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February 16

Rich Author

Who Is The Richest Mexican Novelist In The World?

♥Hot F.L.I.P.

This is little more than a guess, but possibly Laura Esquivel? Grutness...wha? 10:35, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

who is using this penname?! umm sorry, but it is already used by....me! can you please change it, it might confuse others.....i'm asking many random questions.....including this, which i didn't write!Plus your question has been already asked (by you) soo many times...stop asking! especially if your going to use my "name". the real- ♥Hot F.L.I.P. (the one who gets off topic a lot....posted "separate but equal")

The Muhammad Cartoon

With all these Arabs and muslums that are rioting, taking hostages, and making threats to kill the people who made it, aren't they concerned that they are just confirming the cartoon in the eyes of the world. Or is just that they aren't thinking ahead as usual. Responding to a cartoon depicting Muhammad as a Terrorist by trying to kill everyone just confirms it for me.

Not a question. --Zeizmic 02:36, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's at least phrased as two questions, though question marks would be an improvement. I think the answers are pretty clear:
  1. Probably not.
  2. Someone is certainly thinking ahead. ᓛᖁ♀ 03:09, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It seems to me that this hypersensitivity to any type of insult can work for the West. Just find a nice isolated spot in the Middle East, erect a giant flag with Mohammed doing something immoral with a camel, and surround the place with thousands of land mines. Since the crazies put such a high value on protecting the image of Mohammed and such a low value on human life, they should be willing to charge the flagpole until they get through. Certainly dying in such a cause will get them a dozen virgins, so everybody's happy, right ? After they destroy that flagpole, erect another one somewhere else, and so on. We will have the Muslim world purged of these idiots in no time. StuRat 05:30, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Since I can't dissuade you from your Islamic generalizing, I want to at least inform you that it's 72 virgins.  :) Superm401 - Talk 06:30, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Although according to one cartoon heaven is running out of them. DirkvdM 09:43, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hence one of the better cartoons, of somone entering the afterlife and hearing "sorry, we're all out of virgins..."!
There's a theory that Syria just wants to dissuade the Americans (sort of a more blunt clue for the ones who don't understand Iraq) from trying to invade, with a warning about the sort of violence they might find there, hence the televised riots. Ojw 09:26, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They certainly wouldn't want to protect the image because any image of Mohammed would be insulting. Also, to storm it they'd have to check where it is, for which they'd have to look at it, which is also 'not done'. Maybe they could hire an infidel to point them in the right direction? That would be ironic. And anyway, even if it would work it wouldn't last too long because there are precious few people who would do something like that, despite what politicians and media are trying to make you think. Let's get upset about stuff that really kills a lot of young people, like (yes, here I go again) cars. Cars kill about half a million people a year. How many people got killed through terrorism last year? I don't know really (anyone?) but if it's 'half a thousand' then road kills are a thousand times more important than terrorism (let alone a bit of fake indignation). Let's stop getting all worked up about a few nuts and a few staged uproars that have little effect in the grand scheme of things. DirkvdM 09:43, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's a bit unfair to call the indignation caused by these cartoons "fake". I just find it quite funny that the European/U.S press is fully behind the idea of free speech for these cartoons, but were absolutely horrified when the competition for cartoons about the Holocaust was announced. GeeJo (t) (c)  10:41, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The difference is that the West values human life, while the Muslim world puts a much higher value on symbols of their religion. Therefore, most people in the West don't find murdering millions of civilians funny, while many in the Muslim world apparently do. This also explains why some Muslims respond to any perceived insult by threatening to kidnap and kill people. StuRat 20:27, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Mmm-hmm. But the Mohammed cartoons were not created to be funny, they were created to be controversial — The Holocaust cartoons were commissioned as a response. Not because theyre funny, but because they'll produce controversy. Again, you're making derogatory generalisations about the Muslim community, without much to back it up. I can't remember ever seeing Muslims in my area tumbling about in laughter after watching Schindler's List, for example. You also seem to believe that there are no Muslims in "the West", or that none were offended by the cartoons, which doesn't make much sense given the protests that have taken place throughout Europe. GeeJo (t) (c)  21:39, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps pleasure would be a better word to describe how many Muslims feel when they see the murder of Westerners, such as when Palestinians and others were dancing in the streets following the 9-11 attacks. StuRat 03:45, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There may be many Muslims physically located in the West, but those rioting are not integrated with the West, rejecting democratic, secular concepts like Freedom of the Press. In my opinion, allowing people to immigrate to your country who are opposed to all the values of your society is a huge mistake, and those who are unwilling to integrate should be deported back to the culture that they apparently prefer. There should be a series of steps any new immigrant should be required to meet to stay in a country, including learning the language, the laws, and history of the new country. And some branches of Islam, like Wahabism, should be banned outright as fundamentally incompatible with Western Democracy. StuRat 03:34, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know about the US, but here in the etherlands (and probably most of Europe) immigrants weren't just 'allowed in'. They were desperately needed and sought after to do the dirty work we decadent westerners refused to do any more. Now we've found that apart from being able to work they are also humans with their own desires and beliefs and such. And now we're stuck with them and since we don't wish to adapt to what we asked for we demand that they adapt to us. DirkvdM 07:55, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is another option, you can grant short term work visas, then deport anyone who refuses to leave of their own accord when the work term ends. You don't need to give away your country (to people who want to completely change all of it) just to find workers. StuRat 01:46, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I disagree that protesting against the cartoons means that you're protesting against free speech. I attended a protest against the decision by the British Government to go to war against Iraq. That doesn't mean I'm against democratic government. It means I disagree with the specific decision implemented by a single example of such a government. You'll find most Muslims in Western communities have no problem with free speech in general, they simply find the specific images to be highly offensive. Having a peaceful protest is simply an escalation of the process of writing a complaint. Activism != Terrorism. I also find it slightly hypocritical that you defend the extollment of one form of speech which you find acceptable (the cartoons), and then denounce another idea (Wahabism), that you disagree with, and believe that anyone who has such beliefs should be deported. GeeJo (t) (c)  14:15, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Peacefully protesting against the newspapers that printed them is fine. However, protesting the nation as a whole, by boycotting products of that nation, burning their flag, storming their embassy, etc., is designed to force that nation's government to control the press, which is very anti-free speech. And trying to take hostages over the cartoons is far worse. As for Wahabism, defending free speech has it's limits, and when somebody tries to call for terrorism, this should not be protected. And immigration policy is unrelated to free speech. Any country has the right to prohibit entry of people who will do more harm to their country than good. StuRat 01:40, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
people who feel strongly about an issue usually don't think there actions very well through. i also don't believe it is as much of how muhammad is shown, but that he is shown. there are also stories about local leaders adding cartoons which are worse just to start some extra reactions, it's all kinda typical. Boneyard 12:06, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There's no contradiction between being "fully behind the idea of free speech for these cartoons" and being absolutely horrified at an expression of free speech. Free speech is ugly; that's kinda the whole point. You have the right to say something someone might find offensive. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:30, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not according to the law. There are laws prohibiting things such as racial vilification, and glorification of terrorism. JackofOz 20:18, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That depends on the country. In the U.S., even hate speech is considered protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.--Pharos 20:35, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, and the House of Lords recently blocked the clause of the anti-terrorism bill making glorification of terrorism a crime in the United Kingdom. GeeJo (t) (c)  21:21, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yesterday they passed a separate law outlawing glorification of terrorism. JackofOz 21:44, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The House of Commons passed it, the House of Lords still have to ratify it, and there's some question as to which way their decision will fall. See this BBC article. GeeJo (t) (c)  22:25, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's funny how eager some people are to curtail the freedom of speech of others in order to preserve their own. DirkvdM 15:14, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What do you call this?

http://i1.tinypic.com/nwfqqv.jpg

I think there's an article about this on Wikipedia but I can't find it. Thanks. 203.173.191.106 02:14, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's called a soda gun, apparently. --Robert Merkel 02:42, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks 203.173.191.106 02:54, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What's the copyright status of that image? I notice the article is missing one. —Keenan Pepper 04:46, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And here I thought it was an early version of the phaser. JIP | Talk 12:02, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Sandman: Brief Lives

I need a relatively detailed description of both sides of Delirium's envelope-list from Brief Lives. Can I have said description, or maybe a link to a picture? DuctapeDaredevil 02:55, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Chapter 3, page 12, lower right panel
The back of the envelope is shown. It's torn at the top. Four names are written on it, with the right side of the envelope being the "top" with respect to the writing. The names are (line breaks as on the envelope):
the lawyer
tHe ALDERMAN
Etain of the
Second Look
the dANCiNG
woman.
"alderman" is written in fairly blockish capitals. The E in "Etain" is somewhat curvy, unlike the E in "alderman." The "he," "Second," and "ook" in "the Second Look" are in cursive. The i's in "Etain" and "dancing" are dotted with little flowers.
Chapter 4, page 14. The envelope is seen in the top middle, top right, and middle left panels. The back is seen in the top middle panel; I can't tell which side is supposed to be shown in the other two. No writing is visible on the envelope in any of these.
Chapter 7, page 4. In the top right panel, the front of the envelope is seen. There is a cancelled stamp in the upper right, and some writing in the upper left where a return address would be, but no specific words or letters can be made out. The center, where a delivery address would be, appears blank.
In the bottom left and middle panels, the envelope is seen, but no writing is visible, nor is it clear which side is supposed to be showing.
Chapter 7, page 5. The front of the envelope is shown in the upper right panel. Again, something in the upper left, but can't be made out. However, this time there appears to be a delivery address in the center:
Sant--
The Nor--le
Dashes do not actually appear on the envelope; I use them here to represent parts of the address covered by Delirium's finger. I assume this is meant to be "Santa, The North Pole". The upper right of the envelope is also hidden by Delirium's hand.
In the middle left panel on that page, the front is shown again, but the only markings--again not legible--is in the upper left, as per a return address. The rest is hidden by Delirium's hand. In the middle right panel, the envelope is falling, Delirium having dropped it. The back is shown; it appears to be the same as on Chapter 3, page 12, except that the i in "dancing" is dotted only with a circle, and the two n's in "dancing" are lowercase. I suppose you could the c is also in lowercase, but since a lowercase c is a lot like an uppercase C, save for the size, I can't really say.
Chuck 05:12, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you so much!! You are like some kind of god, and I'm gonna worship you now. 172.165.27.15 05:57, 19 February 2006 (UTC) (Who happens to DuctapeDaredevil, but on FireFox)[reply]

The phrase "김일성 시" redirects to Seoul. What does that stand for?

Does anyone have any idea what "김일성 시" stands for and why it redirects to Seoul? Someone here ought to know Korean, or maybe know a Wikipedian friend that knows Korean. If you know a Korean, have them take a look at it and tell us what it says and how it has anything to do with Seoul. Thanks. --68.102.193.78 05:24, 16 February 2006 (UTC)The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:Schultz, who also created the redirect. Markyour words 12:45, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

PS: "서울" is Hangeul for Seoul so the other phrase must stand for something else. --68.102.193.78 05:27, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know any Korean, but it's probably the Korean name for Seoul. Yeltensic42 don't panic 05:26, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Like I said, "서울" is Hangeul for Seoul so the other phrase must stand for something else. --68.102.193.78 05:45, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I fed this to a translator [1] and it reported "Kim Il-Song hour". The Korean Wikipedia [2] clearly shows that 김일성 is Kim Il-sung (I don't read Korean but it has dates of birth and death on it). Interestingly "시" alone is translated as Poem, and may have more meanings. I wonder if it's a political statement. Someone could always ask the contributor... Anyway, is it Wikipedia policy to include original foreign language renderings in the English, in this way? Notinasnaid 09:12, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Redirects are cheap. If we can redirect from the original name, even if it does not use the same alphabet, why not? --cesarb 11:48, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There's no point asking the contributor (Schultz), because he is also the questioner (Schultz). I'll delete it. Markyour words 12:45, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
One reason not to start these redirects is that languages are ambiguous. A single word in one language may have more than one English translation. And different languages may use the same letters to mean different things. Then there are cases where the foreign word already has an English meaning (e.g. nova). So such redirects can never be more than a random sampling of foreign words. Or, each English article has the potential to start with a disambiguation for stacks of non-English words. Such a universal Wikipedia sounds interesting, but also sounds a major policy shift... Notinasnaid 15:22, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Some more research [3] shows that while 시 doesn't mean city by itself, it is used at the end of some contructs about cities, including "뉴욕 시", New York City. Now, [4] suggests that the phrase can also be translated through "Kim Il-sung Si" to "Kim Il-sung City". That article talks about some speculation, for which no evidence was found, that Seoul might have been renamed if North Korean had won the war. But that's a long way from it being an uncontroversial redirect. Notinasnaid 15:34, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's original research and [[Wikipedia:NOT] is a crystal ball.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  03:41, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Quote

Who is the U.S. Economist quoted as saying: "when a man marries his housekeeper the GNP goes down"? Thank you.

It was the British economist Cecil Pigou, who noted the anomaly that if we hire somebody to clean our house, the GDP goes up, but if we marry our housekeeper, the GDP does down. [5]. JackofOz 05:41, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Those are the smartest U.S. economists. Superm401 - Talk 06:33, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In other words no-one. That should teach you to unsuitly overemphazi your questions. :) DirkvdM 15:18, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The film "Death of a Son"

Can anyone please tell me how the TV film shown in 1988, called "Death of a Son" and starring Lynn Redgrave and Malcolm Storry ends. With thanks.

The son dies? Thuresson 02:37, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the answer. However the son died at the BEGINNING of the film. The last part of the film was the British court case against the man who supplied the drugs to the son and which caused his death. My question is what was the verdict in this court case? With thanks.

According to All Movie Guide the play by Tony Marchant was based on a true story so the answer shouldn't be impossible to find. Is this movie about young people with diabetes dying suddenly? I found the following (link):
In 1989 Dr Patrick Toseland, then a senior and well-respected pathologist at Guy's Hospital, London, was asked to investigate 19 deaths reported by doctors in the previous 18 months that had occurred in young people with diabetes. The deaths were unusual - they all happened suddenly, they all appeared to follow a rapid decline in blood sugar levels and the deceased were all using 'human' insulin. Dr Toseland thought that this sort of sudden death in young diabetics was something new.
Try searching for "dead in bed syndrome". Thuresson 20:00, 17

February 2006 (UTC)

This film is nothing to do with diabetes, As the "All Movie Guide" states: A 3 year court case was the result of a mother's fight to convict the man who killed her son with a lethal drug overdose injection as told in this true story. But what was the verdict in this court case?

Antony Armstrong-Jones photograph

I have in my possession a photograph taken by Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1956, which I would like to include in a book I've written. I have tried all the picture libraries, and I can't seem to find any way of contacting Lord Snowdon's organisation that might deal with the copyright of his pictures. Has anyone any suggestion how I might proceed with this? I would be very grateful for any advice. Thank you David Barry

Missed this one. Why not go here and try either the Public Information Office or the Press Offices. They don't have a lot of email contact but they do have phone numbers. Are you this Dave Barry? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 11:30, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hello and welcome to Arnold's Pizza Shop!

Why is this prank funny? and why is it avalible after Arnold Strong fryed a black man? --Mussel876 16:39, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Then pls mark for deletion. --Zeizmic 17:43, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Um, mark what for deletion? This is way over my head, except that I observe that Arnold Strong is an early screen name of Arnold Schwarzenegger, suggesting its use carries overtones of social commentary, or deliberate obfuscation. Notinasnaid 11:45, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What is the vaccuum brand that makes the least amount of noise?

Yeah, this is so Consumer Reports, but I can talk about my new Roomba robot vacuum! It doesn't make much noise, but it really works, and is fun to watch. If I were smarter, I could hack it! --Zeizmic 20:46, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Really? Maybe my Roomba is old-school, but I'd never call it quiet. That does not make me love it any less of course. A full-house in-wall vacuum system is quiet where you use it (but noisy as heck wherever the motor is). Also, not particularly easy to install after the house has been built. --LarryMac 20:55, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Noise doesn't travel through vacuum (maybe you watch too much Star Trek?). So a vacuum itself making noise is even more impossible (in as far as there can be levels of impossibility, such as in fuzzy logic, but I digress). And just in case you're talking about a vacuum cleaner, considering that a vacuum is by definition nothing, I wonder how one goes about cleaning it. That sounds like a very Zen problem. DirkvdM 15:22, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I can't tell where Zeizmic or LarryMac are from, but it's quite normal for a vacuum cleaner to be referred to as a 'vacuum' over here. (In the USA I thought it was generally called 'hoover'.) JackofOz 21:48, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In Dutch it's called a 'dust sucker'. But that's no excuse to call it a 'sucker' for short. :) DirkvdM 07:58, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Can you give me a link to the list of acceptable excuses?  :-) JackofOz 08:08, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The noise of the vacuum cleaner is based on the motor and other mechanicals. I have found the Dyson vacuum rather quiet in comparison to others. Now when I vaccum, I listen to my iPod with a pair of studio monitor earphones and it makes the vacuum really quiet! FunkyChicken! 15:13, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Office 2003 Activation Help

Hey guys, I recently re-installed my operating system. However, when I tried to re-install Microsoft Office 2003 Standard Edition it wouldn't let me re-activate the product because it said my registration code had already been used. Do you guys know of any crack that can generate the confirmation id for me?--God of War 21:24, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably not needed; you could call Microsoft and ask them to unblock the activation. --cesarb 21:36, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Since nobody actually owns Office for the home, I suspect it's something tricky. I ran into that problem, that I couldn't get easy copies of a modern version anymore. So I went totally over to OpenOffice and haven't looked back. --Zeizmic 21:46, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Just today I discovered that when someone saved a .doc file as an .html file with msWord it expanded it to almost 500 kB. OpenOffice made it into just under 100 kB, which made a big difference since it was to be sent by email. Actually, when I trimmed it by hand the size was close to 40 kB, so msWord had made it about 10 times too big with loads of unnecessary nonsense. So that's one up for Open Office (and one more up for a good oldfashioned handjob). DirkvdM 15:33, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
He didn't ask for zealotry, he asked for an answer. Luigi30 (Ταλκ) 14:48, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Closer to 12 times too big.
  • I have run into this problem after having to wipe hard drives due to virus problems. Just call Microsoft, tell them you had to re-install the operating system and the nice person in India you will speak with will give you teh activation code. This also works with Windows. One thing, the next time you have to go through this you'll have to do the same. Just another reason to hate Bill Gates. FunkyChicken! 15:09, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Pressure Cookers

How high do the temperature and pressure become? All I can find is that food cooks much more quickly in them (tastes better, too).

Hint: Pressure cooking Lots of great physics in pressure cooking. My mother-in-law put a great big dent in the ceiling with one! --Zeizmic 23:29, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You can vary the boiling point of water ( lower it ) with more pressure. My parents had a pressure cooker with a varible pressure rating of 15 psi, 30 psi and 45 psi. Made GREAT mashed potatoes. Artoftransformation 01:05, 17 February 2006 (UTC)--[reply]
Raising the pressure actually raises the boiling point, so allows you to cook food hotter without it boiling. StuRat 02:14, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, I had always understood that the higher temperatures meant more vitamins and stuff (taste?) were lost (broken down), but does the fact that you don't need to go up to the boiling point make a difference too? This sort of info is lacking from the article. Since I won't be the only one who thinks of this first when hearing the word 'pressure cooker', such info should really be in it. DirkvdM 15:39, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Taste might go, but since the cooker is completely sealed, I don't see how any vitamins would be lost. They'd be there somewhere, even if in the juice (yummy). JackofOz 21:40, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, but they're said to break down in high temperatures. DirkvdM 07:59, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But that could be balanced by the much shorter cooking times. It's hard to say which one would preserve more vitamins. Also to answer the original question, on one manufacturer's website they state that at the 15lbs of pressure their cookers operate at, temperature inside the Pressure Cooker reaches 250 degrees.[6] The same page claims more nutrients are retained. That's possible, but I have more faith in the temperature number since that's easy to measure. The higher pressure models that Artoftransformation referred to would obviously have higher temperatures. One that has selectable pressure sounds pretty cool. - Taxman Talk 16:13, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You use a manufacturer's site to check on how healthy their products are? That's about the least reliable source imaginable. Thanks for the effort anyway. :) DirkvdM 18:53, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Job Question

Dear Whoever Receives This:

Please forward my question to the appropriate representative. Here it is...

In all sincerity, I am trying to find a job I could do from my own computer or residence. I've always been a hard working, honest, loyal, trustworthy individual and there was never any drug activity in my life. Personally, I'm chemically-allergic, so my life has never been corrupt with drug problems.

I've virtually like an 'orphan' because all my personal family helping hands are dead and many died young, so I'm trying to find a way to survive by myself. My previous full-time work group members were all laid off in the USA at the end of 2001. There was no job fault conduted by us. We were merely a cost reduction for a major corporation. However, despite this simple reason, and the fact I've been dropping off resumes a great deal, I've not found anyone interested in a good worker. Might there be something I could do for you via my computer or residence? If so, please contact me at my personal e-mail and we can chat more and I'm willing to share with you the IMPRESSIVE work tasks that I've already done. Thank you,

Nancy Nowicki My Personal E-mail is: email removed

Email removed to prevent spam. --cesarb 22:17, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not suggesting you list your resume here, but you could at least tell us what type of work you do. StuRat 23:21, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

On the other hand, we're batting zero for getting people high-paying jobs... --Zeizmic 23:31, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You mean there is a high paying job around this place? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:16, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
From what I gather, there are only 3 employees of Wikimedia who get payed for their work. - Akamad 03:34, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Good thing spellcheckers are free ;) Luigi30 (Ταλκ) 14:51, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How do we know what is fact vs what's personal opinion in Wikipedia?

Question in title only

Based on the article itself, you don't. This is why all good articles include outside references (Wikipedia:Verifiability). GeeJo (t) (c)  22:28, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For all facts? In trhat case I wonder if we have a single good article by your definition. Of course the same could be asked for any encyclopedia or other source. A good indicator is the subject. If it's uncontroversial it probably won't be biased (which, however doesn't mean it's true). When it's about, say, communism, you can expect everyting to be POV. But then, that goes for other sources on the Internet even more than for Wikipedia because here, POV's are somewhat balanced out. DirkvdM 15:43, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Note that I didnt say that all facts needed to be referenced, merely that the articles needed to be. GeeJo (t) (c)  12:45, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it was the New York Times that did a test of a handful of articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica (was it?) and compared them with their equivalent Wiki articles. Britannica averaged something like 98% accuracy to Wikipedias 97%, and when you factor in that Wiki is several times larger than Britannica, it doesn't seem like that much of a big deal anymore. Of course those figures were for standard articles (bios, country descriptions, events, and the like) so you have to take many more vague wiki articles with a grain of salt. In general though, if you're paying attention, you can trust the stuff that's in Wiki.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  17:04, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That was Nature magazine. Considering how often people think things are from the US when they're not it isn't surprising they often overestimate the importance of the country (as if there is a need). DirkvdM 08:01, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Author

Who Is The Richest Novelist In Spanish Language?

See above. If the question was not answered before then it's unlikely that it will now. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 23:52, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Nobility And Royalty Jauregui

What Members And Families Of The Nobility Or Royalty Have Jauregui As Their Last Name?

Probably Spanish but looking at Juan de Jáuregui maybe not. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk)

Stereotypical Canadians

I'm making a list of Canadian stereoptypes (humorous, false, true) to introduce to my students, and this is what I have so far:

The stereotypical Canadian:

  • … eats Kraft Dinner for every meal.
  • … is named Doug or Jen.
  • … thinks Canadians speak with no accent.
  • … will drop the gloves with any American who suggests that Canadians say “aboot” instead of “about”, or that we live in igloos.
  • … says “eh?” at the end of every sentence.
  • … is called a “hoser”, or a “canuck” by Americans.
  • … loves only 2 things: beer and hockey.
  • … always wears heavy winter clothing (a flannel lumberjack shirt, Kodiak boots, and a tuque)
  • … tries to deke out everyone and everything.
  • … listens to music on a ghetto blaster.
  • … buys candy with a loonie or a toonie.
  • … says prolly instead of probably.
  • … goes to work on the vomit comet.
  • … doesn't like people from T-dot (or T.O.)
  • … watches the CBC, especially Hockey Night in Canada and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
  • … worships maple syrup and the maple leaf, common loons, and beavers.

Can anybody think of any more? Funny and true ones are best. The object is to intruduce words, images, and culture tidbits that someone outside of N/A or Europe might not have heard of.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  00:05, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ultra polite. Tom Holt, English author even noticed this in at leat one of his books. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:14, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Eats ketchup chips and poutan.
Plays funny ice games with rocks and brooms.
-LambaJan 00:35, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That would be poutine, yumm : ).  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  03:24, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The stereotypical Canadian is an American without a gun
Slumgum 00:48, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Watching a few old episodes of Due South might give you some more ideas... Grutness...wha? 01:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They not only lack guns, but have healthcare. Yeltensic42 don't panic 01:46, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • They like to drink 2-4's (24 packs of beer).StuRat 01:58, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • They like to pretend they have a queen, so had to borrow one to put on their money. StuRat 02:05, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • ...doesn't tip properly at an American restaurant? KWH 02:29, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Never heard that one before. I don't think the kids will get it though, they don't have the concept of "tipping" here at all : /.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  03:26, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's actually more something for a similar list about USians. In my experience, they're the ones who stand out by overtipping. Or tipping at all for that matter. DirkvdM
  • Google "you know you're from canada when" --Nelson Ricardo 03:25, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • too polite to win at the Olympics. --Zeizmic 12:58, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Picking nits, but if you go to work on the "vomit comet" and don't like people from T.O., you've got a bad case of self-loathing... "vomit comet" is (to my knowledge) the slang for all-night buses in Toronto. I'd drop the "comet," anyway -- that's a very regional reference and doesn't speak to Canadians in general. I'm wearing a flannel shirt and Kodiak boots RIGHT NOW, by the way... :-) MattShepherd 14:27, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The sometimes refers to the TTC in general, not exactly sure why. I just included it because its an interesting tidbit : ).  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  16:58, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Apologises when you tread on their foot. Thinks a beer commerical is a patriotic symbol. You can probably find a copy of the Joe Canadian commerial to show if you look hard enough. DJ Clayworth 17:09, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You know, I think I just may : ). It's easily found on google video.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  11:44, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

off colour, off topic thing deleted. --Zeizmic 18:10, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

A Canadian is someone who:

  • climbs on a mountain and yells at the top of his lungs how he is better than you because he is quieter and more humble.
  • talks like an American, looks like an American and acts like an American but remains adamant that Americans are nothing like him.
  • wears a little Canadian flag on his backpack so no one thinks he's American.
  • stays up at night worrying that someone, somewhere out there doesn't like Canadians.
  • always goes out of his way to find the Canadian angle on anything. ("Did you know the guy who designed this year's Super Bowl logo is Canadian?")
  • is named Gord.
  • tells jokes about people from Newfoundland.
  • follows all four major sports -- pro hockey, junior hockey, minor hockey and women's hockey.
  • thinks the rest of the world also buys milk in balloons. -- Mwalcoff 00:42, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OK, I'm curious, they buy milk in balloons ? StuRat 01:14, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See the milk article. Milk in Canada is sold in 1 1/3 litre bags that resemble rectangular water balloons. Samw 02:48, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Cool, anyone have a pic ? I'd like to see that. They might even become my second most favorite type of milk bag. StuRat 03:05, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See [7] Samw 04:35, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

February 17

Who Is.......?

Who Is Moises Ramses Jauregui? Unsigned question by User:206.170.104.24

City

What Mexican City Has THe Largest Population Of Japanese And Filipino People? Unsigned question by User:206.170.104.24

Who Was?

Who Was The Best Soccer Player In The World In 1989? Unsigned question by User:206.170.104.24

There wasn't a FIFA World Player of the Year award until 1991, but the 1989 European Footballer of the Year was Marco van Basten, who would have got my vote for World's best.
However, Ruud Gullitt was voted best player by readers of World Soccer (1989 World Soccer Awards).
Slumgum 00:54, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Novelist

Which Writer\Author Can Be A Combination Of Jorge Luis Borges And Nathaniel Hawthorne? Unsigned question by User:206.170.104.24

What's the prize in this literature quiz? Notinasnaid 08:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Literature

Which Author\Writer Can Be A Combination Of Jorge Luis Borges And H.G. Wells? Unsigned question by User:206.170.104.24

H.G.Borges? Seriously though, I'd suggest Ray Bradbury, but there are any number of possible answers, since Borges was a lot closer to science fiction than you'd think, and Wells often wrote with a magical realist sense of both social conscience and whimsy. Unless, of course, the question is asking for a predominantly science fiction author who also wrote in a wide number of literary genres, in which case Poul Anderson, or a predominantly science fiction author who also wrote essays on a vast array of subjects, in which case Isaac Asimov. Nah - go with Bradbury. Also, the question is posed in the present tense, and Bradbury's the only one of those three still alive, AFAIK. Grutness...wha? 10:34, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

dragon ball Goku question

[Is there] anoyone [who] is [a] comics, anime, or cartoons character ... that can beat Goku (at the end of dragon ball gt)???

No.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  19:19, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Dr Manhattan could liquidise him in about three seconds, but that's just my educated conclusion. Sum0 15:10, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Heavy

What Is Heavy Metal Literature And Who Is The Most Famous Heavy Metal Novelist?

Alexandre Dumas, père perhaps (for The Vicomte de Bragelonne and its ferrous hero)? JackofOz 01:32, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Whoa, if you're talking Dumas, what about The Man in the Iron Mask? And wasn't there a children's book about a steamshovel and another about Thomas the Train Engine? alteripse 02:42, 17 February 2006 (UTC) Oh. I just looked up the Vicomte and discovered it's the same book. Great minds... alteripse 02:43, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

(wink) JackofOz 04:32, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Michael Moorcock, novelist and metaller (not truly heavy, mind - Blue Oyster Cult and Hawkwind couldn't be really classified as HM). Grutness...wha? 02:27, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Bon Jovi

Who Is The Bon Jovi Of Literature?

Bon Jovi is.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  03:34, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Reminds me of a Peanuts cartoon where Lucy was lying around listening to Schroeder playing, and when he was finished she said "Schroeder, one day you're going to be the Beethoven of music". He looked suitably nonplussed and couldn't think of a thing to say. JackofOz 05:18, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I wish I had the kind of memory that could just quote random Peanuts clips.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  16:42, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeees .. I am kind of special. But this wasn't random, it was at least 5% related to the foregoing. JackofOz 21:34, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Richest

Who Is The Richest Writer\Author In The World?

J. K. Rowling. -LambaJan 03:51, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Nope. Donald Trump is a writer and author (Donald_Trump#Books), and is worth more. I am pretty sure Bill Gates has written a book, too. J.K. Rowling was, however, the first person to earn $1 bn solely from book sales and book-related stuff, such as her percentage take from merchandise sales, the Harry Potter movies, the movie merchandise, etc. Proto||type 12:46, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Crowd Advertising

I need the specific word/words that describe a specific type of advertising:

Most often related to sporting events, this is when each individual person within a specific section of a crowd holds up a small sign/poster (preplaced in their seats) in order for the larger sign to be put together.

Such signs are called "flip cards" and they are mostly used for "pep" and rooting rather than advertising. Also occasionally for hijinks, as when Yale students disguised themselves as the "Harvard Pep Squad" and tricked Harvard well-wishers into revealing "We Suck" (instead of "Go Harvard" [8]). This was a variant of the The Great Rose Bowl Hoax of 1961 - Nunh-huh 03:45, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thought I answered this a few hours ago; I guess I forgot to save. The phrase I think the original poster is looking for (although it doesn't necessarily refer to advertising as such) is card stunt. --Anonymous, 18:30 UTC, February 17.

Novelist

Who Is The RIchest Novelist In The World?

Spanish

Who Is The Richest Novelist Of Spanish Language In The World?

this question has been asked already look above for the answer and if there is not a answer stop asking.
indeed, cleary no one here knows the answer, try doing some searching yourself or perhaps try the spanish wiki. Boneyard 11:36, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Giving a Name a meaning

Hello! I have a difficult question, but if you can help me that would be the greatest thing. My wife has a beautiful name but it has no official meaning. I would love more then anything to give that to her as a gift. I've search the internet and their's probably only a few people in the world with that name. I've also search many websites for a meaning and there's none. But it does mean everything to me. Please! Can you help me?

Sincerely, Jonas

It would help massively if we knew your wife's name. However, numerology and related methodologies may serve as inspiration for some meaning. Besides, almost any name will mean something, or be very close to something, in at least a few languages - mine is nearly a politeness particle in Japanese, as well as having a religious Hebrew meaning (okay, so that's where it's derived from)! --Sam Pointon 03:45, 17 February 2006 (UTC) (edit: apologies for the grammar and stuff. Wiki-ing at quarter to four in the morning does that to me).[reply]
Well, he did say it was a difficult question. Maybe he was referring to the fact that he wants us to come up with a meaning of something without us knowing what it is. This is the third time I bring this up today, but that sounds rather Zen. DirkvdM 15:57, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The meaning of your wife's name is that you can refer to her without having to go and get her or take out a picture of her. Therefore one meaning of your wife's name could be "more expressive then any picture" or "easy to carry around". MeltBanana 16:52, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ethnic

Hi,Here Is My Question What Race I Am?:I Was Born In Mexico,My Father Is Of Spanish And Northern African,Arabian Ancestry And My Mother She Has Native American Ancestry And Some Asian Ancestry,I Just Want To Know Ethnicity I Am.Thank You.

If you have to choose, perhaps Mestizo comes the closest. Or you could just pick "All of the above" on any form that asks. StuRat 03:56, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You're human. You already demonstrated that you know your ethnicity. In addition to what Stu said, you could also consider using 'Mixed,' or not answering. -LambaJan 04:16, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
'Human' would be the best answer to a question about race. JackofOz 04:31, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See our article on ethnicity - it's a somewhat nebulous concept, and it becomes meaningless to try and pigeonhole people into ethnic groups when there is so much mixing going on.
Also, just as a suggestion, you may want to reduce your usage of the Shift key - in English, there is no need to capitalise every word (if you want an in-depth discussion, see capitalization), and it makes your question a bit difficult to read. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 09:01, 17 February 2006 (UTC) [reply]
Let me pose you a question. You're part Spanish, part North African, etc etc etc, but which race to you consider yourself to be - which do you identify with? Do you think of yourself as a Mexican, a native Mexican, Spanish? The race you are in your heart is probably closer to what you should consider as an answer to your question than any dividing up by fraction of this and fraction of that. I think of myself as a Celt, for instance, because many of my lines of ancestry go back to Ireland and Wales - some of them a long way back. I have ancestry from other places, too, but I identify with the Irish lineage most strongly. I have friends who consider themselves equally of Maori and British descent, despite only having 1/8 Maori lineage. It's how you feel that's the important thing. Grutness...wha? 10:51, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Let me be the third one to point out that your race must be human (there are no separate human races - there's just one human race). If you're asking about your ethnicity in the sense of skin colour and nose size and such, there are few indication in the information you give. That your father's ancestry is of Spanish, North African and Arabic ancestry says nothing. All sorts of ethnicities live in those regions. Spain is actually one big melting pot, with Celts in the North West, a strong Arabic history in the South and Germanic tribes passing through (and settling) about a millennium and a half ago. The North African and Arabic ancestry makes a semitic line probable, but that's all. Most likely, though, I';d say the best we can say is that you are your own mix. You're unique. But then everyone is, so what's all the fuss? DirkvdM 16:07, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And while I'm on the subject. The fact that on my CV my place of birth shows that I'm from Curaçao probably makes potential employers think I'm black, which I'm not. Of course that should not make a difference, but the truth is I hardly ever get any responses to my job applications. DirkvdM 16:13, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Surely you could add a small picture of yourself to your CV? - Adrian Pingstone 16:57, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Some employers would then say "Who is this guy who thinks it's appropriate to attach a picture?", though!
I don't include a pic of my face on my resume, but do find it very illustrative to include, along with my letter of resignation, a nice pic of my butt. StuRat 06:06, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On the matter of mixed races, here's a nice story of bureaucracy collected with some related stories and thoughts by the same person. --Anonymous, 18:40 UTC, February 17.
That's a rather telling story. I don't know if Australia is ahead of the world in this respect, but asking questions over here about race in relation to employment or security clearances would be in breach of all kinds of anti-discrimination laws. It wouldn't happen; and a person would be within their rights to refuse to answer if it did. JackofOz 21:30, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But I bet that wasn't always true. --Anon, 05:05 UTC, Feb. 18.
Certainly not. See White Australia policy. JackofOz 06:08, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
An approach to the question, emphasized by DirkvdM's experience, is that much of what one gets "labeled" in these matters depends on how others perceive you. In one context, someone with a "mixed" background would be called one thing, in another, something else. Context is pretty important in questions of this sort, especially since some of the available categories are not even present in some countries than they are in others. --Fastfission 19:21, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed. There are several anthropologists who treat this for what it is. One even told the story about how he's white, his wife is black, and his daughter is black in the U.S., but white in Brazil because in the U.S. it's standard to follow this ridiculous discriminating policy of Hypodescent, whereas in Brazil there are several terms for color and someone inbetween can be light brown one day and dark brown the next. -LambaJan 21:22, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cricket Ratings

How are cricket ratings calculated?What is the diference between SAMSUNG and WISDEN cricket ratings and which one is better?Among all the ratings which one is the most authentic? --221.135.192.53 04:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are they actually calculated? I thought they just some numbers up over tea and then rounded up. Sorry, couldn't resist.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  19:13, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The details of neither system are available publically. Some vague details of Samsung/Espn ratings are available at http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/scr/scrdetails.jsp

The U.S. And the U.N.

What would it take for the U.S. to withdraw from the U.N.? Whose decision would it be?

Since the relationship with the UN is conducted via treaty, I would think the US Senate would pass a bill to repeal adoption of the treaty (as was done in the case of the ABM Treaty), which would need to be signed by the President, or overridden by a 2/3 majority, to take effect. The decision of whether to evict the United Nations from New York would also have to be made. StuRat 07:08, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Alternatively the United Nations could vote to expel the United States, but the chances of this happening are somewhere betweeen 0 and infintessimal. Thryduulf 12:39, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Then again, all non-negative numbers are between zero and infinitessimal. As to the question, the US already don't acknowledge the International Court of Justice, which to me seems like an essential part of the UN (the legal leg of the trias politica), so they're already half out of it. What made it possible for the US to withraw from that would probably be nough to take the final second step too, although I mustr admit I'm just guessing here. DirkvdM 16:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • For future reference, you might want to look up infinitesimal. It does not mean infinite. --Anon, 18:25 UTC.
My mistake (and a stupid one at that). DirkvdM 08:31, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's actually the International Criminal Court that the U.S. doesn't recognize, unless our articles on them are wrong. Of course, it wouldn't be very surprising for the U.S. not to recognize either of them... Yeltensic42 don't panic 17:02, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The article does state that the US ignored a ruling in 1984 concerning Nicaragua. This would only make sense if they didn't recognise the court anymore. The article does state that the US "withdrew its acceptance" after that. Considering the dominance the US have in matters concerning the ICJ (military interference in other countries) that would merit a more prominent place in the article. I'll remedy that. DirkvdM 08:31, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
*shakes head* Why am I not surprised? (about the U.S., not the article) Yeltensic42 don't panic 21:29, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Considering the number of Muslim nations in the UN, can we expect the international courts to implement aspects of Sharia law, like having women's testimony count for half as much as men's ? StuRat 01:56, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Which you consider wrong. And I do too. But who are we to judge that? And in general, who is to decide that? Since there is no objective method to determine which culture is in the right the only alternative is democracy. And in my book that means giving at least the most prominent cultures a say, in accordance with their sizes. And this system is as workable an approximation of that as one can get. Given how new the notion of worldwide international law is, we should give them some slack and also accept difficult decisions. If a major country starts ignoring them they will back down and the whole thing will never get off the ground. And I'm not just thinking of the ICJ but of the UN as a whole. Ironically, the US was instrumental in the founding of these institutions. Their backing gave other countries confidence that it might work. The lack of backing just means wars of all kinds will keep on existing longer. DirkvdM 09:33, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I certainly don't want any citizens of my country judged based on Sharia law, do you ? Incompatible legal traditions is just one of many reasons not to have a permanent world court. StuRat 05:04, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The UN was not founded to be a world government designed to reflect the values of the world's most-populous nations. The US never would have approved participation in such a body. The UN was an organization that grew out of the WWII Allies, which is why the US, UK, France, Russia and China still have veto power on the Security Council. It's important to remember that traditionally, liberal democracies have been a minority of states and would not have survived if subject to a vote of the rest of the governments of the world. -- Mwalcoff 18:23, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But the UN was founded as a way to stop future wars and a broad basis was needed for that.
I don't get that last bit. Are you saying that democracy wouldn't have survived if other governments would have had any say in it? Sort of the way socialism doesn't work well in Cuba due to the interference of the US? If the UN would have adopted a similar position, it certainly would have collapsed. But it is in the very nature of the UN being a collection of states with different cultures that it wouldn't do such a thing. The variation mellows things down and that was pretty much the point I suppose (preventing war). I'm not sure I get what you're driving at, though. DirkvdM 08:29, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Say it's 1975, and instead of a relatively powerless UN, we have a real world government. Under your proposed system, the Communist countries and their allies, with more than 50% of the world's population, would have controled the UN. (Only about 20% of the world's people lived under democratic governments back then.) Would you have expected Mao and Brezhnev to live and let live? Heck no. -- Mwalcoff 01:09, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(de-indented for small screens)
You seem to assume that the Socialist States (to use a more correct term) would have formed one block. Just look at the constant bickering between the USSR and China and it's obvious that would not have been the case. But even if it were, they would just represent half of mankind. That is not enough to do anything controversial. They would have needed the suport of many other countries. But the point is that that is the broadest basis one can have. Which is a whole lot better than one country (ie the US) policing the world according to what they think is right. And that leads to cultural blindness. Take Iraq. I'm pretty sure most people were very happy to get rid of Hussein. But still there is heavy opposition to the invading forces and the leaders they've appointed. They (ie the US) must have done something very wrong. I won't speculate on what, since I'm also a Westerner. But if it would have been a joined effort with some middle eastern or muslim or whatever forces participating, they might have said "Hold on, yuo can't do that. That may be normal where you're from, but this is a different culture and you're unintentionally insulting people." Or what ever. I suppose you catch my drift. Power should never be concentrated too much. It leads to misuse, corruption and arrogance.
To use your argument in reverse. Supose there were just one country that policed the world. like now, except that that country were, say, China. How would you feel about that? Actually, we might be headed there in the not too distant future. Is the alternative of the UN starting to sound more appealing to you now? DirkvdM 15:36, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

cartoon reference

I could probably discover this if I spent enough time digging through http://home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/tunes.html, but it's more fun to ask here. Anybody remember the name of that old Warner Brothers cartoon where after 10 minutes of committing assorted mayhem against each other, the guard dog and the wolf -- or maybe there was rooster involved -- would call it a day, punch out through the time clock, say "See ya tomorrow, Ralph", with no lingering animosity towards each other at all?

(I'll even say why I'm looking: I want to use it as a metaphor for how I wish Wikipedia editors could get along with either after they've finished with a day's slugfest on opposite sides of the POV issues in some article.) Steve Summit (talk) 05:09, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • Well, lookit that. A bit of searching suggested their names were Sam and Ralph, after which a google search for "sam ralph sheepdog wolf" gave, as hit #2, our own Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf. --Steve Summit (talk) 05:24, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I liked the scene where the greedy wolf was carrying the entire herd of sheep, and straining under the weight, and unable to see with a face full of wool, when he ran into the sheepdog. The wolf then returned each sheep to it's respective spot before being beaten mercilessly by the sheepdog. StuRat 07:20, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I just have to mention that one of my best working relationships was described by onlookers in terms of the Sam and Ralph cartoons. We each were adamant about our points of view and the approach we'd take for various problems (I was a programmer, he was a business analyst), we'd argue vehemently (if not quite as violently as Sam and Ralph), and at the end of the week, we'd go out for a couple beers. --LarryMac 20:08, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I suspect that many prosecutors and defense lawyers have the same relationship, arguing with each other in court only to meet for drinks after work (where they plan how they can get elected and make the laws even more needlessly complex, so they will get even richer interpreting them). StuRat 06:00, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

baby shoe copper plating

need information to learn how to copperplate baby's shoes with copper

It's called bronzing. This article is a very old stub. If you Google for it, you come up with lists of companies who do it. --Zeizmic 13:03, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sand

What happens to sand in nature? What natural processes occur which convert sand into something else to keep the balance? Or is sand accumulation inevitable?  Run!  15:47, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sand can turn into glass with enough heat; this happens in nature when lightning hits it. It's an interesting thought though - what if everything wears down to sand in the future? We'll all be killed!
Slumgum 16:14, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, it's not 42, it's sand! We've cracked it!!! DirkvdM 16:21, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's why I recently changed my username. :) YeltensicSand don't panic 17:04, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sand can become part of conglomerate rocks or sandstone, etc. or be subducted along fault lines back into the magma from whence it came. Rmhermen 17:11, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hint: Rock cycle --Zeizmic 17:13, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sand becomes sandpaper also. Alas, Wikipedia is not paper. Sand castle ? --DLL 19:31, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Meaning

what is the Meaning of "The incompetence boggles the mind"

If something is said to "boggle the mind" it means that is is unbelievable, incredible, etc. In this case it would appear that someone's incompetence (*cough*bush*cough*) is at an unbelievable level.  Run!  18:04, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

RBD's English CD

What songs are we going to expect from RBD in English? And what is the name of RBD's English CD?

We are not expecting anything. User:Zoe|(talk) 00:52, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Considering I have no idea who "RBD" is, I would be quite surprised to get anything from them. Even more so if it's not in English. Dismas|(talk) 15:56, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The CD should be named "Rebel" - they started in a telenovela called ReBelDe. Also, they're the only meaning of that trigram. Let us create the disamb page : Reverse Brain Drain, Русский Банкирский Дом, Red Blue Devils, Revue Burkinabè de droit ... --DLL 21:24, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

us production of 13 million.....

What does the US produce 13 millions tons of a year?

A clue is tomatoes.

I vote we kill any non-questions that aren't signed. I think they are all from the same behaviourly-challenged individual. --Zeizmic 23:14, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I answered a few of these gameshow questions and I didn't get a reward or even a thank you. I'm starting to waiver in my motivation. I like the questions that people ask when they don't already know the answer, but really want to. When you answer those ones someone becomes happier. -LambaJan 05:28, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yea, we might never ketchup with all these questions. StuRat 05:47, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
 freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  throws 13 million tons of tomatoes at StuRat
StuRat removes the tomatoes from his hair and makes salsa from them for his nachos. StuRat 18:36, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Mmmm... You know... That's a lot of salsa to keep for yourself... -LambaJan 06:08, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are you calling StuRat a big-head?  :-) JackofOz 22:24, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As in crammed full of knowledge ? StuRat 05:08, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Money

Who is the richest mexican and mexican-american in U.S.A?

Forbes says the richest Mexican is Carlos Slim Helu, head of América Movil and the fourth-richest person in the world. -- Mwalcoff 00:56, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

February 18

Who Is...?

Who Is The Ray Bradbury Of Mexico?

Ray Bradbury. Accept no imitations. Grutness...wha? 07:48, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
ME. I'm sorry that Ray spent his life imitating me. Signed : Leon Trotsky. By delegation : --DLL 21:16, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

copper john

why was copper john erected outside of the auburn state prison i can imagine a museum or library as a more suitable location.

Does Chevrolet have a name for their logo? User:Zoe|(talk) 00:52, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It is commonly referred to as the Bow Tie; I am not sure if that's considered official. --LarryMac 02:07, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Chevron is taken.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  11:33, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I add a question. Those words derive from latin caper (goat), which gave chèvre, caprice, chevron (goat ; slanting beam ; division of the field (heraldry) ; and badge) in french, and, for people's names, Chevrolet and others.
It is clear why the cars choose the logo. But why does the second meaning of chevron, beam, derive from the first, goat ? The others keep the same shape "^" ? --DLL 21:13, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
William C Durant noticed the design in the pattern of a wallpaper in a French hotel room. He ripped a piece of the paper off the wall and took it back to the USA for the Chevvie logo. JackofOz 21:33, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Etymonline says it's from the old French word for "rafter" and "the likely connection between goats and rafters being the animal's angular hind legs." --BluePlatypus 23:09, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Who is Siranney?

Mentioned by Virginia Woolf as a Persian essayist. Anyone know more about this person, is there a more persian spelling, or do I have to buy Ernest Rhys' Modern English Essays. MeltBanana 02:15, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think the name 'Siranney' is a gross agluttination of either Avicenna (which itself is an agluttination of ibn-Sina) or Al-Farabi. -LambaJan 06:04, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Effects of being vegetarian and non- vegetarian on health.

I would like to have detailed information about effects of being vegetarian and non vagetarian on the human health. Not only the basics but thorough information, ideas and views on this concept.

For the former, you can get a good start by reading our Vegetarianism and Vegetarian nutrition articles. Not sure about the latter; our Omnivore article is a stub.
"Carrots and lettuce ? You want me to eat carrots and lettuce ? That's not food, that's what food eats !" StuRat 05:42, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm a vegetarian, but I eat eggs and dairy. If I weren't living in the U.S. then there's a good chance I wouldn't be a vegetarian. They put so much nasty stuff in the food here. I really don't like rBGH, which comes out not only in meat, but to even a greater extent in dairy products. Because of that I like to stick to organic dairy products when I can, but I'm blue collar and was born rather lactose intolerant, so I usually just do without dairy or eggs. They're a rather small part of my diet. I don't miss them, and I don't miss meat. Good food is good on its own merits, and when it's good you're not concerned with the lack of whatever pleasentries you've grown accustomed to. -LambaJan 06:14, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How often do you think dairy cattle become your meat? Those are the cattle that get bovine somatotropin to increase milk production. I posted aquestion at talk:dairy farming to get confirmation but suspect that your fears are groundless (and even ground-beef-less). alteripse 22:14, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
During the 2004 international rainbow gathering I was effectively forced to eat vegetarian (getting my own meat and storing it was rather problematic). This included loads of fruit, especially water melon. Which means loads of sugar. Which was probably the major cause for me getting a urinary tract infection (which I only recently completely got rid of - almost 2 years later!). I suppose one cause is that fruit isn't very 'natural' anymore. The original fruits were probably not quite as sweet (although this is just a guess). Then again, the meat we can buy here isn't very 'natural' either (though I don't know in what respects) and I don't know what effects that might have. Another example is some relatives of mine in South America who had several orange trees and therefore drank orange juice like water. As a result they got stomach ulcers from the acidity. So even non-sweet fruits are bad for you. I suppose the big secret is to vary your food intake. Which means fruit, veggies, grains, meat, dairy products and what have you.
Food pyramid
Funny, the food pyramid here shows 'low fat' milk but no warning against sugars. Whilst sugar is a bigger health hazard than fat. It's more fattening for one. A pointer is that milk and meat naturally contain fat, but sugar is refined and added to food in way too high concentrations. Again, it's how 'natural' the food source is that counts. So my health advise rule-of-thumb is "Go with nature, that's what we evolved with". And we didn't evolve as vegetarians. DirkvdM 08:53, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
True, but we did evolve as, say 90-95% vegetarian, with meat being a "rare treat", like it is for many other primates. So, having a bucket of fried chicken every day is most definitely "not natural". Most of the nutrients we need come from fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains, with only a few coming solely from meat. Therefore, to be healthiest I suggest a 90-95% vegetarian diet, with the "rare meats" being ones that are the healthiest, like cold-water fish, such as salmon. StuRat 18:32, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm, I don't know the size of your buckets, but that does sound rather over the top (you're not talking 20 l buckets, I hope :) ). Which brings up a point that may be more important than anything else. Moderation. It doesn't really matter much what you eat, as long as it's varied and in moderate amounts. Then again. You're right that meat was probably a treat for most of mankind's evolution. But when someone shot, oh, say, a mammoth, I don't think our ancestors gave their cholestrol levels or whatever much thought and filled their bellies many times over for days in a row. So that would also be 'natural' but I'm not sure if that necessaraily means it's healthy in this case (still could, though, as long as it's an occasional occurrence). DirkvdM 19:44, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Shot mammoths" ? And did they use their night vision scopes, too ? LOL. StuRat 00:59, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, yes, I suppose bow and arrow were not the right tools to catch a mammoth. Even with night vision. DirkvdM 09:44, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But why do you advise 'rare meats'. And what do you mean by it? The type of meat that is rarely encountered? Before the age of river pollution salmon was nowhere near rare and there will still be places where it abounds. In Maastricht (where I grew up) maids used to specify they didn't want to get salmon every day before accepting a job because that was the poor man's meat. DirkvdM 19:44, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
By "rare meats", I meant those meats which were eaten only on rare occasions (that would have been all meats). I'm sure salmon abounded in cave man days, too, but were hard to catch with just a spear. So, most days they would have had the settle for berries and such. StuRat 00:59, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I remember reading about Scottish workmen in the 19th century complaining about having to eat salmon every day. User:Zoe|(talk) 07:10, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm, I'm starting to doubt now that meat was a rare extra. Human communities rose mainly at seashores and along rivers. Nets and poison would have ensured regular catches of fish. The only question is how long ago this started to be the case. Bears manage to catch fish. And humans have been much more agile and intelligent for a long time on the evolutionary scale. A possible problem with this might be that they were not sedentary. But even then they would have known where in their extended territory they would have to go to get some good catches at that time of year. And many probably would have been sedentary if one place gave a constant supply of fish (or whichever meat). I have always understood that humans started to become sedentary when they developed agriculture. But that doesn't make sense to me anymore now. If you've found a river with plenty of salmon, then why move elsewhere? DirkvdM 09:44, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikapedia: An Academic Resource?

Hey Wikapedian-

I'm a student at the new UC in Merced, CA. In my writing class, we've been asked to write a paper on the usability of Wikapedia as an academic resource for university students. What are your thoughts? Can you offer me an insider perspective? I've been looking at accuracy, type of writers/editors involved, accessibility, speed of article revision, and academia perception. (Actually, I tried to post a question that the user community could answer, but I wasn't quite sure where to put it.)

I would really appreciate your perspective, and I know it would add a lot of weight to my paper.

Thank you very much for your time!

Have a beautiful day!

Blessings,

Merissa

Merissa, if you check Wikipedia:Press coverage there are numerous articles by others on the reliability and appropriateness of using Wikipedia as a press or academic source; if you want an amusing spray on the topic and can figure out a way to get access to it, the Australian news magazine The Monthly has an article claiming that the Wikipedia is, essentially, too accessible to students leading to laziness. My own take on the matter is that Wikipedia is useful as a background source, and occasionally can be cited to provide a general background to introduce a reader to a topic they are not expert in (almost like an extended footnote rather than a fact-establishing citation). You might also conceivably quote the Wikipedia if it provides a nice turn of phrase that says something you've established by further research you want to say. Otherwise, it, like every other general-purpose encyclopedia, is not really suitable for citation in tertiary-level academic work. --Robert Merkel 07:18, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So we're paper weight to you? Thanks a lot. :) But more seriously, I often warn against using Wikipedia as a serious source just yet. It's still a work in progress. However, in the meantime it's certainly useful, but more in the sense that Robert pointed out, as a good starting point, to pick up some ideas and terminology and use that for further research. After which it would be nice if people came back to the article to add their findings to it. (Note that this is pure communism - take what you need and add what you can.) Nature magazine compared Wikipedia to the Encyclopedia Britannica and found they both contained mistakes. Let this be a warning for any sort of referencing - no source is completely reliable. Wikipedia contained more mistakes (though the difference wasn't too big), but it has only existed for a few years. How long does it take to write an encyclopedia? If we've come this far in a few years, what will the future bring (say another 10 years - or 100 years even)? Also, Nature only looked at articles on hard sciences. In the case of articles on more 'social stuff' there's a lot of POV (Point Of View - a much used flame-term here). Especially concerning controversial topics (apropos communism :) ). At the moment, with such articles, you'd be lucky to find a balance of POV's. But quite often people don't just add their own POV or bias, but remove those of others as well, deleting possibly correct facts while they're at it, resulting in revert wars. So far, rules have been fairly relaxed (which made sense to get the thing off the ground), but at the moment there is a drive to get people to cite their sources, by inserting this message after certain clais in articles: [citation needed]. Which would then have to be replaced with somethig like a link backing the statement up. Hopefully this hasn't started too late.
But, most importantly, if you want to find info on the Internet, few sources are as reliable and/or complete as Wikipedia. You should just check this source as you should any other source - on the Internet or on paper. As far as citing is concerned, a problem is that Wikipedia constantly changes, so anyone checking on your citation might have to dig into the history. So I'd say add the date to any citation.
And you may quote me on all that. :) DirkvdM 09:27, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We get a fair few wikipedia-related questions here... do you think the reference desk should have a wikipedia section?  Run!  10:31, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That would probably attract a lot of the wrong questions, for example ones best handled at the Help desk.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  11:30, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia is unusable. People keep joking here. Don't belive anything they say on this forum. If you want articles of scientific quality, go to Uncyclopedia. (Btw this site is called Wikipedia, not Wikapedia.) – b_jonas 12:02, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Robert Merkel's comment that no encyclopedia (including this one) is a suitable source for serious scholarly purposes. Among encyclopedias, one insufficiently noted advantage of Wikipedia is that, through the talk page and the article's history, you can see more than the finished product. You can often see what points have been in dispute, why the current wording was chosen (to convey an undisputed fact without taking a position on a related but contentious issue), etc. On matters in controversy, these features can greatly improve the reader's understanding of the subject. JamesMLane t c 11:16, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Exist WIKIRESEARCH?

Hy! I live in Romania and I like very much the Physics Research. Exist Wikiresearch? If yes, where? If not, when? Thanck you! -- Abel Cavaşi 06:52, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Let me try to put that into proper English:
"Hi! I live in Romania and I am interested in physics research.
 Do you have any articles on this topic ?  If yes, where?
 If not, when do you expect to add them ? Thank you!"
The answer: Yes, we have many such articles. Can you narrow it down a bit, to a specific area you are interested in, like cold fusion, perhaps ? StuRat 07:59, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No need to tease him about his English; it's probably better than your Romanian! Steve Summit (talk) 14:47, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not teasing, but offering what I believe to be his meaning so others (especially those who can barely read English) can understand it and respond. StuRat 18:09, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for trying to translate. I like it, but I meant that as if there is Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks and so on, is there Wikiresearch? I ask this because I am searcing for a place where it is possible to make open-minded researces in every topics. Your help in correcting my english is always welcomed. -- Abel Cavaşi 19:27, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for clarifying that. I think there was a proposal to create a new Wiki site which would allow original research, but I don't know what happened to it. StuRat 02:08, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, that sounds like a very good idea. Actually, this was one of the very first uses of internet, with researchers exchanging findings. And it was in exactly such a seting (at CERN, which you should know if you're into physics) where Tim Berners Lee thought up the World Wide Web. I supose this still goes on at universities (outside the www, though, so you'll have to get the right url's somewhere). If this were done on Wikipedia (or rather a sister project) then I suppose it would all have to fall under the GPL (ie open source). But there will be enough scientists around the world interrested in this. Actually, I myself have suggested an alternative to the Big Bang theory on the science help desk a while ago. Which raises the question if anyone can get in on this. serious physicists might not want to be bothered with the nonsense a philosopher like me comes up with. There could be some sort of portal (not in the techie sense of the word) where the nonsense is filtered out by hobbyists. Actually, I'm realy starting to like this idea. I wouldn't be able to participate seriusly, but it would be fun to see scientists at work, seeig how they work out ideas. As a philosopher of science I'm thrilled by the prospect. DirkvdM 20:05, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Part of my life pokes into the research scientist world, and most of them are pretty primitive in the Internet-department. I mean, they use these things called books! You still generate the best brainstorming in the hallways of conferences. For research publication, they are very formal (their income depends on it!). --Zeizmic 20:45, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ok! You are very receptive and very profound. What can we do for Wikiresearch? -- Abel Cavaşi 09:11, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Would it be nice to create Wikiresearch ? That would leave Wikipedia free from humbug ... But I remember my friend Denis (Diderot).
Mature research needs a place to express itself. The official knowledge of a particular time and place is closed to new ideas and applications that differ too much from the acceptable, good-thinking ... and this for good reasons too.
Same as academics do, Wikipedia cannot bear to include personal research. So it takes plenty of time to see personal research confronted, mixed with official knowledge, a process that could enrich both.
I imagine here brotherly links between established articles and newbies articles such as Big Bang alternatives (medium bang ? greater splash ?)
Denis was bold enough to criticize established knowledge and religion in his encyclopedic contributions, in a time when it could be risky ... we are not trying here. So *yes* to Wikiresearch, with plenty of links there and here. --DLL 22:09, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But how does one go about setting up something like that? I have no experience in that department. I suppose it should be suggested in the right place. But where is that? DirkvdM 08:40, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

grape juice?

What's the best way to a grape juice stain out of a pair of slacks? any magical chemical cleaners? figured you folks'd know about that kind of stuff--64.12.116.11 22:51, 8 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

All that oxycleanTM style stuff seems to work well for things like that.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  11:27, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, I highly reccommend keeping a supply of OxiCleanTM in every home. -BillyMays 02:17, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Do quail fly?

To what extent do quail fly? (The Wikipedia article describes them as 'terrestrial birds') Would a quail hunter normally shoot the bird on the ground or in the air? ike9898 13:30, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See the movie 'Wedding Crashers'. --Zeizmic 13:59, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Quail are flushed out and shot while in the air. Dismas|(talk) 15:52, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As are Texas lawyers. User:Zoe|(talk) 07:16, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Illinois-Time Change

Does the state of Illinois observe a time change?

If you mean a Daylight Saving Time change, yes. The midwest state that's been odd in this regard is Indiana. --Steve Summit (talk) 15:21, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Arizona and several other states in its neck of the woods are also like that. Yeltensic42 don't panic 21:35, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, not several other states in its neck of the woods. Arizona stands alone. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:28, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Huh...I wonder if they changed over? Oh well, just Arizona then. Yeltensic42 don't panic 05:40, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Temple in Jesus' Day

Is it possible to get a picture of the Temple in Jesus' Day? I need it for a class I teach. Thank you, Maureen Smith

No pictures of the Second Temple survive from that era. However, a few artist's reconstructions have been made (some of which are shown in the article.) GeeJo (t) (c)  18:01, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How about this drawing (from this page) scanned from Nordisk familjebok? Thuresson 20:28, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Will Galavision make more English soap operas?

"More"? Have they ever? User:Zoe|(talk) 07:19, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sexuality

What is a big hogan? I have searched everywhere for a definition. Thanks for your help.

According to Urban Dictionary it probably refers to the penis. —Keenan Pepper 22:00, 18 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Five Kilometres

Suppose I had to walk from my appartment to campus over a distance of 5 kilometres through a North American urban environment (ie down town big city). Would I be right in assuming that it would take me about 30-40 mintues? Duomillia 00:03, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are you including the recuperation time for your injuries from all the muggings ? StuRat
Heh. I'd allow a little longer than 30-40 minutes. I do a lot of urban walking (especially lately - my car died recently), and although I don't live in North America, the time taken would be pretty similar in most western countries. I find that ten minutes per kilometre allows for a small amount of lee-way when I'm trying to get somewhere, which would be 50 minutes for five kilometres. If you're prepared to do it with a little less lee-way, then I'd say you'd still be looking at about 40-45 minutes. Look at it another way - most people walk at around 4 mph - to do five kilometres in half an hour means travelling at a little over 6 mph. Grutness...wha? 00:34, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
FWIW, my regular ~2km (possibly a little longer) walk through central Oxford takes twenty to thirty minutes, depending on traffic and what I'm carrying.
As regards "pretty similar", North America suburban (or not-city-centre) is a bit less pedestrian-friendly, I find, so might take longer than equivalent European areas, but dense urban should be much of a muchness. Shimgray | talk | 00:39, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah...memories. Say hello to the city for me. Haven't been there since I was a wee kid (I used to live near Banbury). Grutness...wha? 07:26, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A "downtown big city" environment may have heavy pedestrian traffic and frequent intersections with traffic lights, both of which will reduce walking speed. Even if you're a fast walker, I think you might easily find that walk taking a full hour, maybe even more. Of course these things will vary by time of day and also, perhaps by more than you think, from one place to another. --Anonymous, 00:40 UTC, February 19.
Half an hour for 5 km means 10 km/h. That's not walking. That's running. On easy flat terrain with no obstacles I walk at a speed of 6 km/h (one km every 10 mins - an easy rule of thumb). Many crossings of busy streets could easily halve that speed, so I'd say more it would take more like an hour and a half. Then again, I walk fast, but also I'm referring to a comfortable walking speed, so you may have to adjust for those factors.DirkvdM 10:05, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Your time may vary due to several factors such as your walking speed, pedestrian density, walking surfaces, route, topography, time of day, weather conditions, etc. Best thing to do is try it for several days and see the length of time and average them out. That should give you a good estimate of typical times. FunkyChicken! 16:17, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

February 19

Movie Theater Previews

Is there a website somewhere that lists the Previews shows in Theaters before the movie starts, and what previews played before what movies?

As for the second part, I don't think they always show the same previews with a given movie. StuRat 00:37, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, I did hear that The Waterboy achieved boosted box-office success because Star Wars nerds knew there was an Episode One trailer before the film. I don't know how they found out this info though.
Slumgum 01:04, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I would guess it spread by word of mouth, probably via the Internet, once the first nerd saw the trailer. StuRat 03:14, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Knowlege of Sex and Reproduction

Before I ask you this question, I have four points to tell you:

1.Some people who're against sex education in schools say that knowlege of what causes pregnancy should only come from parents.

2.The problem with this is that most parents are unwilling or reluctant to tell their children about these facts.They want them to find out themselves when they grow up and get married.

3.Many people around the world don't know and aren't told what causes pregnancy, and then they get married and have sex, and by the time they know and find out about that, they already have children!

4.I believe that all humans, especially married adults, have the right to know these facts about what causes pregnancy.Don't you think that way too?

How much, and how many percent, of all people, at the time they first got married, knew about this fact?(Tell me the answer to that for the whole world, but if you don't know that, tell me the answer for a particular country or the Western world.)Bowei 00:34, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am sure nowadays in Britain the answer is that 100% know it (from parents , TV soap operas, friends, sex education). But it wasnt always so. I remember a friend who said that her grandmother didnt know until she got married for example. But that was very unusual. PS - we still have a lot of teenage pregnancies despite that knowledge. Jameswilson 02:09, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Note that quite a few people might have sex the first time without knowing that that can lead to pregnancy. This seems like the more important statistic to me. StuRat 03:11, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think that's probably pretty low though; most people learn pretty young that sex has something to do with pregnancy. What is, I imagine, more of a problem is that people who have sex and have really mixed up ideas about its connection with pregnancy, i.e. that you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex, or that the "pull out method" is effective, and so forth. This is one of the main reasons that people with very low sexual education have very high teen pregnancy rates -- not because they don't know that sex and pregnancy are related, but because they have very youthfully confused ideas about the details of it. In any event, if you google "sex education statistics" you'll come up with lots of helpful sources. Our article on sex education might be of some use also. --Fastfission 16:59, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I remember an anecdote about a girl using grape jelly instead of spermicidal jelly. Is that true? —Keenan Pepper 17:38, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Was she trying to make a penis butter and jelly sandwich ? StuRat 20:55, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
*groan*Keenan Pepper 20:58, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have no doubt that every known substance has at some time been been inserted into a human orifice for contraceptive or sexual purposes, out of curiosity, or to cause pleasure or pain. I don't know about the grape jelly one specifically. JackofOz 20:20, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

When did Disney start making movies with Dimension Films? I know they stopped making movies with Dimension Films on October 1, 2005 because the Weinstein Brothers left Disney. --70.24.236.84

Vida Guerra

Guys who knows Vida's address(not internet address, real), plz write me [email]

Question asked by 62.183.50.164. User's email address removed by Thuresson 08:00, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I suggest you visit her management agency here and ask them how to contact her. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 09:06, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

UK Service Records

Is there anywhere that i could get a hold of family members armed forces records in england without telling them (Surprises see!)

We are not paranoid here. I suppose you need the exact address, floor, &c. to leave a clean bomb and/or try extortion. Go on. --DLL 21:48, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
British military service records are held and released by the Veterans Agency of the Ministry of Defence for the British Army, the RAF, the Royal Navy and certain Non-British and Commonwealth forces. You may have a problem obtaining them without the knowledge, permission or death of the subject, due to privacy legislation and the like, as I believe even family members can only obtain records of deceased personnel. --Canley 02:33, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Links

As a frequent visitor to Wikipedia; I have often been struck by the fact that of the many Links in a given article, most are blue, and others red. My question is, what is the difference between the blue and the red Links? Replies to my question may be emailed to: REMOVED Menahem

Blue are links with articles and red are links that require articles. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 11:48, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A wiki is in an unending process of creation. To create an article, either enter its address in your browser's bar, or enter its name while editing an existing article, save and click the red link. In both cases you are, if logged in, allowed to write and save. To visit a link, try clicking ... only blue (default color) ones link to existing content.
That does not go by itself on the Internet and makes wikis, like Wikipedia, an experience. --DLL 21:42, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Business

Hello When i business is failing and their Financial Ratio is below 2:1.. what can that business do to improve its problem.. Thank You..

There are many Financial ratios, so it is unclear what you are referring to. But when you boil it down you either need to increase revenue or decrease costs. That may take better or more marketing or you may simply not have a product or service that enough people want to buy. - Taxman Talk 16:19, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Law & Order Font

Does anybody know the font used in the Law & Order intro? - Super Sam 13:39, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like Albertus to me. If not, you could try uploading the image to this website which claims to be able to identify fonts from an image. --Shantavira 17:24, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What a cool site. It says it's Linotype's Friz Quadrata [9], (or one of the same family) and it looks very close indeed. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:23, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Good job. Thanks, guys. - Super Sam 20:28, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Education in US

how should i prepare for the SAT? I am in grade 11. hen can i give the test

  • There's some good books on how to prepare. Try Amazon.com or your local book shop. - Mgm|(talk) 14:36, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are also tutoring courses that you can take. Ask your guidance counsellor about good ones in your area. -LambaJan 19:37, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Practice tests! PRACTICE TESTS! Do 10 practices and you will improve by at least 100 points. Don't bother with courses. You will only be assigned the same practice tests in a classroom setting. The Kaplan SAT prep book is the most realistic. A good starter. 132.239.90.179 23:52, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Take the test more than once (expensive, though) Rmhermen 15:20, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A note on this: My high school guidance counselor told me that it's not worth it to take the SAT more than three times, as most people don't improve their scores by much. —chair lunch dinner™ (talk) 01:04, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cricket

Please can someone tell me the origin of the term "Popping crease" in cricket. I know what it is but not how it came to be called so. Piggy --212.32.127.152

The OED says "Probably the crease originally marked the line which the ball, when bowled or trundled along the ground, must have passed before it might be ‘popped’ or struck." --Shantavira 17:33, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In the early days of the game they used to have only two wickets and there was a hole where middle stump now is. To complete a run, the batsman needed to 'pop' his bat into this hole, while the fielders needed to put the ball in it to run him out. The name 'popping crease' came from this. When the race between the batsmen and the fielders resulted in too many fielders injuring their hand, the rule was changed so that the batsmen now just have to reach the 'popping crease' to complete a run. Tintin (talk) 03:34, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

game creator

what is the best easy game creator (like, rpg maker series) for create game like mario, sonic... games???

Game Maker? ☢ Ҡiff 18:19, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's what I use. Or what I did use before I gave up on creating an RPG battle engine. My advice is to not pay for the full version unless you are truly interested in programming video games. --Optichan 22:07, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Games Factory is good, since it's kind of a 'half-way' between simple 'click-and-create' software and full programming. I've made several platformers and RPGs on it. (Actually, the sequel, Multimedia Fusion is out now) smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 22:59, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

geography

Hello I want to know the place of an island in germany .I think it is called "island of horses",that first time I heard about it in a movie with this title .I do not know its name in german.thankyou

Hm. I wonder if that movie was based on the children's classic book "Island of Horses" by Ellis Dillon (as seen here at Amazon's site), which is set on an island (off the German coast IIRC?). If so, it was about a fictional island. Grutness...wha? 01:46, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • You may be referring to the German tv movie from last year "Die Pferdeinsel" (the island of horses, about a woman who tells his son his father is a Canadian cowboy), but I think there's actually no island in Germany with that name. There is a place called Pferdeinsel though but that's no island, since it's in Birkenhördt, Palatinate.--RiseRover|talk 11:50, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Test cricket matches between South Africa Vs Australia in 2006.

kindly inform me date and venues of all 3 test cricket matches between South Africa vs Australia in March/April 2006 in South Africa. Thank you,

CricInfo knows all. --Robert Merkel 21:59, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

History of the champagne flute

When were champagne flutes introduced in the USA, and when did they become the popular stemware from which to drink champagne?

emergency medical technicians who have died from aids

You need to ask a question. For example: "Have any of them died of AIDS", or "How many of them have died of AIDS", or "When was the first one to die of AIDS?". You get the idea? What exactly is your question? JackofOz 22:18, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

February 20

Sharpie in space?

Would a Sharpie marker work in space? By this I mean if you were on the outside of a space station that you could write on, and you happened to have a Sharpie in your hand, could you write something? Given all the factors that outer space provides.

They work upside down, so I don't see why not. They work by capillary action, not gravity. —Keenan Pepper 03:19, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Isn't capillary action affected by gravity? - Mgm|(talk) 08:26, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Everything's affected by gravity if it has mass. But the point is that capillary action is stronger that gravity (that's how trees get water up their trunks).  -- Run!  08:43, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know what a sharpie is, but a marker contains ink and I imagine that would evaporate much quicker in space, so one probably needs a well sealed container for it and put the cap back immediately after use. Which is true here on Earth too, so "As here below, so above", but even more so. DirkvdM 09:02, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A Sharpie (notice the spelling) is a line of markers that are very popular in the U.S., if not several other countries. In the U.S. at least, the term, "Sharpie", has pretty much become a genericized trademark. Dismas|(talk) 10:59, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm. Is the question whether it would work in zero gravity, or in a vacuum, or both? --Shantavira 10:42, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The only problem with using a Sharpie in a vacuum would be the ink freezing solid. —Keenan Pepper 18:05, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Would it? Dry out faster than usual I could believe, but for it to "freeze solid" it would have to lose heat, and the only way you can do that in space is by black-body radiation, right? (Concession to the wise guys out there: yes, most Sharpies are black.) How long would it take for an impermeable plastic bag containing, say, 10cc of water at 10°C to freeze in the vacuum of space? --Steve Summit (talk) 18:54, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The ink would both evaporate and freeze — the effect is known as evaporative cooling. Specifically, some of the ink will evaporate until the remainder has cooled down enough to freeze. The frozen ink may continue to sublimate, but only slowly. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 22:30, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The lunch baggie would blow up and burst. --Zeizmic 19:22, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Steve's impermeable bag is the wrong model; it retains pressure, but a marker pen with its porous tip does not. At zero pressure, water will not remain liquid, although at most temperatures it will evaporate rathern than freezing. I have the impression that this is true for most substances that are liquid under everyday conditions, but I don't actually know; I also don't know what the solvent in a Sharpie is. --Anonymous, 21:53 UTC, February 20.
Liquid water wouldn't make the bag blow up and burst, but (the shame!) I forgot about the boiling in the absence of pressure. Right.
I don't know what the solvent in a Sharpie is, either, though I'm sure its freezing point is rathern lower than water. (Not that it really matters in this case.) —Steve Summit (talk) 14:13, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The pen would bloop all over the pocket of your shiny spacesuit. This is what happens to pens in your bag on plane trips, if the luggage compartment gets depressurized. I see them now selling 'plane safe' pens. You probably want these in your Inter-Galatic Pocket Protector. --Zeizmic 00:38, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sooo... What if I were Canadian and wanted to drink milk from a bag in space? -LambaJan 18:31, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) was established in 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act. The agency operates like a government department. The president is the equivalent of a deputy minister and reports to the Minister of Industry. The president oversees five core functions: Space Programs, Space Technologies, Space Science, Canadian Astronaut Office, Space Operations.

As for the bag milk, it would have to depends on which bag we are talking about. Is this Steve's impermeable bag model, or a entirely new one? The implications of drinking milk from an ordinary lunch baggy are probably too complex to figure out, but an ideal impermeable bag perhaps could let us know more about this. The only other problem I see is drinking the milk which I would imagine would be prone to the same difficulties of the Sharpie solvent, evaporative cooling.

Special treatment

What kind of trouble could a person get into if he/she lied about his/her race in order to get special benefits? KeeganB

Lying about something in order to get some sort of benefit is likely to fall under criminal laws about fraud; the law in detail, and the zealousness of prosecution of unusual cases, will both vary by jurisdiction. If not fraud, then it might be a civil tort, and you could get sued. For specific legal advice, of course, this is not the place to ask. --Anonymous, 06:23 UTC, February 20, 2006.
I don't know much about Dutch law, but if a contract is illegal you can safely sign it because you won't be bound by it. Extrapolating from that, assuming that it would be illegal to reserve special treatment for specific 'races', you can safely lie about it because it's the other party that is likely to get into trouble with the law. Having said that, there is only one human race, Homo sapiens sapiens, but that's a different issue. Then again, while at it, do laws in various countries recognise the concept of more than one human race? And what country do you live in anyway? DirkvdM 08:51, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In some countries there's Affirmative Action policies to promote some traditionally discriminated races. --RiseRover|talk 12:28, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For example, here's an excerpt from the Constitution of Canada:
Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law
15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Affirmative action programs
(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Note that the word "race" is used. Dirkvm asserts that "there is only one human race", but that is a biological statement, and we're not talking about biology here. Discrimination by race obviously has existed and still exists, whether races are biologically definable or not. --Anonymous, 17:10 UTC, February 20, 2006.

I was just curious, I'm not looking for legal advice. I've heard that people have lied about race or whatever you want to call it in order to get benefits. They got away with it because it would've been politically incorrect to make a fuss about it. KeeganB

Ah, do you mean the opposite, like claiming you're part of a 'traditionally discriminated group' to get benefits that result from 'positive discrimination' laws? I wonder if I might do something similar, being from the Antilles, which is usually associated with blacks (but I'm white). I'd have to look into Dutch law on that. Thanks for the tip (even if you weren't aware of it :) ). DirkvdM 15:46, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Study Project Help.

I am a student of Public Administration. As a study project, we are asked to visit an organisation and get answers of certain questions ( which we have to think ) from their management.

The problem is that I don't have many question that I can get approved from my teacher. So, if anyone can help me with some good questions about management so that there will be a good number of question to choose from.

That's pretty vague, so let me give you a vague answer. :) Look up the relevant articles here, such as management and ask if certain things you find there apply to the organisation or how they deal with them and such. DirkvdM 08:55, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

consumer prtection act violation

how many consumer protection act violance cases had been recorded in last ten years in india  ?

You should start getting the impression that we don't do India questions very well. We are waiting for Sub-Continent Contingent to get onboard. --Zeizmic 00:35, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What's the Average Lifespan of a Homosexual Man in the US?

I know Cameron's figure of 43 years is wrong. Has anyone calculated such a figure using a valid methodology? If so, what is it?

Why should it be significantly different from a heterosexual? And who is Cameron? --Shantavira 10:45, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There's many reasons it should be significantly different...AIDS is still an issue that affects gay communities much more than others. Teenage suicides are also sifnificatly higher among homosexual teens than among heterosexuals. Plus, there might be any number of community/lifestyle choice issues involved (a higher/lower probabilty to pick up smoking, to work out, or whatever). I don't know if the Census Bureau has anything on the issue, but I'd be surprised if there was no significant difference (although 43 years is certainly not a sensible estimate - significant differences in life expectancy usually fall in the order of +/-5 years) -- Ferkelparade π 11:07, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is Paul Cameron and if you google the above phrase this is what you get. Also read this. He appears to have used "special" figures to come up with the 43. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:39, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What an inventive use of statistics. The key factor seems to be the distribution of ages of people in surveys who identified themselves as homosexual. By ignoring any idea that people might have grown up in an era where they would have concealed their sexuality, might have decided they can't be bothered to identify themselves as a 65-year old homosexual, or might have lost all interest in sex, or even changed orientation, this leads to the conclusion that homosexual people must die younger. Notinasnaid 17:54, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
One factor that might make homosexual men live longer is their relative affluence (which significantly increases life span). StuRat 00:50, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I know of no really solid data on this question (though I do know of less-than-solid data). Fundamentally, it's a an impossible question to answer as things stand. Since not all homosexual males will admit to being homosexual, even if you could design an otherwise perfect survey you still couldn't get a good answer. And those pesky bisexuals! Don't get me started. Sorry I can't be more helpful. --George 07:03, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are there any solid stats on the relative affluence of homosexual people cf. other people? I know what StuRat says is a common perception, but since there are a lot more gay people than those who publicly identify as gay, the appearance of affluence could well be based on the lifestyles of the very people who are most likely to be "out" and visible, ie. young, confident, earning good money, and usually without dependants. This sample seems inherently skewed to me. Maybe the gay people who are not out tend to have a similar degree of affluence, but by definition we have no knowledge of their demographics. JackofOz 11:49, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

One would expect that those who identify as homosexual would be less likely to have children; this is the major reason I've heard for the disposable income difference. Kids are expensive. moink 11:52, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I get that, and that's still focussing on those who are out. I'm not convinced about the affluence and the longer lifespan that are supposedly enjoyed by gay men as a whole. To borrow Notinasnaid's and George's point, there is a significant proportion of the gay population who are not out. There are a lot of gay people in traditional husband-wife marriages, most of whom have kids (who are expensive). A significant proportion of marriages in western societies end in divorce, and ones involving gay people would be no less affected (perhaps more so given the sexual disconnect). Divorced people and affluence don't usually go together either. JackofOz 13:22, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sure, but those who are out are going to affect the average. Anyway, now we're getting into the definition of homosexual. That is, we could talk about those who identify (even if only to themselves) as homosexual, those who publicly identify as homosexual, or those whose behaviour qualifies as homosexual in the eyes of many. The chosen definition will have a significant effect on the results. moink 13:34, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think we agree that before we ever get to the stage of measuring the demographics of a group of people, we need to be very clear on exactly which group of people we're talking about. There's no reason why that principle would not apply here. But I don't think that this is the right forum for that discussion. JackofOz 14:05, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How does one request an article to be written?

I have looked on Wikipedia for some subjects which have no articles or links. Some of these should, in my opinion, have their own article. Is there a standard way to suggest or request the writing of an article? 71.105.244.25 12:55, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you wish for Wikipedia to have an article about something, but don't know enough about it yourself, go to Wikipedia:Requested articles. But if you have written the full text yourself but can't submit it because you don't want to register an account, go to Wikipedia:Articles for creation. JIP | Talk 13:18, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I had been looking for that second link for the last five minutes... I thought that it would be linked from the first link but I don't see anything on "Requested articles" that goes to "Articles for creation". Is that odd to anyone else? Dismas|(talk) 13:23, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Japan and Pearl Harbour

I'm a bit confused. I asked this question in my history class but did not get a satisfactory answer from the teacher: Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbour specifically? And why couldn't they have attacked any other point? --201.221.201.102 15:09, 20 February 2006 (UTC)Carmen[reply]

Why do people rob banks - that's where the money is. Why attack Pearl Harbor - that's where the boats are. Why couldn't they attack somewhere else - but they did. They hit the Philippines nine hours later. Rmhermen 15:17, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They also attacked a number of British possessions. (Japan went to war against both countries simultaneously.) Pearl Harbor, however, was the headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet, and since the US was at peace, much of the fleet was staying in port. If the Japanese could destroy numerous US battleships and aircraft carriers in a single attack, the US would be unable to use them to fight back. The idea was to start the war with a blow that would make it unwinnable for the other side. --Anonymous, 17:20 UTC, February 20.
This was less successful as the U.S. had a large shipbuilding industry to replace/repair the damage. Today we have little shipbuilding capacity but disperse the fleet better. Rmhermen 17:52, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Japan needed oil and other strategic materials, which were embargoed, and thus they needed to conquer the Dutch East Indies and Borneo. This would almost certainly provoke a war with the US. To deal with this, they'd need to get rid of the two major assets the US possessed which could stop the invasion, and stop the shipping back of resources:
  • The Philippine Islands, a major US base right slap in the middle of all the supply routes Japan would have to use, from which aircraft and ships could wreak havoc
  • The US Pacific Fleet, which could do just the same if it chose to. Without either of these, the US would be unable to make any real resistance to Japan in the western Pacific.
So, they invaded the Philippines, for point 1. For point 2, they needed to destroy the fleet. The entire US Pacific Fleet (to all intents and purposes) was, at this point, sitting in Pearl Harbor. So... a gamble. Could they hit Pearl Harbor at the outbreak of the war, destroying the US fleet before it was able to go to sea? As history records, no. But that was the goal; they attacked Pearl because it had the fleet; they attacked the fleet to protect their invasions elsewhere. Shimgray | talk | 00:09, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would think they would have had to do at least three other things, to at least hope to delay their defeat:

  • Guard the tip of South America to prevent ships from the Atlantic ocean from entering the Pacific theatre.

Why didn't they do those things ? They would have lost the element of surprise after Pearl Harbor, so the US would be on the alert. Also, guarding the tip of South America would have seriously challenged their supply chain, since that's well over 10,000 miles away from Japan.

Of course, even had they done all this, the US could still eventually bring in ships from the other side, by going past the southern tip of Africa or passing thru the Suez Canal (assuming they could get past the Germans). Once the US had the atomic bomb and could get within airplane range of Japan, the war would have ended, in any event.

StuRat 00:26, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See, you're getting ahead of yourself now :-) The purpose wasn't to destroy America's ability to bring a fleet to bear against Japan... it was to destroy America's ability to bring a fleet to bear against Japan any time in the near future. Put yourself in the viewpoint of a Japanese war planner, middle to late 1941.
At best, the attack would stop the war before it even started, if America sued for peace after having its fleet destroyed. This is implausible in hindsight, but it's not difficult to imagine a Japanese war planner convincing himself it would happen - remember that in late 1941, France had collapsed less than a year ago, and it was a reasonable bet that the Soviet Union could completely collapse in the near future, both major powers under sudden shock attacks.
At worst, a succesful destruction of the US fleet (and capturing the various forward bases in the Pacific up to Midway) would buy a few years before the US could put together a major fleet and start trying to island-hop to Japan. And at this point, Japan would (in theory) be in a stronger situation than they were in 1941 - they'd have the strategic materials they need, they'd have had years to fortify forward bases and build up the navy... they'd certainly have a better chance of winning a straight-up fight in 1943/4 than they would in 1941.
Either way, the plan went, Japan would be in a better strategic position after making the strike. As matters turned out, it was both unlucky - the carriers escaped Pearl - and based on false assumptions - the Americans proved capable of throwing vastly more resources into the fight than the Japanese ever anticipated - but this wasn't known at the time... Shimgray | talk | 00:50, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Some other possible considerations. If the strike at Pearl Harbor delayed US response sufficiently long for Japan to really take control of the resource-rich areas they took control of they might have been able to defend them more successfully. They probably were also banking on the US not wanting to get into a major war essentially in order to recapture someone else's territory. DJ Clayworth 18:10, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Graffiti and copyright

Let's assume the following question is about a piece of graffiti in the United States, to avoid varying international answers. I know that graffiti can be removed without any legal problems, since the work is defacing someone else's property. But say a photographer happened by, appreciated the design, and took a photograph — showing only the single piece of graffiti with no surrounding space. Who would own the copyright of the photo produced? The original artist? the owner of the building? the photographer? Or does graffiti enter the public domain when it's made, and Bridgeman Art Library Ltd. v. Corel Corporation would mean anyone could print the photograph without credit? GeeJo (t) (c)  16:35, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would imagine that the simple answer is: the courts haven't decided yet. Probably because a case of such nature has never come up. We could argue all day about the morals, but copyright lawyers would have more experience in the field. Let's hope one sees this question ;)  -- Run!  17:40, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This could end up as a typical US sue-fest. Photog takes picture of building and gets a bundle from a tabloid. Graffiti artist sues for money. Building owner sues graffiti artist for damage. City sues building owner for eyesore. Since the graffiti was an encoded bomb-recipe, Justice Department sues city. Terrorists blow up building, cases ended. --Zeizmic 18:14, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't the place for real legal advice. But I assume you knew that already anyway. So here's my take anyway: In the USA, buildings are copyrighted since 1990. However, that copyright does not extend to photographs of buildings taken from a public place. So, so far you have license to the photograph. Now as for the graffiti, that could be interpreted either as a standalone creative work or as a derivative work of the building. I doubt there's enough case law to establish that. But to qualify as a derivative work it needs to be incorporating parts of the original. In other words, my guess is that it'd have to have some kind of relationship to creative parts of the architecture of the building itself (other than using it as a canvas). So I'm leaning towards it being an independent creative work. I don't see how whether the graffiti was legally painted or not has anything to do with it's copyright status. It may very well affect your ability to profit off that copyright (if it was illegaly painted, it'd probably be awarded to the owner of the building), but not the elgibility for the copyright in the first place. Now for photographs. Photographs are in general always copyrighted, unless the photographer puts it into the public domain. The copyright status of the motif is irrelevant. The only issue here is to what extent it is a derivative work of the graffiti artist and the architect, and mainly the graffiti artist. Since most graffiti artists won't step forward and claim copyright for obvious reasons, the photographer can in practice claim full copyright. So in summary, no you are not allowed to copy other people's pictures of graffiti without license. Just like you're not allowed to copy other people's recordings of public-domain classical music without license. I also think that a graffiti artist, should he/she choose to come forward and is able to prove 'authorship', would probably be successful in a copyright claim against someone who'd photographed their works. The compensation would be very low though, since the economic compensation for graffiti artists doesn't tend to run very high. --BluePlatypus 18:41, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I should address Bridgeman v. Corel before someone asks. That case adresses a very specific case, namely where the photos are made as realistic a reproduction as possible (and of public-domain art). Most photos don't fit into that category, and I doubt a photo of graffiti taken in the street would. Camera angle, lighting, etc give a lot of creative choices. It's a very, very thin line to walk on. --BluePlatypus 19:05, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

In the U.K. the graffiti artist Banksey has recently published a book of photographs of his graffiti (Wall and Piece), most of which has been done illegally. He has copyrighted it, though that said I don't know how far he's gone in enforcing it as I've seen unauthorised T-shirts with copies of his work on them. AllanHainey 16:17, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

newspapers

why are certain newspapers(times of india,hindustan times) costlier on sundays and some(indian express) cheaper on sundays.why cant they have uniform weekly rates

Sunday papers are usually costlier because they have more effort go into them; they give more content, and come with inserts such as magazines and free giveaways (CDs). Why they would be cheaper I'm not sure.  -- Run!  18:50, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The number of pages may relate to the cost. More work = more pages = higher price.--Commander Keane 18:52, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Generally speaking, newspapers receive the vast majority of their income from advertising, not from newsstand sales or reader subscriptions. Thus, some newspapers (particularly the more popular ones) charge more on Sundays for the reasons mentioned above - more content means they can get away with a higher price because the readers consider it worth the extra cost - while other newspapers charge less simply to get as many people to buy it as possible (thus allowing them to raise the rates they charge advertisers). --Aaron 22:54, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The number I've seen for my local paper is that revenue is split about evenly between three sources: subscription fees, big advertisers, and classified ads. --Serie 23:08, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

how many towns in wyoming

hi i am doing a school project in Lusk and i was wondering how many total towns are in Wyoming as of the most recient cencuss?

Try getting an atlas and then count the number of towns listed under the Wyoming index. StuRat 00:04, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That wouldn't do too good: The atlas may leave some out or include some unincorporated communities.
Wyoming has 99 municipalities, according to the Wyoming Association of Municipalities. You'll have to do some more digging to find out how many are cities and how many towns. -- Mwalcoff 01:14, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unless Wyoming, or the U.S.A. has some official categorisation of what makes a town or a city then its going to be fairly arbitrary in any event. AllanHainey 16:20, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Number of countries in the world

While watching the Olympics the other day, I heard that there are 85 countries competing this time. That made me curious as to how many countries there are in the world today. A breakdown of countries by continent would be interesting, but not necessary. Thanks for the help. Ginger--67.52.50.206 22:41, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

From Earth:
"There are 267 administrative divisions, including nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries. Earth does not have a sovereign government with planet-wide authority. Independent sovereign nations claim all of the land surface except for some segments of Antarctica. There is a worldwide general international organization, the United Nations. The United Nations is primarily an international discussion forum with only limited ability to pass and enforce laws."
However, the List of countries only has "243 entities considered to be countries", with the breakdown by political status, and the Annex explains where the other 24 went. СПУТНИКССС Р 22:52, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's interesting that FIFA, with 205, has more member countries than the UN, which has 191.
Slumgum 22:59, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Fifa uses some historically seperable subnational "countries" which aren't politically independent. Scotland and England are members, for one... I think a number of dependencies also participate independently, who again aren't countries. The usual figure for "countries", in the sense of "like the UK or France or Bulgaria", is 193 - the 191 UN members, plus the Vatican City and the Republic of China. There's half a dozen more with a more-or-less serious claim to de-facto independence, but which aren't recognised; they're generally not included, but are on a different level from the recognised-but-not-independent dependencies like, say, Bermuda. Shimgray | talk | 23:06, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Country" turns out to be a nebulous concept which varies depending on the context, particularly in sporting contexts. Three examples:

  • The United Kingdom is one country at the Olympic Games, but six countries at the Commonwealth Games. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, and Jersey will be competing against each other in Melbourne next month.
  • China since 1997 has included Hong Kong, but at the Olympics they still send separate teams.
  • Before 1991, the United Nations recognised the USSR as a member, but also recognised the Byelorussian SSR (now Belarus) and the Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine), both of which were part of the USSR. So the USSR had 3 votes whereas every other country had one. JackofOz 23:25, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There is no one answer. I collect flags, and keep a list of the current flags of the 240 entities I tend to refer to as countries (flags change, so it's good to keep up to date). Consider the following list - which of these are or are not countries: Wales, Catalonia, Somaliland, Northern Cyprus, Greenland, Zanzibar, Gibraltar, Kosovo, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Bermuda, French Guiana, Puerto Rico, Guam, Norfolk Island, Palestine? Ask any group of experts, and they'll give you a different list of which of these are or are not "countries", depending on which definition they use. it's one of those nebulous "you know what it is when you see it" type terms like "commonwealth". (Oh, and BTW Jack - does that mean Guernsey's not competing at the CGs?) Grutness...wha? 23:37, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Quite right. I read the following sentence at Commonwealth Games too quickly: The four constituent countries of the United Kingdom — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from crown dependencies such as the Isle of Man and Jersey. I forgot to compute the "such as". I've checked about Guernsey, and it is competing. So that makes at least 7 countries for the UK, not 6. JackofOz 23:59, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If "country" means a country generally recognized as independent, you can start with the 191 that are members of the United Nations, plus the Vatican, which has declined to join, making 192. Then there are a number of places with disputed situations, which may function in practice as independent countries but where international recognition is incomplete or entirely lacking: these include Taiwan, Northern Cyprus, and Somaliland, and I bet there's a list of them somewhere on Wikipedia. If you don't want to get precise about those, a reasonable answer is "about 200". If you have a more expansive notion of "country", then it's larger. Hmm, I see that I missed an answer above that says more or less the same as this one. Sorry for the repetition, but now that I've said it, you know it's right. (Grin)
Incidentally, I have seen it explained that the reason the USSR demanded separate UN membership for two of its member "republics", as mentioned above, was to balance the separate memberships of places like Canada and Australia, which it viewed as not entirely independent of the UK. That wasn't really true by the time the UN was formed in 1945 (although earlier in the 20th century it had been); but the USSR was a powerful country and as a matter of practical politics it was easier to go along. --Anonymous, 23:48 UTC, 2006-02-20.
It's probably worth clarifying the status of the Republic of China - whilst the independence of the nation is disputed diplomatically, it's generally seen as on a somewhat different level to places like Northern Cyprus; hence my "193". (Incidentally, an offer was made at Yalta for a quid-pro-quo where two US states would get a vote as well... FDR declined to take it.) Shimgray | talk | 23:55, 20 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Was this what was referred to as "Roosevelt's claptrap"? JackofOz 04:00, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just in case anyone is wondering, like I was, "FDR" refers to Franklin Roosevelt, a former president of the USA. Don't ask me what the D stands for. What is it with those middle names anyway? Signed DJvdM. :) DirkvdM 18:47, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There's this really great website called Wikipedia or something, which tells you that it was Delano, his mother's maiden surname. JackofOz 05:19, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

According to "An Oral History of the Founding of the United Nations" brought out by Yale University, the votes given to Ukraine and Byelorussia by the United Nations arose out of a bungling by the United States Administration. In the course of a courtesy telephone call between Roosevelt and Stalin the former said "'Marshall Stalin, I have just been getting a report from my Secretary of State on the the morning meeting and he told me that there was agreement on everything.' Stettinius started to grab at Roosevelt's sleeve, but Stalin came back quickly 'and the two republics too?' And Roosevelt said, 'Yes.' Once the error was made, Roosevelt thought about later saying to Stalin that it was a mistake but decided against it."

Thanks. Most interesting. I have a lot of respect for FDR, but this is just one more example of a politician whose inability to admit a mistake led to a bad outcome for lot of people for a long time. JackofOz 11:37, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Did it? There are major UN votes which were decided because the USSR didn't participate (ie, sending troops into Korea), but offhand I can't think of any General Assembly ones where the Byelorussian and Ukranian votes were the swing votes. Shimgray | talk | 17:15, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A great article on this question is How many countries are there in the world?. To quote:
Of course, all of this does not answer the original question. That should be somewhere between 194 and 239, but nobody seems to have a good answer.
b_jonas 11:38, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See Sealand. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:13, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And Conch Republic. LOL. -LambaJan 05:10, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Benskonia and Tirben. The Montevideo Convention sets very minimal standards, and my bedroom meets them. Yeltensic42 don't panic 06:36, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. (Frank Zappa)' -- Ferkelparade π 06:46, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Whut?

How come Pokémon can be caught in Poké Balls, while humans can't be? One would presume Pokemons and humans are both made of meat. Vitriol 00:00, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Has anyone tried to catch a human in one? Obviously in the games you can't do it, and it probably hasn't been mentioned in the cartoons or comics. Maybe people shouldn't keep other people as pets - especially not for fighting against other pets. It's either something Nintendo thought of, and decided to steer clear of; or just never thought of.
Try it in real life!
Slumgum 00:16, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It'd make travelling by train a billion times easier, I guess. Or you could just use a teleporter widget from the cartoons, but there'd need to be loads of them. Vitriol 00:18, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have a theory! Maybe the lands of Pokemon were cut off from the mainland, so lots of interestingly different fauna evolved there, like it did in Australia. Then humans arrived later! Vitriol 00:21, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe couping Pokemon up in ball-cages that are smaller than they are and only letting them out to fight other Pokemon is cruel and it's illegal to put humans in Pokeballs. There should really be legislation against treating the Pokemon that way. In the U.S. it's illegal to have cock-fights and the U.K. recently banned fox-hunting. There are other animal protection laws in these and most other industrialized nations. Frankly, I'm shocked that these children weren't prosecuted already. -LambaJan 02:02, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, somebody told me that in an early episode of the cartoon a Poliwag hit a Pokeball back at Ash with its tail and he got caught. And then someone else said they could remember that... So, uh, I didn't need you guys at all. Vitriol 02:06, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Suspension of disbelief :) ☢ Ҡiff 03:16, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Whoa! Sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean or anything! I was purposely not suspending my disbelief to make a joke. Admittedly it did have undertones of criticism toward the media, but it was all in good fun, and I wasn't making fun of you. On the contrary, I was hoping you'd find it funny. ... Maybe I should think about using phony html brackets... -LambaJan 03:43, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why you're thinking my comment was directed at you? õ_o ☢ Ҡiff 22:08, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I thought Vitriol's was. I was responding to him. I hope I didn't hurt his feelings. -LambaJan 05:09, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

February 21

all other factors equal, how might the depth of a lake affect the development of a lake breeze

Not until you make a nice signed question over on the Science side. --Zeizmic 00:32, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Suitly emphazied.  -- Run!  17:14, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cars

Are Nuclear powered cars possible?

I think we went over this a while ago. Basically, you can't get a nuclear source to have a high energy density (volume and mass), and to be generally safe. If you have a 'plug-in' and it's charged from a nuclear reactor, is it a nuclear-powered car? --Zeizmic 02:52, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Everything's *possible*, but lots of things aren't practical. I'm guessing, but I'd imagine that the minimum volume and mass taken up to make a reactor achieve criticality with standard power reactor fuel, and the necessary space around that for water, control rod insertion, and the like, is simply too large. In that case, you'd need to use highly enriched uranium for the fuel (like the US navy does on its much larger submarines) and obviously, having bomb-grade uranium in private cars represents a huge proliferation risk. And that's not even counting the mass and volume required to build a reactor containment that would have to be strong enough to stand any conceivable crash (much more than the crash protection provided to the human occupants). A slightly more scalable approach might be an RTG, but, again, the power density is not great, there's a proliferation risk (for a dirty bomb), and the shielding required would be enormous.
If you're interested, the US did seriously research the possibility of a nuclear aircraft (do a google search for "nuclear aircraft" for more information). --Robert Merkel 22:23, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Where do I download...

I want to nkow where to download the program winhack2.0 I have searched all over t6he internet and have found nothing.I used many of the best websites nkown,(at least I think they are the best),I have used google,plexxa,and many more,And yet I have found nothing.I want to use this program to edit my money in a game called runescape.I have read some of the questions here about it.Some of them answered what I wanted.Others didnt.I read a question about the programs,Hack32 and Winhack2.0.So far I have Hack32 Bu I just need Winhack2.0.Please if you find any informations on where i can get this program.Tell me and I will thank you so much!!!

You want us to help you cheat in a MMORPG? I don't really think I want to help you... But have you tried a Google search? --Optichan 16:52, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Weekend newspapers

This was inspired by the Sunday newspaper question above. I throw the employment/real estate/cars/business sections of the weekend papers into the recycling bin because they are usually of no interest to me. This amounts to more than half the bulk of the paper. There's got to be a better way than having to buy the whole product when you don't want a lot of it. I don't mind paying the extra 50 cents. The more serious issues are waste and environmental impact. I can see all kinds of practical problems with giving consumers the option of purchasing only the sections they want, but if that could be implemented it would be very attractive. Has this ever been attempted in a major city, and was it successful? (By the way, reading a newspaper online does not work for me.) JackofOz 04:39, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • Well, if the newpaper companies thought there was a market for specialized smaller papers, presumably they would be available. There are of course other ways to distrubute the unwanted paper sections on one's own: viz. either unsoliticited at transit hubs (likely to attract puzzled faces) or through something organized online like craigslist (though quite unlikely to work efficently in the real world). But really, the only practical solution is regular paper-sharing with co-workers, family or friends of diverse interests.--Pharos 07:58, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Remember that newspapers, as mentioned above, make most of their money by selling readers to advertisers, not by selling papers to readers. Without the employment/real estate/cars/business sections, which probably are filled with ads, the paper would very likely cost a lot more than 50 cents extra. David Sneek 08:06, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Or to take a different approach and drawing on the quote "I don't mind paying the extra 50 cents." they charge more for the paper because they can. Also, selection by section would reduce circulation of some sections, and therefore decrease what the paper can charge advertisers. So they would never do this unless they must.
I read my newspaper (NRC) online. No paper at all. And it's cheaper (10 € per month). And it's easier to keep articles. DirkvdM 18:57, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Nah, for me it just ain't the same. There's a romance about a newspaper, similar to the solidity of a bound book, that's irreplaceable. Plus, online I can't get various bits and pieces like Letters to the Editor, sudoku, movie listings, etc. JackofOz 20:19, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I tend to prefer books over reading the same information online, but I doubt that will last; it makes more sense for information to all be digital, thus saving trees and storage space, so probably people born after a certain point won't prefer books anymore. Then they'll make fun of us curmudgeonly bats. Ah well. Yeltensic42 don't panic 06:29, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's only a matter of time before online newspapers offer sudoku, I'm sure the capability must be there already. Yeltensic42 don't panic 06:29, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, I'm in my fourties and I prefer reading from a screen. So it's not just a matter of when you're born. Also very important are a good computer screen and desk chair. And one can look straight ahead, preventing a pain in the neck. And holding up a book is (oh irony) bad for my rsi. DirkvdM 08:09, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unfortunately, I lose the advantage of looking straight ahead, because my computer is on a low sort of chest of drawers, my room lacking the space for a desk, which means I sit on my bed and look downward toward the screen. But I'm guessing that more people will be/already are following your way, the advantage of, um, paper to smell being outweighed by the advantages you mentioned (not to mention the little tidbit that one can do a lot more with computers). Yeltensic42 don't panic 08:53, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You're right to decry the waste and environmental impact. From the publisher's point of view, though, these are externalities. One of the defects of a market-based system is that it encourages socially harmful conduct under such circumstances, because the harm isn't suffered by the decisionmaker. A publisher would incur significant labor costs in making available different editions of the paper. The resulting benefits would be diffused widely throughout the society, to beneficiaries (including some not yet born) who don't pay anything for the benefit they get. Therefore, the publishers generally won't do it. The only example I can think of is that the Washington Post publishes a "National Weekly Edition" that's aimed at people living outside the Washington, D.C. area. It includes "national news, political, and cultural coverage" from the regular edition. [10] This is the unusual case where there's enough of a market for a particular "pruned" edition that the publisher can make a profit by producing an edition that's tailored to that market. JamesMLane t c 11:40, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, yes, NRC Handelsblad, which I referred to earlier (the newspaper I read online) has also started publishing a short version of their newspaper, nrc.next. DirkvdM 12:17, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

beer (?) label

I saw a label on a bottle of (what i assume was) beer on a TV show and I was wondering what it was. I couldn't read the writing on it, but I've seen it before, so here's the best description i can muster.. It was mainly yellow/gold and black, in the centre is a barrel/keg with two bees on it, above each other. The name is in a big arch which goes over the top of the barrel. That's about as well as I can remember it. I guess it's some kind of honey beer due to the bees, but I could be wrong. If possible, please suitly emphazie your answer (whatever the hell that means!) AlbinoMonkey (Talk) 06:50, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

a couple of thoughts: 1) what country was the programme set in? (yeah, I know, there's export beer, but it may give a clue); 2) have you had a look at List of commercial brands of beer, to see whetehr that will jog your elbow memory? Grutness...wha? 07:46, 21 February 2006 (UTC) (PS - suitly emphazi is an in-joke here, generally referring to a question that is very poorly written, after one time when a questioner asked us to suitly emphazi an answer). [reply]
I wonder if that (probably one-off) questioner knows how much enjoyment he/she has given to many people. See, life has a purpose after all. JackofOz 08:15, 21 February 2006 (UTC) [reply]
I hate to cut short promising research projects, so I won't reveal the answer too obviously but to get the answer visit this link [11] and scroll down to see the logo you describe. Notinasnaid 08:44, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
D'oh! No wonder it sounded familiar! Still, it did prompt me to upload a photo of some cans to Speight's, so it wasn't a waste of energy for me :) Grutness...wha? 08:57, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My favorite part of this question is the picture of the honies.  :-P Dismas|(talk) 10:42, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks!!! AlbinoMonkey (Talk) 02:26, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Price tag of a full scale war

The cost of the Iraq War and certain military consumables (missiles come to mind) has got me thinking. If, next monday, aliens invaded the United States and it was forced into a full-scale war for its very survival, how long could it afford to equip and supply all its armed forces? 219.93.29.135 09:28, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

why would money matter in such a case? Rmhermen 15:09, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Money matters in a war if lack of it prevents the war being fought. This can happen because either workers or soldiers refuse to work without getting paid, or because someone outside the country won't give it something it needs without being paid. The first may seem unlikely but might be more common that you would think. Both affected the UK during the early years of WWII, and Britain had so sell off a lot if its assets to raise money for the war. In the case of alien invasion it would seem reasonable that other countries would probably assist the US; or do we merely mean foreigners here? In any case the US has a lot of assets it can sell off. DJ Clayworth 18:02, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why is it that in films with attacking aliens it's always the US that gets attacked? Does Hollywood have a deathwish or something? :) And to raise another smiley - why would the rest of the world interfere? For one, a reasoning might be that it's about time that the US experiences what it's like to be invaded by a superior force. And of course those countries that have been invaded by the US (about half the planet?) will be too busy laughing their balls off. But somewhat more seriously, if the aliens picik the US specifically, they might have a reason. And if the US don't manage to fight them off, what chance do the others stand. (Why do you think hardly anyone has ever dared to interfere when the US attack yet another country?) And would they really want to piss these guys off if aparrently they're only interrested in the US? DirkvdM 19:14, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In British films and TV shows (like Dr Who), England always gets attacked, which seems even less likely, it being smaller and less important than the US. StuRat 04:07, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Just once, just one damn time, I wish the Earth could be invaded by hostile aliens that AREN'T immune to bullets." - The Brigadier, on Dr Who StuRat 04:13, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As for your rabid anti-Americanism, the US hasn't invaded anywhere near half the countries on Earth. And other countries, like Spain, England, and the former Soviet Union, certainly have invaded/occupied more, either in terms of land area or current population. StuRat 04:07, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I'm not all that rabid, I just like to stir things up a bit. But apart from that, I just react to whatever comes up here and that is the US most of the time (when was the last question that was about, say, the Netherlands - would above question have been asked about the Netherlands, for example?). The other countries you mention have done a fair bit of invading, but that was in the past and therefore not relevant here. DirkvdM 08:15, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In such a conflict, the United States has a big advantage over the UK and most other developed countries: it is a net exporter of food. It is also reasonably self-sufficient with respect to the raw materials and production needed to wage war. If the actual combat could be limited to reasonably useless areas such as the ranchlands of the Western US, and bomb damage to cities minimized, the United States could keep fighting for a long time. --Serie 22:56, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If such aliens had the ability to perform interstellar travel on such a scale as to conduct an invasion of the US, the technological basis of their society would probably be be so far ahead of Earth's that if they'd devoted any significant part of that technology to warfare, resistance, to paraphrase the Borg, would be useless. Unless they had some unforseen fatal flaw in their battleplan that was exposed by some clever, combat-hardened Earthlings (think Mars Attacks!).
In any case, the idea that an attack on the US by aliens would be ignored by the rest of the world is pretty laughable. As Leon Uris wrote (though he probably nicked it from elsewhere)
It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world. And all of us against the infidel.
Hostile aliens from outer space would count as the ultimate unifying infidel IMHO.
Finally, getting back to more terrestrial concerns, your idea of a "full-scale war for its very survival" ignores that if the very survival of the United States was at stake, nuclear warfare would almost certainly ensue. The use of a substantial fraction of the US nuclear arsenal would wipe much of the population of most countries off the face of the Earth, and would do so at a quite small cost. Of course, a nuclear-armed opponent could do the same to the US, National Missile Defence boondoggles notwithstanding. ----Robert Merkel 03:12, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For clarification, I was merely reacting to the notion that aliens would resrict their attack to the US. DirkvdM 12:22, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Linux trademark

Now that the Linux trademark has been alloted to Linus Torvalds, he would have to renew it periodically. What will happen if he is (for some reason) unable to pay the money to renew it? —Masatran 10:24, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This is just my guess, but I think someone else (like the FSF) would gladly pay it for him. – b_jonas 11:26, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Who said this ...

I would appreciate finding who said this quote, and where it is found.

"Some people go through life walking down the centre of the road, to them, that's their life's highway ..... but that's not my way. The cliff edge is where you'll find me ..... taking the risks dreaming the dreams."

Thanks, in anticipation

EB, Australia

I looked around and couldn't find anything. These [12] [13] [14] are some good sites. You'll probably be able to search better than I since you know where you heard it. Chances are it's a paraphrase in one way or another, which makes searching difficult. The first link, for quoteland, has a good article about what I'm talking about. -LambaJan 18:28, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Patent challenge resolution

Good day,

hydnjo referred me to this resource for a question I hope can be addressed here.

If an inventor's patent is challenged by another entity, how can one obtain information to resolve such a dispute by determining who received the patent first (perhaps even location where said patent was obtained is vital?) Folajimi(talk)

This is the Legal Thing again. What country? In most of the world, it is 'First to File', but in the US it is different. Patents are big bucks for the lawyers, everything goes to a major court case, so a single inventor is usually screwed unless he makes a deal with the devil (scummy patent company). My old professor (big inventor!) used to say, that the best thing to do was to sell your patent to a big company, and then become their main salesman for the product. --Zeizmic 15:53, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for replying to my inquiry. Your input is greatly appreciated.
The alleged victim filed the patent in the U.K., and even sued for patent infringement there (even though the alleged infringement happened in the United States.) However, as you suggested, he lost the case because the entity he was up against had become a monopoly. How can I find additional information to verify if the allegation is bogus? Do documents presented in such a suit become "part of the public record" for lack of a better phrase? If so, how can I obtain such information? Folajimi 16:23, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You'd have to go into a Patent Lawyer database, and that ain't free! --Zeizmic 17:40, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You absolutely need a patent lawyer here. Accept no substitutes. DJ Clayworth 17:56, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That is unfortunate. Based on your responses, I can only assume that the access necessary to resolve this issue would cost an arm and a leg. If such an issue remains unresolved, is that grounds for nominating the affected (offending?) "article(s)" for deletion? Folajimi 21:19, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What? Is somebody bitchin' that their patent got stolen by a big bad corporation? If that's true, then you should go through the usual request for second opinion, etc. Things on the Wiki must be neutral and verifiable. --Zeizmic 21:48, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, I discovered the dispute by accident; I was looking for additional information on the subject (i.e. the alleged offender) in the article when I came across a book authored by one of the descendants of the alleged victim. According to the relative I contacted regarding this matter, it seems that the story has been passed down by oral tradition.
Call me paranoid, but I am concerned that such stories can create situations that could get ugly in the future. If I can find evidence to make a valid conclusion one way or the other, that would be great.
Perhaps it could even be seen as a win for Wikipedia? Folajimi 01:04, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It seems perfectly in order to refer to this claim, but it should be referred to as an assertion and the source (book) mentioned. It should not be presented as a fact unless someone can confirm it. (But even then it becomes troublesome if others cannot check this). Notinasnaid 09:00, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, you got me absolutely totally confused. I'm leavin' this popcan. --Zeizmic 01:15, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedian internet culture

Under what circumstances would it be "patronizing" to provide someone with links such as WP:CIVIL, WP:NOT, WP:NPA, WP:AGF on Wikipedia? Perhaps "patronizing" is not the correct word to use here, but I wonder whether their usage is a bit, well...um...inclined on the ruder side?

For example, these shortcut links are all made of capital letters, so it would seem that if it were given to someone, it could be almost interpreted as a sort of unrefined diplomacy. What would be other more pleasant and viable alternatives? These shortcuts are used in part because they are simple to type of course. Are these sorts of redirects specific to Wikipedia? Surely there are other sites which moderate their users in a different manner?

I hope this post doesn't degenerate into too much streams of consciousness though - so with the caveat aside, what are your thoughts? --HappyCamper 15:24, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well I try use the full version rather than the shortcuts. They are mostly used for newer editors who may not understand what they mean so they full version is better. To be really rude use them on someone who's been here for 6 months or more. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:33, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is a tendency in every community to evolve jargon, and then use it in a way which at best unconsciously acts to exclude or alienate newcomers. Jargon is part of what gives a sense of community, but it has a cost and it is surely polite to avoid it. There is really no excluse to post something in a reply, such as WP:NPA unless it is absolutely clear that all of those particating in a discussion would be familiar with both the page and its contraction. It isn't about the capital letters, it's the complete incomprehensibility of it as it is read. Otherwise, Wikipedia:No personal attacks should surely be used, everytime, by everyone. I wouldn't describe the use of this jargon as ever condescending (unless, perhaps, it was used as a put down for someone who was proclaiming themselves an expert, and the reply wanted to suggest otherwise by using something unfamiliar). Perhaps Wikipedia:Civility should suggest that the indiscriminate use of WP:CIVIL is uncivil. Notinasnaid 15:38, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See also WP:WOTTA. --cesarb 15:52, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Try telling someone to assume good faith or be civil when they're already doing so would be quite rude. - Mgm|(talk) 10:10, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Stages in WRC Extreme 2 and WRC 3 on PS2

Can someone please tell me the names of all the stages in the Playstation 2 Rally Games, World Rally Championship Extreme 2 and World Rally Championship 3 please. Thanks.Col du Turini 17:58, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See GameFAQs - www.gamefaqs.com Proto||type 12:14, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Proto, but they are not there. Sorry! Col du Turini 18:48, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ngo-Kentunjia_division

The following request was made by Wariba in the form of an article entitled Ngo-Kentunjia_division in mainspace. Since it seems to belong here, I've tagged that for deletion and copied the request here. Tonywalton  | Talk 17:04, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

good day mr/mrs please this sender is looking for information on the physical enviroment of Ngokitunjia Division of the northwest province of Cameroon.That is the climate, soil, rainfll, temperature, geographical location. i will be very greatful iuf you provide me with this information through e-mail address removed

This seems a bit too specialised for the Reference Desk; maybe it's better place this question on the discussion page of the Northwest Province, Cameroon article. David Sneek 20:45, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Tables in wikipedia

How do I get article text to wrap around tables in the same way that it wraps around images?  -- Run!  18:47, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Use style="float: left" in the header line of the table (the one with the {|). --cesarb 19:46, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Study here
Slumgum 19:49, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

A New Article on Wikipedia

I know I can edit information on Wikipedia. How do I write a whole new article. Ithaca High School has an entry, but Cascadilla School (Ithaca's other high school) does not. I used to teach there and I would like to write an article about it.

-Veronica205.231.26.11

click here and type away! Sometimes it can be difficult to start an article from scratch, but it really doesn't matter. Just list facts if that's all you can think of. The article will eventually get cleaned up.  -- Run!  21:38, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, we have recently blocked anonymous users from creating new articles (they can only edit). If you'd like to create a new article, please create your own Wikipedia account. It's free, extremely fast and you don't even need to supply an email address. :) ☢ Ҡiff 22:05, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I like the ":) ?"
It says "Am I happy?"  -- Run!  22:23, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh it's part of your sig. I blame my resolution.  -- Run!  22:24, 21 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The "?" is an unicode character you're not seeing. It's a little radioactivity trefoil. ☢ Ҡiff 05:51, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, I always saw an 'A' in it. An 'A' in a circle. That's the anarchism sign. :) DirkvdM 08:21, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How do i get rid of this weird feeling?

uggh, i dont know what this weird feeling im having is! you see, i feel love sick, i like this guy i will never meet when i grow up, i have lots of energy, i feel lke something is missing, i dont know what but i feel sorta empty inside! i feel anxious for something, it is hard to breathe, like i have butterflies inside, i have been in my house for two days straight, and i realllllllly want to have sex with someone, like i feel rea.lly horny! i also feel like i need to go mall shopping and eat lotsa cake! What is happening to me and why do i feel this way and how can i frickin get rid of it because it is making me sad! and anxious and happy! Help! im only a 13 year old girl!

welcome to your teenage years! I'm afraid that there's a very good chance that what you're feeling is simply some more of your adult hormones kicking in. You're going to have to get used to it, because for the next couple of years that will be happening every now and again. There's some info at Puberty (though admittedly it doesn't directly talk about the sort of things you're feeling). But be warned, the teenage years can be fun, scary, and very depressing all within a very short space of time - it's just your mind and body making all the necessary changes for an adult life. Grutness...wha? 00:41, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I know this will seem a little disjointed, but I think you should read the Advertising article. Of all the things my teachers ever taught me, this is what I appreciate the most. Even to this day. At your age, with your emotions, this knowledge is critical. Also, count to 50 before deciding your parents are wrong. -LambaJan 04:59, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Have any of you guys been on homestar runner wiki Before? I need help!

Now, on this website, its like wikipedia, but on the bottom when you want to post a questain, it says type in code name, and i do but than it says i did somethin wrong! i need help :(

I presume you're trying to create an account? You're supposed to type in the six distorted letters in the coloured image below the code box (it stops people writing programs or scripts to create false accounts). Just make sure you are putting in the right code. I the same problem on Wikisource the other day, so maybe it's a MediaWiki problem. --Canley 05:19, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That probably means that you misspelled the code (which is an easy mistake to make, it can be pretty hard to read; this has happened to me). Just try again, and hopefully it'll come out right (they'll give you a different image code, which might be an easier one). (They use the same thing for the account creation screen). I think they introduced that in response to the NSMC vandalbot, which automated account creation, or edited anon; the image code prevents or obstructs it from doing so. Yeltensic42 don't panic 05:24, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Canley and I posted at the same time, but I guess our answers weren't entirely the same. Yeltensic42 don't panic 05:26, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As a side note about the NSMC, it also motivated a temporary lock on account creation, something that's happened with only two other users there, our own Willy on Wheels and a certain other person whose name begins with a Y. Yeltensic42 don't panic 09:00, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are Captchas case sensitive? Do I have to type the upper case characters and the lower case characters as they display them to me? I've always done so, but haven't bothered to experiment. User:Zoe|(talk) 19:04, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, it isn't necessary, unless it's different elsewhere from HRWiki. Yeltensic42 don't panic 01:04, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

February 22

Game

Who is the richest game designer in the world?

The creators of Trivial Pursuit would probably be a reasonable guess. If you have access to a newspaper archive, there was an article in the Toronto Star in September 2004 about this, which hints that the actual creators would have received huge amounts of royalties.
If we're talking computer game designers, John Carmack is probably more of a programmer than a designer, and he may not be the richest, but he sure has the most fun with his money; he builds rockets with it...--Robert Merkel 02:34, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Definitely it is the Wright guy. Remember that The creators of Trivial Pursuitcould not protect their game ... (My IP address is not permanent.) Please let me know if you think what I am doing is vandalism. I certainly do not intend to be known as a troll.

Book Publisher

What Is The Name Of The Biggest Spanish-Language Book-Publisher In The United States?

Art

Who Is The Richest Art Designer In The World?

According to a recent survey (that I can't offhand find links to), the aggregate sales of work by Jasper Johns total more than those by any other living artist. But artist=art designer? and sales=wealth? Not the same in either case. it all depends what you mean by "art designer". Artist? Fashion designer? Architect? Graphics designer? This needs to be a little more suitly emphazi'd. Grutness...wha? 00:48, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

sports

How much revenue did the three major sports leagues generate in 2005?

In what country? User:Zoe|(talk) 04:15, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And which leagues would be considered the "major" leagues? Dismas|(talk) 04:35, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Which sports are we talking about? Almost every sport has one major league. - Mgm|(talk) 10:16, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]


I greatly dislike these unsigned, unacknowledged quiz questions. Are all from the same ignorant person? --Zeizmic 13:32, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Boscoe Nursery Rhyme

A long time ago, I had found a nursery rhyme site on the web that had a record of all the twisted versions of said rhymes. However, I can't find it anymore and one of the rhymes on there doesn't seem to appear ANYWHERE else...but I remember hearing it as a kid before too. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone could confirm for me of the rhyme actually existed and what the hell Boscoe is (and no it's not that creepy doll from that UK show or some chocolate...i already looked at both of those)...the Rhyme goes like this:

I hate Boscoe, it's not the drink for me

My Mommy pours it in my milk to try and poison me

But one day I fooled Mommy,

I poured it in her tea,

and now I have no Mommy to try and poison me

If anyone could help me out, I'd be BEYOND grateful...it's driving me crazy! lol. thanks!

~ Maria

  • The drink was called "Bosco" (no "e") which might be why you can't find any other reference to it, and it actually was a chocolate-flavouring for milk The original song this is sending up was the advertising jingle for Bosco which went:
"I love Bosco, it's rich and chocolatey
Chocolate-flavored Bosco is mighty good for me
Mama puts it in my milk for extra energy
Bosco gives me iron and sunshine Vitamin D
Oh, I love Bosco, that's the drink for me"

--Canley 04:37, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • Here is a pic of Bosco and a site where you can order it: [15] StuRat 04:44, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Thanks so much! it actually makes sense now...because it was supposed to be a 'twisted' version of a nursery rhyme (though in this case an ad jingle) so...yeah...that was very informative and VERY helpful so thanks again!

~Maria

DVD maker

Hi guys. I was wondering if there were any FREE programs out there that would allow me to create a divx (.avi) file into a DVD-disc, playable on any dvd player. now, ONE THING. it must allow me to also add subtitles to it. the subtitles are in .srt format...so....

any help would be highly appreciated! gelo 10:32, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

May we assume that you're on a Windows machine? Dismas|(talk) 11:42, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yep. gelo 11:48, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Too bad, I do all my video transformations on my AMD64 Linux machine. There is no good stuff on ms; either it costs a lot, or it's full of trojans. I also gave up on trying to write dvds for dvd players; there's a lot of fussyness with the players. --Zeizmic 12:53, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Nice coincidence. I also have an AMD64 with Linux (Suse, but possibly switching to Debian). And my sister wants me to edit two DVD's into one for use in a standalone player (I myself only use them on the computer). So what programs do you use? DirkvdM 12:28, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I use ffmpeg and mencoder for transformations. I use xcdroast for dvd writing. I've made a dvd of slides using something like dvdslidemaker. The dvd's seem to work on everybody's dvd player except mine! So I just pump them to an old Linux computer that has a PVR350 card in it, directly connected to the big tv. I haven't tried actually editing using something like Kino. --Zeizmic 12:58, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Record number of people served by restaurant

What is the highest (largest) number of people served in a single day by a single restaurant site in the U.S.? Same question for the world?

My reason for this search is to compare the 7,806 servings of pancakes by the Kiwanis Clubs of Lakeland, FL on 2/18/06.

Thanks!— Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.101.46.193 (talkcontribs)

How many zipcodes are there in the USA

I am trying to complie a list of all the zipcodes in the USA but am getting conflicting numbers. so I'm looking to find out how many so I purchase the correct listing. thanks 216.153.212.58 15:52, 22 February 2006 (UTC)Jill Messier[reply]

Have you checked our article on ZIP Codes? It details that codes can change (thus the most recent list is best) and links to ZIP code downloads from the Census Bureau. — Lomn Talk 15:59, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

salary's of people in the film industery

I am a media student and I was wondering if you could help me, I would like to know the salary's of the following people and if they are on any particular contract. Producer Associate producer Best boy Clap boy Dialogue editor Set decorator Swing gang Clapper loader Camera operator 213.122.38.167 18:46, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It depends. In any case, producers are probably on a cut of the movie's profits (or more likely the box office take; profit margins for films are notoriously fudged) rather than a salary. In any case, there are better places for salary searches; assuming you're in the United States, you could try sites like salary.com or enquire with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the labour union in the industry. --Robert Merkel 02:44, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • It would also depend on the film's budget and the particular skill the person brings to the project. A good dialogue editor or camera operator is likely to earn more than a mediocre one. - Mgm|(talk) 11:07, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Timber

Is Western Red Cedar cladding an approved cladding under NZS3604

This is a question relevant to New Zealand.

Hmmm. I'd give the reference desk at your nearest research library (National Library of New Zealand, or the nearest university is a good bet) a call and see if they have a copy. In fact, your nearest technical college might also have a copy in their library, so you could try them. We don't get that many builders answering questions here, I'm afraid. --Robert Merkel 02:53, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Which definition of the most expensive film

Hi, I was arguing the other day that Cleopatra is the most expensive film ever made however this is only when considering inflation and adjusting it as appropriate. Otherwise it is stated that King Kong is the most expensive film, now i have read a few articles on this and come to now definitive conclusion, I would presume that Cleopatra should have the title would this be the correct anwser.

Well, you've hit on the key point: whether or not inflation should be considered. There is no universal agreement, so many lists of money-related items will have parallel listings for base and inflation-adjusted values. — Lomn Talk 22:43, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Which is how we do it at List of most expensive films. --Fastfission 04:29, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

John Kruk

i was looking information about John Kruk, but a fund the it sais thar he has 2 older brothers, im not shure about how many he realy have, but i just know that Norman Kruk is missing there, why???

What?

What Author Can be A combination of Edgard Allan Poe And Jorge Luis Borges?

Didn't you ask this question before? It's not a factual question anyway; go speculate with your friends about it. —Keenan Pepper 03:26, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds like a quiz question. I don't think you can expect us to get excited about your quiz. Notinasnaid 10:21, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unless you're looking for the writer of romance novels, Edge Aluis Porges. DJ Clayworth 19:56, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

A LEITURA NO PROCESSO DE LEITURA

Para escrever uma monografia a respeito, quais os topicos que devo ressaltar, e os autores indicados.Pode me orientar

Please suitly emphazi to English, since this is the en.wikipedia. Yeltensic42 don't panic 01:05, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipédia em língua portuguesa? —Keenan Pepper 03:24, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Barely makes sense in Portuguese language. --Nelson Ricardo 04:39, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Does the Portuguese Wikipedia have a reference desk? I tried to find it to copy and paste the question there, but I didn't see it anywhere, largely due to the fact that broken Spanish is the best Portuguese I can manage. Yeltensic42 don't panic 04:57, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I just looked and I don't think they do. ☢ Ҡiff 07:06, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Being a native portuguese speaker, I must admit the question is rather vague (either that or I don't know what specific thing is being addressed.) But I believe the user is trying to write about Wikipedia and wants to know which aspects should he or she focus on and what authors should be mentioned. ☢ Ҡiff 07:06, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

February 23

prepaid gift certificates

Can prepaid gift certificates to restuarants, amusement parks, book stores, etc expire in California? I heard that a law was passed that prohibited this and I have many prepaid coupons that have "expired"- What do I tell the estabishment , cite law, etc when they refuse my coupon - thanks - Marv

Googilizing is what we do best. [16] --Zeizmic 00:46, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Louisiana Highway 1

How long in miles is Louisiana Highway 1? [preceding unsigned comment by User:[email protected] entered at 03:02, 23 February 2006]

Hmm. Our Louisiana State Highway 1 article doesn't exist yet, but we've got a List of Louisiana numbered highways, and it has an external link to http://southeastroads.com/la_route_log.html, which takes us to http://southeastroads.com/la_state_highways.html, which says 702. --Steve Summit (talk) 03:31, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Aw, think a minute! Where would they fit a highway 700 miles long into a state the size of Louisiana? It's only about 250 miles from the northern boundary of the state to the Gulf coast, and its east-west extent is about the same.
My Rand McNally Road Atlas, which is the 2001 edition, shows LA 1 extending diagonally from Zylks in the northwest corner of the state to Grand Isle on the Gulf coast south of New Orleans. From northwest to southeast, the atlas shows successive distances in miles (between villages, junctions, etc.) of 3 7 4 11 14 from Zylks to Shreveport, 6 6 5 15 5 4 11 11 to Natchitoches, 7 12 2 7 4 5 2 7 4 4 to Alexandria, 10 9 13 8 11 5 7 8 10 to New Roads, 6 3 6 2 10 to a point across the river from Baton Rouge, 4 5 3 4 8 10 to Donaldsonville, 4 4 6 8 8 15 to Raceland, and 5 11 3 6 4 11 20 to Grand Isle. That's a total of 39+63+54+81+27+34+45+60 = 403 miles.
This number could be a few miles off for several reasons (the map is sometimes unclear as to the endpoints of the indicated distance, and near New Roads it isn't even clear exactly which road is highway 1; I may have mistyped or introduced another error; and of course the distances being summed would have each been rounded). But "about 400 miles" (or about 650 km) is certainly right. Unless, of course, the state of Louisiana has decided to extend highway 1 in a bizarre V shape or something, since my atlas was printed.
Zylks, Natchitoches, New Roads, Raceland ... they do have some interesting place names in Louisiana, don't they?
--Anonymous, 07:18 UTC, February 23, 2006.
Did you actually look at http://southeastroads.com/la_state_highways.html? I wanted to make sure the original poster did. (And I unfortunately overlooked that the question specifically said "in miles".) —Steve Summit (talk) 14:03, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, I didn't, because if it said the road was 702 miles long, it obviously was not to be trusted. --Anon, 17:15 UTC, Feb. 23.

Graffiti and Copyright II

This question occurred to me when I was looking into the question raised at Graffiti and copyright above. In my reading I found out about the Visual Artists Rights Act, which adds to the basket of rights protected by US copyright a protection of "moral rights of attribution and integrity for visual art works." Artists also "were granted some rights to prevent destruction of works incorporated into an architectural structure."

This definition as well as the full definition in the statute seems to me to encompass graffiti, since the above discussion seemed to come to some consensus that (even illegal) graffiti was copyrightable by the author. The statute also indicates that an author can assert these rights even if they do not have title to the original work or even the copyright any longer. The applicable bit of law is at Title 17 Section 113(d).

Does this give a graffiti artist the right to sue the building owner for violating their moral rights if their work is removed/destroyed in a way not compliant with the statute? Or is copyright law non-applicable to the graffiti? What am I missing here? KWH 04:24, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The law won't act to enforce an illegal act or right. Thus if the graffitti is illegal the artist wouldn't be able to sue the building owner. Also if he did he'd be admitting he painted it & would get sued for graffitti. AllanHainey 10:39, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If by "graffiti" you mean "murals painted illegally or without the consent of the wall owner" (legally produced murals, whether graffiti or not, do of course fall under the VARA), I would think that even if strictly speaking the artist may have rights granted by the VARA, he could not enforce them because if he tried to do so he'd face stiff fines for having "defaced" someone else's property. Do a Google search for +graffiti +"visual artists rights act", you'll find lots of pertinent links. OTOH, sometimes illegally produced graffiti become art: see the case of the Swiss artist/sprayer Harald Naegeli (the "Sprayer of Zurich"). He was arrested in 1984 and spent some time in jail for his graffitis, but today even the city of Zurich is actively preserving and restoring as artworks the very few of his graffiti that have survived. :-) Lupo 10:58, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Making a DVD

I'm having problems with burning DVDs - I was wondering if I could get some help. I'm using Click to DVD to put some AVI files on brand new blank DVD-Rs. Unfortunately, once the DVD is made, there is no sound when I play the movies. There is sound on the menu screen. I'm stumped. Anyone have any idea what I can do?

--Shadarian 04:27, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • Are these your own films? It may be a form of piracy protection. - Mgm|(talk) 11:14, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's a format incompatibility. The avi's need conversion, and if you have windows, you are SOL (sh*t out of luck). --Zeizmic 14:48, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

im making a poll, need input!

which of the brothers chaps are hotter, matt or mike?

  • neither, they are both black holes of lameness

well screw you too!

  • Personally, I prefer girls, but to get any sort of meaningful answer a last name would help a lot. - Mgm|(talk) 11:16, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is a reference resource, so it is rather pointless to ask opinions as we don't have any. References resources have a tendency to take questions quite literally, and would probably suggest you approach these guys with a thermometer and check for yourself, since we have no idea who they are. --Shantavira 14:23, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Brothers Chaps are the creators of Homestar Runner, and their last name is Chapman. Yeltensic42 don't panic 15:37, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

johnny depp porno rumor?!

my brother told me that he was watching this talk show and johnny said he was going to be in a porno, was he just kidding , or is he actually going to do it?!!!

Unfortunately/fortunately (whichever you prefer) he was kidding, here is the quote:
"These kind of characters are not so far from my own personality, but I don't want to become typecast as an eccentric. Maybe next time I should do something totally different and film a cracking porn with Tim Burton. That would really send my popularity down to the depths!"[17]
Akamad 11:18, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

John Goodman (actor)

Is John Goodman still alive?

Very much so. See John Goodman. JackofOz 06:07, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I saw this but couldn't find if he's still alive, there's a rumour, he died late last year

Well, if he has died, neither the IMDB (http://us.imdb.com) nor http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com knows about it. That's good enough for me. It's pretty much impossible to prove that someone's alive if they haven't shown up in the news lately, but he's well enough known to make it hard to believe he could be dead and all these sites not know about it. You could always find out who his agents are and give them a call, if you like. --Anonymous, 07:35 UTC, February 23, 2006.
And of course these days it's relatively easy to find out whether someone has shown up in the news lately. Google news finds this quip from http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/article/17020604.php, dated February 17:
Russian beauty Lana Antonova, one of the discarded candidates to be the next Bond Girl, will be part of "Slipstream", based on a screenplay by Anthony Hopkins. The film, said to have been shaped around Hopkins wild thoughts on Life, Death and God, will be headlined by John Goodman and Kevin McCarthy.
So if we can believe that, we can narrow the window to the past week; he certainly didn't die late last year. —Steve Summit (talk) 14:32, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Well searched! I looked for something like that myself, but gave up before getting that one. There were too many hits either referring to his past work or to other people with the same name, and I couldn't think of an another search term that would help to narrow things down. --Anon, 17:21 UTC, Feb. 23.

Aggressive ISP behaviour

I live in Atlantic Canada, and am currently subscribed to Aliant. At a friend's place (who is subscribed to Rogers), I've noticed a number of strange behaviours:

  • Idle SSH connections are dropped after about 5-10 minutes.
  • Bittorrent is erratic on standard ports (6881-6889), but perfectly fine on 1720.
  • Large downloads will stall and never pick up.

I've never experienced any of these issues with Aliant. I can leave an idle SSH connection open for days and it's still usable. Can anyone confirm any of the above issues, specific to Rogers?

--Silvaran 07:57, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Never ascribe to conspiracy, what can easily be explained by stupidity. --Zeizmic 13:00, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ahh, gotta love Hanlon's razor. ☢ Ҡiff 15:16, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I've seen the dropping of idle SSH connections when dealing with some kinds of NAT devices (they can't track the connection if they see no packet for a couple of minutes). A workaround for that is to enable the keepalive option on the SSH client, which will not let the connection go completely idle. --cesarb 15:12, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Large downloads will stall and never pick up. -> this looks like a common issue with torrents with few or no seeders. ☢ Ҡiff 15:16, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The downloads are piped through your regular ol' HTTP or FTP request. I needed four attempts to download the latest Eclipse. --Silvaran 17:21, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Customs

I bought an item from ebay for $493 which will be shipped to here (Australia) from Hong Kong.

now, my question is about customs. they do random checks, and if my item is checked itll take an AGE to get to me, and plus ill have to pay taxes BIGTIME.

my mate tells me that the tax-free threshold for stuff like this is <$500. so he says I should be fine.

but im not sure about this? could someone clear this up for me?

thanks. gelo 13:03, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

A random check shouldn't cause much delay as long as the paperwork is in order and the item is legal and does not attract any import duty. Australia is particularly fussy about importing any organic material, e.g. foodstuffs. This site will give you detailed info. --Shantavira 14:16, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

price

do you have any cadillac's for 800 $
User:67.66.219.252

no.
Slumgum 13:57, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
WTF? —Keenan Pepper 14:33, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I do. It's a small, plastic, toy one, and I can sell it for $800 if you want. ☢ Ҡiff 15:02, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
800 American dollars, Canadian dollars, or Ankh-Morpork dollars? --Sam Pointon 15:28, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Voice Over'd Postman Pat Clip

This is a severe long shot, but a friend showed me yesterday a clip of a postman pat episode voiced over with a new dialogue (one containing a huge amount of profanities) - i found it extremely funny but cannot find it anyware, looking on both Google and Gnutella P2P. Does anyone know of this, or could at least point me in the right direction? Many Thanks -Benbread 14:04, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, i found the clip, after lots of searching with google i changed the search from "remix" to "dubbed" and there it was. If anyone is interested this is the clip:

http://media.putfile.com/postman-pat66

Warning: strong language.

is that true

hello i was watching a segment on the situation with tucker carlson about how art wasn`t being admired for art`s sake and they said that the movie trans-america starring falicty huffman was so bad they had to subpoena people to see it. is that true.

No. Tucker Carlson has a habit of exaggerating. Transamerica (film) has sold $4 million in tickets, which is rather good for a movie about a transsexual that cost $1 millon to make.--M@rēino 15:12, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Difference between "prize fighting" and "boxing"

In English law, a number of cases and textbooks refer to "prize fighting" as being illegal, but "boxing" being legal. On Wikipedia, prize fighting simply redirects to the boxing article, and is simply given as another name for boxing. What is the distinction? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. TomPhil 14:48, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are you sure that the law is existant or correct? Webster's defines "prize fighting" as "professional boxing". However (looking down the page), this site defines "prize fighting" as "Prize fighting: fighting, [especially boxing,] in public for a reward or wager." So perhaps boxing is legalised becuase it's safe (in an abstract term), and prize fighting as un-authorised fighting in public, thus breach of the peace. KILO-LIMA 20:07, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Conflicting information resolution.

What is the process used by Wikipedia to address disparate articles which present conflicting information. There are at least two that come to mind at the moment:

  1. A recent edit to the article on Scratching points to a conflict with content in the Dj Qbert article. The thought of reverting the edit crossed my mind — due to the appearance of vandalism — but the point is valid and ought to be addressed ASAP.
  2. The resting place attributed to Bamboo Harvester in the article on Mr. Ed is in conflict with a source that could be considered more reliable.

Apparently, similar concerns which have been raised in the past, but have yet to be resolved. For proof of this fact, consider the results presented by a query for conflicting information via Wikipedia's search engine.

As it stands, I am fully persuaded that it is in the interest of the Project that these issues be addressed immediately. If anyone has information on how such efforts are undertaken, please feel free to contact me regarding this matter.

Cheers. Folajimi 16:47, 23 February 2006 (UTC)(talk)[reply]

COMPOSITION -1

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SATIRE AND PROSE WRITING STYLES?

(email address deleted)

In prose writing, you do your own homework. In satire, we make humor about you doing your own homework. --Anonymous, 17:25 UTC, February 23, 2005.
I'm afraid I don't speak Caps Lock. Please ask again in English.  -- Run!  18:09, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There's that witty Anon-person again! I don't acknowledge that you are smarter than me until you sign up. --Zeizmic 18:12, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

maybe they are signed up but don't want to be suitly emphazi by us. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 19:09, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]