through his wife from a diplomat, it passed to his son, and then vanishes from history circa 1800) Shimgray | talk | 22:20, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I made a lampshade out of paper (regular white printer paper), which rests no less than the length of a pen (about 6 inches) away from the light bulb (a regular incandescent bulb). Does this create a fire hazard? I have a 100 watt bulb in there. What if I put a 40 watt bulb in there instead? I need proof that this would be totally safe, otherwise I'll just get a real lampshade. —EdGl22:42, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have a store bought lamp with a paper shade that hangs about 4 inches away from a 60 watt bulb. Never had any problems with it. If you really want to be safe you could always treat the shade with a Fire retardant. Nowimnthing00:02, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How stupid am I? (that was rhetorical) I Google searched "Paper lampshade" and the first link was pretty helpful (and is basically what you just said, Nowimnthing!) Sorry for cluttering precious Reference desk space. Carry on =) —EdGl00:35, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I feel we should be able to answer this, based on knowledge of the energy source, distance to paper, and farenheit 451. But putting it all together eludes me. I suspect the science desk might do better with this sort of thing. --Tagishsimon(talk)
Don't worry about it; I've concluded that I should either get fire retardant spray or a new lampshade. Oh, and thanks for your help, Noimnthing. —EdGl01:06, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was just reading this article and frankly I'm confused. ".." is a valid directory name. It can also be used as an extremely stupid attack (which is basically what he was doing) but so what, it's up to the admin to secure his server. If the guy uses documented functionality to view directories that the developer wanted hidden, then oh well the developer should have hidden it better. Am I right here? That's my perspective on security and it's infuriating to see politicians make rediculous laws that a 10 year old could break with zero malicious intent.
How is it done in the US? Would it be considered illegal to hack a website and change its content? If so, why?! The hacker is just manipulating the machine (which is doing exactly what it's programmed to do) and changing bits. How about stealing free email account names and passwords? Exploiting authentication bugs in a web forum? --frothTC23:03, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Legally, you're probably wrong, although I don't have the evidence to back it up, yet. You shouldn't claim things are acceptable just because you can do them. 惑乱 分からん23:56, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I would assume the US laws treat online content much like property. When you enter restricted areas, you are trespassing on private property even if you do not do any damage. If you change things, then you are defacing private property. It does not matter how much or how little security the property has, you are not allowed to mess with other people's stuff. Nowimnthing00:12, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The result of this case seems a bit harsh. The law states
1.—(1) A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a) he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer;
(b) the access he intends to secure is unauthorised; and
(c) he knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function that that is the case.
Cuthbert did do (a). And it is arguable, and the court believed, that his access was (b) & (c). There is clearly plenty of scope for debate on the latter point - making up URLs and seeing what they do has long been a part of the web for me. It is a little chilling to think that the absence of an explicit invitation (e.g. a link) renders the guessed URL a criminal offence :( --Tagishsimon(talk)
I'll bet that by 2010, it'll be illegal to type URLs directly into the browser URL line instead of clicking on links. JIP | Talk05:33, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm really surprised. Couldn't the defense get an expert witness? According to W3C's RFC 3986, Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax, the meaning of ".." in a URI is precisely defined. Quoting from Section 3.3:
The path segments "." and "..", also known as dot-segments, are defined for relative reference within the path name hierarchy.
...
However, unlike in a file system, these dot-segments are only interpreted within the URI path hierarchy and are removed as part of the resolution process (Section 5.2).
(My italics). Section 5.2 gives an algorithm in pseudocode and illustrates it on an example, showing how the URI "/a/b/c/./../../g" is normalized to "/a/g". According to the standard this must be done before you do anything else with it. Just try the URI "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Bondage/../Miscellaneous". The standard defines that it does not matter that there is no subpage Wikipedia:Reference desk/Bondage. Should it behave differently, it means that the web server is non-compliant. If the implementation of the URI resolution process is compliant, you should be unable to get any effect that you could not also have gotten without using a path segment "..". This is completely independent of whether "the site has been unprotected". You should not be able to "move up three directories" simply because that is not supposed to be the meaning; the meaning is: "eliminate the three preceding segments from the URI path". So even "404: Page Not Found" or "You have no access permission to this directory" would have been non-compliant, and certainly setting off an alarm. Something like "https://tsunamirelief.org/donation.csp/../../../" should simply be equivalent to "https://tsunamirelief.org/". --LambiamTalk04:44, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
October 6
I can't find something I found a year ago
Hello
Thank you for your time.
About a year ago I found an article in wikipedia about a particular person but I can't remember their name and would like to find it again.
The person was a Man of polish birth or decent. He was a representative of the Polish government to the Bank of England sometime between 1900 to 1930. When politics changed he became a representative of the Russian and or Soviet government to the Bank of England. In the article it stated that he married an English woman and afterwards retired to Turkey.
I never kept a record of his name but have tried crossreferncing by the Bank of England and government representatives of Poland or RUssia or USSR to England or the bank of england.
Can anyone give me more guidance or assistance as to searching or finding this information.
Thank you kindly.
I can't find this article using Google. Someone else might remember, but I strongly suspect this article does not exist anymore. -- Rick Block (talk) 03:27, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, I'm studying about human mutagens in my biology class and I was wondering if Wikipedia had a section to search for pictures. I want to find a picture of some mutated humans.
It is regrettably very difficult to find an image you want if it is not connected to an article, one Wikipedia, or the Commons.Template:Susbt:User:mac Davis/Sig09:36, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
Economics of World War II
During the last war, I understand that we leased equipment from the U.S.A. to help fight and, subsequently, win the war in Europe. I believe that the cost to Britain in financial terms was considerable.
A. What was the total cost?
B. Has it all been paid?
C. Has any contribution to these costs ever been made by the countries 'liberated?
D. Has any reparation ever been made to Great Britain for the considerable financial and military investment made after the war in helping the 'liberated' countries to start rebuilding?
In what universe was WWII the last war? The UK was the recipient of much post-war financial aid from the US, as were most of the countries in western Europe - see the article on the Marshall Plan for further information. Did you mean to ask if reparation had been made from Great Britain? Natgoo10:52, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This question was raised by an MP a few months ago, raising a few eyebrows - in three months time, we'll have paid it off. There were to be fifty installments of £45m, but they were waived on 6 occasions due to economic difficulties. As of 1 January, 2007, the UK will no longer have WW2 debts. Interestingly, we do still have Napoleonic war debts, because the way the interest and inflation accumulates it's cheaper to just keep paying that than to pay off the debts themselves. See [12] As regards investment to rebuild.. Marshall Plan--Mnemeson11:13, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For actual Napoleonic war debt, that would imply that somebody had a piece of paper, dated 1801, that entitled him to a payment of 3 squirrels a year from the British Gov't, but would cost a million bucks to clear out. I searched a lot for that, but couldn't find it. :) --Zeizmic14:40, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See Lend-Lease for discussion of the program. $31.4 billion went to Britain, 1941-1945. In terms of purchasing a car, one is said to be "Upside Down" when the payment schedule is so long that the value of the car will depreciate so that more is owed on the car than it is worth. http://www.edmunds.com/advice/strategies/articles/104952/article.html The UK was upside down for a very long time with respect to the WWII tanks and planes.Edison16:09, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There were 3 distinct phases of US financial support for England:
During the first, Cash and Carry, the US was trying to preserve official neutrality while unofficially supporting England. Thus, it was necessary to require immediate payment for war materiel, as this made it a simple sales transaction, and not "giving" financial support to the enemy of Nazi Germany.
During the second phase, the Lend-Lease era, the US would lend or lease equipment to England on credit. This program violated US neutrality, but, as England no longer had the cash to pay for the required equipment, this was felt to be the only way for England to survive.
After the war, the US gave lots of money to England, as well as other victors and defeated countries, under the Marshall Plan.
Of the three, the first plan was paid for at the time, and the third was a gift. Only the Lend-Lease plan extended credit to England which was expected to be paid back eventually. So, I assume your question relates to that plan. StuRat18:22, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have this Metrics Made Easy slider possibly printed in the 1970s by a "Pacific Aero Products, Inc." of Burbank, California. Is this "Pacific" company a part of Boeing? I think this was printed in the 1970 because it has a Boeing 747 printed on it. -- Toytoy11:51, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Pretty interesting. "Pacific Aero Products" was the first name of the company that became "Boeing" two years later. No idea what this incarnation of the name was! (Currently, 2810 North Lima Street is the home of the current user of the name "imagic", which makes (among other things) those ads that wrap around busses.) --jpgordon∇∆∇∆14:57, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This page refers to a company called "PacAero" at 2810-20 N. Lima, with phone # and email address. However, a reverse search on that number brings up something apparently unrelated. Several hits suggest a longer name like "Allied Signal PacAero Inc.". --LambiamTalk03:40, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OK. PacAero was a subsidiary (or a unit) of Banner Aerospace, a subsidiary of Fairchild. Fairchild sold PacAero to Allied Signal in 1998. PacAero distributes aircraft adhesives, lubricants, and other chemicals. This is nicely confusing! --jpgordon∇∆∇∆06:48, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I am a new user of Wikipedia, and decided to use this information medium when I was recently diagnosed with dysthemia. your page regarding this disorder has been a tremendous help to me in understanding why I think and feel the way that I do. So, I just wanted to say thank you for creating this information site for people to inform other people. I, for one, really appreciate it. David D.
Thanks; feedback like this is always appreciated. I just wish the article were a little longer, or had some external links. Do remember, you too can edit the article to improve it for others, as & when you get a greater understanding of the condition. --Tagishsimon(talk)
the coloured boxes
i was thinking of creating a user page 4 my self . but i was wondering if u could tell me how to make those boxes which says "this user is ___" Mi2n1516:33, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
and i saw a pic of a couple of birds in a sea gull question , i was wondering if i could save a copy of thatMi2n1516:33, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I got some free compost today in Starbucks ("used coffee grounds", as it says on the pouch). As I do not have a garden, and it is autumn/winter where I am, what flowers do you recommend planting (remember that it is winter here)? Thanks, Iolakana•T16:57, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You have to be careful that the grounds aren't 'for the compost'( ie. fresh). If they are truly composted coffee grounds then they should say 'safe for direct planting' or some such thing on the label. Unless compost has been well-aged, and out in the rain for a while, full of wriggly worms, it tends to kill plants. --Zeizmic17:20, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Uncomposted coffee grounds are, anecdotally, good for discouraging cats from poking around ones garden. Not much use in this case, I admit, but hey. Shimgray | talk | 00:18, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
One observation: I saw a Starbucks with a little front garden where they had applied coffee grounds to part of it. That part was stark barren. I don't know the direction of the causal connection, if any. I'd think coffee grounds are acidic, something not all plants appreciate. --LambiamTalk03:17, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Did you hear about the man who tried to divorce his wife because she made a weak cup of coffee ? The judge refused to grant the divorce, "due to insufficient grounds". :-) StuRat21:55, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Eye proctection
Dear wikipedian,
I would very much like to know if it is safe to use a welding mask (one which is not self adjusting) to look at the sun, say during an eclipse. Many Thanks
Also, there are several tricks you can use to look at the Sun indirectly. One of my favourites consists of cutting a circle in a black thin cardboard, placing it over a mirror and letting it reflect sunlight to a dark wall. It's more comfortable and if you get it right, the effect is pretty good. More sun-viewing techniques can be found in the second half of in this link's article ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯22:38, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So there are two different names? I heard they were the same name, and there was some socialist Arabic country that imported the Russian name (although I was a little skeptical to that explanation...) Btw, my sister's called Nadja (Swedish spelling). 惑乱 分からん20:13, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The word for "hope" in Russian is "nadezhda", and is a common girl's name. There are various diminutive forms of most Russian names, and this one's includes "Nadia", "Nadka", "Nadenka", "Nusya", et al. JackofOz22:01, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I was just wondering for what reason do you wave you lighter during a slow song/ballad and how this came to be.
Good luck and thanks for searching.
If someone does find an answer could you be kind enough to email the answers to [e-mail removed] :)
THANKS!!
I think this began with people using lighted candles as some sort of tribute to someone who had just died, but I don't remember the details.--Shantavira11:37, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It seems to have started at Woodstock, with candles (although how people at Woodstock happened to have enough candles handy I do not know). Melanie Safka is attributed as starting it, although there's little definite proof. In any case, people do it to participate in the song, and often the arena lights are dimmed at the right moment to heighten the effect. Now people hold up cell phones, replacing the lighter with something a little more high-tech. Some interesting reading regarding Coldplay and mobile phone use: Mobiles.
Gardening.
How do you go about preparing a perennial flower garden in zone3 or zone4 (USA)for the winter? We live in Maine and have inherited a beautiful perennial flower garden, but we do not know how to put it to bed for the winter. Thank you. Jim Bob.
I think you might have to get an old-fashioned gardening book. They don't really need much, perhaps some extra leaf mulch. --Zeizmic13:21, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Music downloads
What exactly qualifies music from the interweb as illegal? I know that if you find some website that says "DOWNLOAD THE FULL ALBUM NOW! FIGHT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!", it's obviously a bad idea to download, but if you were to go to... I dunno, Metacrawler or Dogpile or something like that, do an 'auido' search, find a home-grown site that has a song embedded, and save it to your computer, is it still illegal? --172.196.188.20623:29, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The only reason that its illegal is because these people have copied the original song and sold it wihtout paying back the artist for each copy sold. iTunes and things like that pay back artists, and this makes it legal. I'm not sure, but I guess artists mght be able to say that they don't care if they get paid or not, making it legal, I guess. But yeah, sadly, fighting the msuic industry is illegal. Temp
See Copyright infringement. There is nothing inherantly illegal with downloading music off the internet. The illegality comes into play when someone starts distributing copywritten works they do not own the rights to. To complicate matters more, it's not illegal to download music from a unauthorized source, but it is however illegal to offer for downloading. That is how the RIAA has prosecuted people on file sharing sites; many p2p programs by default share the music that has been downloaded, thus people (many times unknowingly) are offering unauthorized copies on the network.—Mitaphanetalk05:00, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I recommend Free Culture (book), it was pretty good, and a download. Don't fall for the "intellectual property" arguements—copyright laws in this case are encouragement by the government to create art; artists can rest at ease and know that they will become prosperous, if their work is good. — X[Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve)09:31, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just out of curiousity, what would a person with depression do (besides be depressed- i'm just gonna kill that one right now) if they have no way of successfully committing suicide, as well as no medication to help, and no people to go to? I'm not suggesting they should kill themselves or anything, that's just probably a common way it goes or at least a lot of them look at it as a way out. Just wondering. Thanks Temp
If no medication, the only things one can do are
to wait until the period of depression disappears.
to engage in some activity that takes the mind off the depressing thoughts
Can anybody direct me to where I could view a clip of the time when Chris Farley hosted SNL in '97, right before he died? I seriuosly can't find it anywhere. Thank you so much. Temp
Silly question probably, but what with the whole ability of people to Clone animals (Dolly the sheep?), I was interested to know whether there was anything about the ability to (i think this is the word) synthesise oil? This is the oil as in that which is currently the major supplier of petrol (Brent crude is it?).
I know there are synthetic oils, just wondered whether it was possible to do the same for the type of oil that primarily powers current cars.
By the by I don't really want to hear the whole "we shouldn't even if we can" stuff - I don't mean it in a financially viable/long term way just purely a "could it be done" question"
The only way I can see that being applicable to cloning would be to clone billions of animals and crush them and heat them for years until they turn into oil. Not exactly practical; besides, you have plenty of animals already >:) --frothTC00:41, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(Edit conflict) The cloning of animals is done due to meddling around with the natural propagation process, not creating anything from scratch. Also, it is quite an unstable process in itself, reproducing genes that have already aged and deteroriated, and the process often leads to stillborn or seriously ill offspring. 惑乱 分からん00:43, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Off the top of my head, I can't think of any organisms that generate, directly, anything like isooctane—so no, you can't get petrol straight from a cow. On the other hand, a number of plants produce some slightly heavier oils that – after a modicum of purification – are suitable use in diesel engines. (See biodiesel for details.)
Methane (natural gas) is generated by many microorganisms as they digest organic matter; methane escaping from some landfills is used to generate heat or electricity in many places.
There have been efforts to engineer microorganisms to generate larger quantities hydrogen gas (some organisms produce a small amount naturally); so far these experiments are fairly preliminary. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 01:10, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
An easier explanation is that currently it would take much more energy to recreate the oil than the energy we would eventually get from the oil. BTW that is a major problem with many forms of alternative energy. (If it takes 2 barrels of oil to get 1 barrel of synthetic oil what have we gained?) Nowimnthing17:19, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The two types of "cloning" you're thinking about are different in nature - animal cloning is done by taking genetic material from an existing animal, and allowing cells containing that genetic material to develop through natural processes into an animal which is merely genetically identical, but in essence a different animal altogether. As yet, we are unable to replicate objects. There have been attempts to utilize materials we don't need, or that can be easily cultivated, as energy sources - bagasse, for example, is made from sugarcane. Remember, though, that crude oil is not only valuable as an energy source, but as the raw material from which the majority of our plastics are produced. Using two barrels' worth of energy to produce one may not, indeed, be as outlandish as it may first seem... --Keira Vaughn00:42, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I've just stumbled across this subject lately and it's got me wondering, why exactly do Satanists believe in sin and indulgence but are against any form of illegal activity, as well as drugs and things like that? (at least, LaVeyan ones, maybe not others). Also, where do they meet, and do they even meet at all? And how exactly are they evil, and also, what do they believe in for the afterlife? I'm not trying to freak people out or anything, this is just an extremely interesting topic and the articles don't really have much information on the stuff I'm asking about. Thank you :) (see, there's a smile, you can come closer) Temp
As far as I've understood satanism, it mostly originated as a reaction to a perceived moralism of Christianity, which would hinder us from reaching our potential as individual human beings... "Evil" is an extremely biased term that should be avoided. I think the satanism article would cover several of your questions. 惑乱 分からん00:23, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, it appears to be more selfish than evil. Also, personally, it seems more like a philosophy than a religion to me... 惑乱 分からん00:37, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ehmm, evil is quite a vague concept, but as far as it's generally interpreted in modern culture, it'd mean "doing bad unto others", selfishness is "doing good unto self", which is quite distinct... 惑乱 分からん00:54, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Evil is an extremely subjective term and you cannot call anything by definition evil, only say that you, yourself think its evil. Joneleth08:28, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I notice that our aticle on satanism is quite good. It concentrates, however, on LeVay's satanism, who seems to have designed it as a antipole to Christianity which he conceived as destructive, imprisoning and hypocritical. I've once heard a TV interview with a satanic priest in Germany who explained that he considers his activity mainly as an offer of therapy to those who feel that hypocritical Christian values broke them and he offers them symbolic rituals to take up the fight against self-contraticing morality that has take hold of his concience. Hence, in order to understand satanism, you first need to study why many people are apalled by Christianity (and to avoid misunderstandings: this is to mean, by Christianity as they have experienced it via the conduct of their local community and personal environment -- not how a righteous Christian might like to have his religion ideally percieved.) Simon A.10:29, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's the 23rd time this question has been asked. Take some number N in your mind. Assuming a sufficiently long stream of questions, a uniform method for representing questions as sequences of bits, and an upper bound on the length of such sequences, eventually all further questions asked will have been asked at least N times. But other questions may not be repeated at all. It depends a bit on whether we may model a certain fraction of the questioners as monkeys. If one in every trillion questioners just randomly bangs the keys, then every now and then (more then than now) one of them will almost surely repeat any previous question – and again, and again. Based on experimental observations, this model does not appear unrealistic. --LambiamTalk01:51, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
missing question
I asked a qestion about the Mars opportunity and spirit rover and now it's gone! ! Has someone deleted it from me?
why is extending your middle finger referd to as whipping the bird?
the Dictionary of Slang explains that in the 1920's US the word bird was used as a name for a loud derisive noise kind of like blowing a raspberry at someone. The hand gesture goes back much further, probably as a variation on "give the fig" to somone (one thumb between two forefingers). The two became intertwined with "giving the bird" or "flipping the bird". I have not heard of "whipping the bird", but probably just another regional variation. Nowimnthing17:11, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Please tell me the name of the person who played the Diva in Sixth Sense, and was that her true voice?
Thanks.
Signed,
A Fan
Do you mean The Fifth Element? See the credits. If it's The Fifth Element you are referring to, her voice was obviously digitally manipulated at times, as no one can sing that range of notes.--Shantavira15:12, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
1. If you want to become a manga-ka when you grow up,is it alright if you copy another artist drawing style?Thanks
(Ahhh, it's you again. Could you refrain from posting many different posts this time. Please reply to the post you have already posted as far as possible, and sign your posts with four tildes.) You probably could copy a lot of it, before you're accused of plagiarization. Also, styles and themes generally cannot be copyrighted in themselves, unlike characters and names. You probably would be accused of being a copycat, but it's up to you if you'd let that bother you. Some cartoonists, such as Joost Swarte, Yves Chaland, Wallace Wood etc. could do nice personal pastiches of their predecessors' styles, though. 惑乱 分からん15:14, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
2. Is there a manga school in Chiyoda,Tokyo that has a specialized manga course?I heard that Takao Aoki went there and i wanna draw just like him. Please answer me thanks for your time!
You wouldn't necessarily get to draw exactly like Takao Aoki just because you attend the same school he attended. Second, personally I think you should try to find more of your own style from your sources of inspiration. Usually, a copy only turns out to be a second-rate version of the original. 惑乱 分からん15:14, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you ask the owner/rider of one, the answer usually is "Because loud pipes save lives." Meaning, motorcycles are harder to spot than automobiles as they are smaller, so by making a lot of noise, it will alert automobile drivers in the area that there's a motorcycle around, and so be on the lookout for it.
In truth, though, most people who enjoy riding their Harley probably just like making lots of noise. It's all part of the enjoyment of riding for them. 192.168.1.1 8:58, 7 Rocktober 2006 (PST)
Most of the noise comes from aftermarket exhaust pipes. Even if someone has OEM pipes they usually punch out the baffling. It's partly that Harley mystique and partly a safety issue: as a former Harley owner I can affirm that too many automobile drivers put the brain on energy saver mode and simply don't notice motorcycles on the road. Sooner or later most motorcyclists have a collision with a car and the car invariably wins. If other drivers at least hear the motorcycle there's a better chance they won't make a left turn/change lanes/pull out of a driveway at the worst possible moment. Durova05:15, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Anti-Terrorist Options on Aeroplanes.
Given the current high-level of terrorist awareness on aeroplanes (and I am sure I am not the first to have had this idea) why can't the flight deck crew be kept secure in front of their bomb-proof cockpit bulkhead and door, and be supplied with a system that would enable them to see and hear on CCTV, any threatening behaviour in the main passenger cabin, and then simply remotely discharge a nerve gas via the air conditioning system that would instantly and momentarily disable the troublemakers (and passengers and crew of course), so that a flight deck member could then go to the rear cabins and identify and handcuff the perpetrators, whilst wearing breathing apparatus? And anyone who objected to that scenario is either a potential terrorist or someone who would prefer to travel by boat/train/donkey.
You are proposing gassing hundreds of innocent people to prevent a possible threat based on the appraisal of someone who had ought be to be busy flying a large complex aircraft? Also remember what happened when the Russians gassed a theatre full of hostages and hostage-takers? (Moscow theater hostage crisis) Rmhermen16:12, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What an interesting plan. So you're arguing that the elderly, the young, and those with any cardio-vascular issues should sign a waiver agreeing that, in the event of terrorists trying to take over the plane, they're happy to be killed by the flight crew in order to stop them? --Mnemeson16:40, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is no safe nerve gas, if that's what you are thinking. Even if there were, the prospect would raise all sorts of other objections, like how 300 drugged people could safely exit an aircraft.--Shantavira17:02, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Would it not just be easyer to do what the Israelis have done since the St Davids field incident and have agents on the planes with :low velosity guns , tasers and battons.
Making the flight deck doors and walls bullet proof is so obvious it hurts, but I just wonder that this has not been done due to :profit worries; referance the work needed and the extra lugage weight.
Having asked the original question - which I freely admit was a troll (trawl), I now thank Most of all the above respondents and surrender to Hezbullah, Al Quaida, Islam, Allah, etc, and look forward to an ex-Christian's eternity in Paradise devoid of any camels or virgins (for me) as they will all be being ridden (sic) by those that were protected by my respondent friends (and their ilk) - above. Will the last person allowed to use Wikipedia before being shot in the back of the skull in praise of Muhammed(pbuh) please turn out the lights. p.s. Can someone tell me somewhere near Reykjavik where I can buy my wife a Burkha?
Completely isolating the cockpit crew would require that they have a bathroom and food supply.
Sleeping gas might actually work much better in such an environment, because it could be evenly distributed. The problem in the Russian theater is that there was no way to evenly distribute it, and it was necessary that all the terrorists be sedated, meaning they had to use so much that those who got the highest doses would die. StuRat 02:11, 8 October 2006
Adding a photo to an existing file
Hi, I am trying to add a photo to an existing file..
Emmanuel Christopher Loblack
I done quite a bit of searching and have come up empty handed.
Could you please direct me to the information that where I could follow the instructions to upload a photo.
Best bet is to go into "Boots" or similar shop/boutique and ask a memeber of staff.
As you said there is a wide range so its personal choice really, just depends on your alergies/skin condition/taste.
HTH
P.S.Your name sounds very English, may we be permitted to know where you have moved from?
AMX
Just a guess, but [16] might. It would probably be hard for anybody other than the creators of the show to make what you're looking for, and if they did it'd probably be on their site, maybe somewhere else. I do know there's a special on TV Guide Channel before the season starts. Temp
Is it possible to sue the makers of Survivor for racial discrimination, since they essentially automatically declined all contestant applications by any applicant who wasn't black, white, hispanic, or asian. --209.122.217.16821:37, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not if people agree to be racially discrimated, I guess Temp
I'm sure they have an artistic license of sorts that allows them to do so. It's along the same lines of denying someone to play the Queen in a play because the actor is a 'he'. Hyenaste(tell)22:51, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's my understanding that the contestants for Survivor: Cook Islands were chosen before it was decided to divide the tribes by race. If this is true, then it follows that applicants who didn't fit in the four tribes weren't selected for reasons other than race. I wonder just how many applicants they actually get that aren't in those four groups; over all thirteen seasons, minorities are consistently overrepresented as a representation of the applicant pool. --Maxamegalon200023:41, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I find this a little difficult to believe. Previous seasons are well-noted for having small numbers of minorities; Guatemala, for instance, had (if memory serves) 17 white people and one Hispanic. I think Panama had two African-Americans, one Asian American and 13 Caucasians. To my quick and rough count, the first six seasons combined had fewer minorities than this current single season. If minorities are consistently overrepresented in the applicant pool, they sure as hell aren't making it on the actual show. Furthermore, I've read reports that many of the contestants were recruited for this season; that makes it particularly difficult to believe that they went out and found extra minorities, way more than ever before, and still picked this contestant pool without race as a factor. Personally, I would have done a Survivor with four tribes made up of people from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. --ByeByeBaby04:27, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It would only be possible to sue if you actually tried out for the show and don't fall into any of those categories, but your chances of having your suit taken serious are minimal. User:Zoe|(talk)02:16, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Name this song & artist
I'm trying to remember the artist in this song. It has a male singer during the chorus singing in a somewhat high-pitched voice to start something along the lines of "hold me close love, its all me, its all me... gotta ask yourself one question, where are you now?"... Croat CanuckGo Leafs Go21:49, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think that James Blunt sings it.Not sure if he wrote it,but I know that he sings it on one of his albums.There have been quite a few ads with that song on it.Serenaacw12:24, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Once your relationship becomes that serious, it is difficult to change the direction. You can't love someone one day and beat them up the next, or vice versa, without some serious emotional issues occuring. Hyenaste(tell)22:54, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I know this place is somewhat not very serious, but that's not funny. Abuse is never something to joke about, in my view. ++Lar: t/c06:48, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Before a solution can be found, you need to figure out why the housework isn't being done. It could be any or all of the following:
What constitutes 'clean' differs from person to person in the group;
Some members think they're doing their fair share, while others disagree;
Some members don't know how to clean;
The members being organised to clean resent the organiser(s) of cleaning duties;
Everyone is just too busy;
There's a guilt/blame or parent/child dynamic;
People are being messy out of passive-aggression (to express dissatisfaction over some other element of the relationship);
Some members are just lazy;
Some members are hoping their parents/significant others will eventually do it (at Christmas, maybe);
Or who knows what else.
If everyone truly and freely agrees that your place isn't as clean as it should be, and you've already tried dividing chores, rotating chores, 'cleanup day's etc, and those didn't work, then I suggest you pool your resources and hire a cleaner for a couple of months. Then evaluate: was it worth the money? If so, keep doing it. If not, maybe it'll make it easier to keep up. Or maybe some members will want to keep paying someone to clean, in which case they can either pay the members who don't mind cleaning, or the cleaners can keep coming and just do fewer chores.Anchoress22:56, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Have a system whereby everyone does their bit of cleaning at the same time, and impose a charge (say $5) on anyone who forces the group to move to a different time from the scheduled one. It's much more fun to be working together, rather than one person working while everyone else watches. No-one feels put upon because they're the only one working, and malingerers can't hide. And at the end of the process you have a lovely clean apartment (rather than a dirty apartment with just one part clean). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk00:12, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with Anchoress's suggestion about a cleaner, if you're willing to go that far. In some circumstances you just simply can't expect everybody to act clean enough to keep everyone happy, and it will always get on someone's nerves. It is much easier to keep a clean house clean than it is a dirty one, so starting fresh is a good idea. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 04:29, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is there such a thing as a semi-permanent marker that could be used to write on a white board with, that can be easily removed, but will not come off when kids rub the board?--67.172.248.20702:13, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A word of caution, though: Most people (and especially most kids) have some moisture on their fingers, and the wet-erase markers can smear. And it stains your skin much worse than dry-erase (although not as much as permanent). --ByeByeBaby04:05, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Anecdotally, I'm told that marks from a Sharpie-brand permanent marker can be erased from a dry-erase board by over-writing the Sharpie marks with a dry-erase pen, and then erasing the dry-erase pen. I suppose it would work with other permanent markers than the Sharpie brand, if indeed it does work. I have never tried it, but an acquaintance swears that it works as described. 192.168.1.1 9:04PM, 7 Rocktober 2006 (PST)
We have a dry-erase calendar that we use a Sharpie permanent marker on. When we need to erase something, we use rubbing alcohol. It seems to work fine for us. Note, however, that we do not subject the same area to repeated erasures. –RHolton≡– 04:13, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What 192 said about permanent markers is true; I've had to do it many times. I've also found (on a related topic) that nail polish remover takes sharpie off of any metallic surface (like the refrigerator). Anchoress05:47, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
An intriguing question
If you had to lose one of your five senses, which sense would you give up?Why?
Suggestion 1: They're asking why you would choose to give up that particular sense. A suitable response would be Smell, because it is not as important in life as sight or hearing, and would degrade more than any other sense in the future anyway.
I could do without smell or taste easy. I get much more pleasure from music than I do from food, though I suspect there are many people who would feel otherwize. Loss of sight and hearing would be a major inconvenience for someone who has had the pleasure of having both for the entire span of his life, and losing feeling/touch sense would deprive me of the pleasure I most fundamentally desire as a creature attempting to protect my species, and that would really suck too. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 04:25, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I suppose he means you wouldn't be able to get a hard on. And about the loss of smell I've heard that that is pretty bad too because it makes you 'lose contact with your surroundings' or something, making the world 'colder'. Can't remember precisely, heard something like that once. DirkvdM06:19, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have observed a strange thing. I hear several people saying that they have no time at all in their lives to watch a movie or do something outside of their routine. However, they seem to do nothing special otherwise. The question is then why do they keep complaining of lack of time? Is it to impress others or is it just a thing they say because everybody says the same. One of my colleagues is a fellow who actually takes a nap in weekends , yet he says he has no time for anything
sumal05:22, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Some people find alterations or additions to their routines to be too stressful. It's easier to say no than to switch stuff around or miss out on a routine event. Anchoress05:54, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Jesus / Mohammed and the different ways to approach God
Please help. Hindu's believe that any path to God is valid and therefore use many different forms of worship to enable each person to find a way they feel confortable with in this quest. Christians and Muslims however believe that the only way to God is through Jesus or Mohammed and that if you dont follow the specific teachings and worship in the specific way you cannot know God. I cannot believe that Jesus or Mohammed, being enlightened, would make such limiting statements even though both the Muslims and the Christians say that this is supported by their scriptures. What evidence is there in the Bible and in the Koran to support that this is perhaps a misconception and that in fact the quest to understand is more important than the way in which it is undertaken. Thanks for any comments on this subject.
Personally, I've never understood this belief. How can any path to God be valid if some of them explicitly state that the others are totally wrong? It's just self-contradictory. Clarityfiend09:08, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'd guess early Christians and Muslims were quite conceited? Personally, I think the Hindu viewpoint actually seems much nicer. 惑乱 分からん11:47, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are There Any Wikipedia Articles That Discuss The Mistranlastion Of Homosexuality In The Bible?
The Urban article says he is the most combat-decorated soldier in American history, with 29, but Murphy's says he has 33. Do some of Murphy's medals not count as combat decorations? Clarityfiend09:03, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
analyst and users problem in stationary shop
which problems a analys and user will face in a stationary shop?
Is there a symbol for 'everything but these'?
example;
I want a camo leppard print jacket. I don't want to sift threw every def leppard fan space to look for it.
If I am correct, one may use a'%' to say 'everything'... so, is there one for 'not these'?
thanks.
Jinkuk Anderson
[e-mail removed]
How to not ask for...
Is there a symbol for 'everything but these'?
example;
I want a camo leppard print jacket. I don't want to sift threw every def leppard fan space to look for it.
If I am correct, one may use a'%' to say 'everything'... so, is there one for 'not these'?
thanks.
Pacific Coast Highway {blah • Spinach crisis '06! • WP:NYCS} 01:16, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
